JP2002002968A - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To integrally mount a stopper gear having a fine gear coaxial with a pinion, to the rack pinion forming an interlocking mechanism of a side guide mounted on a paper feeding member such as a paper feeding cassette or the like, and to fix it by a locking means formed by a stopper member. SOLUTION: In the side guide 10 for controlling both sides of the paper, racks 13, 13a of sliding members 12, 12a are engaged with the pinion 20 to be interlocked and moved in the directions to be separated from or brought into contact with each other. The stopper gear 21 is integrated with the pinion 20, and a locking claw member 26 of the stopper member 25 is engaged with the stopper gear to hold the pinion 20, whereby the pinion can not be rotated by weak force. The stopper gear 21 has teeth at fine pitches, and is engaged with one of plural projections formed on the locking claw member 26 to be fixed and held, whereby the stopper member is elastically disengaged in rotating the pinion by the movement of the racks.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeder provided with a side guide for positioning a paper in a paper feed unit or the like of an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a regulating member in a state where the paper is regulated. The present invention relates to an apparatus provided with a means for preventing movement of a sheet and performing good guidance to a sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine, a paper feeding unit is provided with a paper feeding tray or a paper feeding cassette as one or a plurality of storage members, and sheets are taken out one by one. It is sent to the recording department. In a paper cassette or the like arranged in the paper feeding unit,
A loading plate such as a bottom plate on which a large number of sheets are placed,
It is arranged to be pushed up by a spring, and separation claws are arranged at the corners on both sides in the sheet feeding direction.
Then, in response to the feeding operation of the paper feeding roller disposed above the paper feeding side in the paper feeding cassette, the paper is separated by the separation claw, and the paper is fed one by one toward the recording unit. I do. Means are provided for pressing and positioning the both sides of the paper accommodated in the paper feed cassette by a side guide so as to prevent the oblique feeding of the fed paper and the like. Separating claws are integrally provided on the side guides, and both side corners on the sending-out side of the accommodated paper are locked by the separating claws, and a sheet separating action is imparted by a feeding operation by a paper feed roller. Can be sent one by one.

In the case where the image forming apparatus is configured as an apparatus for carrying a sheet in a center registration system, a pair of side guides are arranged on both sides of the sheet cassette orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction so as to be interlocked. I have. In order to interlock the side guides, an interlocking mechanism is provided such that a rack provided on the pair of side guides meshes with a pinion provided on the cassette bottom plate. Then, by the operation of moving one side guide, the other side guide is moved and pressed against both side surfaces of the sheet to regulate, so that the central portion in the width direction of the sheet can be accurately positioned. In addition to the paper feed cassette, for example, a side guide for positioning a document is arranged on a manual feed tray for feeding paper of a non-standard size or a document tray of an ADF (automatic document feeder). The document set on the document tray is regulated from both sides so that the document sent toward the reading unit is not obliquely fed.

[0004]

However, when arranging a pair of side guides with respect to the sheet using an interlocking mechanism, the tolerance of the sheet (maximum 0.7 mm) and the manufacturing tolerance of parts such as the side guide. Or there is an obstacle to paper positioning such as expansion and contraction due to humidity of the paper when used in an extremely humid environment. And
Even if the side guide is positioned at one position corresponding to the paper size, it is not possible to regulate the both sides of the paper in a satisfactory state, and a gap is generated between the side guide and the side surface of the paper, Inconveniences such as paper not being able to fit between the fixed pair of side guides occur. When the above-described inconvenience occurs, the sheet may be fed skewed between the pair of side guides or may be fed in a bent state, thereby causing skew of the sheet. Further, if the corners of the paper are not locked by the uniform force with respect to the two separation claws due to skew of the paper or the like, double feeding of the paper may occur, and the double feeding may occur in the paper conveyance path. When the cut sheet is separated, it may cause a jam. Further, in a state where both sides of the sheet are regulated by the side guide, the side guide may slightly move due to an impact or the like when the sheet cassette is attached to the sheet feeding section of the image forming apparatus. Regulatory action may be inaccurate.

According to the present invention, in the above-mentioned conventional paper feeder,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet feeding device capable of easily performing regulation on a sheet and capable of performing a regulation operation on the sheet satisfactorily even if there is a tolerance in the width direction of the sheet or a manufacturing error of the regulation member.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device for storing sheets of paper and transporting them while separating them one by one. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a storage member for storing paper, a pair of side guides slidably mounted in a direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction, and a pinion gear rotatably supported by the storage member. And a rack member provided integrally with the side guide and meshing with a pinion gear therebetween, and a regulating member attached to the housing of the storage member and meshing with the pinion gear to regulate rotation. And Therefore, the side regulating member can be positioned simply by moving the regulating member to lock the rack on the pinion, and the operation is simple.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the regulating member is an elastic piece that meshes with the pinion gear provided on the storage member. Further, the apparatus can be configured at low cost, and the side guide stopped integrally with the rack member can be easily and effectively positioned.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the pinion gear is provided with a meshing portion with the two rack members and a meshing portion with the regulating member. Then, even when the sheet has a tolerance, the stop position of the side guide can be finely adjusted, and the skew of the fed sheet or the like can be prevented.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of the apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated example. The example shown in FIG. 1 shows a mechanism for positioning the paper inside the paper feed cassette 1, and the inside of the paper feed cassette 1 surrounded by a frame 2 of the cassette body is a paper storage unit 3, A bottom plate 5 is arranged at the leading end of the sheet storage unit 3 in the sheet feeding direction via pivots 6 and 6a so as to be swingable by a spring (not shown). Then, the leading end of the sheet placed on the bottom plate 5 is raised and pressed toward a sheet feeding roller disposed in a sheet feeding unit of the image forming apparatus, and the sheet is fed by rotation of the sheet feeding roller. It is configured as follows.

An end guide 14 for regulating the rear end of the sheet, and a side guide 10 for regulating both sides of the sheet, at positions not affected by the swing of the bottom plate 5.
10a is arranged. The two side guides 10,
10a is provided with separation claws 11 and 11a, respectively. The separation claws lock the corners of the leading end in the sheet feeding direction, and separate the sheets one by one in combination with the operation of feeding by the sheet feeding roller. It has a function to do. Then, the two types of guide members 10 and 14 are pressed against the sheet to regulate the sheet, so that the sheet fed from the sheet cassette 1 is positioned. Further, the two side guides 10 and 10a are guided by a lateral guide groove 8 arranged laterally on the bottom plate 7 of the paper feed cassette 1, and are provided so as to be movable in a direction in which they are separated from each other via an interlocking mechanism described later. The end guide 14 is provided so as to be movable along the vertical guide groove 9 and fixedly held at an arbitrary position.

The example shown in FIG. 2 shows a mechanism for interlocking the two side guides 10,...
The slide members 12 and 12a are provided integrally with each other, and the slide members 12 and 12a are moved in the lateral guide grooves 8. Racks 13 and 13a are formed on opposing surfaces of the pair of slide members 12 and 12a, and one of the two slide members 12 and 12a is moved by meshing with a pinion 20 provided at a central portion. By doing so, the other slide member can be moved in conjunction with it.
Therefore, the two side guides 1 shown in FIG.
By moving one of the side guides 0 and 10a, the other side guide can also be moved in an interlocking manner, and the sheet guide placed on the bottom plate 5 has an effect of positioning the side guides on both sides thereof. It can be done easily.

A stopper gear 21 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is provided integrally with a pinion 20 for interlockingly moving the side guides 10 and 10a. The stopper gear 21 and the pinion 20 are connected to a bottom plate of the sheet cassette 1. Is provided so as to be integrally rotatable with respect to the support shaft 22 erected at the center. The stopper gear 21 has two side guides 10, 10
Even if an impact is applied to the paper feed cassette in a state in which a is positioned with respect to the side surface of the paper, the side guide does not move and the positioning operation for the paper can be performed in a good state. Is provided. Further, even when the sheet is positioned by the side guide, the width of the sheet is not constant due to the moisture absorption state of the sheet, the tolerance when the sheet is cut, and other conditions, and the side guide is restricted by a certain tolerance. This is to deal with the fact that the operation is not performed sufficiently.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, a stopper member 25 is disposed integrally with the pinion 20 for causing the two side guides to move in conjunction with each other. Horizontal guide groove 8 on bottom plate
The locking claw member 26 is provided at the distal end of the arm member 27 extending from the side of the arm member 27. The stopper gear 21 is formed with, for example, extremely small teeth having a pitch of 0.5 mm. The fine pitch of the teeth of the stopper gear 21 corresponds to the tolerance at the time of manufacturing the paper and the degree of expansion and contraction due to moisture absorption of the paper. It is provided so that finer adjustment can be performed more finely and the side surface portion of the paper can be reliably regulated. Also, the locking claw members 26 are engaged with the teeth of the stopper gear 21 so that two or three projections are engaged.
Is formed. Then, one of the protrusions provided on the locking claw member 26 is accurately engaged with the teeth of the stopper gear 21 and locked, so that the free rotation of the stopper gear 21 can be prevented.

As described above, the stopper member 25 provided with the locking claw member 26 for engaging the teeth of the stopper gear 21
Are configured so as to allow the rotation of the pinion 20 when the side guides 10 and 10a are moved, and have such a property that the locking claw member 26 does not easily come off the teeth of the stopper gear 21. Therefore, for example, by selecting a resin material forming the arm member 27 and the locking claw member 26, the locking claw member 26 with respect to the stopper gear 21 is selected.
Can be appropriately engaged / disengaged. When the stopper gear 21 is rotated together with the pinion 20 by the movement of the side guide, the locking claw member 26 slides with respect to the teeth of the stopper gear 21. However, the sheet cassette 1 is moved to the sheet feeding portion of the image forming apparatus. It is possible for the stopper member 25 to prevent the rotation of the pinion 20 against an impact at the time of setting or the like. The conditions such as the mounting position of the stopper member 25 with respect to the cassette body, the number of teeth provided on the locking claw member 26, and the length and shape of the arm member 27 are determined as long as the above object can be achieved. It can be optionally configured.

The example of the paper feed cassette provided with the paper feed regulating means is shown as an example of one paper feeder. However, separately from the paper feed cassette, a manual feed tray and a document tray may be used. It is possible to apply the positioning means of the side guide. The example shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a document regulating unit in a document tray 30 used in an automatic document feeder.
Paper feed roller 33
A pair of side guides 3
5, 35a are provided so as to be capable of interlocking movement. The side guides 35 and 35a are provided with horizontal members 26 and 26a, respectively, protruding horizontally toward the center, so as to support both sides of the sheets set on the tray.

The pair of side guides 35, 35a
Slide members 37 and 37a are provided for sliding and guiding in the lateral guide groove 32. A rack provided on the slide member meshes with the pinion 20, and the two side guides are interlocked in the direction of separation and contact. Move. A stopper gear 21 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is arranged so as to rotate integrally with the pinion 20, and a locking claw member 26 of a stopper member 25 is engaged with teeth provided at a fine pitch of the stopper gear 21. It is provided so as to be stopped. By combining the stopper member 25 and the stopper gear 21, the positioning of the side guides 35 and 35a with respect to the side surface of the sheet can be favorably performed.

The example of the document tray shown in FIG. 5 is applicable to a manual feed tray of a copying machine. In the case where paper of a non-standard size is fed by using the manual feed tray. In addition, it is possible to satisfactorily perform the positioning operation of the sheet by the side guide. Further, in the tray using the pair of side guides, the sheet conveyance of the image forming apparatus or the image reading apparatus can be applied when the sheet is conveyed by aligning the center of the sheet with the center of the sheet conveyance path. is there. It is also possible to provide a stopper gear at the lower part corresponding to the position of the stopper member, and the relationship between the pinion and the stopper gear can be set arbitrarily.

[0018]

The present invention is configured as described above. By providing a regulating member for an interlocking mechanism using a side guide and a rack and pinion, the side guide is moved to move the rack. Only by locking to the pinion, the side guide can be positioned and the operation is simple. Further, since the regulating member is an elastic piece that meshes with the pinion gear provided in the storage member, the device can be configured at low cost, and a side guide that is stopped integrally with the rack member is provided.
Positioning can be performed easily and effectively. Further, since the pinion gear is provided with a meshing portion with the two rack members and a meshing portion with the regulating member, the stop position of the side guide can be finely adjusted even when the paper has a tolerance. It can be adjusted and can prevent skew of the paper or the like being fed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a paper feed cassette.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an interlocking mechanism of a side guide.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a configuration of a pinion and a stopper member.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a stopper gear and a stopper member.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a document tray.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 paper cassette, 2 cassette body, 3
Paper storage unit, 4 handles, 5 bottom plate, 6 support shaft, 7 bottom plate, 8 horizontal guide groove,
9 vertical guide groove, 10 side guide, 11
Separating claw, 12 slide member, 13 rack, 14 end guide, 20 pinion, 2
1 stopper gear, 22 shafts, 25 stopper members, 26 locking claw members, 27 arm members,
30 original tray, 31 tray body, 32
Side guide groove, 33 paper feed roller, 35 side guide, 36 horizontal member, 37 slide member.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A storage member for storing paper, a pair of side guides slidably mounted in a direction orthogonal to a paper feeding direction, a pinion gear rotatably supported by the storage member, and the side guide A rack member integrally provided on the housing and meshing with a pinion gear interposed therebetween; and a regulating member attached to the housing of the storage member and meshing with the pinion gear to regulate rotation. apparatus. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the regulating member is an elastic piece that meshes with the pinion gear provided on a storage member. 3. The paper feeder according to claim 1, wherein the pinion gear has a meshing portion with the two rack members and a meshing portion with the regulating member. .