JP3449587B2 - Manual tray device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manual feed tray device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a laser beam printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art This type of apparatus is provided with an openable and closable manual paper feed lid 102 on the side of the main body of the apparatus, such as a copying machine 101 shown in FIG.
A general structure is such that when 2 is opened, manual feeding is possible. That is, the opened manual paper feed lid 102 is supported in a substantially horizontal state, and at this time, the back surface of the manual paper feed lid 102, which is the upper surface, becomes the paper placement surface 103, and the manual paper feed lid 102 itself serves as the manual feed tray 104. The structure is
In order to set various sizes of paper on the manual feed tray 104, in the manual feed tray device, as shown in FIG. It is generally mounted slidably. Therefore, the paper set in the manual feed tray 104 is not included in the guide fence 105.
Both ends are guided, and only the uppermost sheet is picked up by a sheet feeding mechanism (not shown) on the copying machine 101 side and fed to the sheet feeding path 106 of the copying machine 101.

[0003]

In the manual paper feeding mechanism,
The number of sheets that can be set in the manual feed tray at one time is determined as a prescribed number, and it is designed so that a stable sheet feeding operation is performed within this prescribed number. Therefore, when the specified number of sheets or more are set in the paper feed tray, the pickup operation of the paper is not normally performed, and stable paper feed operation cannot be obtained. Therefore, conventionally, in order to prevent more than the specified number of sheets from being set in the manual feed tray, a rib 107 for restricting the stacking amount of sheets is formed on the guide fence 105 as illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, for example. Has been. However, depending on the operator, as illustrated in FIG. 10, an excessive amount of paper P exceeding the specified number may be forcibly set on the manual feed tray 104. In this case, a large pressure is applied to the sheet at the rib 107, the conveyance resistance of the sheet to be fed is increased, and there is a problem that a conveyance failure easily occurs.

Incidentally, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-271100 discloses an invention in which a regulating plate for regulating the stacking amount of sheets is made swingable, but it does not suggest a solution to the problem. Absent.

[0005]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In a manual feed tray device that feeds the uppermost sheet of a plurality of sheets stacked on the manual feed tray to a paper feed path of an image forming apparatus, a sheet of paper that is above the manual feed tray and is manually fed to the manual feed tray. Among them, a stacking amount regulating portion arranged at a position where it interferes with a specified number of sheets or more, and a portion of the stacking amount regulating portion that interferes with the sheets is formed on the manual feeding tray as it approaches the bottom surface of the manual feeding tray.
A paper regulating surface is provided, which is inclined toward a direction that forms a counter direction with the paper entry direction and that separates the paper at the edge portion of the leading edge. Therefore, of the sheets to be manually fed, an excess of the prescribed number of sheets or more interferes with the sheet regulation surface of the stacking amount regulation section and is not manually fed. At this time, the paper regulation surface is the direction of the paper entering , that is, the paper entering the manual feed tray.
Since the sheet is inclined in the direction that forms the counter direction with the counter direction, the excess number of sheets, which is equal to or larger than the specified number, is handled by the edge portion of the leading edge of the sheet regulation surface, and is reliably separated from the sheet to be manually fed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an excessive pressure from being applied to the sheets by the stacking amount regulation unit due to the fact that the number of sheets more than the specified number is manually fed, and the sheet feeding state is stabilized. In this case, structurally, the structure is simple because only the stacking amount regulation section having the sheet regulation surface is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the manual feed tray device according to the first aspect, there is provided a paper discharge path for guiding the paper, the entry of which is restricted by the paper restriction surface, in a predetermined direction outside the paper supply path. Therefore, the excess number of sheets, which is equal to or larger than the specified number, is guided to the sheet discharge path and is reliably separated from the fed sheets.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the manual feed tray device according to the first or second aspect, the position is lower than the sheet interference position on the sheet regulation surface on the upstream side of the sheet regulation surface of the stacking amount regulation section in the manual feeding direction. interfere with paper position, it is pushed by the paper sheet to be manually fed sheet above predetermined number of the paper
A paper curl presser is provided that is displaced until it is loosened at the edge of the paper regulation surface . Therefore, the manually-fed sheet interferes with the paper curl retainer before the number of sheets is regulated by the sheet regulation surface of the load regulation unit, and reaches the load regulation unit in a state where the curl is extended by the paper curl retainer.
As a result, the number of sheets that can be manually fed and that is selected by the stacking amount regulation unit is always made appropriate, and, for example, it is prevented that the number of sheets that can be manually fed is extremely reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the manual feed tray device according to the third aspect, the sheet curl presser is formed by an elastically deformable member. Therefore, the paper curl presser can be formed easily and inexpensively.

The present invention as defined in claim 5 is any one of claims 1 to 4.
In the manual feed tray device according to any one of the above, a cutout portion is formed in a portion of the manual paper feed surface facing the stacking amount regulation portion on the paper placement surface. Therefore, the notch reduces the pressure applied to the paper between the paper placing surface of the manual feed tray and the stacking amount regulating portion, and the paper feeding state is more stable.

The invention according to claim 6 is defined by claims 1 to 4.
In the manual feed tray device described in any one of the above, the paper placement surface of the manual feed tray is bent in a direction in which a portion facing the load amount regulation unit is separated from the load amount regulation unit. Therefore, the pressure applied to the paper between the paper placement surface of the manual feed tray and the stacking amount regulation unit is reduced, and the paper feed state becomes more stable.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
And it demonstrates based on FIG. The same parts as those of the manual feed tray device shown in FIG.

The guide fence 105 is the bottom paper guide 1
Is a resin member having an L-shaped cross-section such that one side of the side guide 2 and the other side of the side guide 2 are bent at a right angle. The lowermost paper guide 1 is provided so as to slightly project from the manual feed tray 104 and slidable in parallel with the manual feed tray 104, and constitutes a part of the paper placement surface 103. The side guides 2 stand vertically from the manual feed tray 104 and guide the side edges of the sheets P placed on the manual feed tray 104.

The side guide 2 is integrally formed with a load amount regulating portion 3 at its tip. This loading amount control unit 3
Is a rib shape facing the lowermost paper guide 1,
Among the sheets P that are manually fed to the manual feed tray 104, the sheets P interfere with a prescribed number or more. And the load regulation section 3
Is the paper P that is manually inserted into the manual feed tray 104 and enters.
The sheet regulating surface 4 has a surface that interferes with the sheet and regulates its entry. The sheet regulation surface 4 is inclined toward the sheet P that enters.

In such a structure, the manual feed tray 1
As for the paper P to be manually fed to 04, the bottom paper is guided to the paper placement surface 103 including the bottom paper guide 1 of the guide fence 105, both ends thereof are guided to the side guides 2 of the guide fence 105, and the manual feed tray is used. It is set to 104. Then, when the paper is fed to the paper feed path 106 of the copying machine 101, the uppermost sheet P is guided by the side guide 2 and is fed to the paper feed path 106 without skewing.

Excessive sheets P of a prescribed number or more out of the sheets P to be manually fed to the manual feed tray 104 interfere with the sheet regulation surface 4 of the stacking amount regulation section 3 and are not manually fed. This state is shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, a is a paper P that is manually fed.
, B is the thickness of the paper P that is actually manually fed.
That is, the number of sheets P having the thickness b is the specified number of sheets P, and only the specified number of sheets P is manually inserted in the direction of the arrow in FIG. At this time, since the sheet regulation surface 4 that prevents the excessive entry of the sheet P is inclined toward the direction of the entering sheet, the excess number of sheets P of the specified number or more is surely secured at the edge portion 4E of the sheet regulation surface 4. The paper P that has been separated and manually fed is reliably separated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an excessive pressure from being applied to the paper P between the lower surface of the stacking amount regulation unit 3 and the lowermost paper guide 1 by manually inserting the paper P of the specified number or more, and thus copying. Paper feed path 106 of machine 101
The conveyance resistance of the paper P fed to the paper is reduced, and the paper feed state is stabilized.

As a structure that does not allow an excessive amount of paper P to be manually fed, only the stacking amount regulating portion 3 having the paper regulating surface 4 is provided, so that the structure is simple and can be manufactured at low cost. Moreover, the guide fence 105
Since it is configured as a resin-made integrated component including the load regulation unit 3, its manufacture is extremely easy.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the manual tray device of the present embodiment, the paper discharge path 5 is formed in the stacking amount regulation unit 3. The paper discharge path 5 is an opening that is continuous with the paper restriction surface 4, and guides the paper P whose entry is restricted by the paper restriction surface 4 in a predetermined direction outside the paper supply path 106.

In such a structure, the excess number of sheets P, which are separated by the sheet regulation surface 4 and are equal to or larger than the specified number, are guided to the sheet discharge path 5 and are reliably separated from the fed sheets P. As a result, the performance of separating and removing the excess paper P is improved.

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted (same in the following embodiments). The manual feed tray device according to the present embodiment has a paper discharge path 5
A paper curl presser 6 is provided at a position for closing the sheet. The paper curl presser 6 has a switching pawl structure that is rotatable around a support shaft 7, and is normally maintained in the state of FIG. 4A by its own weight. That is, the paper curl presser 6 is attached to the paper regulation surface 4
The leading end of the sheet P interferes with the sheet P at the position upstream of the sheet P and lower than the interference position of the sheet P on the sheet restriction surface 4, and the sheet P is pushed and rotated by the sheet P to be manually inserted. Then, the paper curl presser 6 is configured to open the paper discharge path 5 by largely rotating (FIG. 4B).

In such a configuration, the manually fed paper P interferes with the paper curl presser 6 before the number of sheets is regulated by the stacking amount regulation unit 3, and the curl is extended by the paper curl presser 6 and stacked. The paper reaches the paper regulation surface 4 of the quantity regulation unit 3. As a result, the number of sheets of paper P that is allowed to be manually selected by the stacking amount regulation unit 3 is always made appropriate, and, for example, it is prevented that the number of sheets of paper P that is allowed to be manually decreased extremely. It

When the paper P reaching the paper regulation surface 4 in a state where the curl is extended by the paper curl presser 6 is excessive paper P more than the specified number, the paper curl presser 6 is enlarged by the excess paper P. It is rotated and discharged to the discharge path 5.

FIG. 5 shows a modification of the paper curl presser 6. The paper curl presser 8 of the modified example is formed integrally with the guide fence 105 so as to be elastically deformed. That is, it is usually shaped so as to extend to a position that closes the paper discharge path 5, and the leading end portion interferes with the paper P at a position lower than the interference position of the paper P on the paper regulation surface 4. The paper curl presser 8 is configured to be deformed by being pressed by the manually inserted paper P, and to be largely deformed to open the paper discharge path 5. Therefore, the paper curl presser 8 functions similarly to the paper curl presser 6 shown in FIG. Since the paper curl presser 8 is resin-molded integrally with the guide fence 105, it is easily and inexpensively formed.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the lowermost paper guide 1 of the guide fence 105, a cutout portion 9 is formed in a portion of the stacking amount regulation portion 3 that faces the sheet regulation surface 4.

In such a structure, when the manually fed sheet P reaches the cutout portion 9, the cutout portion 9 causes the lowermost paper guide 1 which is a part of the paper placing surface 103 and the stacking amount regulating portion 3 to be formed. In the meantime, the pressure applied to the paper P is reduced. As a result, the conveyance resistance of the paper P fed to the paper feed path 106 of the copying machine 101 is reduced, and the paper feed state is stabilized.

A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the manual feed tray device of the present embodiment, in the lowermost paper guide 1 of the guide fence 105 that is a part of the paper placement surface 103 of the manual feed tray 104, the portion facing the load amount regulating unit 3 is the load amount regulating unit. It is bent in a direction away from 3.

In such a structure, when the manually fed sheet P reaches the bent portion of the lowermost sheet guide 1, the bent portion bends the lowermost sheet guide 1 which is a part of the sheet placement surface 103 and the stacking amount regulation. The pressure applied to the sheet P with the section 3 is reduced. As a result, the paper feed path 106 of the copying machine 101
The conveyance resistance of the paper P fed to the paper is reduced, and the paper feed state is stabilized.

[0027]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stacking amount regulating section which is arranged above the manual feed tray and at a position where it interferes with a predetermined number or more of the sheets manually fed to the manual feed tray. in accordance with the foregoing approaches the bottom surface of the manual feed tray are formed in the sheet interferes with part of the load amount restricting portion
Paper entry direction and counter direction to the bypass tray
Since it is provided with a paper regulating surface that is inclined toward the direction that forms a sheet and separates the paper at the edge portion of the tip, it is possible to reliably separate excess paper of a specified number or more from the paper that is manually fed.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent the excessive load from being applied to the sheets by the stacking amount regulation unit due to the fact that the number of sheets more than the specified number is manually fed, and the sheet feeding state can be stabilized. In this case, since only the stacking amount regulation section having the sheet regulation surface is structurally provided, a stable paper feeding state can be obtained with a simple structure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the manual feed tray device according to the first aspect, a sheet ejection path for guiding the sheet, the entry of which is regulated by the sheet regulation surface, is provided outside the sheet feeding path in a predetermined direction. It is possible to guide excess papers of a number equal to or larger than the number of sheets to the paper discharge path and reliably separate them from the papers to be fed, and further improve the separation / removal performance of the excess papers.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the manual feed tray device according to the first or second aspect, the paper feed position is upstream of the sheet regulation surface of the stacking amount regulation section, and more than the interference position of the sheet on the sheet regulation surface. interfere with the paper at a lower position, is pushed by the paper sheet to be manually fed over predetermined number of the paper
Make sure that the paper is handled at the edge of the paper regulation surface.
Since it is equipped with a paper curl presser that can be displaced by, the paper to be manually fed can reach the paper regulation surface of the load regulation unit with the curl extended, and therefore the manual feed selected by the load regulation unit can be used. The allowable number of sheets can always be optimized, and for example, it is possible to reliably prevent the number of sheets that can be manually fed from being extremely reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the manual feed tray device according to the third aspect, since the paper curl presser is formed by an elastically deformable member, the paper curl presser can be formed easily and inexpensively. .

The present invention as defined in claim 5 is any one of claims 1 to 4.
In the manual feed tray device according to any one of the above, since a cutout portion is formed on a sheet mounting surface of the manual feed tray in a portion facing the stacking amount regulation unit, the cutout portion serves as a sheet mounting surface of the manual feed tray. It is possible to reduce the pressure applied to the sheet with the stacking amount regulation unit, and thus it is possible to reduce the sheet conveyance resistance during sheet feeding, and thus to obtain a more stable sheet feeding state.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claims 1 to 4.
In the manual feed tray device according to any one of the above, since the sheet mounting surface of the manual feed tray is bent in a direction in which a portion facing the load amount regulation unit is separated from the load amount regulation unit,
It is possible to reduce the pressure applied to the paper between the paper placement surface of the manual feed tray and the stacking amount regulation unit, which can significantly reduce the paper conveyance resistance during the paper feeding, and therefore, it is more appropriate. The feeding status can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a guide fence in a manual feed tray device showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a guide fence in the manual feed tray device showing the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a guide fence in a manual feed tray device showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a guide fence in a manual feed tray device showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a guide fence in a manual feed tray device showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a guide fence in a manual feed tray device showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional manual feed tray device together with an external configuration of a copying machine.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a guide fence in a manual feed tray device showing another example of the related art.

FIG. 10 is a side view thereof.

[Explanation of symbols] 1,103 Paper loading surface 3 Loading amount control section 4 Paper regulation side 5 Paper discharge route 6,8 Paper curl presser 9 notches 104 bypass tray 106 paper feed path P paper

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A manual feed tray device for feeding the uppermost paper of a plurality of sheets stacked on the manual feed tray to a paper feed path of an image forming apparatus, wherein the manual feed tray is above the manual feed tray. in accordance with the foregoing the load amount restricting portion arranged at a position where it interferes with the prescribed number or more of sheets of paper to be manually fed, is formed on the sheet interferes with part of the payload regulating unit closer to the bottom surface of the manual feed tray Bypass tray
A manual feed tray device, comprising: a paper regulating surface that is inclined in a direction that forms a counter direction with a paper entering direction with respect to and that separates the paper at an edge portion of the leading edge. 2. The manual feed tray device according to claim 1, further comprising a paper discharge path for guiding the paper, the entry of which is restricted by the paper restriction surface, in a predetermined direction outside the paper feed path. 3. The sheet is interfered with by a sheet at a position lower than an interference position of the sheet on the sheet regulation surface on the upstream side of the sheet regulation surface of the stacking amount regulation section, and the sheet is pushed by the sheet to be manually fed. 3. The manual feed tray device according to claim 1, further comprising a paper curl presser that is displaced until a predetermined number of sheets or more of the sheets are separated by an edge portion of the sheet regulation surface. 4. The manual feed tray device according to claim 3, wherein the paper curl presser is formed by an elastically deformable member. 5. The manual tray device according to claim 1, wherein a cutout portion is formed in a portion of the manual tray that faces the stacking amount regulation portion on the sheet mounting surface of the manual tray. . 6. The sheet placing surface of the manual feed tray is bent in a direction in which a portion facing the stacking amount regulating portion is separated from the stacking amount regulating portion. The manual feed tray device as described above.