JP3904346B2 - Sheet guide device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet guiding apparatus for conveying a sheet such as a transfer sheet for transferring an image or a document on which an image is formed.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, a sheet guide apparatus used for OA equipment includes a sheet conveyance path formed by arranging a plurality of paired guide plates facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. The guide plates used in this case include synthetic resin and sheet metal.
[0003]
Synthetic resin guide plates can be easily molded even in complex shapes, so they are suitable when the sheet conveyance path is bent, but it is necessary to increase the thickness and form ribs to increase the strength. Therefore, there is a problem that the shape becomes large and the entire apparatus becomes large. The sheet metal guide plate has a high strength, so that the plate thickness can be reduced and is suitable for forming a flat sheet conveyance path.
[0004]
On the other hand, since the sheet may be clogged between the opposing guide plates, various configurations for rotatably supporting at least one of the paired guide plates have been proposed (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-26500, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 5). -289432 and JP-A-10-212049).
[0005]
Thus, when the guide plate is rotatably supported, the guide plate is required to be formed with a handle in order to improve operability during rotation. As described above, in the case of a synthetic resin guide plate that is easily molded, it is easy to integrally form a handle having an arbitrary shape. In contrast, in the case of a sheet metal guide plate, the handle must be formed by bending or the like. Examples thereof will be described below with reference to FIGS.
[0006]
A sheet metal guide plate 100 shown in FIG. 6 includes a hinge piece 101 bent on both sides at one end and a handle 102 bent in a U-shape on the other end, and a roller 103 for conveying a sheet in the center. Are formed with a hinge piece 105 for supporting the shaft 104 fitted with the stopper 104 and an opening 106 for projecting the roller 103 downward, and a stopper piece 107 bent downward on both sides of the other end opposite to the hinge piece 101. A decal 108 for visually recognizing the handle as a handle is attached to the handle 102.
[0007]
Such a guide plate 100 is disposed opposite to another guide plate that is fixedly provided (not shown in FIG. 6), and a hinge piece 101 is rotatably supported by an opposing frame (not shown). Is done. Therefore, when the jam processing is performed, the handle 102 is gripped and the guide plate 100 is rotated about the hinge piece 101, so that the space between the other guide plate is widely opened. After the jam processing, the guide plate 100 is rotated in the closing direction around the hinge piece 101. At this time, since the stopper piece 107 contacts the inner surface of the mating guide plate, the gap between the guide plate 100 and the mating guide plate is maintained constant.
[0008]
The sheet metal guide plate 110 shown in FIG. 7 is the same as the guide plate 100 shown in FIG. In this case, the handle 109 is formed by cutting the center portion of the edge of the guide plate 110 upward, and a decal 108 is attached to the surface of the handle to visually recognize it as a handle.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the case of the guide plate 100 shown in FIG. 6, the U-shaped handle 102 is formed, so that the material is not easily cut and the material cost is increased. In addition, the number of processing steps increases. In the case of the guide plate 110 shown in FIG. 7, the handle 109 is formed by cutting and raising the center of the edge, so that the material can be cut off. However, since the handle 109 is cut and raised, the lower surface has no function of pressing the sheet S. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, when the guide plate 110 shown in FIG. 7 and the other guide plate 111 are disposed opposite to each other and the pair of guide plates 112 and 113 are disposed opposite to each other, the sheet S If the warp is generated so that the central portion swells upward, when the sheet S is delivered from the guide plates 110 and 111 to the guide plates 112 and 113 on the downstream side, the central portion of the edge of the sheet S is Since the sheet cannot be pressed, there is a problem that a portion swelled above the sheet S is caught by the guide plate 112.
[0010]
Further, when the grips 102 and 109 are formed by bending or cutting up for rotation operation like the guide plates 100 and 110, the recognition as the grips 102 and 109 can be easily obtained visually. For this reason, it is impossible to make the shape complicated or to form the guide plates 100 and 110 in a different color. Therefore, the recognition as the grips 102 and 109 depends on the decal 108. Since the decal 108 is often formed of a resin sheet unlike the material of the guide plates 100 and 110, a cumbersome sorting operation is forced for recycling.
[0011]
An object of the present invention is to make it possible to provide a handle while satisfying that a sheet-metal guide plate that is rotatably supported to open a sheet conveyance path is formed without increasing the area of material cutting. Moreover, the delivery of the sheet is made smooth.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 includes a sheet conveyance path formed by opposingly arranging a pair of sheet metal guide plates, and at least one of the pair of guide plates is arranged in a direction to open and close the sheet conveyance path. In the sheet guide device that is rotatably supported, the guide plate that is rotatably supported includes a cut and raised piece that is cut and raised on a side opposite to the inner surface thereof, and the cut and raised piece includes the cut and raised piece. A handle having a sheet guide portion formed along the inner surface of the formed guide plate is detachably mounted.
[0013]
Therefore, it is possible to form a guide plate provided with a cut and raised piece for mounting the handle without increasing the area of the material cutting. In addition, since the cut and raised pieces are cut and raised on the opposite side of the inner surface of the guide plate, there is no function to hold the sheet. However, the lift of the sheet can be held by the sheet guide part of the handle attached to the cut and raised pieces. It becomes. Furthermore, since the handle can be formed of a member different from the guide plate, recognition as a handle can be easily obtained without attaching a decal. Further, since the handle is detachably attached to the cut and raised piece, it is easy to separate from the guide plate during recycling.
[0014]
The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the sheet guide portion of the handle is formed by a plurality of ribs.
[0015]
Therefore, the thickness of the handle can be reduced. Thereby, the grip property of a handle improves.
[0016]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the handle includes an elastically bendable locking piece formed of an elastic synthetic resin, and the guide plate includes the locking plate. A locking portion is provided, on which the piece is elastically locked.
[0017]
Therefore, it is possible to attach the handle to the cut and raised piece of the guide plate without using the fastening member by elastically locking the locking piece to the locking portion. Further, the handle can be separated from the cut and raised piece of the guide plate by elastically bending the locking piece and removing it from the locking portion.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the sheet guide device, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the handle as viewed from the sheet guide portion side, FIG. 3 is a partial longitudinal side view showing a state where the handle is mounted on the cut and raised piece, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating a conveyance state of a sheet.
[0019]
In the sheet guiding apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, the sheet conveying path 4 is formed by arranging two sheet metal guide plates 2 and 3 to face each other. An inclined surface 5 for facilitating introduction of the sheet S (see FIG. 4) is formed at the upstream edge of the lower guide plate 2 in the sheet conveying direction by inclining downward toward the upstream side. ing. On the upstream edge of the upper guide plate 3 in the sheet conveying direction, an inclined surface 6 is formed for facilitating introduction of the sheet S by inclining gradually upward toward the upstream side. In addition, the upper guide plate 3 is disposed at the center of the other end opposite to the inclined surface 6 and to the opposite direction to the inner surface of the guide plate 3. The cut and raised pieces 8, the pair of hinge pieces 9 cut and raised at the center, the opening 10 disposed inside these hinge pieces 9, and the other end on the opposite side of the hinge pieces 7 A stopper piece 11 that is bent downward is formed. These stopper pieces 11 are in contact with the upper surface of the lower guide plate 2 so that the distance between the guide plates 2 and 3 is fixed. The hinge piece 9 supports both ends of a shaft 13 that rotatably supports the driven roller 12.
[0020]
As shown in FIG. 4, a driving roller 14 is rotatably supported on the lower guide plate 2. The support structure of the drive roller 14 is the same as the support structure of the driven roller 12 in the upper guide plate 3. That is, the guide plate 2 is provided with a hinge piece (not shown but similar to the hinge piece 9) that rotatably supports both ends of a drive shaft (not shown) that rotates integrally with the drive roller 14, and the drive roller 14. An opening that projects into the sheet conveyance path 4 (not shown but similar to the opening 10) is formed. The drive roller 14 and the drive shaft are configured to be driven by a motor (not shown).
[0021]
A plurality of locking holes 15 as locking portions are formed in the cut and raised piece 8 of the upper guide plate 3, and a handle 16 made of an elastic synthetic resin is attached to the cut and raised piece 8. ing. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the handle 16 has a plurality of locking pieces 17 having claws 17 a elastically locked to the locking holes 15 of the cut and raised pieces 8, and a plurality of ribs 18. A surface that is formed and faces the guide plate 2 on the lower side of the ribs 18 is a sheet guide portion 19. Further, on the upstream side of the rib 18 in the sheet conveyance direction, an inclined surface 20 is formed so as to be inclined in a direction away from the lower guide plate 2 toward the upstream side so that the sheet S can be easily introduced. (See FIGS. 3 and 4). Therefore, the handle 16 is attached to the cut and raised piece 8 by bending the lock piece 17 and locking the claw 17a at the tip of the hook 17 to the lock hole 15 of the cut and raised piece 8. In this state, the cut and raised piece 8 is sandwiched between the surface of the rib 18 opposite to the sheet guide portion 19 and the locking piece 17.
[0022]
The guide plates 2 and 3 are supported by a fixing member such as a frame provided inside the housing of the OA device (not shown). In this case, the upper guide plate 3 is rotatably supported around the stepped screw 7a by a method such as screwing the stepped screw 7a rotatably inserted into the fixing member into the hinge piece 7. In this example, the lower guide plate 2 is fixedly attached to the fixing member. However, the lower guide plate 2 may be configured to be rotatably supported in a direction in which the lower guide plate 2 is in contact with or separated from the upper guide plate 3. .
[0023]
The above-mentioned OA equipment includes a copier and a printer image forming apparatus that require sheet conveyance, an image reading apparatus, and the like. Therefore, the sheet conveyance path 4 is used when the sheet S is transferred between desired portions of the OA equipment. Although not shown, if an electrophotographic image forming apparatus is taken as an example, the sheet conveying path 4 may connect the paper feeding roller and the registration roller or the transfer device and the fixing device.
[0024]
In the sheet conveying path 4 in the present embodiment, the edge on the handle 16 side of the guide plates 2 and 3 is connected to another sheet conveying path 21. The sheet conveying path 21 is formed by arranging a pair of guide plates 22 and 23 facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween, and is disposed on the downstream side of the sheet conveying path 4 in the sheet conveying direction. In this case, the other sheet conveyance path 21 is connected to a desired part of the OA device.
[0025]
In such a configuration, when the sheet S is conveyed in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 4, the sheet S conveyed by the upstream conveying member (not shown) is introduced between the guide plates 2 and 3 and rotated. The driven roller 14 and the driven roller 12 are transferred to the next portion, in this example, the downstream sheet conveying path 21.
[0026]
By the way, at the time of maintenance and jam processing, the sheet conveying path 4 is opened by rotating the guide plate 3 upward about the hinge piece 7, and the handle 16 gripped at this time is a cut and raised piece of the guide plate 3. 8 is attached. Since this cut and raised piece 8 can be formed by cutting and raising from the edge side opposite to the hinge piece 7 of the guide plate 3, the edge of the guide plate 3 before the cutting and raising process is made straight. It can also be formed from the state. That is, the cut and raised pieces 8 can be formed without increasing the area of the guide plate 3 as compared with the guide plate 100 shown in FIG. For this reason, the number of blanks obtained per unit area can be increased at the time of plate cutting (blank removal) at the time of press work, and material costs can be reduced.
[0027]
As described above, the cut and raised piece 8 for mounting the handle 16 is cut and raised on the side opposite to the inner surface (the lower surface in this example) of the guide plate 3 and thus has no function of pressing the sheet S. Since the handle 16 attached to the raising piece 8 has a sheet guide portion 19 formed along the inner surface of the guide plate 3, the downstream edge of the sheet S warps and the central portion swells upward. Even so, the lift of the portion can be pressed by the sheet guide portion 19 and the lift of the portion of the sheet S other than the sheet guide portion 19 can be pressed by the inner surface of the guide plate 3. Accordingly, the sheet S is smoothly transferred to the sheet conveyance path 21 without being caught by the downstream guide plate 112.
[0028]
Further, since the sheet guide portion 19 of the handle 16 is formed by the plurality of ribs 18, the thickness of the handle 16 can be reduced. Thereby, the material cost of the handle 16 can be reduced. Further, the shape of the handle 16 having a reduced wall thickness is easier to grip as compared with a handle having a thick wall shape (not shown), and the operability is improved.
[0029]
Further, the handle 16 is provided with a locking piece 17 that is formed of an elastic synthetic resin and can be bent elastically, and the cut and raised piece 8 of the guide plate 3 is a locking member on which the locking piece 17 is elastically locked. Since the stop hole 15 is provided, the handle 16 can be easily attached to the cut and raised piece 8 of the guide plate 3 without using a fixing member by elastically locking the locking piece 17 to the engaging hole 15. can do. Further, since the handle 16 can be separated from the cut and raised piece 8 of the guide plate 3 by elastically bending the locking piece 17 and removing it from the locking hole 15, separation work is easy at the time of recycling. Even when the handle 16 is configured to be attached to the guide plate 3 by a fastening member such as a screw, the separation operation is easier than the operation of separating the decal 108 from the conventional guide plate 100 shown in FIG. is there.
[0030]
Note that the cut and raised piece 8 is provided in the guide plate 3, and the locking hole 15 as the locking portion is not limited to being formed locally in the cut and raised piece 8. It may be formed in the vicinity of the cut and raised piece 8. This is determined by the shape of the handle 16.
[0031]
Furthermore, since the handle 16 is formed of a member different from the guide plate 3, it is possible to select a color or shape that can be easily recognized as the handle 16. In this regard, the handle 16 made of synthetic resin is particularly advantageous, and it is not necessary to attach the decal 108 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) as in the prior art.
[0032]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is also omitted. FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a sheet conveyance state.
[0033]
In the present embodiment, the sheet conveyance path 4 is connected to the downstream side of another sheet conveyance path 21 arranged on the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction. The attachment structure of the handle 16 to the cut and raised piece 8 formed on the guide plate 3 and the structure of the other sheet conveying path 21 are the same as in the above embodiment.
[0034]
As described above, when the sheet conveying path 4 is connected to the downstream side of the sheet conveying path 21, it is more jammed to change the direction of the sheet conveying path 4 so that the handle 16 is positioned on the connection side with the sheet conveying path 21. Processing can be facilitated. In this case, an inclined surface 20 for facilitating the introduction of the sheet S is formed on the upstream side of the handle 16, and the lower guide plate 2 has a sheet on the upstream edge opposite to the hinge piece 7. It is desirable to form the inclined surface 5 for facilitating introduction of S.
[0035]
In such a configuration, the sheet S is transferred from the upstream sheet conveyance path 21 to the downstream sheet conveyance path 4. In this case, even if the central portion of the downstream edge of the sheet S is swollen upward due to warping, when the sheet S is introduced into the sheet conveying path 4, the swollen portion of the sheet S is used as the sheet guide portion of the handle 16. 19 can be pressed. Thereby, the delivery of the sheet S can be performed smoothly.
[0036]
In the first and second embodiments, the guide plate 2 supports the driving roller 14 and the guide plate 3 supports the driven roller 12. However, the sheet guide device 1 includes the driving roller 14 and the driven roller 12. May not be provided. In this case, the conveying members such as the driving roller 14 and the driven roller 12 may be provided on members other than the guide plates 2 and 3.
[0037]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first aspect of the present invention, at least one of the pair of sheet metal guide plates forming the sheet conveying path is rotatably supported, and the guide plate supported to be rotatable is opposite to the inner surface thereof. Since a cut and raised piece cut and raised on the side is formed, and a handle having a sheet guide portion formed along the inner surface of the guide plate on which the cut and raised piece is formed is attached to the cut and raised piece in a separable manner. A guide plate having a cut and raised piece for attaching a handle can be formed without increasing the area of the material cutting, and the cut and raised piece is cut and raised on the side opposite to the inner surface of the guide plate. Therefore, although there is no function of pressing the sheet, the sheet floating can be suppressed by the sheet guide portion of the handle attached to the cut and raised piece. Thereby, even if the sheet is warped, the delivery of the sheet can be made smooth. Furthermore, since the handle can be formed by a member different from the guide plate, recognition as a handle can be easily obtained without attaching a decal or the like. Therefore, it is possible to omit annoying decal separation work that has been performed at the time of recycling. Since the handle of the present invention is detachably attached to the cut and raised piece, it is easy to separate from the guide plate during recycling.
[0038]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the handle sheet guide portion is formed by the plurality of ribs, the thickness of the handle can be reduced. Thereby, the material cost of a handle can be reduced. In addition, the handle having a reduced thickness is easier to grip as compared with a handle having a thicker thickness, so that the operability can be improved.
[0039]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the handle is provided with a locking piece that is formed of an elastic synthetic resin and can be bent elastically, and the guide plate is a locking that the locking piece is elastically locked. Since the portion is provided, the handle can be attached to the cut and raised piece of the guide plate without using the fastening member by elastically locking the locking piece to the locking portion. Further, the handle can be easily separated from the cut and raised piece of the guide plate by elastically bending the locking piece and removing it from the locking portion.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a sheet guiding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a handle as viewed from the sheet guide unit side.
FIG. 3 is a partial longitudinal side view showing a state where a handle is attached to a cut and raised piece.
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal side view illustrating a conveyance state of a sheet.
FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a sheet conveyance state according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a conventional example of a sheet metal guide plate having a handle.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another conventional example of a sheet metal guide plate having a handle.
8 is a side view showing a sheet conveyance state when the guide plate in FIG. 7 is used. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet guide apparatus 2, 3 Guide plate 4 Sheet conveyance path 8 Cut and raised piece 15 Locking part 16 Handle 17 Locking piece 18 Rib 19 Sheet guide part

Claims (3)

A sheet guide provided with a sheet conveying path formed by opposingly arranging a pair of sheet metal guide plates and rotatably supporting at least one of the pair of guide plates in a direction to open and close the sheet conveying path In the device
The guide plate supported rotatably is provided with a cut and raised piece cut and raised on the side opposite to the inner surface thereof,
A sheet guide device, wherein a handle having a sheet guide portion formed along the inner surface of the guide plate on which the cut and raised pieces are formed is detachably mounted on the cut and raised pieces. The sheet guide device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet guide portion of the handle is formed by a plurality of ribs. The handle includes an engaging piece that is formed of an elastic synthetic resin and can be bent elastically, and the guide plate includes an engaging portion that elastically engages the engaging piece. 3. A sheet guiding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet guiding apparatus is characterized.

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