JPH05186083A - Sheet material loading device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the friction between a sheet material and a separating auxiliary member at the time of inserting or taking out a sheet material into/ from a cassette. CONSTITUTION:A protecting guide part 12 for preventing the exposure of a part or the whole of an end of a separating auxiliary member 11 attached to a side presser member 9 is provided near an end 11a of the separating auxiliary member. At the time of loading a cassette 3 with the sheet material, peeling of the separating auxiliary member 12 to be caused by the friction between an edge of the lower side end of the sheet material P and the separating auxiliary member 12 is thereby prevented, and a catch of the sheet material P, defective feeding of the paper to be caused by the adhesion of the adhesive, defective loading and the damage of the sheet material P are prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet material stacking device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 13 shows an example of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus having a sheet material stacking device. The copying machine 1 includes a reading device 1A that reads image information corresponding to a document and a recording device 1B that prints an image corresponding to the image information. A platen glass 21 on which an original 22 is placed is arranged on the main body 2 of the copying machine 1. The frame 23 is guided by the guide rails 26 and the guide members 37, is supported rotatably in the left and right directions in the side view of FIG. 9, and is driven by the motor 29. The carriage 30 arranged in the frame body 23 is rotatably supported by a guide member 31 in the direction of arrow 35, and is driven by a drive system such as a plurality of pulleys 32 and a belt 33.

By moving the frame body 23 to the arrow 35, the image information of the original 22 is read by the optical system including the lamp 37, the covers 36 and 41, the condenser lens 40, etc. provided on the frame body 23 and photoelectrically converted. The converter 43 converts the electric signal. This image information is transmitted via the electrical unit 46.
It is sent to the control device 47 of the recording device 1B.

The cassette 3 provided in the lower part of the recording apparatus 1B is provided with an intermediate plate 5 on which the sheet material P is stacked, a pressure spring 6 for urging the intermediate plate 5 upward, a separating claw 7, and the like. When the sheet feeding roller 66 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the sheet material P becomes 1
The sheets are separated one by one and sent to the printing unit 55. Recording unit 55
Is the platen 53 and the conveying roller pairs 62, 6 before and after the platen 53.
3 and the recording head unit 50 and the like. The carriage 51 supporting the inkjet head 52 of the recording head unit 50 is movably supported by being guided by a guide member 56, and includes a motor 57, a pulley 59, and a belt 60.
It is driven by a drive system such as.

Further, the recording head section 50 ejects ink from the printing section 52a when the ink jet head 52 moves in the width direction of the sheet P, and the reading device 1A.
The image corresponding to the image information from (1) is printed on the sheet P.
Reference numeral 61 is a sheet P fed from the cassette 3.
Is a guide plate for guiding the sheet to the recording unit 55, and 65 is a paper discharge tray.

Sheet materials P stacked as shown in FIG.
In the case of automatically feeding the sheets one by one, the cassette in which the sheet materials P having a predetermined size are loaded and stored is mounted in the copying machine 1 and is fed by a feeding means such as a feeding roller in the copying machine 1. In the cassette feeding method, the size of the sheet stacking portion in the cassette is set to be different for each size of the sheet material P in consideration of dimensional variation when the sheet material P is cut, expansion and contraction of the sheet material P due to high and low humidity, and the like. There is a margin of about 1 to 2 mm.

In this case, the side surface Pa of the sheet material P may be fed without surely contacting the conveyance reference surface 5a of the cassette due to a setting error when the sheet materials P are stacked. As shown in FIG. 13, a side holding member 9 having a spring property is provided on the non-conveying side opposite to the conveying reference surface 5a so as to constantly press the stacked sheet materials P against the conveying reference surface 5a. .. Side pressing member 9
Is urged toward the conveyance reference surface 5a, and the sheet material P
Side surface Pa of the sheet material P due to improper setting of
When the sheet material P is set apart from
A force that pushes back to the conveyance reference surface side 1a works.

Further, when the stacked sheet materials P are fed from the cassette, a separation assisting member for assisting the sheet material separating mechanism such as the sheet material separating claw 7 so as to surely separate the sheet materials P one by one. 11 is attached to the abutting portion 9a of the pressing member 9 that abuts the side end surface Pb of the sheet material P stacked in the cassette or the conveyance reference surface 5a on the inner surface of the cassette with an adhesive material or an adhesive material. ing.

As the separation assisting member 11, for example, a velcro tape or a velcro tape (both are trade names) is used, and the sheets are stacked in close contact with each other by abutting on the side surface 4b of the stacked sheet material P. A gap is created between the sheets of the existing sheet material P, and a separating effect for preventing double feeding of the sheet material P and the like is obtained.

[0010]

However, in the prior art, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 12, the separation assisting member is configured so as to abut the side surface of the sheet material on the abutting surface 9a of the side pressing member 9 or the conveyance reference surface 5a. 11 was simply pasted. Therefore, the entire area of the end portion 11a of the separation assisting member 11 is exposed, and as shown in FIG. 11, when the sheet materials P are stacked, the vicinity of the edge Pc of the end portion on the lower surface side of the sheet material and the separation assisting member. The end portions 11a rub against each other and the separation assisting member 11 is peeled off. As a result, the sheet material P is caught, and thus the sheet material P is stuck to the adhesive material of the separation assisting member 11 exposed by peeling. Problems such as feeding failure, stacking failure, and sheet material transportation occurred.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet material stacking device which prevents the sheet material from rubbing against the separation assisting member when the sheet material is inserted into or taken out from the cassette.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and as shown with reference to the drawings, the side end portions () of sheet materials (P) stacked in a cassette (5) ( P
In the sheet material stacking device provided with a separation assisting member (11) which is in contact with b) and assists a separating operation for separating and feeding the sheet materials (P) one by one at the time of feeding, (11) It is characterized by having a protection guide portion (12) for preventing exposure of one part or the whole area.

[0013]

According to the above construction, a protection guide portion (12) for preventing the exposure of a part or the whole of the end portion of the separation assisting member (11) attached to the side pressing member (9) is provided at the end of the separation assisting member (11). Provided near the section. This prevents peeling of the separation assisting member (12) due to rubbing between the edge of the lower surface side end of the sheet material (P) and the separation assisting member end (11) when stacking the sheet material in the cassette (3), It is possible to prevent the sheet material (P) from being caught, the feeding failure due to the sticking with the adhesive material, the stacking failure, and the damage of the sheet material (P).

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numeral 3 is a sheet material stacking device. Reference numeral 11 denotes a separation assisting member for forming a gap between the stacked sheets of sheets to ensure that the sheet materials are separated, and is fixed to the free end of the side pressing member 9. It is attached to the mounting portion 10. Reference numeral 9 denotes a side pressing member for pressing the sheet material in the direction of the conveyance reference surface 5a to align the lateral registration of the sheet material P, and P indicated by a broken line indicates the sheet material when stacked. is there.

Reference numeral 12 is a protection guide portion for preventing a part of the upper end portion 11a of the separation assisting member 11 from being exposed. As shown in FIG. 2, the protection guide portion 12 is provided with a cut-and-raised portion on the attachment surface of the separation assisting member 11, and can be easily and inexpensively molded. Regarding the lateral length L of the protection guide portion 12, the remaining a + b length is required from the relationship between the strength of the side pressing member 9 and the required spring pressure. It is necessary to set it appropriately. If the height h of the protection guide portion 12 is longer than necessary, the lower surface and the side surface of the sheet material P may be damaged when the sheet material is stacked, or the upper surface of the sheet material may be caught when the stacked sheet material P is removed. It may be difficult to work, so it is necessary to make it an appropriate length.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the separation assisting member 1
1 is composed of a napped portion 11A and a base cloth 11B. The peeling due to the rubbing of the separation auxiliary material 11 and the sheet material P as shown in FIG. 12 is caused by the base cloth 11B and the sheet material P.
It is caused by rubbing against each other. Since the napped portion 11A is very elastic and does not get caught or scraped off from the sheet material, the height h of the protection guide portion 12 needs to be larger than the thickness c of the base cloth 2B. There is.

If the height h of the separation assisting member 12 is larger than the thickness d of the separation assisting member 11, the stacked sheets P may be caught when the stacked sheets P are removed from the cassette 5. The thickness h is preferably equal to or less than the thickness d. Therefore, it is appropriate that the height h of the protection guide portion 12 be c <h ≦ d.

By providing the protective guide portion 12 having the above-described structure, the sheet material is formed by the one-dot chain line P as shown in FIG.
When the sheet material is pressed from above in order to be loaded from the state of A, the lower surface of the sheet material is pressed against the protection guide portion 12, the sheet material is bent, and the state becomes a solid line PB.

When further pressed, the sheet material P passes through the protection guide portion 12 and shifts to the state of the broken line 4. Therefore, the sheet material P can be stacked without coming into contact with the separation assisting member end portion 11a and without deteriorating workability. Further, in the step of adhering the separation assisting member 11, it can be abutted and affixed to the protection guide portion 12, and it is possible to obtain process advantages such as certainty of positioning and improvement of working speed. <Example 2> In the first example, since the side pressing member 9 is provided with cut-and-raised parts, problems such as strength of the side pressing member 9
In some cases, the protection guide portion 12 can be provided only in a limited area, and it may not be possible to prevent the entire area of the upper end portion of the separation assisting member from being exposed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, it is possible to prevent the entire area of the upper end of the separation assisting member from being exposed by providing the mounting portion 10 of the side pressing member 9 with the protective guide portion 12 formed of an arcuate or angular protrusion. is there. <Embodiment 3> In the first embodiment, the protection guide portion 12 includes the side pressing member 9.
Therefore, when the side pressing member 9 is made of a material having high rigidity, even if the height h of the protection guide portion 12 is not unnecessarily high, a feeling of catching when the sheet material is stacked and a sheet material are stacked. I am worried about scratches on my skin.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, a synthetic resin film such as polyethylene having cut-and-raised parts similar to those of the first embodiment is attached to the attaching member 10 of the side pressing member 9, and the separation assisting member is attached thereon. By pasting 13,
As shown in FIG. 7, when the sheet material P is stacked, the protection guide portion 1
The 2 itself is also flexible, and the guide property is improved so that there is no fear of being caught when stacking or scratching the sheet material. <Embodiment 4> In the above embodiments, the separation assisting member 11 is described as being attached to the side pressing member 9, but as shown in FIG. 8, the separation assisting member 11 is attached to the conveyance reference surface 5a. In the case of pasting, the protection guide portion 12 for preventing the exposure of the entire upper end portion of the separation assisting member can be easily provided by integrally molding with the cassette frame body.

In the above-described embodiment, the upper end portion of the fractionation assisting member 11 is prevented from being exposed. However, when the stacked sheet material P is removed from the cassette 5, the separation assisting member 1 is used.
Protective guide portion 12 so as to prevent peeling of the lower end portion of 1.
It is also possible to easily provide the separation assisting member 11 at the lower end thereof.

Further, in the above embodiments, the side pressing member 9 for pressing the side surface of the sheet material P stacked in the cassette 5 is used.
Also, the description has been given with the configuration in which the transport reference surface 5a is provided in the cassette, but depending on the copying machine device, there is also one in which the sheet material is transported with the central reference. Even in such a configuration,
The separation assisting member 11 may be attached to the inner surface of the cassette so as to abut the side surface of the sheet material.

In such a case, it is obvious that the protection guide portion 12 can be provided as in the above embodiment. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the cassette for a copying machine is described, but it goes without saying that the above-described configuration can be used for a sheet material stacking apparatus for general image forming apparatuses such as printers.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the sheet material stacking device provided with the separation assisting member which abuts the side end surface of the stacked sheet material and assists the sheet material separation at the time of sheet feeding by the separating effect. By providing a protection guide part that prevents the exposure of one part or the entire area of the separation assisting member, it is possible to prevent rubbing between the sheet material and the end of the separation assisting member when stacking or removing the sheet material in the cassette, It is possible to prevent the separation assisting member from peeling off, and prevent defective feeding of sheets, defective stacking, and damage to sheets. In addition, since the separation assisting member is abutted and stuck to the protection guide portion, it can also serve as a positioning member, which enables accurate and quick assembly and improves productivity.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a sheet material stacking device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the shape of a protection guide portion.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the separation assisting member.

FIG. 4 is an operation diagram of a protection guide portion and a separation assisting member when sheets are stacked.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a protection guide portion and a separation assisting member according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a protection guide unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an operation diagram when sheets are stacked.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a protection guide portion and a separation assisting member according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional side view showing an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applicable.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a pasted state of a conventional separation auxiliary member.

FIG. 11 is a vertical cross-sectional front view showing a peeling state of the separation assisting member when sheets are stacked.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional cassette.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Copier (image forming apparatus) 2 Apparatus main body 3 Cassette 5 Cassette main body 7 Sheet material separating claw 9 Side pressing member 9a Side contacting part of pressing member 11A Standing part 11B that constitutes a separation assisting member 11B 5A Base cloth 11b that constitutes the member 11a Attachment end of the separation assisting member P Sheet material Pa Sheet conveyance reference side surface Pb Sheet material conveyance non-reference side surface Pc Sheet material bottom edge 12 Edge protection guide portion 13 Synthetic resin film forming protective guide 66 Feed roller

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] December 2, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Claim 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0002

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 9 shows an example of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus having a sheet material stacking device. The copying machine 1 includes a reading device 1A that reads image information corresponding to a document and a recording device 1B that prints an image corresponding to the image information. Device body 2 of copier 1
A platen glass 21 on which an original 22 is placed is arranged on the upper side. The frame 23 includes a guide rail 26 and a guide.
It is movably supported along an axis and is driven by a motor 29. Carriage 30 arranged in the frame 23
Is supported by a guide shaft 31 so as to be movable in the direction of arrow 35, and is driven by a drive system such as a plurality of pulleys 32 and a belt 33.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0003

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

When the frame 23 is moved to the arrow 35, the image information of the original 22 is read by the optical system including the lamp 37, the reflectors 36 and 41, the condenser lens 40 and the like provided on the frame 23. The photoelectric conversion unit 43 converts the electric signal. This image information is transmitted via the electrical unit 46.
It is sent to the control device 47 of the recording device 1B.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0004

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0004] cassette 3 provided at a lower portion of the recording apparatus 1B, pressure spring 6 for biasing the intermediate plate 8 to the sheet material P is stacked, the intermediate plate 8 upward is provided with a separation claw 7 and the like, the sheet material P by the rotation of the feed b <br/> over La 66 are sent are separated one by one to the printing unit 55. The recording unit 55 includes the platen 5
3 and a pair of conveying rollers 62 and 63 before and after the recording roller 3 and the recording head unit 50. Ink data of the recording head portion 50
The carriage 51 that supports the link 52 and the print head 52a is movably supported by being guided by a guide shaft 56, and is driven by a drive system such as a motor 57, a pulley 59, and a belt 60.

[Procedure Amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0005

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Further, the recording head unit 50 ejects ink from the print head 52a when moving in the width direction of the sheet P, and prints on the sheet P an image corresponding to the image information from the reading device 1A. Reference numeral 61 denotes a guide plate for guiding the sheet P fed from the cassette 3 to the recording portion 55, and 65 denotes a paper discharge tray.

[Procedure correction 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0007

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

In this case, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13,
Sheet material P
Since the side surface Pa of the sheet may be fed without surely contacting the conveyance reference surface 5a of the cassette, the stacked sheet materials P are always conveyed to the conveyance non-reference side facing the conveyance reference surface 5a. A side pressing member 9 having a spring property for pressing against 5a is provided. Side pressing member 9
Is urged toward the conveyance reference surface 5a, and the sheet material P
Side surface Pa of the sheet material P due to improper setting of
When the sheet material P is set apart from
A force that pushes back to the conveyance reference surface 5a side acts.

[Procedure Amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0009

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

As the separation assisting member 11, for example, a velcro tape or a velcro tape (both are trade names) is used, and by contacting the side surface Pb of the stacked sheet material P, the sheets are closely stacked. A gap is created between the sheets of the existing sheet material P, and a separating effect for preventing double feeding of the sheet material P and the like is obtained.

[Procedure Amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0012

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and as shown with reference to the drawings, a side end portion (P) of a sheet material (P) stacked in a cassette ( 3 ) ( Pb)
And a separation assisting member (1) for assisting a separating operation for separating and feeding the sheet materials (P) one by one at the time of feeding.
The sheet material stacking device including 1) is characterized in that it has a protection guide portion (12) for preventing the exposure of a part or the whole of the end portion of the separation assisting member (11).

[Procedure Amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0013

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0013]

According to the above construction, a protection guide portion (12) for preventing the exposure of a part or the whole of the end portion of the separation assisting member (11) attached to the side pressing member (9) is provided at the end of the separation assisting member (11). Provided near the section. This prevents peeling of the separation assisting member ( 11 ) due to rubbing between the edge of the lower surface side end of the sheet material (P) and the separation assisting member end ( 11a ) when stacking the sheet material in the cassette (3), It is possible to prevent the sheet material (P) from being caught, the feeding failure due to the sticking with the adhesive material, the stacking failure, and the damage of the sheet material (P).

[Procedure Amendment 10]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0016

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the separation assisting member 1
1 is composed of a napped portion 11A and a base cloth 11B. The peeling due to the rubbing of the separation auxiliary material 11 and the sheet material P as shown in FIG. 12 is caused by the base cloth 11B and the sheet material P.
It is caused by rubbing against each other. The napped part 11A is very elastic and can be caught or rubbed against the sheet material.
Since the peeling does not occur, the protection guide portion 12
The height h, is required to be larger than the thickness c of 11 B of the base fabric.

[Procedure Amendment 11]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0018

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

When the protective guide portion 12 having the above-described structure is provided , when the sheet material is pressed from above from the state of the one-dot chain line PA for loading the sheet material P as shown in FIG. 4, The lower surface of the sheet material is pressed against the protection guide portion 12, and the sheet material is bent to be in the state of the solid line P.

[Procedure Amendment 12]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0019

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

When further pressed, the sheet material P passes through the protection guide portion 12 and shifts to the state of the broken line PB . Therefore, the sheet material P can be stacked without coming into contact with the separation assisting member end portion 11a and without deteriorating workability. Further, in the step of adhering the separation assisting member 11, it can be abutted and affixed to the protection guide portion 12, and it is possible to obtain process advantages such as certainty of positioning and improvement of working speed.

[Procedure Amendment 13]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0024

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the sheet material stacking device provided with the separation assisting member which abuts the side end surface of the stacked sheet material and assists the sheet material separation at the time of sheet feeding by the separating effect. By providing a protection guide portion that prevents the exposure of one part or the entire area of the separation assisting member, it is possible to prevent rubbing between the sheet material and the end of the separation assisting member when stacking or removing the sheet material in the cassette. By that ,
It is possible to prevent the separation assisting member from peeling off, and prevent defective feeding of sheets, defective stacking, and damage to sheets. In addition, since the separation assisting member is abutted and stuck to the protection guide portion, it can also serve as a positioning member, which enables accurate and quick assembly and improves productivity.

[Procedure Amendment 14]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Explanation of code

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1 copy machine (image forming apparatus) 2 apparatus body 3 cassette 5 cassette body 7 sheet material separating claw 9 side pressing member 9a side pressing member contact portion 11A napped portion 11B 11A constituting a separation assisting member Base cloth that constitutes the separation assisting member together with the napped portion 11 a Attachment end of the separation assisting member P Sheet material Pa Sheet conveying reference side surface Pb Sheet conveying non-reference side surface Pc Sheet material lower surface side edge Edge 12 Protection guide part 13 Synthetic resin film forming the protection guide part 66 Feed roller

[Procedure Amendment 15]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Procedure 16]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] Figure 9

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 9]

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sheet material loaded in a cassette is brought into contact with a side end member of the sheet material to separate the sheet materials one by one at the time of sheet feeding.
In a sheet material stacking device provided with a separation assisting member for assisting a separating operation for feeding, a sheet material having a protection guide part for preventing exposure of a part or the whole of the end part of the separation assisting member. Loading device.