JPH08324804A - Paper sheet cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To perform good paper sheet feeding even when the capacity of a paper sheet cassette is increased in terms of specifications. CONSTITUTION: A paper sheet rear end guide 5 having a paper sheet loading plate 3 and a supporting plate 5a freely moved along a guiding groove 1b formed in parallel with a feeding direction in a bottom surface 1a is provided in a paper sheet cassette 1. The paper sheet rear end guide 5 is provided with a rear end regulation plate 5b having a contact surface 5ba and fixed in the supporting plate 5a, an auxiliary guiding plate 5c supported on the rear end regulation plate 5b so as to be freely rotated and having a projecting part 5ca formed in its bottom end part to be protruded to the bottom surface 1a side and a compression spring 7 attached to the rear end regulation plate 5b for pressing the auxiliary guiding plate 5c in the arrow direction D. A projecting part 5bb is formed in the upper end part of the contact surface 5ba, and the projecting part 5ca is inserted into a groove formed in the supporting plate 5a and its movement in the arrow direction D is regulated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a paper cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a paper cassette, a movable stacking plate, which is rotatably mounted with a rear end as a fulcrum, is arranged in a sheet feeding direction from a substantially central portion of the bottom face, and the space between the movable stacking plate and the bottom face is arranged. The sheet on the movable stacking plate is pressed against the sheet feeding roller provided on the upper portion of the sheet cassette by a biasing member such as a spring provided on the sheet feeding sheet.

[0003]

In the conventional paper cassette, by pressing the paper on the movable stacking plate against the paper feeding roller, the position where the paper is pressed against the paper feeding roller is the paper in the paper cassette. The feeding position is always set to the same position regardless of the remaining amount so that a good feeding operation can be performed, but when the remaining amount of the stacked sheets decreases, the movable stacking plate moves the rear end portion by the biasing member. It turns as a fulcrum,
That is, the sheet has an angle with respect to the bottom surface, and thus the sheet falls by its own weight toward the trailing edge guide side of the sheet, and as a result, the above-mentioned pressure contact position moves to the trailing edge guide side of the sheet, and the sheet is not fed. I was afraid. In particular, as the capacity of the paper cassette increases, the number of sheets that can be stacked in the paper cassette increases, so the rotation angle of the movable stacking plate increases as the remaining amount of paper decreases, and Is likely to occur.

[0004]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a rear surface which is movably arranged in parallel with the sheet feeding direction and has a contact surface for contacting the rear end of the paper. The edge regulating plate, a projection formed on the upper end of the contact surface, the surface facing the paper is inclined toward the paper feeding roller, an auxiliary guide plate for pressing the rear end of the paper in the feeding direction, and an auxiliary guide plate. A paper trailing edge guide having a stopper for restricting movement in the feeding direction is provided.

[0005]

When the sheets are stacked on the sheet cassette, the auxiliary guide plates are pressed in the direction opposite to the feeding direction due to the rigidity of the sheets. Then, when the remaining amount of the stacked sheets decreases, the auxiliary guide plate presses the rear end of the sheet in the feeding direction.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The elements common to the drawings are given the same reference numerals.

First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a paper cassette of a first embodiment according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a paper trailing edge guide provided in the paper cassette of the first embodiment, 3 and 4 are views for explaining the state of the sheet trailing edge guide of the first embodiment.

In FIG. 1, the paper cassette 1 is internally
Width-regulating guides 2a and 2b that can approach and separate from each other in the width direction of paper 9 shown in FIG. 3 (directions of arrows A and B), and rotation support shafts 3a and 3b having a shape that avoids these width-regulating guides 2a and 2b.
A sheet stacking plate 3 pivotally supported by the sheet stacking plate 3, a pressing spring 4 provided between the sheet stacking plate 3 and the bottom surface 1a for urging the sheet stacking plate 3 in the direction of arrow C, and a sheet rear end guide described later. It is equipped with 5. When the sheet cassette 1 is mounted on a device (not shown), the sheet stacking plate 3 comes into pressure contact with the feeding roller 6 provided on the apparatus side above the sheet cassette 1. Feeding roller 6
Rotates in the arrow F direction to feed out the paper 9 stacked in the paper cassette 1 in the arrow D direction.

The sheet trailing edge guide 5 is movably provided in parallel with the feeding direction of the sheet 9, and is supported movably along a guide groove 1b formed in the bottom surface 1a in parallel with the feeding direction. , The rear end regulating plate 5b fixed to the support plate 5a, the auxiliary guide plate 5c pivotally supported by the rear end regulating plate 5b, and the auxiliary guide plate 5c attached to the rear end regulating plate 5b in the direction of arrow D. It is provided with a compression spring 7 that presses to. The support plate 5a and the rear end regulation plate 5b may be integrally formed. The trailing edge regulation plate 5b is the paper 9
It has a contact surface 5ba that contacts the rear end, and a protrusion 5bb is formed at the upper end of the contact surface 5ba.

When the maximum amount of sheets 9 is stacked on the sheet stacking plate 3, the protrusion 5bb comes into contact with the uppermost sheet 9. Therefore, for example, even when the edge of the sheet 9 having the maximum amount of paper is curled and the height of the trailing edge of the sheet 9 in the direction of arrow C becomes higher than that of the sheet trailing edge guide 5, Since the protruding portion 5bb presses the uppermost sheet 9, the sheet 9 is not displaced from the stacking position. Therefore, when the sheet cassette 1 is inserted into the apparatus, the uppermost sheet 9 is caught by the feeding roller 6. There is no possibility that the paper 9 will be fed out defectively. Further, the surface 5bc of the protruding portion 5bb which comes into contact with the paper 9 is inclined toward the feeding roller 6 side as shown in FIG. 5, and therefore, when the loaded paper 9 is fed by the feeding roller 6, the rear end of the paper 9 is fed. It does not happen that the protrusion is caught by the protruding portion 5bb and the feeding failure occurs. FIG. 5 is a view showing the shape of the protruding portion provided on the trailing edge regulating plate of the sheet trailing edge guide of the first embodiment.

The lower end of the auxiliary guide plate 5c is formed with a protrusion 5ca protruding toward the bottom surface 1a.
a is inserted in the groove 5ab shown in FIG. 2 formed in the support plate 5a. The protrusion 5ca and the groove 5ab form a stopper 8, and the protrusion 5ca is restricted from moving in the arrow D direction by the groove 5ab.

Next, the operation of the sheet trailing edge guide 5 provided in the sheet cassette 1 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the paper cassette 1 shown in FIG. 3, the maximum amount of paper 9 that can be stacked in the paper cassette 1 is stacked on the paper stacking plate 3.

When the maximum amount of paper 9 is set from the state shown in FIG. 1, the paper 9 is smoothly guided into the cassette by the inclination of the surface 5bc of the protrusion 5bb. After that, the paper cassette 1 is mounted in the apparatus, and as shown in FIG. 3, the leading end side of the uppermost sheet 9 is brought into pressure contact with the feeding roller 6, and the trailing end side is brought into contact with the protruding portion 5bb of the sheet trailing end guide 5. Contact. In this state,
The sheet 9 is placed at the proper position. That is, the pressure contact position of the sheet 9 with the delivery roller 6 is a position where the delivery operation can be favorably performed. At this time, the auxiliary guide plate 5c of the paper trailing edge guide 5 is pushed in the direction opposite to the urging direction of the compression spring 7 due to the stiffness of the paper 9 in the paper cassette 1, and the auxiliary guide plate 5c and the abutting contact. The surface 5ba becomes the same surface. Therefore, the rear end of the sheet 9 contacts the auxiliary guide plate 5c and the contact surface 5ba of the rear end regulating plate 5b.

In the state shown in FIG. 3, the feeding roller 6 is rotated in the arrow F direction to feed the paper 9 in the arrow D direction. When the remaining amount of the paper 9 becomes small, the paper stacking plate 3 is gradually pushed up in the direction of arrow C by the urging force of the pressing spring 4 and the bottom surface 1a.
4 has an angle H shown in FIG. 4, the biasing force of the compression spring 7 is larger than the stiffness of the rest of the sheet 9 at this time, and therefore the auxiliary guide plate 5c rotates in the direction of arrow G. Since the paper 9 is pushed to the proper position on the feeding roller 6 side, the paper 9 does not drop by its own weight in the direction of the arrow E, and the pressure contact position of the paper 9 with the feeding roller 6 is the paper stacking plate 3
Is the same as before it had an angle H. Then, the movement of the auxiliary guide plate 5c is restricted by the stopper 8, and the state shown in FIG. 4 is obtained. Further, at this time, the rear end side of the sheet 9 does not enter the gap between the auxiliary guide plate 5c and the support plate 5a by being restricted by the protrusion 5ca of the stopper 8.

In the first embodiment, by pressing the auxiliary guide plate 5c by the compression spring 7 in the direction of arrow D,
Even if the remaining amount of the sheet 9 on the sheet stacking plate 3 becomes small and the sheet stacking plate 3 has an angle H with respect to the bottom surface 1a, the sheet 9 is pressed toward the feeding roller 6 by the auxiliary guide plate 5c, so It is possible to prevent the feeding failure due to its own weight drop.

Further, 2 of the sheet trailing edge guide 5 of the first embodiment is used.
If the interval between the individual stoppers 8 is made narrower than the width of the smallest sheet 9 placed on the sheet cassette 1, the auxiliary guide plate 5c
It is possible to reliably prevent the sheet 9 from entering the gap between the support plate 5a and the support plate 5a.

In the first embodiment, the compression spring 7 presses the auxiliary guide plate 5c.
A torsion spring may be attached at a position that serves as a rotation fulcrum.

Second Embodiment In the first embodiment, the auxiliary guide plate 5c of the paper trailing edge guide 5 is used.
Is pressed by the compression spring 7, but in the second embodiment, instead of using the compression spring 7, the auxiliary guide plate itself is a member having a spring property. FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing a sheet trailing edge guide provided in the sheet cassette of the second embodiment, and FIGS. 7 and 8 explain the state of the sheet trailing edge guide provided in the sheet cassette of the second embodiment. It is a figure. In the paper cassette 10 shown in FIG. 7, the maximum amount of paper 9 is stacked on the paper stacking plate 3.

The paper trailing edge guide 50 is movably provided in parallel with the feeding direction of the paper 9, and is supported by a support plate 50a and a support plate 50a which are movably mounted along a guide groove 1b formed on the bottom surface 1a. And a rear end regulating plate 50b integrally formed with, and an auxiliary guide plate 50c attached to the rear end regulating plate 50b. Rear end regulation plate 50
Reference numeral b denotes a contact surface 50ba that contacts the rear end of the sheet 9, and the protrusion 5bb of the first embodiment is provided at the upper end of the contact surface 50ba.
A protrusion 50bb similar to the above is formed. The support plate 50a and the rear end regulation plate 50b are made of a molding material such as ABS resin, and have mounting protrusions 50bd to which the auxiliary guide plate 50c is mounted.

The auxiliary guide plate 50c is made of, for example, a stainless steel material having a spring property, and has a cut-and-raised part 50cb mounted and fixed to the mounting projection 50bd, and a bent part 50cc for imparting a spring property. In addition, the auxiliary guide plate 5
A protrusion 50ca protruding toward the bottom surface 1a is formed at the lower end of 0c, and the protrusion 50ca is inserted into a groove 50ab formed in the support plate 50a. The protrusion 50ca and the groove 50ab constitute a stopper 80, and the protrusion 50c
The movement of “a” in the direction of arrow D is restricted by the groove 50ab.

Since the other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment, its explanation is omitted.

Next, the operation of the sheet trailing edge guide 50 provided in the sheet cassette 10 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the paper cassette 10 shown in FIG. 7, the maximum amount of paper 9 that can be stacked in the paper cassette 10 is the paper stacking plate 3.
On board.

When the maximum amount of paper 9 is set, the paper 9 is guided smoothly into the cassette due to the inclination of the surface 50bc of the protrusion 50bb as in the first embodiment. After that, the paper cassette 10 is mounted in the apparatus, and as shown in FIG. 7, the leading end side of the uppermost sheet 9 is in pressure contact with the feeding roller 6 and the trailing end side is in contact with the protruding portion 50bb of the trailing edge guide 50 of the sheet. Contact. In this state, the paper 9 is placed at the proper position. At this time, the auxiliary guide plate 50c of the paper trailing edge guide 50 is pushed in the direction of arrow E by the rigidity of the paper 9 in the paper cassette 1, and the auxiliary guide plate 50c and the contact surface 50ba become the same surface. Therefore, the rear end of the sheet 9 contacts the auxiliary guide plate 50c and the contact surface 50ba of the rear end regulation plate 50b.

In the state shown in FIG. 7, the feeding roller 6 is rotated in the arrow F direction to feed the paper 9 in the arrow D direction. When the remaining amount of the sheets 9 becomes small, the sheet stacking plate 3 is gradually pushed up by the urging force of the pressing spring 4 and has an angle H with respect to the bottom surface 1a as in the first embodiment. Since the rear end of the sheet 9 is pushed to an appropriate position on the feeding roller 6 side by the spring property of 50, the sheet 9 does not drop by its own weight in the direction of arrow E, and the position of the sheet 9 pressed against the feeding roller 6 is the sheet. The same as before the loading plate 3 has the angle H. The movement of the auxiliary guide plate 50c is restricted by the stopper 80, and the state shown in FIG. 8 is obtained. Further, at this time, the rear end side of the sheet 9 does not enter the gap between the auxiliary guide plate 50c and the support plate 50a by being restricted by the protrusion 50ca of the auxiliary guide plate 50c.

In the second embodiment, since the auxiliary guide plate 50c itself has a spring property, the number of parts is smaller than that in the first embodiment, and the cost can be reduced.

In the second embodiment, by pressing the auxiliary guide plate 50c in the direction of arrow D by the compression spring 7, it is possible to prevent the feeding failure due to the weight drop of the sheet 9 as in the first embodiment.

Further, in the second embodiment, the paper trailing edge guide 5
The stopper 80 of 0 is located at the center of the auxiliary guide plate 50c.
Since individual sheets are formed, the number of sheets 9 that can be stacked in the sheet cassette 10 can be reliably prevented from entering the gap between the auxiliary guide plate 5c and the support plate 5a, although the number is smaller than that in the first embodiment. .

Third Embodiment A third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a paper cassette of the third embodiment, and FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view of a paper trailing edge guide provided in the paper cassette of the third embodiment.

The paper cassette 20 has a paper rear end guide 22 fixed to the bottom surface 20a, a paper stacking plate 21 pivotally supported by a rotary support shaft 21a, and a space between the paper stacking plate 21 and the bottom surface 20a. A pressing spring 4 for urging the sheet stacking plate 21 provided in the direction of arrow C is provided. The paper cassette 20 is capable of stacking one size of paper 9 (regular paper 9), and when the prescribed paper 9 is set in the paper cassette 20, the contact surface 22a of the paper trailing edge guide 22 has the paper 9
Abut the rear end. Further, when the paper cassette 20 is attached to a device (not shown), the paper stacking plate 21 is attached to the paper cassette 20.
Is pressed against the feeding roller 6 provided on the apparatus side. The feeding roller 6 rotates in the arrow F direction to feed the paper 9 stacked in the paper cassette 1 in the arrow D direction.

The front end portion 22a of the paper trailing edge guide 22 is inserted into a hole (not shown) described later formed in the paper stacking plate 21, and a pushing plate 23 as an auxiliary guide plate is rotatably attached. Similarly, the front end portion 23a of the push-out plate 23 is also inserted into the hole of the sheet stacking plate 21, and as shown in FIG. 10, the maximum amount of sheets 9 that can be stacked in the sheet cassette 20 is stacked on the sheet stacking plate 21. When the paper is full (when the paper is full), the paper is stored in the paper rear end guide 22, and the leading end 23a abuts the push-out portion 21b provided in the hole of the paper stacking plate 21. The above-mentioned hole of the sheet stacking plate 21 and the pushing portion 21b are formed by making a cut in a part of the sheet stacking plate 21 and bending the sheet stacking plate 21 toward the bottom surface 20a.

Next, the operations of the sheet trailing edge guide 22 and the pushing plate 23 of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.

With the paper 9 fully loaded in the paper cassette 20, the paper 9 is fed one by one in the direction of arrow D by the feeding roller 6. As the remaining amount of paper 9 decreases,
Due to the urging force of the pressing spring 4, the sheet stacking plate 21 rotates in the direction of arrow J about the rotation support shaft 21a. At this time, since the pushing portion 21b also rotates in the same direction,
As indicated by the two-chain chain line 0, the push-out portion 21b becomes the point of action, and the push-out plate 23 is rotated in the arrow G direction. As a result, the push-out plate 23 becomes the sheet stacking plate 2
The sheet 9 on the sheet 1 is pushed out in the feeding direction, and the press-contacting position of the sheet 9 with the feeding roller 6 is an appropriate position where the feeding operation can be favorably performed. Therefore, the paper 9 does not drop by its own weight.

In the third embodiment, since the push-out plate 23 provided on the paper trailing edge guide 22 is rotated in the direction of arrow G by the push-out portion 21b formed on the paper stacking plate 21, it is as in the first embodiment. It is not necessary to provide the compression spring 7 in the. Furthermore, unlike the second embodiment, it is not necessary to give the pushing plate 23 a spring property to urge it in the direction of arrow G, so the pushing plate 23 does not project in the direction of arrow G, and therefore the paper 9 Can be accurately set in the paper cassette 20.

In the third embodiment, the paper 9 is placed on the paper stacking plate 21.
By providing a plurality of push-out portions 21b according to the size of the above, it becomes possible to correspond to a universal cassette that can handle a plurality of types of sheets, as in the first and second embodiments.

In this embodiment, when the remaining amount of paper 9 is low, the paper stacking plate has a large rotation angle H shown in FIGS. 4, 8 and 10, that is, the maximum amount of paper to be stacked. When the number of 9 is large, the above effect becomes large.

[0036]

As described in detail above, the present invention provides
A paper trailing edge guide is provided on the bottom surface of the paper cassette, and a trailing edge regulating plate that is movable in parallel with the sheet feeding direction and a contact surface that abuts on the trailing edge of the sheet of the trailing edge regulating plate are provided on the paper trailing edge guide. A protrusion formed on the upper end portion, the surface of which faces the paper, is inclined toward the paper feeding roller side, an auxiliary guide plate that presses the rear end of the paper in the feeding direction, and a stopper that restricts movement of the auxiliary guide plate in the feeding direction. With the above configuration, the pressure contact position of the sheet with the sheet feeding roller is always the same regardless of the remaining amount of the sheet in the sheet cassette. Therefore, even if the movable stacking plate has an angle with respect to the bottom surface of the paper cassette due to a decrease in the remaining amount of stacked paper, the paper falls by its own weight toward the trailing edge guide side of the paper and the pressure contact position of the paper is separated from the feeding roller. It does not happen. As a result, even if the specified capacity of the paper cassette increases, it is possible to feed the paper well.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a paper cassette according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a sheet trailing edge guide of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state of a sheet trailing edge guide according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state of a sheet trailing edge guide according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the shape of a protrusion of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing a paper trailing edge guide of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state of a sheet trailing edge guide according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a state of a sheet trailing edge guide according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a paper cassette of a third embodiment.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view of a paper trailing edge guide of the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 10, 20 Paper cassette 3, 21 Paper stacking plate 5, 22, 50 Paper rear end guide 5a, 50a Support plate 5ab, 50ab Groove 5b, 50b Rear end regulating plate 5ba, 22a, 50ba Abutting surface 5bb, 50bb Projection Part 5bc, 50bc Surface 5c, 50c Auxiliary guide plate 5ca, 50ca Projection 6 Feed roller 7 Compression coil spring 8, 80 Stopper 9 Paper 23 Push plate

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A movable stacking plate is arranged in a sheet feeding direction from a substantially central portion of a bottom surface, the movable stacking plate is rotatably provided with a rear end portion as a fulcrum, and the sheet on the movable stacking plate is placed above the cassette. In a paper cassette that feeds by pressing against a provided paper feeding roller, a trailing edge regulating plate that has a contact surface that is movably arranged parallel to the paper feeding direction and has a contact surface that contacts the trailing edge of the paper A protrusion that is formed on the upper end of the surface and the surface facing the paper is inclined toward the paper feeding roller side; an auxiliary guide plate that presses the rear end of the paper in the feeding direction; and movement of the auxiliary guide plate in the feeding direction is restricted. A paper cassette, characterized in that it is provided with a paper trailing edge guide provided with a stopper. 2. The paper cassette according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary guide plate is rotatably held on the contact surface, and a biasing member for pressing the auxiliary guide plate in the paper feeding direction is provided in the paper rear end guide. . 3. The paper cassette according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary guide plate is formed of an elastic member. 4. The rear end regulating plate has a support plate movably arranged on the bottom surface in parallel with the sheet feeding direction,
4. The sheet cassette according to claim 2, wherein the stopper comprises a protrusion formed on the lower end of the auxiliary guide plate and protruding toward the bottom surface, and a groove formed on the support plate into which the protrusion is inserted.