JPS6366030A - Sheet size detecting device for universal cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce detecting means by providing a means detecting the angle between the diagonal line of a sheet in a cassette and the reference edge of the sheet and a means detecting the length of the diagonal line of the sheet so that the direction and size of the sheet can be judged based on these outputs. CONSTITUTION:A sheet guide 3 for positioning a sheet in the X-direction perpendicular to the sheet feed direction is slidably provided on the bottom plate 1a of a cassette main body 1 along the opening 1a of a cassette main body 1, and a sheet guide 4 for positioning the sheet in the Y-direction is slidably provided on this sheet guide 3 along the dovetail groove 3a of the guide 3. A switch 8 detecting the direction of the sheet and switches 9a-9d detecting the size of the sheet are arranged in hollow chamber formed on one side of the cassette main body 1. The movement of the sheet guide 4 is transmitted to a diagonal line length detecting plate 12 via a write 17, the switch 8 is activated by the lever 10, and the switches 9a-9d are activated by the detecting plate 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a paper size detection device for a universal cassette, tray, etc. (hereinafter referred to as a universal cassette) that can accommodate paper of various sizes and orientations. A single universal cassette can be used to supply paper of different orientations and sizes to the copying machine as needed, and when feeding, the orientation and size of the paper stored in the cassette is extracted and the copying machine is compatible. It is used when you want to

(Prior Art) As this type of universal cassette and paper size detection device, the one described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-3064 is known. The paper size detection method described therein detects the setting direction and size of the paper based on the vertical and horizontal sizes of the stored paper in the cassette I.

On the other hand, in recent years, magnification change by zooming has come to be performed in copying machines, and the sizes and setting directions of originals and copy paper used have diversified, and types of size standards have also been added to this.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The paper size and width on a cassette differ depending on the setting direction, whether paper is placed vertically or horizontally on the cassette, even if the sheets are of the same size. For this reason, in the above-mentioned conventional method of outputting four sizes of paper on a cassette in length and width, it is necessary to increase the number of paper size detection means in order to detect the setting direction of the paper.

Therefore, the number of detection means increases, and the detection device tends to become complicated in order to accommodate the diversification of paper sizes. Further, when there is a change in the size standard or type of paper to be detected, it is often necessary to provide a new detection means.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a system in which the angle between the diagonal of the paper stored in the universal drawer and the reference side of the paper is 456 or more. diagonal angle detection means for detecting the length of the diagonal line of the paper; and diagonal length detection means for detecting the length of the diagonal line of the paper; The paper size is determined by detecting the paper size.

(Function) The side of the paper stored in the cassette that has a specific positional relationship with the cassette/sheet is taken as the reference side, and the diagonal angle is detected to see if the angle between the reference side and the diagonal is 45° or more. According to the detection result, it is possible to determine whether the paper setting direction is portrait or landscape, and the paper setting direction can be detected by the above-mentioned one type of detection for any size paper. Can be done.

The diagonal length of the paper stored in the cassette is also detected by a diagonal length detection means, and the size of the paper can be determined based on the detection result. Such detection is based on the diagonal length of the paper. By converting the change in the size into a combined operation of a plurality of detection means, it is possible to detect various 1-degree sizes using fewer detection means.

(Embodiment) To explain the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, a paper outlet 2 is provided at the top of one end of a tray-type cassette body 1, and a paper outlet 2 is provided on the bottom plate la of the cassette body 1. is provided with a paper guide 3 for positioning the paper in the X direction parallel to the paper feed port 2, and a paper guide 4 for positioning the paper in the X direction and the Y direction which is the paper feeding direction perpendicular thereto. There is.

The paper guide 3 is held on both side edges of the opening 1b of the bottom plate 1a of the cassette body 1 so as to be slidable in the X direction, and the paper guide 4 is held on the dovetail groove 3a of the paper guide 3 so as to be slidable in the Y direction. , can be moved in the X direction together with the paper guide 3 and can be slid independently in the Y direction. 3b is a wall for positioning the paper guide 3 in the X direction;
4b is a wall for positioning the paper guide 4 in the X direction, and 4b is a wall for positioning the paper guide 4 in the Y direction. As shown in FIG. 2, flocked paper 5 is pasted on the sliding surface of each paper guide 3.4 to provide appropriate resistance to the movement of each paper guide 3.4. It can be moved to any position within its range of motion and stabilized.

A paper lifting piece 6 is installed inside the paper outlet 2 of the cassette body 1.
is provided, and lifts the feeding tip of the paper stored and positioned in the cassette main body 1 facing the paper outlet 2 and presses it against the paper feeding collage of the copying machine, so that it receives the paper feeding action. ing.

A hollow chamber 7 is formed along one side of the cassette body 1,
Inside this hollow chamber 7, there is a switch 8 for detecting the paper orientation, and switches 9a, 9b, 9c for detecting the paper size.
, 9d are fixedly installed.

The switch 8 faces the base end cam portion 11 of the diagonal angle detection lever 10 provided on the back surface of the bottom plate 7a of the hollow chamber 7, and adjusts the diagonal angle of the diagonal angle detection lever 10 corresponding to the paper setting direction and size. The corresponding movement is received through the cam portion 11. The switches 9a...9d correspond to the size information sections 12a, i2b, 12 of the diagonal length detection plate 12 provided in the hollow chamber 7.
c, 12d, and receive the movement of the diagonal length detection plate 12 according to the paper size through the size information sections 12a...12d.

The diagonal angle detection lever 10 has its base end pivotally attached to the back surface of the bottom plate 7a of the hollow chamber 7 by a shaft 13 provided at a position approximately corresponding to the positioning reference corner of the sheet, and the outer periphery of the base end is pivoted to the back surface of the bottom plate 7a of the hollow chamber 7. The cam part 11 is centered on the cam part 11.

In the hollow chamber 7, the diagonal length detecting plate 12 has an upper edge 12f guided by a guide groove 7b in the ceiling, and a passive bin 12e, which is provided downwardly protruding from a part of the lower edge, is guided by a slit 7c in the bottom plate 7a. This allows it to slide freely in the Y direction. The passive pin 12e passes through the slit 7c and projects from the back surface of the force center main body 1. On the other hand, a diagonal angle and diagonal length display pin 1 is placed on the back side of the paper guide 4 at a position approximately corresponding to the diagonal to the positioning reference corner of the paper.
4 is protruded from the back surface of the cassette body 1 through a window 15 formed in the bottom plate 1a of the cassette body 1.

These passive pins 12e and display pins 14 are connected to the shaft 13.
The passive bin 12e is connected to a pulley 16 mounted on the pulley 16 by a wire 17, and the passive bin 12e is further connected to a diagonal length detection plate 1.
2 in a direction that tensions the wire 17;
8 is operated between the locking piece 19 of the cassette body 1.

This allows the diagonal length detection plate 12 to be used in X and Y directions when the paper guide 4 positions the paper stored in the cassette body 1.
It is moved in the Y direction in conjunction with the movement of the display pin 14 when moving in the Y direction. This movement corresponds to a change in the length of a portion 17a of the wire 17, which is located between the shaft 13 and the display pin 14 at a diagonal position of the paper and corresponds to the diagonal of the paper.

As a result, the diagonal length detection plate 12 is set at a position corresponding to the diagonal length of the paper positioned by the paper guide 4, and the diagonal length of the positioned paper is displayed based on this position.

Further, the wire 17 is connected to the diagonal angle detection lever 1.
A downwardly bent bifurcated bent piece 10a straddles the tip of the 0. As a result, when the display pin 14 moves with the movement of the paper guide 4 in the X and Y directions, the wire 1
The diagonal-corresponding portion 17a of 7 is swung around the contact portion with the pulley as a fulcrum.
follows. The swinging position of the diagonal-corresponding portion 17a of the wire 17 corresponds to the diagonal position of the sheet positioned within the cassette body 1 by the sheet guide 4. As a result, the diagonal angle detection lever lO is the diagonal corresponding portion 1 of the wire 17.
7a, the diagonal line of the positioned paper will display the angle with respect to the reference side of the paper facing in the Y direction. Here, the orientation and size type of the paper to be accommodated in the cassette main body 1 are determined as follows. As shown in Figure 9, 6 size portrait orientation A6Y, 86 size portrait orientation B6Y, B
6 size horizontal B6X SA5A5 size vertical 5Y,
A5 size landscape orientation Asx, B5 size portrait orientation B5Y
, 85 size landscape B5X, A4 size portrait A
When there are 11 types: 4Y, A4 size landscape orientation A4X, 84 size portrait orientation B4Y, and A3 size portrait orientation A3Y, whether each paper is oriented vertically or horizontally is determined by the paper reference side SY whose diagonal line is oriented in the Y direction. Angle θ is 45
It is clear from FIG. 9 that it can be determined whether the number is 6 or more.

Therefore, the switch 8 detects whether the diagonal angle θ is 45″ or more to determine whether the paper is oriented vertically or horizontally. When the diagonal angle detection lever 10 is within the range of θ 456 When the switch 8 is pressed and the diagonal angle detection lever 10 is
When the angle is within the range of 5°, the pressing of the switch 8 by the cam portion 11 is released and this is detected. A stepped portion 11a on the outer periphery of the cam portion 11 forms an operational boundary between pushing and releasing the switch 8. 21d in FIG. 9 indicates a diagonal angle detection step.

On the other hand, it is clear from FIG. 9 that in order to detect each paper size by the length of each diagonal line, it is sufficient to detect each paper size for each size regardless of the orientation of the paper. It is sufficient to detect seven steps from 21c to 27c.

By the way, size detection is performed by a combination of switches 9a, 9b, etc., which have two pieces of information: on and off, so the switches 9a, 9 necessary to detect it are
The number n of b... satisfies 21'≧7, so it is sufficient to use three.

Figure 10 shows inch size paper 5V2 x 8%Y, 5I
Ax8!4X, 8 ×10'/4Y-8XIO! /2X
, 8×13Y, 8'A ×i13/a Y, 8'A
Xll'/4 X, 8% x 11Y, 8IAx11X,
8%×]3Y, 8MXl4Y, 9IAX14Y, 10X
14Y, 10X15%Y, 11×14Y, 11X17Y
16 types are used, and the detection steps are 12 steps from 21c to 320 in FIG. 10. Therefore, the number n of switches 9a, 9b, .

In addition, Figure 11 shows another millimeter-sized paper at 149 mm.
X210 Y, 149 X210 x, 160 X2
20y.

160 X220 X-203X2b4 Y, 2
03 X254 χ, (215X 275 Y,
215 x 275 x, 210 x 280 y
, 210 x 280 x) , 220 x 2E
! OY, 220 x 280 x.

(216X297Y, 216X2ri7X,
240 x 280 y.

240 x 280 x), (210 x 330
Y, 215 X330 Y.

216 x 330 Y, 220 x 330
Y), 225 x 360 Y, 250 x 3
53 Y, 256 X356 Y, (254X
367Y.

253 x 365 Y), 297 x 430 Y
Among the six types, if a size difference of 5 mm or less is undetectable, and one size and orientation are selected for those in the same parentheses, and 18 types are used, the size detection step starts from Fig. 11 21c. 12 up to 32c
It is a step. Therefore, the number n of switches 9a, 9b, . . . necessary to detect the diagonal length of each size may be 4 from 2'''≧12.

As a result of the above, there are four switches 9a and 9b as in this embodiment.
, 9c, and 9d can be used to deal with any of the above cases.

The detection bit signals for diagonal length detection obtained by these four switches 9a...9d are transmitted to the diagonal length detection plate 12.
When the switches 9a...9d are turned on at the cutouts 12e of the uneven portions of the size information sections 12a...12d, the results are as shown in Table 1 below.

The combinations of detection bit signals shown in Table 1 are
The size information section 12a...12d provided corresponding to each switch 9a...9d is obtained by the combination of the on/off concavities and convexities, and the diagonal length of each size is determined according to the type of paper used. One of the combinations may be obtained at each corresponding position.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, signals A to P are sequentially obtained from one side of the diagonal length detection plate 12 to the other.

Here, in this embodiment, switches (8, 9a
...9.j) and its detection bits, and the corresponding s.inch() in the case of the conventional method.
The relationship between the detection bits of SWI...5W7) is shown in Tables 2 to 7 below as a comparative example.

In this embodiment, in order to determine which of the cases (1), (2), and (2) described above is to be detected, the diagonal length detection plate 12 may be replaced with one that can obtain detection bits of the diagonal length corresponding to each case. .

This diagonal length detection plate 12 can be made independent from other components by removing the bottom plate 7a of the hollow chamber 7 of the cassette body 1 and removing the wire 17 and spring 18 that are connected to the diagonal length detection plate 12. Can be removed freely. In addition, the diagonal length detection plate 12 can be assembled by performing the work in reverse. As a result, the diagonal length detection plate 12 can be replaced in response to each of the cases (1), (2), and (2) above to enable size detection in each case.

As is clear from the above, in this embodiment, the orientation and size of the paper can be detected in each case with fewer detection switches than in the conventional system, and the detection circuit is simplified. Also ■,
Changes in the type of detection paper, such as cases (1) and (2), can be handled by simply replacing one diagonal length detection plate.

Note that each size information section 12a of the diagonal length detection plate 12...
- The unevenness of 12d may be detected by an optical switch means such as a photo coupler, or if the detection is by an optical switch means, a through hole or a transparent part is provided in the diagonally long detection plate made of a flat plate instead of the notch. You can also Furthermore, instead of the unevenness, parts having different reflectances may be arranged and the difference in reflectance may be detected.

In addition, the diagonal angle detection lever IO is shown in FIGS. 12 to 15.
As shown in the figure, if one engagement piece 10b is formed at the tip and the spring 41 is applied to the diagonal angle detection lever 10 to bring the engagement piece 10b into contact with the wire 17, the diagonal of the wire 17 The diagonal angle detection lever 10 can follow the angle change of the corresponding portion 17a as shown in FIGS. 13, 14, and 15, and the diagonal angle detection lever 10 can detect the diagonal angle.

Further, for detecting the diagonal angle based on the angular position of the diagonal angle detection lever 10, an optical detection means such as a photocoupler may be used instead of the microsinch of the above embodiment. In this case, for example, the cam of the above embodiment may be used as a light shielding member so that the cam shields light from the optical detection means whose diagonal angle is 45'' or less.

Furthermore, the cassette body 1 is equipped with a discrimination circuit for determining the orientation and size of the paper from the output of each detection switch 8.9a...9d, and is provided to equipment such as a copying machine into which the cassette body 1 is installed. It's good to do that. Most switch 8
．． 9a...9a discrimination circuit can also be installed in a copying machine or the like into which the cassette main body 1 is installed.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the present invention has the above configuration and operation, the orientation and size of the paper can be detected with fewer detection means, and the configuration of the detection means is independent of the size of the paper. Assuming that they are the same, changes in detection conditions can be accommodated by changing one member.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cassette showing a first embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a sectional view of the sliding part of the paper guide of the cassette in Figure 1, Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the angle and size detection units of the cassette in Figure 1, and Figure 4 is an exploded view of the angle detector. A perspective view, FIGS. 5 to 7 are plan views showing each detection state of the angle detection unit, FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the diagonal length detection plate, and FIG.
The figure is an explanatory diagram of the orientation and size detection state in the conventional method and this embodiment method when using JIS standard A and B size paper, and Figure 10 is the conventional method and this embodiment when using inch size paper. Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the orientation and size detection state in the method, and Fig. 11 is the orientation and size detection state in the conventional method and the method of this embodiment, and the orientation and size detection state of the method of this embodiment when using metric-sized paper. FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view showing a modified example of the angle detection section as the second embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing each detection state of the device shown in FIG. 12.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Diagonal angle detection means for detecting whether the angle between the diagonal of the paper stored in the universal cassette and the reference side of the paper is 45° or more; and the diagonal for detecting the length of the diagonal of the paper. length detection means, the direction of the paper is determined by the detection by the diagonal angle detection means, and the size of the paper is determined by the detection by the diagonal length detection means. Detection device.