JP2900629B2 - Output tray height detector for the output tray - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a discharge tray for storing recording paper created by a printer, a copying machine, and the like. The present invention relates to a device that can detect a target without being detected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine, a discharge tray or the like is provided in a discharge section of a sheet, and means for stacking and storing recording paper is used. Further, in addition to forming the discharge tray by only one tray, a sorter or the like is connected to the recording paper discharge section and provided so that the recording paper is stored in a sorted state, thereby facilitating post-processing of the recording paper. For example, means for performing the above-described operations are used.

In the above-described discharge tray, for example, if the amount of sheets to be stored becomes too large, the sheet discharge port of the image forming apparatus main body is closed, and the leading end of newly discharged sheets is deposited. In some cases, the sheet may hit a sheet that has been ejected, causing a state in which the sheet cannot be ejected, thereby causing a problem that the operation of the apparatus is stopped. In addition, there is a case where a newly discharged sheet enters between the stacked sheets, causing inconvenience such as turning pages.

Therefore, in the conventional discharge tray, for example, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 64-26666, a fullness detecting means is provided for the discharge tray, and the recording deposited on the discharge tray is recorded. When the sensor detects that the amount of paper has reached a certain height or more, a means is used to prevent further discharge. In addition to stopping the operation of the image forming apparatus by using the detection information of the storage state of the recording paper in the discharge tray by the sensor as described above, in addition to outputting a paper removal instruction to an operator, a sorter Is used, there may be a case where means for discharging sheets to another empty tray is used.

As the detection means provided on the tray as described above, for example, a detection means having a structure as shown in FIG. In the tray shown in FIG. 5, the discharge tray 1 is provided so as to be inclined so as to lower the sheet supply side, and an upright wall portion 2 is provided upright at an end of the discharge tray 1 on the sheet storage side. The discharge paper P discharged toward the tray via the discharge roller 6 is
The sheet is slid toward the upright wall 2 according to the inclination of the discharge tray 1, and is stored in the tray with its end abutting against the upright wall 2.

In the discharge tray 1, an actuator 10 is provided outside the upright wall portion 2, and the head member 11 of the actuator 10 is moved from an opening or the like provided in the upright wall portion 2 to accommodate paper in the tray. It is arranged to protrude toward the part. Further, the actuator 10 includes:
The arm member is swingably provided via a fulcrum 12 in the middle part of the arm member. A light shielding plate 13 is arranged below the arm member, and the light shielding plate 13 corresponds to the sensor member 14.
Note that the sensor member 14 uses a sensor of a type generally called a photosensor, as in the case of an embodiment of the present invention described later, and a light-shielding plate of an actuator forms an optical path between a light-emitting portion and a light-receiving portion. By blocking
A type that performs the detection operation is used.

When a copy is discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine in the discharge tray device configured as described above, as shown in FIG.
Are sequentially deposited on the discharge tray 1 and accommodated in a state where the rear end of the discharged paper is positioned on the upright wall 2. Said,
When the discharge paper P is deposited on the discharge tray 1 at a certain height or higher, the head member 11 is pushed by the discharge paper P, and the actuator 10 is swung counterclockwise through the fulcrum 12, and The light shielding plate 13 is separated from the position detected by the sensor member 14. Then, a full signal is outputted from the sensor member 14, and a command for interrupting the operation of the image forming apparatus is outputted from the control device, and a command for taking out the discharged paper from the discharge tray is outputted to the operator.

[0008]

However, in the above-described detection device, the actuator may not be operated accurately depending on conditions such as the paper being curled, the paper quality, and the paper size. In some cases, the state of the discharged paper on the tray cannot be detected. For example,
In the case of small-size paper, light paper such as tracing paper, Japanese paper, etc., there is a problem that it is not possible to exert a sufficient pressing force to swing the actuator.
And as shown in FIG. 7, it stops in the state where it caught on the head member 11, and on the caught paper Pb,
When the subsequent paper is sequentially deposited, problems such as detection failure tend to occur.

The actuator 10 is connected to the discharge tray 1
On the other hand, when only one sheet is provided at the center (FIG. 8), when a sheet Pc in which both sides are curled is stored, a signal indicating that the actuator 10 is full is output. Previously, in both sides of the tray, there is a problem that the discharge path is blocked by the feet of the curled paper Pc. Then, a succeeding sheet collides with a portion on the side of the curled sheet Pc that has been previously stacked, and pushes the previous sheet out of the tray, or a later sheet enters between the stacked ejected sheets. This causes problems such as page misalignment. Further, when a succeeding sheet collides with a sheet already stored on the tray, a state of a discharge failure of the subsequent sheet occurs, and a problem that a paper jam signal is output also occurs.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional detection device in the discharge tray, and to detect the discharge paper without being affected by the conditions such as the curl state, paper quality, and paper size of the paper. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device capable of accurately detecting a height.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for detecting the height of a sheet discharged from a discharge tray, which detects that a sheet having an image formed thereon is discharged, and that the sheet discharged to the discharge tray is full. Detecting means for detecting, a paper discharge path for conveying the paper to the discharge tray, a protruding portion provided to protrude from the paper discharge path and moving by contacting the conveyed paper, and a width of the discharge tray. A plurality of head members, which are arranged in a plurality of directions, align the sheets stacked by being sequentially discharged to the discharge tray, and move by contacting the stacked sheets, and the plurality of head members, A supporting member that supports the protruding portion and moves by movement of the plurality of head members or the protruding portion, and is provided integrally with the supporting member, and before the paper is accumulated in the discharge tray, When a plurality of head members is moved to the sheet full position, and having a a detected portion to move to a position to be the full state detection by the detecting means.

[0012]

With the construction described above, in the present invention, each time a sheet passes through the sheet discharge path, the protruding portion moves and the head member moves, so that the sheet caught on the head member can be removed. It is possible to lower the sheet, improve the state of sheet stacking, and accurately detect sheet fullness. Further, in the present invention, since a plurality of the head members are provided in the width direction of the discharge tray, it is possible to improve the accumulation state even with curled paper, and it is possible to accurately detect fullness, and to detect curled paper. Can prevent inconveniences such as blocking the discharge path.

[0014]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the discharge tray 1 of the present invention is provided so as to be inclined so that the sheet storage side is low, as in the case of the conventional tray, and the rear part of the discharge sheet P abuts the upright wall 2. It is configured to be stopped in a state where it is stopped. Further, a discharge roller 6 is disposed at a position above the upright wall portion 2, and the discharge roller 6 is configured to discharge the paper P sent through the paper discharge path 5.
h is sent out onto the discharge tray 1.

Further, in the present invention, a swing lever 15 is arranged at a predetermined position of the paper discharge path 5.
The swing lever 15 is formed in a substantially U-shape, and has a central portion provided to be swingable via a fulcrum 18. The head 16 projects toward the paper discharge path 5. , Lower one
7 is disposed at a position where it contacts the head member 11 of the actuator 10 described later. Then, the head 16 is swung clockwise by the paper Ph discharged through the paper discharge path 5 so that the lower part 17 presses the head member 11 and the head member 11 is moved from the tray. It performs the function of swinging to retreat.

An actuator 10 is provided for the discharge tray as in the case of the conventional example. The actuator 10 has a fulcrum 1 in the middle of the arm member.
2, a light-shielding plate 13 is arranged below the arm member, and the light-shielding plate 13 is
4 The sensor member 14 uses a sensor of a type generally called a photo sensor as in the case of an embodiment of the present invention described later, and an optical path between a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit is formed by a light shielding plate of an actuator. Is configured to perform the detection operation by shutting off the device.

In the sensor member 14 arranged corresponding to the actuator 10, the actuator swings each time a sheet passes through the sheet discharge path 5, so that the sensor member outputs a detection signal. However, in the control device of the present invention, a timer or the like is provided inside the control device in order to distinguish a signal that the paper has passed through the paper discharge path from a signal that the discharge tray is full, and a The configuration is such that full detection is performed only when a signal that greatly exceeds the transit time is input, thereby preventing erroneous detection from occurring.

In the apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, when the discharge paper is stored on the discharge tray 1, the swing lever 1 is moved by the paper Ph discharged through the paper discharge path 5.
5 is swung clockwise through the fulcrum 18. The lower part 17 of the swing lever 15 presses the upper part of the actuator 10, swings the actuator 10 counterclockwise through the fulcrum 12, and the head member 11 is retracted from the tray 1. When the sheet has passed through the swing lever, the swing lever returns to the original position, and the actuator 10 also returns to the position shown by the solid line in the figure.

In the discharge tray 1, the paper Ph to be discharged is stored on the discharge tray 1 by the discharge roller 6 by the above-described operation. In some cases, the rear end portion descends along the lower roller 7 and stops with the end portion locked to the head member 11, and the paper Pb caught may be generated. However, in the apparatus of the present invention, as described above, the paper Pb caught on the upper portion of the tray is retracted from the position where the head member 11 is engaged with the paper before the next paper is discharged. As a result, it is not stopped in the state shown by the chain line in the figure. That is, in the discharge tray of the present invention, each time a sheet is newly stored, the actuator 10
Is swung to release the state in which the paper ejected by the head member 11 is locked, so that it is possible to prevent the paper from being stopped while being caught in the middle of falling.

In the actuator 10 provided to the discharge tray 1, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of head members 11, 11a.
It can be arranged at a predetermined position above the upright wall 2. In the example shown in FIG.
1a, for example, is constituted by extending the arm member in the width direction of the tray, and a large number of head members are attached to the upper portion thereof, and all the head members are provided so as to be simultaneously swung. be able to. Therefore, as shown in the figure, even if the discharged paper P stored on the discharge tray 1 is a paper Pc curled such that both ends are curled up, or as shown by the phantom line, a central paper Pc is formed. Even if the paper is a curl paper whose height is high, the effect of alignment of the discharged paper by the head member is sufficiently exhibited, and the height of the paper is normally detected.

If the paper size is different,
As shown in the figure, the positioning is performed in a state where all the sheets are detected with respect to one head member 11, but the other side of the sheet is in a state where it is regulated by any one of the head members 11c. Become. That is, for example, when the image forming apparatus is of a side registration type and one side surface of the sheet is ejected along a reference line of the apparatus, the head member of the present invention is used as a reference. The head member 11 is arranged on the side of the line, and the other head members 11a, 11b... Are arranged at regular intervals or corresponding to the size of the paper size such as A5, B4, A4, B4. I do.

Regardless of the size of the paper, one side of the paper corresponds to one head member, and the other side corresponds to the other head member. Alternatively, a plurality of head members can be positioned so that the head can be aligned with the discharged paper. Therefore, with the configuration described above, even in the case of small-sized paper, the action of aligning the discharged paper by the plurality of head members can be exhibited in a favorable state.

In the apparatus of the present invention, as described above, in addition to operating the actuator by the paper passing through the paper discharge path 5, the actuator 10 is operated by using a solenoid as shown in FIG. By swinging, it is also possible to perform the function of aligning the discharged paper. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the solenoid 2 is vertically moved with respect to the
0 and a spring 19 are provided so that the actuator 10 is swung by both members.

In the example shown in FIG.
Equipped with a sensor to detect the passage of paper, or
Upon receiving a signal of the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus main body,
The solenoid 20 can be energized. The operation signal for the solenoid can cause the actuator 10 to swing immediately after the sheet is discharged toward the discharge tray. Further, when the bias of the solenoid is released, the head member 11 is returned to the original position by the force of the spring 19, and at this time, the caught paper is dropped and is deposited on the tray in a normal state. An effect can be performed.

Therefore, by using the discharge tray height detecting device of the discharge tray according to the present invention, it is possible to easily eliminate the floating of the discharge paper stacked on the discharge tray 1 which causes the paper jam. It is possible to accurately perform the operation of detecting the height of the discharged paper by the actuator. In the apparatus of the present invention, the mechanism for swinging the actuator by the sheet moving in the sheet discharge path 5 is not limited to the illustrated type, but may be any other type of apparatus. Can also be used.

[0026]

According to the configuration described above,
In the present invention, each time a sheet passes through the sheet discharge path,
Since the protruding portion moves and the head member moves, the paper caught on the head member can be lowered, the state of stacking of the paper can be improved, and the paper full detection can be accurately performed. Further, in the present invention, since a plurality of the head members are provided in the width direction of the discharge tray, it is possible to improve the accumulation state even with curled paper, and it is possible to accurately detect fullness, and to detect curled paper. Can prevent inconveniences such as blocking the discharge path.

[0027]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a configuration of a discharge tray device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view when a large number of head members are provided.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a regulating operation for a small-sized sheet.

FIG. 4 is a side view of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a detection device in a conventional tray.

6 is an explanatory diagram of a sheet detecting operation in the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a state in which a sheet is caught in a conventional apparatus.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a detection state of curled paper in a conventional apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ejection tray 2 Upright wall part 5 Paper ejection path 6 Ejection roller 10 Actuator 11 Head member 13 Light shielding plate 14 Sensor member 15 Swing lever 16 Head 19 Spring 20 Solenoid

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B65H 43/06 B41J 13/00 B65H 7/02 B65H 31/26 G03G 15/00 530

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A discharge tray for discharging the paper on which an image is formed, a detecting unit for detecting that the paper discharged to the discharge tray is full, and a paper discharge path for conveying the paper to the discharge tray. A protruding portion that protrudes from the paper discharge path and moves by contacting the conveyed paper; and a plurality of protruding portions that are provided in the width direction of the discharge tray and are stacked by being sequentially discharged to the discharge tray. And a plurality of head members that move by contacting the deposited paper, and support the plurality of head members and the protrusions, and the plurality of head members or the protrusions A supporting member that moves by moving, and a detecting unit that is provided integrally with the supporting member and detects when sheets are deposited in the discharge tray and the plurality of head members move to a sheet full position. And a detected part that moves to a position where fullness is detected by the discharge tray.