JP6721182B2 - Retractor - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a retractor, and more particularly to a retractor for automatically moving a movable body that is slidable in the front-rear direction in a closing direction.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, in a sliding door type fitting or the like, there is known a retracting device that reduces the speed of the sliding door in a predetermined range before closing the sliding door, and automatically retracts and closes the sliding door within the range (for example, Patent Reference 1).

The retraction device known in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which a biasing member composed of a coil spring, a damper, and a piston rod are arranged in series, and the overall length of the device itself is large.

Japanese Patent No. 5428090

As described above, the retractor described in Patent Document 1 has a configuration in which the biasing member including the coil spring, the damper, and the piston rod are arranged in series, and the overall length is large. Therefore, there is a problem that it cannot be installed in a narrow place where the installation space is limited.

Therefore, in order to provide a retracting device that can be installed even in a narrow place where the installation space is limited, the technical problem to be solved arises. The invention aims to solve this problem.

The present invention has been proposed to achieve the above object, and the invention according to claim 1 is a retracting device for slidingly moving a movable body that is slidable in the front-rear direction in a closing direction, A case arranged in parallel with the movable body along the slide movement direction of the movable body, a linear groove formed in the case and linearly formed along the slide movement direction, and the straight line. -Shaped guide groove having a drop lock groove formed continuously downward from the leading end of the groove, a front guide roller and a rear guide roller respectively engaged with the guide hole, and the sliding movement direction. Along with a rack formed on the lower surface side and a hook and a latch formed on the upper surface side, and are movable in the slide movement direction by the engagement between the front and rear guide rollers and the linear groove. At the same time, when the front guide roller slides to a position corresponding to the drop groove, the front guide roller is rotated downward with respect to the case so that the front guide roller can be engaged and locked in the drop groove, and the rack. A pinion that meshes with the slider and is arranged in parallel, a control pin that is disposed between the hook and the latch and moves integrally with the movable body, and a pinion that is disposed on the pivot of the pinion, It is spring-charged by the rotation of the pinion that interlocks with the movement of the rack in the direction in which the movable body is pulled out, and by releasing the engagement lock of the slider, the spring-charged accumulated force is released to release the movable body. A retracting device including: a retracting means having a spring spring for imparting a retracting force for moving the moving body together with the slider in the retracting direction.

According to this configuration, since the pull-in means for applying the pull-in force for moving the slider moving in the closing direction together with the moving body in the pulling direction (closing direction) via the control pin is formed by the spring spring, the device The overall size can be made small and compact. As a result, it is possible to install in a narrow place where the installation space is limited.

Also, the spring charge of the mainspring can be automatically performed by the rotation of the pinion, which is linked with the movement of the rack in the direction in which the moving body is pulled out, so the spring charge of the spring can be easily operated by the retracting means. Become.

Further, when the slider moves to the position where the front guide roller corresponds to the drop groove of the guide hole, the slider is rotated downward with respect to the case, the front guide roller is engaged and locked in the drop groove, and the hook and the latch are latched. And the control pin disposed between and is released. Then, the movement of the slider is locked at that position, and the movable body and the control pin can further move in the pull-out direction. Further, only the movable body is pulled out to perform a predetermined process, and when the predetermined process is completed, the movable body is pushed into the retracting side. When the movable body is pushed to a predetermined position, the control pin moving together with the movable body comes into contact with the latch to release the engagement lock of the slider. The slider in which the engagement lock is released is automatically pulled in the pull-in direction by the spring charge force of the mainspring together with the control pin and the movable body. As a result, the moving body is automatically pulled in to a predetermined position.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first aspect, there is provided a retracting device in which the retracting means is built in the pinion.

According to this configuration, by incorporating the mainspring in the pinion, the space for components can be greatly reduced, and the external size of the entire apparatus can be made small and compact.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first or second aspect, a rotary damper that has a gear that meshes with a rack of the slider on an outer periphery and that rotates in conjunction with sliding movement of the slider is provided. Provided is a retracting device provided at a position on the retracting side of the slider with respect to the pinion.

According to this configuration, when the slider is automatically pulled in the pulling direction together with the control pin and the movable body by the charging force of the spring, the rotary damper reduces the impact so that the speed becomes substantially constant, It is possible to pull in up to the position at a substantially constant speed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a retracting device according to the third aspect, wherein an idle gear is provided between the pinion and the gear of the rotary damper.

According to this configuration, for example, as shown in the first embodiment, when the width of the pinion uses the entire width of the case and the width of the gear of the rotary damper is half or less, the other space becomes the space of the rotary damper. .. Therefore, by disposing an idle gear between the pinion and the gear of the rotary damper and meshing between the pinion and the gear of the rotary damper, the space for disposing the rotary damper can be secured.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to any one of the first to third aspects, the pinion has an outer diameter smaller than outer diameters of the first pinion portion and the first pinion portion. Second pinion portion is formed by a two-stage gear arranged in parallel on the pivot, and the rack is a first rack portion meshed with the first pinion portion and the gear of the rotary damper; and the first rack. There is provided a retracting device formed by a two-stage rack having a second rack portion provided on the drawer side of the portion and meshing with the second pinion portion.

According to this configuration, when the moving body is retracted, the first pinion portion and the first rack portion are first meshed with each other, and a large retracting force of the mainspring is applied to the slider to move the slider to a predetermined position. it can. Next, the gears of the first rack portion and the rotary damper are meshed with each other, so that the slider is provided with cushioning restriction of the rotary damper to move the slider gently to a predetermined position, and then the second rack portion and the second pinion portion. When and are meshed with each other, a large retracting force of the mainspring is again applied to the slider, so that the slider can be smoothly and surely moved to the final retracted position.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the fifth aspect, the retraction device is a finite-angle revolving damper that imparts constant velocity to the slider within a predetermined rotation range of the revolving damper. I will provide a.

According to this configuration, when the slider is moved to the vicinity of the final retracted position with the rotation of the rotary damper while the first rack portion of the slider is meshed with the gear of the rotary damper, the rotary damper of the finite angle is rotated. As the damper action disappears, the second rack portion and the second pinion are meshed with each other, and the slider receives a large retracting force of the spring, so that the slider can be smoothly and surely moved to the final retracted position.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the configuration according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the retraction means includes a spring force adjusting means capable of adjusting the retraction force of the mainspring. Provide a device.

According to this structure, the retracting force of the mainspring spring can be adjusted according to the weight of the movable body and the like, and the spring can be used with the optimum retracting force.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the structure according to the seventh aspect, the spring force adjusting means has a worm gear meshed with the pinion and a pivot shaft capable of rotating the worm gear in both forward and reverse directions. , Providing a retractor.

According to this configuration, when the worm gear is rotated via the pivot, the pinion also rotates, and the spring spring also operates in the charged or uncharged direction in accordance with the rotation direction to maximize the spring force of the spring. Can be adjusted.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the structure according to the seventh aspect, the spring force adjusting means locks the winding inner end of the mainspring spring having the winding outer end locked to the pinion. And a spring force adjusting rotary plate portion that rotates integrally with the winding inner end portion, a fixed plate portion having a circular hole in which the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion is rotatably disposed, and the spring. A plurality of positioning recesses formed on the outer peripheral surface of the force adjusting rotary plate portion or the inner peripheral surface of the circular hole at substantially equal intervals with a predetermined phase angle, and can be released in the positioning recessed portion. An elastic claw piece that is locked by being dropped to lock the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion with respect to the fixed plate portion at each phase angle is provided.

According to this configuration, when the spring adjusting rotary plate portion is rotated, the elastic locking claw piece falls into the positioning concave portion and the spring adjusting rotary plate portion is rotated every predetermined phase angle rotation of the spring adjusting rotary plate portion. The rotation of the plate is locked. When the spring adjusting rotary plate rotates, the winding inner end of the mainspring rotates integrally with the spring adjusting rotary plate depending on the direction of rotation of the spring adjusting rotary plate, and the spring is charged or By being wound in the uncharge direction, the spring force of the mainspring spring at the initial stage can be adjusted to the optimum level.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, the drop lock groove of the guide hole is connected to the linear groove at a substantially right angle. A retractor is provided.

According to this structure, the linear groove of the guide hole and the drop lock groove are formed at substantially right angles, so that the engagement lock by the front guide roller (the slider) and the drop lock groove (the case) is surely performed. Can be

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, when the slider slides to a position where the front guide roller corresponds to the drop groove, Provided is a retracting device which is rotated downward with the side guide roller as a fulcrum.

According to this structure, when the front guide roller (the slider) rotates downward into the drop lock groove (the case), the slider rotates about the rear guide roller as a fulcrum, and the rotation causes the slider to move. The joint lock is smoothly performed, and the engagement lock can be performed more reliably.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the structure according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the latch is formed such that a rear surface thereof on the pull-out direction side is formed as an inclined surface that descends toward the pull-out direction. In addition, there is provided a retraction device that is formed so as to be rotatable downward with the lower end portion of the inclined surface as a fulcrum.

With this configuration, when the control pin moves to the pull-out side beyond the latch together with the movable body and the engagement lock of the slider has already been disengaged at the time of retracting, the movable body is moved to the predetermined position. When pushed to the position, the control pin climbs up the slope of the latch and easily returns between the hook and the latch, so that the engagement relationship between the control pin and the hook and the latch can be easily restored. ..

According to the retracting device of the present invention, since the spiral spring is used as the spring member for applying the force for moving the slider in the retracting direction (closing direction), the outer shape of the entire device can be made small and compact. As a result, it is possible to install in a narrow place where the installation space is limited. Further, the spring charge of the mainspring can be automatically performed by the rotation by the pinion that is interlocked with the movement of the rack in the direction in which the movable body is pulled out, so that the spring charge operation of the mainspring can be easily performed.

It is a perspective view showing the appearance of an electronic copying machine to which the retracting device of the present invention is applied, with a part of its back cover removed. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the pull-in device portion of the electronic copying machine of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the retracting device shown as the first embodiment. It is the perspective view which removed the case cover and showed the internal structure of the same retractor as 1st Example. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the pull-in device shown in FIG. 4, showing a state in which a slider is arranged at a sheet feeding position. FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view of the same retracting device as the first embodiment, and is a diagram showing a state before the slider is pulled out to an intermediate position and engaged and locked. FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view of the retracting device of the same as the first embodiment, and is a diagram showing a state in which the slider is engaged and locked at the retracted position. FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view of the same retracting device as the first embodiment, and is a diagram showing a state where the engagement lock is released at the pulling-out position of the slider. FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory view of the retracting device of the same as the first embodiment, and is a diagram showing a state where the slider is arranged at the retracted position. It is the perspective view which removed the case main body and showed the internal structure of the drawing-in apparatus as 2nd Example of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the drawing-in apparatus as a 2nd Example in the state which removed the side case cover. It is a top view showing the arrangement state of the slider and the pinion in the retractor as a 2nd example. It is the side view seen from the CC line arrow direction of FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship of drawing-in force [N] and drawing-in distance [mm] with a graph. It is the top view which looked at the retracting device as a 3rd example from the case cover side. It is a top view which removes a case cover and shows the retractor as a 3rd Example. It is a top view of the spring force adjusting means of the retracting device as a 3rd example. FIG. 13 is an operation explanatory view of the retracting device as the third embodiment, and is a diagram showing a state where the slider is locked at the pulling-out position. FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory view of the retracting device as the third embodiment, and is a diagram showing a state where the slider is not locked at the retracted position.

In order to achieve an object of the present invention to provide a retracting device that can be installed in a narrow place where the installation space is limited, the size of the entire device is small and compact. A retracting device for slidingly moving a moving body in a closing direction, the case being provided in parallel with the moved body along a sliding movement direction of the moved body, and the slide provided on the case. A guide hole having a linear groove linearly formed along the moving direction and a drop lock groove continuously downwardly formed from a lead-out side end portion of the linear groove, and the guide hole, respectively. The front guide roller and the rear guide roller engaged with each other, the rack formed on the lower surface side along the slide movement direction, and the hook and the latch formed on the upper surface side, The front guide roller is slidable by engagement with the linear groove, and when the front guide roller slides to a position corresponding to the drop groove, the front guide roller is rotated downward with respect to the case and the front guide roller is dropped. A slider lockable in the groove, a pinion engaged with the rack and arranged in parallel with the slider, and a control pin arranged between the hook and the latch to move integrally with the movable body. , Is disposed on the pivot of the pinion, and is spring-charged by the rotation of the pinion that is interlocked with the movement of the rack in the direction in which the movable body is pulled out, and the engagement lock is released by the slider. And a retracting means having a spiral spring for releasing the spring-charged accumulated force and applying a retracting force for moving the movable body together with the slider in the retracting direction.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same elements are denoted by the same reference symbols throughout the description of each example of the embodiment. Further, in the following description, expressions indicating directions such as up and down and left and right are not absolute, and are appropriate when the respective parts of the retractor of the present invention are in the drawn postures, but the postures are If there is a change, it should be interpreted according to a change in posture.

1 and 2 show an example of an electronic copying machine to which a retracting device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a part of a back cover of the electronic copying machine 1 removed. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a peripheral portion of the retracting device 10 in the electronic copying machine 1.

In FIG. 1, the electronic copying machine 1 is provided with four recording paper trays 2 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “tray 2”) as movable bodies on which recording paper (not shown) is set. The tray 2 may have one stage, and in the case of two or more stages, it is often prepared separately as an option.

Each tray 2 is arranged so that it can be inserted into and removed from the right side surface 3 a of the copying machine body 3. When setting the recording paper on the tray 2, the tray 2 is slid in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 1 (hereinafter referred to as “drawing direction A”), and the tray 2 is largely pulled out to a position where it stops, and the pulled-out position. The recording paper is supplied to the tray 2 at the position (the position indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 1). The tray 2 may be replenished with recording paper in a state where the tray 2 is pulled out from the copying machine main body 3 and completely removed. Further, the tray 2 which has completed the supply of the recording paper is also slid in the direction of arrow B (hereinafter, referred to as “pull-in direction B”) opposite to the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. It is arranged at the position shown by the solid line in FIG.

In the electronic copying machine 1 according to the present embodiment, the pull-in device 10 according to the present invention is provided at a position corresponding to each tray 2. Then, when the tray 2 which has been replenished with the recording paper is pushed to a predetermined position in the copying machine main body 3 in the drawing direction B, thereafter, the drawing device 10 automatically makes the final feeding position (see FIG. 1 to the position indicated by the solid line), and is arranged at the sheet feeding position.

The retractor 10 is detachably connected to the tray 2 via a control pin 4 that moves integrally with the tray 2 in a slide movement direction M shown by arrows AB in FIGS. 1 and 2. The control pin 4 is fixedly attached to the side surface 2a of the tray 2. On the other hand, the retracting device 10 is fixedly attached to the inner surface of a cover (not shown) of the copying machine main body 2. 1 and 2, the side cover to which the retracting device 10 is attached is removed.

3 to 9 show the retracting device 10 of the first embodiment as a single unit. Therefore, the structure of the retractor 10 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 9 and, if necessary, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

1 to 9, the retraction device 10 includes a case 11, a slider 12, a pinion (small gear) 13, a mainspring 14, a rotary damper 15, an idle gear 16 and the like, and is in a unitized state. It is handled as one part.

The case 11 is attached to the case body 11A by opening and closing the upper and lower surfaces and one side, and by closing the opened one side of the case body 11A with screws (not shown) to the case body 11A. And a case cover 11</b>B that is formed into a substantially hexahedral box. The case 11 is attached to the copying machine main body 3 in a state in which the front and rear side surfaces 11a and 11b are directed in the slide movement direction M indicated by arrows AB in FIGS. The case 11 is attached to the copying machine main body 3 after the retracting device 10 is unitized.

Guide holes 17 provided along the slide movement direction M of the tray 2 are provided on the left and right side surfaces 11c and 11d of the case 11 (the side surface 11d also serves as the case cover 11B) in a symmetrical manner. There is. The guide hole 17 has a linear groove 17a that is linearly formed along the slide movement direction M, that is, from the rear side (drawing direction B side) to the front side (drawing direction A side), and a linear shape. The groove 17a has a drop lock groove 17b formed by continuously turning from the terminal end of the groove 17a toward the lower side at a right angle.

In addition to the mounting pin 18 for mounting the spring spring 14 and the pinion 13 and the mounting pin 20 for rotatably mounting the idle gear 16, on the inner surface of the case body 11A, that is, the inner surface of the side surface 11c, the case body 11A and the case cover. A mounting pin 21 having a screw hole 22 for fixing 11B is integrally provided. Further, the case body 11A is provided with screw holes 22 for fixing and attaching the case cover 11B at a plurality of locations other than the attachment pins 21. The rotary damper 15 described above is fixedly attached to the side surface 11c of the case body 11A, and the gear 15a is attached to the rotary shaft 19 of the rotary damper 15 so as to rotate integrally.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the case cover 11B is formed with a large-diameter window hole 23 corresponding to the pinion 13 and the spiral spring 14. Further, the case cover 11B has a mounting hole 24 into which the tip of the rotary shaft 19 of the rotary damper 15 is rotatably inserted and engaged when the case cover 11B is mounted on the side surface 11d side of the case body 11A, and a mounting pin. In addition to the mounting hole 25 into which the front end portion of 20 is inserted and engaged, a mounting hole 26 corresponding to the screw hole 22 is provided.

The slider 12 is a member that extends in a slender shape along the slide movement direction M of the tray, and front and rear guide rollers 27a and 27b are separately formed on the left and right side surfaces 12a and 12a, respectively. The pair of left and right front guide rollers 27a and rear guide rollers 27b are slidably arranged in the guide holes 17 on the case body 11A side and the guide holes 17 on the case cover 11B side, respectively. The slider 12 can reciprocate in the sliding movement direction M with respect to the case 11 by the sliding movement of the front guide roller 27a and the rear guide roller 27b with respect to the guide hole 17.

On the lower surface of the slider 12, a rack 28 having a plurality of teeth arranged linearly is formed. Further, on the upper surface side of the slider 12, a hook 29 and a latch 30 are provided apart from each other in the front-rear direction (sliding movement direction M) with a gap slightly larger than the outer diameter dimension of the control pin 4. More specifically, the latch 30 is provided on the pulling direction A side, and the hook 29 is provided on the pulling direction B side. The control pin 4 can be engaged with the hook 29 by dropping it between the hook 29 and the latch 30.

A surface of the hook 29 facing the latch 30 (a surface on the pull-out direction A side) is formed by a substantially right-angled locking surface 29a, and the back surface shape on the pull-in direction B side opposite to the locking surface 29a is the above-mentioned. It is formed as a slope 29b that descends in the pull-in direction B.

A gap 31 is provided below the latch 30, and the gap 31 can be used to elastically swing in the vertical direction. More specifically, the latch 30 is formed of a cantilevered plate-like piece, one end (fixed end) side of which is connected to the end portion 12b of the slider 12 on the pulling direction A side, and the free end side of which is retracted. The inclined surface 30a that climbs toward the direction B side (descends toward the pull-out direction A side) is provided to face the hook 29 side, and then is formed to hang downward toward the inside of the gap 31. A surface of the hook 29 that faces the locking surface 29a in parallel is a locking surface 30b. The latch 30 is elastically deformable, and when a large force is applied from the upper side to the lower side, the latching surface 30b side is elastically deformed inside the gap 31 with the end portion 12b side as a fulcrum, and the latch 30 with respect to the upper surface 11e of the case 11 is latched. Is temporarily lowered, and when the large force is removed, it elastically returns to the original height position.

In the slider 12 thus configured, the hook 29 and the latch 30 are projected from the upper surface 11e of the case 11 when the front guide roller 27a and the rear guide roller 27b are both arranged in the linear groove 17a. Is held in. Further, when the slider 12 is moved in the pull-out direction A and the front guide roller 27a is arranged at a position corresponding to the drop lock groove 17b, the slider 12 rotates downward with the rear guide roller 27b as a fulcrum. The front guide roller 27a side is set so as to fall into the drop lock groove 17b and be engaged and locked. Then, when the front guide roller 27a side falls into the locking groove 17b and is engaged and locked, the latch 30 also sinks and is hidden in the upper surface 11e of the case 11, and is held with only the hook 29 protruding from the upper surface 11e. It is set to be.

The pinion 13 has a space 32, which has a substantially circular shape in plan view, for accommodating the mainspring spring 14 serving as a drive source of the retracting means therein, the mainspring spring 14 is accommodated in the space 32, and the mounting pin 18 is used as a pivot to rotate the mainspring spring. It is arranged in an integrated (unitized) state together with 14. The drawing means is composed of the rack 29, the pinion 13, the mainspring 14, and the like. The pinion 13 is juxtaposed with the slider 12 and meshes with the rack 28. On the other hand, the mainspring spring 14 is formed by winding a spring plate material continuously in a plurality of turns in a circular shape, and inserting one end of the mainspring spring 14, that is, the winding inner end portion 14a into a slot groove 18a formed on the end face of the mounting pin 18. The pinion is locked so that the other end of the spiral spring 14, that is, the outer winding end 14b is opened in the space 32 of the pinion 13 and is inserted and locked in the slit 13a formed in the pinion 13. 13 and the mounting pin 18. The spring 12 is spring-charged when the slider 12 is slid in the pull-out direction A and the pinion 13 meshing with the teeth of the slider 12 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. On the contrary, in a free state where the engagement lock between the drop lock groove 17B and the front guide roller 27A is released, the pinion 13 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 4 by the spring charge force of the spring spring 14, and The slider 12 meshing with the pinion 13 and the rack 28 is slid in the pull-in direction B.

The rotary damper 15 is, for example, an infinite angle oil damper and has a function of rotating at a constant speed.

The idle gear 16 is a gear rotatably attached to the attachment pin 20. The idle gear 16 is commonly meshed with the pinion 13 and the gear 15 a of the rotary damper 15. When the width of the pinion 13 uses the entire width of the case 11 and the width of the gear 15a of the rotary damper 15 is half or less, the idle gear 16 becomes the space of the rotary damper 15 other than that. Therefore, an idle gear 16 is provided between the pinion 13 and the rotary damper 15, and the pinion 13 and the gear 15a of the rotary damper 15 are engaged with each other, whereby a space for disposing the rotary damper 15 can be secured.

As described above, the retracting device 10 including the case 11, the slider 12, the pinion (small gear) 13, the mainspring 14, the rotary damper 15, the idle gear 16 and the like is provided in the case 11 with the slider 12. , The pinion 13, the mainspring 14, the rotary damper 15, and the idle gear 16 are housed, and in a unitized state, in correspondence with the control pin 4 on the tray 2 side between the hook 29 and the latch 30. It is fixedly attached to the inner surface of a cover (not shown) of the copying machine body 2. That is, the pull-in device 10 and the control pin 4 on the tray 2 side are such that when the tray 2 is arranged at the final feeding position shown by the solid line in FIG. The control pin 4 is arranged so as to be held in a state in which the control pin 4 is disposed between the locking surface 29a of the hook 29 and the locking surface 30b of the latch 30.

5 to 8 are diagrams showing the operating state of the retracting device 10 which is interlocked with the operation of the tray 2. Next, the operation of the retractor 10 will be described.

First, when the tray 2 is pulled out in the pull-out direction A to replenish the tray 2 from the state in which the tray 2 is arranged at the final feeding position as shown in FIG. 4 abuts on the locking surface 30b of the latch 30 and moves the slider 12 in the pull-out direction A side together with the slider 12. Further, the movement of the slider 12 in the pull-out direction A causes the pinion 13 to rotate counterclockwise, and the mainspring spring 14 is gradually spring-charged as the pinion 13 rotates.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, when the front guide roller 27a is pulled out to a position corresponding to the drop-in lock groove 17b, the direction of the force for pulling out the slider 12 is the straight groove 17a and the drop-in direction. It works downward along the lock groove 17b. Then, the action of the force causes the slider 12 to rotate counterclockwise (downward) about the rear guide roller 27b as a fulcrum so that the front guide roller 27a falls into the lock groove 17b. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, the front guide roller 27a falls into the lock groove 17b and is engaged and locked, and the latch 30 sinks below the upper surface 11e of the case 11, that is, inside the case 11. .. As a result, the engagement between the latch 30 and the control pin 4 is released. Further, the slider 12 is engaged and locked at the pulled-out position, but the tray 2 is largely pulled out in the pulling-out direction A to the position where the tray 2 is stopped by disengaging the latch 30 from the control pin 4. be able to. Then, the recording paper can be supplied to the tray 2 at the pulled-out position. The tray 2 may be replenished with recording paper in a state where the tray 2 is pulled out from the copying machine main body 3 and completely removed. Further, in this state, the charging force of the mainspring 14 is not returned in the retracting direction B because the front guide roller 27a falls into the drop-in lock groove 17b and is engaged and locked. Therefore, the charging force of the mainspring 14 is maintained in a state of being spring-charged.

Further, when the recording paper is replenished, the drawer side of the tray 2 is lifted so that the front guide roller 27a falls out of the lock groove 17b, and is slid in the drawing direction B in FIG. When the tray 2 is pushed to a predetermined position, the control pin 4 contacts the engaging surface 29a of the hook 29. Further, when the contact surface 29a is pushed, the slider 12 is rotated clockwise around the rear guide roller 27b as a fulcrum, and as shown in FIG. 8, the engagement between the front guide roller 27a and the drop lock groove 17b. It is out of sync. At the same time, the control pin 4 is engaged between the locking surface 29a of the hook 29 and the locking surface 30b of the latch 30.

When the front guide roller 27a and the drop lock groove 17b are disengaged, the spring force of the spring-charged spring spring 14 is applied to the slider 12 side via the pinion 13, and the slider 12 moves in the pulling direction B. The control pin 4 and the tray 2 are pulled and slid. When the tray 2 is placed at a predetermined paper feed position (position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1), the slider 12 also reaches the paper feed position shown in FIG. 9 and stops. When the slider 12 moves in the pull-in direction B by the spring force of the mainspring 14, the slider 12 is gently moved by the pinion 13, the idle gear 16, the gear 15a, and the rotary damper 15 at a substantially constant speed without any impact. It

In this embodiment, when the tray 2 is pulled out, the front guide roller 27a is disengaged from the drop lock groove 17b due to some external factor, and the slider 12 is returned to the sheet feeding position. When the tray 2 is pushed in, the latch 30 is formed as a slanted surface 30a having the rear surface on the side of the pull-out direction A descending toward the pull-out direction A, so that the control pin 4 bends the latch 30 downward. The control pin 4 can be returned over the inclined surface 30a and between the locking surface 30b of the latch 30 and the locking surface 29a of the hook 29. As a result, the tray 2 can be returned to a predetermined position on the copying machine body 3.

Therefore, according to the retracting device 10 according to the first embodiment, since the spring spring 14 is used as the spring member for applying the force for moving the slider 12 in the retracting direction (closing direction) B, the outer shape of the entire device Can be made small and compact. As a result, it is possible to install in a narrow place where the installation space is limited. Further, the spring charge of the mainspring spring 14 can be automatically performed by the rotation of the pinion 13 which is interlocked with the movement of the rack 28 in the direction in which the tray 2 is pulled out. Therefore, the spring charge operation of the mainspring spring 14 can be easily performed. You can do it.

10 to 14 show the structure of the retracting device 40 of the second embodiment in which a part of the structure of the retracting device 10 of the first embodiment is modified. Therefore, the structure of the retracting device 40 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14 and, if necessary, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

10 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the retracting device 40 with the case body 41A removed, FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the retracting device 40 with the case cover 41B removed, and FIG. 12 is the slider 42. And FIG. 13 is a view for explaining the arrangement configuration of the pinion 50 and the pinion 50, and FIG. Further, the same elements as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicate description will be omitted.

10 and 12, the retraction device 40 includes a case 41, a slider 42, a spring force adjusting means 43, a spring spring 44, a rotary damper 45, and the like, and is a single component in a unitized state. Treated as.

The case 41 includes a case main body 41A whose upper and lower surfaces and one side are opened, and a case cover 41B which is fixedly attached to the case main body 41A by closing the opened one side of the case main body 41A. And has a substantially hexahedral box shape. The case 41 is attached to the copying machine main body 3 in a state in which the front and rear side surfaces 41a and 41b are oriented in the slide movement direction M indicated by arrows AB in FIGS. The case 41 is attached to the copying machine main body 3 after the retracting device 40 is unitized.

Guide holes 17 provided along the slide movement direction M of the tray 2 are provided on the left and right sides 41c and 41d of the case 41 (the side face 41d also serves as the case cover 41B) in a symmetrical manner. There is. The guide hole 17 has a linear groove 17a that is linearly formed along the slide movement direction M, that is, from the rear side (drawing direction B side) to the front side (drawing direction A side), and a linear shape. The groove 17a has a drop lock groove 17b formed by continuously turning from the terminal end of the groove 17a toward the lower side at a right angle.

Further, on the inner surface of the case body 41A, that is, on the inner surface of the side surface 41c, in addition to the pivot shaft 48 for mounting the spring spring 44 and the pinion 50, the mounting pin 46 for mounting the rotary damper 45, and the spur gear 43a of the spring force adjusting means 43 and A mounting pin 47 for mounting the worm wheel 43b is provided. Further, the case body 41A is provided with screw holes 22 for fixing and attaching the case cover 41B at a plurality of positions other than the pivot shaft 48 and the attachment pins 46 and 47. The rotary damper 45 described above is disposed on the mounting pin 46 and mounted on the side surface 41c of the case body 41A, and on the rotation side (outer peripheral surface side) of the rotary damper 45, the gear 45a integrally rotates. It is installed so that. Further, the pivot 48 is rotatably provided with respect to the case body 41A.

The slider 42 is a member extending in a slender shape along the slide movement direction M of the tray 2, and front and rear guide rollers 27a and 27b are separately formed on the left and right side surfaces 42a and 42a, respectively. The pair of left and right front guide rollers 27a and rear guide rollers 27b are slidably disposed in the guide holes 17 on the case body 41A side and the case cover 41B side, respectively. The slider 42 can reciprocate in the sliding movement direction M with respect to the case 41 by the sliding movement of the front guide roller 27a and the rear guide roller 27b with respect to the guide hole 17.

On the lower surface of the slider 42, a rack 49 having a plurality of teeth arranged in a line is formed. The rack 49 has a first rack portion 49a and a second rack portion 49b provided closer to the retracted side than the first rack portion 49a, and has a first rack portion 49a in the left-right direction (thickness direction) of the slider 42. It is a two-tiered rack in which the second rack portions 49b are arranged side by side. Further, both the first rack portion 49a and the second rack portion 49b have rack teeth protruding on the lower surface side, and the first rack portion 49a is displaced downward and protrudes from the second rack portion 49b. It is formed in a state.

On the other hand, on the upper surface side of the slider 42, the hook 29 and the latch 30 are provided apart from each other in the front-rear direction (sliding movement direction M) with a gap slightly larger than the outer diameter dimension of the control pin 4. More specifically, the latch 30 is provided on the pulling direction A side, and the hook 29 is provided on the pulling direction B side. The control pin 4 can be engaged with the hook 29 by dropping it between the hook 29 and the latch 30.

The surface of the hook 29 facing the latch 30 (the surface on the pull-out direction A side) is formed of a substantially right-angled locking surface 29a.

The upper surface of the latch 30 is provided with an inclined surface 30a that climbs toward the pull-in direction B side (falls toward the pull-out direction A side) toward the hook 29 side, and then is formed in a suspended state. The surface of 29 that faces the locking surface 29a in parallel is a locking surface 30b.

The slider 42 thus configured has the hook 29 and the latch 30 protruding from the upper surface 41e of the case 41 when both the front guide roller 27a and the rear guide roller 27b are arranged in the linear groove 17a. Is held in. Further, when the slider 42 is moved in the pull-out direction A and the front guide roller 27a is arranged at a position corresponding to the drop lock groove 17b, the slider 42 rotates downward with the rear guide roller 27b as a fulcrum. The front guide roller 27a side is set so as to fall into the drop lock groove 17b and be engaged and locked. Then, when the front guide roller 27a side falls into the lock groove 17b and is engaged and locked, the latch 30 also sinks and is hidden in the upper surface 41e of the case 41, and only the hook 29 is held in a state of protruding from the upper surface 41e. It is set to be.

The pinion 50 is formed of a two-stage gear in which a first pinion portion 50a and a second pinion portion 50b having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the first pinion portion 50a are arranged side by side on the pivot 48. Further, the first pinion portion 50a is formed so as to be capable of meshing with the second rack portion 49b of the rack 49 and corresponding to the second rack portion 49b, and the second pinion portion 50b is formed in the first rack of the rack 49. The first rack portion 49a is formed so as to be capable of meshing with the portion 49a.

Inside the pinion 50, there is a space 32 having a substantially circular shape in plan view for housing a mainspring spring 44 which serves as a drive source for the retracting means. The mainspring spring 44 is housed in the space 32, and a pivot shaft 48 is used as an axis together with the mainspring spring 44. It is arranged in an integrated (unitized) state. The drawing means is composed of a rack 49, a pinion 50, a mainspring 44, and the like. A mainspring spring 44 as a drive source of the retracting means is formed by winding a spring plate material continuously in a plurality of times in a circular shape, and one end of the mainspring spring 44, that is, the winding inner end portion 44a is a slit formed on the end surface of the pivot shaft 48. It is inserted and locked in the groove 48a, and the other end of the spiral spring 44, that is, the outer winding end 44b is opened in the space 32 of the pinion 50 and is inserted and locked in the slit 50c formed in the pinion 50. In this state, the pinion 50 and the pivot 48 are attached. When the slider 42 is slid in the pull-out direction A and the pinion 50 meshing with the rack teeth of the rack 49 in the slider 42 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. Be charged. On the other hand, when the engagement lock between the drop lock groove 17B and the front guide roller 27A is released, the pinion 50 is rotated clockwise by the spring charging force of the main spring 44, as shown in FIG. The slider 42 is slidably moved in the pull-in direction B by the engagement of the pinion 50 and the rack 49.

The rotary damper 45 is, for example, an oil damper having a finite angle, and has a function of rotating at a constant speed and buffering. The finite angle rotary damper 45 has a gear 45 a that rotates integrally with the rotary side of the rotary damper 45. The gear 45a is provided so as to be capable of meshing with the second rack portion 49b of the slider 42 and corresponding to the second rack portion 49b.

The spring force adjusting means 43 has a spur gear 43a and a worm wheel 43b that are rotatably mounted on a mounting pin 47, and a worm gear 43c that is rotatably held by the case body 41a. The spur gear 43a and the worm wheel 43b are integrally rotated. Further, the spur gear 43a meshes with a spur gear 18f mounted on the same pivot so as to be integrally rotatable, and the worm wheel 43b meshes with the worm gear 43c. A slot groove 43e is formed at one end (lower end) of the pivotal portion 43d of the worm gear 43c. When the tip of a slotted screwdriver (not shown) is inserted into the slot groove 43e and horizontally rotated in the left-right direction, The pivot portion 43d can be integrally rotated together with the worm gear 43c in the forward or reverse direction depending on the rotation direction. When the worm gear 43c is rotated, the rotation of the worm gear 43c is transmitted to the pivot shaft 48 via the spur gears 43a and 43f, and the pivot shaft 48 is rotated in the forward or reverse direction to cause the spring spring 44 to move in the initial stage. By increasing or decreasing the spring force, it is possible to adjust the spring force, which is the drive source of the retracting means, to an appropriate spring force. That is, only the pivot 48 can be rotated with respect to the pinion 50 to adjust the winding amount of the main spring 44.

The operation of the retracting device 40 in the second embodiment thus constructed will be described below together with the operation of the tray 2. First, from the state shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 in which the tray 2 is arranged at the final paper feeding position, when the tray 2 is pulled out in the pull-out direction A to replenish the paper in the tray 2, it is moved together with the tray 2. The control pin 4 comes into contact with the locking surface 30b of the latch 30, and pulls the slider 42 to move to the pull-out direction A side. Further, the movement of the slider 42 in the pull-out direction A causes the pinion 50 to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. 10, and as the pinion 50 rotates, the spring spring 44 is gradually spring-charged from the initially adjusted position. ..

Further, when the front side guide roller 27a is pulled out to a position corresponding to the drop lock groove 17b, the direction of the force for pulling the slider 42 downwards along the linear groove 17a and the drop lock groove 17b. Work towards. Then, by the action of the force, the slider 42 rotates counterclockwise (downward) with the rear guide roller 27b as a fulcrum. As a result, the front guide roller 27a falls and falls into the lock groove 17b, and the latch 30 sinks below the upper surface 41e of the case 41, that is, inside the case 41. As a result, the engagement between the latch 30 and the control pin 4 is released. Further, the tray 2 is largely pulled out in the pull-out direction A until the tray 2 stops, and the recording paper is supplied to the tray 2 at the pulled-out position. Further, the charging force of the main spring 44 is not applied to the slider 42 because the front guide roller 27a is dropped into the drop lock groove 17b and is engaged and locked. Therefore, the slider 742 does not return in the pull-in direction B, and the charging force of the main spring 44 is held in a state of being spring-charged.

When the supply of the recording paper is completed, the drawer side of the tray 2 is lifted so that the front guide roller 27a falls out of the lock groove 17b, and then the tray 2 is slid in the drawing direction B and pushed in. When the tray 2 is pushed to a predetermined position, the control pin 4 abuts on the locking surface 29a of the hook 29 and the pull-out side of the slider 42 is lifted to release the engagement lock, and at the same time, the first pinion portion 50a of the pinion 50 and the first pinion portion 50a By the engagement with the second rack portion 49b, the spring force of the spring-charged mainspring spring 44 is applied to the slider 42 side via the first pinion portion 50a. As a result, the slider 42 slides along with the control pin 4 and the tray 2 in the pulling direction B. At this time, since the gear 45a of the rotary damper 45 is not meshed with the second rack portion 49b, the return spring force of the main spring 44 is entirely transmitted to the slider 42 side, and the strong spring force of the main spring 44 moves in the pulling direction B together with the tray 2. Moving.

When the second rack portion 49b on the slider 42 side moves to a position where it meshes with the gear 45a of the rotary damper 45, the slider 42 is gently moved at a substantially constant speed due to the buffer regulation of the rotary damper 45. Along with this, it moves in the retracting direction B. Furthermore, when the first rack portion 49a moves to a position where it meshes with the second pinion portion 50b, the rotation damper 45 is out of a finite angle (outside of buffer regulation), the buffer regulation of the rotary damper 45 is removed, and the return force of the spring spring 44 is reduced. It is directly applied to the slider 42 side via the first rack portion 49a and the second pinion portion 50b. Then, the tray 2 is reliably moved to a position where it is arranged at a predetermined paper feeding position (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1), and the sliding movement by the slider 42 is also stopped.

Therefore, also in the retracting device 40 according to the second embodiment, since the spring spring 44 is used as the spring member for applying the force for moving the slider 42 in the retracting direction (closing direction) B, the outer shape of the entire device is reduced. Can be made compact. As a result, it is possible to install in a narrow place where the installation space is limited.

Further, the initial spring charge force of the mainspring spring 44 is also adjusted by rotating the pivot portion 43d of the spring force adjusting means 43 in the forward or reverse direction to adjust the initial spring force, which is the drive source of the retracting means, to an appropriate spring force. You can As a result, the initial spring force of each tray 2 of the electronic copying machine 1 can be adjusted to an optimum state and easily adjusted.

Further, the pinion 50 is formed by a two-stage gear including a first pinion portion 50a and a second pinion portion 50b, and the rack 49 of the slider 42 is formed by a two-stage rack including a first rack portion 49a and a second rack portion 49b. I am configuring. During the initial pull-in operation S, the slider 42 receives the pull-in force of the main spring 44 in a state where the second rack portion 49b does not mesh with the gear 45a of the rotary damper 45 but only meshes with the first pinion portion 50a. As shown in the graph of the relationship between the pull-in force [N] and the pull-in distance [mm] in FIG. 14, it is possible to pull in a strong force such as 15 N at the initial operation S when the pull-in distance is up to about 10 mm. After that, when the second rack portion 49b meshes with the gear 45a of the rotary damper 45, the slider 42 is gently moved in the retracting direction B at a substantially constant speed due to the buffer regulation of the rotary damper 45. When the rotary damper 45 approaches the final movement position outside the finite angle (outside the buffer regulation), the first rack portion 49a is meshed with the second pinion portion 50b, and the slider 42 re-directs the pulling force of the mainspring 44. It is possible to receive and reliably move to the final retracted position shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. In addition, in FIG. 14, the curve (1) indicates a two-tiered rack 49 including the first rack portion 49a and the second rack portion 49b and a drawer device that does not adopt the configuration of the first rack portion 49a and the second rack portion 49b. In the curve graph of the case, the curve of (2) shows the configuration of the two-stage rack 49 including the first rack portion 49a and the second rack portion 49b, and the two-stage gear configuration including the pinion portion 50a and the second pinion portion 50b. It is a curve graph in the case of the drawer apparatus of this invention used. As a result, as can be seen from the graph shown in FIG. 14, the retracting device 40 of the present invention surely pulls the slider 42 into the tray 2 with a retracting force smaller than the retracting force of the retracting device having the above configuration (1). At the same time, it can be gently moved to a predetermined position at a substantially constant speed.

15 to 19 show a third embodiment in which a part of the structure of the retracting device 10 of the first embodiment and a part of the structure of the second embodiment, especially the structure of the spring force adjusting means 43 of the second embodiment are modified. 2 shows the structure of an example retractor 60. Therefore, the structure of the retracting device 60 of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 19 and, if necessary, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

15 is a plan view of the retracting device 60 as seen from the case cover 61B side, FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the internal structure of the retracting device 60 with the case cover 61B removed, and FIG. It is a top view. Further, the same elements as those in the first and second embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals, and the duplicate description will be omitted.

15 and 16, the retracting device 60 includes a case 61, a slider 42, a spring force adjusting means 62, a spring spring (not shown), a rotary damper 45, and the like, and is a unitary unit. Handled as a part.

The case 61 includes a case body 61A whose upper and lower surfaces and one side are opened, and a case cover 61B which is fixedly attached to the case body 61A by closing the opened one side of the case body 61A. It has a substantially hexahedral box shape. The case 61 has its front and rear side surfaces 61a and 61b oriented in the slide movement direction M indicated by arrows AB in FIGS. It is attached to the main body 3. The case 61 is attached to the copying machine body 3 after the retracting device 60 is unitized.

Guide holes 17 provided along the slide movement direction M of the tray 2 are provided on the left and right sides 61c, 61d of the case 61 (the side face 61d also serves as the case cover 61B) in a symmetrical manner. There is. The guide hole 17 has a linear groove 17a that is linearly formed along the slide movement direction M, that is, from the rear side (drawing direction B side) to the front side (drawing direction A side), and a linear shape. The groove 17a has a drop lock groove 17b formed by continuously turning from the terminal end of the groove 17a toward the lower side at a right angle.

Further, on the inner surface of the case body 61A, that is, on the inner surface of the side surface 61c, a pivot shaft (not shown) for mounting the spring spring 44 and the pinion 50 (the same as the pivot shaft 48 rotatable with respect to the case body 61A shown in the second embodiment). And a mounting pin 46 for mounting the rotary damper 45 are integrally provided. Further, the case main body 61A is provided with screw holes (not shown) for fixing and attaching the case cover 61B at a plurality of locations other than the pivot shaft 48 and the attachment pins 46 and 47. The rotary damper 45 described above is disposed on the mounting pin 46 and mounted on the side surface 61c of the case body 61A, and on the rotation side (outer peripheral surface side) of the rotary damper 45, the gear 45a integrally rotates. It is installed so that. The case cover 61B is provided with a circular hole 63 for rotatably disposing a rotary plate portion 62A of a spring force adjusting means 62 described later.

The slider 42 is a member extending in a slender shape along the slide movement direction M of the tray 2, and front and rear guide rollers 27a and 27b are separately formed on the left and right side surfaces 42a and 42a, respectively. The pair of left and right front guide rollers 27a and rear guide rollers 27b are slidably disposed in the guide holes 17 on the case body 61A side and the case cover 61B side, respectively. The slider 42 can reciprocate in the sliding movement direction M with respect to the case 61 by the sliding movement of the front guide roller 27a and the rear guide roller 27b with respect to the guide hole 17.

On the lower surface of the slider 42, a rack 49 having a plurality of teeth arranged in a straight line is formed as in the structure of the second embodiment. The rack 49 has a first rack portion 49a and a second rack portion 49b provided on the retracting side of the first rack portion 49a, and has a first wrap portion 49a in the left-right direction (thickness direction) of the slider 42. It is a two-tiered rack in which the second rack portions 49b are arranged side by side. In addition, the first rack portion 49a and the second rack portion 49b both have protruding rack teeth on the lower surface side, and the first rack portion 49a is projected downward from the second rack portion 49b. Has been formed.

On the other hand, on the upper surface side of the slider 42, the hook 29 and the latch 30 are provided apart from each other in the front-rear direction (sliding movement direction M) with a gap slightly larger than the outer diameter dimension of the control pin 4. More specifically, the latch 30 is provided on the pulling direction A side, and the hook 29 is provided on the pulling direction B side. The control pin 4 can be engaged with the hook 29 by dropping it between the hook 29 and the latch 30.

The slider 42 is held with the hook 29 and the latch 30 protruding from the upper surface 61e of the case 61 when both the front guide roller 27a and the rear guide roller 27b are arranged in the linear groove 17a. ing. Further, when the slider 42 is moved in the pull-out direction A and the front guide roller 27a is arranged at a position corresponding to the drop lock groove 17b, the slider 42 rotates downward with the rear guide roller 27b as a fulcrum. The front guide roller 27a side is set so that the locking groove falls and is engaged and locked. Then, when the front guide roller 27a side falls into the lock groove 17b and is engaged and locked, the latch 30 also sinks and is hidden in the upper surface 61e of the case 61, and only the hook 29 is held in a state of protruding from the upper surface 61e. It is set to be.

As in the case of the second embodiment, the pinion 50 has a first pinion portion 50a and a second pinion portion 50b having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the first pinion portion 50a arranged side by side on the pivot shaft 48. It is formed of two-stage gears. Further, the first pinion portion 50a is formed so as to be capable of meshing with the second rack portion 49b of the rack 49 and formed corresponding to the second rack portion 49b, and the second pinion portion 50b is formed in the first rack portion 49a of the rack 49. Is formed so as to be capable of meshing with the first rack portion 49a.

The inside of the pinion 50 is formed in the same manner as the structure of the second embodiment, and has a space 32 having a substantially circular shape in plan view for accommodating a spring spring 44 (not shown) serving as a retracting means, and the spring 32 is inside the space 32. And is arranged in a state of being integrated (unitized) with the mainspring spring 44 about the pivot 48 as an axis. The drawing means is composed of a rack 49, a pinion 50, a mainspring 44, and the like. The spiral spring 44 as a drive source of the retracting means is also formed by winding a spring plate material in a plurality of continuous rounds, and one end of the spiral spring 44, that is, the winding inner end 44a is formed on the end surface of the pivot 48. It is inserted and locked in the groove 48a, and the other end of the spiral spring 44, that is, the outer winding end 44b is opened in the space 32 of the pinion 50 and is inserted and locked in the slit 50c formed in the pinion 50. In this state, the pinion 50 and the pivot 48 are attached. When the slider 42 is slid in the pull-out direction A and the pinion 50 meshing with the rack teeth of the slider 49 of the slider 42 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. Be charged. On the other hand, when the engagement lock between the drop lock groove 17b and the front guide roller 27a is released, the pinion 50 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 15 by the spring charge force of the main spring 44, The slider 42 is slid in the pull-in direction B by the engagement of the pinion 50 and the rack 49.

The rotary damper 45 is a finite angle oil damper similar to the structure of the second embodiment, and has a function of rotating at a constant speed and buffering. The finite angle rotary damper 45 has a gear 45 a that rotates integrally with the rotary side of the rotary damper 45. The gear 45a is provided so as to be capable of meshing with the second rack portion 49b of the slider 42 and corresponding to the second rack portion 49b.

The spring force adjusting means 62 is a resin-made spring plate 62A for adjusting spring force, which is rotatable integrally with the pivot 48 of the pinion 50, and a circular hole in which the spring plate 62A for adjusting spring force is rotatably arranged. And a fixed plate portion 62B having 63. In addition, in the third embodiment, the fixing plate portion 62B is formed integrally with the case cover 61B in a part of the resin case cover 61B. The fixed plate portion 62B may be formed separately from the case cover 61B. Further, a plurality of positioning recesses 64 formed with a predetermined phase angle are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62A, and a minus tribar or the like is formed on the outer surface of the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62A. A groove 65 is provided to allow the tip to be inserted and engaged. On the other hand, the fixed plate portion 62B is fixedly attached to the case cover 61 outside the case cover 61B and with the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62A concentrically arranged in the circular hole 63. .. On the inner peripheral surface of the circular hole 63 of the fixed plate portion 62B, a plurality of elastic claw pieces 66 having a locking claw portion 66a at the tip are provided corresponding to the positioning concave portions 64 of the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62A. Has been. When the elastic locking claw piece 66 of the fixed plate portion 62B rotates the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62A together with the pivot shaft 48 of the pinion 50 in the normal direction or the reverse direction, the tip claw portion 65a moves into the positioning recess 64. Further, the positioning recess 64 is depressed, and the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62A can be releasably rotationally locked with respect to the fixed plate portion 62B at each phase angle.

Then, the spring adjusting means 62 inserts the tip of a flat-blade screwdriver into the recessed groove 65 and rotates the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62A in the left-right direction, so that the pivot portion of the pinion 50 is moved in accordance with the rotation direction. It can be rotated in the forward or reverse direction together with the pinion 50, and the locking claw portion 66a of the elastic locking piece 66 and the positioning recess 64 can be engaged and locked for rotation at corresponding phase angles. It has become. Further, when the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62A is rotated, the rotation is transmitted to the pinion 50 through the pivot shaft 48, and the pinion 50 is rotated in the forward or reverse direction, so that the spring of the spring spring 44 at the initial stage is rotated. By increasing or decreasing the force, the spring force that is the drive source of the retracting means can be adjusted to an appropriate spring force. That is, only the pivot 48 can be rotated with respect to the pinion 50 to adjust the winding amount of the main spring 44.

18 and 19 are diagrams showing the operation of the retracting device 60 in the third embodiment. Therefore, next, the operation of the retracting device 60 will be described together with the operation of the tray 2 by adding FIGS. 18 and 19 to FIGS. 15 to 17.

First, from the state shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 in which the tray 2 is placed at the final paper feeding position, when the tray 2 is pulled out in the pulling direction A to replenish the paper in the tray 2, it is moved together with the tray 2. The control pin 4 that comes into contact with the latching surface 30b of the latch 30 moves the slider 42 in the pull-out direction A side together with the slider 42. Further, the movement of the slider 42 in the pull-out direction A causes the pinion 50 to rotate in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 16, and as the pinion 50 rotates, the spring spring 44 is gradually spring-charged from the initially adjusted position.

Further, when the front side guide roller 27a is pulled out to a position corresponding to the drop lock groove 17b, the direction of the force for pulling the slider 42 downwards along the linear groove 17a and the drop lock groove 17b. Work towards. Then, by the action of the force, the slider 42 rotates counterclockwise (downward) with the rear guide roller 27b as a fulcrum. As a result, as shown in FIG. 18, the front guide roller 27a falls into the lock groove 17b and the latch 30 sinks below the upper surface 41e of the case 61, that is, inside the case 61. As a result, the engagement between the latch 30 and the control pin 4 is released. Further, the tray 2 is largely pulled out in the pull-out direction A until the tray 2 stops, and the recording paper is supplied to the tray 2 at the pulled-out position. Further, the charging force of the mainspring 44 is not applied to the slider 42 because the front guide roller 27a falls into the drop lock groove 17b and is engaged and locked. Therefore, the slider 42 does not return in the retracting direction B, and the charging force of the mainspring spring 44 is held in a state of being spring-charged.

Further, after the recording paper is replenished, as shown in FIG. 19, the front guide roller 27a lifts the drawer side of the tray 2 so that the front guide roller 27a comes out of the lock groove 17b, and slides in the drawing direction B to push it in. Then, when the tray 2 is pushed to a predetermined position, the control pin 4 comes into contact with the locking surface 29a of the hook 29 and the pull-out side of the slider 42 is lifted to release the locking lock, and at the same time, the first pinion portion of the pinion 50 is released. Due to the engagement of 50a and the second rack portion 49b, the spring force of the spring-charged spring spring 44 is applied to the slider 42 side via the first pinion portion 50a. As a result, the slider 42 slides along with the control pin 4 and the tray 2 in the pulling direction B. At this time, since the gear 45a of the rotary damper 45 is not meshed with the second rack portion 49b, the return spring force of the main spring 44 is entirely transmitted to the slider 42 side, and the strong spring force of the main spring 44 moves in the pulling direction B together with the tray 2. Moving.

When the second rack portion 49b on the slider 42 side moves to a position where it meshes with the gear 45a of the rotary damper 45, the slider 42 is gently moved at a substantially constant speed due to the buffer regulation of the rotary damper 45. Along with this, it moves in the retracting direction B. Furthermore, when the first rack portion 49a moves to a position where it meshes with the second pinion portion 50b, the rotation damper 45 is out of a finite angle (outside of buffer regulation), the buffer regulation of the rotary damper 45 is removed, and the return force of the spring spring 44 is reduced. It is directly applied to the slider 42 side via the first rack portion 49a and the second pinion portion 50b. Then, the tray 2 is reliably moved to a position where it is arranged at a predetermined paper feeding position (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1), and the sliding movement by the slider 42 is also stopped.

Therefore, also in the retracting device 60 according to the third embodiment, since the spring 44 is used as the spring member for applying the force for moving the slider 42 in the retracting direction (closing direction) B, the outer shape of the entire device is reduced. Can be made compact. As a result, it is possible to install in a narrow place where the installation space is limited.

The initial spring charge force of the mainspring spring 44 is also the initial spring force of the mainspring spring 44, which is the drive source of the retracting means, by rotating the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62A of the spring force adjusting means 62 in the forward or reverse direction. It can be adjusted to an appropriate spring force. As a result, the initial spring force of each tray 2 of the electronic copying machine 1 can be adjusted to an optimum state and easily adjusted.

Further, the pinion 50 is formed by a two-stage gear including a first pinion portion 50a and a second pinion portion 50b, and the rack 49 of the slider 42 is configured by a two-stage rack including a first rack portion 49a and a second rack portion 49b. doing. During the initial pull-in operation S, the slider 42 receives the pull-in force of the main spring 44 while the second rack portion 49b does not mesh with the gear 45a of the rotary damper 45 but only meshes with the first pinion portion 50a. As in the case of the second embodiment, it is initially pulled in with a strong force. After that, when the second rack portion 49b meshes with the gear 45a of the rotary damper 45, the slider 42 is gently moved in the retracting direction B at a substantially constant speed due to the buffer regulation of the rotary damper 45. When the rotary damper 45 approaches the final movement position (retraction position) where the rotation damper 45 is out of a finite angle (out of buffer regulation), the first rack portion 49a is engaged with the second pinion portion 50b, and the slider 42 causes the spring spring 414 to retract. Can be directly received again and can be reliably moved to the final retracted position shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. As a result, the slider 42 can be reliably moved together with the tray 2 to a predetermined position with a small pulling force at a substantially constant speed.

In the third embodiment, the positioning recess 64 of the spring force adjusting means 62 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62A, and the elastic locking piece 66 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the circular hole 63 of the fixed plate portion 62B. Although the structure provided on the surface is disclosed, the positioning recess 64 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the circular hole 63 of the fixed plate portion 62B, and the elastic locking piece 66 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62A. It is a good thing to do.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the case of retracting the tray 2 of the electronic copying machine has been described, but the invention is not limited to the tray 2 of the electronic copying machine 1 and can be widely used for sliding doors and the like. Further, the present invention can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the present invention covers the modifications.

1 Electronic copier 2 Recording paper tray (moving object)
2a Side surface 3 Copier main body 3a Right side surface 4 Control pin 10 Retracting device 11 Case 11A Case main body portion 11B Case cover (side surface of case)
11a front side surface 11b rear side surfaces 11c and 11d left and right side surfaces 11e upper surface 12 slider 12a side surface 12b end portion 13 pinion 13a slit 14 spring spring (retracting means)
14a Winding inner end 14b Winding outer end 15 Rotation damper 15a Gear 16 Idle gear 17 Guide hole 17a Straight groove 17b Drop lock groove 18 Mounting pin (common pivot)
18a Slot groove 19 Mounting pin 20 Mounting pin 21 Mounting pin 22 Screw hole 23 Window hole 24 Mounting hole 25 Mounting hole 26 Mounting hole 27a Front guide roller 27b Rear guide roller 28 Rack 29 Hook 29a Locking surface 29b Slope 30 Latch 30a Sloping surface 30b Locking surface 31 Gap 40 Retracting device 41 Case 41A Case body 41B Case covers 41a, 41b Front and rear side surfaces 41c, 41d Left and right side surfaces 41e Top surface 42 Slider 42a Side surface 43 Spring force adjusting means 43a Spur gear 43b Worm wheel 43c Worm Gear 43d pivot part 43e slot groove 43f spur gear 44 spiral spring (pull-in means)
45 rotation damper 45a gear 46 mounting pin 47 mounting pin 48 pivot 48a slot groove 49 rack 49a first rack part 49b second rack part 50 pinion 50a first pinion part 50b second pinion part 50c slit 51, 52 spur gear 60 pull-in Structure 61 Case 61A Case main body 61B Case covers 61a, 61b Front and rear side surfaces 61c, 61d Left and right side surfaces 61e Upper surface 62 Spring force adjusting means 62A Spring force adjusting rotary plate portion 62B Fixed plate portion 63 Circular hole 64 Positioning recess 65 Groove 66 Elastic locking piece 66a Locking claw A Pulling direction B Pulling direction M Sliding movement direction

Claims (12)

A retracting device for slidingly moving a movable body that can slide in the front-rear direction in a closing direction,
A case arranged in parallel with the movable body along the sliding movement direction of the movable body,
A guide that is provided in the case and has a linear groove that is linearly formed along the slide movement direction and a drop lock groove that is formed continuously downward from an end portion of the linear groove on the pull-out side. A hole,
The front and rear guide rollers respectively engaged with the guide holes, the rack formed on the lower surface side along the slide movement direction, and the hooks and latches formed on the upper surface side, the front and rear guide rollers. Of the guide roller and the linear groove are slidable, and when the front guide roller is slid to a position corresponding to the drop groove, the front guide roller is rotated downward with respect to the case to move the front side. A slider in which the guide roller can be engaged and locked in the drop groove,
A pinion meshed with the rack and arranged in parallel with the slider;
A control pin that is arranged between the hook and the latch and moves integrally with the movable body;
The pinion is spring-charged by the rotation of the pinion that is interlocked with the movement of the rack in the direction in which the movable body is pulled out while being disposed on the pivot of the pinion, and by the engagement lock release of the slider, Retracting means having a spring spring for releasing the spring-charged accumulated force and applying a retraction force for moving the movable body together with the slider in the retraction direction,
A retraction device comprising: The retracting device according to claim 1, wherein the retracting means is built in the pinion. A rotary damper that has a gear that meshes with the rack of the slider on the outer periphery and that rotates in conjunction with the sliding movement of the slider is provided at a position on the pull-in side of the slider with respect to the pinion. The retractor according to claim 1 or 2. The retraction device according to claim 3, wherein an idle gear is provided between the pinion and the gear of the rotary damper. The pinion is formed of a two-stage gear in which a first pinion portion and a second pinion portion having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the first pinion portion are arranged side by side on the pivot shaft,
A first rack portion that meshes the rack with the first pinion portion and the gear of the rotary damper; and a second rack portion that is provided closer to the drawer side than the first rack portion and meshes with the second pinion portion. The rack portion is formed of a two-stage rack having
The retraction device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The retraction device according to claim 5, wherein the rotary damper is a finite angle rotary damper that imparts constant velocity to the slider within a predetermined rotation range. 7. The retracting device according to claim 1, wherein the retracting means includes a spring force adjusting means capable of adjusting the retracting force of the mainspring spring. 8. The retracting device according to claim 7, wherein the spring force adjusting means has a worm gear meshed with the pinion and a pivot shaft capable of rotating the worm gear in both forward and reverse directions. The spring force adjusting means,
A spring force adjusting rotary plate portion in which the winding inner end portion of the spiral spring having the winding outer end portion locked to the pinion is locked, and rotates integrally with the winding inner end portion,
A fixed plate part having a circular hole in which the spring force adjusting rotary plate part is rotatably arranged;
A plurality of positioning recesses formed on the outer peripheral surface of the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion or the inner peripheral surface of the circular hole at substantially equal intervals with a predetermined phase angle, respectively, and in the positioning recesses. An elastic claw piece which is releasably lockable and locked so that the spring force adjusting rotary plate portion can be rotationally locked with respect to the fixed plate portion at each of the phase angles.
The retractor according to claim 7, wherein the retractor is a retractor. The retracting device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the drop lock groove of the guide hole is formed by changing its direction substantially at right angles to the linear groove. .. 11. The slider is rotated downward with the rear guide roller as a fulcrum when the front guide roller slides to a position corresponding to the drop groove. The retractor according to claim 1. The back surface of the latch on the pull-out direction side is formed as an inclined surface that descends toward the pull-out direction, and is formed so as to be rotatable downward with a lower end portion of the inclined surface as a fulcrum. The retractor according to any one of claims 1 to 11.