JP7723345B2 - Paper feeder and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a paper feeder and an image forming apparatus.

Large-capacity paper feeders that load a large amount of paper into a paper feed tray and feed it one sheet at a time to the image forming unit of an image forming device are known as paper feeders used in image forming devices (see, for example, Patent Document 1: JP 2016-653). Meanwhile, in recent years, the printing market has seen an increasing need to print on paper longer than regular paper, such as A3 or A4 (for example, book covers, double-page catalog spreads, and POP advertisements).

Long-length paper is longer than regular paper, so it cannot be loaded into the paper feed tray of a typical large-capacity paper feeder. Traditionally, long-length paper has been loaded into a manual feed tray, and the paper has been replenished, fed, and printed in small amounts. However, in recent years, an extension bottom plate that can be detachably attached to the tray bottom of the paper feed tray has been used to enable long-length paper to be fed using the paper feed tray of a large-capacity paper feeder (Patent Document 2: JP 2008-302993 A, Patent Document 3: JP 2018-154458 A).

The length of the extension bottom plate is set to correspond to the maximum length or the length of long paper that is frequently printed. Therefore, when long paper shorter than the set length is loaded onto the extension bottom plate, extra space is created at the rear end of the extension bottom plate. Furthermore, the extension bottom plate itself is large and bulky, requiring a large amount of storage space. This situation causes discomfort to users.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide a paper feeder that does not create extra space in the extension bottom plate even when various long sheets of paper of different lengths are set, and does not require a large storage space for the extension bottom plate.

To solve the above problem, the paper feeder of the present invention is a paper feeder equipped with a paper feed tray having a loading plate on which paper can be loaded, a transport means for transporting paper loaded on the loading plate, and a long-size option having an extension bottom plate that is detachably attached upstream of the loading plate in the paper transport direction and extends the loading plate to allow loading of long paper, wherein the extension bottom plate has multiple extension bottom plates that can be interconnected in the paper transport direction.

According to the present invention, even when various types of long paper of different lengths are set, no extra space is created in the extension bottom plate, and no large storage space is required for the extension bottom plate.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a large capacity feed tray unit (LCT) as a paper feed device of the present invention. This is a perspective view of the LCT with the long option attached. This is an oblique view of the LCT with the opening and closing cover of the long option open. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the LCT with long paper set therein. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the LCT with the upper paper feed tray removed. 1A is a perspective view of the paper feed tray before the extension bottom plate is connected to the tray bottom plate, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the paper feed tray after the extension bottom plate is connected to the tray bottom plate. 1A is a plan view of the paper feed tray before the extension bottom plate is connected to the tray bottom plate, and FIGS. 1B to 1E are plan views of the paper feed tray after the extension bottom plate is connected to the tray bottom plate. 10 is a plan view showing the attachment state of a detection member that detects the connection between the tray bottom plate and the extension bottom plate. FIG. 10A is a plan view of a paper feed tray with an extension bottom plate connected to the tray bottom plate, where FIG. 10A shows the state where one standard extension bottom plate is connected, FIG. 10B shows the state where one standard extension bottom plate and four short extension bottom plates are connected, and FIG. 10C shows the state where one long extension bottom plate and one standard extension bottom plate are connected. FIG. 10 is a plan view of the paper feed tray with three standard extension bottom plates and a second side fence connected to the tray bottom plate. 10 is a side view of the housing of the paper feeder including an extension case covering the extension bottom plate. FIG. 1A and 1B are a plan view and a side view, respectively, of a paper feeder including an extension case to which a detection member is attached. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a combination of an extension bottom plate with respect to a paper length.

(●Paper feeder)
1A to 1D show a state in which a long sheet option 6 and an extension bottom plate 61 are attached to a large capacity sheet feeder tray unit (LCT) 1 serving as a sheet feeder.

Paper loaded in paper feed tray 3 is transported by a transport mechanism inside LCT1 to the image forming unit, which serves as the image forming section of the image forming device. The image forming unit is a device that forms images on paper transported from LCT1, and is incorporated into the image forming device together with LCT1.

In this embodiment, the LCT1 can normally only load plain paper such as A3 and A4 in the paper feed tray 3, but by attaching the long paper option 6, it becomes possible to load long paper 7, which is longer than plain paper, in the paper feed tray 3.

The LCT 1 of this embodiment has a housing 2 and a tray bottom plate 31 (Figure 1C) that serves as a loading plate on which plain paper such as A3 and A4 is typically loaded. The paper feed tray 3 is arranged to be slidable in the Y2 direction inside and outside the housing 2.

The LCT1 is equipped with a drive unit 4 (see Figure 1E) that drives the tray bottom plate 31 up and down, and slide rails 52 that hold the paper feed tray 3 so that it can slide freely in the Y2 direction inside and outside the housing 2. The LCT1 also has a transport unit as transport means including a transport belt that transports paper loaded on the tray bottom plate 31 to the image forming unit.

The LCT1 also has a long option 6 with an extension bottom plate 61 that extends the upstream side of the tray bottom plate 31 in the conveying direction Y1 to allow long paper 7 to be loaded. "Long option" is a general term for components that can be detachably connected to the side of the housing 2 or the tray bottom plate 31 of the paper feed tray 3 to accommodate long paper, and includes the extension bottom plate 61, long base 62, and opening/closing cover 63. The extension bottom plate 61 also includes extension bottom plates 61a, 61b, and 61c, which will be described later.

The housing 2 is box-shaped and consists of a frame and multiple panels 22, 23 attached to the frame. The housing 2 houses a conveying unit on the downstream side in the conveying direction Y1, and a paper feed tray 3 (described below) on the upstream side in the conveying direction Y1.

The housing 2 houses two of these paper feed trays 3, one above the other. An opening 21 (Figure 1E) is provided in the housing 2 on the front side in the sliding direction Y2, and when the paper feed tray 3 is slid forward, it can be pulled out of the housing 2 through this opening 21.

Upper and lower panels 22 and 23 are attached to the upstream side of the housing 2 in the transport direction Y1. The upper panel 22 is removably attached to the housing 2 with screws. By removing this upper panel 22, the upstream side in the transport direction Y1 of the part of the housing 2 that houses the upper paper feed tray 3 is opened, making it possible to attach the long sheet option 6, described below.

As shown in Figure 1C, when the long sheet option 6 is attached, the paper feed tray 3 is open at the top of the tray bottom plate 31 and on the upstream side in the conveying direction Y1. As shown in Figures 1C and 1D, an extension bottom plate 61 (described below) can be removably attached to the end of the tray bottom plate 31 on the upstream side in the conveying direction Y1.

As shown in Figure 1F, a pair of side fences SF1 are erected on both the left and right sides of the tray bottom plate 31. The side fences SF1 regulate the widthwise (Y2) position of the paper loaded on the tray bottom plate 31.

As shown in Figure 1E, the drive unit 4 is attached to the inside of the housing 2. The tray bottom plate 31 is raised and lowered by the rotation of the lifting motor of this drive unit 4.

The conveying section is composed of a conveying belt and a conveying motor that drives the conveying belt. Paper loaded on the tray bottom plate 31 is conveyed in the conveying direction Y1. This conveying direction Y1 is perpendicular to both the sliding direction Y2 of the paper feed tray 3 and the paper loading direction Y3.

(● Long length option)
1C and 1D, the long option 6 has the aforementioned extension bottom plate 61, a long base 62 fixed to the housing 2, an end fence EF, and an opening/closing cover 63. The long option 6 can be attached after removing the panel 22 of the housing 2.

More specifically, the extension bottom plate 61 is attached to the tray bottom plate 31 so that it protrudes from the opening after the panel 22 of the housing 2 is removed. This extension bottom plate 61 allows the tray bottom plate 31 to be extended to load long sheets of paper 7. In embodiments of the present invention, three types of extension bottom plate 61 can be used: a standard extension bottom plate 61a, a long extension bottom plate 61b, and a short extension bottom plate 61c, as described below.

The long table 62 is placed on the underside of the extension bottom plate 61 and can be detachably connected to the housing 2 using screws or the like. The end fence EF is erected at the rear end of the long table 62. The end fence EF presses down on the upstream end of the long sheet of paper 7 in the conveying direction Y1, thereby regulating the position of the long sheet of paper 7 in the conveying direction Y1.

A magnet is attached to the base of the end fence EF. Meanwhile, the long base 62 is equipped with a metal plate or magnet to which the magnet is attracted. This allows the end fence EF to be removably fixed in a position appropriate to the length of the long sheet of paper 7. The long base 62 is also equipped with a bottom plate lowering switch SW, which lowers the tray bottom plate 31 to its lowest position, and an open/close detection switch, which detects whether the open/close cover 63 is open or closed.

The opening/closing cover 63 is positioned to cover the top of the extension base plate 61. The opening/closing cover 63 is attached so that it can be opened and closed freely using a hinge provided at the rear side of the long table 62 in the sliding direction Y2. When the long sheet option 6 is attached, the opening/closing cover 63 is opened and the long sheet 7 is placed in the paper feed tray 3.

As shown in more detail in Figure 2(a), the aforementioned paper feed tray 3 has a substantially rectangular tray bottom plate 31 and reinforcing members 3a arranged on the underside (backside) of the tray bottom plate 31. The reinforcing members 3a are arranged in two parallel rows in the paper transport direction (arrow direction) of the paper feed tray 3, and prevent deformation of the tray bottom plate 31 by the reinforcing members 3a.

First side fences SF1 are erected on both sides of the tray bottom plate 31. The first side fences SF1 regulate the widthwise position of the paper stacked on the tray bottom plate 31.

The LCT1, a paper feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention, can connect multiple extension bottom plates to the paper feed tray 3 shown in Figure 2(a) in a variety of combinations. Figures 2(b) to 2(e) show four examples of these various combinations. Figure 2(b) shows two standard extension bottom plates 61a connected together. Figure 2(c) shows three standard extension bottom plates 61a connected together.

The standard extension bottom plates 61a all have the same shape for the bottom plate and reinforcing members. This means there is no need to specify the order in which the standard extension bottom plates 61a are connected, and there is no risk of connection errors. This also helps reduce the component cost for each standard extension bottom plate 61a.

Figure 2(d) shows the state when one short extension bottom plate 61c is connected to the rear end of one standard extension bottom plate 61a. Figure 2(e) shows the state when one long extension bottom plate 61b is connected to the rear end of one standard extension bottom plate 61a. In this way, by being able to connect multiple types of extension bottom plates with different lengths to the standard extension bottom plate 61a, users can make even more precise length adjustments to accommodate long paper. Figures 2(b) to (e) are examples of various combinations of multiple extension bottom plates, and combinations other than these example combinations are also possible.

Extended reinforcing members 161 are arranged in two parallel rows on the underside (backside) of the extended bottom plates 61a-61c in the paper transport direction of the paper feed tray 3. These extended reinforcing members 161 can be constructed separately from the extended bottom plates 61a-61c, or integrally with the extended bottom plates 61a-61c. The front ends of the extended reinforcing members 161 can be connected to the rear end of the tray bottom plate 31 of the paper feed tray 3 or the rear end of the reinforcing members 3a.

To detect the connection status of the extended bottom plates 61a-61c, as shown in Figure 3, a convex detection member 170 can be attached to the front end of each extended bottom plate 61a, and concave detection members 180 can be attached to the rear end of the tray bottom plate 31 of the paper feed tray 3 and the rear end of each extended bottom plate 61a. The same applies to the long and short extended bottom plates 61b and 61c.

When the tray bottom plate 31 and each extension bottom plate 61a are connected, the convex detection member 170 engages with the concave detection member 180, transmitting a signal to the detection circuit and displaying the connection status of the extension bottom plate 61a on the machine's operation screen. This not only informs the user of the length of recording media that can be loaded on the extension bottom plates 61a-61c, but also prevents incorrect connection of the extension bottom plates 61a-61c.

(● Paper length supported by extension base plate)
4 shows an example of the paper length that can be accommodated by connecting the extension bottom plates 61a to 61c. As shown in FIG. 4(a), by connecting one standard extension bottom plate with a length of 230 mm to the rear end of the tray bottom plate 31 of the paper feed tray 3, the paper length can be extended from 487.7 mm to 707.7 mm.

Also, as shown in Figure 4(b), by connecting one 230 mm long standard extension bottom plate 61a and four short extension bottom plates 61c to the rear end of the tray bottom plate 31 of the paper feed tray 3, the compatible paper length can be extended from 487.7 mm to 987.7 mm. Also, as shown in Figure 4(c), by connecting one 230 mm long standard extension bottom plate 61a to the rear end of one 550 mm long extension bottom plate 61b, the compatible paper length can be extended from 487.7 mm to 1260 mm. Note that the compatible paper length will be shortened by the installation of the end fence EF in Figure 1C.

(● Second side fence)
When connecting the extended bottom plate 61a to the tray bottom plate 31 of the paper feed tray 3 (the same applies to the extended bottom plates 61b and 61c), a second side fence SF2 can be attached as an extended side fence, as shown in Figure 5A. The second side fence SF2 is attached so as to straddle the rear end of the tray bottom plate 31 of the paper feed tray 3 and the connection part of the extended bottom plate 61a. This allows the width direction of long sheets to be regulated not only by the first side fence SF1 but also by the second side fence SF2.

When paper separation air is blown toward the paper from an air outlet formed on the inner surface of the first side fence SF1, there is a possibility that the paper separation air will not reach the rear end of the long paper when the long paper option 6 is installed. In such cases, paper separation air can be blown out to both sides of the width of the long paper via the air outlet inside the second side fence SF2, ensuring reliable paper separation of the long paper.

(● Extension case)
When connecting the extension bottom plate 61a to the tray bottom plate 31 of the paper feed tray 3, an extension case 261 that houses the extension bottom plate 61a can be connected to the housing 2 of the paper feed device, as shown in Figures 5A and 5B. The same applies when connecting the extension bottom plates 61b and 61c. The extension case 261 is one of the components included in the long option 6.

The extension case 261 can be connected to the side of the housing 2 with screws or the like. The extension case 261 can be configured in a split type, similar to the extension bottom plates 61a-61c, to accommodate the length of the extension bottom plates 61a-61c connected to the tray bottom plate 31. This makes it possible to reduce the size of the machine.

Figure 5C shows a structure in which a detection member 190 is attached to the inner surface of the extension case 261. The detection member 190 can be configured as a proximity switch or the like. In this case, there is no need to attach the detection members 170 and 180 to the extension bottom plates 61a to 61c themselves as shown in Figure 3, which simplifies the structure and reduces the cost of the extension bottom plates 61a to 61c.

(Example of combination of extension base plate)
Next, Fig. 6 shows examples of combinations of various extension bottom plates 61a-61c (standard, long, short). The horizontal direction in Fig. 6 represents the paper length (shortest, longest), and the vertical direction represents examples of combinations of extension bottom plates 61a-61c. The standard extension bottom plate 61a is 230 mm long, the long extension bottom plate 61b is 550 mm long, and the short extension bottom plate 61c is 70 mm long. Circles indicate compatibility. As mentioned above, the compatible paper length is shortened by the installation of the end fence EF in Fig. 1C.

The "without extension bottom plate" in the top column indicates the compatible paper length (mm) when using a paper feed tray 3 without the long paper option 6 attached. In this case, the compatible paper length is 0 mm at the shortest and 487.7 mm at the longest. "Standard 1 sheet" indicates the compatible paper length (mm) when one standard extension bottom plate 61a with a length of 230 mm is attached to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 687.8 mm at the shortest and 707.7 mm at the longest.

"Standard 2 sheets" refers to the compatible paper length (mm) when two 230 mm long standard extension bottom plates 61a are connected to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 777.8 mm at the shortest and 937.7 mm at the longest. "Standard 3 sheets" refers to the compatible paper length (mm) when three 230 mm long standard extension bottom plates 61a are connected to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 1097.8 mm at the shortest and 1167.7 mm at the longest. "Standard 4 sheets" refers to the compatible paper length (mm) when four 230 mm long standard extension bottom plates 61a are connected to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 1167.8 mm at the shortest and 1260 mm at the longest.

"1 long sheet" refers to the compatible paper length (mm) when one 550mm long extension bottom plate 61b is connected to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 937.8mm at the shortest and 1027.7mm at the longest. "1 standard sheet + 1 long sheet" refers to the compatible paper length (mm) when one 230mm standard extension bottom plate 61a and one 550mm long extension bottom plate 61b are connected to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 1067.8mm at the shortest and 1260mm at the longest.

"Short 1 sheet" refers to the compatible paper length (mm) when one 70mm long short extension bottom plate 61c is connected to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 487.8mm at the shortest and 547.7mm at the longest. "Short 2 sheets" refers to the compatible paper length (mm) when two 70mm long short extension bottom plates 61c are connected to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 547.8mm at the shortest and 617.7mm at the longest.

"3 short" refers to the compatible paper length (mm) when three 70mm long short extension bottom plates 61c are connected to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 617.8mm at the shortest and 687.7mm at the longest. "1 standard + 1 short" refers to the compatible paper length (mm) when one 230mm long standard extension bottom plate 61a and one 70mm long short extension bottom plate 61c are connected to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 707.8mm at the shortest and 777.7mm at the longest.

"One long sheet + one short sheet" refers to the compatible paper length (mm) when one 550mm long extension bottom plate 61b and one 70mm short extension bottom plate 61c are connected to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 1027.8mm at the shortest and 1097.7mm at the longest. "One long sheet + two short sheets" refers to the compatible paper length (mm) when one 550mm long extension bottom plate 61b and two 70mm short extension bottom plates 61c are connected to the paper feed tray 3. In this case, the compatible paper length is 1097.8mm at the shortest and 1167.7mm at the longest.

The lengths of the standard, short, and long extension trays are not limited to 230 mm, 70 mm, and 550 mm. Furthermore, the combination examples of the extension base plates are not limited to those listed above.

The present invention has been specifically described above based on an embodiment, but it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment and can be modified in various ways within the scope of the technical concept described in the claims. For example, it is possible to configure the second extension base plate, which is longer than the first extension base plate, and the third extension base plate, which is shorter than the first extension base plate, in multiple types with two or more lengths.

1: Large capacity paper feed tray unit (LCT) (paper feeder)
2: Housing 3: Paper feed tray 31: Tray bottom plate 3a: Reinforcement member 4: Drive unit 6: Long sheet option 7: Long sheet 21: Opening 22, 23: Panel 31: Tray bottom plate 52: Slide rail 61: Extension bottom plate 61a: Standard extension bottom plate (first extension bottom plate)
61b: Long extension bottom plate (second extension bottom plate)
61c: Short extension bottom plate (third extension bottom plate)
62: Long base 63: Opening and closing cover 161: Extension reinforcement member 170: Convex detection member 180: Concave detection member 190: Detection member 261: Extension case EF: End fence SF1: First side fence SW: Bottom plate lowering switch SF2: Second side fence (extension side fence)

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-653 JP 2008-302993 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-154458

Claims (11)

a paper feed tray having a loading plate on which paper can be loaded;
a conveying means for conveying the paper sheets loaded on the loading plate;
a long sheet option having an extension bottom plate that is detachably attached to the upstream side of the stacking plate in the paper conveying direction and that extends the stacking plate to allow long sheets to be loaded,
The extension bottom plate has a plurality of extension bottom plates that can be connected to each other in the paper transport direction,
The paper feed device is characterized in that the multiple extended bottom plates include a first extended bottom plate having a predetermined length in the paper transport direction and a second extended bottom plate that is longer than the first extended bottom plate in the paper transport direction . 2. A paper feeder according to claim 1, further comprising a third extension bottom plate which is shorter than said first extension bottom plate in the paper transport direction. a paper feed tray having a loading plate on which paper can be loaded;
a conveying means for conveying the paper sheets loaded on the loading plate;
a long sheet option having an extension bottom plate that is detachably attached to the upstream side of the stacking plate in the paper conveying direction and that extends the stacking plate to allow long sheets to be loaded,
The extension bottom plate has a plurality of extension bottom plates that can be connected to each other in the paper transport direction,
The paper feed device is characterized in that the multiple extended bottom plates include a first extended bottom plate having a predetermined length in the paper transport direction and a third extended bottom plate that is shorter than the first extended bottom plate in the paper transport direction. a paper feed tray having a loading plate on which paper can be loaded;
a conveying means for conveying the paper sheets loaded on the loading plate;
a long sheet option having an extension bottom plate that is detachably attached to the upstream side of the stacking plate in the paper conveying direction and that extends the stacking plate to allow long sheets to be loaded,
The extension bottom plate has a plurality of extension bottom plates that can be connected to each other in the paper transport direction,
a detecting member for detecting the connection of the extension bottom plates is disposed at the connection portion of the plurality of extension bottom plates; a paper feed tray having a loading plate on which paper can be loaded;
a conveying means for conveying the paper sheets loaded on the loading plate;
a long sheet option having an extension bottom plate that is detachably attached to the upstream side of the stacking plate in the paper conveying direction and that extends the stacking plate to allow long sheets to be loaded,
The extension bottom plate has a plurality of extension bottom plates that can be connected to each other in the paper transport direction,
a detection member for detecting connection of the extension bottom plates is disposed on an inner surface of an extension case that houses the plurality of extension bottom plates; 6. A paper feeding device according to claim 4 , wherein said extension bottom plate comprises a first extension bottom plate having a predetermined length in the paper transport direction. 7. A paper feeding device according to claim 6 , wherein said extension bottom plate has a second extension bottom plate that is longer than said first extension bottom plate in the paper transport direction. 8. A paper feeding device according to claim 7 , wherein said extension bottom plate has a third extension bottom plate that is shorter than said first extension bottom plate in the paper transport direction. 9. The paper feeding device according to claim 1 , wherein extended side fences for restricting both sides of the long paper in the width direction can be attached to both sides of the extended bottom plate. 10. The paper feeder according to claim 9 , wherein air for separating the paper sheets can be blown from the extended side fence. An image forming apparatus comprising the paper feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 10 .