JPH0448703B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device that can be used in a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printing machine, or the like.

Prior Art Two guide members that guide both side edges of a sheet on a sheet guide plate are supported so as to be movable laterally or diagonally with respect to the sheet feeding direction, and both guide members are moved in accordance with the width of the sheet. Sheet feeding apparatuses configured to move sheets and feed sheets of various sizes with different widths are conventionally well known. In such a feeding device, two interlocking members that interlock in opposite directions are provided in a direction transverse or obliquely transverse to the sheet feeding direction, each guide member is connected to each of these interlocking members, and each guide member is connected to each of these interlocking members. The guide member can be integrally interlocked with the interlocking member. In this case, the two interlocking members are disposed on the back side of the sheet guide plate opposite to the sheet guide surface, and each guide member and each interlocking member are connected to each other through a long hole formed in the sheet guide plate. However, forming elongated holes in the sheet guide plate not only spoils the aesthetic appearance of the sheet guide plate, but also causes the leading edge of the sheet to get caught in the elongated hole when the sheet to be fed is set on the sheet guide plate. This results in the disadvantage that the sheet is easily damaged by folding or the like.

Purpose The present invention was made based on the above recognition,
The object is to provide a sheet feeding device that can cause both guide members to move in a predetermined direction without any trouble without forming a long hole in the sheet guide plate.

Embodiments Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention configured as a sheet feeding device for feeding originals to a copying machine will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a copying machine, 2 is an automatic document feeding device located above the copying machine, and 3 is a sheet feeding device according to the present invention. This feeding device 3 is
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the copying machine has a sheet guide plate 4 fixed to the main body, and its upper surface, that is, the sheet guide surface 5, is formed flat.
Two guide members 6, 6a are placed on top. Each guide member 6, 6a has a flat base 7, 7.
a and seat guide portions 8 and 8a rising upward from the base portions 7 and 7a, respectively.

In this example, in order to feed a sheet, which is an original document 9, to the copying machine 1, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. is fed in the direction of arrow A while being guided by the sheet guide portions 8, 8a of both guide members 6, 6a. Since the illustrated copying machine is provided with an automatic document feeder 2, the document 9 is fed by this device 2.

As described above, the original document 9 is guided by the sheet guide sections 8 and 8a spaced apart from each other, so that it is positioned at a predetermined correct position and fed, and inconveniences such as skewing during conveyance can be suppressed. In this case, both guide members 6, 6a are supported so as to be movable in a direction B transverse to the document feeding direction A so that documents of various sizes with different widths W can be fed. At this time, each guide member 6, 6a is provided in the lateral direction B with respect to the document feeding direction A so that the position of the original 9 in the lateral direction B can be determined correctly.
are configured to interlock in opposite directions to each other,
This action is achieved by the interlocking device 10.

As clearly shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the illustrated interlocking device 10 includes a pinion 12 rotatably supported on a back surface 11 of the sheet guide plate 4 opposite to the sheet guide surface 5; The racks 13, 13a are made of resin plates, metal plates, or the like. Each rack 13, 13a
The stepped portions formed on the leg portions 14, 14 are rib-shaped guide rails 15, 1 that are fixed to the back surface 11 of the sheet guide plate 4 and extend in the lateral direction B described above.
6, 15a, 16a so as to be slidable in the lateral direction B along these rails. Moreover, in each rack 13, 13a,
Elongated holes 17, 17a extending in the lateral direction B are formed, and guide pins 18, 18a protruding from the sheet guide plate 4 are fitted into these elongated holes.
The head at the tip of 8, 18a is connected to each rack 13, 13a.
engages the outer surface of the The rack teeth 19, 19a of each rack 13, 13a are also arranged in the lateral direction B mentioned above.

Each rack 13, 13a has a tongue piece 21, 21 that protrudes outward beyond the outer edge 20 of the sheet guide plate 4.
On the other hand, the outer end portions 22, 22a of each of the aforementioned guide members 6, 6a also protrude slightly outward from the outer edge 20 of the sheet guide plate 4. The end portion 22 of one guide member 6 and the tongue piece 21 of one rack 13 are connected to the sheet guide plate 4.
At a position outside the sheet guide surface 5, in this example, at or near the outer edge 20 of the sheet guide plate 4, they are integrally connected by screws 23, an adhesive, or the like. Similarly, the end 22a of the other guide member 6a is firmly connected to the tongue 21a of the other rack 13a at or near the outer edge 20 of the sheet guide plate 4 by a screw 23a or the like. Reference numeral 24 denotes a bottom cover that covers the pinion 12 and the like and is fixed to the seat guide plate 4. Through the slit-shaped opening 25 (FIG. 3) formed between the bottom cover 24 and the seat guide plate 4, Tongue 2 of each rack 13, 13a
1 and 21a protrude.

Now, a manuscript narrower than the already mentioned manuscript 9, that is, the second manuscript.
Considering the case where the document 109 indicated by the two-dot chain line in the figure is to be fed, in this case, the operator manually operates one or both of the guide members 6, 6.
a is moved so that its sheet guide portions 8, 8a approach the side edges 109a, 109b of the original 109. Here, the operator selects one of the guide members 6
When the guide member 6 is moved in the direction of arrow C, the movement of the guide member 6 is transmitted to one of the racks 13 connected thereto, and the rack 13 is moved to the two guide rails 15 and 16 (FIG. 4). It moves in the direction of arrow C together with the guide member 6 while being guided. Along with this, the pinion 12 meshed with the rack teeth 19 of the rack 13 rotates counterclockwise in FIG.
a moves in a direction Ca opposite to the moving direction C of one rack 13. In this way, the sheet guide portions 8, 8a of each guide member 6, 6a are aligned with each side edge 109a, 109b of the narrow original 109, and when this original 109 is fed, it is positioned at a predetermined position and sent out. Can be done. When feeding a wide document, conversely, each guide member 6, 6
It is sufficient to move a in conjunction with the arrows C and Ca in the opposite direction. Note that when each rack 13, 13a moves, it is not only connected to the guide members 6, 6a, but also supported by the pins 18, 18a.
13a is prevented from bending downward to an extent that would cause inconvenience, and each rack is
5, 16, 15a, 16a, they are also prevented from swinging to an extent that would cause inconvenience.

As described above, one rack 13 and the guide member 6 connected thereto, and the other rack 13a and the guide member 6a connected thereto, are oriented in opposite directions in the lateral direction B with respect to the document feeding direction A. In conjunction with this, it is possible to feed out documents while guiding them in accordance with documents of various width sizes. In other words, since the guide members 6, 6a in this example can approach or separate from each other with reference to the center line CL (FIG. 2), the originals 9, 109 also always follow this center line.
Positioned based on CL. In this case, each rack 13, 13a and each guide member 6, 6a are
Since they are connected to each other on the outside of the sheet guide surface 5, there is no need to form elongated holes in the sheet guide plate for these connections as in the conventional case. Therefore, when setting a document on the sheet guide surface 5, it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the leading edge of the document will get caught in the elongated hole, and the appearance of the sheet guide plate 4 can be improved.

The guide members 6, 6a connected to the racks 13, 13a are brought closest to each other as shown in FIG.
8, 18a to the ends 25, 25 of the elongated holes 17, 17a.
a, and then fit the pinion to its support shaft 26 and install it. Then, each rack 13, 13a, and therefore each guide member 6, 6a, can be installed at a predetermined correct position. Can be done. Of course, the pins 18, 18a are brought into contact with the other ends 27, 27a of the elongated holes 17, 17a, and the pinion 1
The same result can be obtained by installing 2.

In the above embodiment, both guide members 6, 6a
Although the interlocking device for interlocking is composed of the interlocking member consisting of the racks 13 and 13a and the pinion 12, the present invention can also be applied when using an appropriate interlocking device other than this, such as an interlocking device having an interlocking member consisting of a lever. It can be applied without any problem. Moreover, if each interlocking member and the guide member are connected outside the sheet guide surface of the sheet guide plate, it is not necessarily necessary to connect them at the outer edge of the sheet guide plate. For example, each guide member 6, 6a
The ends 22, 22a may be extended to a region on the back side of the sheet guide surface, and each guide member 6, 6a may be connected to each interlocking member, for example, a rack 13, 13a, in this back region. . With this configuration, each interlocking member can be entirely positioned on the back side of the sheet guide plate. As can be seen from this, the interlocking member can be said to be a member whose entirety or part is located on the back side of the sheet guide plate on the opposite side from the sheet guide surface. It is also possible to form each guide member and each interlocking member in advance as an integral molded product and connect them to each other, and in such a case, the guide member and each interlocking member can be
It can be connected externally to the sheet guide surface rather than through holes drilled in the sheet guide plate.

In the illustrated embodiment, each guide member is configured to be able to move in the transverse direction with respect to the sheet (original in the illustrated example) feeding direction, but as shown by solid line arrows D and Da in FIG. Alternatively, as shown by broken line arrows E and Ea, one guide member 6 may be movable in a direction diagonal to the sheet feeding direction, or one guide member 6 may be movable, for example, in the direction of arrow D, and the other guide The moving direction of the member 6a can be appropriately selected each time, such as allowing the member 6a to move in the direction of the arrow Ea. Alternatively, the interlocking member may be operated by a drive device such as a motor.

Further, the sheet feeding device according to the present invention can be applied to various devices other than the sheet feeding device for feeding originals as shown in the figure. It can also be applied to a sheet feeding device that manually feeds originals from this guide plate to a copying machine, or a sheet feeding device for feeding originals in a facsimile machine, etc. The present invention can also be applied to a sheet feeding device that feeds paper such as copying paper, printing paper, etc.

Effects As can be seen from the above explanation, according to the present invention, in order to connect each interlocking member and each guide member,
There is no need to form long holes in the sheet guide plate, making it possible to easily reduce the drawbacks of the conventional method.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a front view of a copying machine having a sheet feeding device constructed according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the sheet feeding device shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sheet feeding device shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a side view as seen from the direction of the arrow; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding device as seen diagonally from below in FIG. 1 with the bottom plate removed; and FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing another operating state of the guide member, which shows an example of the back side of the sheet feeding device. 3...Sheet feeding device, 4...Sheet guide plate,
5... Seat guide surface, 6, 6a... Guide member,
9a, 9b, 109a, 109b...side edge, A...
...feeding direction.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Two guide members that guide both side edges of the sheet on the sheet guide plate, and two interlocking members that interlock in opposite directions to each other in a direction transverse or obliquely transverse to the sheet feeding direction. and connecting each of the guide members and each interlocking member to each other,
In a sheet feeding device in which at least a part of each interlocking member is located on the back side of the sheet guide plate opposite to the sheet guide surface, each guide member and each interlocking member are located on the sheet guide surface of the sheet guide plate. The sheet feeding device is characterized in that the sheet feeding device is connected to each other on the outside of the sheet feeding device.