Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6196539
-
Patent Number
6,196,539
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, September 7, 199924 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, March 6, 200123 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
A sheet-handling device includes a tray, two edge guides, an extensile plate and a linkage mechanism. The edge guides and the extensile plate are movably connected to the tray. The linkage mechanism is connected to the edge guides and the extensile plate. When the edge guides or the extensile plate is moved, other components are forced to move via the linkage mechanism.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a conveniently operated sheet-handling device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to
FIG. 1
, a conventional sheet-handling device
10
such as a printer, a fax machine or a scanner has a tray
13
for supporting paper sheets
19
. On the tray
13
are provided two recesses
135
, while edge guides
15
are movably provided in the recesses
135
. The edge guides
15
are arranged on both sides of the paper sheets
19
to keep the paper sheets
19
in the correct position during the paper-feeding process. Thus, the paper sheets
19
do not get stuck in the sheet-handling device
10
. The sheet-handling device is adjusted for large paper sheets by moving the edge guides
15
in the directions E and F. Furthermore, an extensile plate
17
is mounted in the tray
13
. The extensile plate
17
can be stretched from the tray
13
in the direction D to support the paper sheets
19
, thereby preventing the paper sheets
19
from drooping.
It is noted that the movements of the two edge guides
15
are synchronous. However, the movement of the extensile plate
17
is independent from those of the edge guides
15
. In operation, the movement of the edge guides
15
to keep the paper sheets in the correct position and the movement of the extensile plate
17
to support the paper sheets are separate. Thus, the operation is not convenient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet-handling device, the operation of which is convenient.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet-handling device, for which the movements of the edge guides and the extensile plate are synchronous.
The sheet-handling device of the present invention includes a tray, two edge guides, an extensile plate and a linkage mechanism. The edge guides and the extensile plate are movably connected to the tray. The linkage mechanism is connected to the edge guides and the extensile plate. When one of the edge guides and the extensile plate is moved, other components are forced to move via the linkage mechanism.
In sum, the present invention provides a linkage mechanism to synchronously move the edge guides and the extensile plate so that the device can be conveniently operated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequent detailed description and examples with references made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1
is a perspective diagram of a conventional sheet-handling device;
FIG. 2
is a perspective diagram of a sheet-handling device in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 3A
is a schematic diagram of a linkage mechanism in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, in which the edge guides and the extensile plate are moved away from each other;
FIG. 3B
is a locally enlarged diagram of
FIG. 3A
, in which the rods and the wheel are exploded;
FIG. 3C
is a schematic diagram of a linkage mechanism in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention, in which the edge guides and the extensile plate are moved close to each other;
FIG. 4A
is a schematic diagram of a linkage mechanism in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the edge guides and the extensile plate are moved away from each other;
FIG. 4B
is a schematic diagram of a linkage mechanism in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention, in which the edge guides and the extensile plate are moved close to each other;
FIG. 5A
is a schematic diagram of a linkage mechanism in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the edge guides and the extensile plate are moved away from each other; and
FIG. 5B
is a schematic diagram of a linkage mechanism in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention, in which the edge guides and the extensile plate are moved close to each other.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring to
FIG. 2
, a sheet-handling device
20
of the present invention has a tray
23
for supporting paper sheets
29
. On the tray
23
are provided two recesses
235
,
236
while edge guides
25
,
26
are movably provided in the recesses
235
,
236
. The edge guides
25
,
26
are arranged on both sides of the paper sheets
29
to keep the paper sheets
29
in the correct position during the paper-feeding process. Thus, the paper sheets
29
do not get stuck in the sheet-handling device
20
. The sheet-handling device is adjusted for large paper sheets by moving the edge guides
25
,
26
in the directions B and C. Furthermore, an extensile plate
27
is mounted in the tray
23
. The extensile plate
27
can be stretched from the tray
23
in the direction A to support the paper sheets
29
, thus preventing the paper sheets
29
from drooping. It is noted that in the present invention the movements of the edge guides
25
,
26
and the extensile plate
27
are synchronous. That is, the extensile plate
27
moves in the direction A, when the edge guides
25
,
26
are moved by the user in the directions B and C. The edge guides
25
,
26
and the extensile plate
27
are synchronously moved by a linkage mechanism mounted in the tray
23
. The linkage mechanism is described as follows:
Referring to
FIGS. 3A
,
3
B and
3
C, the linkage mechanism of a first embodiment of the present invention include a wheel
51
and three rods
52
,
53
,
54
. The wheel
51
has a first surface and a second surface. Two pins
511
,
512
are connected to the first surface while a pin
513
is connected to the second surface. The rods
52
,
53
,
54
have slots
521
,
531
,
541
at their ends, respectively. The rod
52
is firmly fixed to the edge guide
25
while the pin
511
is movably received in the slot
521
of the rod
52
. The rod
53
is firmly fixed to the edge guide
26
while the pin
512
is movably received in the slot
531
of the rod
53
. The rod
54
is firmly fixed to the extensile plate
27
while the pin
513
is movably received in the slot
541
of the rod
54
. When the user moves one of the edge guides
25
,
26
, the wheel
51
is rotated. The rotation of the wheel
51
forces the extensile plate
27
to move vertically. Meanwhile, the two edge guides
25
,
26
are moved close to or away from each other. By this arrangement, the movements of the edge guides
25
,
26
and the extensile plate
27
are synchronous, thus reducing the number of steps of the operation.
Referring to
FIGS. 4A and 4B
, the linkage mechanism of a second embodiment of the present invention include a wheel
41
and three rods
42
,
43
,
44
. The wheel
41
has a first surface and a second surface. The rod
42
is hinged to the edge guide
25
and the first surface of the wheel
41
. The rod
43
is hinged to the edge guide
25
and the first surface of the wheel
41
. The rod
44
is hinged to the extensile plate
27
and the second surface of the wheel
41
. When the user moves one of the edge guides
25
,
26
, the toothed wheel
41
is rotated. The rotation of the toothed wheel
41
forces the extensile plate
27
to move vertically. Meanwhile, the two edge guides
25
,
26
are moved close to or away from each other.
Referring to
FIGS. 5A and 5B
, the linkage mechanism of a third embodiment of the present invention include a toothed wheel
31
, two racks
32
,
33
and a rod
34
. The wheel
31
has a first surface, on which teeth are provided, and a second surface. The racks
32
,
33
engage the teeth on the first surface of the toothed wheel
31
while ends of the racks
32
,
33
are firmly fixed to the edge guides
25
,
26
. Furthermore, the ends of the rod
34
are hinged to the second surface of the toothed wheel
31
and the extensile plate
27
, respectively. When the user moves one of the edge guides
25
,
26
, the toothed wheel
31
is rotated. The rotation of the toothed wheel
31
forces the extensile plate
27
to move vertically. Meanwhile, the two edge guides
25
,
26
are moved close to or away from each other.
In conclusion, the present invention provides a linkage mechanism to synchronously move the edge guides
25
,
26
and the extensile plate
27
so that the device can be conveniently operated.
While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms of the preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to those skilled in the art) . Therefore, the scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar arrangements.
Claims
- 1. A sheet-handling device, including:a tray; a first edge guide movably connected to the tray; an extensile plate movably connected to the tray; a linkage mechanism connected to the first edge guide and the extensile plate, wherein, when the first edge guide is moved, the extensile plate is forced to move by the first edge guide via the linkage mechanism, and when the extensile plate is moved, the first edge guide is forced to move by the extensile plate via the linkage mechanism; and, a second edge guide connected to the linkage mechanism, by which the second edge guide is also moved when the first edge guide or the extensile plate is moved, wherein the linkage mechanism includes: a wheel having a first surface and a second surface; a first rod having a first end movably connected to the first surface of the wheel and a second end firmly fixed to the first edge guide; a second rod having a third end movably connected to the first surface of the wheel and a fourth end firmly fixed to the second edge guide; and a third rod having a fifth end movably connected to the second surface of the wheel and a sixth end firmly fixed to the extensile plate.
- 2. A sheet-handling device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the linkage mechanism further includes a first pin and a second pin attached to the first surface and a third pin attached to the second surface; the first end of the first rod has a first slot provided thereon to receive the first pin; the third end of the second rod has a second slot provided thereon to receive the second pin; and the fifth end of the third rod has a third slot provided thereon to receive the third pin.
- 3. A sheet-handling device, including:a tray; a first edge guide movably connected to the tray; an extensile plate movably connected to the tray; a linkage mechanism connected to the first edge guide and the extensile plate, wherein, when the first edge Guide is moved, the extensile plate is forced to move by the first edge guide via the linkage mechanism, and when the extensile plate is moved, the first edge guide is forced to move by the extensile plate via the linkage mechanism; and, a second edge guide connected to the linkage mechanism, by which the second edge guide is also moved when the first edge guide or the extensile plate is moved, wherein the linkage mechanism includes: a wheel having a first surface and a second surface; a first rod hinged to the first surface of the wheel and the first edge guide; a second rod hinged to the first surface of the wheel and the second edge guide; and a third rod hinged to the second surface of the wheel and the extensile plate.
- 4. A sheet-handling device, including:a tray; a first edge guide movably connected to the tray; an extensile plate movably connected to the tray; a linkage mechanism connected to the first edge guide and the extensile plate, wherein, when the first edge guide is moved, the extensile plate is forced to move by the first edge guide via the linkage mechanism, and when the extensile plate is moved, the first edge guide is forced to move by the extensile plate via the linkage mechanism; and, a second edge guide connected to the linkage mechanism, by which the second edge guide is also moved when the first edge guide or the extensile plate is moved, wherein the linkage mechanism includes: a wheel having a first surface, a second surface and teeth provided on the first surface; a first rack engaging the teeth and being firmly fixed to the first edge guide; a second rack engaging the teeth and being firmly fixed to the second edge guide; and a rod hinged to the second surface of the wheel and the extensile plate.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4786042 |
Stemmle |
Nov 1988 |
|
5172903 |
Haneda et al. |
Dec 1992 |
|
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number |
Date |
Country |
57-31642 |
Aug 1982 |
JP |
3166129 |
Jul 1991 |
JP |
3186529 |
Aug 1991 |
JP |