Claims
- 1. A paper cassette which stores a number of types of media on a media load plate, one end of which is journalled in such a way that it is able to rotate and the other end of which is rotated up and down by a reset arm, and performs paper feed with the medium pushed against a hopping roller by a spring which pushes the media load plate upwards, comprising
- an auxiliary resilient member which pushes the reset arm up,
- a sub-arm, one end of which abuts and stops said auxiliary resilient member and which rotates together with the auxiliary resilient member, and
- a means provided in the rotation range of said sub-arm for regulating the rotation of said sub-arm according to the size of the medium by being able to move in accordance with the size of medium.
- 2. A paper cassette which stores a number of types of media on media load plate, one end of which is journalled in such a way that it is able to rotate and the other end of which is rotated up and down by a reset arm, and which positions the width of the media by moving a side plate, and which performs paper feed with the media pushed against a hopping roller by a spring which pushes said other end of the media load plate upwards, comprising
- an auxiliary resilient member which rotates following said reset arm and pushes the reset arm up, and
- a means, formed integrally with the side plate, which regulates the rotation of said auxiliary arm by moving in accordance with the size of the media.
Priority Claims (5)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
| 62-92029 |
Apr 1987 |
JPX |
|
| 62-56711 |
Apr 1987 |
JPX |
|
| 62-57534 |
Apr 1987 |
JPX |
|
| 62-70911 |
May 1987 |
JPX |
|
| 62-79873 |
May 1987 |
JPX |
|
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This is a division of application Ser. No. 182,230, filed Apr. 15, 1988 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,159. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an automatic paper feed device which supplies cutforms and other media automatically to terminal devices such as printers.
A device to automatically supply media to terminal devices such as printers was disclosed in Japanese patent application Laid-open No. 218238/1985. When different sized media are supplied with this type of device, there are conventionally different hoppers or paper cassettes for each size of media. Media are stored in and supplied from these hoppers.
The following is an explanation of the conventional automatic paper feed device based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially cut away side view showing the conventional paper feed device.
Media 2 is stacked and stored in hopper or cassette 3, which is installed in automatic paper feed device 1. Printer 4 is placed on top of automatic paper feed device 1. Supply roller 5 is installed above cassette 3 and feed roller 6 is also disposed inside the device. Moreover, spring 7 is provided underneath media 2. cassette container 9 is installed to the side of automatic paper feed device 1 and printer 4. Cassette container 9 contains cassettes 8 which store specific sizes of media which are not in use.
The operation of the conventional automatic paper feed device will be explained next. The media 2 which is stacked and stored in cassette 3 is pushed by spring 7 into contact with supply roller 5. Supply roller 5 is rotated in the direction of arrow G by a drive means not shown, and this causes the media to begin to be fed from the top, one sheet at a time. Media 2, which has begun to be fed, is sent to printer 4 by feed roller 6.
When one wishes to print media which is different in size from media 2 (stacked and stored in cassette 3) with printer 4, one takes cassette 3 out of automatic paper feed device 1. Cassette 8, in which is stored the media of the size desired, is then taken out of cassette container 9 and installed in automatic paper feed device 1. Paper feed to printer 4 may then be performed. Cassette 3, which has been taken out of automatic paper feed device 1 is then stored in cassette container 9. By manual input instructions are sent to printer 4 concerning the size of the media newly installed in automatic paper feed device 1.
However, different cassettes for respective sizes of media are necessary in devices constructed as above. Also, since the automatic paper feed device permits mounting of only one cassette a separate place or container for the multiple cassettes storing media not in use are needed. Because of this, cassettes not being used must be placed in the immediate vicinity of the automatic paper feed device and the amount of space needed for the installation of the device is a problem.
The automatic paper feed device described above also has the fault of requiring a number of cassettes in which specific sizes of media are stored. Because of this cassette container must be provided and this increases the number of structural parts, and raises the price of the automatic paper feed device.
Furthermore, because the operator must send instructions to the printer concerning the size of the media it is easy for errors to occur. When errors occur it is necessary to reprint, and this is a problem because media is wasted.
Another problem associated with the prior art is that the media is pushed against the hopping roller and paper feed is accomplished by the same coil springs always pushing up the media load plate. But because the weight of the media stored in the paper cassette varies according to its size, the pressure by which the top of the media is pushed against the hopping roller varies.
Therefore too great a pressure will be obtained when feeding smaller media if springs whose pressure is appropriate to larger media are used. This will increase the occurrence of multiple feeding, in which 2 or 3 sheets are fed at the same time. When springs appropriate to smaller media are used, the pressure obtained will be too little for larger media and feed misses, in which the media is not fed, will occur more often.
An object of this invention is to solve the problems described above, making it possible for the installation area to be smaller and providing an inexpensive automatic paper feed device of excellent operability.
Another object of this invention is to provide a paper cassette from which can be obtained a pressure appropriate to the size of the media in question, and which is able thereby to feed media with stability.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided an automatic paper feed device which stores multiple types of different size media in a single paper cassette and performs paper feed, and Is comprised of a media load plate on which is loaded the multiple types of different sized media described above, a media back edge guide assembly which is mounted to said media load plate in such a way that it can be both moved and engaged and which positions the media loaded on said media load plate according to their individual sizes, a detection lever which is mounted on the bottom plate of said paper cassette in such a way that it can rotate, an engaging means which rotates said detection lever to accompany the movement of said media back edge guide assembly, a releasable maintaining means which maintains the position of said detection lever in accordance with the position at which said media back edge guide assembly stops, and a detection means which outputs an electric signal for each position at which said detection lever is maintained by said maintaining means.
With the structure described above, the paper cassette is first pulled outside of the body of the automatic paper feed device. Next, the media load plate inside the paper cassette is rotated to a specified direction and lowered. At this time the maintaining means, which maintains the position of the detection lever, is released. Next, the media is stored on the media load plate and the media back edge guide assembly is moved in response to the size of the media. The media back edge guide assembly is engaged at a position corresponding to the size of the media, and the media is positioned. The detection lever, which is engaged with the media back edge guide assembly by the engaging means, is rotated to accompany its movement. In the above-mentioned position to which it was rotated the detection lever operates the detection means and detects the size of the media.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a paper cassette which stores media on a media load plate, said media load plate being journalled at one end so that it is able to rotate and being raised and lowered by moving the other end, and which performs paper feed by pushing up said other end of the media load plate with a spring thereby pressing the top of the media against a hopping roller, comprising a guide bracket attached to said media load plate and possessing multiple first stopping means in positions corresponding to the length in the media delivery direction of multiple types of media, and a media back edge guide assembly which is able to move in the delivery direction of the media, which possesses a second stopping means which engages to one of said first stopping means, and which is positioned according to the various sizes of a number of types of media.
When a media is stored in the paper cassette the media load plate is lowered. The media is loaded on top of the media load plate. The media back edge guide assembly is moved to the length of the media in the delivery direction. The first stopping means, provided on the guide bracket, and the second stopping means, provided on the media back edge guide assembly, engage at a position corresponding to the length of the media and the media back edge guide assembly is held in this position. This positions the media in the direction of delivery. According a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a paper cassette for an automatic feed device comprising a media back edge guide assembly made up of a movable member on which is installed a guide plate which positions the back edge of the media and an engagement member which abuts said guide plate in the media delivery direction, and a fixed member on which are provided an engagement sections which engage with the engaging member at positions which correspond to the lengths of the media in the direction of media delivery and a groove which connects the engagement sections, the media back edge guide assembly being provided on the media load plate, with the movable member being able to slide back and forth in the direction of media delivery in regards to the fixed member.
The movable member of the media back edge guide assembly installed on the paper cassette according to the length of the media loaded is caused to slide in relation to the fixed member and by engaging the engagement member attached to the movable member, with the engagement section, which is provided on the fixed section corresponding to the length of the media, it is possible to position the front edge of the media in the direction of media delivery at a set point in relation to the main body.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a paper cassette which stores a number of types of media on a media load plate, one end of which is journalled (rotatably supported) in such a way that it is able to rotate and the other end of which is rotated up and down by a reset arm, and performs paper feed with the media pushed against a hopping roller by a spring which pushes the media load plate upwards, comprising an auxiliary resilient member which pushes the reset arm up, and a sub arm, one end of which abuts and stops said auxiliary resilient member and which rotates together with the auxiliary resilient member, and a means provided in the rotation range of said sub-arm for regulating the rotation of said sub-arm according to the size of the media by being able to move in accordance with the size of media.
When the paper cassette stores a large media the media load plate is raised by a reset arm and this causes a sub arm to rotate following the reset arm. This in turn causes an auxiliary resilient member to push up the reset arm and media load plate. The pressure by which the media is pushed against the hopping roller is therefore the combined upward pushing force of the coil springs and the auxiliary resilient member.
When a smaller media is stored, the sub-arm is prevented from rotating even though the media load plate is pushed up by the reset arm. Therefore, because the auxiliary resilient member is separated from the reset arm, the upward pushing force of the auxiliary resilient member is not transmitted to the media load plate. The pressure pushing the media against the hopping roller is therefore only the upward pushing force of the coil springs.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a paper cassette which stores a number of types of media on a media load plate, one end of which is journalled in such a way that it is able to rotate and the other end of which is rotated up and down by a reset arm, and which positions the width of the media by moving a side plate, and which performs paper feed with the media pushed against a hopping roller by a spring which pushes said other end of the media load plate upwards, comprising an auxiliary resilient member which rotates following said reset arm and pushes the reset arm up, and a means, formed integrally with the side plate, which regulates the rotation of said auxiliary arm by moving in accordance with the size of the media.
When the paper cassette stores a large media the media load plate is raised by a reset arm and this causes an auxiliary resilient member to rotate following the reset arm. This in turn causes the auxiliary resilient member to push up the reset arm and media load plate. The pressure by which the media is pushed against the hopping roller is therefore the combined upward pushing force of the coil springs and the auxiliary resilient member.
When a smaller media is stored, the auxiliary resilient member does not rotate even though the media load plate is pushed up by the reset arm. Therefore, the upward pushing force of the auxiliary resilient member is not transmitted to the reset arm media load plate. The pressure pushing the media against the hopping roller is therefore only the upward pushing force of the coil springs.
US Referenced Citations (2)
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
182230 |
Apr 1988 |
|
Patent Grant
4940222
