Information
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Patent Grant
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6644502
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Patent Number
6,644,502
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Date Filed
Thursday, December 20, 200123 years ago
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Date Issued
Tuesday, November 11, 200321 years ago
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Inventors
-
Original Assignees
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Examiners
- Walsh; Donald P.
- Bowes; Kenneth W
Agents
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CPC
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US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 271 145
- 271 151
- 271 37
- 271 38
- 271 171
- 271 144
- 271 223
- 271 123
- 271 126
- 271 127
- 271 233
- 271 255
- 414 7915
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International Classifications
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Abstract
Certain designs of paper feeding devices used in copiers and printers require that an edge of a stack of sheets be in close contact with a slanted surface. An apparatus engages an opposite edge of the stack to urge the stack against the slanted surface, so that the stack assumes a parallelogram shape. The apparatus includes a plate which is movable from a vertical, upright position to a slanted position. Means are provided to cause the plate to move to the slanted position in response to the closing of a paper tray of a printer or copier.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to office equipment such as printers and copiers, and in particular relates to an apparatus for holding a stack of sheets, as would be used in a paper supply for such equipment.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,969 describes a feeding apparatus for drawing sheets from a stack of paper, as would be used in a printer or copier. A stack of sheets is held so that one side of the stack abuts a slanted surface, so that, viewed elevationally, the stack assumes a generally parallelogram shape. The slanted surface is exploited by rollers which engage the top sheet of the stack, to ensure that exactly one sheet is drawn at a time when the printer or copier is in use.
The present invention relates to a device for holding a stack of sheets in a parallelogram shape.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus useful in retaining a stack of sheets, comprising a plate for engaging an edge of the stack of sheets, and a mechanism for selectably positioning the plate in an upright position and a slanted position.
According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a printing apparatus, comprising a paper tray for retaining a stack of sheets, a plate for engaging an edge of the stack of sheets and a mechanism for selectably positioning the plate in an upright position and a slanted position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is an elevational sectional view of a paper supply drawer, as used in a copier or printer, using the present invention.
FIG. 2
is a perspective view of a portion of the exterior of a printer, showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3
is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4
is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5
is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6
is a perspective view showing an additional aspect of the present invention.
FIG. 7
is a simplified elevational view of a xerographic printer including the present invention.
In the above Figures, like numerals indicate functionally equivalent elements in various embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1
is a sectional elevational view of a paper supply drawer, or tray, as would be found, for instance, in a printer, copier, or other office equipment, showing some essential features of the present invention. With most relevance to the present invention, the drawer
100
defines a slanted surface
102
, which is a generally flat surface disposed approximately 30 to 60 degrees from the vertical. As described above in the '969 patent, a certain type of paper feeding apparatus exploits such a slanted surface, and it is desirable that a paper stack, such as indicated in
FIG. 1
as S, be disposed with one of its edges abutting such a slanted surface.
According to the illustrated embodiment, one edge of a paper stack S is caused to abut slanted surface
102
by the presence and action of a plate
10
in contact with an opposite side of the stack. When a stack S is initially placed in the drawer, with the typical vertical sides (such as when removed from a package), one side of the stack is in general contact with plate
10
, which is in a substantially vertical “upright position” as shown. After the stack S is loaded, the plate
10
is moved to a substantially slanted position as shown in phantom and indicated as
10
′. When plate
10
′ is in the second position, the opposite side of stack S is pushed against slanted surface
102
, and the stack S generally assumes a parallelogram shape, as shown.
Also shown in
FIG. 1
is a lever
12
, which interacts with plate
10
, and is shown in a position which is consistent with plate
10
being in its upright position. Shown in phantom and indicated as
12
′ is the lever in a position consistent with plate
10
′ being in its second position. The various possible mechanical means by which lever
12
interacts with plate
10
will be discussed below.
FIG. 2
is a perspective view of a portion of some office equipment, such as a printer or copier, in which a paper supply drawer or tray such as
100
is used. As is familiar, such a drawer
100
can be slid in and out from the body of the machine so that paper can be re-supplied to the machine. According to this embodiment of the invention, lever
12
is shaped and located so that, when drawer
100
is pushed back into the machine, such as after loading a stack of paper therein, lever
12
contacts a “contact surface” of the machine and is thus pushed downward as the drawer
100
is closed. As the lever
12
is pushed down, through a mechanism of a type which will be described in detail below, plate
10
is caused to move from its upright position to its slanted position, as described above. In turn, a stack of paper placed in the drawer
100
assumes the desired parallelogram shape and is pressed against the slanted surface
102
. In brief, pushing the drawer
100
in causes the stack S to assume the parallelogram shape. According to this aspect of the invention, the contact surface of a machine for this purpose can be an outer surface of the machine, as shown in
FIG. 2
, or can be on a member internal to the machine. Alternately, lever
12
can be in effect attached to a member within the body of the machine.
In order to provide the desired interaction between lever
12
and plate
10
, any number of types of mechanisms can be used. Below, certain mechanisms will be basically described, but it will be apparent that many variations can be made to the described mechanisms within the spirit and language of the claims.
FIG. 3
is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, plate
10
is movable between and upright position and a slanted position, as shown. Plate
10
assumes its slanted position when lever
12
, which is pivotably mounted relative to a main portion
16
of a mechanism which supports plate
10
in a particular position, is in a down position (as opposed to the up position, such as shown in FIG.
2
). The mechanism includes at least one camming surface, such as
18
, which in effect transfers the motion of the downward positioning of lever
12
to move the plate
10
to its slanted position. When the lever
12
is pulled up again, the plate
10
returns to an upright position, either through the action of another camming surface, or of springs associated with the mechanism (not shown).
FIG. 4
is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the plate
10
is once again caused to change position by the action of a lever
12
, but the lever
12
slides relative to the basic mechanism instead of pivoting. The member forming lever
12
slides along a bar
20
while a surface thereof engages a camming surface
22
associated with plate
10
. In this particular embodiment, when lever
12
is slid to the right in the Figure, the plate
10
is moved to its slanted position; when the lever
12
is slid to the left, plate
10
returns to an upright position, aided by spring
24
. Although a very simple mechanism is illustrated, many practical variations on the design can be contemplated to allow the sliding action of lever
12
and resulting positioning of plate
10
.
In the
FIG. 4
embodiment, the lever
12
can be attached to or otherwise contact other surfaces (not shown) of the rest of a machine, to achieve the principle of “automatic” positioning of plate
10
to its slanted position when a paper tray or drawer is closed. The lever
12
can contact the outside of a machine, as largely shown in
FIG. 2
above, or contact or be attached to a member within the body of the machine. In the
FIG. 4
view, if the drawer and the attached mechanism including lever
12
is pushed to the left, the lever
12
will contact a surface of the machine, be pushed to the right, and therefore place plate
10
in its slanted position.
FIG. 5
is a perspective view of another possible embodiment of the present invention. Here, the plate
10
is more or less directly moved, such as by a user's hand, into a slanted position as needed, and a lever
12
, pivotably mounted on a surface (such as a main portion
16
as shown, or even a bottom surface of a paper tray or drawer), functions mainly as a “stop” to hold plate
10
in its slanted position. In this case, the “mechanism” for positioning plate
10
basically comprises the hinge on which plate
10
is mounted.
As is well known in the art of office equipment, a paper tray or drawer is typically provided with adjustable parts so that the tray can accommodate paper stock of various sizes. Returning to
FIG. 1
above, it is desirable that the position of plate
10
in terms of distance to slanted surface
102
be adjustable so that a stack S of a range of sizes can be placed properly in the tray. To this end, there is provided means for adjusting the position of plate
10
, and such means can include a track
14
, which can be defined by a set of teeth or other structure in the body of tray
100
. The plate
10
and its associated mechanism moves along track
14
as needed to conform to a stack S of a given size.
FIG. 6
is a perspective view of another aspect of the present invention, what can generally be called a slidable mount for adjusting a position of the plate
10
, particularly relative to slanted surface
102
such as shown in
FIG. 1. A
catch
30
, which can be of any design, engages the teeth of track
14
to retain the plate
10
in a selected position relative to slanted surface
102
. Any basic design of such a slidable mount, generally familiar in the art, can be provided, with or without the illustrated teeth in track
14
. Another aspect of the invention is disposing the catch
30
or equivalent element underneath lever
12
when lever
12
is in a position consistent with plate
10
being in a slanted second position. The position of lever
12
thus makes catch
30
largely inaccessible, so that the position of plate
10
cannot be changed when the plate is in its slanted position.
Although the illustrations show plate
10
as a substantially solid plate with a flat surface, it will be appreciated that the plate
10
can be of any practical configuration, such as including openings, fingers, ridges, etc. as required to enhance performance.
FIG. 7
is a simplified elevational view of an office machine, in this case a xerographic or electrostatographic printer
200
(which may also function as part of a copier or facsimile machine) embodying the present invention. Sheets from a tray
100
are stacked in a parallelogram-shaped stack S by the action of plate
10
. Sheets are individually drawn by feed head
202
from stack S in a manner such as shown in the '969 patent, and sent through paper path
204
. Each sheet receives marking material forming an image from charge receptor
206
, and the marking material is fused in fuser
208
and deposited in tray
210
or other finishing device.
Claims
- 1. A printing apparatus, comprising:a paper tray for retaining a stack of sheets; a plate for engaging an edge of the stack of sheets; a mechanism for selectably positioning the plate in an upright position and a slanted position, the mechanism including a lever positionable in a first position and a second position, the first position being consistent with the plate being in the upright position and the second position consistent with the plate being in the slanted position; the paper tray being slidable relative to a body of the apparatus, the body of the apparatus defining a contact surface; and means for positioning the lever in the second position when the paper tray is slid into the body of the apparatus, wherein the lever contacts the contact surface when the paper tray is slid into the body of the apparatus.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lever is pivotably mounted relative to the mechanism.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lever is slidably mounted relative to the mechanism.
- 4. A printing apparatus, comprising:a paper tray for retaining a stack of sheets; a plate for engaging an edge of the stack of sheets; a mechanism for selectably positioning the plate in an upright position and a slanted position, the mechanism including a lever positionable in a first position and a second position the first position being consistent with the plate being in the upright position and the second position consistent with the plate being in the slanted position; and a slidable mount for the plate within the tray, wherein the slidable mount is at least partially covered by the lever when the lever is in the second position.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a charge receptor for placing images on a sheet drawn from the stack.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the lever is pivotably mounted relative to the mechanism.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the lever is slidably mounted relative to the mechanism.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a charge receptor placing images on a sheet drawn from the stack.
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Date |
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Mar 1977 |
A |
4795297 |
Tokuno et al. |
Jan 1989 |
A |
5286018 |
Rasmussen et al. |
Feb 1994 |
A |
5377969 |
Steinhilber |
Jan 1995 |
A |
5709381 |
Hourtash et al. |
Jan 1998 |
A |
5803631 |
Bingham et al. |
Sep 1998 |
A |
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2000-34024 |
Feb 2000 |
JP |