Abstract:
A paper accommodating assembly for an office machine is provided in the invention. The paper accommodating assembly includes a first paper accommodating device for accommodating paper sheets to be processed by the office machine and a second paper accommodating device for accommodating paper sheets being processed by the office machine. In particular, feeding path of the paper sheets accommodated by the second paper accommodating device is established or blocked in response to the movement of the first paper accommodating device. The paper accommodating assembly of the invention can reduce space occupied by the office machine and avoid paper jam due to the closing of the first paper accommodating device.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a paper accommodating assembly of an office machine, such as a printer, a copy machine, a scanner, a fax, a multi-function office machine or an all-in-one office machine, for accommodating paper sheets to be processed and paper sheets having been processed by the office machine. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     An office machine inevitably requires a component, such as a cassette, a tray, a slot or the like, for accommodating paper sheets to be processed by the office machine. The office machine also requires a component, such as a cassette, a tray, a slot or the like, for accommodating paper sheets having been processed by the office machine. 
     The current design for office machines gravitate towards the desk-top type, multi-function and even all-in-one in order to increase usefulness and portability. The so-called multi-function or all-in-one office machines combine the capabilities of a wide range or a full range of office equipment into one. Obviously, the aforesaid office machines require simple-configuration, light-weight and compact components to reduce weight of the machines and space occupied by the machines. Therefore, paper accommodating devices of various type have been developed, e.g., the paper accommodating devices capable of moving within the office machine, or the paper accommodating devices capable of serving as a smooth surface of the office machine as being closed. The related prior arts are as follows: U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,387,043; D411,228; D400,918; D390,258; D370,025; D387,085; and D382,583. 
     However, the initial paper accommodating device and finish paper accommodating device disclosed in the prior arts are designed to operate independently from each other, which means the feeding operation of paper sheets accommodated by the initial paper accommodating device is not influenced by the operation of the finish paper accommodating device. That is why a finish paper accommodating device could remain closed when the feeding operation of paper sheets accommodated by an initial paper accommodating device still proceeds. Paper jam usually occurs in the office machine equipped with such initial and finish paper accommodating devices. 
     Accordingly, an objective of the invention is to provide an initial paper accommodating device and a finish paper accommodating device of an office machine. The initial paper accommodating device is for accommodating paper sheets to be processed by the office machine. The finish paper accommodating device is for accommodating paper sheets having been processed by the office machine. In particular, the finish paper accommodating device is rotatably closed or open. When closed, the finish paper accommodating device serves as a smooth surface of the office machine. The initial paper accommodating device is capable of moving within the office machine whereby the space occupied by the office machine can be reduced. 
     In addition, another objective of the invention is to assemble the aforesaid initial and finish paper accommodating devices so that the feeding path of paper sheets accommodated by the initial paper accommodating device is connected or blocked in response to the closing or opening of the finish paper accommodating device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is the objective of the invention to provide a paper accommodation assembly for an office machine for accommodating paper sheets to be processed and paper sheets having been processed by the office machine. In particular, the paper accommodating assembly can reduce the space occupied by the office machine. 
     Another objective of the invention is to provide a paper accommodating assembly for an office machine. In particular, the paper accommodating assembly is capable of selectively connecting or blocking the feeding path of paper sheets to be processed by the office machine to prevent from paper jams. 
     According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the office machine also includes a pickup roller. When contacting the paper sheets on top to be processed by the office machine, the pickup roller selectively picks up the uppermost paper sheet and further delivers the uppermost paper sheet. The paper accommodating assembly includes a first paper accommodating device and a second paper accommodating device. The first paper accommodating device is pivotally mounted on the office machine. When rotated to an open position, the first paper accommodating device is for accommodating paper sheets having been processed by the office machine. When rotated to a closed position, the first paper accommodating device serves as a smooth surface of the office machine. The second paper accommodating device is for accommodating the paper sheets to be processed by the office machine. The second paper accommodating device supports the paper sheets moving forward to the pickup roller in response to the movement of the first paper accommodating device. 
     The advantage and spirit of the invention may be understood by the following recitations together with the appended drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE APPENDED DRAWINGS 
     FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views of an office machine  10  employing a paper accommodating assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing internal construction of the office machine  10 . 
     FIG. 2C is a diagram showing how the tray  132  shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B moves forward or backward the pickup roller  21  in response to the opening and closing of the first paper accommodating device  12 . 
     FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing the connection relationship between the first paper accommodating device  12  actuating plate  14  of FIGS. 2A and 2B and the actuation relationship between actuating plate  14  and the tray  132  in response to the closing or opening of the first paper accommodating device  12 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B, an office machine  10  employing a paper accommodating assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed. The paper accommodating assembly is for accommodating paper sheets to be processed and paper sheets having been processed by the office machine  10 . The office machine  10  may be a printer, a copy machine, a scanner, a multifunction office machine, or an all-in-one office machine. 
     As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the paper accommodating assembly includes a first paper accommodating device  12  for accommodating the paper sheets having been processed by the office machine  10  and a second paper accommodating device  13  for accommodating the paper sheets to be processed by the office machine  10 . The office machine  10  includes a machine body  11  to which the first paper accommodating device  12  is pivotally connected via a first pivot  121 . So the first paper accommodating device  12  can rotate to a closed position or an open position via the first pivot  121 . When rotated to the open position, the first paper accommodating device  12  is provided to accommodate the paper sheets to be processed by the office machine  10 . When rotated to the closed position, the first paper accommodating device serves as a smooth surface of the office machine  10 . The second paper accommodating device  13  is capable of moving within or out of the machine body  11 . In particular, the feeding path of the paper sheets accommodated by the second paper accommodating device  13  is clear and connected when the first paper accommodating device  12  is in the open position. Meanwhile, the feeding path of the paper sheets is interrupted and blocked when the first paper accommodating device  12  is in the closed position. 
     The internal construction of the office machine  10  and the principle regarding the connection or blocking of the feeding path of the paper sheets accommodated by the second paper accommodating device  13  will be described in detail as follows. Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the office machine  10  includes a paper feeding apparatus, a paper processing apparatus  27  and a paper discharging apparatus. The paper processing apparatus  27  is for processing the paper sheets delivered thereat, e.g., recording information onto the paper sheets or retrieving image on the paper sheets. The paper feeding apparatus is for feeding, one by one, the paper sheets S accommodated by the second paper accommodating device  13  into a processing path  271  of the paper processing apparatus  27  so that components of the paper processing apparatus  27  can perform the subsequent process on the paper sheets. After being processed by the paper processing apparatus  27 , the paper sheets are delivered to the first paper accommodating device  12  and further accommodated by the first paper accommodating device  12 . 
     Also shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, an embodiment of the paper feeding apparatus is disclosed. The paper feeding apparatus includes a pickup roller  21 , a delivery roller  22 , a pair of feed rollers ( 23  and  24 ), a guide board  25  and a driving device  26 . The pickup roller  21  is for selectively picking up and further delivering an uppermost sheet S 1  of the paper sheets S accommodated by the second paper accommodating device  13 . As picking up the paper sheet S 1 , the pickup roller  21  rotates in a clockwise direction  211 . The delivery roller  22  works with the guide board  25  to deliver the paper sheet S 1  to the feed rollers ( 23  and  24 ). As delivering the paper sheet S 1 , the delivery roller  22  also rotates in the clockwise direction  211 . Also shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the direction of the paper sheets delivered through the delivery roller  22  and the guide board  25  is altered to reduce the space required by the office machine  10 . To alter the direction of the delivered paper sheet S 1  successfully, a follow roller  251  is set at the guide board  25  to help the delivered paper sheet alter its delivery direction. The pair of feeding rollers ( 23  and  24 ) are composed of an active roller  23  and an idle roller  24 . To feed paper sheets into the processing apparatus accurately, first, the active roller  23  rotates in a counterclockwise direction  231  to resist the paper sheet delivered from the delivery roller  22  so as to justify the leading edge of the paper sheet until the leading edge of the paper sheet fully contact with the feeding roller ( 23  and  24 ). Then, the rotating direction of the active roller  23  is altered into the clockwise direction to deliver the paper sheet S 1  into the processing path  271  of the paper processing apparatus  27 . The driving device  26  is for driving the rotation of the roller set in the paper feeding apparatus. 
     Also shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, an embodiment of the paper discharging apparatus is disclosed. The paper discharging apparatus includes a pair of discharge roller ( 28  and  29 ). The pair of discharge rollers ( 28  and  29 ) are composed of an active roller  28  and an idle roller  29 . Moreover, the active roller  28  is connected to the active roller  23  by a belt or odd numbered gears so that the active roller  28  takes the same rotating operation as the active roller  23 . When discharging of the paper sheet S 1 , first, the rotating direction of the active roller  28  is the counterclockwise direction. Then, the rotating direction of the active roller  28  is altered into the clockwise direction to discharge the paper sheet within the processing path to the first paper accommodating device  12 . 
     Also shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, an embodiment of the paper accommodating assembly also includes an actuating plate  14  pivotally mounted on the inner wall of the machine body  11  via the second pivots  141 . The first paper accommodating device  12  has at least one guide path  122 , and the actuating plate  14  has at least one boss  142  which each projects and slides within one corresponding guide path  122 . Thereby, when rotating, the first paper accommodating device  12  guides the actuating plate  14  to rotate. Also in the embodiment, the second paper accommodating device  13  includes a base  131 , a tray  132  and a resilient member  133 . The tray  132  is pivotally mounted on the inner wall of the base  131  via the third pivots  135 . The tray  132  is for loading the paper sheets to be processed by the office machine  10 . The resilient member  133  is set between a free end of the tray  133  and the base  131  for supporting the tray  132 . The resilient member  133  may be a coil spring or a leaf spring. 
     It should be noted that the boss  142  of the actuating plate  14  and the guide path  122  of the first paper accommodating device  12  can be interchangeable installed on either the actuating plate  14  or the first paper accommodating device  12 . In other words, the boss  142  can be arranged on the first paper accommodating device  12 , and the guide path  122  can be arranged on the actuating plate  14 . As long as there is a rotatable and movable connection between the actuating plate  14  and the first paper accommodating device  12 , it will suffice. 
     As shown in FIG. 2B, when rotating from the open position to the closed position, the first paper accommodating device  12  rotates counterclockwise around the first pivots  121 . At the same time, the first paper accommodating device  12  guides the actuating plate  14  to rotate around the second pivots  141 . Further, the actuating plate  14  by at least one actuating end  143  thereof actuates the tray  132  to move away from the pickup roller  21 . As the tray  132  is actuated to move away from the pickup roller  21 , the paper sheets loaded by the tray  132  are taken away from the pickup roller  21  so that the feeding path of the paper sheets loaded by the tray  132  is interrupted and blocked. The tray  132  also has at least one arc slide  134  set on its side. Each of the arc slide  134  corresponds to one actuating end  143  of the actuating plate  14 . During actuation of the tray  132  by the actuating plate  14 , the actuating end  143  slide on arc surface of the arc slide  134 . In this embodiment, the actuating plate  14  indirectly actuates the tray  132  via the arc slide  134  so that the feeding of the paper sheets loaded in the tray  134  will not be interrupted by the operation of the actuating plate  14 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2A, as rotating from the closed position to the open position, the first paper accommodating device  12  rotates clockwise around the first pivots  121  and further guides the actuating plate  14  to rotate clockwise around the second pivots  141  so that the actuating end  143  escapes from the arc slide  134 . At this time, the compressed resilient member by the elastic force thereof supports the tray  132  to move forward to the pickup roller  21  so that the uppermost sheet of the paper sheets loaded by the tray  132  contacts the pickup roller  21 , so the feeding path of the paper sheets is connected. FIG. 2C shows clearly the actuating relationship between the actuating plate  14  and the tray  132  as the first paper accommodating device  12  closes or opens. 
     The connection relationship between the first paper accommodating device  12  and the actuating plate  14  is illustrated in detail in FIGS. 3A and 3B. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the dotted-line arrows indicate the moving direction of the first paper accommodating device  12 , actuating plate  14  and tray  132 , respectively, as the first paper accommodating device  12  closes or opens. As the first paper accommodating device  12  rotates to the closed position, the actuating plate  14  rotates to actuate the tray  132  moving away from the pickup roller  21 , as shown in FIG.  3 A. As the first paper accommodating device  12  rotates to the open position, the actuating plate  14  rotates to escape from the tray  132 . Under this condition, the tray  132  is not actuated by the actuating plate  14  so that the compressed resilient member  132  pushed by elastic force thereof supports the tray  132  moving forward to the pickup roller  21 , as shown in FIG.  3 B. 
     In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the actuating  14  is engaged with or monolithically formed with the first paper accommodating device  12  rather than pivotally mounted on the inner wall of the machine body  11 . 
     While the invention has been described in one presently preferred embodiment, it is understood that the words which have been used are words of description rather than words of limitation and that changes within the purview of the appended claims may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention in its broader aspect.