Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Kwang-taek Lim

Byung-sun Ahn

Yong-geun Kim

Jin-soo Lee

Jin-Soo Lee

Yong-kon Jo

Sang-yob Shin

Won-mo Cho

A paper cassette feeder and an image forming apparatus having the same are provided. The paper cassette feeder includes: a main frame; a loading unit on which paper is loaded; a first paper guide which is tilted up with respect to the loading unit; and a second paper guide which is disposed at the first paper guide in a turnable manner, and is tilted up with respect to the first paper guide according to a position of the second paper guide. Accordingly, a paper cassette feeder can be easily separated from an image forming apparatus when paper is jammed in a paper feeding path, so as to remove a paper jam easily.

Paper cassette feeder for easily removing paper jam and image forming apparatus having the same

An image forming apparatus includes a laser scanning unit that irradiates a light. A photoconductive medium forms thereon an electrostatic latent image using the light from the laser scanning unit. A developing roller transfers a developer onto the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductive medium to develop the electrostatic latent image. A transferring roller forms a transfer nip in tight contact with the photoconductive medium and transfers the developer attached on the photoconductive medium onto a paper passing through the transfer nip. A paper supplying part stacks the paper thereon. A pickup roller picks up the paper stacked on the paper supplying part. A paper edge sensor senses a top edge of the paper picked up by the pickup roller. The paper picked up by the pickup roller is directly supplied toward the transfer nip. A paper moving path is reduced, thereby minimizing the whole size of the image forming apparatus. Also, the number of parts is reduced, thereby decreasing material costs.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a printing unit and a shutter arm unit. The shutter arm unit includes a shutter arm that swings to first and second positions, and a stopper arm, connected to the shutter arm, which protrudes toward a transportation path when the shutter arm swings to the second position in which the stopper arm prevents extra sheets of recording media from moving along the transportation path. The force of the paper moving along the transportation path swings the shutter arm unit into the second position, a protrusion cam and an escape cam prevent an increase in the return load of the shutter arm, and a pair of ends of the shutter arm aligns the front end of the sheet of paper.

Image forming apparatus including shutter arm unit

A paper picking-up unit and an image forming apparatus having the same are provided. The paper picking-up unit includes a knock-up plate to stack paper thereon; a shaft disposed at a front end of the knock-up plate to rotate, a pick-up roller engaged with the shaft to rotate and pick-up the paper stacked on the knock-up plate, and a knock-up plate ascending and descending portion to raise and lower the knock-up plate according to the rotation of the pick-up roller. The pick-up roller includes a roller body engaged and rotatable with the shaft, and having a frictional layer to pick-up the paper by causing friction with the paper, a pair of roller housings to support opposite sides of the roller body such that the roller body does not move in a lengthwise direction of the shaft, and a damper disposed at an outer circumference of each roller housing to reduce noise caused by a collision of the roller housings and the knock-up plate.

Paper picking-up unit and image forming apparatus having the same

A print medium feeding apparatus, comprising: a knockup plate on which a ream of print medium is stacked thereon; a pickup roller for picking up a sheet of print medium stacked on the knockup plate; a sheet separation member installed in a manner to form a contact nip with the pickup roller, and supplying friction force for separating the print medium sheet by sheet; and a friction pad disposed at an upper side of the sheet separation member, being in front of the contact nip. The print medium feeding apparatus of the present invention features an improved paper feeding capacity in that variable friction force is applied for separating printing medium. Moreover, since the friction pad does not come in contact with the pickup roller, the abrasion rate of the friction pad is much reduced. Furthermore, the material cost can be reduced by reducing the size of the friction pad.

Print medium feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus using the same

A device for engaging and disengaging an object in one direction and a photosensitive medium cleaning device of a liquid printer using the same are provided. The device for engaging and disengaging includes a housing, a driving motor disposed at the housing, a rotating bracket, rotatably disposed at the housing, for supporting the object, and a cam unit, capable of rotating and moving linearly by a rotating force of the driving motor, for transferring the rotating bracket to one side by being rotated after being moved linearly to the rotating bracket while the driving unit is rotating in one direction, the cam unit being separated from the rotating bracket enabling the rotating bracket to return to an initial position while the driving motor is rotating reversely.

Engage/disengage apparatus and photosensitive medium cleaning device of liquid printer using the same

An apparatus and method for measuring a liquid level in a vessel using an acoustic wave. Acoustic tubes have first ends disposed vertically along a sidewall of the vessel for each of the liquid levels to be measured, and the tubes communicate with the inside of the vessel. Second ends of the tubes are connected to a common tube. A storage level sensor board generates the acoustic wave in the vessel, receives the acoustic wave propagated through the acoustic tubes and the common tube, and determines the level of liquid in the vessel based on the received acoustic wave.

Liquid level measuring apparatus and method

A method of detecting the amount of remaining sheets of paper in a paper feeding cassette of a printing apparatus, wherein the printing apparatus receives a paper feeding cassette having a knock-up plate on which paper is placed, and which pivots as paper is removed therefrom, a pickup roller installed in the printing apparatus which elastically moves up and down within a predetermined range to contact the paper, the pickup roller being made to rotate in close contact with the paper to sequentially feed the paper into the printing apparatus, a lifting mechanism which lifts the knock-up plate step by step according to the consumption of paper, thereby placing the loaded paper against the pickup-roller, calculating a difference in the number of operations of the lifting mechanism for lifting the knock-up plate toward the pickup roller when a maximum number of sheets of paper is loaded into the paper feeding cassette and when only a single sheet of paper is placed in the paper feeding cassette, calculating an amount of consumed paper per one operation of the lifting mechanism as a set value from the calculated difference, lifting the knock-up plate when the paper feeding cassette enters into the printing apparatus until the loaded paper closely contacts the pickup roller, and counting the number of operations of the lifting mechanism, and calculating the amount of paper remaining in the paper feeding cassette based on the number of operations counted and the set value calculated. As a result, a user is always able to roughly determine how many sheets of paper are left in the cassette, thereby avoiding situations where the printing job is stopped due to a lack of paper.

Method of detecting amount of remaining sheets of paper

A paper feeding apparatus for a printing apparatus includes a pickup roller, which rotates in close contact with a sheet of paper loaded in a cassette and which allows the paper to enter in a paper feeding path of the printing apparatus, and a moving device, which allows the pickup roller to be selectively close to or separated from the paper loaded in the cassette while moving the pickup roller up and down. The moving device includes a rotary shaft connected to a predetermined driving source, a pivoting member, installed at the rotary shaft to be capable of pivoting, and having the pickup roller rotatably supported at a free end thereof, a slider, sliding in engagement with the cassette entering in the printing apparatus and having a predetermined cam portion for pivoting the pivoting member formed at one side thereof, and an engagement rib provided at the pivoting member to be capable of sliding along the cam portion of the slider, wherein, when the slider is moved as the cassette enters or is pulled from the printing apparatus, the engagement rib slides along the cam portion to pivot the pivoting member so that the pickup roller is moved up and down. Thus, as the pickup roller is allowed to contact the paper after the cassette completely enters the printing apparatus, the displacement of the position of the paper can be prevented when the cassette is inserted.

Paper feeding apparatus for printing apparatus

A universal paper cassette for feeding paper sheets comprising a case, a pair of side guide members installed within the case to be parallel to the side walls of the case and to be slidable widthwise according to the width of the paper sheets for supporting both sides of received paper sheets, finger members assembled to the respective side guide members to move together therewith, a lengthwise guide member installed within the case to be slidable lengthwise according to the length of the paper sheets for supporting the front ends of the paper sheets, a paper pressing plate assembled to both sides of the case by pins to vertically pivot, and at least one spring installed within the case for elastically biasing the paper pressing plate upward. The universal paper cassette further comprises an elastic unit for connecting the side guide members or the lengthwise guide member with the paper pressing plate and controlling an elastic force against the paper pressing plate.

Universal paper cassette

A paper feeding apparatus, of a printing machine which includes a cassette for receiving paper that is detachably coupled with a body of the printing device, guide members for supporting side portions of the received paper, slidingly installed in the cassette, and a pair of pick-up rollers for drawing the paper out from the cassette. The pick-up rollers are positioned for tight contact with the top of the received papers and are movably installed on a rotating shaft so as to be capable of moving along the shaft. The paper feeding apparatus also includes a moving mechanism, interlocking with the guide member, for moving the pick-up roller along the shaft.

Growing community of inventors

Gwangmyeong-si, South Korea

Kwang-taek Lim