Paper tray with leaf spring

Abstract

A paper bin assembly including a movable bottom tray for holding a stack of print receiving material, such as paper. The assembly is designed for insertion into a machine using sheets of paper, such as a copier or printer. A leaf spring is used to move the tray upwardly to keep the top sheet of the stack in position for being fed from the stack by a paper feeding mechanism. As sheets are fed from the stack, the spring continues to provide the top sheet in position, and continues to provide a correct normal force between the paper feeding mechanism and the top sheet. This is accomplished over a wide range of paper size and density by affording an adjustment mechanism to vary the spring rate. The adjustment mechanism involves a movable spring support member which moves in one direction relative to a fixed spring support member, and by providing an offset in a second dimension between the two spring support members.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.