JP2002326724A - Recording paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a recording paper feeder capable of preventing the misoperation in loading the recording paper by an operator. SOLUTION: This recording paper feeder is provided with a storage case 23 for storing the recording paper, a feed roller 24 for feeding the recording paper, a pressing member 25 having a pressing part 38 for pressing the recording paper toward the feed roller 24, and being displaceable between a contact position 40 and a retracting position, a feed spring 26 for energizing the pressing member 25 toward the contact position, and a release lever 27 angularly displaceable between a contact permitting position 47 for permitting the pressing member 25 to be displaced to the contact position 40, and a contact releasing position for positioning the pressing member 25 at the retracting position, and provided with a shutter piece 55 for controlling the storage of the recording paper in the storage case 23 when it is located on the contact permitting position 47.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording paper feeder for feeding recording paper.

In the present invention, the term "recording paper" includes a recording sheet made of paper and a material other than paper.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a sectional view schematically showing a conventional recording paper feeder (hereinafter simply referred to as a "sheet feeder") 1. As shown in FIG. The paper feeding device 1 is a device that feeds paper to the image forming unit 2 at the subsequent stage. In the paper feeding device 1, a pressing member 4 is provided in a storage case 3 so as to swing freely so that a free end moves up and down. A pressing force is applied to the pressing member 4 by a paper feeding spring 5. A paper feed roller 7 is provided above the storage case 3 and held by a recording paper guide 6.
On the downstream side of the pressing member 4 in the sheet feeding direction, a separation plate 8 is provided in the storage case 3 so as to be swingable so that the free end moves up and down.
A push-up force is applied to the separation plate 8 by a separation spring 9. The storage case 3 is provided with a release lever 10 for displacing the pressing member 4 downward against the pushing force of the paper feed spring 5, and the recording paper guide 6 has a recording paper detection switch 11. Provided.

[0004] The image forming section 2 has an image recording means 12 and a platen roller 13 which cooperates with the image recording means 12 to pinch and transport the recording paper. In this image forming unit 2,
An image can be formed on a recording sheet while conveying the recording sheet, and information can be recorded on the recording sheet.

[0005] As shown in FIG. 4, when the recording paper is not stored in the storage case 3, the pressing member 4 is pressed upward by the paper feed spring 5, and the free end resiliently contacts the paper feed roller 7. Touched. At this time, the release lever 10 causes the end 16 on the upstream side in the recording paper loading direction A to move due to its own weight.
An operating portion 14 supported on the side wall 19 of the storage case 3 and formed on both sides of the pressing member 4;
The release operation piece 15 is separated from each other, and the storage space sandwiched between the storage case 3 and the release lever 10 is opened in the direction opposite to the loading direction A.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet feeding device 1 showing a state when recording paper is loaded. In loading the recording paper, the release lever 10 is manually operated from the state shown in FIG. 4 so that the end 16 on the upstream side in the loading direction A is pulled up, and the operating portion 14 is pressed downward by the release operation piece 15. Then, the pressing member 4 is displaced downward. By displacing the pressing member 4 downward in this manner, the pressing member 4
The recording paper is inserted in the loading direction A from between the pressing member 4 and the release lever 10.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the paper feeding device 1 showing a state where the recording paper has been loaded. As described with reference to FIG. 5, when the recording paper is inserted, the recording paper is supported by the pressing member 4 and the end on the downstream side in the loading direction A is the separation plate 8.
And is positioned at a position facing the paper feed roller 7, and is stored in the storage case 3. When the storage of the recording paper in the storage case 3 is completed, the pressing member 4 is pushed up by the paper feeding spring 5 by returning the release lever 10 to the original position, and the uppermost recording paper is repelled by the paper feeding roller 7. Contacted spontaneously. At this time, the release lever 10 is supported by its own weight by abutting the storage case 3 with the end 16 on the upstream side in the recording paper loading direction A being separated from the recording paper.
The storage space sandwiched between the storage case 3 and the release lever 10 is open in a direction opposite to the loading direction A.

In the state where the loading of the recording paper is completed, the recording paper can be fed to the image forming section 2 one by one by the paper feed roller 7. On the recording paper fed in this way, an image is formed by the image forming unit 2 and information is recorded.

[0009]

In the paper feeding apparatus 1 of the prior art, when the recording paper is loaded, the end of the release lever 10 on the upstream side in the loading direction A can be operated without the operator operating the release lever 10. Since the portion 16 is separated from the pressing member 4 or the recording paper and the opening is formed, it becomes possible to insert the recording paper in the loading direction A from this opening. If the recording paper is inserted without operating the release lever 10 as described above, the recording paper may not be loaded at a predetermined normal position facing the paper feed roller 7 by contacting the separation plate 8. Even in such an imperfect loading state, the operator may not know that the loading state is incomplete, and may interfere with the sheet feeding operation in the sheet feeding apparatus 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems, to prevent an erroneous operation of a recording paper loading operation by an operator, and to prevent a paper feeding error due to an erroneous operation and a paper feeding abnormality such as a paper jam. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording paper feeding device.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a paper feed tray for storing recording paper, a paper feed roller for feeding the recording paper stored in the paper feed tray, and a paper feed tray for storing the paper. A pressing portion for pressing the formed recording paper toward the paper feed roller, and the pressing portion is displaceable between a contact position where the pressing portion comes into contact with the paper feed roller and a retracted position where the pressing portion is separated from the paper feed roller. A pressing member provided, a biasing member for biasing the pressing member in a direction toward the contact position, a contact allowable position allowing the pressing member to be displaced to the contact position, and a pressing member disposed at the retracted position An operating member having a regulating portion for regulating the storage of the recording paper in the paper supply tray when the recording paper is in the abutment allowable position. Device.

According to the present invention, there is provided an operation member which can be displaced between the contact allowable position and the contact release position, and by operating this operation member, the pressing member which can be displaced between the contact position and the retracted position is provided. The members can be manipulated indirectly. When the operation member is arranged at the contact allowable position, the pressing member is urged by the urging member and arranged at the contact position. When the operating member is located at the contact release position, the pressing member is located at the retracted position. With this configuration, when recording paper is stored in the paper feed tray, the pressing member contacts the recording paper with the paper feed roller when it is disposed at the contact position, and pushes the recording paper when it is disposed at the retracted position. It can be separated from the paper feed roller. Therefore, by arranging the operation member at the contact allowable position, the recording paper stored in the paper feed tray can be fed by the paper feed roller.

By disposing the operating member at the contact release position, the recording paper can be disposed at a predetermined storage position facing the paper feed roller and stored in the paper feed tray, and the recording paper can be replenished. be able to. The operating member for indirectly operating such a pressing member has a restricting portion, and when the pressing member is located at the contact allowable position, that is, when the pressing member is disposed at the contact position, the recording paper feed tray is provided. Regulates storage in storage. This prevents the recording sheet from being erroneously replenished when the pressing member is in the contact position due to an erroneous operation by the operator. In addition, it can be prevented from causing a failure.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the operating member is held at the contact allowable position by its own weight when in the contact allowable position.

According to the present invention, since the operating member is urged toward the contact allowable position by its own weight, the recording paper is stored in the paper feed tray and the recording paper is transferred to the paper feed tray. In regulating the storage, the recording paper is prevented from receiving a large external force from the operation member. Therefore, even if the storage of the recording paper in the paper feed tray is prevented, the operation failure does not occur without preventing the paper from being fed by the paper feed roller.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that, when the operating member is at the contact release position, displacement toward the contact allowable position is prevented by the pressing member.

According to the present invention, when the operating member is at the contact release position, the displacement of the operating member toward the contact allowable position is prevented by the pressing member. The operation member is not displaced to the contact allowable position. Therefore, the operator can store the recording paper in the paper feed tray with his / her hand released from the operation member, and can easily perform the work of replenishing the recording paper.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that a separating plate is provided downstream of the pressing member in the paper feeding direction of the recording paper to prevent double feeding of the recording paper.

According to the present invention, double feeding of recording paper is prevented by the separation plate, so that problems such as paper jams and processing defects are prevented from occurring at a later stage where the recording paper is fed. It is.

[0020]

FIG. 1 shows a recording paper feeder (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as a "paper feeder") 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing shown in a state. FIG. 2 shows the paper feeding device 20
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state when recording paper is loaded. The paper feeding device 20 is provided in an image forming device 21. The image forming device 21 is a device that uses, for example, a sheet made of paper cut in a fixed form as a recording paper, and is provided in, for example, a facsimile machine and receives received information. Record

The image forming apparatus 21 includes a sheet feeding device 20 and an image forming unit 22. The paper feeding device 20 includes the storage case 2
3, the paper feed roller 24, the pressing member 25, and the paper feed spring 2
6, release lever 27, separation plate 28, separation spring 29
And a recording paper detector 30. The image forming unit 22 includes an image recording unit 31 and a platen roller 32.

The storage case 23 serving as a paper feed tray is a member for storing recording paper. This storage case 23
Is a direction in which the recording paper is inserted into the storage case 23 when the recording paper is loaded into the paper feeding device 20, and the recording paper loading direction B is inclined downward toward the downstream side. And a side wall 36 bent from both ends of the base 35. The base 35 is substantially curved so that an intermediate portion between both ends in the loading direction B is downwardly convex, and the side walls 36 are concave on the upper side and one side in the thickness direction of the base 35. On the side to be formed.

The image forming apparatus 21 has a storage case 2
3 faces the downstream side in the loading direction B from the upper side, in other words, from the side where the base 35 is concave.
The recording paper guide 33 is provided to extend in the paper feeding direction C, which extends in a curved manner along the line 5. The paper feed roller 24 is provided supported by the recording paper guide 33. Paper feed roller 24
Is a roller for feeding the recording paper stored in the storage case 23, and faces a portion downstream of the storage case 23 in the loading direction B from the upper side, in other words, from the side where the base 35 is concave. Provided in the paper feeding direction C around the axis L1,
It is rotatably supported.

The pressing member 25, also called a rotating plate,
On the concave side of the storage case 23, the storage case 23 is inclined and provided along the storage case 23, and is supported by the storage case 23 at the base end 37 on the upstream side in the loading direction B, which is the upper side. Pressing member 25
Feeds the recording paper stored in the storage case 23 to the feed roller 2
4 is provided. The pressing portion 38 is provided at the free end of the pressing member 25.

The pressing member 25 is in a contact position (position shown in FIG. 1) 40 where the pressing portion 38 contacts the sheet feeding roller 24.
The pressing direction D1 from the retreat position 41 to the contact position 40 and the retreat position from the reverse contact position 40 are opposite to the retreat position (the position shown in FIG. 2) 41 in which the pressing portion 38 retreats from the sheet feeding roller 24. In the evacuation direction D2 toward 41,
It is supported by the storage case 23 so as to be angularly displaceable about an angular displacement axis L2 parallel to the rotation axis L1.

The paper feed spring 26 as a biasing member for biasing the pressing member is a compression coil spring, and is provided between the storage case 23 and the pressing member 25. The paper feed spring 26 applies a spring force to the pressing member 25 so that the pressing member 25
In a pressing direction D1 toward the contact position 40. As a result, when no recording paper is loaded, the pressing member 25 presses the pressing portion 3 by the spring force of the paper feed spring 26.
8 is resiliently contacted with the paper feed roller 24. The pressing portion 38 is made of a material capable of reducing the sliding friction resistance between the paper feed roller 24 and the recording paper.

The release lever 27, which is an operation member operated by the operator, faces the pressing member 25 from the concave side of the storage case 23, in other words, the storage case 2
The pressing member 25 is sandwiched by the third base 35 and is supported by the storage case 23 at a base end 45 on the downstream side in the loading direction B, which is the lower side. The release lever 27 extends from the contact release position 48 to the contact permission position 47 over a contact permission position (the position shown in FIG. 1) 47 and a contact release position (the position shown in FIG. 2) 48. It is supported by the storage case 23 so as to be angularly displaceable about an angular displacement axis L3 parallel to the rotation axis L1 in the contact release direction E2 from the contact allowable position 47 to the contact release position 48 in the direction E1 and the reverse thereof. ing.

The release lever 27 has release operation pieces 50 on both sides in the width direction of the base end 45 along the angular displacement axis L3. Further, the pressing member 25 has operation receiving pieces 51 that are inclined to the remaining portion facing the release operation piece 50 on both sides in the width direction along the angular displacement axis L2 of the free end.

When the release lever 27 is at the contact allowable position 47, the release operation piece 50 is separated from the operation receiving piece 51 with a gap X, and the pressing member 25 is displaced to the contact position 40. Allow. Therefore, in a state where the recording paper is not loaded in the storage case 23, when the release lever 27 is arranged at the contact allowable position 47, the pressing member 25 causes the pressing portion 38 to feed the paper by the spring force of the paper feeding spring 26. It is elastically brought into contact with the roller 24.

When the release lever 27 is angularly displaced in the contact release direction E2 from such a contact allowable position 47, the release operation piece 50 presses the operation receiving piece 51 to reduce the spring force of the paper feed spring 26. As a result, the pressing member 25 is angularly displaced in the retracting direction D2. When the release lever 27 is disposed at the contact release position 48, the release member 27 positions the pressing member 25 at the retracted position 41 and prevents the pressing member 25 from being displaced to the contact position 40.

At this time, the release operation piece 50 is
1 fits into the locking recess 52 formed at the base end,
It is locked on its peripheral edge. With the operation force on the release lever 27 by the operator thereby removed, the pressing member 25 and the release lever 27 mutually restrain the displacement, and act on the spring force of the paper feed spring 26, thereby 25 is maintained at the evacuation position 41 and the release lever 27 is maintained at the contact release position 48.

From this state, that is, the contact release position 48
Then, when the release lever 27 is angularly displaced in the contact allowable direction E1, the pressing member 25 is displaced in the pressing direction D1 by the spring force of the paper feed spring 26. Thus, the release lever 27
Is arranged at the contact allowable position 47, the pressing portion 38 of the pressing member 25 is elastically brought into contact with the paper feed roller 24 as described above.

The release lever 27 has a shutter piece 55 at the free end on the upstream side in the loading direction B disposed on the upper side, protruding toward the storage case 23, that is, protruding in the contact allowable direction E1. When the release lever 27 is at the contact allowable position 47, the center of gravity thereof has a virtual plane 58 extending vertically upward from the angular displacement axis L3, and a virtual plane 59 extending horizontally from the angular displacement axis L3 to the storage case 23 side. Surrounded by 9
Angular displacement axis L from the virtual plane 58 in the region on the inner angle side of 0 degrees
It is arranged in a region where the angle around 3 is a small angle of less than 45 degrees.

When the release lever 27 is at the contact allowable position 47, the release operation piece 50 and the operation receiving piece 51 are provided as described above.
Are separated from each other, and the spring force of the paper feed spring 26 does not act on the release lever 27. As a result, when the shutter piece 55, which is a regulating part, is at the contact allowable position 47, the release lever 27 is attached to the recording paper support part 56 formed at the end of the base 35 of the storage case 23 on the upstream side in the loading direction B. It is urged only by gravity due to its own weight and is in contact.

As described above, the release lever 27 has the shutter piece 55. When the release lever 27 is at the contact allowable position 47, the storage case 2 covered with the release lever 27 by the shutter piece 55 is provided.
The storage space 34 can be blocked and closed at the upstream end of the storage case 23 in the loading direction B. Accordingly, the storage of the recording paper in the storage case 23, that is, the insertion and storage of the recording paper in the loading direction B, and the loading of the recording paper can be restricted. Note that the recording paper supporting portion 56 is disposed in a substantially extended area of the base 57 of the pressing member 25 that supports the recording paper, and can support the recording paper.

The separating plate 28 is arranged such that the loading direction B is more than the pressing member 25 on the concave side of the storage case 23.
The paper feed roller 24 extends downstream in the paper feed direction F extending along
And is supported by the storage case 23 at the base end 60 on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction F. The separation plate 28 includes a base 61 extending from the base 60 and a base 6 disposed at the free end.
1 and a recording paper positioning portion 62 that bends toward the base side of the storage case 23.

The separation plate 28 is located at a contact position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1) 65 at which the base 61 comes into contact with the paper feed roller 24.
And a separation position (position indicated by a virtual line in FIG. 1) 66 in which the base 61 is retracted from the sheet feeding roller 24, a proximity direction G1 from the separation position 66 to the contact position 65 and a separation position from the contact position 65 opposite thereto. It is supported by the storage case 23 so as to be angularly displaceable about an angular displacement axis L4 parallel to the rotation axis L1 in the separating direction G2 toward 66.

The separation spring 29, which is an urging member for urging the separation plate, is a compression coil spring,
3 and a separation plate 28. This separation spring 29
Applies a spring force to the separation plate 28 to resiliently urge the separation plate 28 in the approach direction G1 toward the contact position 65. Thereby, when the recording paper is not interposed, the separation plate 2
8 is the spring force of the separation spring 29 and the base 61 is
4 is elastically contacted. Paper feed roller 2 of base 61
4 is made of a material capable of reducing the sliding frictional resistance between the paper feed roller 24 and the recording paper.

The recording paper detector 30 is realized by switch means provided adjacent to the paper feed roller 24 and provided with an operation piece for operating the recording paper. This recording paper detector 30
Indicates that the recording paper is stored in the storage case 23 and the release lever 2
When the member 7 is located at the contact allowable position, the operation piece is pressed by the recording paper. When the recording paper is not stored, the operation piece is not operated. The recording paper detector 30 can detect whether or not recording paper is stored in the storage case 23, that is, whether or not recording paper is present.

The image forming section 22 is provided downstream of the sheet feeding device 20, that is, downstream of the sheet feeding direction F. The image recording means (image recording device) 31 can form an image by, for example, causing a heating element of a thermal head to generate heat, melting the heat-meltable ink of the ink ribbon, and thermally transferring the ink to recording paper. The platen roller 32 resiliently contacts the image recording means 31 and has an axis L5 parallel to the rotation axis L1.
It is provided rotatably in the surrounding transport direction H. The platen roller 32 can pinch the recording paper in cooperation with the image recording means 31 and can transport and discharge the recording paper in a discharge direction J that extends the paper supply direction F. Such an image forming unit 22 includes:
By forming an image while conveying the recording paper, information can be recorded on the recording paper.

The recording paper guide 33 extends from the paper feeding device 20 to the image forming unit 22, and can guide the recording paper loaded in the paper feeding device 20 to the image forming unit 22.

As shown in FIG. 1, the recording paper feeding device 20 releases the recording paper in the standby state where the recording paper is not stored in the storage case 23 and the release lever 27 is at the contact allowable position. The storage space 34 is closed by the shutter piece 55 of the lever 27, and loading of the recording paper into the paper feeding device is prevented. In the unlikely event that the operator sets the recording paper to the shutter piece 55,
The recording paper does not contact the paper feed roller 24 at all, and the recording paper detector 30 does not detect the recording paper. Absent.

When loading the recording paper, the release lever 27 is manually angularly displaced in the contact release direction E2 from the state shown in FIG. 1 and is placed at the contact release position 48 as shown in FIG. By this operation, the storage space 34 is opened to the upstream side in the loading direction, and the pressing member 25 is arranged at the retreat position 41 to separate the pressing portion 38 from the sheet feeding roller 24.

In this state, the recording paper, specifically a plurality of recording papers, is inserted in the loading direction B, and
Store in 3. At this time, as described above, the release lever 27
Since the displacement of the pressing member 25 and the pressing member 25 are restrained from each other, the user can release the hand from the release lever 27 to perform the work of inserting the recording paper, thereby improving the workability. In the recording paper inserted in this manner, since the pressing portion 38 and the paper feed roller 24 are separated from each other, the leading end (the end on the downstream side in the loading direction) comes into contact with the positioning portion 62 of the separation plate 28. And the leading end is located at a position facing the paper feed roller 24.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the paper feeding device 20 in a state where the recording paper is completely loaded. When the insertion of the recording paper into the storage case 23 is completed as shown in FIG. 2, the operating lever 27 is angularly displaced in the contact allowable direction E1, and as shown in FIG. The release lever 27 is arranged at a position where the release lever 27 is in contact with the release lever 27. In this state, the release operation piece 50 and the operation receiving piece 51 are separated. The release lever 27 is separated by a gap Y, and is in contact with the recording paper only by gravity due to its own weight. Even in this state, the position of the center of gravity of the release lever 27 is located in the same region as when it is located at the contact allowable position. Further, the recording paper is pressed against the paper feed roller 24 by the pressing member 25 under the spring force of the paper feed spring 26, and the leading end of the uppermost recording paper resiliently comes into contact with the paper feed roller 24. Have been.

With the recording paper loaded, the recording paper detector 30
Is controlled so as to detect the presence of the recording sheet and permit the sheet feeding operation by the sheet feeding roller 24. Therefore, when there is information to be recorded, the recording paper is separated one by one by the separation plate 28, fed by the feed roller 24, an image is formed by the image recording unit 22, and the information is recorded.

Even in the state where the recording paper is loaded in this way, since the shutter piece 55 is in contact with the recording paper as described above, the storage space 34 is closed on the upstream side in the loading direction B, and the recording paper is loaded. Replenishment, in other words, insertion of new recording paper is blocked. When the recording paper is replenished, the recording paper can be replenished by disposing the release lever 27 at the contact release position as described above.

According to the present embodiment, the release lever 27 which is displaceable between the contact allowable position 47 and the contact release position 48 is provided, and by operating the release lever 27, the contact position is changed. It is possible to indirectly operate the pressing member 25 that can be displaced between 40 and the retreat position 41. When the release lever 27 is disposed at the contact allowable position 47, the pressing member 25 is urged by the paper feed spring 26 to be disposed at the contact position when no recording paper is loaded,
When the recording paper is loaded, the recording paper is brought into contact with the paper feed roller 24. Therefore, by arranging the recording sheet at the release lever 27 contact allowable position 47 in a state where the recording sheet is loaded, the recording sheet stored in the storage case 23 can be fed by the feed roller 24.

When the release lever 27 is disposed at the contact release position 48, the pressing member 25 is disposed at the retracted position 41. Thus, when the recording paper is stored in the storage case 23, the recording paper can be separated from the paper feed roller 24.

By arranging the release lever 27 at the contact release position 48, the recording paper is replenished, and the recording paper is brought into contact with the separation roller 28 at a predetermined regular storage position facing the paper feed roller 24. It can be stored in the storage case 23 at the contact position. The release lever 27 that indirectly operates the pressing member 25 has a shutter piece 55, and is located at the contact allowable position 47, that is, when the pressing member 25 is disposed at the contact position 40, The storage of the recording paper in the storage case 23 is regulated. As a result, the erroneous operation of the recording paper by the operator in a state where the pressing member 25 is at the contact position 40 or in a state where the recording paper is already loaded and the recording paper is elastically brought into contact with the paper feed roller is performed. Will not be replenished. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the recording paper from being placed in a position different from the normal storage position and to be loaded in an incomplete state, and to cause a malfunction, a malfunction, and a failure, for example, a paper feeding error and a paper feeding error such as a paper jam. Can be prevented beforehand.

Since the release lever 27 is biased toward the contact allowable position only by gravity due to its own weight,
When the storage of the recording paper in the storage case 23 is restricted while the recording paper is stored in the storage case, the recording paper is prevented from receiving a large external force from the release lever 27. Therefore, the operation failure does not occur without preventing the recording paper from being fed by the feed roller 24.
Moreover, in the present embodiment, the position of the center of gravity of the release lever is, as described above, a virtual plane 58 extending vertically upward from the angular displacement axis L3, and a virtual plane 59 extending horizontally from the angular displacement axis L3 to the storage case 23 side. Since the area around the angular displacement axis L3 from the imaginary plane 58 in the enclosed 90-degree inner angle area from the virtual plane 58 is arranged in a small angle of less than 45 degrees,
The external force acting on the recording paper can be reduced, and the malfunction can be reliably prevented.
Can be reduced.

The above embodiment is merely an example of the present invention, and the configuration can be changed within the scope of the present invention. For example, the paper feeding device is not limited to the image recording device, and may be provided in the image reading device. Further, the image forming apparatus may be an image forming apparatus other than the thermal transfer type,
It may be provided other than the facsimile machine. Further, the shape, material, number, and the like of each part can be appropriately changed as needed.

[0053]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an operating member which can be displaced between the contact allowing position and the contact releasing position, and by operating this operating member, the contact position and the retreat position are provided. The pressing member that can be displaced in the range from the above can be indirectly operated. When the operation member is arranged at the contact allowable position, the pressing member is urged by the urging member and arranged at the contact position. When the operating member is located at the contact release position, the pressing member is located at the retracted position. by this,
When recording paper is stored in the paper feed tray, the pressing member makes the recording paper come into contact with the paper feeding roller when it is located at the contact position, and feeds the recording paper when it is located at the retracted position. Can be separated from Therefore, by arranging the operation member at the contact allowable position, the recording paper stored in the paper feed tray can be fed by the paper feed roller.

By arranging the operating member at the contact release position, the recording paper can be arranged at a predetermined storage position facing the paper feed roller and stored in the paper feed tray, and the recording paper can be replenished. be able to. The operating member for indirectly operating such a pressing member has a restricting portion, and when the pressing member is located at the contact allowable position, that is, when the pressing member is disposed at the contact position, the recording paper feed tray is provided. Regulates storage in storage. This prevents the recording sheet from being erroneously replenished when the pressing member is in the contact position due to an erroneous operation by the operator. In addition, it can be prevented from causing a failure.

Further, according to the present invention, the operating member is urged toward the contact allowable position by its own weight, so that the recording paper is stored in the paper feeding tray and the operating member is moved to the paper feeding tray. In restricting the storage of the recording paper, it is possible to prevent the recording paper from receiving a large external force from the operation member. Therefore, even if the storage of the recording paper in the paper feed tray is prevented, the recording paper is not prevented from being fed by the paper feed roller.
No malfunction occurs.

Further, according to the present invention, when the operating member is at the contact release position, the displacement toward the contact allowable position is prevented by the pressing member, so that even if the operator releases his / her hand from the operating member. The operation member is not displaced to the contact allowable position. Therefore, the operator can store the recording paper in the paper feed tray with his / her hand released from the operation member, and can easily perform the work of replenishing the recording paper.

Further, according to the present invention, since the separation plate prevents double feeding of the recording paper, it is possible to prevent a problem such as a paper jam and a processing defect from occurring at a later stage where the recording paper is fed. Can come off.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a recording paper feeder 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
0 is a cross-sectional view showing a standby state in which no recording paper is loaded.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which recording paper is loaded into the paper feeding device 20.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the sheet feeding device 20 in a state where loading of recording paper is completed.

FIG. 4 is a simplified cross-sectional view showing a conventional paper feeding apparatus 1.

FIG. 5 illustrates a paper feeding device 1 showing a state when recording paper is loaded.
FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a sheet feeding device 1 showing a state where loading of recording paper is completed.
FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 20 recording paper feeding device 21 image forming device 22 image forming unit 23 storage case 24 paper feeding roller 25 pressing member 26 paper feeding spring 27 release lever 28 separation plate 29 separation spring 30 recording paper detector 31 image recording means 32 platen roller 38 Pressing part 50 Release operation piece 51 Operation receiving piece 55 Shutter piece

Claims (4)

[Claims] A paper feed tray for storing the recording paper, a paper feed roller for feeding the recording paper stored in the paper feed tray, and a paper feed roller for feeding the recording paper stored in the paper feed tray A pressing member having a pressing portion for pressing the pressing member, wherein the pressing portion is displaceably provided between a contact position where the pressing portion comes into contact with the sheet feeding roller and a retracting position where the pressing portion is separated from the sheet feeding roller; A biasing member that biases the pressing member toward the contact position, a contact allowing position that allows the pressing member to be displaced to the contact position, and a contact releasing position that positions the pressing member at the retracted position. And a control member having a restricting portion for restricting storage of the recording paper in the paper supply tray when the recording paper is at the contact allowable position. 2. The recording sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein when the operation member is at the contact allowable position, the operating member is held at the contact allowable position by its own weight. 3. The recording sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein when the operation member is at the contact release position, the pressing member prevents displacement toward the contact allowable position. 4. The recording medium according to claim 1, further comprising a separation plate provided downstream of the pressing member in the paper feeding direction of the recording paper to prevent double feeding of the recording paper. Recording paper feeder.