JP2002338123A - Vertical installation supporting device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vertical installation supporting device for supporting an image forming device body for vertical installation without generating a feeding failure. SOLUTION: This vertical installation auxiliary device for supporting the vertical installation of the device body 1, in which a sheet cassette 2 is installed, has a sheet presser part 34 for directly or indirectly pushing the sheets housed in the sheet cassette 2 and a sheet holder part 32 for holding the sheets discharged along the vertically installed sheet cassette 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vertical auxiliary device which is an auxiliary tool for vertically mounting an apparatus main body capable of being installed not only horizontally but also vertically by mounting a sheet cassette, and an image forming apparatus having the same. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a heat-sensitive sheet has been used as a printing sheet, and a plurality of heating pairs arranged in a sheet width direction (main scanning direction) are selectively driven with respect to the sheet. There is a line thermal transfer printer that prints on a dot line on a sheet by conveying the sheet in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction.

In recent years, with the progress of digital cameras, digital video cameras, scanners, and other input devices that handle images, thermal printer printers have also attracted attention.

[0004] Since the ink jet printer has only two options, whether to fly a droplet or not, a small droplet lands on a sheet and the apparent resolution and gradation characteristics are determined by a method such as error diffusion. On the other hand, in the case of a thermal transfer printer, the value of heat that can be controlled for one pixel can be easily changed, so that a large number of gradations can be obtained for one pixel. Therefore, a smoother and higher quality image can be obtained as compared with an ink jet printer.

[0005] In addition, since the performance of the thermal head and the performance of the sheet material have also been improved, it is possible to obtain an image print with a finished quality that is not inferior to silver halide photography, and keep pace with the recent progress of digital cameras. As described above, it has been particularly noted as a printer for natural images.

Therefore, such a printer device is directly connected to a photographing device such as a digital camera or a digital video camera, or a device for processing image information, such as a computer, which is configured by integrally forming image information. A system for printing without intervention has also appeared.

According to such a system, image information from a digital camera or digital video can be easily printed out in a photographic manner, which is very convenient.

As an example of these, see, for example,
JP-243327 describes the connection between an image input device and an image output device.

According to this, there is provided an image input / output system in which an image output device and an image input device are connected, wherein the image output device receives and outputs an image signal from the image input device, and And a power supply unit for supplying power to the image input device. The image input device transmits image data to the image output device, and is connected to the image output device by a connection cable for receiving supply of power from the image output device. A determination unit for determining whether to receive power supply, and a power supply unit, when the determination unit determines that power supply can be received from the image output device,
If it is determined that the power from the image output device cannot be received using the power from the image output device, the power from the power supply unit is used.

[0010] According to this, since the power supply is received from the image output apparatus, the print output can be performed without concern for the remaining power of the image input apparatus such as a digital camera, which is very effective.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-65182 describes the power saving during printing in the composite camera. According to this, a compound camera having an electronic viewfinder and integrating photographing means for recording video information on a recording medium and printer means for printing and outputting video information on a recording sheet, wherein the printer means Control means is provided for controlling the supply of power to the electronic viewfinder to be stopped while the video information is being printed out on the recording sheet. According to this, power is not supplied to the electronic viewfinder during printing, which is useful for power saving and is very effective.

[0012]

However, in the above conventional example, when a system with an image input device such as a printer device or a digital camera is constructed, a solution sufficient for miniaturization, low cost, high speed, and the like is provided. Did not give.

Here, conventionally, a device which can handle a printer device not only horizontally but also vertically is known.

As an example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 05-027489 discloses an image forming apparatus which can be placed vertically in a stable state in a direction perpendicular to an installation surface in a space-saving manner.

According to this, when the apparatus main body is placed vertically, there is provided a support member for increasing the projection area on the installation surface from the projection area of the apparatus main body, and the support member has a projection area on the installation surface. The first position to be increased and the second position that can be stored within the projection area of the apparatus main body can be selected, so that the usability is good.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 06-15900 discloses that a small printer is provided with a function suitable for vertical and horizontal installation, and a board for accommodating a stand / stacker board on the rear end face of a casing of the printer body. When the printer main body is placed horizontally, the board housed here is pulled out upwards as a stacker for ejected recording sheets, and when the printer is placed vertically, this board is pulled out to the bottom side. The printer is designed to prevent the printer from falling down, and is easy to use.

As described above, when the vertical installation is considered, it is convenient because the space can be saved irrespective of the installation conditions. However, in the conventional apparatus, the difference in attitude with respect to the feeding performance when handling the sheet is described. Not.

That is, the sheet feeding performance in the vertical position and the sheet feeding performance in the horizontal position often differ due to the difference in posture, and in such a case, the performance is exhibited in either posture. With this configuration, when printing is performed with the printer installed in a different posture, feeding failure (when feeding cannot be performed or when a plurality of sheets are conveyed) may occur.

[0019] Due to such a defect, the printer cannot be placed vertically, or a predetermined defect rate is assumed and the printer is divided and used. Therefore, there is a problem that a printer with good performance cannot be provided for the user. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and has as its object to provide a vertical supporting device and an image forming apparatus capable of vertically mounting an apparatus main body so as not to cause a feeding defect. To provide.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which reliably receives a sheet discharged when it is placed vertically and prevents the apparatus from falling down.

[0022]

A typical configuration according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a vertical placement assisting device for assisting a vertically placed state of an apparatus main body in which a sheet cassette is mounted. It has a biasing member that directly or indirectly biases the sheets stored in the cassette, and a holding portion that holds the sheets discharged along the vertically placed sheet cassette.

In the above configuration, when the apparatus main body with the sheet cassette mounted thereon is vertically placed by the vertical placement assisting device, the sheets in the sheet cassette are pressed by the urging member, and the discharged printed sheets are held in the holding section. Is held by For this reason, even in the vertically installed state, defective feeding and discharging does not occur.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment An image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

{Overall Configuration} First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that FIG.
FIG. 4 is an overall sectional explanatory view of the image forming apparatus placed in a horizontal direction, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a print area of a recording sheet, FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an image forming procedure, and FIG. FIG.

The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment employs a sublimation type thermal transfer recording system in a printer section, and can print out electronic image information for an arbitrary number of prints. As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet is separated and fed one by one by a feeding roller 3 from a sheet cassette 2 in which the recording sheets P are stacked on the apparatus main body 1. At this time, the recording sheet P comes into contact with the feeding roller 3 by the push-up plate 21 urged by the spring 20 at the time of feeding.

The recording sheet P is pressed by a sheet pressing spring 24 having a sufficient acting force to correct the warpage in order to prevent feeding failure due to the warpage of the recording sheet P.

The recording sheet P conveyed by the feeding roller 3 is nipped and conveyed by a pair of conveying rollers 4 so that the recording section can reciprocate. The transport roller pair 4 includes a grip roller 4a and a pinch roller 4b.

In the recording section, a platen roller 5 and a thermal head 6 which generates heat in accordance with recording information are opposed to each other with a recording sheet conveying path interposed therebetween. By pressing an ink sheet 8 having an overcoat layer overcoated on the printing screen to protect the printing screen with the ink layer coated with, on the recording sheet P by the thermal head 6 and selectively heating the printing sheet P, A predetermined image is transferred and recorded on the recording sheet P, or the protective layer is overcoated. The ink sheet 8 is provided on the supply side 7a of the ink cassette 7.
Is wound up to the winding side 7b.

The ink sheet 8 covers the printing area of the recording sheet P and has a size substantially equal to the size of the printing sheet P.
(Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) ink layers and an overcoat layer are provided side by side. After thermal transfer of each layer, the recording sheet P is returned to the recording start position P. The respective color images are sequentially superimposed and transferred on the upper side. As described above, the recording sheet P is reciprocated by the transport roller pair 4 by the number of inks of each color and the number of overcoat layers.

At this time, the recording sheet P on which each ink layer has been printed has its transport path switched by the transport path switching sheet 16 in front of the apparatus main body 1, and is guided in the discharge direction along the guide portion 15.

The sheet cassette 2 has a cassette body 2a.
A cover member 2b is openable and closable, the cover member 2b is opened at the time of sheet replacement, and has a discharge tray portion for receiving a printed and discharged recording sheet P whose upper surface is discharged. Has become.

The above-mentioned sheet pressing spring 24 is connected to the lid member 2.
It is arranged at two places on the left and right inside b.

After the printing of each ink layer is completed, the recording sheet P is guided to the discharge roller 9 and discharged toward the front of the apparatus main body 1 to complete the recording operation.

The thermal head 6 for printing is integrally formed with the head arm 22. When replacing the ink cassette 7, the thermal head 6 is retracted to a position where it does not hinder the insertion and removal of the ink cassette 7.

In a normal thermal transfer recording apparatus, three colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) are recorded three times in a sequential manner, so that it is necessary to control the recording ends of the respective colors to exactly match. . For this purpose, it is necessary to transport the recording sheet P while firmly nipping and holding the recording sheet P with the transport roller pair 4 shown in FIG. For this reason, an unrecordable margin is required at the end of the recording sheet P in the feed direction. Therefore, in order to easily obtain borderless prints after recording,
As shown in FIG. 4, a perforation P2 is provided on the recording sheet P so that at the start of recording, a margin P1 which is firmly nipped by the pair of transport rollers 4 and cannot be recorded can be easily manually cut later.

In this embodiment, the recording is performed using the recording sheet P having the perforations P2 and the thermal transfer recording apparatus, and the perforated area provided on the recording sheet P is overcoated.

The hatched area in FIG.
3, which is controlled to print an area including the perforation P2. The overcoat is a region which is substantially printed, and is controlled so as to include a region which is slightly larger than the region to be printed.

The grip roller 4a shown in FIG. 3 is directly connected to the output shaft of a stepping motor (not shown) via a speed reduction mechanism, and can be driven forward and reverse freely by controlling the rotation of the stepping motor. Since the recording sheet P is firmly nipped by the conveying roller pair 4 and reciprocated, the recording sheet P is also accurately position-controlled by the rotation control of the stepping motor, and is conveyed and driven.

Now, as an example, if the recording pitch of one line by the thermal head 6 is 85 μm and the number of steps of the stepping motor for conveying the recording sheet P by four is four, the recording sheet P is By controlling the rotation of the stepping motor in four steps, it is possible to carry one line (that is, 85 μm). The printing area P3 shown in FIG.
mm, 1694 lines can be printed, and a stepping motor must be
It should be rotated by 6776 steps.

In the recording apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 3, when the feed roller pair 4 is viewed from the feed roller 3, a recording sheet leading edge detection sensor 10 is placed at a position near the feed roller pair 4. The leading edge of the sheet is detected, and after the detection, a predetermined line is fed and stopped within a range that can be nipped by the pair of conveying rollers 4.
This position is the above-described position at the start of recording. From here, first, the thermal head 6 is driven to generate heat according to the recording information from the first yellow to record a predetermined image of each color ink or transfer the overcoat layer. When the one-color recording is completed, the recording sheet is returned from this position in the direction of the discharge roller 9 and conveyed. The recording sheet is fed back a predetermined number of lines again, and yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) are returned. 4) is repeated four times.

In the present embodiment, the distance between the recording sheet leading edge detection sensor 10 and the position where the recording sheet P is pressed by the platen roller 5 and the thermal head 6 is determined by the distance on the recording sheet in consideration of the arrangement of components in the apparatus. It is set to 20mm, but it is not limited to this.

At this time, the print shown in FIG. 4 can be obtained by transferring and recording each color ink and transferring the overcoat layer as described below.

Here, the color ink transfer and overcoat sequence will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the user instructs a print operation by a print button (not shown) or a print instruction from a digital camera or digital video camera (S1).

Next, the control unit 18 inside the apparatus main body 1 starts communication with the device that has executed the print instruction, and the control unit 18 checks various conditions necessary for printing with the device that has executed the print instruction. If necessary, image processing of the image information to the print information is performed (S2).

Next, when the printing is ready, the control unit 18 drives the motor connected to the feeding roller 3 to start feeding the recording sheet P (S3).

Next, after detecting the leading edge of the recording sheet, the stepping motor is rotated by a predetermined step to start printing. At this time, the printing start position was set to 12.465 mm with reference to the leading end of the recording sheet (S4).

Next, while rotating the stepping motor for four steps, the thermal head is driven to generate heat, and
Print for the line. Rotate for a total of 6776 steps (1694 lines) and finish printing. The printing end position at this time is 156.455 mm based on the leading edge of the recording sheet (S5).

Next, the stepping motor is operated for 10 lines (for 40 steps) for deceleration until stopping.
And then stop (S6).

From this state, the stepping motor is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, the recording sheet P is conveyed in the direction opposite to the printing, and is returned by a predetermined number of steps (6776 steps-deceleration). Rotate for about 10 lines (40 steps) and stop (S7).

The above is described as yellow (Y), magenta (M),
The process is repeated about three times for three colors of cyan (C), and the desired printed image is transferred and recorded on the recording sheet P (S8). Thereafter, the overcoat layer for protecting the printed screen is transferred once more (S9).

Thereafter, the stepping motor is driven to guide the sheet to the discharge roller 9 as it is, and the sheet is discharged by driving the discharge roller 9 to complete a series of operations (S10).

In the above, when the recording sheet P is fed, the control unit 18 determines the step number of the stepping motor and the recording sheet based on the recording sheet leading edge detection signal detected by the recording sheet leading edge detection sensor 10 first. Based on the positional relationship at the time of transporting P, the recording position management is performed by managing the number of steps of the rotation drive of the stepping motor at the time of printing all the prints. During transfer recording of the overcoat layer,
A recording sensor may be provided at the leading end of the recording sheet to detect the leading end of the recording sheet, and the recording position may be managed by managing the number of rotation drive steps of the stepping motor based on the signal.

In the above description, the transfer of the overcoat layer is performed only by turning on / off the heating drive of the thermal head. However, at the start of the overcoat transfer, the amount of heat generation is gradually increased. At the end of the transfer of the overcoat, it is also possible to add a control that can be obtained by gradually reducing the amount of heat generated.

The operation involving such heat generation should not cause the apparatus to overheat and fail to bring out the predetermined performance. In particular, if the head arm 22 as a mounting component is near the head or heat is stored, overheating control for printing may not be performed properly. Therefore, a fan 23 is provided, and when the temperature near the head exceeds a predetermined temperature, the fan 23 is turned to perform air cooling.

Here, the communication between the device that executes the print instruction in the above-described step S2 and the printer device will be described as an example in which the digital camera executes the print instruction now, as an example.

As shown in FIG. 6, the digital camera 28 and the printer 1 are connected by a cable 27. It is assumed that the digital camera 28 stores image information in a memory inside the digital camera 28 after shooting. For the memory, a removable memory such as a compact flash (registered trademark) card or a smart media is convenient.

It is assumed that the mode of the digital camera 28 is set and an arbitrary image is reproduced now.

The reproduction of the image information can be checked at any time by the liquid crystal display device provided in the digital camera 28, so that the user can arbitrarily call the photographed favorite image information.

When the printer 27 is in a state where it can communicate with the printer main body 1 by the cable 27 or wireless means, necessary information is communicated from the digital camera 28 to the printer by a predetermined print execution button (not shown). A print output is obtained from the apparatus main body 1.

The necessary information includes a digital camera
The information includes information on negotiation with the digital camera 28, information on an image to be printed from the digital camera 28, and information added to the image information at the time of recording or after recording.

{Vertical Installation Auxiliary Device} The above-described apparatus main body 1 can be installed vertically with the sheet cassette 2 mounted.
It can be printed in the vertical position. This enables printing even in a place where the installation space is small. In the present embodiment, the apparatus main body 1 is held by the vertical assist device so that the apparatus main body 1 is stabilized in the vertical position.

Next, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the vertical placing assist device.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows a printer apparatus main body 1.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view schematically showing a sheet cassette 2 in which the image forming apparatus is used vertically and a vertical table main body C as a vertical auxiliary device used in conjunction with the sheet cassette 2. FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view as viewed from above.

The main body C is held by the main body holding portion 31 with the printer main body 1 interposed therebetween. The main body holding portion 31 has an "L" -shaped cutout portion 31a formed therein, and holds a corner portion of the vertically placed apparatus main body 1 in contact with the cutout portion 31a.

Further, a sheet holding portion 32 for holding the printed sheet after being discharged, and a guide portion 33 for reliably guiding the sheet to the sheet holding portion 32 when discharging the sheet are provided on the vertical placing table main body C.
Are formed. The sheet holding section 32 has a U-shape and is configured to hold and fix the sheet cassette 2 with the sheet cassette fixing section 35 on the printer apparatus main body 1 side.

A notch 2c is formed in a part of the cover 2b of the sheet cassette 2. Then, when the sheet cassette 2 is mounted on the printer apparatus main body 1 vertically placed by the vertical placing table C, the sheet pressing portion 34 as an urging member is positioned near the sheet pressing spring 24 so as not to be hit by the notch 2c. It is to be set.

The portion of the sheet pressing portion 34 that contacts the recording sheet P has a so-called R shape with a curved surface so that the recording sheet P is not damaged such as scratches.

When the sheet cassette 2 is mounted, a spring
Since the recording sheet P is not lifted by the push-up plate 21 (see FIG. 3) via 20 (see FIG. 3), the sheet pressing portion 34 is set without touching the sheet.

When the user gives a print instruction in this state, the push-up plate 21 is moved by the spring 20 to the sheet pressing spring 24.
Then, the recording sheet P is lifted against the force of the sheet pressing portion 34, and the recording sheet P comes into contact with the feeding roller 3 to perform the feeding operation. In addition,
It is desirable that the sheet pressing portion 34 is set to a spring force enough to replenish the decrease in the load of the sheet pressing spring 24 at the time of vertical placement. In the present embodiment, an action force of about 0.5 N is applied at the time of feeding. As a result, the sheet becomes almost equivalent to the relation of the sheet warpage when the sheet is set horizontally. That is.

When the printing is completed after the sheet is fed, the printed recording sheet P comes out of the printer main body 1 by the discharge roller 9, but unlike the case of the horizontal placing, the gravity of the sheet cassette 2 is not effective. Is not securely loaded on the output tray.

Accordingly, the sheet holder 32 is provided in the
And the guide portion 33 are provided, and the printed recording sheets P are stacked and held in this portion, so that the printed recording sheets P do not fall apart.

Since the sheet cassette fixing portion 35 and the sheet pressing portion 34 are arranged near the discharge roller 9, the printed recording sheet P does not hit this portion during discharge and is not caught.

When the recording sheet P in the sheet cassette 2 is lost or replaced, the recording sheet can be replaced by pulling out only the sheet cassette 2 without removing the vertical stand main body C, and the operability is improved. good.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the first
Parts that perform the same operations as in the embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

The sheet cassette 2 of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment is provided with a sheet holding member 40 for holding sheets.

FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory view of a section of the sheet cassette 2 of the vertically placed apparatus according to the second embodiment as viewed from above, and FIG. 8 is a perspective explanatory view schematically showing a vertical stand C.

When the sheet cassette 2 is mounted with the vertical table C set, the sheet pressing portion 34 of the vertical table C is set.
Pushes down the sheet holding member 40. Sheet holding member
Numeral 40 is rotatably attached to the cover member 2b of the sheet cassette 2 with a rotation shaft 41. A rotation spring 42 attached to the rotation shaft 41 is attached to the cover member 2b in a direction which is usually planar with the cover member 2b. It is being rushed.

Therefore, the sheet holding portion 34 is turned against the rotation.

Thus, the sheet pressing member 40 comes into contact with the recording sheet P during feeding, and the spring force is applied by the sheet pressing section 34.

With this arrangement, when there is no printed recording sheet P in the horizontal position, the notch
Since the image is not empty, dust can be prevented from dropping on the recording sheet P when left for a long time.

[Other Embodiments] In the above-described embodiment, a printer is illustrated and an example in which the printer is used vertically is shown. However, the vertical assist device according to the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus. , Attach the sheet cassette containing the original,
The apparatus can be suitably used even when an image reading apparatus such as a scanner for transporting and reading the original is placed vertically.

[0083]

The present invention is constructed as described above.
When the apparatus main body on which the sheet cassette is mounted is placed vertically by the vertical placement assisting device, the sheets in the sheet cassette are pressed by the urging member, and the discharged printed sheets are held by the holding unit. For this reason, even in the vertically installed state, defective feeding and discharging does not occur.

In addition, even if the apparatus can only be placed horizontally due to the performance of feeding, this arrangement also has the effect that it can be installed vertically and the range of use can be expanded.

Further, by providing a holding portion for holding the apparatus main body vertically, there is an effect that the apparatus main body does not fall down in the vertical installation.

Further, by providing a sheet holding member for holding the sheet in the sheet cassette, it is possible to prevent dust from entering the cassette and causing poor printing even when the sheet is placed horizontally.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a sheet cassette in a case where a printer apparatus main body is used vertically and a main body of a vertical table as a vertical auxiliary apparatus used in conjunction with the sheet cassette.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional explanatory view of the vertically placed image forming apparatus as viewed from above.

FIG. 3 is an overall cross-sectional explanatory view of the image forming apparatus placed horizontally.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing area of a recording sheet.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an image forming procedure.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of connection for printing out an image of a digital camera.

FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory view of a cross section of a sheet cassette portion of a vertically placed apparatus according to a second embodiment as viewed from above.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory perspective view schematically illustrating a vertical table.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C: Vertical stand body P: Recording sheet P1: Margin P2: Perforation P3: Printing area 1: Apparatus main body 2: Sheet cassette 2a: Cassette main body 2b: Lid member 2c: Notch part 3: Feeding roller 4: Transport Roller pair 4a… Grip roller 4b… Pinch roller 5… Platen roller 6… Thermal head 7… Ink cassette 7a… Supply side 7b… Rewind side 8… Ink sheet 9… Discharge roller 10… Sheet tip detection sensor 15… Guide section 16 … Transfer path switching sheet 18… Control unit 20… Spring 21… Push-up plate 22… Head arm 23… Fan 24… Sheet holding spring 27… Cable 28… Digital camera 31… Main body holding part 31a… Notch part 32… Sheet holding part 33… Guide part 34… Sheet holding part 35… Sheet cassette fixing part 40… Sheet holding member 41… Rotating shaft 42… Rotating spring

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat II (reference) B65H 31/06 B41J 29/00 A F term (reference) 2C061 AQ04 AR01 AS14 BB03 CC07 3F054 AA01 AC05 BA11 BG07 BJ02 DA12 3F343 FA02 FB04 GA03 GA04 GB01 GC01 GD01 HB03 HC05 HC10 HC12 HD18 MB10

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A vertical support device for assisting a vertical installation state of an apparatus main body having a sheet cassette mounted thereon, comprising: an urging member for directly or indirectly urging sheets stored in the sheet cassette; And a holding unit that holds sheets discharged along the vertically placed sheet cassette. 2. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a holding portion for holding the device main body on which the sheet cassette is mounted in a vertical position. 3. The sheet cassette has a sheet pressing member for pressing a sheet, and when the sheet cassette is placed vertically, the urging member presses the sheet pressing member. The vertical assisting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the device is pressed. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the sheet pressing member does not press the sheet in the sheet cassette when the sheet pressing member is not pressed by the urging member. 5. An image forming apparatus main body in which a sheet cassette can be mounted, and which can be placed horizontally and vertically, and a vertical placement assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. An image forming apparatus comprising: