JP2003285947A - Attitude releasing mechanism, and paper feeder and image forming device having it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform automatic return, when a manual operating lever 70 operated to an aligning attitude for preventing the lower end edge of a paper sheet from abutting on a separating plate when the paper sheet is set on a tilting placing plate 12 in a stacked state is left unreturned to a paper feedable attitude. <P>SOLUTION: On the lower end side of the placing plate 12, a stopper body 60 is energized by an energizing spring 65 to be turned downward from the upper surfaces of first movable separating plates 32a and 32b. When the manual operating lever 70 is turned in the direction arrow D, an operating arm 64 is pressed by a cam 67 mounted to an operating shaft 66 via an operating part 70a, a second link 69, and a first link 68, the stopper body 60 turns upward, the lower end edge of the laminated paper sheet is separated upward from the upper surfaces of the movable separating plates, and the aligning attitude state is held. When a driving motor rotates, a defective gear 75 is turned via gears 23a to 23d, and the manual operating lever 70 is forcibly returned to the paper feedable attitude in the direction arrow C by a slider link 74 to lift down the stopper body 60. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device for cut sheets and an image forming apparatus having the sheet feeding device. The present invention relates to a posture releasing mechanism and the like applicable to a device that can apply and separate sheets to feed them one by one.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer, a color ink jet printer, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine is provided with a sheet feeding device for feeding cut sheets one by one to an image forming section thereof. I have it. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-106367,
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-60068, an inclined mounting plate on which a plurality of sheets are stacked and mounted, and a surface of the mounting plate below the mounting plate. And a separation plate having a separation inclined surface that opens and extends at an obtuse angle, and a paper feed roller is provided facing the surface of the mounting plate.

Therefore, when the paper feed roller is driven to rotate while being pressed against the uppermost one of the sheets stacked on the plate, the lower edge of the sheet fed downward hits the separation inclined surface. , Receiving the reaction force of this separation slope,
The sheet advances in a state in which the lower end portion of the sheet is bent in a direction intersecting the sheet surface of the sheet, and eventually the lower edge of the sheet separates from the separation inclined surface, and only one sheet is separated. After that, the separated sheet is sent to the image forming section by the carrying roller in the carrying path, and after the image is formed, the sheet is discharged.

By the way, it is preferable that the lower edge of the sheets stacked on the placing plate is held in contact with (abutting against) the separating inclined surface of the separating plate. The upper surface of the separating plate (the surface on which the lower edge of the sheet abuts) with respect to the horizontal plane is inclined such that the front end side (downstream side of the sheet feeding) is slightly upward or is set horizontally. .

[0005]

However, the upper surface of the mounting plate is an inclined surface of about 60 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, and the separation inclined surface is about 110 degrees with respect to the upper surface of the mounting plate. Since the paper is formed with an obtuse included angle, when the paper with weak stiffness is set on the plate, the lower edges of all the paper hit the separation slope and the slope, and the paper is soft, so the separation An avalanche phenomenon occurs in which a large number of sheets of paper flow into the downstream side of the feed all at once, slipping on the inclined surface, and the set state cannot be maintained, and the separation effect of the separation inclined surface cannot be reliably received. However, there was a problem that double feeding of paper occurs.

Therefore, the inventor of the present application invented an aligning means for supporting the lower end of the set laminated sheets at an included angle of about 90 degrees with respect to the surface of the above-mentioned mounting plate and aligning them in an aligned manner. did. Switching the aligning means to the aligning posture is, for example, in a sheet feeding apparatus applied to a facsimile apparatus, in a standby state in which a sheet feeding operation is not performed, and even in an image forming apparatus, a sheet is fed before the power is turned on. Therefore, it is preferable that the aligning means can be switched to the aligning posture by a manual operation lever. In that case, it is necessary to release the aligning means and switch to a paper-feeding posture before starting the paper-feeding operation immediately before printing, but if the operator forgets the switching operation, the paper-feeding operation is not performed. There was a problem that it could not be printed.

The present invention has been made to solve this conventional problem, and a first object thereof is, as a general concept, that one component is a first posture by operating a manual operation lever, and Is to be able to automatically return to the second posture that is the released posture in the mechanism that is switched to the second posture in which the sheet is released. The second purpose is to stack the sheets using the automatic return mechanism. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device having a mechanism for automatically returning the set state in a state capable of feeding sheets and an image forming apparatus having the same.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the automatic return mechanism of the invention according to claim 1 has a first component in a first position and a second position in which the first position is released. Holding means for holding and the first component, the first posture and the second
A manual operation lever for selectively switching to posture,
A toothless gear that meshes with a gear that rotates when the drive motor starts, and an interlocking mechanism that releases the manual operation lever from the first posture by rotating the toothless gear. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device provided with the posture releasing mechanism according to the first aspect, wherein a stacking section for storing sheets in a stacked state and a stacking storage for the stacking section. In the paper feeding device, which feeds the formed sheets by the rotation driving of the paper feeding roller facing the loading section and separates and feeds the sheets one by one by the separation inclined surface, the first component is A sheet aligning unit that aligns the sheets in an aligned state with respect to the set, and a holding unit that selectively retains the sheet in an aligned state in which the sheet aligning unit is held in the aligned state and in a sheet-feeding posture in which the aligned state is released. A manual operation lever for selectively switching between the aligned attitude and the paper feed possible attitude, a toothless gear meshing with a gear driven at the start of the paper feeding operation, and the manual operation lever by rotating the toothless gear. The interlocking mechanism that releases the It is an feature that was example.

Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the same as claim 2
In the paper feeding apparatus described in the above item 3, the paper arranging means is a pressing plate which is provided on the downstream side of the mounting portion in the feeding direction and presses the paper stacked on the paper feeding roller.

On the other hand, the invention of claim 4 is the same as that of claim 2.
In the paper feeding device described in (1), the paper aligning means is a stopper body that is provided on the downstream side in the feeding direction of the placing unit and that supports the lower edge of the stacked paper separated from the paper feeding roller. It is a feature.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claims 2 to 4.
In the paper feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the manual operation lever and the holding means are connected via a link mechanism, and the interlocking mechanism is a slider crank mechanism that connects the toothless gear and the manual operation lever. It is characterized by being.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device according to the fifth aspect, the slider crank mechanism is stopped at a position deviating from a dead point in the aligned posture and the feedable posture. Is.

The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to claims 4 to 6.
In the paper feeding device described in any one of 1, the stopper body is centered on a rotation fulcrum located on an intersecting side of a surface of the mounting portion and a separation inclined surface intersecting the surface of the mounting portion. It is configured to be vertically rotatable.

An image forming apparatus according to an eighth aspect forms an image on the sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of the second to seventh aspects and a sheet fed from the sheet feeding apparatus. An image forming unit is provided.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of a multifunctional image forming apparatus 1 equipped with a sheet feeding device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding device 10 when a stopper body is in a lowered state. 3 is a right side view of the sheet feeding device 10 when the stopper body is in a lowered state, FIG. 4 is a front view of a main portion of the sheet feeding device, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG. 6 is a front view of the sheet feeding device when the stopper body is in the raised state, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding device 10 when the stopper body is in the raised state, and FIG.
Similarly, a right side view of the sheet feeding device 10 seen from the right side wall plate when the stopper body is in an ascending state, FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of an elevating state of the stopper body, and FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of the second embodiment. Is.

The multifunctional image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
It has a facsimile function, a printer function, a copying function, and a scanner function. The multifunctional image forming apparatus 1 is
It has a substantially box-shaped main body 2, and an operation panel 3 is arranged on the upper surface of the main body 2. "0" on the operation panel 3
Various buttons such as a number button “9”, a start button, and a function operation button are provided, and various operations are performed by pressing these buttons. A liquid crystal display (LCD) 4 is provided at the rear of the operation panel 3, and the setting state of the image forming apparatus 1 and various operation messages are displayed as necessary.

At the rear of the liquid crystal display 4, there is provided a document placing portion 5 for stacking and placing a facsimile document to be transmitted to a counterpart facsimile machine during the facsimile function and a document to be copied during the copying function. This document placing section 5
An image on the surface of the document placed on the document is read by a scanner device (not shown) provided in the main body 2. The original document that has been read is discharged to a paper discharge unit 7 provided in the front portion of the main body 2 (the lower portion of the operation panel 3).

At the rear of the document placing section 5, there is provided a sheet feeding device 10 for placing a plurality of sheets (recording sheets) P in a stacked state. The paper P placed on the paper feeding device 10 is conveyed to an image forming unit (not shown) of a color inkjet type or the like in the main body 2, and after a predetermined image is printed by the image forming unit, the paper ejecting unit. The paper is discharged to 6.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, a mounting plate 12 is installed in the underframe 11 of the paper feeding device 10 as a storage means in a downward and forward inclined shape (inclined by approximately 60 degrees with respect to a horizontal plane). And a pair of side wall plates 14 and 14 that are continuously provided on both left and right sides of the mounting plate 12, and are disposed inside the pair of side wall plates 14 and 14 and move in the left-right direction with respect to the mounting plate 12. A pair of possible guide plates 13a and 13b are provided, and the mounting plate 12 and the side wall plates 14 and 14 are integrally formed of a synthetic resin material. The mounting plate 12 is capable of stacking and stacking a plurality of recording paper sheets P, and the lower edge portion 11a of the lower frame side of the underframe 11 has the lower edge of the stacked recording paper sheets P. A plurality of separating plates having upwardly-convex curved separating slopes for supporting and guiding the sheet P to the image forming unit, that is, the widthwise central portion of the mounting plate 12 (the feeding roller). A fixed separation plate 15 as a fixed member corresponding to the extension line of the paper feeding action portion by 21 and a first movable separation plate 3 as a movable member arranged on both left and right sides thereof.
2a, 32b and the outside of the pair of first movable plates 32a, 32b (opposite to the arrangement position of the fixed separation plate 15 (opposite))
The second movable separation plates 33a and 33b arranged on the side) are arranged so as to project in the feeding direction of the paper P (direction of arrow A in FIGS. 2 and 5). (See FIGS. 2, 4 and 5).

In this embodiment, a pair of second movable separation plates 33 are provided.
It is formed so as to follow the surface of an upward convex arc (curvature radius of about 1500 mm) whose height difference is about 2 to 3 mm when the dimension between the outer ends of a and 33b is about 210 mm (see FIG. 3). ). Further, the fixed separation plate 15, the first movable plates 32a and 32b on which the load is not applied, and the second movable separation plate 3
The upper surfaces (separation inclined surfaces) of 3a and 33b are inclined at an inclination angle of about 3 degrees so that the front ends (directions of arrows A in FIGS. 2 and 4) are upward with respect to the horizontal plane. . Further, the included angle between the upper surface (separation inclined surface) of each of the fixed separation plate 15 and the first movable plates 32a, 32b and the second movable separation plates 33a, 33b on which the load is not applied is approximately 112. 5
It is formed with an obtuse angle.

The pair of guide plates 13a and 13b are connected to horizontally long racks 16 and 16 arranged on the back surface of the mounting plate 12, and the pair of racks 16 and 16 mesh with a pinion 17 also provided on the back surface. The pair of guide plates 13a and 13b are configured to be movable in the left-right width direction of the mounting plate 12 by interlocking the pinion 17 and the racks 16 and 16 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). . As a result, the sheet P is moved near and far so as to guide the left and right side edges of the sheet P in accordance with the widthwise dimension of the sheet P stacked between the pair of guide plates 13a and 13b, and the sheet P is placed on the placing plate 1.
It can be set in the center of the width direction 2 (left-right direction).

A transmission shaft 20 is rotatably supported between the left and right side wall plates 14 and 14 at an appropriate distance upward from the upper surface of the separation plate 15, and a midway portion of the transmission shaft 20. That is, in the widthwise (left-right) central portion of the paper P,
A case 24 of a paper feed roller unit 22 having a paper feed roller 21 as a paper feed means is rotatably mounted. Gear trains 23a, 23b, 23c, 23d for transmitting power from a drive motor (not shown) arranged on the main body 2 side are arranged on the outer surface of the one side wall plate 14 (FIGS. 2 and 3). reference).

As shown in FIG. 5, a drive gear 25 that rotates integrally with the transmission shaft 20 and an arm 26 that is rotatably fitted to the transmission shaft 20 are provided in the case 24 of the paper feed roller unit 22. A planetary gear 27 pivotally supported at the tip and meshing with the drive gear 25, an intermediate gear 28, and the intermediate gear 2
8 and a gear 29 that meshes with the paper feed roller 21 and rotates integrally with the paper feed roller 21. Further, the case 24 is elastically biased by a torsion spring 30 fitted to the transmission shaft 20 so that the sheet feeding roller 21 is pressed against the uppermost surface of the stacked sheets P.

When the gear 23d fixed to the end of the transmission shaft 20 rotates forward (counterclockwise in FIG. 2) during the paper feeding operation, the drive gear 25 also rotates forward, and the planetary gear 27 meshes with the drive gear 25. Is given a rotational force in the direction of reverse rotation (clockwise rotation), the arm 26 rotates forward, and the planetary gear 27 meshes with the intermediate gear 28. As a result, the intermediate gear 28 rotates in the positive direction (counterclockwise) and the gear 29, and thus the sheet feeding roller 21 rotates in the reverse direction (clockwise), and is in contact with the lower surface of the sheet feeding roller 21. The paper P is fed downward in FIG.

On the other hand, when the gear 23d is rotated in the reverse direction (clockwise), as the drive gear 25 rotates in the reverse direction, a rotational force is applied in the direction in which the planetary gear 27 rotates in the normal direction, whereby the arm is rotated. 26 reversely rotates, the meshing of the planetary gear 27 and the intermediate gear 28 is released, and the power transmission is cut off. Therefore, the rotation of the paper feed roller 21 is stopped,
No paper feeding action is performed.

Next, a plurality of sheets of paper P are placed in the paper feeding device 10.
Holding means for holding the aligned posture in which the sheets are stacked in a stacked state, or for releasing the aligned posture and switching to the sheet feeding possible posture (means for holding a plurality of sheets P in the stacked state in the stacked state) Will be described. The stopper body 60 as an example of the sheet aligning means is provided in the pair of left and right first movable separating plates 32a and 32b in an upwardly open state in the sheet feeding direction (the arrow A direction in FIGS. 2 and 5). It is arranged to be rotatable up and down in the extending arrangement groove 61.

The base end of the stopper body 60 elongated in the direction of the arrow A is fixed to a rotatable support shaft 62 pivotally supported on the upper side of the lower frame portion 11a of the underframe frame 11, and the stopper body 6 is supported.
A high-friction member 63 is stretched on the upper surface of 0, and one end of a biasing spring 65 is locked to an operating arm 64 extending downward from the base end portion of the stopper body 60.
0 is rotated downward (indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 9) and is biased to be housed in the arrangement groove 61 (see FIGS. 2 and 4). This means is a holding means for releasing the stopper body 60 from the aligned posture and holding the stopper body 60 in the feedable posture.
Therefore, when the stopper body 60 is accommodated in the arrangement groove 61, the upper surface of the high friction member 63 is the upper surface of the first movable separation plate 32a (32b) (the movable separation plate 32a (3
2b) does not protrude (including the upper surface in the lowered state) (see FIGS. 2 and 4).

The stopper body 60 as a sheet aligning means
As a holding means for holding the
As shown in FIG. 9, an operating shaft 66 is rotatably arranged in parallel with the rotatable support shaft 62 on the inner rear side of the lower frame portion 11 a of the frame 11, and the operating shaft 66 is attached to the operating shaft 66. Is a cam 67 at each position where each of the operating arms 64 is arranged.
When the cam 67 presses the actuating arm 64 against the urging force of the urging spring 65, the stopper body 60 rotates upward about the support shaft 62, and the stopper body 6 is rotated.
0 is lifted above the upper surface of the first movable separation plate 32a (32b) (see the solid line state in FIG. 9). This allows
The lower end edges of the stacked sheets P are aligned on the high friction member 63 on the upper surface side of the stopper body 60.

Next, the operation means and its interlocking link mechanism for switching the stopper body 60 between the aligned posture (upward posture) and the posture capable of releasing the stopper body 60 (lowering posture) will be described. Both end portions of the operating shaft 66 are passed through the left and right side wall plates 14, 14 to be pivotally supported. On the outer surface of the right side wall plate 14, a first link 68 and a second link 69 as a link mechanism are rotatably connected to an actuating portion 70a of a manual operation lever 70 as an operating means (FIGS. 2 and 3). reference). The base end of the manual operation lever 70 is pivotally attached to a pin 71 protruding from the side wall plate 14.

Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the operation portion 70b at the upper end of the manual operation lever 70 is rotated clockwise (direction of arrow C) to contact the contact piece 7 on the outer surface of the right side wall plate 14.
When hitting 2, the second link 69 descends (the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3), the first link 68 interlocks so as to rotate clockwise, and the cam is mediated by the operating shaft 66 that rotates in the same direction. Since 67 is separated from the back surface of the operating arm 64 (see the two-dot chain line state in FIG. 9), the stopper body 60 sinks below the upper surface of the first movable separating plate 32a (32b) by the urging force of the urging spring 65. Can be held in a paper feeding position (Fig. 2,
(See FIG. 4). The manual operation lever 70 includes the side wall plate 1
4, a torsion coil spring 71c acting as a toggle spring is provided, and the manual operation lever 70 is held at each position shown in FIG. 3 or 8.

In order to set a plurality of sheets of paper P on the mounting plate 12 in a stacked state, the operation portion 70b at the upper end of the manual operation lever 70 is previously rotated counterclockwise (see FIG. 7) as shown in FIGS. 8 direction (arrow D direction), and when largely separated from the contact piece 72, the second link 69 rises and the first link 68 interlocks so as to rotate counterclockwise. The cam 67 pushes and rotates the back surface of the operation arm 64 against the urging force of the urging spring 65 via the operation shaft 66 which rotates to the first movable separation plate 32a.
(32b) is in an aligned posture that is lifted above the upper surface (see the solid line state in FIG. 9). The upper surface of the high-friction member 63 on the lifted stopper body 60 is set to approximately 30 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, and the included angle with the surface of the mounting plate 12 is set to approximately 90 degrees. As a result, the lower edge of the sheet P stacked on the upper surface of the mounting plate 12 is located above all the upper surfaces of the fixed separation plate 15, the first movable separation plate 32a (32b), and the second movable separation plate 33a (33b). Since the lower end edge of the stacked sheets P is upward toward the uppermost layer side even if the waist of the sheets P is soft, the sheet P is firmly placed on the slanted mounting plate 12 and the lower side. The phenomenon of rushing to the side does not occur. Further, this set holding performance can be made substantially constant regardless of the number of sheets of the sheets P to be stacked.

With the above structure, the user operates the manual operation lever 70 in the state shown in FIG. 8 to raise the stopper body 60 for holding the stacked state of the sheets P (holding the aligned posture), and then performing the manual operation. If the user forgets to return the lever 70 to the clockwise direction (the state shown in FIG. 3), the lower edge of the paper P is separated by the separation plate
5 (separating member 34) cannot be brought into contact with the upper surface of the sheet 5, so that the sheet P cannot be separated during sheet feeding. When such an operation is forgotten, a reset (automatic return) for automatically returning the stopper body 60 to the lowered posture (feeding posture) by rotationally driving the drive motor when the image forming apparatus is turned on. It has a mechanism.

That is, this reset (automatic return) mechanism is constructed as follows. A toothless gear in which the base end of a slider link 74 having a slot 74a for a sliding pin 73 projecting laterally from an operating portion 70a of a manual operation lever 70 is pivotally supported by a shaft 76 on the outer surface of the side wall plate 14. A side surface of the eccentric position of 75 is rotatably connected via a pin 77.
As a result, the interlocking mechanism in the claims, and eventually the slider crank mechanism are constructed.

The tooth-chipped gear 75 is arranged so as to mesh with the gear 23d fixed to one end of the transmission shaft 20, and the operation portion 70b of the manual operation lever 70 contacts the contact piece 72. When tilted to the contact side (when the stopper body 60 is in the lowered state), the tooth-chipped portion 75a of the tooth-chipped gear 75 is set to face the gear 23a (see FIG. 3).

The operating portion 7 of the manual operating lever 70
0b is in contact with the contact piece 72 (see FIG. 3) and is in a significantly separated position (see FIG. 8),
The line connecting the sliding pin 73 and the pin 77 at the eccentric position at the base end of the slider link 74 is the sliding pin 73 and the gear 2
When it is set so as to have an intersecting angle with respect to a line connecting the center of the 3d axis 76 (in other words, it does not overlap on the same line and is located outside the dead point), the operation unit 70
It is possible to reduce the turning force when the manual operation lever 70 is rotated to the opposite side from the state in which b comes into contact with the abutment piece 72 (see FIG. 3) or the state in which it is far away (see FIG. 8).

Further, when the operating portion 70b is located far away from the abutment piece 72, the position at which the tooth-chipped portion 75a of the tooth-chipped gear 75 starts meshing with the gear 23a is within the smallest angle possible. It is preferable to set.

According to this structure, the user sets the manual operation lever 70 in the aligned posture (the state of FIG. 8) before turning on the image forming apparatus 1, and the plurality of sheets of paper are placed on the mounting plate 12. When the sheets P are stacked and inserted, the lower edge of each sheet P has the high friction member 63 of the stopper body 60 in the raised position.
Can be set on top.

When the image forming apparatus 1 is powered on, the sheet P stopped in the sheet conveying path before the image forming section of the image forming apparatus (a part other than the placing plate 12) is discharged, or the image forming section is discharged. In order to return the origin of a power transmission gear mechanism (not shown) or the like to the drive motor, the drive motor is once rotated in the reverse direction for a predetermined short time (when the drive motor is rotated in the reverse direction, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-278507). In addition, a sheet conveying roller (registration roller) (not shown) is rotated so that the sheet is conveyed toward the paper discharge unit 6), and in FIG. 3, the gear 23a rotates counterclockwise, The gear 23b meshing with this rotates clockwise in FIG. 8, the gear 23c rotates counterclockwise, the gear 23d rotates clockwise, and the toothless gear 75
Rotates counterclockwise by an angle (approximately 230 degrees) of less than one rotation. As the tooth-chipped gear 75 rotates, the operating portion 7 of the manual operation lever 70 is moved through the slider link 47.
Since 0a is pulled downward, the manual operation lever 70 rotates in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 8, and the cam 67, which is the holding means, is clocked by a link interlocking mechanism (second link 69, first link 68). Rotate around to activate the operating arm 6
4, the stopper body 60 can be held in the paper-feeding posture by the urging force of the urging spring 65 (see the two-dot chain line state in FIGS. 3 and 9). When the toothless portion 75a faces the gear 23d, power is no longer transmitted and the manual operation lever 70
Also, do not transmit excessive or useless force to the link interlocking mechanism.

When the user forgets to return the manual operation lever 70 after inserting a plurality of sheets of paper P into the placing plate 12 and putting them in an aligned posture during standby after turning on the power, a personal computer or an external device A print command is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 1 from an external control device such as a facsimile machine of
When the drive motor is rotated in the forward direction to start the paper feeding operation, the gear trains 23a to 23d rotate in the opposite direction, and the gear 23
By rotating counterclockwise in FIG. 8, the paper feed roller 21 rotates clockwise in FIG. 5, while the tooth-chipped gear 75 also rotates clockwise approximately 130 degrees. As the tooth gear 75 rotates, the operating portion 70a of the manual operation lever 70 is moved through the slider link 47.
And pull the stopper body 60 downward in the same manner as above.
Can be held in a paper feed posture (see the state of the chain double-dashed line in FIGS. 3 and 9).

As described above, the operator manually operates the lever 70.
If the drive motor (not shown) rotates in either one of the forward rotation and the reverse rotation even if the driver forgets to return the gear to the alignment posture canceling direction, the tooth-missing gear 7 is rotated as the gear 23a rotates.
5 also rotates, and accordingly, the manual operation lever 70 can be forcibly rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 8 via the slider link 74, and the manual operation lever 70 is rotated in FIG.
When it comes to the position of, the stopper body 60 can automatically return to and hold in the paper feed possible posture (down position).

The long slot 74a provided in the manual operation lever 70 is provided when the manual operation lever 70 is returned to the non-set state (FIG. 3) by manual operation in the set state of the stopper body 60 shown in FIG. Sliding pin 73 is slot 7
This is for allowing the tilting link 74 to be stopped while allowing the 4a to float.

14 (a) to 14 (c), the sheet feeding roller 21 is fixedly arranged above the mounting plate 12 in the sheet feeding device which is inclined and erected. On the top,
A pressing plate 81 as a sheet aligning means having a rotation fulcrum 80 on the upstream side of the feeding position of the sheet feeding roller 21 is arranged so as to extend to the downstream side of the sheet feeding. The free end of the pressing plate 81 is projected downward from the through hole 83 formed with the separation inclined surface 82 extending upward from the lower end of the mounting plate 12 at an included angle of approximately 90 degrees. Below the separation inclined surface 82, one arm portion of the operating piece 85 rotatably supported by the support shaft 84 is brought into contact with the lower surface on the free end side of the pressing plate 81, and the biasing spring 86 is attached. Thus, one arm portion of the operating piece 85 is urged so as to push it upward. The above-described configuration serves as a holding unit that holds the paper-feeding posture. Then, on the lower surface side of the other arm portion of the operating piece 85, the rotating shaft 8
A holding means composed of a cam 87 that rotates integrally with 8 is arranged. The cam 87 in this holding state is the operation piece 85.
By pushing the other arm portion of the above upward, the one arm portion descends against the urging force of the urging spring 86, and the pressing plate 81 contacts the upper surface of the mounting plate 12 by its own weight. The vertical distance between the upper surface of the pressing plate 81 and the paper feed roller 21 is held wide open. When a plurality of sheets P are stacked and set on the mounting plate 12 in this state, the lower edges of the respective sheets P are separated inclined surfaces in a free state in which the sheets P are not pressed against the sheet feeding roller 21. It can be held in a uniform posture (alignment posture) by abutting on 82. During the sheet feeding operation, the rotary shaft 88 is attached to one end of the embodiment (FIGS. 2, 3, and 7).
And FIG. 8) (see FIG. 8), the manual operation lever 70 connected to the operating portion 70a via the first link 68 and the second link 69.
Is rotated in the same manner as described above, the cam 87 is disengaged from the operating piece 85, the pressing plate 81 is biased upward by the biasing force of the biasing spring 86, and the sheets P stacked on it are stacked.
The uppermost sheet P of the sheet P is pressed by the sheet feeding roller 21. FIG. 14B shows a case where the number of stacked sheets of paper P is large, and FIG.
4 (c) shows a state in which the number of laminated layers is small. In either case, when the paper feed roller 21 rotates, the lower end edge of the uppermost sheet P is pressed by the separation inclined surface 82 and is separated and fed one by one.

The manual operation lever 70 can be used to switch between the aligned posture and the paper-feeding posture in which the alignment posture is released, and when the user forgets to switch to the paper-feeding posture, the automatic operation in the first embodiment is performed. By the return mechanism, the pressing plate 81 can be switched and held in the paper feed possible posture and the position of the manual operation lever 70 can be displaced to the corresponding position according to the forward rotation or the reverse rotation of the drive motor.

The automatic return mechanism of the present invention, if grasped as a superordinate concept, a holding means for holding the first part, which is to be the sheet aligning means, in the first posture and the second posture in which the first posture is released. A manual operation lever for selectively switching the first component between the first posture and the second posture; a toothless gear that meshes with a gear that rotates when the drive motor is started; and a rotation of the toothless gear. And an interlocking mechanism for releasing the manual operation lever from the first posture by movement.

Next, the structure of the separation inclined surface in the present invention will be described in detail.
The separating means 31 having a high friction coefficient for contacting and separating the lower end edge (tip edge) on the central portion side in the width direction of the sheet is extended on the sheet feeding action line Q (see FIG. 10) by the sheet feeding roller 21. In addition to being provided so as to project from the separation inclined surface, the separation inclined surface as a whole is high in the vicinity of the location where the separating means 31 is arranged, and becomes lower toward both widthwise end portions of the paper P. Is formed. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the fixed separation plate 15 and the first movable plate 32.
a, 32b, and the second movable separation plates 33a, 33b are all made of synthetic resin and have an upward convex curved shape over the entire upper surfaces thereof, that is, the upper surfaces of the central portions of the left and right sides of the fixed separation plate 15 are the highest, Second movable separation plates 33a, 33
The separation inclined surface is formed so that the upper surface of the outer side portion of b is the lowest.

As shown in the sectional view of FIG. 11, the first movable separation plates 32a and 32b and the second movable separation plates 33a and 3a.
In 3b, a rotation support shaft 41 integrally laterally projected to the base ends of the movable separation plates 32a to 33b is rotatably supported in the bearing recess 40 of the lower frame portion 11a of the underframe 11. ing. A torsion spring 42 is fitted on the rotation support shaft 41, and both ends of the torsion spring 42 are locked at predetermined positions so that the movable separation plates 32a to 33b are independently attached upward. I am energetic. With this configuration, only the movable separating plate at an appropriate position is escaped and rotated according to the size of the width of the paper P to be fed, and the resistance force (the spring biasing force) against the pressing force of the paper P is also large or small. It can be set to an appropriate value without excess or deficiency. However, the base vertical rear surfaces 43 of the movable separating plates 32a to 33b contact the inner surface of the bearing recess 40,
The upper surfaces of the first movable separating plates 32a (32b) do not project above the upper surfaces of the adjacent fixed separating plates 15, and the upper surfaces of the second movable separating plates 33a (33b) are adjacent to the first movable plate 32a. It is regulated so as not to project upward from the upper surface of (32b). The stopper means may have another structure in order to prevent the movable separating plate from rotating more than necessary.

Then, each of the movable separation plates 32a-33b.
When the lower end edge (leading edge) of the fed paper P hits each of the upper surfaces (separation inclined surfaces) of the sheet, and a downward force acts,
The tip ends of the movable separation plates 32a to 33b are pivoted downward (retracted) downward against the upward spring biasing force of the torsion spring 42 to release the pressing force of the paper P. There is.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first movable separation plate 32a (32b) and the second movable separation plate 33a (33b) are adjacent to each other at a position adjacent to the first movable separation plate 32a (32b) sideways. The engaging piece 44 projected to the second is the second movable separating plate 33.
By being arranged so as to face the lower surface of the a (33b), the engagement load 44 is interlocked with the downward movement due to the downward load acting only on the second movable separation plate 33a (33b). Is pressed downward, so that the first movable separation plate 32a
(32b) is also configured to rotate downward.

On the upper surface of the fixed separating plate 15, elongated slender separating members 34 having a high friction coefficient as separating means are arranged at the center positions on the left and right sides. The embodiment is shown in FIG.
It shows in FIG. The fixed separating plate 15 has a central position on both the left and right sides, which penetrates vertically, and is in the feeding direction of the paper P (see FIGS.
And a long mounting hole 3 along the direction of arrow A in FIG.
6 is provided. On the lower surface side of the fixed separating plate 15, a mounting block 37 also made of synthetic resin is fitted,
It is configured to be detachably connected with screws 38, 38 from the lower surface side. The separating member 34 is made of a material having a high friction coefficient such as a polyester urethane resin material, and a plurality of comb-teeth-shaped cantilever portions 3 of a bridge plate 39 made of a spring plate such as phosphor bronze.
It is elastically supported so as to be bridged between the tips of 9a (see FIGS. 13 (a) and 13 (b)).

Only the outer peripheral frame portion 39b, which is substantially rectangular in plan view, of the bridge plate 39 shown in FIG. 13 (a) is sandwiched between the mounting block 37 and the fixed separating plate 15, and the separating member 34 and the cantilever portion 39a. Is placed in the inner diameter recess 37a of the mounting block 37 and floats in the air (see FIGS. 12B and 12C). Therefore, when a downward pressing force acts on the separating member 34 at the lower edge of the paper P in response to the feeding action of the paper feeding roller 21, the plurality of cantilever portions 39a near the acting portion bend downward. Then, the separating member 34 can sink downward to the same height as the upper surface of the fixed separating plate 15.

As shown in the enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 13B, the upper surface of the separating member 34 has a serrated shape with a shallow cross section so as to receive a large frictional resistance during sliding contact with the lower edge of the paper P ( It is preferable to form it in an uneven shape. by this,
As a result, not only the friction coefficient of the material forming the separating member 34 but also the frictional resistance due to the shape can increase the friction coefficient.

Next, the separating action of the sheet P at the time of sheet feeding by the above configuration will be described. In advance, a plurality of sheets P are stacked and placed on the placing plate 12 of the sheet feeding device 10. The left and right side edges of the paper P are guided and regulated by the pair of left and right guide plates 13a and 13b, so that the paper P is positioned at the left-right center position of the mounting plate 12 and the center line of the paper P in the width direction. Will be placed. In this state, all of the lower edges (leading edges) of the stacked sheets P are in contact with the upper surface of the fixed separation plate 15 and / or the separation member 34, but the first movable separation at a position lower than that. The plates 32a (32b) and the second movable separation plates 33a (33b) are not in contact with the upper surfaces (separation inclined surfaces).

When a print command is executed in response to a signal from an external control device such as a personal computer or an external facsimile device, a drive motor (not shown) starts driving,
The transmission shaft 20 reversely rotates through the gear trains 23a to 23d, and the paper feed roller 21 rotates clockwise in FIG. As a result, only the uppermost sheet P pressed by the sheet feed roller 21 is fed in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

When the paper P stacked on the mounting plate 12 has a soft waist, of the lower edge (tip edge) of the paper P,
Separation means 31 in which the lower end edge (tip edge) on the central portion side in the width direction is located on the extension of the feeding action line of the sheet feeding roller 21.
When the sheet is further contacted with the (separating member 34) and further fed, the sheet P is separated between the sheet feeding roller 21 and the separating means 31.
The central portion side in the width direction of B is curved and fed in the direction of arrow A to proceed.

In this case, the paper P having a weak stiffness such as a thin paper P is a paper P whose central portion side in the width direction is laminated.
The convex curved deformation occurs such that the convex curve is separated from the upper surface of the. On the other hand,
A strong paper P such as a thick paper is concavely curved so that the central portion side in the width direction approaches the upper surface of the stacked paper P.

However, a portion other than the central portion side of the sheet P which is not subjected to the feeding action (a portion near both side end portions in the width direction)
Then, the paper P advances in a flat state. Then, the linear distance from the contact line (nip line) 45 with the paper feed roller 21 to the lower end edge of the paper P on the central portion side in the width direction of the paper P that has been fed is larger than the linear distance. A straight line distance from the extension line 46 of the contact point with the sheet feeding roller 21 to a lower edge of the sheet P other than the central portion side of the sheet P that is not subjected to the feeding action (sites near both end portions in the width direction). Will be longer.

In this case, as in the first embodiment, the height of the fixed separating plate 15 corresponding to the central portion side of the paper P in the width direction does not change in height, and the lower ends of the left and right side portions of the soft paper P having a soft waist. The first movable separation plate 32a (32b) and / or the second edge
The movable separation plate 33a (33b) can firmly receive it. On the other hand, in the case of the strong paper P, when the lower end edge of the paper P is further pressed downward to increase the pressing force, the first movable separation plate is resisted against the biasing force of the torsion spring 42. 32a (32b) and the second movable separation plate 33a (33
When the front end side of b) is rotated downward, the upper surfaces (separation inclined surfaces) of the top end of the paper P escape and move away from the lower edge of the paper P, and the lower edge of the paper P and the first movable separation plate 32.
a (32b) and / or the second movable separation plate 33a (33
Since the support interference due to the pressing with b) can be avoided, the separating action of the separating means 31 at the lower end edge of the sheet P in the width direction of the central portion can be reliably received, and
It has an excellent effect that it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of paper jam such as double feeding.

Even if the first movable separating plate 32a (32b) is rotated downward, the stopper body 60 in the lowered position is still the first movable separating plate 32a (32b).
Since it does not protrude from the upper surface of the first movable separation plate 32a (32b), the stopper body 60 does not interfere with the operation of the first movable separation plate 32a (32b).

When the width (size) of the sheets P stacked on the placing plate 12 is small (the size between the outer ends of the first movable separating plates 32a (32b) adjacent to the left and right sides of the fixed separating plate 15). (When the length is shorter), the lower end edges corresponding to both side edges of the sheet P in the width direction have the first movable separation plate 3
Although the second movable separation plates 33a and 33b on the outer side of the second movable separation plates 33a and 33b do not interfere with the sheet P, they do not rotate downward.

When the lateral width dimension (size) of the sheet P is large (longer than the dimension between the inner ends of the second movable separation plates 33a and 33b on both the left and right sides), the sheet P is located on the side edges of the sheet P in the width direction. The corresponding lower edge is the second movable separation plate 33a first.
The second movable separation plates 33a and 33b are rotated downward by hitting the upper surface (separation inclined surface) of 33b. At that time,
The first movable separation plates 32a, 32b are arranged via the engagement pieces 44.
Since it can also be rotated downwards in conjunction with each other, the lower end edge in the middle between the widthwise central portion of the paper P corresponding to that position and the portions near both side edges in the width direction is the upper surface (separation) of the first movable separation plates 32a and 32b. The first movable separation plate 32 without contacting the inclined surface).
The a and 32b can also escape and rotate downward, and the interference with the lower end edge of the paper P in the width direction can be more reliably reduced.

Further, a separating means 31 having a high friction coefficient for contacting and separating the lower end edge (tip edge) of the sheet P on the central portion side in the width direction is provided with a sheet feeding action line Q by the sheet feeding roller 21. Is provided so as to project from the separation inclined surface, and the separation inclined surface as a whole is high in the vicinity of the position where the separating means 31 is arranged, and goes to both side ends of the paper P in the width direction. When the sheet P is formed in a curved shape or a linear shape so as to become lower, the lower end edges (leading edges) on both side ends in the width direction of the sheet P do not collide with the separation inclined surface, and the sheet P has a width direction. The lower end edge (leading edge) on the central portion side of the element abuts on the separating means 31 and can sufficiently receive the separating action. As a result, a paper feed failure that the paper P to be fed is double-fed does not occur.

In the present invention, the fixed separation plate 15 to the first movable separation plate 32a (32b) and the second movable separation plate 33a (3) are used.
It goes without saying that the upper surface (separation inclined surface) up to 3b) may be formed in the same plane.

As in each of the above-described embodiments, if the image forming apparatus is equipped with a sheet feeding device having a mechanism for automatically returning the sheets set in the stacked state to the sheet feedable state, the user can When the image forming apparatus starts driving after the work for aligning P in the aligned posture, the sheet is automatically ready to be fed, so that no printing error occurs, and a facsimile apparatus used in a normal home. As described above, when the waiting period until printing is long, if the sheet can be fed, that is, the state in which the lower edge of the stacked sheets P remains in contact with the separation slope is long, There is also an effect that it is possible to reliably prevent the lower end of the paper sheet P from being bent due to the weight of the paper sheet P, which deteriorates the paper feeding performance and causes the double feeding of the paper sheet P.

[0065]

As described above, in the automatic return mechanism of the invention described in claim 1, the holding means for holding the first component in the first posture and the second posture in which the first posture is released. A manual operation lever for selectively switching the first component between the first posture and the second posture; a toothless gear that meshes with a gear that rotates when the drive motor is started; And an interlocking mechanism for releasing the manual operation lever from the first posture by rotation, whereby the first part is held while the first component is held in the first posture by the manual operation lever. If you forget to switch to 2 positions,
When the drive motor starts to rotate, when the toothless gear rotates due to the gear that rotates accordingly, the manual operation lever can be forcibly moved via the interlocking mechanism so as to switch from the first posture to the second posture. As a result, it is possible to eliminate an accident caused by a user forgetting to perform an operation. Moreover, when the toothless portion of the toothless gear faces the gear, since the toothless gear does not rotate any more, an unreasonable force does not act on the interlocking mechanism or the manual operation lever, so that the parts are not damaged. Play.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device provided with the posture releasing mechanism according to the first aspect, wherein a stacking unit for storing sheets in a stacked state and a stacking storage for the stacking unit. In the paper feeding device, which feeds the formed sheets by the rotation driving of the paper feeding roller facing the loading section and separates and feeds the sheets one by one by the separation inclined surface, the first component is A sheet aligning unit that aligns the sheets in an aligned state with respect to the set, and a holding unit that selectively retains the sheet in an aligned state in which the sheet aligning unit is held in the aligned state and in a sheet-feeding posture in which the aligned state is released. A manual operation lever for selectively switching between the aligned attitude and the paper feed possible attitude, a toothless gear meshing with a gear driven at the start of the paper feeding operation, and the manual operation lever by rotating the toothless gear. The interlocking mechanism that releases the It is an feature that was example.

Therefore, if it is forgotten to switch the sheet aligning means to the sheet feedable posture while keeping the sheet aligning means in the aligned posture by the manual operation lever, when the drive motor starts to rotate, the gears which rotate in accordance with this start are driven. When the toothless gear rotates,
Since the manual operation lever can be forcibly moved via the interlocking mechanism so as to switch from the aligned posture to the paper feedable posture, it is possible to avoid the paper feed failure due to the user's forgetting the operation, and eventually the unprintable state. Play. Moreover, when the toothless portion of the toothless gear faces the gear, since the toothless gear does not rotate any more, an unreasonable force does not act on the interlocking mechanism or the manual operation lever, so that the parts are not damaged. Play.

The invention described in claim 3 is the same as that of claim 2.
3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the sheet aligning means is a pressing plate that is provided on the downstream side of the mounting portion in the feeding direction and presses the sheet stacked on the sheet feeding roller. In addition to the effect of the above, there is an effect that it can be applied to a paper feeding device in which the position of the paper feeding roller does not change.

On the other hand, the invention described in claim 4 is the same as claim 2
In the paper feeding device described in (1) above, since the paper aligning means is a stopper body that is provided on the downstream side in the feeding direction of the loading unit and supports the lower end edge of the stacked sheets separated from the paper feeding roller, In addition to the effect of the invention according to the second aspect, there is an effect that the paper feeding roller can be applied to a paper feeding device of a type in which the position of the paper feeding roller changes according to the amount of stacked sheets.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claims 2 to 4.
In the paper feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the manual operation lever and the holding means are connected via a link mechanism, and the interlocking mechanism is a slider crank mechanism that connects the toothless gear and the manual operation lever. Therefore, it is possible to return the manual operation lever and the sheet aligning means to the sheet-feeding posture regardless of whether the drive motor is operated in the forward rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device according to the fifth aspect, the slider crank mechanism is stopped at a position deviating from a dead point in the aligned posture and the feedable posture. Therefore, there is an effect that the toothless gear in the stopped state can be started to rotate in either the forward rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction.

The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to claims 4 to 6.
In the paper feeding device described in any one of 1, the stopper body is centered on a rotation fulcrum located on an intersecting side of a surface of the mounting portion and a separation inclined surface intersecting the surface of the mounting portion. Since it is configured to be vertically rotatable, it is possible to easily align the sheets with a simple configuration of rotating the stopper body about the rotation fulcrum, and from the alignment posture, In addition to being able to smoothly shift to the paper feeding operation, when the stopper is retracted, the sheet near the surface of the placing section is gradually placed on the separation inclined surface, so the sheet avalanche phenomenon. The effect that is difficult to occur.

An image forming apparatus according to an eighth aspect forms an image on the sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of the second to seventh aspects and a sheet fed from the sheet feeding apparatus. An image forming unit is provided.

Therefore, if the user only works to arrange the paper in the aligned posture, and after that, when the image forming apparatus starts driving, the paper is automatically ready to be fed, so that no printing error occurs and When the standby period until printing becomes long, as in the case of a facsimile machine used at home, the state where the paper can be fed, that is, the state where the lower edge of the stacked sheets remains in contact with the separation slope is long. In the period, the lower end of the sheet is curved due to the weight of the sheet itself, the feeding performance is deteriorated, and double feeding of the sheet can be reliably prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding device in a state where the stopper body is in a sheet feeding enabled state.

FIG. 3 is a right side view of the sheet feeding device.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the main part of the paper feeding device with the stopper body in a paper feeding posture.

5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the sheet feeding device when the stopper body is in the aligned posture.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding device when the stopper body is also in the aligned posture state.

FIG. 8 is a right side view of the sheet feeding device when the stopper body is also in the aligned posture and the right side wall plate is removed.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a lifted state of a stopper body.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view of a fixed separation plate and a movable separation plate.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a tiltable movable separation plate.

12A is a plan view of a fixed separation plate equipped with a separating means, FIG. 12B is a sectional view taken along the line XIIb-XIIb of FIG. 12A, and FIG. 12C is a XIIc of FIG. 12A. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XIIc.

13A is a plan view of the separating means, and FIG.
FIG. 3A is a sectional view taken along line XIIIb-XIIIb of FIG.

FIG. 14 shows a second embodiment of the alignment posture holding means,
(A) is a side sectional view of an aligned posture holding state, (b) is a side sectional view of a feedable posture holding state when a large amount of sheets are stacked,
FIG. 6C is a side sectional view of a state in which the sheet can be fed in a posture in which the stacking amount of sheets is small.

[Explanation of symbols]

P paper 10 Paper feeder 11 frame frame 12 Placement plate 15 Fixed separation plate 20 transmission shaft 21 Paper feed roller 23a to 23d gears 31 Separation means 32a, 32b First movable separation plate 33a, 33b Second movable separation plate 34 Separation member 42 torsion spring 60 stopper body 61 Placement groove 63 High friction material 64 working arm 65 biasing spring 68 First Link 69 Second Link 70 Manual control lever 70a operating part 73 Sliding pin 74 Slider link 75 missing tooth gear 75a missing tooth 77 pin

Continued front page    F term (reference) 3F343 FA02 FB02 FB03 FB04 FC17                       FC18 FC29 FC30 GA02 GB01                       HD14 JD08 JD33 KB05 LD24                       MC27

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A holding means for holding a first component in a first posture and a second posture in which the first posture is released, and the first component selectively in the first posture and the second posture. A manual operation lever for switching to, a toothless gear that meshes with a gear that rotates when the drive motor starts, and an interlocking mechanism that releases the manual operation lever from the first posture by rotating the toothless gear. A posture releasing mechanism characterized by including. 2. A stacking unit for accommodating sheets in a stacked state, and the stacking and accommodating sheets in the stacking unit are fed out by a rotational drive of a sheet feeding roller facing the stacking unit and separated by a slope 1 In the sheet feeding device for separating and feeding the sheets one by one, the first component is a sheet aligning unit that aligns the sheets with respect to the placing unit when the sheets are inserted, and holds the sheet aligning unit in the aligned state. Holding means for selectively holding the aligning posture and the feedable posture in which the aligning posture is released, a manual operation lever for selectively switching the aligning posture and the feedable posture, and a starting operation at the time of starting the feeding operation. The posture release according to claim 1, further comprising: a toothless gear that meshes with a gear to be driven; and an interlocking mechanism that releases the manual operation lever from the aligned orientation by rotating the toothless gear. Paper feeder equipped with a mechanism. 3. The sheet feeding unit according to claim 2, wherein the sheet aligning unit is a pressing plate that is provided on a downstream side of the loading unit in the sheet feeding direction and presses the sheet stacked on the sheet feeding roller. Paper equipment. 4. The sheet aligning means is a stopper body which is provided on the downstream side in the feeding direction of the placing section and supports the lower edge of the stacked sheets separated from the sheet feeding roller. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2. 5. The manual operation lever and the holding means are connected via a link mechanism, while the interlocking mechanism is a slider crank mechanism that connects the toothless gear and the manual operation lever. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein 6. The sheet feeding device according to claim 5, wherein the slider crank mechanism stops at a position deviating from a dead point in the aligned posture and the feedable posture. (It can be rotated in both forward and reverse rotation) 7. The stopper body is configured to be vertically rotatable about a rotation fulcrum located on an intersecting side of a surface of the mounting portion and a separation inclined surface intersecting the surface of the mounting portion. The sheet feeding device according to claim 4, wherein the sheet feeding device is provided. 8. A sheet feeding device according to claim 1, and an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet fed from the sheet feeding device. An image forming apparatus characterized by.