JP2004026409A - Sheet stacker, sheet conveying device and image forming device equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable even a user of short stature or in wheelchairs to surely stack sheets. <P>SOLUTION: A document stacker 81 comprises a document stacking tray 1 for stacking a stack of documents, a document front side guide 51 and a document end side guide 52 capable of adjusting the distance therebetween for aligning documents in the document stacking tray in vertical direction of the document stacking tray. A length L2 of the document end side guide 52 in right and left direction thereof is configured to be longer than the length L1 of the document front side guide 51 in right and left direction thereof. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a sheet stacking apparatus capable of stacking sheets from the near side, a sheet conveying apparatus including the sheet stacking apparatus, and conveying a sheet to a supplied apparatus, and reading a document conveyed by the sheet conveying apparatus. And an image forming apparatus for copying an image of the original on a recording material.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sheet stacking device on which sheets are stacked may be used, for example, as one of the components of the sheet conveying device in a sheet conveying device that conveys the sheet to a supplied device.
[0003]
In addition, the sheet conveying device is provided as one of the components of the image forming apparatus in the apparatus to be supplied, for example, the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus, and conveys the document to the image reading unit of the image forming apparatus main body. I have.
[0004]
The image forming apparatus reads an original document conveyed by a sheet conveying apparatus by an image reading unit and forms an image on a recording material.
[0005]
With reference to FIGS. 7 to 11, a conventional sheet stacking apparatus and a sheet conveying apparatus equipped with the sheet stacking apparatus as one of the constituent elements will be schematically described.
[0006]
A document conveying device 800 serving as a sheet conveying device separates documents P of a bundle of documents placed on a document tray 101 of a document loading portion A serving as a sheet stacking device one by one by a sheet feeding portion B, and conveys the document. Send to part C. The document transport unit C transports the document to a predetermined position on the plantain 110, and causes an image of the document to be read by a document reading unit (not shown) on the main body side of the image forming apparatus 900. Thereafter, the document transport unit C sends out the document from the platen 110. Finally, the reverse discharge unit D discharges the document to the document discharge tray 132.
[0007]
Next, a procedure for setting the document bundle P on the document tray 101 will be described. There are two procedures for setting a document.
[0008]
First, the first document setting procedure will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the document stacking section A when FIG. 8 is viewed from the direction of arrow Z.
[0009]
The direction in which the document is fed from the document feeder 800 is the left direction in FIG. Generally, when the user sets the document bundle P on the document tray 101, the user holds the right side P (R) (the rear end side in the sheet feeding direction) of the document bundle P by hand. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the user passes the document bundle P from the position P0 indicated by the two-dot chain line over the document front side guide 151 to the back side (in the direction of the arrow Y1), and the side guides 151 and 152. At a position P1 indicated by a broken line in FIG. 9 which is an upper position therebetween, the document is lowered on the document tray 101 in the direction of arrow Y2 in FIG. Thereafter, the user moves the bundle of documents in the direction of arrow Y3 in FIGS. 8 and 9 and abuts the separation roller 104, and abuts the left side portion P (L) of the bundle of documents P at the sheet feeding set position P2. I do.
[0010]
The document bundle P abutted against the separation roller 104 is pushed up by the tilting piece 106 (see FIG. 7), and is moved down between the separation roller 104 and the friction piece 105 by the feed roller 103 which comes in contact with the document bundle. The paper is fed to the platen 110 one by one.
[0011]
The second document setting procedure will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a plan view of the document tray 101 of the document stacking unit A when FIG. 10 is viewed from the direction of the arrow Z. As shown in FIG. 10, the user holds the right side portion P (R) (the rear end side in the sheet feeding direction) of the document bundle P by hand. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the user moves the original bundle P from the position P0 indicated by the two-dot chain line in the direction of the arrow Y4 to the right side of the original front side guide 151, and moves the original to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. After being transported to P1, the document bundle P is lowered on the document tray 101 in the direction of arrow Y5 in FIG.
[0012]
Thereafter, the user sets the bundle of documents P at the paper feeding set position P2 by placing the bundle of documents between the side guide surface 151a of the front document side guide 151 and the side guide surface 152a of the document back side guide 152. While entering, it is moved in the direction of arrow Y6 in FIGS.
[0013]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the document stacking section A, which is a conventional sheet stacking apparatus, has a configuration in which the side guides 151 and 152 are provided above the document tray 101. For this reason, it is difficult for a user, such as a user who is short in height or in a wheelchair, to have a low viewpoint and reach a lower height than a normal user in setting a document on the document stacking unit A. .
[0014]
In the first document setting procedure, the user must firstly raise his hand to carry the document from the top of the document front side guide 151 to the back side. Further, from this state, the document must be placed on the document tray 101 so that the document enters between the document front side guide 151 and the document back side guide 152. However, since the positions of the side guides 151 and 152 are difficult to see from a low viewpoint. In some cases, the original cannot be reliably placed between the side guides 151 and 152. As a result, the document may be set leaning on the side guide, and a document setting defect may occur in the document stacking unit A.
[0015]
In the second document setting procedure, first, the user holds the right side of the document by hand and carries the document from the right side of the front side guide 151 to the back side. There may not be. Thereafter, the user must place the document on the document tray 101 so that the document enters between the document front side guide 151 and the document back side guide 152. However, the position of the side guides 151 and 152 is difficult to see from a low viewpoint. In some cases, the original cannot be reliably inserted between the side guides 151 and 152. As a result, the document may be set leaning on the side guide, and a document setting defect may occur in the document stacking unit A.
[0016]
In addition, if a document setting failure occurs in the document stacking unit A by the first and second document setting procedures, there is a problem that the document conveying device 800 cannot reliably convey the document. Furthermore, if the document transport device cannot reliably transport the document, the image forming apparatus provided with the document transport device in the apparatus main body may have a problem that the document cannot be read accurately.
[0017]
The present invention provides a sheet stacking device capable of reliably stacking sheets even if the user is short in height or in a wheelchair, and the sheet stacking device is provided as one of the constituent elements so that the sheet can be reliably mounted. Provided is a sheet conveying device that can be conveyed, and an image forming apparatus that includes the sheet conveying device as one of the constituent elements and that can reliably read an image of a document conveyed by the sheet conveying device. It is aimed at.
[0018]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the sheet stacking device of the present invention is capable of adjusting a sheet stacking portion on which sheets are stacked, and an interval at which the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking portion are aligned from the front-rear direction of the sheet stacking portion. A pair of matching portions, wherein the length of the matching portion on the back side in the left-right direction of the pair of matching portions is longer than the length of the matching portion on the near side in the left-right direction.
[0019]
In order to achieve the above object, the sheet stacking device of the present invention is capable of adjusting a sheet stacking portion on which sheets are stacked, and an interval at which the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking portion are aligned from the front-rear direction of the sheet stacking portion. And a pair of matching sections, and the matching section on the near side of the pair of matching sections can be turned upside down.
[0020]
In the sheet stacking apparatus of the present invention, the near-side alignment portion can be turned upside down.
[0021]
In the sheet stacking apparatus of the present invention, the near-side alignment section is positioned below the sheet stacking surface of the sheet stacking section when it falls down toward the near side.
[0022]
In order to achieve the above object, a sheet conveying apparatus of the present invention includes a sheet stacking apparatus on which sheets are stacked, and a sheet conveying unit configured to convey the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking apparatus to a supplied apparatus, The sheet stacking device is any one of the above sheet stacking devices.
[0023]
The sheet stacking device according to the present invention is disposed downstream of the sheet stacking section of the sheet stacking device in the sheet conveying direction in a direction intersecting the sheet conveying direction, and receives a downstream end of the sheet. It has a part.
[0024]
In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a sheet stacking device on which sheets are stacked, a sheet conveying unit capable of conveying the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking device to an image reading unit, and the image forming device. An image forming unit that forms image information read by the reading unit on a recording material, wherein the sheet stacking device is any one of the sheet stacking devices described above, and the sheet is a document.
[0025]
The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is arranged on the downstream side of the sheet stacking section of the sheet stacking apparatus in the document conveying direction in a direction crossing the document conveying direction, and receives the downstream end of the document. It has a part.
[0026]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a document loading device as a sheet loading device according to an embodiment of the present invention, a document transport device as a sheet transport device provided with the document loading device and transporting a document to a document reading unit of an image forming apparatus, and a document transport device An image forming apparatus that reads a document conveyed by the printer and copies an image of the document onto a recording material will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0027]
(Image forming device)
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a printer, which is an example of an image forming apparatus, in which the printer is cut along a conveying direction of a recording material.
[0028]
At the upper part of the apparatus main body 71 of the printer 70, for example, a document conveying apparatus 80 as a sheet conveying apparatus is provided as one of the components of the printer 70. The document conveying device 80 is equipped with a sheet stacking device, for example, a document stacking device 81 as one of the components of the document conveying device 80.
[0029]
The document feeder 80 is configured to send the document P loaded on the document tray 1 of the document loading device 81 once to the upper portion of the apparatus main body 71, and then discharge the document P to the document discharge tray 32 for stacking. . During this time, the document reading unit 82 reads the image of the document P. The document information read by the document reading unit 82 is written as a latent image on a photosensitive drum 88 charged in advance by a laser beam of a laser scanner 89. The photosensitive drum 88 is rotating, and the latent image is developed with toner by the developing unit 90 to form a toner image. The photoconductor drum 88, the developing device 90, and the like constitute, for example, an image forming unit E which is an image forming unit.
[0030]
On the other hand, the recording material S is stored in the cassette 83. The pickup roller 84 sends out the recording material S in the cassette 83 to the transport roller pair 85. The transport roller pairs 85 and 86 send the recording material S to the registration roller pair 87. The registration roller pair 87 receives the leading end of the recording material S in a state where the rotation is stopped. Since the conveying roller pair 85 and 86 continue to feed the recording material S, the recording material S is bent. The skew of the recording material S is straightened by this bending.
[0031]
The pair of registration rollers 87 feeds the recording material S to the photosensitive drum 88 in synchronization with the transfer timing of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 88. The transfer unit 91 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 88 to the recording material S. The fixing device 93 heats and pressurizes the recording material S conveyed by the conveyance belt 92, fixes the toner image on the recording material S, and discharges the toner image to a discharge tray 94.
[0032]
The printer 70 can also form a toner image on the recording material S that has been inserted by the user from the manual feed tray 95 and pulled into the apparatus main body 71 by the transport roller 96.
[0033]
(Document feeder)
In FIG. 2, the document feeder 80 has the document tray 1 at the top. On the left side of the document tray 1, a paper feed unit B is provided. The paper feeding section B is configured to separate the document bundles P placed on the document stacking surface 1 a one by one and to convey them onto the platen 10.
[0034]
The paper supply unit B includes a stopper 2, a paper supply roller 3, a separation roller 4, a friction piece 5, a tilting piece 6, and the like. The stopper 2 is a plate-shaped member disposed on the downstream side of the document tray 1 in the document transport direction in a direction perpendicular to the document transport direction.
[0035]
The document bundle P stacked on the document tray 1 is received by the stopper 2. At the time of document feeding, the tilting piece 6 tilts upward to push the document bundle upward, and the sheet feeding means, for example, the sheet feed roller 3 is lowered by the motor M1. The paper feed roller 3 and the separation roller 4 rotate, and the document is fed between the separation roller 4 and the friction piece 5. The second and subsequent originals to be sent along with the uppermost original are stopped by the friction pieces 5 and stay on the original stacking device 81. For this reason, the document is conveyed separately from the topmost document one by one.
[0036]
The fed document passes between the guide plates 8a, 8b, and 8c, and is guided to the pair of registration rollers 7a and 7b. The registration roller pair 7a, 7b is stopped when the leading edge of the document arrives. After the document is conveyed by the separation roller 4, a loop is formed on the document and the skew of the document is corrected, the registration roller pair 7a, 7b starts rotating and the document transport unit The original is transported to C.
[0037]
The document transport section C has a configuration in which a transport belt 11 is stretched around a drive roller 12 and a driven roller 14, and is pressed against the platen 10 by belt pressing rollers 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d. When the drive roller 12 is rotationally driven by the motor M3, the document transport section C rotates the transport belt 11. When the document enters between the transport belt 11 and the platen 10, the document is transported on the platen 10 by the frictional force of the transport belt 11.
[0038]
When the document that has entered the document transport unit C from the document feed unit B is transported to a predetermined position on the platen 10 by the transport belt 11, the transport is temporarily stopped by the stop of the motor M3, and the document reading unit of the printer 70 is stopped. The image is read by 82. The document from which the image has been read is conveyed rightward in FIG. 2 by the re-driving of the motor M <b> 3, passes through the jump table 15, and is introduced into the reversing discharge unit D.
[0039]
The original conveyed from the conveyor belt 11 to the reverse discharge section D is rotated in the reverse direction by the reversing motor M2 by a predetermined amount, and the reversing roller 19, the conveying rollers 20, and the pair of conveying rollers 22a and 22b pass the reversing path (b). The sheet is conveyed to the path (c) and the reverse path (d). After the reversing motor M2 is rotated forward by a predetermined amount, the reversing motor M2 is reversed to reverse the document. The document is conveyed to the reversing path (g), the reversing path (h), and the reversing path (e), and is discharged to the document discharge tray 32.
[0040]
(Description of Configuration of Document Loading Device of First Embodiment)
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the document tray 1 shown in FIG. The document tray 1 is provided with a document front side guide 51 having a front rack 53, a document back side guide 52 having a back rack 54, and a pinion gear 55 in which the front rack 53 and the back rack 54 mesh from both sides. It is. The document front side guide 51 and the document back side guide 52 are opposed to each other and can be moved in the width direction of the document bundle P so that they can approach and separate from each other, and form a pair of matching portions.
[0041]
A spring 56 is fixed to the front rack 53. The spring 56 is selectively engaged with the plurality of grooves 57 a, 57 b, 57 c, 57 d of the grooved row plate 57 so that the movable original front side guide 51 and the original back side guide 52 can have various fixed original width sizes. Try to settle in position. In addition, the spring 56 has a tip that is selectively engaged with the grooves 57a, 57b, 57c, and 57d by elasticity to give a click feeling.
[0042]
In FIG. 3, the spring 56 falls into the click groove 57a, and the interval W0 between the document front side regulating surface 51a of the document front side guide 51 and the document back side regulating surface 52a of the document back side guide 52 is about 298 mm (A4 size 297 mm + about 297 mm). 1 mm). Further, the other grooves correspond to various different standard sizes such as B5 size and A5 size (W1, W2...). Also, taking into account the variation in the sheet width size, the interval between the original front side regulating surface 51a and the document rear side regulating surface 52a is set to be approximately 1 mm larger than the standard size so that the interval is not narrower than the sheet width. It is wide. Usually, it is set to be larger by about 0.5 to about 2 mm than the standard size width.
[0043]
Since the document front side regulating surface 51a of the document front side guide 51 and the document back side regulating surface 52a of the document back side guide 52 guide and regulate the document side at a predetermined interval, the document may be tilted during the separation and feeding of the document. Can be prevented.
[0044]
In addition, the length L2 of the document rear side guide 52, which is the rear alignment unit, for example, in the document transport direction (left-right direction) is the document transport direction (left-right direction) of the front alignment unit, for example, the document front side guide 51. L2> L1 with respect to the length L1. With this configuration, it is possible to reliably set, for example, the document P, which is a sheet, at a sheet feeding set position P2 of the document tray 1 which is a sheet stacking portion of the document bundle P, for example.
[0045]
The sheet feeding set position P2 is a position where the original is abutted against, for example, the stopper 2, which is the receiving alignment unit of the original conveying device 80 described above. The stopper 2 is disposed in a direction orthogonal to the document front side guide 51 and the document back side guide 52.
[0046]
(Explanation of original setting procedure)
Next, a procedure for setting the document bundle P at the sheet feeding set position P2 of the document tray 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0047]
The sheet feeding direction of the document feeder 80 is the left direction in FIGS. Therefore, when the user sets the document bundle P on the document tray 1, the user holds the right side portion P (R) of the document bundle P (the rear end side in the sheet feeding direction) by hand. However, when the user is a short stature or a user in a wheelchair, the reach is lower than usual, so that the user places the document bundle P on the document tray 1 with the right side P (R). Needs to reach out to the end, and is forced into an unreasonable position. Therefore, if the user can hold the front side P (F) of the bundle of documents P by hand and set it on the document tray 1, it is not necessary to extend the hand to the back, so that an unreasonable posture is not forced.
[0048]
Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the user holds the near side P (F) of the original bundle P by hand and moves the original bundle P from the position P0 indicated by the two-dot chain line to the original front side guide 51. From the right side, the document P is conveyed to the rear side (in the direction of the arrow Y1), and the rear side P (Re) of the document bundle P abuts against the document rear side regulating surface 52a of the document rear side guide 52. As a result, the original bundle is moved from the position indicated by the reference numeral P0 to the position indicated by the reference numeral P1, and is received by a portion of the original rear side regulating surface 52a longer than the original front side guide 51.
[0049]
Thereafter, the user lowers the bundle of documents P in the direction of arrow Y2 shown in FIG. 2, places the bundle of documents P on the document tray 1, and places the back side P (Re) of the bundle of documents P on the back side regulating surface 52a of the document. The document tray 1 is moved (in the direction of the arrow Y3) toward the sheet feeding set position P2 along the inclination of the document stacking surface 1a of the document tray 1. When the left side P (L) of the document abuts on the sheet feeding set position P2, the document is positioned at the sheet feeding set position P2 and is set on the document stacking surface 1a.
[0050]
As shown in FIG. 4, the document front side guide 51 is moved to the rear side (in the direction of arrow Y4) to guide and restrict the side of the document bundle P. When the document front side guide 51 is moved to the back side, the driving force is transmitted to the document back side guide 52 by the front rack 53, the pinion gear 55, and the back rack 54, and the document back side guide 52 moves to the front side. When the document back side guide 52 moves to the near side, the document back side regulating surface 52a pushes the back side P (Re) of the document bundle P to the trouble side, and moves the document to the front side. When the front side P (F) of the document bundle P comes into contact with the document front side regulating surface 51a, the movement of the document front side guide 51 stops. When the document is of a standard size (for example, when the size is B5), the spring 56 engages with the groove 57b of the groove array plate 57 corresponding to the B5 size, and the front document side regulation surface 51a and the document back side regulation surface 52a. Is W1.
[0051]
As described above, in the document stacking device 81 of the first embodiment, the length L2 of the document back side guide 52 in the document conveyance direction is longer than the length L1 of the document front side guide 51 in the document conveyance direction. Even if the user does not perform the operation of transporting the document from the top of the document front side guide 52 to the back, the user can securely set the document by holding the front side of the document by hand and prevent the document placement defect. be able to.
[0052]
Further, since the user can view the document rear side guide 52 from the front even from a low viewpoint, when the document is set at the sheet feeding set position P2 (left direction), the document can be moved along the document rear side guide 52, The document easily enters between the document back side guide 52 and the document front side guide 51, abuts against the stopper 2 of the document feeder 80, and is set at the sheet feeding set position P2 to prevent a document placement defect. can do.
[0053]
As described above, the document stacking device 81 according to the first embodiment can easily and reliably place a document between the document back side guide 52 and the document front side guide 51 even if the user is short or in a wheelchair. And document placement failure can be prevented.
[0054]
(Document Loading Device of Second Embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the document stacking device according to the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the raising / lowering operation of the document front side guide. Note that, for example, the document stacking device 281 which is the sheet stacking device of the second embodiment is replaced with the document stacking device 81 of the first embodiment, and the document stacking device of FIG. It can be equipped as one.
[0055]
As shown in FIG. 5, a document front side guide 251 having a front rack 253, a document back side guide 252 having a back rack 254, and a front rack 253 and a back rack 254 are engaged with the document tray 201 from both sides. A pinion gear 255 is provided. The document front side guide 251 and the document back side guide 252 are opposed to each other and can be moved in the width direction of the document bundle P so that they can approach and separate from each other, and form a pair of matching portions.
[0056]
For example, a document front side guide 251 which is a near-side alignment portion is attached to a rotation support shaft 253b of the front rack 253 so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. A magnet 258 is fixed to the front rack 253. The magnet 258 attracts a magnet catch plate 259 fixed to the document front side guide 251.
[0057]
Therefore, when the document front side guide 251 stands at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, the magnet 258 attracts the magnet catch sheet metal 259 and is held in the standing state. The standing position of the document front side guide 251 is regulated by contacting the standing regulation surface 253 c formed integrally with the front rack 253. The upright regulation surface 253c is formed such that the front document side regulation surface 251a of the front document side guide 251 is perpendicular to the document tray stacking surface 201a of the document tray 201.
[0058]
The front rack 253 is also provided with a document support surface 253a for supporting a document placed on the document loading surface 201a of the document tray 201 from below. The document supporting surface 253a is formed substantially flush with the document loading surface 201a.
[0059]
When the document front side guide 251 overcomes the attraction force of the magnet 258 and is tilted counterclockwise, the magnet 258 and the magnet catch sheet metal 259 are separated from each other and are held at the tilted position indicated by the solid line in FIG. .
[0060]
The document front side guide 251 that is tilted to the solid line position in FIG. 6 is retracted to a position lower than the sheet stacking surface, for example, the document stacking surface 201a of the sheet stacking unit, for example, the document tray 201. . Therefore, when the original bundle P is set on the original tray 201, the original bundle P can be moved to the back side (in the direction of the arrow Y) with the original bundle P placed on the original stacking surface 201a.
[0061]
Therefore, the original is slid with the front side P (F) of the original bundle P until the rear side P (Re) of the original bundle P hits the original rear side regulating surface 252a (in the direction of the arrow Y). Thereafter, the document is moved in the direction of arrow X until the left side P (L) of the document bundle abuts on the sheet feeding set position P2 while the rear side P (Re) of the document bundle P is along the document rear side regulating surface 252a. . Next, the document front side guide 251 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 6 to be raised and fixed at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line. Finally, the rotation of the pinion gear 255 causes the document front side guide 251 and the document back side guide 252 to approach each other, so that the side guide surface 251a and the side guide surface 252a regulate the side of the document bundle P.
[0062]
The paper feed set position P2 is a position where the document abuts on, for example, a stopper 202 which is the receiving and aligning portion of the document conveying device 80 described above. The stopper 202 is disposed in a direction orthogonal to the document front side guide 251 and the document back side guide 252.
[0063]
As described above, in the document stacking device 281 of the second embodiment, since the document front side guide 251 can be tilted to the near side, the user can set the document front side guide 251 when setting the document. By retreating from the document tray 201, the document can be moved to the back side while being placed on the document tray 201, and there is no need to carry the document on the document front side guide 251 or in a circuitous manner from the right side. For this reason, the document stacking device 281 of the second embodiment can reliably set the document while the user holds the front side of the document, and can prevent a document stacking defect.
[0064]
Also, if the document front side guide 251 is retracted, the user can view the document back side guide 252 from the front even from a low viewpoint. When the document is set at P2 (left direction), the document is easily moved between the document back side guide 252 and the document front side guide 251 by moving the document along the document back side guide 252, and the sheet feeding set position is set. The document can be set at P2, and a document placement failure can be prevented.
[0065]
As described above, the document stacking device 281 of the second embodiment can easily and surely place a document on the document tray 1 even if the user is short in height or in a wheelchair. Improper placement can be prevented.
[0066]
In the document stacking device 281 according to the present embodiment, similarly to the document stacking device 81 according to the first embodiment, the length in the transport direction of, for example, the document back side guide 252, which is the rear alignment unit, is set to the front side. For example, the length may be longer than the length in the transport direction of the document front side guide 251 serving as the alignment unit.
[0067]
The document front side guides 51 and 251 and the document back side guides 52 and 252 are configured to approach and separate from each other by a rack and a pinion gear, but the document back side guides 52 and 252 are fixed and the document front side guides 51 and 251 are fixed. However, it may be arranged so as to approach or separate from the document inner side guides 52 and 252. In other words, at least the positions of the document front side guides 51 and 251 can be adjusted so that the distance between the document front side guides 51 and 251 and the document back side guides 52 and 252 can be adjusted.
[0068]
Further, the document front side guides 51 and 251 of the document stacking devices 81 and 281 of the first and second embodiments and the left ends of the document back side guides 52 and 252 are arranged at positions aligned in the front-rear direction.
[0069]
The document stacking devices 81 and 281 of the first and second embodiments have the same functions and effects even when provided on the manual feed tray 95 shown in FIG. Further, the document stacking device of the present embodiment may be provided in a sheet conveying device mounted on an image forming device, for example, a copying machine or a laser beam printer. Therefore, the sheet stacking device of the present invention is not provided only in the sheet conveying device that sends a document to a position where an image is read.
[0070]
The document feeder 80 is equipped with any one of the document stacking devices 81 and 281 of the first and second embodiments that can reliably set a document, so that the document can be fed reliably.
[0071]
Since the printer 70 has the document feeder 80 to which the document is reliably supplied, the image of the document can be reliably read and the image of the document can be accurately copied on the recording material. Further, when a document stacking device is provided on the manual feed tray 95, the recording material can be accurately set on the manual feed tray 95. Therefore, the printer 70 can form an image accurately at a predetermined position on the recording material. Can be.
[0072]
【The invention's effect】
In the sheet stacking device of the present invention, since the left-right length of the rear-side alignment unit is longer than the left-right length of the front-side alignment unit, the user is short in height or in a wheelchair. However, the sheet can be easily and reliably placed between the pair of alignment portions, and the placement failure of the sheet can be prevented.
[0073]
Since the sheet stacking device of the present invention is configured such that the near-side alignment section can be tilted toward the near side, even a user who is short in height or in a wheelchair can easily place the sheet between the pair of alignment sections. In addition, the sheet can be placed reliably, and the sheet placement failure can be prevented.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a printer as an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the printer is cut along a conveying direction of a recording material.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the document conveying device, which is an example of the sheet conveying device according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the document conveying device is broken along a document conveying direction.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the document stacking device of the first embodiment, which is an example of the sheet stacking device of the document conveyance device of FIG. 2, viewed from the direction of arrow Z;
FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining an alignment operation for aligning an original in the original stacking apparatus of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a document stacking device according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a raising / lowering operation of a document front side guide of the document stacking device of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a printer as an example of a conventional image forming apparatus, in which the printer is cut along a recording material conveying direction.
8 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a document is set on a document tray of a document stacking unit of the printer in FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is a plan view of the document stacking unit when FIG. 8 is viewed from an arrow Z direction.
FIG. 10 is a state diagram when an original is set on the original tray of the original stacking unit of the printer in FIG. 7 by another procedure.
FIG. 11 is a plan view of the document stacking unit when FIG. 10 is viewed from the direction of arrow Z;
[Explanation of symbols]
B Paper feeder
C Document feeder
D Reverse paper output unit
E Image forming unit (image forming means)
P Document Bundle
Right side of P (R) document bundle
P (L) left side of document bundle
P0 Original position
P2 Original set position
P (F) Front side of document bundle
P (Re) Back side of document bundle
S Recording material
L1 Length of the document front side guide in the transport direction
L2 Length of document back side guide in the transport direction
Z arrow
1 Document tray (sheet loading section)
1a Document loading surface (sheet loading surface)
2 Stopper (receiving alignment part)
3. Paper feed roller (sheet conveying means)
51 Document Front Side Guide (Front Alignment Section, One Pair of Alignment Sections)
51a Side regulation surface in front of original
52 Document Back Side Guide (Back Side Alignment Section, One Pair of Alignment Sections)
52a Document back side regulating surface
70 Printer (image forming device)
71 Main unit
80 Document Conveyor (Sheet Conveyor)
81 Document Loading Device (Sheet Loading Device) of First Embodiment
88 Photoconductor drum
201 Document Tray (Sheet Loading Unit)
201a Document loading surface (sheet loading surface)
202 Stopper (receiving alignment part)
251 Document Front Side Guide (Front Alignment Section, One Pair of Alignment Sections)
252 Document back side guide (back side alignment section, pair of alignment sections)
258 magnet
259 Magnet catch sheet metal
281 Document Loading Device (Sheet Loading Device) of Second Embodiment

Claims (8)

A sheet stacking unit on which sheets are stacked,
A pair of alignment units that can adjust an interval for aligning the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit from the front-rear direction of the sheet stacking unit;
The sheet stacking device according to claim 1, wherein, in the pair of matching portions, a length in the left-right direction of the matching portion on the back side is longer than a length in the left-right direction of the matching portion on the near side. A sheet stacking unit on which sheets are stacked,
A pair of alignment units that can adjust an interval for aligning the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit from the front-rear direction of the sheet stacking unit;
The sheet stacking device, wherein a front-side alignment unit of the pair of alignment units can be turned upside down. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the near-side alignment unit is configured to be able to be turned upside down. 4. The sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the near-side alignment unit is positioned below a sheet stacking surface of the sheet stacking unit when the front-side alignment unit is tilted forward. A sheet loading device on which sheets are loaded,
A sheet transport unit that transports the sheet loaded on the sheet loading device to a supplied device,
The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet stacking device is the sheet stacking device according to claim 1. The sheet stacking device further includes a receiving alignment unit disposed downstream of the sheet stacking unit in the sheet conveying direction in a direction intersecting with the sheet conveying direction and receiving a downstream end of the sheet. The sheet conveying device according to claim 5, wherein A sheet loading device on which sheets are loaded,
Sheet transporting means capable of transporting the sheet loaded on the sheet loading device to image reading means,
Image forming means for forming image information read by the image reading means on a recording material,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet stacking device is a sheet stacking device, wherein the sheet is a document. The sheet stacking device further includes a receiving alignment unit disposed downstream of the sheet stacking unit in the document conveying direction in a direction intersecting with the document conveying direction and receiving a downstream end of the document. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7.

Images