JP2007022754A - Paper feeder, and image forming device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper feeder capable of reliably and manually feeding paper sheets of smaller size such as postal cards. <P>SOLUTION: The paper feeder 30 has a manual paper feed unit 40 for manually feeding paper sheets P into a device body 11 of a printer 10. The manual paper feed unit 40 comprises a manual feed tray 61 for guiding the manual feed of the paper sheets P, and a pair of cursors 63 provided on the manual feed tray 61 and capable of performing the forward/reverse movement to/from the paper sheet width direction orthogonal to the paper sheet conveying direction according to the width of the paper sheets P. The pair of cursors 63 is movable toward the device body 11 in a state in which they are positionally set to the predetermined minimum spacing. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper feeding device that is applied to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a printer and feeds a transfer sheet, and an image forming apparatus using the same.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sheet feeding device for feeding a sheet as a transfer material toward an image forming unit of an image forming apparatus as described in Patent Document 1 is known. This paper feeding device is a paper cassette that is removably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus and stores a plurality of standard papers. The paper feeding device is provided on the top of the paper cassette and has a small size such as a postcard. And a manual paper feed unit used when manually feeding one sheet of non-standard paper one by one.

  The manual sheet feeding unit includes a plate-shaped sheet feeding table on which a sheet can be placed, and a pair of cursors provided on the sheet feeding table for guiding the straight feeding of the sheet. The paper feed base is configured to be detachable with respect to the paper cassette, and the posture can be changed between a vertical posture housed in the paper cassette and a horizontal posture drawn from the paper cassette.

  When manually feeding paper, the paper feed stand is pulled out of the paper cassette and set in a horizontal posture, and the distance between the pair of cursors is adjusted according to the width of the paper. By manually feeding the paper while being guided by the cursor, the manually fed paper directly reaches the registration roller provided at the upstream end of the image forming unit, and thereby smooth paper feeding is performed manually. When manual sheet feeding is not performed, the sheet feeding table is stored in the sheet cassette in a vertical posture, so that there is no inconvenience that the protruding sheet feeding table becomes an obstacle.

  On the other hand, when the standard paper is automatically fed from the paper bundle stored in the paper cassette, the paper feed roller provided at the paper feed position of the paper cassette is driven and rotated. One sheet of paper is fed from the bundle toward the image forming unit.

According to the paper feeding device described in Patent Document 1, the manual paper feeding unit is provided in the paper cassette, so that the manual paper feeding unit is provided in a separate position from the paper cassette in the apparatus main body. Compared to the case, the structure of the transport system for transporting the paper is simplified, and there is an advantage that the apparatus cost can be reduced.
Japanese Patent No. 3270613

  However, the paper feeding device described in Patent Document 1 cannot be extended to a deep position in the main body of the device due to the installation position, and thus is provided only on the paper feeding port side. Therefore, there is no particular problem when manually feeding A4-size plain paper, but when feeding small-size paper such as postcards manually, downstream of the small-size paper in the transport direction. Since only the position is guided by the cursor, it is difficult to feed the paper straight, and as a result, there is a problem that the paper may be fed while being tilted.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem. For example, a sheet feeding device including a manual sheet feeding unit that can reliably feed even a small size sheet such as a postcard and the like, and An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus using the same.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feeding device including a manual paper feeding unit for manually feeding paper into the main body of the image forming apparatus, wherein the manual paper feeding unit is configured to feed paper manually. A manual feed tray for guiding paper, and a pair of cursors provided on the manual feed tray and capable of moving forward and backward in a paper width direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction according to the width of the paper. The cursor is configured to be movable toward the inside of the apparatus main body.

  According to such a configuration, when manually feeding paper into the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus via the manual paper feeder, the distance between the pair of cursors is adjusted in advance according to the width of the paper. By moving the sheet toward the inside of the apparatus main body, the sheet is fed straight without shifting in the width direction.

  As described above, the pair of cursors are configured to be movable toward the inside of the apparatus main body, so that the cursor can be used not only for a normal size paper but also for a small size paper such as a postcard. By moving toward the main body, it is possible to manually feed the paper along the cursor. Therefore, unlike the conventional method, when manually feeding small-size paper, the cursor does not correspond to the small-size paper reliably, so that it is not possible to feed straightly because the cursor is inclined. Occurrence is reliably prevented.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the manual feed tray has a pair of guide portions for guiding the movement of the pair of cursors, and the guide portions are provided in the apparatus main body of the cursor. It has a front-rear dimension that allows movement toward the front.

  According to such a configuration, the cursor can be stably moved in the paper width direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction by being guided by the guide portion, and the guide portion is directed into the apparatus main body of the cursor. By having a front-rear dimension that allows movement, it is also possible to move in the paper transport direction.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the manual feed tray has a pair of guide portions for guiding the pair of cursors, respectively, and the pair of guide portions are respectively directed in the paper width direction. The width direction moving guide formed so as to extend in the forward and backward direction, and the pair of cursors in the width direction moving guide can be moved in the sheet conveying direction from the portion where the pair of cursors are set at the minimum separation distance. And a guide.

  According to such a configuration, the pair of cursors can move in the paper width direction while being guided by the width direction moving guide, and when the paper to be manually fed is a small size paper, the distance between the pair of cursors is increased. After setting the minimum separation distance, each cursor can be advanced toward the inside of the apparatus main body while being guided by the front-rear direction moving guide.

  As described above, by providing the guide portion including the width direction moving guide and the front and rear direction moving guide, the cursor is guided in the guide portion, so that the cursor is stabilized in both the paper width direction and the paper transport direction. Can be moved in the state.

  Then, by setting the minimum distance between the pair of cursors to the width of a small size paper such as a postcard, the distance between the pair of cursors is minimum when manually feeding the small size paper. After adjusting the distance to be separated, the pair of cursors are moved toward the main body of the apparatus, so that each cursor approaches the position for transporting the paper in the main body of the apparatus and the width direction of the small size paper. Therefore, the small-size sheet is fed straight into the apparatus main body without being shifted laterally or obliquely.

  In this way, by configuring the pair of cursors so that they can be moved into the apparatus main body while being positioned at a predetermined minimum separation distance, the cursors can be moved even on small-size paper such as postcards. By moving toward the main body, it is possible to manually feed the paper along the cursor. Therefore, unlike the conventional method, when manually feeding small-size paper, the cursor does not correspond to the small-size paper reliably, so that it is not possible to feed straightly because the cursor is inclined. Occurrence is reliably prevented.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cursor support member that moves while being guided by the width direction movement guide in a state in which the cursor is supported, and the cursor has the minimum separation distance. In the state where the position is set to the position, it is configured such that it is separated from the cursor support member and is guided by the front-rear direction moving guide.

  According to this configuration, by moving the cursor support member along the width direction moving guide, the cursor supported by the width direction moving guide also moves in the same manner. In a state where the distance between the pair of cursor support members is minimized, the cursor can be moved forward and backward along the guide for movement in the front-rear direction after being removed from the cursor support member.

  As described above, the pair of cursors are configured to be separated from the cursor support member and guided to the front-rear direction moving guide while being set at the minimum separation distance. Therefore, the structure for moving forward is simplified as compared with the case where the structure is performed together with the cursor support member.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the manual sheet feeding unit is extended to an upstream end of a transfer unit that transfers an image onto a sheet in the image forming apparatus. The manual feed tray has a posture between a storage posture connected to the upstream end of the fixed tray and a drawing posture separated from the fixed tray by being pulled out from the storage posture. The second manual feed tray is configured to be changeable, and is configured to form a second manual feed tray connected to the fixed tray in a state in which the manual feed tray is set to a drawing posture.

  According to such a configuration, in a state where the manual feed tray is set to the drawer posture, the upper surface of the fixed tray extended to the upstream end of the transfer unit, and the upper surface of the manual tray connected to the upstream end of the fixed tray. Therefore, when performing manual feeding, even if the paper is of a small size, such as a postcard, the paper is guided by these manual and fixed trays in a stable state. Paper is fed.

  On the other hand, in the state where the manual paper feeding unit is set to the drawing posture, the second manual tray is formed between the apparatus main body and the manual tray separated from the apparatus main body. The paper can be fed manually through the manual feed tray.

  In this way, the second manual feed tray that protrudes a considerable amount from the apparatus main body is formed with the manual feed tray pulled out, so that the structure of the manual feed unit is simplified and The user can select a mode (that is, a mode in which manual feeding is performed while the manual tray is stored or manual feeding is performed with the manual tray being pulled out).

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus using the paper feeding device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects.

  According to such a configuration, the image forming apparatus has the function of the sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the pair of cursors provided on the manual feed tray are configured to be movable toward the inside of the apparatus main body, not only normal-size paper but also small sizes such as postcards are provided. Can be manually fed in a state along the cursor by moving the cursor into the apparatus main body. Therefore, unlike the conventional method, when manually feeding small-size paper, the cursor does not correspond to the small-size paper reliably, so that it is not possible to feed straightly because the cursor is inclined. Occurrence can be reliably prevented.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the manual feed tray has a pair of guide portions that respectively guide the movement of the pair of cursors, and each guide portion is before and after allowing the movement of the cursor into the apparatus main body. Since it has dimensions, the cursor can be moved stably in the paper width direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction by being guided by the guide unit, and also can be moved in the paper conveyance direction. Can move.

  Thus, by setting the front-rear dimension of the guide portion to a dimension that allows movement of the cursor into the apparatus main body (that is, by setting the shape to a wide rectangular shape), the structure of the manual feed tray can be simplified. It is possible to easily secure the movement of the cursor from front to back and from side to side.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the manual feed tray is provided with a pair of guide portions for guiding the movement of the pair of cursors, and each guide portion includes a width direction moving guide and a longitudinal direction moving guide. Therefore, the cursor can be easily moved in a stable state in both the paper width direction and the paper conveyance direction by guiding the cursor to the guide portion.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the pair of cursors are configured to be separated from the cursor support member and guided to the front-rear direction moving guide in a state where the pair of cursors are set at the minimum separation distance. The structure for advancing the head toward the apparatus main body can be simplified as compared with the case where it is performed together with the cursor support member.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the second manual feed tray that protrudes from the apparatus main body by a considerable amount is formed in the state in which the manual feed tray is pulled out, the structure of the manual paper feeder is simplified. Thus, the user can select a manual feed mode (that is, a mode in which manual feed is performed while the manual tray is stored, or manual feed is performed while the manual tray is pulled out).

  According to the invention described in claim 6, the image forming apparatus can be provided with the effect of the sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a printer to which a paper feeding device according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 1A is a state where a movable tray of a manual paper feeding unit is set to a storage posture. (B) shows a state in which the movable tray of the manual sheet feeder is set to the drawer posture. In FIG. 1, the XX direction is referred to as the left-right direction, and the YY direction is referred to as the front-rear direction. In particular, the -X direction is referred to as the left, the + X direction is referred to as the right, the -Y direction is referred to as the front, and the + Y direction is referred to as the rear.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a printer (image forming apparatus) 10 performs an image forming process based on image information input from an external device such as a computer and performs a transfer process on a sheet P. It is configured by mounting various devices for image formation in the apparatus main body 11 which has a box shape set in a concave fan shape.

  The apparatus main body 11 includes a pair of side plates 111 in the left-right width direction having a fan shape, a top plate 112 having an arc shape in a side view that is installed between the upper edges of the pair of side plates 111, and the top plate 112. A front plate 113 suspended from the front edge of the top plate 112 to a substantially intermediate position in the vertical direction, a rear plate 114 (FIG. 2) suspended from the rear edge of the top plate 112 to a substantially intermediate position in the vertical direction, A partition plate 115 (FIG. 2) is provided between the pair of side plates 111 at a substantially intermediate position. Various devices for image formation, which will be described later, are mounted on the upper part of the partition plate 115 in the apparatus main body 11, and a paper cassette 31 described in detail later is mounted on the lower part of the partition plate 115 in a detachable manner. .

  An arc-shaped front plate 32 of a paper cassette 31 to be described later is provided below the front plate 113, and a concave groove 321 formed by cutting an upper edge portion thereof in the left-right direction with a predetermined vertical dimension. A manual paper feed unit 40, which will be described later, is detachably provided in the concave groove 321. When paper is fed manually, the paper P is introduced into the apparatus main body 11 through the manual paper feed unit 40 in a state of being pulled out from the concave groove 321.

  On the other hand, the top plate 112 is provided with a paper discharge tray 117 formed by recessing the central portion of the top plate downwardly toward the rear, and a predetermined transfer process is performed in the apparatus main body 11. The paper P is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 117 through a paper discharge port 117 a opened in the rear wall of the paper discharge tray 117.

  In addition, a louver 118 in which a plurality of lattices extending in the vertical direction are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction is provided at the upper rear portion of each side plate 111, and the outside air taken in from one louver 118 is provided in the other louver 118. The apparatus main body 11 is subjected to a cooling process by discharging from the apparatus.

  2 and 3 are side sectional views for explaining the outline of the internal structure of the printer 10. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the paper cassette 31 is stored in the storage position T1, and FIG. The state where the paper cassette 31 is drawn to the drawing position T2 is shown. The direction indication (front-rear direction) by Y in FIGS. 2 and 3 is the same as in FIG. 1 (−Y: front, + Y: rear).

  As shown in these drawings, the printer 10 stores the paper P to be subjected to the printing process, and feeds the paper P one by one from the stored bundle of paper P (paper bundle P1), or manually feeds it. A sheet feeding device 30 configured to be capable of printing paper, an image transfer unit (transfer unit) 20 that performs an image transfer process on the sheet P supplied from the sheet feeding device 30, and the image A fixing unit 27 that performs a fixing process on the paper P that has been subjected to a transfer process by the transfer unit 20 is provided at a position above the partition plate 115 in the apparatus main body 11. The paper P that has been subjected to fixing processing by the fixing unit 27 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 117.

  The paper feeding device 30 includes a paper cassette 31 for storing a paper bundle P1 that is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 11, and a manual paper feeding unit 40 provided on the top of the paper cassette 31. It is prepared for. The apparatus main body 11 is provided with a large-diameter paper feed roller 311 for feeding the paper P one by one from the paper bundle P1 at a position corresponding to the upstream side (right side in FIG. 2) of the paper cassette 31. A small-diameter conveying roller 312 is provided immediately above the sheet feeding roller. On the other hand, the paper cassette 31 is provided with a paper feed roller 312a on the side of the paper cassette 31 facing the transport roller 312, and a pair of paper feed rollers is formed by the pair of transport rollers 312 and 312a. Then, the paper P fed out of the paper cassette 31 by driving the paper feed roller 311 passes through the feed rollers 312 and 312a through the paper feed conveyance path (guide surface) 313 and the registration roller pair 314 provided at the downstream end thereof. Then, the paper is fed to the image transfer unit 20. The paper cassette 31 and the manual paper feed unit 40 will be described in detail later.

  The image transfer unit 20 performs a transfer process on the paper P based on image information transmitted from a computer or the like, and is provided so as to be rotatable around a drum core extending in the left-right direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 2). A charger 22, an exposure device 23, a developing device 24, a transfer roller 25, and a cleaning device 26 are arranged in a clockwise direction from a position immediately above the photosensitive drum 21 along the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 thus formed. It is formed by being.

  The photosensitive drum 21 is for forming an electrostatic latent image and a toner image along the electrostatic latent image on the peripheral surface, and an amorphous silicon layer is laminated on the peripheral surface. It is suitable for forming.

  The charger 22 forms a uniform charge on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 rotating clockwise around the drum center. In this embodiment, the photosensitive member is subjected to corona discharge from a wire. A corona discharge type that applies a charge to the peripheral surface of the drum 21 is employed. Instead, the peripheral surface of the photoconductive drum 21 rotates while being driven while being in contact with the peripheral surface of the photoconductive drum 21. You may employ | adopt the charging roller system which provides an electric charge to a surrounding surface.

  The exposure device 23 irradiates the peripheral surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 21 with laser light to which intensity is applied based on image data transmitted from an external device such as a computer, and the photosensitive drum 21 is thereby radiated. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by erasing the electric charge in the portion irradiated with the laser beam on the peripheral surface.

The developing device 24 supplies the toner in the developer to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to attach the toner to the portion where the electrostatic latent image is formed on the peripheral surface. A toner image is formed on the peripheral surface. In the present invention, a so-called two-component system composed of toner and carrier is used as the developer. The toner is a fine powder having a particle diameter of 6 to 12 μm in which additives such as a colorant, a charge control agent and wax are dispersed in a binder resin. The carrier is magnetic particles having a particle size of 60 to 200 μm such as magnetite (Fe ₃ O ₄ ), and is used for charging the toner. The toner is a consumable that is appropriately replenished from the toner cartridge 241 to the developing device 24, whereas a predetermined amount of the carrier is loaded in the developing device 24 in advance, and is circulated and used without being consumed. In the present invention, the toner cartridge 241 is loaded with toner and a carrier (that is, a developer), and both the toner and the carrier are supplied to the developing device 24 at the same time.

  The transfer roller 25 transfers a positively charged toner image formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 onto the paper P with respect to the paper P sent to a position immediately below the photosensitive drum 21. A negative charge having a polarity opposite to that of the toner image is applied to the paper P.

  Therefore, the sheet P sent to the position immediately below the photosensitive drum 21 is pressed and sandwiched between the transfer roller 25 and the photosensitive drum 21, and the toner image on the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 21 charged positively is negatively charged. The sheet P is peeled off toward the surface of the paper P, whereby the transfer process is performed on the paper P.

  The cleaning device 26 is for removing the toner remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 after the transfer process to the paper P and cleaning it. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 cleaned by the cleaning device 26 is again directed to the charger 22 for the next image forming process.

  The fixing unit 27 performs a fixing process by heating the toner image of the paper P that has been subjected to the transfer process in the image transfer unit 20, and includes a heat roller 271 in which an energizing heating element such as a halogen lamp is mounted. And a pressure roller 272 having a peripheral surface opposed to the lower portion of the heat roller 271. Then, the paper P after the transfer process is composed of a heat roller 271 that is driven to rotate clockwise around the roller center and a pressure roller 272 that is driven to rotate counterclockwise around the roller center. By passing through the nip portion between them, heat from the heat roller 271 is obtained and the fixing process is performed. The paper P subjected to the fixing process is discharged to the paper discharge tray 117 through the paper discharge conveyance path 273.

  The manual paper feed unit 40, which is a component of the paper feed device 30, has a fixed tray 50 whose rear edge is the upstream end of the image transfer unit 20 and extends to a position directly above the paper feed roller 312a. The movable tray 60 connected to the upstream end of the fixed tray 50 is provided. The movable tray 60 can be changed in posture between a storage posture S1 (FIG. 5) stored in the paper cassette 31 and a drawing posture S2 (FIG. 6) pulled out from the paper cassette 31. The paper P can be manually fed by setting the posture 31 to the drawing posture S2 while the posture 31 is set to the storage position T1.

  Hereinafter, the sheet feeder 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the first embodiment of the paper feeding device 30. FIGS. 5 and 6 are assembled perspective views of the paper feeding device 30. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the movable tray 60 of the manual paper feeding unit 40 is set to the storage posture S1, and FIG. The state is shown in which the movable tray 60 of the paper section 40 is set to the drawer posture S2. In particular, in FIG. 6, the state where the cursor 63 is set at the normal position U1 is indicated by a solid line, and the state where the cursor 63 is slid to the downstream position U2 is indicated by a two-dot chain line. Incidentally, the direction display by X and Y in FIGS. 4 to 6 is the same as in FIG. 1 ((X is the left-right direction (−X: leftward, + X: rightward), Y is the front-back direction (−Y: forward) , + Y: backward))).

  First, based on FIG. 4, the paper cassette 31 to which the manual paper feed unit 40 is mounted will be described prior to the description of the manual paper feed unit 40. The paper cassette 31 has an arcuate front plate 32 whose front surface bulges outward (frontward) in an arc shape and a rear edge from the lower edge of the back surface (rear surface) side of the arcuate front plate 32 toward the rear. An extended bottom plate 33 and a pair of side plates 34 projecting upward from the left and right side portions of the bottom plate 33 and extending in the front-rear direction are provided.

  Guided projecting pieces 341 projecting in opposite directions are provided at appropriate positions of the side plates, while the pair of side plates 111 (FIG. 3) of the apparatus main body 11 are provided with the guided projecting pieces. Guide grooves 111a extending in the front-rear direction corresponding to 341 are respectively recessed, and the paper cassette 31 is housed in the apparatus main body 11 by forward and reverse movement of each guided protrusion 341 while being guided by these guide grooves 111a. The position can be changed between the housed storage position T1 (FIG. 2) and the drawing position T2 (FIG. 3) protruding outward from the apparatus main body 11.

  The bottom plate 33 is provided with a longitudinal movement guide recess 331 extending in the longitudinal direction at a central position in the lateral direction on the upper surface side thereof, and a longitudinal position restriction capable of moving back and forth while being guided by the longitudinal movement guide recess 331. A member 35 is provided. The front / rear position restricting member 35 is for restricting the rear end position of the sheet bundle P1 (FIG. 1) placed on the bottom plate 33, and includes a horizontal plate 351 that slides in the front / rear movement guide recess 331; The vertical plate 352 is erected from the rear end of the horizontal plate 351. Then, the vertical plate 352 can be moved in accordance with the paper size so as to be brought into contact with the rear end of the paper bundle P1.

  The bottom plate 33 is provided with a pair of left and right movement guide recesses 332 in the front position on the upper surface thereof, and a pair of left and right positions movable in the left and right directions while being guided by the left and right movement guide recesses 332. A regulating member 36 is provided. These left and right position restricting members 36 are for restricting the left and right positions of the sheet bundle P1 (FIG. 1) placed on the bottom plate 33, and include a horizontal plate 361 that slides in the left and right motion guide recess 332; Each horizontal plate 361 has a vertical plate 362 erected from opposite edges in the left-right direction. Then, the sheet bundle P1 can be held between the pair of vertical plates 362 by moving the left and right position regulating members 36 by the same amount according to the sheet size.

  Accordingly, the sheet bundle P1 placed on the bottom plate 33 of the sheet cassette 31 is positioned in the sheet cassette 31 by being sandwiched between the front and rear position restricting member 35 and the pair of left and right position restricting members 36.

  Further, at the position of the front half of the bottom plate 33, an urging plate 37 is provided for urging the front half of the sheet bundle P1 placed without interfering with the left-right position regulating member 36 upward. . The urging plate 37 is pivotally supported around a support shaft 371 (FIG. 2) extending in the left-right direction at the rear end side, and is urged upward by a coil spring 372 (FIG. 2). As a result, the uppermost sheet P of the sheet bundle P1 loaded in the sheet cassette 31 comes into contact with the sheet feeding roller 311 in a state where the sheet cassette 31 is stored in the apparatus main body 11. Accordingly, the uppermost sheet P of the sheet bundle P1 is sequentially driven toward the image transfer unit 20 via the sheet feed roller 311, the conveyance rollers 312 and 312 a, and the sheet conveyance path 313 when the sheet feed roller 311 is driven and rotated. Will be paid out.

  The manual paper feed unit 40 including the fixed tray 50 and the movable tray 60 is formed at the front position of the paper cassette 31. In order to mount the manual paper feed unit 40 on the paper cassette 31, a concave groove 321 for receiving the movable tray 60 formed by recessing the central part in the left-right direction is formed in the upper part of the arcuate front plate 32. In addition, a pair of left and right side walls 322 are provided on the back surface (rear surface) of the arcuate front plate 32. A mounting space V in which the fixed tray 50 is mounted is formed in a portion surrounded by the pair of side walls 322, the arc-shaped front plate 32, the paper feed roller 311, and the side walls 322.

  The fixed tray 50 is for guiding the paper P manually fed through the movable tray 60 to the paper feed / conveying path 313 (FIG. 2). And a tray support member 52 for supporting 51. The tray body 51 is set to have a left-right dimension substantially the same as a left-right dimension of the concave groove 321 of the arcuate front plate 32 and a front-rear width dimension substantially the same as the front-rear width dimension of the mounting space V. As a result, the sheet feeding roller 311 and the conveying roller 312 on the rear side of the mounting space V can be covered in a state of being mounted in the mounting space V.

  The tray support member 52 includes a tray support plate 521 whose planar shape is set to be the same as that of the tray main body 51, and a left-right direction projecting downward from a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of the tray support plate 521. The rear plate 522 extends and the front plate 523 extends upward from the lower edge of the rear plate 522. The tray body 51 is fixed in close contact with the tray support plate 521.

  The rear plate 522 and the front plate 523 are shaped so that they can be inserted into the mounting space V from above in consideration of the positional relationship with the paper feed roller 311, the conveyance roller 312, and the like. When the rear plate 522 and the front plate 523 are inserted into the mounting space V and fixed, the fixed tray 50 is mounted at a predetermined position of the paper cassette 31 as shown in FIGS. It has become. A storage space V1 for storing the movable tray 60 set in the storage posture S1 is formed between the rear plate 522 and the front plate 523.

  The movable tray 60 includes a manual feed tray 61 that guides the manually fed paper P in a state in which the posture is set to the drawer posture S2 (FIG. 6), and the paper cassette 31 in a state in which the posture is set to the storage posture S1 (FIG. 5). And a pair of left and right cursors 63 provided on the upper surface of the manual feed tray 61. The lid 62 closes the concave groove 321 provided in the arc-shaped front plate 32. The lid 62 is connected to the manual tray 61 in a state of being bent downward from the front edge of the manual tray 61 in FIG.

  The manual feed tray 61 is set to have a lateral dimension slightly shorter than the lateral dimension of the concave groove 321 provided in the arcuate front plate 32 of the paper cassette 31, and the front-rear width dimension of the concave groove 321. When the movable tray 60 is set to the drawer posture S2 by being set to be considerably longer than the front-rear width dimension (substantially three times in this embodiment), as shown in FIG. A considerable amount protrudes forward from the arcuate front plate 32 of the paper cassette 31.

  On the other hand, the lid 62 is set to have the same left / right dimension as that of the manual feed tray 61, while the front / rear width dimension is set to be the same as that of the concave groove 321 over the entire length (that is, the tip edge portion is The concave groove 321 is formed in the same arc shape as that of the plan view), and thereby the movable tray 60 is set in the storage posture S1, whereby the manual feed tray 61 is stored in the storage space V1. As shown in 1 (a) and FIG. 5, the lid 62 fits into the concave groove 321, thereby closing the concave groove 321 and not projecting forward from the arc-shaped front plate 32 of the paper cassette 31. It is like that. Incidentally, the movable tray 60 is structurally strong by fixing T-shaped reinforcing members 64 to both ends of the manual feed tray 61 and the lid 62, respectively.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the sheet P cannot be manually fed in a state where the movable tray 60 is set to the storage posture S1 (FIG. 5), whereas the movable tray 60 is pulled out (see FIG. 6). ), The paper P can be manually fed via the manual tray 61.

  Each cursor 63 is guided by a pair of guide elongated holes (guide portions) 611 provided in the manual feed tray 61 and extends in the left-right direction, and can move forward and backward in the paper width direction, and in the paper transport direction. However, the width dimension in the front-rear direction is wide so that it can be moved forward and backward, so that the inner dimension between the pair of cursors 63 is made to correspond to the sheet width of the sheet P to be manually fed, and then each cursor 63 is concerned. Can be moved into the apparatus main body 11.

  The pair of guide long holes 611 are provided symmetrically in a state of being slightly shifted back and forth in the manual feed tray body 61, and the minimum separation distance between them is the lateral dimension (shorter dimension) of the postcard-size paper P. In addition to being set to be substantially the same, the maximum separation dimension is set to be approximately the same as the vertical dimension of the A4 size paper P (the longer dimension, the same as the horizontal dimension of the A3 size paper P). The distance between the cursors 63 can be adjusted from the postcard size paper P to the large A3 size paper P.

  Further, guided shafts 641 projecting in opposite directions protrude from the front end positions of the respective reinforcing members 64 in FIG. 4, while a pair of side walls 322 provided on the back side of the arcuate front plate 32. Are provided with guide grooves 323 facing each other and extending in the vertical direction, and each guided shaft 641 is fitted into the corresponding guide groove 323, so that each of the guided shafts 641 has each guided shaft 641. The storage posture S1 (FIG. 5) in which the manual feed tray 61 is stored in the storage space V1 while being guided by the guide groove 323, and the manual feed tray 61 is pulled out from the storage space V1 and is flush with the tray body 51 of the fixed tray 50. The posture can be changed between the drawing posture S2 (FIG. 6).

  FIG. 7 is a rear perspective view of the movable tray 60 for explaining an embodiment of the interlocking structure of the pair of cursors 63. As shown in FIG. 7, a pair of cursor support members 65 that move in the left-right direction while being guided by a pair of left and right guide slots 611 are provided on the back side of the manual feed tray 61 in the movable tray 60. These cursor support members 65 detachably support the corresponding cursors 63, and rack teeth 651 are provided on the opposing edge surfaces of each, and the pin teeth 66 are engaged with each other via pinion members 66 engaged with each other. It is connected. The pinion member 66 is provided at a substantially central portion of the manual feed tray 61.

  In addition, guide concave grooves 612 for guiding the movement of each cursor support member 65 are provided on the back side of the manual feed tray 61, and each cursor support member 65 is guided to the corresponding guide concave groove 612. Thus, forward / reverse movement in the left-right direction is performed smoothly.

  The pinion member 66 includes a pinion body 661 that meshes with each rack tooth 651 of a pair of cursor support members 65 facing each other, and a flange 662 that is concentrically formed integrally with the pinion body 661. The diameter of the flange 662 is set to be slightly larger than the diameter of the pinion body 661. The pinion member 66 is pivotally supported around the central axis 663 at the center position of the manual feed tray 61. Each cursor support member 65 meshed with the pinion body 661 due to the presence of the flange 662 is prevented from coming off.

  According to the interlocking structure of the cursor 63, this movement is transmitted to the pinion main body 661 via the rack teeth 651 of the one cursor support member 65 by moving one cursor 63 along the guide slot 611. Then, the pinion member 66 rotates around the central axis 663, and this rotation is transmitted to the cursor support member 65 via the rack teeth 651 of the other cursor support member 65, whereby the other cursor support member 65 is Since it moves by the same amount in the opposite direction to the cursor support member 65, the other cursor 63 is also interlocked by operating only one cursor 63 after all.

  The pair of cursors 63 are movably held by such a cursor support member 65. FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view seen from the back side showing an embodiment of the holding structure 70 of the cursor 63, and shows the left side in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the holding structure 70 of the cursor 63 with respect to the cursor support member 65 has the cursor 63 placed on the cursor support member 65 regardless of the position of the pair of cursor support members 65 in the guide slot 611 (FIG. 7). A columnar protrusion 71 projecting from a substantially central position in the longitudinal direction on the back surface (upper surface in FIG. 8) of the cursor 63; And a hook-shaped locking protrusion 72 that locks the columnar protrusion 71 provided at the end of the cursor support member 65 so as to hold the columnar protrusion 71.

  In the present embodiment, the columnar protrusion 71 is set in an oval shape in plan view, but is not limited to the oval shape, and may be a columnar shape or a prismatic shape. May be.

  The hook-shaped locking protrusions 72 are first prism-shaped first protrusions that protrude from the edge surface of the end portion of the cursor support member 65 on the side where the rack teeth 651 are provided in the direction in which the rack teeth 651 extend. The projecting piece 721 includes a prismatic second projecting piece 722 extending perpendicularly from the front end of the first projecting piece 721 toward the rear. The gap dimension between the second projecting piece 722 and the edge of the cursor support member 65 is set slightly smaller than the dimension in plan view of the columnar protrusion 71 corresponding to this gap, and the columnar protrusion 71 fits in this gap. As a result, the hook-shaped locking protrusion 72 is elastically deformed, and the locking force of the columnar protrusion 71 by the hook-shaped locking protrusion 72 is stabilized by the elastic force.

  The length of the second projecting piece 722 is set to be substantially the same as the front-rear width dimension of the guide long hole 611, so that even if the cursor 63 is repositioned between the normal position U1 and the downstream position U2, The columnar protrusion 71 is prevented from coming off between the second protrusion 722 and the end edge portion of the cursor support member 65.

  Then, by pressing the cursor 63 with a predetermined force in the direction of the arrow indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 8, the columnar protrusion 71 can resist the hook-shaped locking protrusion 72 against the elastic force of the hook-shaped locking protrusion 72. While being disengaged from the locking by the piece 72, the cursor 63 is moved in the opposite direction, so that the hook-shaped locking protrusion 72 is locked between the second protrusion 722 and the edge surface of the cursor support member 65 by elastic deformation. It has come to be.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the manual sheet feeder 40 according to the first embodiment will be described based on FIG. 9 with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 as necessary. FIG. 9 is an explanatory view in plan view of the manual feed tray 61 for explaining the operation of the manual paper feed unit 40 of the first embodiment. FIG. 9A is a pair of cursors 63 set at the normal position U1. (B) shows a state in which the distance between the pair of cursors 63 set at the normal position U1 is moved according to a predetermined small size paper P. The state (c) in which the pair of cursors 63 has been set indicates the state in which the pair of cursors 63 are positioned at the downstream position U2. Incidentally, the direction display by X and Y in FIG. 9 (X is the left-right direction (-X: leftward, + X: rightward), Y is the front-rear direction (-Y: forward, + Y: backward)) is the case of FIG. It is the same.

  First, in the state shown in FIG. 9A, the pair of cursors 63 that are locked to the cursor support members 65 by the hook-shaped locking protrusions 72 (FIG. 8) are guided by the guide lengths via the cursor support members 65. It is set at a position where normal paper P of A4 size or the like can be manually fed straight into the hole 611. At this time, each cursor 63 remains set at the normal position U1. However, since the sheet P is A4 size or the like, the pair of sheets P can be moved even if the position is not changed to the downstream position U2. Paper can be properly fed manually while being guided by the cursor 63.

  Then, when manually feeding a small size paper P such as a postcard, one cursor 63 may be moved along the guide slot 611 so as to fit the paper width of the paper P. Then, the other cursor 63 moves in the opposite direction through the pinion member 66 by the same amount, and as a result, the distance between the pair of cursors 63 is small as shown in FIG. The separation distance corresponds to P.

  In this state, each cursor 63 is pressed toward the apparatus main body 11 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 9B, so that the columnar protrusion 71 (FIG. 8) of the cursor 63 becomes the second protrusion 722. 9 moves toward the inside of the apparatus main body 11 while being guided by the gap between the cursor support member 65 and the edge of the cursor support member 65, and is set at a downstream position U2 shown in FIG.

  In the state where each cursor 63 is set at the downstream position U2, the downstream end of each cursor 63 has advanced to a substantially central portion of the manual feed tray 61, so that the small size paper P is manually fed. In this case, the small-size paper P is guided by a pair of cursors 63 whose both sides are close to the paper feed conveyance path 313 (FIG. 2). The paper is fed straight toward the registration roller pair 314 (FIG. 2) without deviation.

  As described above in detail, the paper feeding device 30 according to the first embodiment includes the manual paper feeding unit 40 for manually feeding the paper P into the device main body 11 of the printer 10. The manual paper feed unit 40 is directed to a manual tray 61 that guides the paper P to be manually fed, and a paper width direction that is provided in the manual tray 61 and that is perpendicular to the paper transport direction according to the width dimension of the paper P. And a pair of cursors 63 that can move forward and reverse, and the pair of cursors 63 is configured to be movable toward the inside of the apparatus main body 11.

  According to this configuration, when the paper P is manually fed into the apparatus main body 11 of the printer 10 via the manual paper feed unit 40, the distance between the pair of cursors 63 is set to the width dimension of the paper P in advance. By adjusting together, the paper P can be fed straight without shifting in the width direction.

  Then, by setting the distance between the pair of cursors 63 in advance to the width dimension of the sheet P to be manually inserted, when the sheet P is manually fed, the pair of cursors 63 is directed into the apparatus main body 11. By moving, each cursor 63 approaches the position (registration roller pair 314) for transporting the paper P in the apparatus main body 11. Therefore, the paper P can be fed straight into the apparatus main body 11 without lateral displacement. it can.

  As described above, the pair of cursors 63 provided on the manual feed tray 61 are configured to be movable toward the inside of the apparatus main body 11, so that any size paper P can be moved along the cursor 63. Can be fed manually. Therefore, unlike the conventional case, when the small-size paper P is manually fed, since the cursor 63 does not reach the back of the apparatus main body 11, the paper P may be slanted and fed straight. It is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of inconveniences that are eliminated.

  Further, since the manual feed tray 61 is provided with a pair of guide long holes 611 for guiding the movement of the pair of cursors 63, each cursor 63 is guided in the corresponding guide long hole 611 in the paper width direction. It can move in a stable state.

  Further, a cursor support member 65 is provided that moves while being guided by the guide slot 611 in a state where the cursor 63 is supported, and the cursor 63 is supported by the cursor support member 65 while being set at a predetermined distance. However, since it is configured to be movable in the paper transport direction, the cursor 63 can be freely moved in a very stable state in both the paper width direction and the paper transport direction.

  FIGS. 10 and 11 are exploded perspective views showing a second embodiment of the paper feeding device 30 ′. FIG. 10 shows that the pair of cursors 63 are in a normal position in a state where the movable tray 60 is set to the storage posture S1. FIG. 11 shows a state where the pair of cursors 63 are positioned at the downstream position U2 in a state where the position is set at U1, while the movable tray 60 is set in the storage posture S1. In addition, the direction display by X and Y in these figures is the same as in FIG. 1 ((X is the left-right direction (-X: leftward, + X: rightward), Y is the front-back direction (-Y: forward, + Y : Back)).

  The sheet feeding device 30 ′ of this embodiment is designed so that manual feeding of postcard-sized paper P can be performed smoothly, and each guide slot 611 ′ provided in the manual tray body 61. Is composed of a width direction moving guide 611a extending in the left-right direction and a pair of longitudinal direction moving guides 611b extending rearward from the closest position of the width direction moving guide 611a.

  The forward / backward moving guide 611b moves the pair of cursors 63 toward the inside of the apparatus main body 11 in a state where the distance between the pair of cursors 63 is the minimum separation distance (a distance corresponding to a postcard size paper). It is for guidance.

  Therefore, in the paper feeding device 30 ′ of the second embodiment, the cursor 63 cannot be advanced to the downstream position U2 for the paper P having a size larger than the postcard size. Therefore, when the distance between the pair of cursors 63 exceeds the minimum separation distance, each cursor 63 is set to the normal position U1 as shown in FIG. When the distance between the distances 63 is set to the minimum separation distance, each cursor 63 is pressed rearward to change the position of each cursor 63 from the normal position U1 to the downstream position U2, as shown in FIG. be able to.

  FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a holding structure 70 ′ applied to the sheet feeding device 30 ′ of the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, the holding structure 70 ′ of the cursor 63 with respect to the cursor support member 65 moves the cursor 63 to the cursor support member in a state where the distance between the pair of cursor support members 65 is the minimum separation distance (see FIG. 7). 65, which is released from the locked state by 65 and can be moved along the longitudinal movement guide 611b, and protrudes from a substantially central position in the longitudinal direction on the back surface (upper surface in FIG. 8) of the cursor 63. The columnar protrusion 71 is formed, and a hook-shaped locking protrusion 72 that locks the columnar protrusion 71 provided at the end of the cursor support member 65 so as to hold the columnar protrusion 71.

  In the present embodiment, the columnar protrusion 71 is set in an oval shape in plan view, but is not limited to the oval shape, and may be a columnar shape or a prismatic shape. May be.

  The hook-shaped locking protrusions 72 are first prism-shaped first protrusions that protrude from the edge surface of the end portion of the cursor support member 65 on the side where the rack teeth 651 are provided in the direction in which the rack teeth 651 extend. The projecting piece 721 includes a prismatic second projecting piece 722 extending perpendicularly from the front end of the first projecting piece 721 toward the rear. The gap dimension between the second projecting piece 722 and the edge of the cursor support member 65 is set slightly smaller than the dimension in plan view of the columnar protrusion 71 corresponding to this gap, and the columnar protrusion 71 fits in this gap. As a result, the hook-shaped locking protrusion 72 is elastically deformed, and the locking force of the columnar protrusion 71 by the hook-shaped locking protrusion 72 is stabilized by the elastic force.

  Then, by pressing the cursor 63 with a predetermined force in the direction of the arrow indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 12, the columnar protrusion 71 is resisted against the elastic force of the hook-shaped locking protrusion 72. The length dimension of the 2nd protrusion piece 722 is set so that it may remove | deviate from the stop protrusion piece 72. FIG. By moving the cursor 63 in the reverse direction with the columnar protrusion 71 once disengaged from the locking of the second protrusion 722, the columnar protrusion 71 is formed between the second protrusion 722 and the edge surface of the cursor support member 65. It fits in between and is locked by the elastic force of the hook-shaped locking projection piece 72.

  Other configurations of the sheet feeding device 30 of the second embodiment are basically the same as those of the first embodiment.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the manual sheet feeder 40 according to the second embodiment will be described based on FIG. 13 with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 as necessary. FIG. 13 is an explanatory view in a plan view of the manual feed tray 61 for explaining the operation of the manual paper feed unit 40 of the second embodiment. FIG. 13A shows that the pair of cursors 63 are set at the normal position U1. (B) shows a state in which the pair of cursors 63 has been moved to the position of the minimum separation distance, and (c) shows a state in which the pair of cursors 63 has been positioned at the downstream position U2. Incidentally, the direction display by X and Y in FIG. 13 (X is the left-right direction (−X: leftward, + X: rightward), Y is the front-rear direction (−Y: forward, + Y: rearward)) is the case of FIG. It is the same.

  First, in the state shown in FIG. 13A, the pair of cursors 63 locked to the cursor support members 65 by the hook-shaped locking protrusions 72 (FIG. 8) are guided by the width direction movement guides 611a. In addition, the position is set at a normal position U1 that can be moved in the left-right direction, whereby normal paper P of A4 size or the like can be manually fed straight.

  Then, when manually feeding a small size paper P such as a postcard, one cursor 63 may be moved to the end toward the front / rear direction moving guide 611b along the width direction moving guide 611a. Then, the other cursor 63 moves in the opposite direction through the pinion member 66 by the same amount, and the distance between the pair of cursors 63 becomes the minimum separation distance as shown in FIG.

  In this state, as shown by an arrow in FIG. 13B, each cursor 63 is pressed rearward so that the columnar protrusion 71 (FIG. 8) of the cursor 63 is removed from the hook-shaped locking protrusion 72. After that, the cursor 63 moves backward while the columnar protrusion 71 is guided by the front-rear direction moving guide 611b, and is positioned at the downstream position U2 shown in FIG.

  In the state where each cursor 63 is set at the downstream position U2, the downstream end of each cursor 63 has advanced to the substantially central portion of the manual feed tray 61. When the paper is manually fed, the small-size paper P is guided by a pair of cursors 63 whose both sides are close to the paper feed conveyance path 313 (FIG. 2). Are fed straight toward the registration roller pair 314 (FIG. 2) without lateral displacement.

  When manually feeding the original normal size paper P after manually feeding the small size paper P, each pushed cursor 63 may be pulled back forward. By doing so, the columnar protrusion 71 is locked to the hook-shaped locking protrusion 72 of the cursor support member 65. In this state, the cursor 63 is moved along the width direction moving guide 611a, and the normal size paper P To match.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes the following contents.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the printer 10 is adopted as the image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to the printer 10 as the image forming apparatus. It may be a copying machine that performs copying, or a facsimile machine that performs printing processing based on image information that has been transmitted. In this case, the cursor support member 65 and the pinion member 66 are mounted in a predetermined mounting groove recessed on the surface side of the manual feed tray 61 in a state that does not interfere with paper feeding (at least in the same state as the manual feed tray 61). There is a need to.

  (2) In the above embodiment, only one stage of the paper cassette 31 is attached to the apparatus main body 11. However, the present invention is not limited to one stage of the paper cassette 31, and a plurality of paper cassettes 31 are provided. The sheet cassette 31 may be provided in the apparatus main body 11 so as to be detachable. In this case, the manual paper feed unit 40 is provided in the uppermost paper cassette 31.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the guide long hole 611 penetrating vertically is adopted as the guide part, but the present invention is not limited to the guide long hole 611 being the guide part. Also, a so-called guide groove that does not penetrate vertically may be used.

  (4) In the above embodiment, the concave groove 321 in which the lid 62 of the movable tray 60 functions as a sheet feeding port for manual sheet feeding in a state where the movable tray 60 is set in the storage position S1 is completely formed. However, instead of this, a scraping recess may be provided in a portion of the lower edge portion of the front plate 113 of the apparatus main body 11 facing the lid body 62. By providing such a cut-out recess, the lid 62 of the movable tray 60 set in the storage posture S1 can be used as the second manual feed tray, whereby the movable tray 60 is stored in the storage posture S1 and the drawer posture S2. In any state, the paper P can be manually fed, which is very convenient.

  (5) In the above embodiment, in order to set the cursor 63 to the downstream position U2, the locking of the cursor 63 with respect to the cursor support member 65 is released. In a so-called nesting type, the two may be configured to be extendable and retractable, and when manually feeding small-size paper P, the cursor 63 may be extended. According to such a configuration, it is not necessary to provide the holding structures 70 and 70 'having a particularly complicated structure, which can contribute to a reduction in the number of parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a printer to which a paper feeding device according to the present invention is applied, in which (a) is a state in which a movable tray of a manual paper feeding unit is set to a storage posture; The state is shown in which the movable tray of the manual sheet feeder is set to the drawer posture. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view for explaining the outline of the internal structure of the printer, and shows a state where the paper cassette is stored in the storage position. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a side cross-sectional view for explaining an outline of an internal structure of the printer, and shows a state in which a paper cassette is pulled out to a pulling position. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows one Embodiment of a paper feeder. FIG. 5 is an assembled perspective view of the paper feeding device shown in FIG. 4, showing a state in which the movable tray of the manual paper feeding unit is set to a storage posture. FIG. 5 is an assembly perspective view of the paper feeding device shown in FIG. 4, showing a state in which the movable tray of the manual paper feeding unit is set to the drawing posture and the cursor is set to the normal position. It is a perspective view of the back view of the movable tray for demonstrating one Embodiment of the interlocking structure of a pair of cursor. It is the expansion perspective view seen from the back side which shows one Embodiment of the attachment or detachment structure of a cursor. It is explanatory drawing of the planar view of the manual feed tray for demonstrating the effect | action of the manual paper feed part 40 of 1st Embodiment, (a) is the state in which a pair of cursor was set to the normal position, (b) is The state in which the pair of cursors has been moved to the position of the minimum separation distance, and (C) shows the state in which the pair of cursors has been positioned at the downstream position. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a second embodiment of the paper feeding device, and shows a state where a pair of cursors is set at a normal position in a state where the movable tray is set to the storage posture. FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a second embodiment of the paper feeding device, and shows a state in which a pair of cursors is set at a downstream position in a state where the movable tray is set to the storage posture. It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of the holding structure applied to the paper feeder of 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the planar view of the manual feed tray 61 for demonstrating the effect | action of the manual paper feed part 40 of 2nd Embodiment, (a) is the state in which the pair of cursor 63 was set to the normal position U1, (B) shows a state in which the pair of cursors 63 has been moved to the position of the minimum separation distance, and (c) shows a state in which the pair of cursors 63 has been set at the downstream position U2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printer 11 Device main body 111 Side plate 111a Guide groove 112 Top plate 113 Front plate 114 Rear plate 115 Partition plate 117 Paper discharge tray 117a Paper discharge port 118 Louver 20 Image transfer part 21 Photosensitive drum 22 Charger 23 Exposure device 24 Development device 241 Toner cartridge 25 Transfer roller 26 Cleaning device 27 Fixing unit 271 Heat roller 272 Pressure roller 273 Paper delivery path 30, 30 'Paper feed unit 31 Paper cassette 311 Paper feed rollers 312 and 312a Transport roller 313 Paper feed path 314 Registration roller Pair 32 Arc-shaped front plate 321 Concave groove 322 Side wall 323 Guide groove 33 Bottom plate 331 Front / rear movement guide recess 332 Left / right motion guide recess 34 Side plate 341 Guided protrusion 35 Front / rear position restriction member 351 Horizontal flat plate 352 Vertical plate 36 Left / right position restriction member 36 Horizontal plate 362 Vertical plate 37 Energizing plate 371 Support shaft 372 Coil spring 40 Paper feed unit 50 Fixed tray 51 Tray body 52 Tray support member 521 Tray support plate 522 Back plate 523 Front plate 60 Movable tray 61 Manual feed tray 611, 611 'Guide Long hole (guide part)
611a Width direction moving guide 611b Front / rear direction moving guide 612 Guide concave groove 62 Lid 63 Cursor 64 Reinforcement member 641 Guided shaft 65 Cursor support member 651 Rack tooth 66 Pinion member 661 Pinion body 662 Flange 663 Central shaft 70, 70 ' Holding structure 71 Columnar protrusion 72 Hook-shaped locking protrusion 721 First protrusion 722 Second protrusion 7
P sheet P1 sheet bundle S1 storage position S2 pulling position T1 storing position T2 pulling position U1 normal position U2 downstream position V mounting space V1 storage space

Claims (6)

In a paper feeding device including a manual paper feeding unit for manually feeding paper into the main body of the image forming apparatus,
The manual paper feed unit moves forward and backward in a paper width direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction according to the width of the paper provided in the manual tray and a manual tray for guiding paper feeding by manual feeding. A pair of cursors capable of
The pair of cursors are configured to be movable toward the inside of the apparatus main body. The manual feed tray has a pair of guide portions for guiding the movement of the pair of cursors, respectively.
The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion has a front-rear dimension that allows movement of the cursor into the apparatus main body. The manual feed tray has a pair of guide portions for guiding the pair of cursors, respectively.
The pair of guide portions each have a width direction moving guide formed to extend in the paper width direction;
2. A front-rear direction moving guide capable of directing each cursor in a sheet conveying direction from a portion where the pair of cursors in the width direction moving guide is set at a minimum separation distance. The paper feeder described. A cursor support member that is guided and moved by the width direction movement guide in a state where the cursor is supported is provided,
The sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the cursor is configured to be separated from the cursor support member and guided to the front-rear direction moving guide while being set at the minimum separation distance. apparatus. The manual paper feed unit includes a fixed tray that extends to an upstream end of a transfer unit that transfers an image to a sheet in the image forming apparatus, and the manual tray is connected to an upstream end of the fixed tray. And a posture changeable between the storage posture and a drawing posture separated from the fixed tray by being pulled out from the state of the storage posture.
The second manual feed tray connected to the fixed tray is formed in a state in which the manual feed tray is set to a drawing posture, and the manual feed tray is configured to be formed. Paper feeder.   An image forming apparatus using the paper feeding device according to claim 1.

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