JP2013209171A - Paper feeding device and image forming apparatus with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper feeding device capable of performing the switching by simple operation between the paper feeding from a paper feed cassette using one paper feed roller and the paper feeding from a manual feed tray, and to provide an image forming apparatus with the same.SOLUTION: A paper feeding device 20 comprises an actuation member 50 biased upward by a spring member 46 and provided to a manual feed tray 41 in a vertically movable manner. The actuation member 50 includes: a sheet contact part 51 capable of protruding upward from a manual feed placement surface 42a by the spring member 46; and a friction part 52 capable of abutting against a sheet S at the uppermost surface of a paper feed cassette 22. When the sheet S is placed on the manual feed placement surface 42a, the sheet contact part 51 abuts against the sheet S, and the actuation member 50 is moved downward by the own gravity of the sheet S against the biasing force of the spring member 46. Accordingly, the friction part 52 abuts against the sheet S at the uppermost surface of the paper feed cassette 22.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device used for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and a multifunction machine thereof, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet feeding device, and in particular, a sheet feeding device including a sheet feeding cassette and a manual feed tray, and The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including the same.

  In an image forming apparatus, a sheet is conveyed to an image forming unit, and a toner image formed on an image carrier in the image forming unit is transferred onto the sheet, and then the toner image is fixed to the sheet. It is formed. As a method of sending sheets to the image forming unit, a cassette paper feeding method in which a plurality of sheets are stacked in advance in a paper feeding cassette, the sheets are picked up one by one from the paper feeding cassette, and sent to the image forming unit; There is a manual sheet feeding method in which a sheet set on a manual feed tray is sent to an image forming unit. The image forming apparatus has both a paper feed cassette and a manual feed tray, and stores sheets of a size to be frequently printed in the paper feed cassette, while special sheets such as envelopes and cardboard are placed on the manual feed tray. Either method is selected according to the type of the image and conveyed to the image forming unit.

  Normally, a cassette paper feed roller is used to feed the paper from the paper cassette to the image forming unit, and a manual paper feed roller is used to feed from the manual feed tray. The cassette paper feed roller also serves as the manual paper feed roller. In addition, a paper feeding device that sends out a sheet in a paper feeding cassette or a manual feed tray by a single paper feeding roller is known.

  For example, the paper feeding device described in Patent Document 1 can select a paper feeding mode for feeding paper from a paper feeding cassette and a paper feeding mode for feeding paper from a manual feed tray. In the cassette paper feed mode, the sheet is pressed against the paper feed roller by the pressure spring provided on the sheet stacking member while the sheet is stacked on the sheet stacking member of the paper feed cassette. The upper sheet is sent out to the sheet conveyance path. When switching to the manual feed mode, the sheet feed cover on which the manual sheet is placed is swung to a position where the sheet can be supplied, so that the sheet feed cover resists the pressing spring and the sheet stacking member is It is moved downward to release the contact between the uppermost sheet and the paper feed roller. The manual sheet placed on the sheet feed cover reaches the sheet feed roller, and when the sheet feed roller is driven to rotate, the sheet loaded on the sheet stacking member is not sent out, and the manual sheet. Is sent out.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-116784 (paragraphs [0013] to [0016], FIGS. 1 and 2)

  However, the paper feeding device described in Patent Document 1 requires an operation of swinging the paper feed cover when switching to the cassette paper feeding mode or the manual paper feeding mode, and there is a disadvantage that the switching operation becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. Simple operations are performed when paper is fed from a paper cassette using a single paper feed roller and when paper is fed from a manual feed tray. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device that can be switched by the above and an image forming apparatus including the sheet feeding device.

  In order to achieve the above object, a sheet feeding device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a sheet storage unit provided with a sheet stacking member that is capable of stacking and moving upward, and a manual sheet disposed above the sheet storage unit. A manual sheet feeding unit on which a manual placement surface on which the paper can be placed is formed, and a sheet feeding member that feeds the uppermost sheet to the sheet conveyance path from the sheet stacking member or a plurality of sheets stacked on the manual placement surface. A paper roller and an actuating member that is urged upward by the urging member and is movable in the vertical direction in the manual sheet feeding unit. The actuating member is an urging force of the urging member. A sheet contact portion that can project upward from the manual placement surface, and a friction portion that can abut on the uppermost sheet of the sheet storage portion, and the sheet on the manual placement surface Was placed When the sheet contact portion abuts against the sheet and the operating member moves downward by its own weight against the urging force of the urging member, the friction portion is positioned on the uppermost surface of the sheet storage portion. It is characterized by abutting on the sheet.

  In the second invention, in the sheet feeding device, the manual sheet feeding unit is provided with a sheet detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a sheet placed on the manual placement surface, and the operation member includes: It has a projection part that can move to a position facing and away from the sheet detection part as the sheet moves in the vertical direction.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the sheet feeding device, the sheet contact portion is disposed at a position corresponding to a substantially center of gravity of a sheet surface placed on the manual sheet feeding portion. Yes.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the above sheet feeding device, when the sheet is placed on the manual sheet feeding unit, the operating member is moved upward to move the friction unit to the uppermost surface of the sheet storage unit. It is characterized by comprising an operation unit that is separated from the sheet.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the paper feeding device, the operating member is disposed in the vicinity of the paper feeding roller, and a frictional force is applied to the placed sheet on the manual placement surface. A friction member is provided.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the above-described sheet feeding device, the sheet contact portion and the friction portion are swingably provided at a base portion of the operating member.

  According to a seventh aspect of the invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus provided with the sheet feeding device having the above-described configuration.

  According to the first invention, when a sheet is fed from the sheet storage unit, the sheet feed roller sends out the uppermost sheet from the plurality of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking member to the sheet conveyance path. When a sheet is fed from the manual sheet feeder, when the sheet is placed on the manual placement surface, the sheet contact portion of the actuating member comes into contact with the sheet, and the actuating member resists the biasing force of the biasing member. The sheet moves downward due to its own weight. As the operating member moves downward, the friction portion comes into contact with the uppermost sheet of the sheet storage portion. When the paper feed roller is driven to rotate by the frictional portion coming into contact with the uppermost sheet of the sheet storage unit, the sheet in the sheet storage unit is not sent out, but the sheet in the manual feed unit is sent out by the paper feed roller. . Thus, by a simple operation of placing a sheet on the manual sheet feeding unit, the sheets in the sheet storage unit are not sent out, but the sheet in the manual sheet feeding unit is switched out.

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus including a sheet feeding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows the principal part of the paper feeder concerning 1st Embodiment Sectional drawing which shows roughly a manual paper feed part provided with the operation member which concerns on 1st Embodiment The perspective view which shows the action | operation member which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows schematically the state which mounted the sheet | seat in the manual paper feed part which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The perspective view which shows the action | operation member which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Further, the use of the invention and the terms shown here are not limited thereto.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus including a sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the right side is illustrated as the front side of the image forming apparatus. A sheet feeding device 20 is disposed below the apparatus main body 1 a of the image forming apparatus 1. The sheet feeding device 20 includes a sheet feeding cassette 22 that is a sheet storage unit that stores stacked sheets S, and a manual feed tray 41 that is a manual sheet feeding unit. In order to store the sheet S, the paper feed cassette 22 is provided so that it can be pulled out from the front of the apparatus main body 1a. The manual feed tray 41 is disposed on the upper side of the paper feed cassette 22. The paper feed cassette 22 may be fixed to the apparatus main body 1a. A sheet conveyance path 4 extending from the lower side to the upper side of the apparatus main body 1a and reaching the paper discharge unit 3 formed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 1a is formed behind the sheet feeding device 20. A sheet feeding roller 30, a registration roller pair 8, an image forming unit 9, a fixing unit 10 and a discharge roller pair 11 are arranged in this order along the sheet conveying path 4 from the upstream side.

  The sheet feeding cassette 22 is provided with a sheet stacking plate 28 biased upward with respect to the sheet feeding cassette 22. A sheet S is stacked on the sheet stacking plate 28, and the uppermost sheet S is in contact with the sheet feeding roller 30. The uppermost sheet S is sent out by the rotation driving of the paper feed roller 30. The sheet S sent to the sheet conveyance path 4 is conveyed to the registration roller pair 8, and the timing is adjusted by the registration roller pair 8 and supplied to the image forming unit 9.

  On the manual feed tray 41, sheets S such as paper, envelopes, and thick paper that are not loaded in the paper feed cassette 22 are placed. The sheet S placed on the manual feed tray 41 is driven by the rotation of the paper feed roller 30. Is sent to the sheet conveyance path 4. The sheet S is placed on the manual feed tray 41 from the front of the apparatus main body 1a.

  The image forming unit 9 forms a predetermined toner image on the sheet S by an electrophotographic process. The photoconductor 14 is an image carrier that is rotatably supported in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1, and the photoconductor. 14, a charging device 15, a developing device 16, a cleaning device 17, a transfer roller 18 disposed so as to face the photoconductor 14 with the sheet conveying path 4 interposed therebetween, and a photoconductor 14. The exposure apparatus 19 is configured.

  The charging device 15 is provided with a conductive rubber roller 15 a connected to a power source (not shown), and the conductive rubber roller 15 a is disposed so as to contact the photoreceptor 14. When the photosensitive member 14 rotates, the conductive rubber roller 15a comes into contact with the surface of the photosensitive member 14 and is driven to rotate. At this time, by applying a predetermined voltage to the conductive rubber roller 15a, The surface is charged uniformly.

  Next, an electrostatic latent image based on the input image data is formed on the photosensitive member 14 by the beam light emitted from the exposure device 19, and toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image by the developing device 16, so that the photosensitive member 14. A toner image is formed on the surface. Then, the sheet S is supplied from the registration roller pair 8 between the photoconductor 14 and the transfer roller 18 (transfer position) at a predetermined timing, and the toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 14 is transferred onto the sheet S by the transfer roller 18. Is done.

  The sheet S on which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photoreceptor 14 and conveyed toward the fixing unit 10. The fixing unit 10 is disposed on the downstream side of the image forming unit 9 with respect to the sheet conveyance direction. The sheet S on which the toner image is transferred in the image forming unit 9 is added to a heating roller provided in the fixing unit 10 and a heating roller. The toner image heated and pressed by the pressure roller and transferred to the sheet S is fixed.

  The image-formed sheet S is discharged to the paper discharge unit 3 by the discharge roller pair 11. On the other hand, the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 14 after the transfer is removed by the cleaning device 17, the photoconductor 14 is charged again by the charging device 15, and image formation is performed in the same manner.

  The sheet feeding device 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the periphery of the paper feeding roller 30 of the paper feeding device 20. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a manual feed tray 41 including the operating member 50, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the operating member 50. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state where the sheet S is placed on the manual feed tray 41. 3 shows a state in which the sheet S is not placed on the manual feed tray 41, and FIGS. 3 and 5 are views from the back side of the sheet feeding device 20 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed cassette 22 includes a sheet stacking plate 28 that is a sheet stacking member and a stacking plate push-up spring 29 made of a coil spring or the like. The apparatus main body 1a has a paper feed roller 30 and a separation pad 35. Is provided.

  The sheet stacking plate 28 is provided in the paper feed cassette 22 and is urged upward by a stacking plate push-up spring 29. By being biased upward by the stacking plate push-up spring 29, the uppermost sheet S of the sheet bundle stacked on the sheet stacking plate 28 is pressed against the sheet feeding roller 30, and the uppermost surface is rotated by the rotation of the sheet feeding roller 30. Sheet S is fed out.

  The paper feed roller 30 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and is rotatably supported by the apparatus main body 1a at a substantially central portion in the width direction of the sheet S (the front and back direction of the paper surface of FIG. 2), and rotates clockwise. Thus, the sheet S in the sheet feeding cassette 22 or the sheet S placed on the manual feed tray 41 is sent out to the sheet conveying path 4.

  The separation pad 35 is disposed to face the paper feed roller 30, and when a plurality of sheets S are sent from the paper feed cassette 22 or the manual feed tray 41, the uppermost sheet from the plurality of sheets S together with the paper feed roller 30. Only S is separated and sent to the sheet conveyance path 4. The separation pad 35 is made of a plate formed in a rectangular shape having substantially the same width as the axial length of the paper feed roller 30, and the surface facing the paper feed roller 30 is formed by a friction surface. The separation pad 35 is attached to the support member 37 by an adhesive member.

  The support member 37 is movably supported by the apparatus main body 1a and is urged toward the paper feed roller 30 by a pressing spring 36 such as a coil spring. The separation pad 35 is urged by the pressing spring 36 via the support member 37, thereby forming a nip portion N that is pressed against the paper feed roller 30. When the sheet feeding roller 30 rotates and feeds the sheet S, a nip pressure is applied at the nip portion N, and only the uppermost sheet S is separated from the plurality of sheets S and sent to the sheet conveying path 4.

  A manual feed tray 41 is disposed above the paper feed cassette 22.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the manual feed tray 41 includes a tray body 42 on which the sheet S can be placed. The tray body 42 is provided with an operating member 50 and a sheet detection sensor 43 that is a sheet detection unit. Although not shown, the tray main body 42 is provided with a pair of cursors for positioning the sheet S in accordance with the width of the sheet S.

  The tray main body 42 is disposed with the paper feed roller 30 side inclined downward, and the sheet S placed on the manual placement surface 42 a on the upper surface of the tray main body 42 is sent to the paper feed roller 30.

  The sheet detection sensor 43 is composed of, for example, an optical sensor having a detection unit including a light receiving unit, and outputs a signal by blocking light incident on the light receiving unit, and the sheet S is placed on the manual feed tray 41 by this signal. Is detected.

  The actuating member 50 interrupts the feeding of the sheet S of the paper feed cassette 22 by the paper feed roller 30 when the sheet S is placed on the manual placement surface 42a. It is provided so as to be movable. The actuating member 50 can abut on the sheet contact portion 51 that can be protruded upward or retracted downward from the manual placement surface 42 a and the uppermost sheet S of the sheets S stacked on the sheet stacking plate 28. It has the friction part 52, and the protrusion part 53 which can move to the position which interrupts | blocks the optical path of the detection part of the sheet | seat detection sensor 43, and the position which open | releases an optical path. When the sheet S is placed on the manual placement surface 42a, the sheet contact portion 51 is disposed at a position corresponding to the substantially center of gravity of the sheet S placed on the tray main body 42. Under its own weight, it becomes easier to move downward. The sheet contact portion 51 and the protruding portion 53 are integrally formed with a base portion 50a made of resin, and the friction portion 52 is attached to the base portion 50a with an adhesive or the like. The operating member 50 is provided with a spring member 46 (see FIG. 4) that urges the operating member 50 upward.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the spring member 46, which is an urging member, is formed of, for example, a torsion spring and is wound around the rotation shaft 54 of the base portion 50a of the operating member 50, and an arm portion on one end thereof is hung on the base portion 50a. The other end side arm is hung on the tray main body 42 (see FIG. 3). The rotating shaft 54 extends from both side surfaces of the base portion 50a and is rotatably supported by the tray body 42. The operating member 50 is biased by the spring member 46 so as to rotate counterclockwise about the rotation shaft 54, and in a state where the sheet S is not placed on the manual placement surface 42a (state shown in FIG. 3), The sheet contact portion 51 protrudes upward from the manual placement surface 42a. On the other hand, in a state where the sheet S is placed on the manual placement surface 42a (the state shown in FIG. 5), the sheet contact portion 51 abuts against the urging force of the spring member 46 due to its own weight. Are pushed downward and retracted downward from the manual placement surface 42a. The urging force of the spring member 46 is set so that the operating member 50 is pushed up and the operating member 50 is pushed down when the weight of the sheet S is received.

  The sheet contact portion 51 is formed to extend upward from the base portion 50a, and has an arrowhead shape in which the lower side of the sheet contact portion 51 is wide and gradually narrows toward the upper side. The upper side of the sheet contact portion 51 is configured to be able to abut on the sheet S placed on the manual placement surface 42a. A friction part 52 is provided below the sheet contact part 51.

  The friction part 52 is formed in a rectangular plate shape with a material having a relatively large friction coefficient such as cork or non-woven fabric. When the operating member 50 moves downward due to the weight of the sheet S on the manual placement surface 42a, the sheet It contacts the uppermost sheet S of the sheet bundle on the stacking plate 28 (see FIG. 5). When the friction part 52 comes into contact with the uppermost sheet S, when the paper feeding roller 30 is driven to rotate, the uppermost sheet S is not sent out due to the frictional force between the friction part 52 and the uppermost sheet S. Forty-one sheets S are sent out by the paper feed roller 30.

  The protruding portion 53 is formed to protrude from the base portion 50 a on the opposite side of the friction portion 52 with respect to the rotation shaft 54. When the sheet S is not placed on the manual placement surface 42a (see FIG. 3), the protrusion 53 is away from the sheet detection sensor 43 and is in a position to open the optical path of the detection unit of the sheet detection sensor 43. When the sheet S is placed on the manual placement surface 42a (see FIG. 5), the optical path of the detection unit of the sheet detection sensor 43 is opposed to the sheet detection sensor 43 as the operation member 50 moves downward. Move to the position to shut off. Since the protruding portion 53 is at an opposing position that blocks the optical path of the detection portion of the sheet detection sensor 43, the placement of the sheet S on the manual feed tray 41 is detected.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the sheet S is not placed on the manual feed tray 41, the operation member 50 is moved upward by the spring member 46 (see FIG. 4). The protrusion 53 is located at a position protruding from the placement surface 42 a, the protrusion 53 is located away from the sheet detection sensor 43, and the friction part 52 is located away from the uppermost sheet S of the sheet bundle of the sheet feeding cassette 22. . In this state, when the sheet feeding roller 30 is driven to rotate, the uppermost sheet S of the sheet bundle of the sheet feeding cassette 22 is fed to the sheet conveying path 4 (see FIG. 1).

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the sheet S is placed on the manual feed tray 41, the sheet contact portion 51 comes into contact with the sheet S placed on the manual placement surface 42 a, and the operating member 50 is caused by its own weight. Moves downward. As the operating member 50 moves downward, the protrusion 53 moves to a position facing the sheet detection sensor 43, and it is detected that the sheet S is placed on the manual feed tray 41. Further, as the operating member 50 moves downward, the friction portion 52 contacts the uppermost sheet S of the sheet bundle of the sheet feeding cassette 22. In this state, even if the sheet feeding roller 30 is driven to rotate, the uppermost sheet S is not sent out due to the frictional force between the friction portion 52 and the uppermost sheet S of the sheet feeding cassette 22, but the sheet S on the manual feed tray 41. Is fed by the paper feed roller 30.

  As described above, a simple operation of placing the sheet S on the manual feed tray 41 switches the sheet S of the manual feed tray 41 so that the sheet S of the paper feed cassette 22 is not sent out.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the sheet contact portion 51 and the friction portion 52 are formed integrally with the base portion 50a of the operation member 50 has been described. The structure attached so that rocking | fluctuation is possible to the base 50a of the action | operation member 50 may be sufficient. In this configuration, when the operation member 50 rotates about the rotation shaft 54, when the sheet contact portion 51 and the friction portion 52 are moved up and down in the vertical direction, the surface on the sheet S side of the friction portion 52 is changed to the sheet S. It can be moved in a substantially parallel state. Accordingly, the entire surface of the friction portion 52 is surely brought into contact with the uppermost sheet S of the sheet bundle on the sheet stacking plate 28 at the lower position, and the same effect as that of the above embodiment can be more reliably achieved.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an operating member 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the operation member 55 is provided with an operation unit 55, and even when the sheet S is placed on the manual feed tray 41 by the operation of the operation unit 55, the sheet S of the sheet feeding cassette 22 is sent out. It is possible. The operation member 50 and the operation unit 55 which are different from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the description of the same parts as those of the first embodiment will be omitted.

  A spring member 46 is attached to the rotating shaft 54 extending to one side of the actuating member 50, and a quadrangular prism-shaped shaft 54 a is formed at the tip of the rotating shaft 54 extending to the other.

  The operation unit 55 includes a cylindrical operation knob 55a that can be rotated and pushed and pulled, and a square hole 55b that can be engaged with the square shaft 54a of the operating member 50, and rotate to the tray body 42 (see FIG. 5). It is possible and supported so as to be movable in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 54.

  In the second embodiment, the actuating member 50 is provided on the tray body 42 (see FIG. 5) so as to be movable in the vertical direction at a position close to the paper feed roller 30 (see FIG. 5) relative to the first embodiment. It is done. Further, the sheet S placed on the manual placement surface 42a (see FIG. 5) of the tray main body 42 is rubbed against the placed sheet S at a position on the upper side (upstream in the paper conveyance direction on the manual feed tray) away from the operating member 50. A friction member (not shown) such as a friction cloth for applying force is provided. With this configuration, when the operation member 50 moves upward by the rotation operation of the operation unit 55, the sheet S placed on the manual feed tray 41 is moved by the sheet contact unit 51 of the operation member 50. It is lifted and is not separated from the paper feed roller 30 by the friction member on the manual placement surface 42 a and is separated from the paper feed roller 30.

  When the sheet S placed on the manual feed tray 41 is sent out (first mode), the operation unit 55 is held at a position where it does not engage with the square shaft 54a of the operating member 50. On the other hand, even when the sheet S is placed on the manual feed tray 41, when the sheet S of the sheet feeding cassette 22 is sent out (second mode), the operation unit 55 is rotated by the operation of pressing the operation unit 55. 54 moves in the axial direction, and the square hole 55b of the operation portion 55 engages with the square shaft 54a of the operating member 50. Then, the operation unit 55 rotates counterclockwise about the rotation shaft 54 by the rotation operation of the operation unit 55. When the operation unit 55 is rotated, the operating member 50 is rotated counterclockwise via the rotation shaft 54, so that the friction unit 52 is moved upward and the sheet bundle of the sheet feeding cassette 22 (see FIG. 5) is moved. Separated from the uppermost sheet S. The operation unit 55 is locked by a click mechanism or the like (not shown), and the friction unit 52 is kept away from the uppermost sheet S of the sheet bundle of the sheet feeding cassette 22. Further, the sheet S on the manual feed tray 41 is lifted by the operating member 50 by the rotation of the operation unit 55, and is not slid down to the paper feed roller 30 side by the friction member, and is separated from the paper feed roller 30. is there.

  When the paper feed roller 30 (see FIG. 3) is rotationally driven in this state, the uppermost sheet S of the sheet bundle of the paper feed cassette 22 is preferentially sent out through the paper feed roller 30. Thereafter, by pulling the operation portion 55, the engagement between the square hole 55b of the operation portion 55 and the square shaft 54a of the operating member 50 is released and the click mechanism is released, and the second mode is changed to the first mode. Return.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for a paper feeding device used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine thereof, and an image forming apparatus including the same, and particularly includes a paper feeding cassette and a manual feed tray. The present invention can be used for a sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus including the same.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 1a Apparatus main body 20 Paper feed apparatus 22 Paper feed cassette (sheet storage part)
28 Sheet stacking plate (sheet stacking member)
29 Loading plate push-up spring 30 Paper feed roller 35 Separation pad 36 Press spring 37 Support member 41 Manual feed tray (manual paper feed unit)
42 Tray body 42a Manual loading surface 43 Sheet detection sensor (sheet detection unit)
46 Spring member (biasing member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 50 Actuating member 50a Base 52 Friction part 53 Projection part 54 Rotating shaft 54a Square shaft 55 Operation part 55b Square hole N Nip part S Sheet

Claims (7)

A sheet storage unit provided with a sheet stacking member that stacks sheets and is movable upward;
A manual paper feed unit disposed on the upper side of the sheet storage unit and having a manual placement surface on which a manual sheet can be placed; and
A sheet feeding roller for feeding the uppermost sheet from a plurality of sheets stacked on the sheet stacking member or the manual loading surface to a sheet conveyance path;
An actuating member that is urged upward by an urging member and is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction in the manual sheet feeding unit,
The actuating member includes: a sheet contact portion that can protrude upward from the manual placement surface by the urging force of the urging member; and a friction portion that can abut on the uppermost sheet of the sheet storage portion. Have
When the sheet is placed on the manual placement surface, the sheet contact portion comes into contact with the sheet, and the operating member moves downward by its own weight against the urging force of the urging member. The sheet feeding device, wherein the friction unit abuts on the uppermost sheet of the sheet storage unit. The manual sheet feeder is provided with a sheet detector that detects the presence or absence of a sheet placed on the manual placement surface,
2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the operating member includes a protrusion that is movable to a position facing and away from the sheet detection unit as the operation member moves in a vertical direction.   The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet contact portion is disposed at a position corresponding to a substantially center of gravity of a sheet surface placed on the manual sheet feeding portion.   An operation unit is provided, wherein when the sheet is placed on the manual sheet feeding unit, the operating member is moved upward to separate the friction unit from the uppermost sheet of the sheet storage unit. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 or 2.   5. The operation member according to claim 4, wherein the actuating member is disposed in the vicinity of the sheet feeding roller, and a friction member is provided on the manual placement surface to apply a friction force to the placed sheet. The paper feeder described.   The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet contact portion and the friction portion are swingably provided at a base portion of the operating member.   An image forming apparatus comprising the paper feeding device according to claim 1.