JP2014144834A - Medium storage device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a medium storage device and an image forming apparatus capable of accurately performing positioning of a medium.SOLUTION: A medium storage device includes a medium loading section and a medium regulation section for regulating movement of a medium loaded on the medium loading section. The medium regulation section has: a width direction regulation section for regulating movement in a width direction that is perpendicular to medium conveying direction; and a lengthwise direction regulation section for regulating movement in a lengthwise direction that is the medium conveying direction. Even when an impact is applied to the medium storage device, when the medium storage device is pulled out or pushed into a housing of an image forming apparatus or a medium feeding device and when the medium is loaded on the medium loading section, position displacement does not occur in the medium regulation section. Consequently, positioning of the medium can be accurately performed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium accommodating device and an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine, for example, a printer has an image forming unit, an LED head, a transfer roller, a fixing device, and a first medium in the main body of the printer. The image forming unit includes a photosensitive drum, a charging roller, a developing roller, a developing blade, a toner supply roller, a cleaning blade, a toner cartridge, and the like. . A sheet as a medium is accommodated in the sheet cassette, and a toner is accommodated in the toner cartridge.

  In the image forming unit, the surface of the photosensitive drum uniformly charged by the charging roller is exposed by the LED head to form an electrostatic latent image. The toner supplied from the toner cartridge to the main body of the image forming unit, that is, the image forming unit main body, is supplied to the developing roller by the toner supply roller, and the toner on the developing roller is thinned by the developing blade. Then, the toner on the developing roller is attached to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum, and the electrostatic latent image is developed to form a toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum.

  The paper fed out from the paper cassette is sent to a transfer portion between the photosensitive drum and the transfer roller, and the toner image is transferred onto the paper by the transfer roller in the transfer portion. Subsequently, the paper is sent to a fixing device, and the toner image on the paper is fixed in the fixing device. Then, the paper on which the image is formed is discharged out of the apparatus main body.

  In the printer, in order to perform printing on a large amount of paper, a large-capacity paper feeding device is mounted below the apparatus main body, and the second medium storage device disposed in the large-capacity paper feeding device is used. The paper fed out from the paper tray is similarly sent to the fixing device.

  In addition, the paper cassette and the paper tray include papers of various sizes, so that printing can be performed on the papers of various sizes. A side guide that restricts movement in the width direction and a tail guide that restricts movement in the length direction of the paper are movably or detachably disposed, and the side paper and tail guide position the paper to be accommodated. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2004-292092 A

  However, in the conventional printer, the side guide and the tail guide may be misaligned. In this case, the paper cannot be accurately positioned.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a medium storage device and an image forming apparatus that can solve the problems of the conventional printer and can accurately position a medium.

  For this purpose, the medium accommodation apparatus of the present invention includes a medium stacking unit on which a medium is loaded, and a medium regulating unit that regulates the movement of the medium loaded on the medium loading unit.

  The medium restricting portion includes a width direction restricting portion that restricts movement in the width direction that is a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the medium, and a length direction that restricts movement in the length direction that is the medium conveyance direction. A regulation part is provided.

  According to the present invention, the medium storage device includes the medium stacking unit on which the medium is loaded and the medium regulating unit that regulates the movement of the medium loaded on the medium stacking unit.

  The medium restricting portion includes a width direction restricting portion that restricts movement in the width direction that is a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the medium, and a length direction that restricts movement in the length direction that is the medium conveyance direction. A regulation part is provided.

  In this case, the medium restricting portion restricts the movement in the width direction that is a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the medium, and the length direction restricts the movement in the length direction that is the medium conveyance direction. Since the restricting portion is provided, the medium accommodating device when the medium accommodating device is pulled out or pushed into the casing of the image forming apparatus or the medium supplying device, or when the medium is loaded on the medium stacking portion. Even if an impact is applied to the recording medium, the medium restricting portion is not displaced. Therefore, the medium can be accurately positioned.

  In addition, since the number of parts of the medium accommodating device can be reduced, not only the assembly work of the medium accommodating device can be simplified, but also the cost of the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

  Further, when a medium is accommodated in the medium accommodating device, even if a large force is applied to the length direction restricting portion, the medium restricting portion can receive the force as a whole. Therefore, since the attachment strength of the medium restricting portion to the main body of the medium accommodating device is sufficiently increased, the size of the length direction restricting portion can be reduced. As a result, the medium accommodating device can be reduced in size.

  Further, by attaching the medium restricting portion to the main body of the medium accommodating device, not only the width direction restricting portion but also the length direction restricting portion can be attached to the main body of the medium accommodating device. The operation | work which changes the attachment position of a control part can be simplified.

It is a top view of the paper tray in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the 1st state of the printer in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which shows the 2nd state of the printer in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the printer in the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the paper tray in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a cross-sectional view of the paper tray in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a large-capacity paper feeder in a comparative example. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a large-capacity paper feeder in a comparative example. FIG. 6 is a plan view of a large-capacity paper feeding device in a state where paper is stacked on a paper tray in a comparative example. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a large capacity sheet feeding device in a state where sheets are stacked on a sheet tray in a comparative example. It is a top view of the paper tray in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the paper tray in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this case, a printer as an image forming apparatus will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a first state of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second state of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, 10 is a printer, Bd is the main body of the printer 10, that is, the apparatus main body, Cs1 is a housing, 20 is below the apparatus main body Bd, integrally with the apparatus main body Bd, or with respect to the apparatus main body Bd. This is a large-capacity paper feeding device as a medium supply device that is detachably mounted (arranged) and supplies paper P as a medium to a transfer unit p1 described later.

  A paper cassette 12 serving as a first medium storage device is detachably disposed in the lower part of the apparatus main body Bd with respect to the housing Cs1, and a first medium stacking unit is provided in the paper cassette 12. The medium stacking plate 201 is swingably disposed, and the paper P is stacked and accommodated on the medium stacking plate 201.

  A first medium feeding unit 202 that feeds the sheets P one by one and supplies them to the medium conveying path 18 is disposed on the feeding side of the sheet cassette 12, that is, the front end. The first medium feeding unit 202 includes a pickup roller 13 as a first feeding member that is rotatably arranged, and a separation member as a first discriminating device that is arranged to face the pickup roller 13. 19 and the pickup roller 13 is brought into pressure contact with the front end of the uppermost sheet P among the plurality of sheets P that have risen to a predetermined height as the medium stacking plate 201 rotates. Then, the uppermost paper P is fed out. The separating member 19 prevents the paper P other than the uppermost paper P from being fed out and separates the paper P one by one.

  The printer is disposed on the downstream side of the registration roller pair 14 as a first conveying member for correcting the skew of the paper P fed by the first medium feeding unit 202, and the registration roller pair 14. An image forming unit 15 that forms a toner image as a developer image, and a toner image on the photosensitive drum Dr that is rotatably disposed to face a photosensitive drum Dr as an image carrier in the image forming unit 15. The transfer roller 21 serving as a transfer member for transferring the toner image onto the paper P is disposed on the downstream side of the transfer portion p1 formed between the photosensitive drum Dr and the transfer roller 21, and the toner image on the paper P is applied to the paper P. Fixing device 16 as a fixing device for fixing and forming an image on paper P, disposed downstream of fixing device 16, for transporting paper P on which an image has been formed, and discharging it out of apparatus body Bd Comprising a conveying roller pair 17 such as a second conveying member.

  In the apparatus main body Bd, an LED head 205 as an exposure apparatus is disposed above the photosensitive drum Dr so as to face the photosensitive drum Dr.

  In addition to the photosensitive drum Dr, the image forming unit 15 includes a charging roller (not shown) as a charging device, a developing roller as a developer carrying member, a developing blade as a developer regulating member, and a developer supply member. And a cleaning blade as a cleaning member.

  In the image forming unit 15, the surface of the photosensitive drum Dr uniformly charged by the charging roller is exposed by the LED head 205 to form an electrostatic latent image as a latent image. Further, the toner as the developer supplied into the main body of the image forming unit 15, that is, the image forming unit main body from the toner storage portion as a developer storage portion (not shown) of the image forming unit 15 is developed by the toner supply roller. The toner on the developing roller is thinned by the developing blade. The toner on the developing roller is attached to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum Dr, and the electrostatic latent image is developed to form a toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum Dr.

  The fixing device 16 includes a fixing roller R1 as a first fixing roller having a heating element (not shown) such as a halogen lamp, and a second fixing roller disposed to face the fixing roller R1. A backup roller R2 is provided, and the toner image on the paper P is heated and pressed by the fixing roller R1 and the backup roller R2 to be fixed on the paper P, thereby forming an image.

  Next, the large capacity sheet feeder 20 will be described.

  In the large-capacity paper feeding device 20, a paper tray 23 as a second medium storage device is disposed in the housing Cs2 so as to be detachable from the housing Cs2. A stage 29 as a second medium stacking unit is disposed in the paper tray 23 in parallel with the bottom wall 23a of the paper tray 23 and is movable up and down. Is loaded and accommodated. The stage 29 is moved in the vertical direction by driving a stage motor 92 (FIG. 4) as a medium loading drive unit, which will be described later.

  On the feeding side of the sheet tray 23, that is, the front end portion, a second medium feeding unit 206 that feeds the sheets P one by one and supplies them to the medium conveyance path 27 is disposed. The second medium feeding unit 206 includes a pickup roller 24 as a second feeding member that is rotatably arranged, and a first discriminating roller that is rotatably disposed adjacent to the pickup roller 24. And a separation roller 26 as a retard mechanism and as a second discriminating roller rotatably disposed opposite to the friction roller 25 as a feed mechanism. . The pick-up roller 24 is brought into pressure contact with the front end of the uppermost paper P among the plurality of papers P raised to a predetermined height as the stage 29 moves upward, and the uppermost as the rotation occurs. The paper P is fed out. The friction roller 25 is rotated in the same direction as the pickup roller 24, and the separation roller 26 is most rotated by braking (braking) the rotation of the paper P in the feeding direction by a load torque mechanism (not shown). The paper P other than the upper paper P is prevented from being fed out, and the paper P is separated one by one. The friction roller 25 and the separation roller 26 constitute a paper feed roller pair as a second discriminating device.

  In the medium conveyance path 27, a resist as a third conveyance member for correcting the skew of the paper P supplied from the second medium feeding unit 206 on the downstream side of the friction roller 25 and the separation roller 26. A pair of rollers 28 is provided, and the sheet P whose skew has been corrected by the pair of registration rollers 28 is supplied into the apparatus main body Bd. For this purpose, the medium transport paths 18 and 27 are connected by the medium transport path 115 in the apparatus main body Bd.

  In the case where the paper P is stored in the paper tray 23, as shown in FIG. 3, the paper tray 23 is disposed inside the housing Cs2 on one side of the large-capacity paper feeder 20, in the present embodiment, the paper The sheet P is pulled out to the front side which is the front end side of the tray 23, and the paper P is stacked on the stage 29.

  The pickup roller 24, the friction roller 25, and the registration roller pair 28 are rotatably arranged with respect to the casing Cs2, and the separation roller 26 is rotatably arranged with respect to the paper tray 23. When the body Cs2 is pulled out, the pickup roller 24, the friction roller 25, and the registration roller pair 28 remain in the housing Cs2.

  Next, the operation of the printer 10 having the above configuration will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  First, when a print command is received from a host computer (not shown) as a host device, the printer 10 (FIG. 2) starts printing.

  When printing with the paper P accommodated in the paper cassette 12 is specified in the print command, the control unit 81 drives a first paper feed motor 82 as a paper feed drive unit, and a pickup roller 13 is rotated. As a result, the paper P in the paper cassette 12 is fed out, separated one by one, and supplied to the medium conveyance path 18. At this time, the registration roller pair 14 is stopped, and when the sheet P supplied to the medium conveyance path 18 hits the registration roller pair 14 and a predetermined time elapses, the registration roller pair 14 is rotated. Accordingly, the skew of the paper P is corrected, and the paper P is sent to the transfer unit p1.

  Then, the control unit 81 drives a drive motor 83 as a drive unit for image formation, and rotates the photosensitive drum Dr. As a result, a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum Dr, and the toner image is transferred to the paper P sent to the transfer portion p1.

  Subsequently, the paper P is sent to the fixing device 16 where the toner image on the paper P is fixed and an image is formed. The paper P on which the image is formed is transported by the transport roller pair 17 and is discharged out of the apparatus main body Bd.

  Further, when printing is performed on the paper P stored in the paper tray 23, when the paper P is stacked on the stage 29 and the paper tray 23 is pushed into the housing Cs2, the paper P is disposed in the apparatus main body. The paper tray 23 is detected by the sensor 95 as an insertion detection unit, and the control unit 81 drives the stage motor 92 to move the stage 29 upward. Subsequently, when the sensor 93 as a medium detection unit disposed adjacent to the pickup roller 24 detects the uppermost sheet P, the control unit 81 stops driving the stage motor 92.

  When printing with the paper P stored in the paper tray 23 is specified in the print command, the control unit 81 drives a second paper feed motor 94 as a paper feed drive unit, The pickup roller 24, the friction roller 25, and the separation roller 26 are rotated. As a result, the paper P in the paper tray 23 is fed out, separated one by one, and supplied to the medium conveyance path 27. At this time, the registration roller pair 28 is stopped, and when the sheet P supplied to the medium conveyance path 27 hits the registration roller pair 28 and a predetermined time elapses, the registration roller pair 28 is rotated. Accordingly, the skew of the paper P is corrected, and the paper P is supplied into the apparatus main body Bd via the medium conveyance path 115.

  In the present embodiment, when printing using the paper P accommodated in the paper tray 23 is designated, the registration roller pair 14 functions as a transport roller pair and corrects the skew of the paper P. Absent.

  By the way, in the printer 10, the paper P accommodated in the paper cassette 12 and the paper tray 23 is stored so that the paper P of various sizes can be accommodated and printing can be performed on the paper P of various sizes. Depending on the size of the paper, a guide as a medium restricting portion that restricts the movement of the paper P in the width direction and the length direction, which will be described later, is provided, and the paper P to be accommodated is positioned by the guide. It has become.

  Next, the paper tray 23 of the large capacity paper feeder 20 will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view of a paper tray according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the paper tray according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional view of the paper tray in the form.

  In the figure, reference numeral 23 denotes a bottomed paper tray having an open upper end, Fr1 denotes a main body of the paper tray 23, that is, a box-like body as a medium accommodating device main body, 26 denotes a separation roller, and 29 denotes a stage. The body Fr1 includes a bottom wall 23a, a front wall 23b, a back wall 23c, a left side wall 23d, and a right side wall 23e.

  A partition 101 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape is formed in the box-shaped body Fr1 from the bottom wall 23a to the upper end of the box-shaped body Fr1 so as to be adjacent to the front wall 23b. The separation roller 26 is rotatably arranged. The back wall 102 of the partition 101 forms a front end contact surface Sb for contacting the front end of the paper P.

  Further, in the box-like body Fr1, the movement in the width direction and the length direction of the paper P accommodated in the paper tray 23 and adjacent to the side walls 23d and 23e and stacked on the stage 29 is regulated. Guides 30L and 30R serving as medium restricting portions are detachably attached to the box-shaped body Fr1 and are movably disposed.

  Therefore, the upper ends of the side walls 23d and 23e are extended from the back wall 102 of the partition portion 101 to the back wall 23c of the box-like body Fr1, and protruded toward the inside of the box-like body Fr1, Band-shaped first and second protruding portions 105 and 106 are formed. Then, a plurality of pin-like portions as upper first engaging portions are formed at predetermined plural positions in the longitudinal direction of the first protruding portion 105 (the length direction of the paper P), in the present embodiment, at two positions. The protrusion 38a is formed so as to protrude upward (in the direction in which the sheets P are stacked), and is formed as an upper second engaging portion at a position corresponding to the protrusion 38a in the longitudinal direction of the second protruding portion 106. The pin-shaped protrusion 38b is formed so as to protrude upward.

  Further, a pin-like protrusion 38a ′ as a first engaging portion on the lower side is formed so as to protrude upward at a position corresponding to the protrusion 38a on the bottom wall 23a (just below the protrusion 38a). A pin-like protrusion 38b 'as a second engaging portion on the lower side is formed to protrude upward at a position corresponding to the protrusion 38b on the bottom wall 23a (just below the protrusion 38b). The protrusion 38a and the protrusion 38a ', and the protrusion 38b and the protrusion 38b' are both arranged on the same straight line extending in the vertical direction.

  The guides 30L and 30R are formed in parallel with the side walls 23d and 23e from the substantially center of the box-like body Fr1 to the back wall 23c and from the bottom wall 23a to the upper end, respectively. Side guide portions 30a and 30b as width direction restricting portions for restricting movement in the width direction of the sheet P, which is a direction perpendicular to the direction (arrow direction), and the rear ends of the side guide portions 30a and 30b. A length direction restricting portion that is formed so as to protrude from the lower end to the upper end of the guide portions 30a, 30b and into the box-like body Fr1, and restricts the movement of the paper P in the length direction, which is the conveyance direction of the paper P. The belt-shaped tail guide portions 31a and 31b are provided. Note that the tail guide portions 31a and 31b are substantially perpendicular to the side guide portions 30a and 30b, and in the present embodiment, fall within a range of 88 ° or more and 92 ° or less. The side guide portions 30a and 30b are integrally formed.

  The upper ends of the side guide portions 30a and 30b are projected from the front end to the rear end of the side guide portions 30a and 30b and toward the outside of the box-shaped body Fr1, thereby forming first and second projecting portions in the form of strips. 111, 112 are formed, and the lower ends of the side guide portions 30a, 30b are projected from the front end to the rear end of the side guide portions 30a, 30b and out of the box-like body Fr1, Second projecting portions 113 and 114 are formed integrally with the side guide portions 30a and 30b.

  In order to selectively insert the protrusions 38a in predetermined lengths in the longitudinal direction of the first projecting portion 111, that is, 10 places in the present embodiment, according to the size of the paper P, the upper side The positioning hole 39a as the first engaged portion and the first positioning element on the upper side is formed, and at a position corresponding to the positioning hole 39a in the longitudinal direction of the second projecting portion 112, In order to selectively insert the protrusions 38b according to the size of the paper P, a positioning hole 39b is formed as an upper second engaged portion and as an upper second positioning element. .

  Further, in order to selectively fit the projections 38a ′ in accordance with the size of the paper P at positions corresponding to the positioning holes 39a in the longitudinal direction of the first protruding portion 113, the lower first A positioning hole (not shown) as an engaged portion and a first positioning element on the lower side is formed, and the paper P is placed at a position corresponding to the positioning hole 39b in the longitudinal direction of the second protruding portion 114. A positioning hole (not shown) is formed as a lower second engaged portion and as a lower second positioning element so as to selectively fit each of the projections 38b 'according to the size of Is done.

  Accordingly, each projection 38a is inserted into two predetermined positioning holes 39a, each projection 38b is inserted into two predetermined positioning holes 39b, each projection 38a 'is inserted into two predetermined positioning holes, and each projection 38b' is inserted into two predetermined positioning holes. By inserting into the positioning hole, the guides 30L and 30R can be attached to the box-shaped body Fr1 and placed at a position corresponding to the size of the paper P to be accommodated. As a result, the guides 30L and 30R are positioned with respect to the stage 29 above and below in the stacking direction of the sheets P. In addition, after the guides 30L and 30R are attached to the box-shaped body Fr1, a predetermined fixing means (not shown) such as a cap is provided so that the projections 38a, 38b, 38a 'and 38b' do not come out of the positioning holes 39a and 39b. , And are fixed to the projections 38a, 38b, 38a ', 38b' by a ring or the like.

  The distances between the protrusions 38a, the protrusions 38b, the protrusions 38a ', and the protrusions 38b' in the length direction of the paper P are all set to w1. Further, when the positioning holes 39a and 39b are defined as holes a to j from the front end side to the rear end side of the guides 30L and 30R, between the pair of holes a and f in the length direction of the paper P, holes b and g The distances between the holes, between the holes c and h, between the holes d and i, and between the holes e and j are all set to w1. And between the holes a and b adjacent in the length direction of the paper P, between the holes b and c, between the holes c and d, between the holes d and e, between the holes e and f, between the holes f and g, and the hole g , H, holes h, i, and holes i, j are set according to the size of the paper P stored in the paper tray 23. For example, the distance between the holes i, j is w2. Is set. Accordingly, the guides 30L and 30R are disposed so as to be movable with respect to the stage 29 in the length direction of the paper P, and are positioned according to the size of the paper P.

  Further, the distances between the holes a to j of the positioning holes 39a and 39b in the width direction of the paper P are set according to the size of the paper P accommodated in the paper tray 23, respectively. , The holes d and i are offset from the other holes a to c, e to h and j by a distance w3 toward the side walls 23d and 23e of the box-like body Fr1. Accordingly, the guides 30L and 30R are disposed so as to be movable with respect to the stage 29 in the width direction of the paper P, and are positioned according to the size of the paper P.

  For example, when letter-size paper P is stored in the paper tray 23, the guides 30L and 30R are placed in the position S1 by inserting the protrusions 38a, 38b, 38a ′, and 38b ′ into the holes e and j, and A4 When storing a medium size paper P, the guides 30L and 30R are placed in the position S2 by inserting the projections 38a, 38b, 38a ', and 38b' into the holes d and i, and the Legal 13 inch size paper P is stored. When the guides 30L and 30R are placed in the position S3 by inserting the projections 38a, 38b, 38a ', and 38b' into the holes c and h, and each of the projections By inserting 38a, 38b, 38a ', 38b' into the holes b, g, the guides 30L, 30R are placed at the position S4. When the gal 14 inch size paper P is accommodated, the guides 30L and 30R are placed at the position S5 by inserting the projections 38a, 38b, 38a 'and 38b' into the holes a and f.

  Next, a comparative example of the large capacity sheet feeder 20 will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a plan view of the large-capacity paper feeder in the comparative example, FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of the large-capacity paper feeder in the comparative example, and FIG. 9 is a large-capacity paper feed in a state in which sheets are stacked on the paper tray in the comparative example. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of the large-capacity paper feeding device in a state where paper is stacked on a paper tray in a comparative example.

  In the figure, reference numeral 40 denotes a large-capacity paper feeding device. In the large-capacity paper feeding device 40, a paper tray 123 is detachably disposed with respect to the housing Cs2. A stage 29 is arranged in the paper tray 123 in parallel with the bottom wall 123 a of the paper tray 123 and is movable up and down, and the paper P is stacked and stored on the stage 29. Note that the paper P is conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIGS.

  Fr1 is a box-like body, and the box-like body Fr1 includes the bottom wall 123a, the front wall 123b, the back wall 123c, the left side wall 123d, and the right side wall 123e. A partition 101 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape is formed in the box-shaped body Fr1 so as to be adjacent to the front wall 123b, and the separation roller 26 is rotatably disposed at the center of the upper end of the partition 101. .

  In the box-like body Fr1, side guides 44a and 44b for restricting movement in the width direction of the paper P accommodated in the paper tray 123 adjacent to the side walls 123d and 123e are adjacent to the back wall 123c. The tail guide 45 that restricts the movement of the accommodated paper P in the length direction is fixed to the bottom wall 123a by a screw 47 (in the figure, only the screw 47 that fixes the tail guide 45). Is shown.)

  Side guides 44a and 44b and a tail guide 45 are attached to the bottom wall 123a at positions corresponding to the size of the stored paper P so that various sizes of paper P can be stored in the paper tray 123. Therefore, a plurality of screw holes (not shown) that are screwed into the screws 47 are formed.

  When storing the paper P in the paper tray 123, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the paper tray 123 is pulled out from the inside of the housing Cs2 to the front side of the large-capacity paper feeder 40, thereby being placed on the stage 29. Paper P can be loaded.

  In the large-capacity paper feeding device 40, the side guides 44a and 44b and the tail guide 45 are respectively fixed to the bottom wall 123a by screws 47, so that the paper tray 123 is pulled out from the housing Cs2 or the housing. When the paper tray 123 is impacted when being pushed into the body Cs2 or when the paper P is stacked on the stage 29, the side guides 44a and 44b and the tail guide 45 may be displaced. In that case, the paper P cannot be accurately positioned.

  Further, when the paper P is stored in the paper tray 123, a large force may be applied to the tail guide 45, so that the area of the attachment surface Sf to the bottom wall 123a of the tail guide 45 is reduced as shown in FIG. It is necessary to increase the mounting strength of the tail guide 45 to the bottom wall 123a. As a result, the length L1 of the attachment surface Sf of the tail guide 45 in the length direction of the paper P becomes large, and the large-capacity paper feeder 40 becomes large.

  Furthermore, when the attachment position of the tail guide 45 is changed, it is necessary to remove or attach the screw 47 in the back of the paper tray 123, that is, in the vicinity of the front panel of the housing Cs2.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, the guides 30L and 30R are integrally provided with side guide portions 30a and 30b and tail guide portions 31a and 31b, and the side guide portions 30a and 30b and the tail guide portions 31a and 31b are provided. It is integrally attached to the box-shaped body Fr. Therefore, even when an impact is applied to the paper tray 123 when the paper tray 23 is pulled out from the housing Cs2 or pushed into the housing Cs2, or when the paper P is loaded on the stage 29, the guide Since there is no displacement in 30L and 30R, the paper P can be positioned with high accuracy.

  In addition, since the number of parts of the paper tray 23 can be reduced, the assembling work of the paper tray 23 can be simplified, and the cost of the printer 10 can be reduced.

  Further, when the paper P is stored in the paper tray 23, even if a large force is applied to the tail guide portions 31a and 31b, the entire guides 30L and 30R can receive the force. Therefore, since the attachment strength of the guides 30L and 30R to the box-shaped body Fr1 is sufficiently increased, the dimensions of the tail guide portions 31a and 31b can be reduced. As a result, the paper tray 23 can be reduced in size.

  Further, by attaching the guides 30L and 30R to the box-like body Fr1, the tail guide portions 31a and 31b are attached to the box-like body Fr1, so that the attachment positions of the guides 30L and 30R are set according to the size of the paper P. The work to change can be simplified.

  The guides 30L and 30R are side guide portions 30a and 30b that extend from the bottom wall 23a to the upper end, and tail guide portions 31a that protrude from the side guide portions 30a and 30b into the box-shaped body Fr1, Since it consists of 31b, it can be formed of a thin plate-like body such as resin or metal. Therefore, the paper tray 23 can be reduced in size.

  In addition, the first and second projecting portions 111 and 112 are formed at the upper ends of the side guide portions 30a and 30b toward the outside of the box-shaped body Fr1, and at the lower ends of the side guide portions 30a and 30b, outside the box-shaped body Fr1. The first and second projecting portions 113 and 114 are formed at the rear ends of the side guide portions 30a and 30b so that the tail guide portions 31a and 31b protrude into the box-shaped body Fr1. The strength of the guides 30L and 30R can be increased. Therefore, since the guides 30L and 30R can be made smaller by that amount, the paper tray 23 can be further downsized.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the guides 30L and 30R are attached to the box-like body Fr1 at the upper end and the lower end in the stacking direction of the paper P, and are positioned with respect to the stage 29. Even when the stacking amount is large, the paper P can be positioned stably.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, about the thing which has the same structure as 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is provided and the effect of the same embodiment is used about the effect of the invention by having the same structure.

  FIG. 11 is a plan view of a paper tray according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the paper tray according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, 23 is a paper tray as a second medium storage device, 24 is a pickup roller as a second feeding member, 25 is a friction roller as a first discriminating roller and as a feed mechanism, 28 Is a pair of registration rollers as a third conveying member. Note that the paper P is conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the sheet P as the medium is fed out by the pickup roller 24, the sheet P reaches the registration roller pair 28, and the rear end of the sheet P when the front end of the sheet P hits the registration roller pair 28. The end is positioned behind the front ends of the side guide portions 30a and 30b as the width direction restricting portions, and the sheet P and the side guide portions 30a are the distance L2 between the rear end of the paper P and the front ends of the side guide portions 30a and 30b. , 30b are overlapped.

  Therefore, when the skew of the sheet P is corrected by the registration roller pair 28, the rear end of the sheet P is sandwiched between the side guide portions 30a and 30b, and the movement of the sheet P in the width direction is restricted. It is possible to prevent the positional deviation in the width direction from occurring. As a result, the skew of the paper P can be reliably corrected.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the printer 10 has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the gist of the present invention, and they are not excluded from the scope of the present invention.

23 Paper tray 29 Stage 30a, 30b Side guide part 30L, 30R Guide 31a, 31b Tail guide part P Paper

Claims (10)

(A) a medium stacking unit on which the medium is loaded;
(B) a medium restricting unit that restricts movement of the medium loaded on the medium loading unit;
(C) The medium restricting portion is a width direction restricting portion that restricts movement in the width direction that is a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the medium, and a length that restricts movement in the length direction that is the medium conveyance direction. A medium accommodating device comprising a direction restricting portion.   The medium accommodating device according to claim 1, wherein the medium restricting portion is movably disposed with respect to the medium stacking portion in the width direction of the medium by a positioning element.   The medium accommodating device according to claim 1, wherein the medium restricting portion is arranged to be movable with respect to the medium stacking portion in a length direction of the medium by a positioning element.   The medium storage device according to claim 1, wherein the medium regulating unit is positioned with respect to the medium stacking unit at an upper side and a lower side in a medium stacking direction.   The medium storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the medium regulating unit includes positioning elements for positioning the medium stacking unit at an upper end and a lower end in a medium stacking direction.   The medium accommodation device according to claim 2, wherein the positioning element is disposed in the medium restriction portion. (A) the positioning element is a plurality of positioning holes;
(B) The predetermined positioning hole is offset with respect to other positioning holes in the width direction of the medium,
(C) The medium accommodating device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the medium restricting portion is disposed movably with respect to the medium stacking portion in the width direction of the medium. (A) the positioning element is a plurality of positioning holes;
(B) The distance between the positioning holes in the length direction of the medium is set,
(C) The medium accommodating device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the medium restricting portion is movably disposed with respect to the medium stacking portion in a medium length direction.   An image forming apparatus on which the medium accommodation device according to claim 1 is mounted. (A) a feeding member for feeding out the medium;
(B) a discriminator disposed downstream of the feeding member in the medium transport direction;
(C) having a conveying member disposed downstream of the discriminator in the medium conveying direction;
(D) The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the medium restriction unit restricts movement of the medium in a width direction in a state where the medium reaches the conveying member.

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