JP2015143148A - Sheet feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet feeder which improves convenience of a user.SOLUTION: The sheet feeder includes: a pressure plate 31A which is arranged in a casing having an opening on a side surface and can place a paper inserted from the opening; a front cover 23 which can support a part of the paper placed on the pressure plate 31A and arranged on an outer side of the casing from the opening in an open state of the opening; a first guide 100 which is arranged on the front cover 23 so as to move in a conveying direction of the paper and has a first restriction surface 110A for restricting a position of a front end of the paper placed on the pressure plate 31A; and a second guide 200 arranged on the first guide 100 so as to swing. The second guide 200 includes a second restriction surface 210A which restricts a position of the front end of the paper placed on the pressure plate 31A, and can swing between a restriction position where the second restriction surface 210A is positioned on a rear side from the first restriction surface 110A, and a retraction position where the second restriction surface 210A is positioned on a front side from the first restriction surface 110A.

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a housing having an opening formed on a side surface and a cover for opening and closing the opening are provided, and a seat inserted through the opening is supported by a mounting portion provided in the housing and an open cover. There is known a sheet supply apparatus configured as described above (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this image forming apparatus, the cover is provided with a guide that can move in the sheet conveyance direction and regulates the position of the upstream end of the sheet in the conveyance direction.

JP 2012-188233 A

  By the way, in the above-described technique, the guide will not function unless the sheet is sized so as to protrude from the placement unit and be placed on the cover, so when printing on a sheet having a size that does not reach the cover. It was necessary to attach another guide as an auxiliary. However, since this auxiliary guide has to be removed from the sheet feeding apparatus when it is not needed, it is inconvenient for the user.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a sheet supply apparatus that improves user convenience.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a sheet supply apparatus according to the present invention includes a housing having an opening formed on a side surface, a placement portion provided in the housing and capable of placing a sheet inserted from the opening, and an opening. A cover that can support a portion that is disposed outside the housing from the opening of the sheet placed on the placement portion and is movable in the sheet conveyance direction. A first guide having a first restricting portion that is provided on the cover and restricts the position of the upstream end of the sheet placed on the placing portion in the conveyance direction, and is swingably provided on the first guide. And a second guide.
The second guide has a second restricting portion that restricts a position of an upstream end of the sheet placed on the placing portion in the transport direction, and the second restricting portion is downstream of the first restricting portion in the transport direction. The second restricting portion can swing between a restricting position located on the side and a retracted position located upstream of the first restricting portion in the transport direction.

  According to the sheet supply apparatus configured as described above, when the second guide is used, the second guide is disposed at the restriction position, and when the first guide can restrict the position of the sheet, the second guide is moved to the first guide. The second guide does not have to be removed because it may be swung with respect to the guide and disposed at the retracted position. This improves the convenience for the user.

  In the sheet feeding apparatus described above, the second guide has an extending portion that extends from the second restricting portion and is swingably supported by the first guide, and the extending portion is higher than the height of the first guide. The second restriction portion may be configured to be long and pass over the first guide when moving between the restriction position and the retracted position.

  In the sheet supply apparatus described above, when the cover has a movement restricting portion that contacts the first guide from the upstream side in the transport direction when the first guide is disposed on the most upstream side in the transport direction. It is desirable that the extending portion is disposed at a position shifted in the sheet width direction with respect to the movement restricting portion.

  According to this, when the 2nd guide is rock | fluctuated, it can suppress that an extension part and a movement control part interfere.

  In the sheet feeding apparatus described above, the second guide is in contact with the cover when the first guide is positioned at the restriction position in a state where the first guide is disposed on the most downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the cover. A first contact portion provided at a portion corresponding to a boundary between the first contact portion, the second contact portion that contacts the placement portion, the cover between the first contact portion and the second contact portion, and the placement portion. And it is desirable to have the recessed part retracted | saved from the upper surface of the cover rather than the 2nd contact part.

  According to this, when the 2nd guide is arranged in a regulation position, it can control that the 2nd guide and the edge of a cover interfere.

The sheet supply device described above is provided on the cover and moves in the transport direction, so that the sheet supply device is positioned between the storage position stored in the cover and the pull-out position pulled out from the cover upstream of the storage position in the transport direction. The first guide may be provided on the support member so as to be slidable in the transport direction.
In this case, the first load, which is a load necessary for moving the first guide to the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the support member, is a load necessary for moving the support member from the storage position to the extraction position. The third load, which is set to be smaller than the second load and is necessary for moving the first guide to the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the support member, moves the support member from the extraction position to the storage position. It is desirable that it is set to be larger than the fourth load, which is a load necessary for the purpose.

  According to this, when the first guide is moved to the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction, it is not necessary to move while holding the support member, and when the support member is moved from the drawing position to the storage position, the first guide is not required. However, it is not necessary to move the support member so as not to move with respect to the support member, so that convenience for the user is improved.

  In the sheet supply apparatus described above, the support member has a sliding portion extending in the transport direction on a surface facing the first guide, and the first guide protrudes toward the sliding portion, and the sliding portion And the sliding portion abuts on the sliding portion when the first guide is disposed at the most upstream position in the transport direction with respect to the support member. A first inclined surface extending from the position to the downstream side in the transport direction and approaching the first guide toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and the first guide at the most downstream position in the transport direction with respect to the support member The second inclined surface extends from the position where the sliding portion abuts when arranged to the upstream side in the conveyance direction, and approaches the first guide toward the upstream side in the conveyance direction. A configuration in which the inclination with respect to the transport direction is gentler than the first inclined surface; Rukoto can.

  In the sheet supply apparatus described above, the cover has engaged portions extending in the transport direction on both sides of the support member in the sheet width direction, and the support member protrudes outward in the width direction and faces the engaged portion. It has a biased engaging portion, and the engaging portion engages with the engaged portion, so that the second load and the fourth load may be generated.

  According to the present invention, when the second guide is used, the second guide is disposed at the restriction position, and when the position of the sheet can be restricted by the first guide, the second guide is swung with respect to the first guide. Therefore, it is not necessary to remove the second guide. This improves the convenience for the user.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a laser printer including a paper feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. They are a front cover, a supporting member, an exploded perspective view (a) showing the first guide and the second guide, and a perspective view (b) showing the first guide. It is sectional drawing of a front cover, a supporting member, and a 1st guide. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing positions of a first guide, a second guide, and a support member in a state where the position of the front end of a sheet whose front end is not placed on the front cover can be regulated. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing positions of a first guide, a second guide, and a support member in a state in which the front end can regulate the position of the front end of the sheet placed on the front cover. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating positions of a first guide, a second guide, and a support member in a state in which the position of the front end of the sheet protruding from the front cover can be regulated. It is the figure which looked at the 2nd guide, the supporting member, and the front cover from the front side. It is sectional drawing of the paper feeder which shows the side surface of a 2nd guide. It is sectional drawing which cut the front cover and the supporting member with the plane which passes along an engaging part and a to-be-engaged part. It is an enlarged view of an engaging part and an engaged part. It is a figure which shows the state which closed the front cover of the laser printer.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the following description, first, the overall configuration of the laser printer 1 including the sheet feeding device 3 as an example of the sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described, and then the characteristic portions of the present invention will be described in detail. explain.

  In the following description, the direction will be described with reference to the user when using the laser printer. That is, in FIG. 1, the left side toward the paper surface is “front side”, the right side toward the paper surface is “rear side”, the rear side toward the paper surface is “left side”, and the front side toward the paper surface is “right side”. To do. In addition, the vertical direction toward the page is defined as the “vertical direction”.

<Schematic configuration of laser printer>
As shown in FIG. 1, the laser printer 1 includes an apparatus main body 2, a sheet feeding device 3 for feeding a sheet P as an example of a sheet, and an image forming unit 4 for forming an image on the sheet P. It has.

  The apparatus main body 2 includes a housing 21, a top cover 22, and a front cover 23 as an example of a cover.

  The housing 21 includes a pair of side frames 21 </ b> A that face each other in the left-right direction, and a front wall 21 </ b> B that constitutes the front surface of the housing 21.

  The pair of side frames 21 </ b> A are arranged so as to sandwich the image forming unit 4 and a pressure plate 31 </ b> A described later from the left and right directions.

  The front wall 21B is provided so as to connect the front ends of the pair of side frames 21A, and the lower end thereof is disposed above the lower ends of the pair of side frames 21A. Accordingly, the housing 21 has an insertion port as an example of an opening through which the paper P can be inserted into a lower portion of a front surface (a front side surface constituted by the side frame 21A, the front wall 21B, etc.) as an example of a side surface. 21C is formed. Specifically, the insertion port 21C has an upper edge formed by the front wall 21B and a lower edge formed by a pressure plate 31A described later. The insertion port 21 </ b> C has left and right edges formed by a pair of side frames 21 </ b> A.

  In addition, the housing 21 is formed with an opening (not shown) that opens upward and is opened and closed by rotating the top cover 22.

  The top cover 22 is supported by the housing 21 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft arranged at the rear end. The upper surface of the top cover 22 is a discharge tray 9 on which the paper P discharged out of the casing 21 by a discharge roller 8 described later is placed. An extension cover 10 is provided on the discharge tray 9. The extension cover 10 is rotated with respect to the top cover 22 so as to cover the top surface of the discharge tray 9 indicated by a two-dot chain line and the discharge tray that supports the front end portion of the paper P on the discharge tray 9 indicated by a solid line. It is possible to move between 9 and an adjacent position.

  The front cover 23 is a cover that covers the front surface of the housing 21, and a lower end portion thereof is rotatably supported by the housing 21. Thereby, the front cover 23 can be opened and closed by rotating the front cover 23 in the front-rear direction.

  The paper feeding device 3 is located below the housing 2, and a paper feeding tray 31 on which the paper P inserted from the insertion port 21 </ b> C is placed, and a position in the width direction of the paper P on the paper feeding tray 31. And a pair of side guides 33 that regulate the paper feed and a paper feed mechanism 32 that feeds the paper P on the paper feed tray 31 toward the image forming unit 4.

  The paper feed tray 31 includes a pressure plate 31 </ b> A as an example of a placement unit provided in the housing 21 and the above-described front cover 23. Specifically, the paper feed tray 31 extends from the inside of the housing 21 to the outside of the insertion port 21C. The pressure plate 31A constitutes a portion inside the casing 21 of the paper feed tray 31, and can place the paper P inserted from the insertion port 21C. Further, the front cover 23 constitutes an outer portion of the housing 21 with the insertion port 21 </ b> C opened by being tilted forward, and a portion disposed outside the housing 21 from the insertion port 21 </ b> C of the paper P. Can be supported.

  The pressure plate 31A extends from the front end of the housing 21 to a position in the vicinity of the rear end, and the rear end can be turned up and down around a rotation shaft provided at the front end. The pressure plate 31A is pushed up by a known mechanism and a control device (not shown) provided by a push-up member 31B provided under the pressure plate 31A, so that the rear end portion is pushed up, and a pickup roller 32A, which will be described later. It can be rotated so as to approach or separate.

  Specifically, the pressure plate 31A is in a standby state that is the most distant from the pickup roller 32A as shown by a two-dot chain line in a state where there is no print command, but is substantially in a standby state. In this case, it is turned upward to come close to the pickup roller 32A.

  The pair of side guides 33 are provided at the left and right ends of the pressure plate 31A. The pair of side guides 33 extends upward from the upper surface of the pressure plate 31A and is formed in a plate shape that is long in the front-rear direction. The sheet P placed on the sheet feed tray 31 is regulated in the width direction position of the sheet P by having both ends in the width direction hit the pair of side guides 33.

  The paper feed mechanism 32 mainly includes a pickup roller 32A, a separation roller 32B, and a separation pad 32C. The pickup roller 32A is provided on the opposite side to the insertion port 21C in the housing 21. More specifically, the pickup roller 32A is disposed above the rear end of the pressure plate 31A. The separation roller 32B is disposed opposite to the separation pad 32C on the downstream side of the pickup roller 32A in the transport direction of the paper P.

  In the paper feeding device 3, the front cover 23 is tilted forward to form the paper feeding tray 31, and then the paper P is inserted from the insertion port 21 </ b> C and placed on the paper feeding tray 31. When a print command is issued, the rear end portion of the pressure plate 31 </ b> A rises and the pickup roller 32 </ b> A contacts the paper P placed on the paper feed tray 31. When the pickup roller 32A rotates in this state, the paper P placed on the paper feed tray 31 is sent to the separation roller 32B, and the sent paper P is between the separation roller 32B and the separation pad 32C. The images are separated one by one and supplied to the image forming unit 4.

  The image forming unit 4 mainly includes a scanner unit 5, a process cartridge 6, and a fixing device 7.

  The scanner unit 5 is provided above the front sheet feeding device 3 in the housing 2 and includes a laser light emitting unit, a polygon mirror, a lens, and the like (not shown). In this scanner unit 5, laser light is irradiated on the surface of a photosensitive drum 61 described later by high-speed scanning.

  The process cartridge 6 is provided above the sheet feeding device 3 on the rear side in the housing 2, and is attached to and detached from the housing 21 through an opening at the top of the housing 2 that is opened by opening the top cover 22. It is possible. The process cartridge 6 includes a photosensitive drum 61, a transfer roller 62 that faces the photosensitive drum 61, a charger that is not shown in the reference numerals, a developing roller 63, a toner storage chamber (not shown), and the like.

  In the process cartridge 6, the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 61 is uniformly charged by a charger, and then exposed by high-speed scanning of laser light from the scanner unit 5. As a result, the potential of the exposed portion is lowered, and an electrostatic latent image based on the image data is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 61.

  Next, the toner stored in the toner storage chamber is supplied to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 61 by the developing roller 63, and a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 61. Thereafter, the paper P is transported between the photosensitive drum 61 and the transfer roller 62, whereby the toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 61 is transferred onto the paper P.

  The fixing device 7 is disposed behind the housing 2 and above the process cartridge 6, and mainly includes a heating roller 71 and a pressure roller 72.

The heating roller 71 is a member that heats the paper P, and a heat source such as a halogen lamp is provided inside thereof.
The pressure roller 72 is a member that sandwiches and conveys the paper P with the heating roller 71 and is provided obliquely above the heating roller 71.

  In the fixing device 7 configured as described above, the toner transferred onto the paper P is thermally fixed while the paper P passes between the heating roller 71 and the pressure roller 72. The paper P thermally fixed by the fixing device 7 is conveyed to a discharge roller 8 disposed on the downstream side of the fixing device 7, and is discharged from the discharge roller 8 onto a discharge tray 9.

<Detailed configuration of paper feeding device>
Next, a detailed configuration of the sheet feeding device 3 will be described. In the following explanation, explanation will be made with reference to the state in which the front cover 23 is opened. That is, the transport direction of the paper P is the front-rear direction, and the width direction of the paper P is the left-right direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, the paper feeding device 3 includes the casing 21, the paper feeding tray 31, the paper feeding mechanism 32, and the front end of the paper P placed on the paper feeding tray 31 ( A first guide 100 and a second guide 200 for regulating the position of the upstream end in the transport direction, and a support member 300 provided on the front cover 23 are provided.

  The support member 300 is provided at the center in the left-right direction of the front cover 23 and is slidable back and forth with respect to the opened front cover 23. The first guide 100 is provided on the support member 300 and is slidable back and forth with respect to the front cover 23 by sliding back and forth with respect to the support member 300 when the front cover 23 is open. It has become. The second guide 200 is swingably supported by the first guide 100.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the front cover 23 slides the support member 300 in the width direction of the paper P of the support member 300 on the inner surface (the upper surface in the opened state), that is, in both the left and right directions. It has a groove 23A for guiding. The groove 23A is formed so as to open inward in the left-right direction, and extends in the front-rear direction.

  The support member 300 is provided above the guided portion 320, the supporting portion 310 formed in a rectangular plate shape that is long in the front-rear direction, the guided portions 320 provided at both left and right ends of the supporting portion 310, and the like. It has a guide rail 330, a contact wall 340 as an example of a movement restricting portion protruding upward from the front end of the support portion 310, and hooks 350 provided on the left and right sides of the rear end portion of the support portion 310. .

  The guided portion 320 is formed in a plate shape extending along the longitudinal direction of the support portion 310. The guided portion 320 and the hook 350 enter the groove portion 23A of the front cover 23, and the guided member 320 and the hook 350 move in the front-rear direction along the groove portion 23A, so that the support member 300 is Moves between a storage position (position shown in FIG. 4) stored in the cover 23 and a drawing position (position shown in FIG. 6) drawn to the upstream side in the transport direction of the paper P from the storage position, that is, the front side. It is possible. The configuration of the hook 350 will be described later.

  The support part 310 has a plurality of lock recesses 311 and a pair of sliding parts 312 on the upper surface.

  The lock recess 311 is a portion that is recessed from the upper surface of the support portion 310, and a plurality of lock recesses 311 are provided in the front-rear direction at the center in the left-right direction of the support portion 310.

  The sliding portion 312 is provided on both the left and right sides of the lock recess 311. As shown in FIG. 3, the sliding portion 312 extends from the front end portion of the support portion 310 to the rear portion, and at the front end portion and the rear end portion, a front recess portion 312F and a rear recess portion 312R that are recessed from the upper surface of the support portion 310. have.

  Specifically, the sliding portion 312 includes a first horizontal plane 312A extending in the front-rear direction at the front end portion of the support portion 310, a second horizontal plane 312B extending in the front-rear direction at a position near the rear end portion of the support portion 310, and A third horizontal plane 312C extending in the front-rear direction between the first horizontal plane 312A and the second horizontal plane 312B, and disposed at a level higher than the first horizontal plane 312A and the second horizontal plane 312B, and the first horizontal plane 312A and the third horizontal plane. A first inclined surface 312D that connects 312C and a second inclined surface 312E that connects the second horizontal surface 312B and the third horizontal surface 312C are provided. The first horizontal surface 312A and the first inclined surface 312D form a front concave portion 312F, and the second horizontal surface 312B and the second inclined surface 312E form a rear concave portion 312R.

  The first inclined surface 312D extends toward the upper side (approaching the first guide 100) toward the rear. The second inclined surface 312E extends toward the upper side as it goes forward. The second inclined surface 312E is less inclined with respect to the transport direction of the paper P than the first inclined surface 312D.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the guide rail 330 is a plate-like portion that protrudes outward in the left-right direction from the support portion 310, and is slid in the front-rear direction along the direction in which the slid portion 312 extends. The portion 312 extends from the front end portion to the vicinity of the rear end portion.

  The abutting wall 340 is a wall that abuts on the first guide 100 when the first guide 100 is disposed on the most front side with respect to the support member 300. The abutting wall 340 is provided on the front side of the plurality of lock recesses 311 and the sliding portion 312, and in the left-right direction, from a position corresponding to one sliding portion 312 to a position corresponding to the other sliding portion 312. Is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the first guide 100 includes a main body part 110 placed on the lock recess 311 and the sliding part 312, and a pair of slide parts 120 provided on the lower end part of the main body part 110. The operation unit 130 provided on the front surface side of the main body 110 and the pair of engagement hooks 140 provided on the lower surface side of the main body 110 are provided.

  The main body part 110 is formed in a U-shape in plan view with a central part in the left-right direction recessed in the rear side, and is disposed on the left and right sides of the first wall part 111 extending in the left-right direction, and the first wall part 111, It has a pair of 2nd wall part 112 which protrudes ahead rather than the 1st wall part 111. FIG. The main body portion 110 has a rear surface of the first wall portion 111 and a rear end surface of the second wall portion 112 that are flush with each other, and constitutes a first restriction surface 110A as an example of a first restriction portion that contacts the paper P. doing.

  Further, the second wall portion 112 has a hole portion 112A for supporting the second guide 200 on the side surface on the outer side in the left-right direction.

  The operation unit 130 is a part that is operated by the user when the first guide 100 is slid. The operation portion 130 is disposed between the pair of second wall portions 112 of the first guide 100 and, as shown in FIG. 4, a lock convex portion (reference numeral) that engages with the lock concave portion 311 of the support member 300 at the lower end portion. (Omitted). And the operation part 130 is comprised so that a lock convex part can be displaced by moving an upper end back, and engagement with the lock | rock recessed part 311 can be cancelled | released.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the slide portion 120 includes a first portion 121 that extends outward in the left-right direction from the lower end portion of the second wall portion 112 of the main body portion 110, and an outer side in the left-right direction of the first portion 121. The second portion 122 extends downward from the end portion, and the third portion 123 extends inward in the left-right direction from the second portion 122. Then, the slide portion 120 is engaged with the guide rail 330 so that the first portion 121 and the third portion 123 sandwich the guide rail 330 of the support member 300, so that the first guide 100 extends in the direction in which the guide rail 330 extends. It can move along.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the engagement hook 140 is provided at a position corresponding to the slid portion 312 of the support member 300, and extends downward from the lower surface of the second wall portion 112 and then extends forward. And a hook part 142 as an example of a sliding part protruding from the tip of the arm part 141 toward the sliding part 312 facing the arm part 141. In addition, illustration of the 2nd guide 200 is abbreviate | omitted in FIG.

  The arm portion 141 has flexibility, and biases the hook portion 142 toward the sliding portion 312 side of the support member 300 when the distal end side is bent so as to approach the main body portion 110 side. It is formed as follows. Note that when the hook portion 142 as shown in FIG. 3 enters the front recess 312F and the rear recess 312R, the arm 131 is not bent and does not bias the hook 142.

  And in the 1st guide 100 comprised in this way, when the 1st guide 100 is located in the most front side with respect to the supporting member 300, the hook part 142 is the front side of 1st inclined surface 312D of the to-be-slidable part 312. Thus, when the first guide 100 is moved to the rear side from this state, the hook portion 142 gets over the first inclined surface 312D. Further, when the first guide 100 is located on the most rear side with respect to the support member 300 (see the two-dot chain line), the hook portion 142 is behind the second inclined surface 312E of the sliding portion 312 and the second horizontal plane 312B. When the first guide 100 is moved to the front side from this state, the hook portion 142 gets over the second inclined surface 312E.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the second guide 200 includes a restricting portion 210 formed in a U shape, a pair of extending portions 220 extending from the left and right sides of the restricting portion 210, and a reinforcing portion 230. And a protruding portion 240 that protrudes inward in the left-right direction from the extending portion 220.

  The restricting portion 210 includes a restricting wall 211 extending in the left-right direction and a pair of side wall portions 212 extending in a direction intersecting the restricting wall 211 from both the left and right sides of the restricting wall 211 and connected to the extending portion 220. The regulation wall 211 has a flat outer surface, which is a second regulation surface 210A as an example of a second regulation unit. The reinforcing portion 230 is a wall formed so as to connect the restriction wall 211 and the pair of side wall portions 212.

  The second guide 200 is supported by the first guide 100 in a swingable manner by the protrusion 240 entering the hole 112A of the first guide 100. Specifically, the second guide 200 has a regulation position in which the second regulation surface 210A as shown in FIG. 4 is located on the rear side of the first regulation surface 110A of the first guide 100 and faces the rear side, and FIG. The second restricting surface 210A as shown in FIG. 5 is swingable between a retracted position that is located on the front side of the first restricting surface 110A and faces the front side.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the extension 220 is formed to be longer than the height of the first guide 100 (the height of the main body 110 in the present embodiment), and the second guide 200. The second restricting surface 210A passes over the first guide 100 when moving between the restricting position and the retracted position. Thereby, when the 2nd guide 200 rock | fluctuates, it is possible to suppress that the 2nd guide 200 and the 1st guide 100 interfere.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the extending portion 220 is disposed at a position shifted in the left-right direction with respect to the abutting wall 340 of the support member 300, more specifically, at the outer side in the left-right direction. Thereby, when the second guide 200 is swung with respect to the first guide 100, it is possible to suppress the extension portion 220 from hitting the contact wall 340.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the second guide 200 is located at the restriction position, the second guide 200 includes a first contact portion 221 that protrudes downward at a position near the first guide 100 and a tip portion (second portion). The first contact portion 221 and the second contact portion 222 are disposed between the first contact portion 221 and the second contact portion 222, and the second contact portion 222 that protrudes downward at a position on the regulation surface 210 </ b> A side. And a recess 223 retracted from the upper surface of the front cover 23. Specifically, the first contact part 221 is formed in the extension part 220, and the second contact part 222 is formed in the restriction part 210.

  When the second guide 200 is positioned at the restricting position with the first guide 100 being arranged on the rearmost side with respect to the front cover 23, the first contact portion 221 has the upper surface of the front cover 23 (more specifically, Is in contact with the upper surface of the support portion 310 of the support member 300, and the second contact portion 222 is in contact with the upper surface of the pressure plate 31A. And the recessed part 223 is provided in the part corresponding to the boundary of the front cover 23 and the pressure plate 31A. Thus, by providing the recessed part 223, it is possible to suppress that the edge of the extension part 220 and the front cover 23 interferes.

  In the sheet feeding device 3, the first load, which is a load necessary to move the first guide 100 to the front side with respect to the support member 300, is used to move the support member 300 from the storage position to the extraction position. It is set smaller than the required second load. Further, the sheet feeding device 3 is configured so that the third load, which is a load necessary for moving the first guide 100 to the rear side with respect to the support member 300, is to move the support member 300 from the extraction position to the storage position. It is set to be larger than the required fourth load.

A configuration for setting the load as described above will be described.
As shown in FIG. 9, the hook 350 of the support member 300 protrudes outward in the left-right direction from the rear end of the support part 310 and protrudes outward in the left-right direction at the front end of the base 351. And an engaging portion 352. The engaging portion 352 protrudes outward in the left-right direction with respect to the guided portion 320, and is biased outward in the left-right direction as the base portion 351 is bent.

  And in the groove part 23A of the front cover 23, the to-be-engaged part 400 extended in the front-back direction is provided in the left-right direction both sides of the supporting member 300. As shown in FIG. The engaging portion 352 of the support member 300 is engaged with the engaged portion 400.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the engaged portion 400 is arranged at a position where the plurality of engaging convex portions 410 protruding from the surface facing the engaging portion 352 and the support member 300 correspond to the standard size paper P. The front projection 420 and the rear projection 430 are disposed before and after the engaging portion 352.

  The engagement convex portion 410 is a protrusion for applying a load to the support member 300 when the support member 300 moves between the storage position and the extraction position by engaging with the engagement portion 352 of the support member 300. A plurality of them are provided side by side in the front-rear direction.

  Each engagement convex portion 410 has a front end surface 411 parallel to the front-rear direction, a first surface 412 provided on the front side of the front end surface 411, and a second surface 413 provided on the rear side of the front end surface 411. doing.

The first surface 412 is a surface that is inclined with respect to the front-rear direction, and extends toward the outer side in the left-right direction as the distance from the front end surface 411 increases.
The second surface 413 is a surface orthogonal to the front-rear direction. The front end surface 411 and the second surface 413 of the engaging convex portion 410 are gently connected, and the engaging convex portion 410 has a curved surface 414 between the front end surface 411 and the second surface 413.

  The front protrusion 420 and the rear protrusion 430 are protrusions that protrude inward in the left-right direction with respect to the engagement protrusion 410.

  The front convex portion 420 has a front end surface 421 parallel to the front-rear direction, a third surface 422 provided on the front side of the front end surface 421, and a fourth surface 423 provided on the rear side of the front end surface 421. Yes.

  The third surface 422 is a surface that is inclined with respect to the front-rear direction, and extends toward the outer side in the left-right direction as the distance from the front end surface 421 increases. The inclination of the third surface 422 with respect to the front-rear direction is gentler than the inclination of the engagement protrusion 410 with respect to the front-rear direction of the first surface 412. The fourth surface 423 is a surface orthogonal to the front-rear direction.

  The rear convex portion 430 includes a front end surface 431 parallel to the front-rear direction, a fifth surface 432 provided on the front side of the front end surface 431, and a sixth surface 433 provided on the rear side of the front end surface 431. ing.

  The fifth surface 432 is a surface orthogonal to the front-rear direction. The sixth surface 433 is a surface that is inclined with respect to the front-rear direction, and extends toward the outer side in the left-right direction as the distance from the front end surface 421 increases. The inclination of the sixth surface 433 relative to the front-rear direction is gentler than the inclination of the engagement convex portion 410 relative to the front-rear direction of the first surface 412. In the present embodiment, the inclination of the sixth surface 433 relative to the front-rear direction is substantially the same as the inclination of the front surface 420 of the third surface 422 relative to the front-rear direction.

  On the other hand, the engaging portion 352 provided on the support member 300 includes an inclined surface 352A extending toward the rear side from the front end surface of the base portion 351 toward the outer side in the left-right direction, and a side surface of the base portion 351 on the rear side of the inclined surface 352A. It has a vertical surface 352B extending outward in the left-right direction and orthogonal to the front-rear direction, and a curved surface 352C that gently connects the inclined surface 352A and the vertical surface 352B.

  The inclination of the inclined surface 352A with respect to the front-rear direction is substantially the same as the inclination of the third surface 422 of the front convex portion 420 and the sixth surface 433 of the rear convex portion 430 with respect to the front-rear direction.

  By configuring the front cover 23 and the support member 300 as described above, the first necessary for moving the support member 300 from the storage position to the extraction position while the engagement portion 352 is engaged with the engagement protrusion 410 is provided. The second load is larger than the fourth load required when the support member 300 moves from the pull-out position to the storage position while the engaging portion 352 is engaged with the engaging convex portion 410.

  For example, if the surface facing the front side of the engaging portion 352 of the hook 350 is not inclined with respect to the front-rear direction as described above, and is a surface perpendicular to the front-rear direction, the support member 300 Since the base end of the base portion 351 is provided on the rear side of the hook 350, the engaging portion 352 may be caught by the engaging convex portion 410 when the support member 300 is moved from the storage position to the drawing position. . On the other hand, in this embodiment, the surface (inclined surface 352A) facing the front side of the engaging portion 352 of the hook 350 is inclined with respect to the front-rear direction, so that the engaging portion 352 can easily get over the engaging convex portion 410. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the slid portion 312 of the support member 300, the inclination of the second inclined surface 312E with respect to the front-rear direction is looser than the inclination of the first inclined surface 312D with respect to the front-rear direction, as described above. The third load required when moving the first guide 100 from the most front side position relative to the support member 300 to the rear side is the state where the first guide 100 is positioned farthest rearward from the support member 300. It is larger than the 1st load required when moving to the front side.

  Further, the inclination of the second inclined surface 312E with respect to the front-rear direction is such that the first load, which is a load necessary for moving the first guide 100 forward with respect to the support member 300, is the position where the support member 300 is pulled out from the storage position. The angle is set to a small angle so as to be smaller than the second load that is a load necessary for moving to the position. The inclination of the first inclined surface 312D with respect to the front-rear direction is that the third load, which is a load necessary for moving the first guide 100 to the rear side with respect to the support member 300, is stored in the support member 300 from the pulled-out position. The angle is set so as to be larger than the fourth load, which is a load necessary for moving to the position.

The operation and effect of the sheet feeding device 3 configured as described above will be described.
When printing on the paper P having a size such that the rear end is placed on the front cover 23 when placed on the pressure plate 31A, as shown in FIG. Moving to the storage position, the first guide 100 is moved to a position where the first restricting surface 110 </ b> A contacts the rear end of the paper P.

  Then, when printing the paper P having a size that the rear end does not reach the front cover 23 and is placed only on the pressure plate 31A when placed on the pressure plate 31A, as shown in FIG. The first guide 100 is moved to the rearmost position with respect to the support member 300, and the second guide 200 is swung and moved to the restriction position. As a result, the position of the rear end can be regulated by the second regulating surface 210 </ b> A of the second guide 200 even if the paper P has a size that does not reach the front cover 23.

  Then, when printing on the sheet P having a size such that the rear end protrudes from the front cover 23 when placed on the pressure plate 31A, the second guide 200 is moved to the retracted position as shown in FIG. The first guide 100 is moved to the frontmost position with respect to the support member 300, and the support member 300 is pulled out from the front cover 23 and moved to the extraction position. Accordingly, even if the paper P has a size such that the rear end protrudes from the front cover 23, the position of the rear end can be regulated by the first regulating surface 110 </ b> A of the first guide 100.

  By the way, when the first guide 100 is moved with respect to the support member 300 and when the support member 300 is moved with respect to the front cover 23, the user operates with the first guide 100. At this time, the first load, which is a load necessary for moving the first guide 100 to the front side with respect to the support member 300, is a load necessary for moving the support member 300 from the storage position to the extraction position. Since the load is set to be smaller than 2 loads, when the user pulls the first guide 100 to the front side, the first guide 100 first moves to the front side with respect to the support member 300, and is most forward with respect to the support member 300. Then, the support member 300 is pulled out from the front cover 23. Thereby, for example, when it is desired to move the first guide 100 to the front side with respect to the support member 300 while the support member 300 remains in the storage position, the support member 300 is held down so that the support member 300 is not pulled out from the front cover 23. Since it is not necessary to operate the first guide 100, user convenience is improved.

  Further, the third load, which is a load necessary for moving the first guide 100 to the rear side with respect to the support member 300, is a load necessary for moving the support member 300 from the extraction position to the storage position. Since the load is set to be larger than 4, when the user pushes the first guide 100 to the rear side, the support member 300 first moves from the pulled-out position to the stowed position with respect to the front cover 23, and then the first guide 100. Moves rearward with respect to the support member 300. Accordingly, for example, when the support member 300 is desired to be stored in the front cover 23, it is not necessary to operate the first guide 100 while pressing the first guide 100 so as not to move with respect to the support member 300, thereby improving user convenience. To do.

  When the front cover 23 is closed, the support member 300 is moved to the storage position, the first guide 100 is moved to the rearmost position with respect to the support member 300, and the second guide 200 is moved to the restriction position. . As a result, as shown in FIG. 11, the first guide 100 is disposed inside the insertion port 21 </ b> C, and the second guide 200 swings with respect to the first guide 100, thereby restricting the portion 210. Is housed in the housing 2 in a posture of being placed on the pressure plate 31A.

  As described above, in the sheet feeding device 3, the second guide 200 is provided so as to be swingable with respect to the first guide 100, so that the second guide 200 can be removed without removing the second guide 200 from the first guide 100. When 200 is not used, the first guide 100 can be positioned at the retracted position so as to function. In addition, since the second guide 200 is provided so as to be swingable with respect to the first guide 100, the front cover 23 can be closed without removing the second guide 200 from the first guide 100. This improves the convenience for the user.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. About a concrete structure, it can change suitably in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.

  In the embodiment, the pressure plate 31A that lifts the paper P toward the pickup roller 32A is exemplified as the placement unit, but the configuration of the placement unit is not limited to this. For example, the placement unit may be a tray that does not move up and down. In this case, the pickup roller may be configured to move up and down with respect to the tray.

  In the said embodiment, although the 2nd surface 413 of the engagement convex part 410 which the to-be-engaged part 400 has was a surface orthogonal to the front-back direction, the structure of the engagement convex part 410 is limited to this. It is not a thing. For example, the second surface of the engaging convex portion may be an inclined surface that extends outward in the left-right direction as the distance from the distal end surface 411 increases. In this case, the second load required when the support member 300 moves from the storage position to the extraction position by setting the inclination of the second surface relative to the front-rear direction to be larger than the inclination of the first surface 412 relative to the front-rear direction. However, it can be made larger than the fourth load required when the support member 300 moves from the pull-out position to the storage position.

  In the above-described embodiment, the sheet supply device is applied to the paper supply device 3 used for paper supply of a laser printer. However, the present invention is applicable to a document feeding device provided in a copying machine or the like as long as it is a device for supplying sheets. May be applied.

2 housing 3 paper feeding device 21 housing 21C insertion port 23 front cover 31A pressure plate 100 first guide 110A first regulating surface 142 hook portion 200 second guide 210A second regulating surface 220 extending portion 221 first contact portion 222 2nd contact part 223 recessed part 300 support member 312 sliding part 312D 1st inclined surface 312E 2nd inclined surface 340 contact wall 352 engaging part 400 engaged part P paper

Claims (7)

A housing having an opening formed on a side surface;
A placement portion provided in the housing and capable of placing a sheet inserted from the opening;
A cover that can open and close the opening, and can support a portion disposed outside the housing from the opening of the sheet placed on the placing portion in a state where the opening is opened;
A first guide that is provided on the cover so as to be movable in the sheet conveying direction and has a first restricting portion that regulates the position of the upstream end of the sheet placed on the placing portion in the conveying direction;
A second guide swingably provided on the first guide,
The second guide has a second restricting portion that restricts a position of an upstream end in the transport direction of the sheet placed on the placing portion, and the second restricting portion is more than the first restricting portion. It is possible to swing between a restriction position located on the downstream side in the transport direction and the retreat position located on the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the second restriction portion. Sheet feeding device. The second guide has an extending portion that extends from the second restricting portion and is swingably supported by the first guide.
The extension portion is formed longer than the height of the first guide,
2. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second restricting unit passes over the first guide when moving between the restricting position and the retracted position. The cover has a movement restricting portion that comes into contact with the first guide from the upstream side in the transport direction when the first guide is arranged on the most upstream side in the transport direction,
The sheet supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the extension part is disposed at a position shifted in a sheet width direction with respect to the movement restriction part.   The second guide includes a first contact portion that contacts the cover when the first guide is positioned at the restriction position in a state where the first guide is disposed on the most downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the cover. A second abutting portion that abuts on the placement portion; and a portion corresponding to a boundary between the cover and the placement portion between the first abutment portion and the second abutment portion, 4. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a recessed portion that is retracted from an upper surface of the cover rather than the first abutting portion and the second abutting portion. 5. It is provided on the cover and can move between the storage position stored in the cover and the extraction position pulled out from the cover to the upstream side of the storage direction with respect to the storage position by moving in the transport direction. A support member that is
The first guide is provided on the support member so as to be slidable in the transport direction,
The first load, which is a load necessary to move the first guide to the upstream side in the transport direction with respect to the support member, is a load necessary to move the support member from the storage position to the extraction position. Is set to be smaller than the second load,
The third load, which is a load necessary to move the first guide to the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the support member, is a load necessary to move the support member from the extraction position to the storage position. 5. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding apparatus is set to be larger than the fourth load. The support member has a sliding portion extending in the transport direction on a surface facing the first guide,
The first guide has a sliding portion that protrudes toward the sliding portion and is biased toward the sliding portion,
The sliding portion extends from the position where the sliding portion abuts to the downstream side in the transport direction when the first guide is disposed at the most upstream position in the transport direction with respect to the support member. The first inclined surface approaching the first guide as it goes downstream in the transport direction, and the slide when the first guide is disposed at the most downstream position in the transport direction with respect to the support member. A second inclined surface extending from the position where the moving part contacts to the upstream side in the transport direction and approaching the first guide toward the upstream side in the transport direction;
The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second inclined surface has a gentler inclination with respect to the transport direction than the first inclined surface. The cover has engaged portions extending in the transport direction on both sides of the support member in the sheet width direction,
The support member has an engaging portion that protrudes outward in the width direction and is biased toward the engaged portion;
7. The structure according to claim 5, wherein the second load and the fourth load are generated when the engaging portion engages with the engaged portion. 8. Sheet feeding device.

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