JP2017088282A - Sheet feeding device and image formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet feeding device which can surely feed even a sheet with uneven thickness without conveyance failure and an image formation apparatus.SOLUTION: Control means of controlling the operations of a first drive unit for elevating sheet loading means so as to bring sheets loaded on the sheet loading means into pressure-contact with sheet feeding means and a second drive unit for moving a side end regulation member in the width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction forms a gap between the end in the width direction of the sheet and the side end regulation member by causing the second drive unit to move the side end regulation member from the regulation position for regulating the end in the width direction of the sheet before causing the first drive unit to elevate the sheet loading means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet conveying apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a mechanism for feeding a sheet having a non-uniform thickness such as an envelope.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as printers, facsimiles, and copiers that are configured to form an image in an image forming unit on a sheet fed from a sheet feeding apparatus are widely used. In this sheet feeding device, a storage for storing the sheet is detachably provided in the main body, and the sheet is fed by a pickup roller by setting the sheet and storing the storage in the main body. Generally it is. Since the pickup roller needs to rotate while pressing the sheet in order to feed the sheet in the storage, the sheet feeding device lifts the sheet stacked in the storage to the pressing position of the pickup roller. A lifting device is provided. The lifting device includes a tray for stacking sheets, drive transmission means for lifting and lowering the tray, and detection means for detecting the lifting position. In order to allow sheets of different sizes to be set at appropriate positions on this tray, the storage has a side end regulating member for regulating the direction orthogonal to the feeding direction, and a rear for regulating the sheet upstream position in the feeding direction. And an end regulating member.

  By the way, in the sheet feeding apparatus as described above, when a plurality of non-uniform sheets such as envelopes are stacked on the tray, the uppermost surface of the sheet bundle is inclined and the pickup roller and the sheet cannot be evenly contacted. Incorrect conveyance occurs. In order to solve this problem, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an auxiliary tray that is rotatably supported is provided on a tray that moves up and down, and a stack of sheets is stacked on the auxiliary tray so that the uppermost surface of the stacked sheets follows the pickup roller. A configuration that can be used is proposed.

JP 2014-37316 A

  Here, when the sheets (envelopes) S having non-uniform thicknesses as shown in FIG. 11 are stacked, the thickness on the side with the flap Sf becomes thicker than the thickness on the side without the flap Sf. In the case of feeding the sheet S such as an envelope, the sheet S such as an envelope is set with the bent portion of the flap Sf along the regulation surface of one side end regulating member of the pair of side end regulating members 104. Then, feeding is performed. 7 and 8 show the relationship between the sheet and the pickup roller when the auxiliary tray is used. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the sheet stacking state when the auxiliary tray is used, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing the pickup roller contact state when the auxiliary tray is used. As shown in FIG. 8, the auxiliary tray 101 is supported with respect to the tray 105 in a state in which it can be rotated clockwise / counterclockwise about the rotation center 101a. As shown in FIG. 7, when the sheets (envelopes) S are stacked, the height H1 on the side where the flap Sf is arranged becomes higher than the height H2 on the side where the flap Sf is not present. Then, the sheets S stacked in the state of FIG. 7 are lifted up the tray 105 and then the auxiliary tray 101 is rotated so that the uppermost surface St of the sheet S is placed on the pickup roller 102 as shown in FIG. Can contact evenly.

  By the way, for example, when the sheet S is in contact with only one of the pair of side end regulating members 104, the sheet S is brought into contact with the peripheral members (the side end regulating member 104, the storage 106, etc.). S may be lifted up in the presence of uneven resistance. 9 and 10 show an example in which the sheet S receives a contact resistance with the side end regulating member 104 and is lifted up. FIG. 9 shows the time when the sheets are stacked before lift-up, and FIG. 10 shows the time when the pickup roller contacts after lift-up. When the tray 105 is lifted up in a state where the one side end regulating member 104R and the sheet S are in contact with each other in the area Ar shown in FIG. 9, the sheet F and the auxiliary tray 101 have resistance F generated on the sheet S as shown in FIG. Is rotated clockwise around the rotation center 101a. In this case, when the uppermost surface St of the sheet S comes into contact with the pickup roller 102 at the contact point 102a, the pressing force Fr generates a moment for rotating the sheet S counterclockwise around the rotation center 101a. However, since the force of the resistance F generated in the sheet S is received in the area Ar, if the moment that can correct the inclination is not reached, the feeding is started with the inclination, and the sheet conveyance is poor. Will occur. As described above, in the conventional configuration using the auxiliary tray, there is a problem that a conveyance failure may occur.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding apparatus and an image forming apparatus that can reliably feed a sheet having a non-uniform thickness without a conveyance failure.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sheet storage means for storing a sheet, a sheet stacking means provided on the sheet storage means so as to be movable up and down, and provided above the sheet storage means. A sheet feeding unit that feeds the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit, a swinging stacking unit that is swingably provided on an upper surface of the sheet stacking unit, and on which the sheets are stacked, and the sheet storage unit. A side end regulating member that is movably provided in a width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction and regulates an end portion in the width direction of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit, and a sheet stacked on the sheet stacking unit A first driving unit for raising the sheet stacking unit to press the sheet feeding unit against the sheet feeding unit, a second driving unit for moving the side end regulating member in the width direction of the sheet, Control means for controlling the operation of the first and second drive sections, the control means before the second drive section is raised by the first drive section. Thus, the side end regulating member is moved from a regulating position that regulates the end in the width direction of the sheet to form a gap between the end in the width direction of the sheet and the side end regulating member.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent amplification of the inclination of the sheet due to the contact resistance between the sheet and the side end regulating member that occurs when the sheet is raised, and to smoothly correct the inclination of the uppermost surface of the sheet. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus that can feed a sheet having a non-uniform thickness without poor conveyance.

Overall view of the image forming apparatus Schematic diagram of sheet feeding device Top view of sheet feeding device Block diagram of sheet feeding device Flow chart of sheet feeding device Operation explanatory diagram of sheet feeding device Explanatory drawing of a sheet feeding device provided with an inclination correction guide Side view of a sheet feeding apparatus provided with an inclination correction guide Explanatory drawing of lift-up operation with auxiliary tray Explanatory drawing of lift-up operation with the top surface of the seat tilted The perspective view which shows the state which accumulated the envelope as a sheet | seat to feed.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in the following embodiments should be appropriately changed according to the configuration of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. Therefore, unless specifically stated otherwise, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited thereto.

<Schematic configuration of image forming apparatus>
An example of the image forming apparatus 200 equipped with the sheet feeding apparatus 100 according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an intermediate transfer type color image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system. The image forming apparatus 200 includes a sheet feeding unit (sheet feeding unit) 10, an image forming unit (image forming unit) 20, an intermediate transfer unit 30, a fixing unit 40, a discharge unit 50, and a cover 70. It is configured. The sheet feeding unit 10 is provided above the storage 106 that stores sheets, and is for feeding the sheet S from the storage 106. The image forming unit 20 is for forming an image. The intermediate transfer unit 30 is for transferring the formed image onto the sheet S. The fixing unit 40 is for fixing the transferred toner image. The discharge unit 50 discharges the sheet S on which the image is fixed to the outside of the apparatus. The cover 70 is configured to be separable by the main body and the boundary 70b in order to handle a paper jam. An arrow A is an example of a conveyance path until the sheet S fed from the storage 106 is discharged onto the discharge stacking base 51 of the discharge unit 50.

  The sheet S is fed from the storage 106 by the pickup roller 102 and then conveyed to the registration roller pair 12 through the rotating conveyance roller pair 11. The direction of the leading edge of the sheet S is corrected by forming a loop with the registration roller pair 12. The sheet S that has passed through the registration roller pair 12 is conveyed to the transfer roller pair 32. The sheet S is conveyed while being in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 31 on which the image formed by the image forming unit 20 is placed as a toner image by the transfer roller pair 32, whereby an unfixed toner image is formed on the sheet S. . The sheet S on which the unfixed toner image is placed is conveyed to the fixing unit 40 and is heated or pressurized by the fixing roller pair 41 so that the unfixed toner image is fixed on the sheet S. The sheet S on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the discharge stacking base 51 by the discharge roller pair 52 located downstream from the fixing unit 40. In addition, when using a non-standard size sheet S, the non-standard size sheet S is set on the multi-tray 61 of the multi-sheet feeding unit 60 disposed on the side surface of the image forming apparatus 200. As a result, the sheet S is fed from the multi-tray 61 by the multi-feed roller 62 and is then transported to the transport roller pair 11 so that the sheet S is discharged in the same process as when fed from the storage 106. It is conveyed to.

<Details of sheet feeding device>
FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view of the sheet feeding apparatus 100 of the present invention. The sheet feeding apparatus 100 includes a storage 106 as a sheet storage unit that stores sheets. A tray 105 as a sheet stacking unit on which sheets are stacked is provided in the storage 106 so as to be movable up and down. The storage 106 is provided with a tray elevating member 109 for elevating the tray 105. The tray lifting / lowering member 109 is rotated about the rotation center 109a and lifts the tray 105 when the driving force of the tray lifting / lowering motor M1 (see FIG. 4), which is the first driving unit, is transmitted by the drive transmission means. Let The tray 105 is configured to rotate about a rotation center 105a. As the tray 105 moves up, the sheets stacked on the tray 105 are brought into pressure contact with the pickup roller 102. On the upper surface of the tray 105, an auxiliary tray 101 as a swing stacking unit for stacking sheets is swingably attached. The auxiliary tray 101 is swingably provided on the upper surface of the tray 105 so that the ends on both sides in the width direction orthogonal to the sheet S feeding direction swing up and down. In addition, the auxiliary tray 101 is detachably provided in the storage case 106, and is attached when correcting the inclination of a sheet having a non-uniform thickness, and a sheet having a uniform thickness that does not require the above-described correction. It is configured to be removable when feeding.

  FIG. 3 is a top view of the sheet feeding device as seen from the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. The sheet S set on the auxiliary tray 101 is regulated at a predetermined position by the pair of side end regulating members 104R and 104F and the rear end regulating member 120. The rear end regulating member 120 regulates the position of the end (rear end) on the upstream side of the sheet S in the feeding direction. The pair of side end regulating members 104R and 104F as side end regulating members are provided in the storage 106 so as to be movable in the width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction, and both sides of the sheets stacked on the tray 105 in the width direction. The position of the end portion (side end) of each is regulated. The rear end regulating member 120 and the side end regulating members 104R and 104F are slidably supported in the directions of arrows V1 and V2 shown in FIG. 3, respectively, and are set at a position suitable for the size of the sheet.

  The pair of side end regulating members 104R and 104F are provided such that the other side end regulating member can be linked to one side end regulating member by an interlocking mechanism. This interlocking mechanism includes a rack 117R provided on one side end regulating member 104R, a rack 117F provided on the other side end regulating member 104F, and a pinion 118 that meshes with each of the racks 117R and 117F. ing. The pinion is connected to a side end regulating member drive motor M2 as a second drive unit via a drive transmission means such as a gear train. As described above, the side end regulating member 104R and the side end regulating member 104F are connected (coupled) to the pinion 118 coupled to the rack 117R, 117F provided to the side end regulating member drive motor M2. The side end regulating member 104R and the side end regulating member 104F are configured to slide in the sheet width direction in conjunction with each other. Further, the pinion 118 is driven by a side end regulating member drive motor M2 (see FIG. 4) and a drive transmission means as the second drive unit.

  In the vicinity of the pinion 118, a position detection sensor 119 is arranged as a movement amount detection means for detecting the movement amount of the side end regulating members 104R and 104F. Then, based on detection by the position detection sensor 119, the side end regulating member drive motor M2 moves both the side end regulating members 104R and 104F to a position where a gap t described later is formed. The position detection sensor 119 can detect the amount of movement of the side end regulating members 104R and 104F. For example, the position detection sensor 119 is a sensor that detects the amount of movement using an encoder or a slide volume. In the case of an encoder, the control means described later detects the amount of movement of the side end regulating members 104R and 104F based on the number of generated pulses. In the case of a slide volume, the control means described later detects the movement amounts of the side end regulating members 104R and 104F based on the change amount of the resistance value. In addition, the position detection sensor may be a sensor that can detect the amount of movement, such as a slide sensor.

  Next, the sheet feeding unit including the pickup roller 102 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the sheet feeding unit, the feeding roller 107 is rotated by transmitting the driving force of the feeding drive motor M3 (see FIG. 4) to the feeding drive shaft 107A by the drive transmission means. The rotation transmitted to the feeding drive shaft 107A rotates the idler gear 114 that rotates in conjunction with the feeding drive shaft 107A. A lift plate 111 for rotating the pickup roller 102 around the feed drive shaft 107A is rotatably supported on the feed drive shaft 107A. The lift plate 111 is provided with an idler shaft 113A and a pickup roller support shaft 102A. The idler gear 114 meshes with the idler gear 113, and the idler gear 113 meshes with the idler gear 112. Accordingly, the idler gear 114 transmits the rotation to the idler gear 112 via the idler gear 113. The rotation transmitted to the idler gear 112 is transmitted from the idler gear 112 to the pickup roller 102 by a coupling mechanism (not shown) to rotate the pickup roller 102.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system in the present embodiment. The sheet feeding apparatus 100 is provided with a paper surface height detection sensor 110 and a position detection sensor 119. The paper surface height detection sensor 110 and the position detection sensor 119 are connected to a control unit 130 as control means. The control unit 130 drives the tray lifting / lowering motor M1, the side edge regulating member driving motor M2, the feeding driving motor M3, and the like based on the ON / OFF signal of the paper surface height detection sensor 110 and the position information of the position detection sensor 119. To control. Further, an input unit In such as a monitor of the image forming apparatus or a personal computer (PC) connected to the image forming apparatus and the control unit 130 are connected to each other. , Size, etc.) are input to the control unit 130.

  Next, a sheet lift-up operation in the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4 to 6. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the sheet feeding apparatus. 6A to 6D are schematic cross-sectional views of the sheet feeding device viewed from an arrow B in FIG. The aforementioned lifting plate 111 is subjected to a force by the pickup roller pressurizing spring 116 (see FIG. 2), and the pickup roller 102 is moved to the lower limit position of the movable range at the same time as the storage case 106 is stored in the main body. The In this state, the lift-up operation is started.

  Here, when an envelope having a non-uniform thickness is used as the sheet S, when the sheet (envelope) S is set in the storage case 106, the auxiliary tray 101 is first attached to the storage case 106. Then, the user manually moves the side end regulating members 104R and 104F to regulation positions that regulate the positions of the end portions on both sides in the width direction orthogonal to the sheet (envelope) S feeding direction. Then, the folded portion of the flap Sf formed by folding the sheet (envelope) S is set in a direction along the regulating surfaces of the side end regulating members 104R and 104F. Further, the user inputs from the input unit In that the paper type of the sheet S set in the storage case 106 is an envelope.

  The control unit 130 controls the operation as follows. When the print start signal is input to start the print job (S1), the control unit 130 determines whether the paper type of the sheet S is an envelope based on the input result from the input unit In. When the sheet S is an envelope (S2, S3), the control unit 130 drives the side end regulating member driving motor M2 (S3) to regulate the side end regulating members 104R and 104F at both ends in the width direction of the sheet. It moves from the restriction position to the direction of arrow C and D of Drawing 6 (b), respectively. At this time, the control unit 130 controls the side end regulating member drive motor M2 based on the detection of the position detection sensor 119 to move the side end regulating members 104R and 104F to positions where the gap t is formed. Accordingly, the gap t between the sheet S and the side end regulating members 104R and 104F is formed to be a predetermined amount (S4). The gap t is set in advance, and is preferably about 2 mm in order to reduce the sliding resistance between the sheet S and the side end regulating members 104R and 104F.

  Thereafter, the tray lifting motor M1 is driven (S6) to raise the tray 105 so that the uppermost surface St of the sheet S comes into contact with the pickup roller 102 and reaches a predetermined height (S6). When the uppermost surface St of the sheet S comes into contact with the pickup roller 102 and reaches a predetermined height, the paper surface height detection sensor 110 is turned on (S7). Based on this signal, the controller 130 stops the tray lifting / lowering motor M1 (S8) and stops the tray lifting. Then, the side end regulating member driving motor M2 is driven (S9), and the side end regulating members 104R and 104F are moved in the directions of arrows E and F in FIG. 6D, respectively. At this time, the control unit 130 moves the side end regulating members 104R and 104F in the opposite direction (arrows E and F) with a movement amount equivalent to the movement amount that moves the side end regulating members 104R and 104F to the position where the gap t is formed. Direction). As a result, the side end regulating members 104R and 104F return to the regulating position (initial position) that regulates the position of the end of the sheet S in the width direction.

  When the side end regulating members 104R and 104F reach the regulation position (initial position) that regulates the position of the end portion in the width direction of the sheet S (S10), the side end regulating member drive motor M2 is stopped (S11) and fed. Is ready to start. Here, when a feeding start signal for forming an image on a sheet is input to the control unit 130 (S16), the feeding driving motor M3 is driven (S17), and feeding is started. Then, after feeding the sheet S up to a predetermined number (S18), the feeding drive motor M3 is stopped (S19), and the job ends (S20).

  Here, when the tray 105 is raised and the uppermost surface St of the sheet S comes into contact with the pickup roller 102, the inclination of the uppermost surface St of the sheet is corrected. That is, the force applied by the pickup roller pressing spring 116 pressing the pickup roller 102 rotates the sheet S and the auxiliary tray 101 about the rotation center 101a, thereby correcting the inclination of the sheet uppermost surface St. Is done. At this time, a predetermined amount of a gap t is provided between each side end regulating member 104R, 104F and the ends of both sides in the width direction of the sheet S. For this reason, the inclination correction resistance force due to the contact resistance generated when there is no gap is eliminated, so that the inclination correction can be easily performed. By this correction, the outer peripheral surface of the pickup roller 102 is brought into pressure contact with the upper surface of the sheet S on the tray 105 with a substantially uniform pressure (sheet feeding pressure) in the width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction. That is, the pickup roller 102 does not hit the sheet S in the width direction.

  When feeding a sheet having a uniform thickness, the sheet bundle is placed on the upper surface of the tray 105 without the auxiliary tray 101 attached. Even when a print start signal is input to the control unit 130 and a print job is started, the side end regulating members 104R and 104F are moved by a predetermined amount as in the case of feeding a sheet having a non-uniform thickness as described above. The tray 105 is raised without being moved so that the gap t is provided. Thereafter, the same sheet feeding operation as that in the case of feeding a sheet having a non-uniform thickness is performed.

  According to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent amplification of the inclination of the sheet due to the contact resistance between the sheet and the side end regulating member that occurs when the sheet is raised, and to smoothly correct the inclination of the uppermost surface of the sheet. As a result, even for a sheet such as an envelope having a non-uniform thickness, the pick-up roller 102 is pressed with a substantially uniform pressure in the width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction, thereby causing a conveyance failure such as an oblique feeding of the sheet. There is no.

  In the above-described embodiment, the feeding operation of the sheet S stored in the storage 106 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even when the sheet S accommodated in the multi-tray 61 of the multi-feed unit 60 is fed, the present invention is applied as long as the sheet S is raised and the inclination of the top surface of the sheet is corrected. A similar effect can be obtained.

  In the above-described embodiment, the printer is exemplified as the image forming apparatus, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the image forming apparatus may be another image forming apparatus such as a scanner, a copier, or a facsimile machine, or another image forming apparatus such as a multifunction machine combining these functions. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus is exemplified, but an image forming apparatus of another image forming system such as an ink jet system may be used. The same effect can be obtained by applying the present invention to a sheet feeding apparatus used in these image forming apparatuses.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the sheet feeding apparatus integrally included in the image forming apparatus is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a sheet feeding device that is detachable from the image forming apparatus may be used, and the same effect can be obtained by applying the present invention to the sheet feeding device.

  In the above-described embodiment, the sheet feeding apparatus that feeds a sheet of recording paper or the like as a recording target is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the same effect can be obtained even if the present invention is applied to a sheet feeding apparatus that feeds a sheet such as a document to be read.

M1 ... Tray lifting motor M2 ... Side edge regulating member drive motor M3 ... Feed drive motor S ... Sheet St ... Sheet top surface 10 ... Sheet feed unit 20 ... Image forming unit 100 ... Sheet feed device 101 ... Auxiliary tray 102 ... Pickup rollers 104R, 104F ... side edge regulating member 105 ... tray 106 ... storage 107 ... feed roller 109 ... tray lifting member 109a ... rotation center 110 ... paper surface height detection sensor 116 ... pickup roller pressure springs 117R, 117F ... rack 118 ... Pinion 119 ... Position detection sensor 120 ... Rear end regulating member 130 ... Control unit 200 ... Image forming apparatus

Claims (11)

Sheet storage means for storing the sheet;
A sheet stacking means provided in the sheet storage means so as to be movable up and down, and for stacking sheets;
A sheet feeding means that is provided above the sheet storage means and feeds the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means;
A swing stacking means that is swingably provided on the upper surface of the sheet stacking means and on which the sheets are stacked;
A side end regulating member that is provided in the sheet storage unit so as to be movable in a width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction, and that regulates an end in the width direction of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit;
A first drive unit for raising the sheet stacking unit to press the sheet stacked on the sheet stacking unit against the sheet feeding unit;
A second drive unit for moving the side end regulating member in the width direction of the sheet;
Control means for controlling the operation of the first and second drive units;
Have
The control unit moves the side end regulating member from a regulation position that regulates the end in the width direction of the sheet by the second driving unit before the sheet driving unit is raised by the first driving unit. A sheet feeding device, wherein a gap is formed between an end portion in the width direction of the sheet and the side end regulating member.   A movement amount detection unit that detects a movement amount of the side end regulating member is provided, and the second driving unit moves the side end regulating member to a position where a gap is formed based on the detection of the movement amount detection unit. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1.   The control means raises the sheet stacking means by the first driving unit and moves the side edge regulating member to the regulating position by the second driving unit after the sheet is pressed against the sheet feeding unit. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding apparatus is a sheet feeding apparatus.   A movement amount detection unit that detects a movement amount of the side end regulating member is provided, and the second driving unit moves the side end regulating member to a position where a gap is formed based on the detection of the movement amount detection unit. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the side end regulating member is moved in the opposite direction by the same amount of movement as the side end regulating member is moved to a position where a gap is formed, and is returned to the regulating position. Sheet feeding device. The side end regulating members are a pair of side end regulating members that regulate both end portions on both sides in the width direction of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit,
The control unit regulates both ends of the pair of side end regulating members at both ends in the width direction of the sheet by the second driving unit before raising the sheet stacking unit by the first driving unit. 5. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a gap is formed between the end portions on both sides in the width direction of the sheet and each side end regulating member by moving from the regulating position. .   The pair of side end regulating members are provided such that the other side end regulating member can be linked to one side end regulating member by an interlocking mechanism, and the interlocking mechanism is connected to the second drive unit. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the sheet feeding apparatus is a sheet feeding apparatus.   The interlocking mechanism includes a rack provided on one side end regulating member, a rack provided on the other side end regulating member, and a pinion that meshes with each of the racks, and the pinion is the second pinion. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the sheet feeding apparatus is connected to a driving unit.   The rocking stacking unit is provided on the upper surface of the sheet stacking unit so as to be swingable so that ends on both sides in the width direction perpendicular to the sheet feeding direction swing up and down. The sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of 1 to 7.   9. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the swing stacking unit is detachably provided on the sheet stacking unit.   The swing stacking unit is attached to the sheet stacking unit when an envelope is set and fed as a sheet, and the envelope is bent so that a folded portion of a flap is formed on a regulating surface of the side end regulating member. The sheet feeding device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the sheet feeding device is set in a direction along the direction.   An image forming apparatus comprising: the sheet feeding device according to claim 1; and an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet fed from the sheet feeding device.

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