JP2017171406A - Sheet feeding device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique which prevents a sheet from being hooked and allows a manual feed tray to be transferred smoothly between when supplying the sheet and when storing the sheet.SOLUTION: A sheet feeding device comprises: feeding means that feeds a sheet; and loading means that has a feeding portion, which can move between a storage position at which the sheet is stored in a device main body and a feeding position at which the sheet can be fed by the feeding means, to which is fed the sheet by the feeding means, and a loading portion that can load the sheet at a side closer to an upstream in a sheet conveying direction than the feeding means. In the loading means, an end part at an upstream-side of the feeding portion moves from a position higher than an end part at a downstream side of the loading portion to a position lower than the end part at the downstream side of the loading portion, in interlock with movement of the loading means from the storage position toward the feeding position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

  In the image forming apparatus, a manual feed tray is disposed on the side of the apparatus main body to cope with recording using a sheet of a size that cannot be accommodated in the supply tray or a small number of sheets. In general, the manual feed tray changes its holding position between a position where it is stood against a side of the apparatus body via a hinge (in an upright position) and a position where the sheet is tilted sideways to feed a sheet. It is provided as possible. Further, in the manual feed tray, an extension member is provided on the tray main body so as to be unfoldable via a hinge portion, and a width guide member is provided to restrict both sides of the sheet set on the manual feed tray. In the manual feed tray having such a configuration, when not in use, the folded tray is stood against the side of the apparatus and stored so as not to obstruct the operation of the apparatus.

  When the user shifts the manual feed tray to the retracted state (when not in use), the manual feed tray or the extension member may be damaged if the manual feed tray is moved without the extension member or the like being in the normal storage state. Therefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which when the manual feed tray is stored on the main body side, the extension member is dropped by its own weight by using a mechanism that operates during the storing operation so that a normal storage state is obtained. Is described. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a technique of providing an interference unit that uses the width guide of the manual feed tray and interferes with the width guide when the manual feed tray is not in the normal storage state to prevent the manual feed tray from being shifted to the storage state. Have been described.

JP 2009-263078 A JP-A-2005-177892

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the extension member moves due to its own weight, if it is caught in the middle of dropping, it is necessary to strike the extension member downward from above to drop the extension member. Furthermore, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, as a trigger for dropping the extension member, it is necessary for the feeding base to hit the base end portion of the extension member to unlock the extension member. In such a configuration, since the feeding table is positioned above the sheet stacking surface of the extension member, the sheet fed from the sheet stacking surface is caught on the edge of the feeding table during sheet feeding, and the usability is reduced. May be invited. Moreover, in the technique described in Patent Document 2, if the manual feed tray is forcibly shifted to the storage state even though it is not in the normal storage state, the interference unit may be damaged.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for preventing a sheet from being caught and for smoothly making a transition between supplying a sheet and storing a manual feed tray.

  According to the present invention, for example, the sheet can be moved to a feeding unit that feeds the sheet, a storage position that is stored in the apparatus main body, and a feeding position in which the sheet can be fed by the feeding unit. A feeding unit that feeds sheets by the feeding unit, and a stacking unit that can stack sheets on the upstream side of the feeding unit in the sheet feeding direction. Stacking means for stacking sheets to be fed, and the stacking means is linked to the movement of the stacking means from the storage position to the feeding position, and the upstream end of the feeding unit is A sheet feeding apparatus is provided that moves from a position higher than the downstream end of the stacking section to a position lower than the downstream end of the stacking section.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the sheet from being caught, and to smoothly perform the transition between the sheet supply and storage of the manual feed tray.

1 is a schematic explanatory diagram illustrating an internal structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. (A) of the manual feeding part in this embodiment is a disassembled perspective view, (B) is a block diagram. The longitudinal cross-sectional view in the feed direction of a manual feed part. FIG. 4A is a perspective view and FIG. (A) which shows the feeding part of a feeding state is a perspective view, (B) is sectional drawing. FIG. 6A is a perspective view and FIG. 5B is a side view showing a feeding unit in a state of being housed in a copying machine. FIG. 4A is a perspective view, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view showing a feeding unit in a state where it is pulled out from a copying machine. Explanatory drawing which shows the attitude | position change operation | movement of a feeding part, (A) is a feeding attitude | position, (B) is a transition state, (C) is an accommodation attitude | position.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. In the following description, the vertical and horizontal directions of the drawings are used for the description as the apparatus or the vertical and horizontal directions of each component described below. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus is exemplified by a copying machine. However, the image forming apparatus is not limited to this, and a multifunction machine combining a facsimile machine and a copying machine function may be employed. Further, instead of the image forming apparatus, the present invention may be applied to a recording apparatus provided with an ink jet recording unit, and a conveying apparatus provided with a conveying unit that conveys a medium by excluding the image forming unit and the recording unit.

<Image forming apparatus>
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the overall structure of a copying machine (image forming apparatus) 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the front side facing the operation panel (not shown) where the user performs various inputs / settings on the copying machine 1 is referred to as “front side” of the copying machine 1 and the back side is referred to as “back side”. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the copying machine 1 as seen from the front side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the copier 1 according to the first embodiment includes a feeding unit 2 that feeds a sheet (for example, paper) (not shown) and an image forming unit 3 that forms an image on the sheet. . Further, the copying machine 1 includes a fixing unit 4 that fixes an image on a sheet, a discharge unit 5 that discharges a sheet on which the image is fixed, and an image reading unit 6 that can read an image of a document.

  The feeding unit 2 is provided below the copying machine 1 and is configured to separate and feed a stacking tray 21 for stacking sheets, a pickup roller 22 for picking up the sheets stacked on the stacking tray 21, and a picked-up sheet. Separating and feeding unit 23. In the present embodiment, the feeding unit 2 includes a manual feeding unit 24 that can manually feed sheets from the side of the copying machine 1. The manual feeding unit 24 includes a manual tray 25 for stacking sheets and a manual separation / feeding unit 26 for separating and feeding the sheets stacked on the manual tray 25.

  The image forming unit 3 is provided above the feeding unit 2, and includes a photosensitive drum 31 on which a toner image is formed, a charging roller 32 that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 31, and laser light. And a laser irradiation device 33 that forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 31 by irradiation. Further, the image forming unit 3 includes a developing device 34 that visualizes the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 31 as a toner image, and a transfer roller 35 that contacts the photosensitive drum 31 to form a transfer nip N. Yes.

  The fixing unit 4 is provided in a sheet conveyance path downstream of the image forming unit 3 in the sheet conveyance direction (hereinafter simply referred to as “downstream side”). The discharge unit 5 is provided on the downstream side of the fixing unit 4 and includes a discharge roller pair 51 that discharges the sheet from the apparatus and a discharge tray 52 that stacks the discharged sheet. The image reading unit 6 is provided above the copying machine 1, and includes a document placing unit 61 for placing a document, a reading scanner 62 for reading image information of a document placed on the document placing unit 61, and It has.

<Image forming process>
Next, an image forming job of the copying machine 1 according to the first embodiment configured as described above will be described. When the image forming job is started, the laser irradiation device 33 applies laser light to the surface of the photosensitive drum 31 in accordance with image information (image information signal) such as a document transmitted from a personal computer (not shown) or the reading scanner 62. Irradiate. As a result, the surface of the photosensitive drum 31 that is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity potential by the charging roller 32 is exposed, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 31. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 31 is developed by the developing device 34 and visualized as a toner image.

  In parallel with the above-described toner image forming operation, the sheets separated and fed one by one from the feeding unit 2 are registered rollers provided in the sheet conveyance path on the downstream side of the conveyance roller pair 10 by the conveyance roller pair 10. The sheet is conveyed to the pair 11, and the skew is corrected by the registration roller pair 11. The sheet whose skew has been corrected is then conveyed to the transfer nip N at a predetermined timing, and the visualized toner image is transferred onto the sheet by the transfer roller 35.

  The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed from the transfer nip N to the fixing unit 4 and is subjected to heat and pressure by the fixing unit 40 so that the toner is melted and fixed as an image. Thereafter, the sheet on which the image is fixed is discharged to the discharge tray 52 by the discharge roller pair 51, and the image forming job is completed.

  Next, a process for forming an image on both the front and back sides of the sheet in the image forming job of the copying machine 1 according to the first embodiment will be described.

  Regarding the image forming process on the first surface, the image is transferred to the first surface of the sheet by being fed from the feeding unit 2 described above and conveyed to the conveying roller pair 10, the registration roller pair 11, and the transfer nip N. . Thereafter, the toner is transported to the fixing unit 4 to be melted and fixed as an image. The sheet transferred to the first surface is sent to the sheet reversing device 100 by the intermediate discharge roller pair 53, and is conveyed in the order of the reverse path 7 and the reverse roller pair 110, and the leading edge of the sheet is discharged in the in-body discharge direction (see FIG. Middle arrow a direction).

  The trailing edge of the sheet held between the pair of reverse rollers 110 passes through the conveyance path switching flapper 111, and the rotation of the pair of reverse rollers 110 is stopped and reversed at a predetermined position (calculated from the passage time of a sheet detection sensor not shown). It is rotated. The sheet is again drawn into the apparatus by the reversely rotated reverse roller pair 110 (in the direction of arrow b in the figure), and the first, second, and third double-sided conveyance roller pairs 8a, 8b, and 8c again transfer the registration roller 11 and the transfer. It is conveyed to the nip N. At this time, the second surface side of the sheet comes to the photosensitive drum 31 side, the image of the second surface is transferred at the transfer nip N, and then the image is fixed by the fixing unit 4 and discharged by the discharge roller pair 51. The sheet is discharged to the tray 52, and the image forming job is completed.

<Manual feeding unit 24>
Hereinafter, an outline of the manual feeding unit 24 of the first embodiment will be described. First, the configuration of the manual feeding unit 24 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (A), 2 (B), and 3. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG.

  The manual feeding unit 24 includes a manual sheet stacking unit (stacking member) 70 attached to a manual feeding port 72 formed on the main body side of the copying machine 1, a manual feeding lifting platform (feeding table) 71, Manual feed links 77 and 78 for connecting them are provided. The manual feed port 72 is equipped with a feed shaft 88 and a manual separation pad 91. The manual feed tray 25 includes at least a manual sheet stacking unit 70, a manual feed lifting platform 71, and a pair of manual feed links 77 and 78 that connect them.

  The manual feed tray 25 is stored on the side of the main body of the copying machine 1 when not in use (for example, FIG. 6A), and is pulled out from the main body and used when in use (for example, FIG. 7A). Feed into the copier 1. The manual sheet stacking unit 70 is supported at one end side so as to be swingable by a manual feed port 72 of the main body, and has a stacking surface 70a on which the sheet is stacked on the other end side. The manual sheet stacking unit 70 has a manual feed rotation center shaft 93 on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction indicated by an arrow from right to left in FIG. 3, and rotates around the axis to the copying machine 1. Freely engaged. Further, side walls 75 corresponding to the width direction of the sheet are formed at both ends intersecting the feeding direction of the manual sheet stacking unit 70. Each side wall 75 is provided with a link groove (engagement groove) 76 extending in the feeding direction.

  For example, when the manual feed tray 25 shown in FIGS. 2B and 3 is used, a manual feed lifting platform (feed table) 71 is located above the manual sheet stacking unit 70 and downstream in the feeding direction. Is placed. The manual feeding elevator 71 has a feeding surface 71 a that covers a part from the downstream end of the manual sheet stacking unit 70 toward the upstream side and feeds the sheet. In the state shown in FIGS. 2B and 3, the stacking surface 70 a of the manual sheet stacking unit 70 is located on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction, and the manual feeding elevator 71 is located on the downstream side in the feeding direction. To do. At this time, the stacking surface 70a and the feeding surface 71a are arranged substantially continuously so as to feed the sheets in cooperation.

  Engagement shafts 82 projecting outward are respectively arranged at both ends of the width direction (direction intersecting the feeding direction) on the upstream side in the feeding direction of the manual feed lifting platform 71. Further, at both ends in the width direction (direction intersecting with the feeding direction) at the downstream end portion in the feeding direction of the manual feeding lifting platform 71, the manual feeding lifting platform protrusions 85 project so as to extend upward from the upper surface. Are arranged respectively.

  The manual feed lifting platform 71 is rotatably connected to the manual feed links 77 and 78 via the engagement shaft 82. The manual feed links 77 and 78 are members having a length substantially corresponding to the length of the manual feed lifting platform 71 in the feed direction, and extend in the width direction at the upstream end portion in the feed direction. An engagement hole 81 provided coaxially with the link shaft engagement portion 79 is provided. The manual feed links 77 and 78 are engaged with the engagement holes 81 so that an engagement shaft 82 provided on the upstream side in the feed direction of the manual feed lift 71 is rotatable.

  Further, the manual feed links 77 and 78 include a link shaft engaging portion (engaging protrusion) 79 that protrudes outward in the width direction coaxially with the engaging hole 81 on the upstream side in the feeding direction. The link shaft engaging portion 79 is rotatably and slidably engaged with the link groove 76 of the manual sheet stacking portion 70, and is movable along the link groove 76. Further, link engagement shafts 82 and 83 are provided on the downstream side of the manual feed links 77 and 78 in the feeding direction, and the link engagement shafts 82 and 83 are attached to the main body of the copier 1 near the manual feed port 72. Rotatingly engaged with each other.

  With the above configuration, the manual feed elevator 71 and the manual sheet stacking portion 70 are connected by the link shaft engaging portion 79 and the link groove 76 that engages with the link shaft engaging portion 79. The manual feed elevator 71 is connected to the manual sheet stacking unit 70 so as to be rotatable and slidable. As will be described later, by swinging the manual feed tray 25, the manual sheet stacking unit 70 swings with respect to the main body of the copying machine 1, and the manual feed lift 71 moves so as to cover a part of the stacking surface 70a. To do.

  In the present embodiment, the link shaft engaging portion 79 and the link groove 76 are not limited to the above-described forms. For example, the manual feed lifting platform 71 includes one of the link groove 76 or the link shaft engaging portion 79, and a manual sheet. The stacking unit 70 may include the other.

  A feeding shaft 88 is installed in the main body of the copier 1 near the manual feed port 72. The feed shaft 88 includes a manual feed cam 86, a manual feed roller 89, and a manual feed gear 90 on the same axis. The feed shaft 88 is disposed above the downstream side in the feed direction of the manual feed lift 71 when the manual feed tray 25 shown in FIGS. 2B and 3 is used. The manual feed gear 90 rotates in cooperation with a gear (not shown) to which driving is supplied from the copying machine 1, and rotates the feed shaft 88, the manual feed cam 86 and the manual feed roller 89.

  A manual separation pad 91 for separating sheets one by one is disposed near the manual feeding port 72 below the feeding shaft 88 when the manual tray 25 is used. The manual separation pad 91 is urged by the manual separation pad spring 92 to abut against the manual feed roller 89 to provide an optimum pressure for separating the sheets.

  The manual feed lift platform protrusion 85 of the manual feed lift platform 71 is installed so as to contact the manual feed cam 86 of the feed shaft 88. The manual feed elevator 71 is urged toward the manual feed cam 86 by a manual feed elevator spring (not shown) installed in the copying machine 1, and follows the cam shape when the manual feed cam 86 rotates. The angle and posture of the manual feed lifting platform 71 are configured to change.

<Feeding action>
Next, the feeding operation will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows the manual feeding unit 24 in a preparation for feeding, and FIG. 5 shows the manual feeding unit 24 in a feeding state. 4A and 5A are perspective views of the manual feeding unit 24, respectively. 4 (B) and 5 (B) show a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 4 (A) and a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. 5 (A) in the feeding direction of the manual feed section 24, respectively. .

  When feeding is started from the state shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the manual feeding gear 90 that receives the driving force from the gear (not shown) of the copying machine 1 rotates the feeding shaft 88. . As the feed shaft 88 rotates, the manual feed cam 86 and the manual feed roller 89 rotate as shown in FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B). At this time, the manual feed cam 86 is rotated, so that the contact state of the manual feed lift platform 71 with the manual feed lift platform protrusion 85 is released, and the manual feed lift platform 71 is centered on the engagement shaft 82. To turn. The manual feed lifting platform 71 rotates around the engagement shaft 82 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5B (the R1 direction in FIG. 5B), so that the downstream end of the manual feeding lifting platform 71 The upper surface of the part comes into contact with the manual feed roller 89. Then, the manual feeding unit 24 enters a feeding operation. The manual feed roller 89 conveys a sheet (not shown) stacked on the manual feed elevator 70, and the feeding is completed.

<When using or not using the manual feed tray 25>
Next, the posture changing operation of the manual feed unit 24 will be described. FIG. 6 shows a state of the manual feed tray 25 of the manual feed unit 24 in the storage posture (when not in use). FIG. 7 shows the state of the manual feed tray 25 of the manual feed unit 24 in the feeding posture (in use). FIGS. 6A and 7A are perspective views of the vicinity of the manual feed tray 25 from the side surface of the copying machine 1. FIGS. 6B and 7B are side views of the vicinity of the manual feed tray 25 from the front of the copying machine 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the manual feed tray 25 attached to the left side surface of the copying machine 1 extends along the side surface of the copying machine (device main body) 1 when manual feeding is not performed. Stored in a standing posture, and held in an upright position. 7A and 7B, in order to hold the manual feed tray 25 upright, the manual sheet stacking unit 70 is disposed on the downstream side in the feeding direction. The posture holding claw 94 is provided to be hooked on the stopper 95. In the storage posture, the storage posture is held by the posture holding claw 94 of the manual sheet stacking unit 70 being caught by the stopper 95 of the copying machine 1.

  Further, in order to set the manual feed tray 25 to the feeding posture, the user pulls the handle portion 96 of the manual sheet stacking portion 70 and removes the posture holding claw 94 from the copying machine 1 to rotate the manual sheet stacking 70. To do. The grip portion 96 is formed at the upstream end of the manual sheet stacking portion 70 in the feeding direction.

  The posture changing operation of the manual feed tray 25 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the manual feed tray 25 showing a part of the manual feed elevator 71 and the manual sheet stacking unit 70. FIG. 8A shows the feeding posture of the manual feed tray 25. FIG. 8B shows the transition state of the manual feed tray 25. FIG. 8C shows the storage posture of the manual feed tray 25.

  In the feeding posture shown in FIG. 8 (A), the lifting / lowering platform end (stacking surface side end) 73 of the feeding surface 71 a of the manual feeding lifting platform 71 and the stacking portion end of the stacking surface 70 a of the manual sheet stacking unit 70. The portions (feed surface side end portions) 74 are spaced apart from each other in the feed direction. Further, the lifting platform end portion 73 is disposed at a position lower than the stacking portion end 74 in the sheet thickness direction with respect to the stacking surface 70a. By doing so, it is possible to prevent a high step from being formed on the downstream side in the sheet setting direction, and the sheet fed from the feeding direction is the end of the lifting platform 71 of the manual feeding lifting platform 71. 73 is prevented from being caught. Further, the leading end of the sheet is caught on the stacking end 74, so that the generation of scratches on the sheet and the user's discomfort can be reduced.

  At this time, the link shaft engaging portion 79 of the manual feed links 77 and 78 is arranged at the downstream end of the link groove 76 in the feed direction. The manual feed lifting platform 71 that is rotatably engaged with the manual feed links 77 and 78 is interlocked with the manual feed links 77 and 78 at a predetermined angle (for example, with respect to the side surface of the apparatus main body). 75 degrees) is maintained. In this state, the manual feeding port 72 is opened, and the user can set a sheet for manual feeding on the manual sheet stacking unit 70.

  In this embodiment, the lifting platform end 73 and the stacking end 74 are spaced apart from each other. However, the leading end of the sheet does not enter the gap between the lifting platform end 73 and the stacking end 74. As narrow as possible. Further, the lifting platform end portion 73 and the stacking portion end portion 74 may not be separated from each other as long as the manual feeding lifting platform 71 can be smoothly moved with respect to the manual sheet stacking portion 70.

  Next, the transition state of the manual feed tray 25 will be described with reference to FIG. For example, when the user lifts the handle portion 96 of the manual sheet stacking portion 70 described above and rotates the manual feed tray 25 in the counterclockwise direction (R2 direction in FIG. 8B), it is shown in FIG. 8B. Transition to the state. At this time, when the manual sheet stacking portion 70 is rotated, the link shaft coupling portions 79 and 80 provided in the manual feed links 77 and 78 are moved along the link groove 76 in the arrow A in FIG. It rotates while sliding in the downstream direction indicated by.

  In the present embodiment, the link groove 76 has a mountain structure in which a part rises upward from the downstream side toward the upstream side. With such a configuration, when the manual feeding unit 24 is placed in the storage posture, the manual lifting platform end 73 and the stacking unit end 74 are prevented from colliding with each other on the rotation trajectory. Specifically, the shape of the link groove 76 that determines the rotation trajectory of the manual feed lifting platform 71 is a mountain shape having an ascending / descending slope of a predetermined angle (for example, 45 degrees) on the downstream side in the feeding direction. In the feeding direction, the vertical positions of the peak portions of the chevron and the stacking portion end 74 are made to correspond to each other. Therefore, such a mountain shape of the link groove 76 prevents the lifting platform end portion 73 and the stacking portion end portion 74 from colliding with each other on the turning locus when the manual feeding portion 24 is set to the storage posture. The manual feed lifting platform 71 is lifted in the direction of arrow B indicated by the middle broken line.

  Further, while the manual feed tray 25 is moved from the supply posture to the storage posture, the lifting platform end portion 73 of the feeding surface 71a can be moved to a higher position in the sheet thickness direction than the stacking surface 70a. The link groove 76 is a substantially straight portion that extends in the feeding direction after the angle portion. Therefore, the manual feed lifting platform 71 can cover a part of the stacking surface 70a by the link shaft system joining portions 79 and 80 thereafter moving along the link groove 76.

  By moving the manual feed lifting platform 71 with respect to the manual sheet stacking unit 70 as described above, the manual feed tray 25 assumes the storage posture shown in FIG. With the above configuration, the user can change the manual feed tray 25 from the storage position to the feeding position with a single action, and manual feeding can be performed without applying a load to the user when performing sheet setting. . Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sheet from being caught and to smoothly perform transition between when the manual feed tray is used and when it is not used.

  The present invention has been described by taking an example of an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic system or an electrostatic recording system as an embodiment, but instead of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an inkjet system, a thermal transfer system, various printing systems, etc. The present invention can also be applied to the adopted recording apparatus (printer). The present invention is not limited to a printer, and can also be applied as a feeding device suitable for various uses, such as various printing machines, copiers, FAX machines, multifunction machines, and conveyance devices that do not include a recording unit. In the present embodiment, a sheet-like sheet is assumed as the “sheet”, but a cloth, a plastic film, or the like may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet material, 2 Feeding part, 3 Vertical path conveyance part, 4 Registration front conveyance part, 5 Registration part conveyance part, 6 Photosensitive drum, 7 Transfer part, 8 Fixing part, 9 Ejection part, 10 Feed sensor, 11 Vertical Pass sensor, 12 Pre-registration sensor, 13 Registration sensor, 20 CPU, 21 Sheet conveyance control unit, 22 Feed control unit, 23 STM control unit, 24 Feed motor, 25 Jam detection unit, 26 Interrupt control unit, 27 I / O detection 28, feeding sensor, 100 image forming apparatus, 101 sheet storage cassette

Claims (8)

A feeding means for feeding the sheet;
A feeding unit that is movable to a storage position that is stored in the apparatus main body and a feeding position in which a sheet can be fed by the feeding unit; and a sheet is fed by the feeding unit; A stacking unit capable of stacking sheets on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction with respect to the feeding unit, and a stacking unit for stacking sheets fed by the feeding unit,
The loading unit is configured so that the upstream end of the feeding unit is higher than the downstream end of the loading unit in conjunction with the movement of the loading unit from the storage position to the feeding position. The sheet feeding apparatus moves to a position lower than the downstream end of the stacking unit.   2. The sheet feeding according to claim 1, wherein the upstream end of the feeding unit and the downstream end of the stacking unit are spaced apart from each other in the sheet feeding direction. apparatus.   The upstream end of the feeding unit moves to a position higher in the sheet stacking direction than the stacking unit while moving the stacking unit from the supply position to the storage position. The sheet feeding apparatus according to 1 or 2. The loading means is supported so as to be swingable with respect to the apparatus main body,
The feeding unit is connected to the stacking unit so as to be rotatable and slidable,
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feeding unit moves so as to cover a part of the loading unit when the loading unit swings with respect to the apparatus main body. 5. Sheet feeding device. The feeding unit and the stacking unit are connected by an engagement groove that engages with the engagement protrusion and the engagement protrusion,
The feeding unit includes one of an engagement protrusion or an engagement groove,
5. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stacking unit includes the other of the engagement protrusion and the engagement groove. 6.   6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the stacking unit is in the storage position, the stacking unit is stored in an upright posture arranged along a side surface of the apparatus main body. Sheet feeding device.   The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus main body is an image forming apparatus or a recording apparatus. The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
Image forming means for forming an image on a sheet fed by the sheet feeding device;
An image forming apparatus comprising: