JP2019112224A - Sheet feeding device and image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a mechanism that prevents by its simple structure such a situation as when a sheet mounting device with long sheets stackingly mounted and stored therein is pushed into a sheet feeding device in a skew manner, either the right side or the left side of the sheet mounting device is not anchored, causing half-latched condition.SOLUTION: Inside the sheet feeding device that stores and anchors the sheet mounting device, is provided a latch assembly comprised of two, right and left latches and a connecting part that connect these, which acts integrally. Thereby when the sheet mounting device is pushed into the sheet feeding device in a skew manner, even if either roller of the sheet mounting device contacts either one of the latches and runs onto the roller, until the other latch passes through the other roller, the engagement of both latches can be maintained.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a sheet feeding apparatus and an image forming apparatus capable of stacking a large volume of sheets.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a sheet stacking apparatus that uses a storage that can load a large volume of sheets that can be taken in and out by slide rails. In such a device, for example, as suggested by Patent Document 1, two left and right coupled latch (lock) mechanisms are used for the operator to close and hold the storage.

JP 2007-121858 A

  However, in the above-described conventional example, when the storage case does not go straight to the sheet stacking apparatus and is pushed obliquely, only one latch is engaged and the other latch is not engaged (half latch). There is. The state in which the other latch is not engaged (half latch) is a state in which one latch is depressed before the other latch is engaged. When such a state occurs, jamming may occur in sheet feeding, and normal sheet feeding may not be performed, or the storage case itself may be deformed and the sheet storage performance may be degraded.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional example, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet feeding apparatus capable of preventing the occurrence of a half latch state with a simple and inexpensive configuration and an image forming apparatus using the apparatus. To aim.

  In order to achieve the above object, the sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention is configured as follows.

  That is, a sheet feeding apparatus for feeding a sheet to an image forming apparatus, comprising: a housing; and a sheet stacking unit that is housed inside the housing and that stacks the sheets; A storage means movable in the insertion direction, a first rotating body provided at one end of the storage means in the direction intersecting the insertion direction, and a second end in the direction intersecting the insertion direction of the storage means A second rotary body, a first latch portion provided on the housing and engaged with the first rotary body, and a second latch provided on the housing and engaged with the second rotary body A latch unit, a connecting unit connecting the first latch unit and the second latch unit, and a feeding unit for feeding the sheet stacked on the sheet stacking unit to the image forming apparatus; And the housing includes the first latch portion, the second latch portion, and the connection portion. And the feeding means, the storage means includes the first rotating body and the second rotating body, and the first latch portion and the second latch portion are the connection portion. And the first rotary body is engaged with the first latch portion in the insertion direction when the storage means is inserted with maximum inclination with respect to the housing. And the first latch portion engages with the first rotary body when the second rotary body does not reach the engagement position with the second latch portion in the insertion direction. And the second latch portion does not engage with the second rotary body, and the first rotary body reaches an engagement position in the insertion direction with the first latch portion and the second The rotating body reaches an engagement position in the insertion direction with the second latch portion. Was the time, the first latch portion is the second latch portion with engages with the first rotary member is characterized by engaging said second rotating body.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: the sheet feeding apparatus having the above configuration; and an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet fed from the sheet feeding apparatus. Equipped with

  According to the present invention, the half latch state can be prevented by using a latch assembly in which two latches operate integrally.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus provided with a sheet feeding device according to a representative embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the main part of the sheet feeding apparatus with the cover removed. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the sheet feeding device showing a state in which the sheet storage case (sheet stacking device) is removed. FIG. 6 is a conceptual view showing the sheet storage case being diagonally pushed into the inside of the sheet feeding apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the state where the roller of a sheet | seat assembly and sheet storage was latched normally, and a half latch state. It is a side view which shows the detailed shape of a latch part. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a temporal transition of relative positional relationship between two latches and two rollers when the sheet storage case is pushed obliquely into the sheet feeding device.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described more specifically and in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, the present invention is not limited by the embodiments described below, and modifications and additions may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  In this specification, "recording" (sometimes referred to as "printing") is not limited to the case of forming significant information such as characters and figures, but may be significant meaningless. Furthermore, whether or not the image, pattern, pattern or the like is formed on the recording medium, or the medium is processed, is broadly represented regardless of whether it is manifested so that it can be perceived visually by humans.

  Further, “recording medium (sheet)” is not limited to recording paper used in general image forming apparatuses, but widely, cloth, plastic film (OHP), metal plate, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, etc. It also includes media that can be transported.

<Configuration of Image Forming System (FIGS. 1 and 2)>
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming system 1000 for forming an image according to an electrophotographic system as a typical embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming system 1000 includes an image forming apparatus (LBP) 900 and a paper deck 3000 connected to the image forming apparatus 900. The paper deck 3000 is provided with a control unit 41 having a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM, which controls the paper deck 3000 in accordance with an instruction from the controller 120 that controls the entire image forming system 1000.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 900 feeds the sheet S, and forms an image forming unit with the first to fourth sheet feeding apparatuses 1001 to 1004 having the same configuration, and the sheet S fed by the sheet feeding apparatuses 1001 to 1004. And a sheet conveying apparatus 902 for conveying to the sheet 901. The controller 120 provided in the image forming apparatus 900 has a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM in order to control each part of the image forming system 1000. Further, the controller 120 receives image data from the outside (for example, a PC or the like), generates an image signal, and outputs the image signal to the image forming unit.

  Each of the first to fourth sheet feeding apparatuses 1001 to 1004 includes a sheet feeding cassette 10 for storing the sheet S, a pickup roller 11, and a separation conveyance roller pair 25 configured of a feed roller 22 and a retard roller 23. ing. The sheets S stored in the sheet supply cassette 10 are separated and fed one by one by the pickup roller 11 and the separation conveyance roller pair 25 which are moved up and down at a predetermined timing to rotate. A feed sensor 24 is disposed in the vicinity of the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction of the feed roller 22 and the retard roller 23, and the passage of the sheet S is detected by the feed sensor 24. Sent to

  The sheet conveyance device 902 includes a conveyance roller pair 15, a pre-registration roller pair 130, and a registration roller pair 110. The sheet S fed from the first to fourth sheet feeding apparatuses 1001 to 1004 is passed through the sheet conveyance path 108 by the conveyance roller pair 15 and the pre-registration roller pair 130, and then conveyed to the registration roller pair 110. It is eaten. Thereafter, the sheet S is sent to the image forming unit 901 at a predetermined timing by the registration roller pair 110.

  The image forming unit 901 includes a photosensitive drum 112, a laser scanner 111, a developing device 114, a transfer charger 115, and a separation charger 116. Then, at the time of image formation, the laser beam from the laser scanner 111 driven by the image signal from the controller 120 is folded back by the mirror 113 and irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 112 which rotates in the clockwise direction. Form an electrostatic latent image. Further, the electrostatic latent image thus formed on the photosensitive drum is visualized by the developing device 114 as a toner image.

  Thereafter, the toner image on the photosensitive drum is transferred to the sheet S by the transfer charger 115 at the transfer portion 112 b. Further, the sheet S on which the toner image has been transferred in this manner is electrostatically separated from the photosensitive drum 112 by the separation charger 116, and then conveyed by the conveyance belt 117 to the fixing device 118 to fix the toner image. Thereafter, the sheet is discharged by the discharge roller 119. The image forming unit 901 and the fixing device 118 form an image on the sheet S fed from the sheet feeding device 30 (or the sheet feeding devices 1001 to 1004).

  In addition, a discharge sensor 122 is disposed in the conveyance path between the fixing device 118 and the discharge roller 119. The controller 120 detects the passage of the sheet S to be discharged based on the detection signal of the discharge sensor 122.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, a single-function image forming apparatus (printer apparatus) has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The present invention can be applied to, for example, a copying machine system in which an image reading apparatus (scanner apparatus), an image forming apparatus, and an ADF apparatus are integrated, and may be a combined system in which a facsimile function is added to the copying machine system.

  Furthermore, although the image forming unit of the image forming apparatus has been described as having a mechanism for forming an image according to the electrophotographic method, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, it may be an image forming unit that forms an image according to an inkjet method.

  Next, an example regarding the paper deck 3000 will be described by taking the paper deck 3000, which is a large capacity deck, as an example of the sheet feeding device 30 of the image forming system 1000 configured as described above.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the main part of the paper deck 3000 with the cover removed.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper deck 3000 includes an apparatus main body 3000a, a large-capacity sheet storage 62 accommodated in the apparatus main body 3000a, and a sheet feeding apparatus 30. The sheet feeding apparatus 30 sends out the sheet S stacked and accommodated in the substantially rectangular parallelepiped sheet storage 62 accommodated in the apparatus to the image forming unit 901.

  The sheet feeding apparatus 30 includes a sheet loading table 61 for loading a normal sheet S, a pickup roller 51 for feeding out the sheet S loaded on the sheet loading table 61, and a separate conveyance composed of a feed roller 12 and a retard roller 13. And a roller pair 31. The sheet loading table 61 is also referred to as a sheet loading unit. The pickup roller 51 is disposed in the vicinity of the leading end portion in the sheet feeding direction (arrow b direction) so as to be able to press-contact the uppermost sheet on the sheet stacking table 61 with an appropriate force. As a result, the pickup roller 51 is provided above the sheet stacking table 61 and abuts on the uppermost sheet of the sheet S stacked on the elevated sheet stacking table 61 to be fed in the arrow b direction.

  The sheet loading table 61 can load sheets and is supported so as to be moved up and down by a drive mechanism (not shown) including a lift motor (not shown). Further, an upper surface detection sensor 50 is disposed on the upstream side of the pickup roller 51 above the sheet loading table 61. The upper surface detection sensor 50 is located above the sheet stacking table 61 and detects the upper surface 68 of the sheet S on the sheet stacking table. When the sheet stacking table 61 is lowered most, the sheet stacking table 61 abuts on the base plate 63 of the sheet feeding device 30. As indicated by a dotted line 81 in FIG. 1, when the amount of sheets to be stacked decreases, the sheet stacking board 61 is raised.

  The sheet feeding device 30 includes a sheet loading table 61 and two pairs of side regulating members 80 and 83. With respect to the feeding direction (direction of arrow b in FIG. 2) of the sheet S stacked on the sheet stacking table 61, the side regulating member 80 uses the center of the sheet of maximum length loadable on the sheet stacking table as a reference line. It is provided downstream of the line. On the other hand, the side restricting member 83 is provided on the upstream side of the reference line, with the center of the sheet of the maximum length that can be stacked on the sheet loading table 61 as a reference line. Further, the side regulating members 80, 83 regulate the side end position in the width direction (direction of arrow h in FIG. 2) orthogonal to the feeding direction (direction of arrow b in FIG. 2) of the sheet S stacked on the sheet stacking table 61. Both possible and movable in the width direction. In particular, the pair of side regulating members 83 on the upstream side with respect to the feeding direction is configured to be movable by the drive motor in the width direction (the arrow h direction in FIG. 2) orthogonal to that. Control the movement.

  In this embodiment, as described above, the pickup roller 51 is configured to be able to be in pressure contact with the uppermost sheet of the sheet S on the sheet loading table with an appropriate force. The sheets S on the sheet stacking table 61 are separated and fed one by one by a pickup roller 51 and a separation conveyance roller pair 31 which rotate at a predetermined timing and move up and down.

  In the connection portion 14 of the paper deck 3000 with the image forming apparatus 900, a connection conveyance path 32 for feeding the sheet S from the paper deck 3000 to the pre-registration roller pair 130 of the image forming apparatus 900 is disposed.

  The two pairs of side regulating members 80 and 83 are configured to slide up to all the sheet size widths corresponding to the specifications, and can guide the sheet S on the sheet stacking table 61. That is, the two pairs of side regulating members 80 and 83 are supported so as to be movable in the width direction of the sheet, and abut on both ends of the stacked sheet S to regulate the both sides position of the sheet S. Reference numeral 86 in FIG. 2 denotes a front end restricting portion which restricts the front end of the sheet S on the sheet stacking table 61.

  Further, the trailing end regulating member 87 is arranged to regulate the trailing end of the sheet S on the sheet stacking table 61. The trailing end regulating member 87 is supported so as to be movable in a direction parallel to the sheet feeding direction (arrow b direction), and regulates the trailing end position of the sheet S. The trailing end regulating member 87 is moved along a positioning elongated hole (not shown) formed at the center of the sheet loading table 61.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pickup roller 51 is driven by a drive motor (not shown) to rotate in the sheet feeding direction (arrow a direction), and delivers the uppermost sheet S in the arrow b direction. Accordingly, the sheet S abuts on the nip portion of the separation conveyance roller pair 31 adjacent to the exit side of the pickup roller 51.

  Now, when double feeding occurs on the sheet S fed by the pickup roller 51, the following occurs. That is, the retard roller 13 which is driven to rotate in the opposite direction to the feed roller 12 which rotates in the same direction as the arrow a (the direction of the arrow c) rotates the same as the feed roller 12 by interposing two or more sheets S in the nip portion. Rotate in the direction. Then, the second and subsequent sheets S in the nip portion are pushed back in the direction of the sheet loading table 61 by the retard roller 13, and only the topmost sheet S is fed out by the feed roller 12 in the arrow b direction.

  When the sheet S is fed from the paper deck 3000 having the above configuration, or fed from any of the first to fourth sheet feeding apparatuses 1001 to 1004, the leading end of the sheet S is pre-registered. It strikes the nip part of roller pair 130. The pre-registration roller pair 130 is configured by a pair of opposing rollers, and is disposed on the conveyance path of the sheet S so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow d in FIG. 2 by a drive motor (not shown). The sheet S which has once abutted against the nip portion of the pair of pre-registration rollers 130 is conveyed into the inside of the image forming apparatus 900 by the pair of pre-registration rollers 130 which rotates in synchronization with the feed timing.

  Referring back to FIG. 1 again, the sheet storage case (sheet stacking device) 62 for storing a large-capacity sheet mounted on the sheet feeding device 30 has rails 67a and 68a in the direction perpendicular to the sheet surface of FIG. It is slidable along and can be put in and out by the user. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the rails 67a, 68a are configured to be extendable in the arrow direction, and the outer shells of the rails 67a, 68a can be extended as shown by broken lines. The rails 67a, 68a engage with the rails attached to the inside of the sheet feeding device 30 as described later. The engagement of the rails allows the user to easily push the sheet storage case 62 into the sheet feeding device 30.

  Rollers 63a and 63b are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the sheet storage case 62, respectively. When the user pushes the sheet storage case 62 into the sheet feeding device 30, the rollers 63a and 63b engage with a latch described later. Then, the sheet storage case 62 is fixed to the sheet feeding device 30.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the sheet feeding apparatus showing a state in which the sheet storage case (sheet stacking apparatus) is removed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, rails 67 and 68 are attached to the inner wall in the longitudinal direction of the sheet feeding device 30 at both end positions facing each other. The rails 67 and 68 respectively receive and engage the rails 67a and 68a provided at both longitudinal ends of the sheet storage case 62 described with reference to FIG. Then, when the user pushes the sheet storage case (sheet stacking device) 62 into the inside of the sheet feeding device 30, it moves inside along the engaged rails.

  Further, inside the sheet feeding device 30, a latch assembly constituted by latches 65a and 65b having the same shape and the same size and a latch connecting portion 64 connecting them is provided. The latch assembly is rotatable about the extension direction of the latch connection portion 64, and the biasing member (not shown) is configured to rotate the latch assembly in such a direction that the tips of the latches 65a and 65b always move downward. There is. Further, a stopper mechanism (not shown) is provided so as not to move below the position where the latches 65a, 65b engage with the rollers 63a, 63b. When the sheet storage case 62 is pushed into the inside of the sheet feeding device 30, the rollers 63a and 63b provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the sheet storage case 62 approach the latch 65a and 65b while moving downward. An engagement operation (hereinafter, engagement operation) is performed. As a result, each latch is engaged and the sheet storage 62 is fixed. The detailed process of the engagement will be described later. Also, as can be seen from FIG. 3, the latch connection 64 connects the end opposite the tip that contacts and engages the corresponding roller of each latch.

  Since the latch assembly operates integrally, for example, when only one of the two latches is lifted in contact with the roller, the latch not in contact with the roller is similarly lifted.

  In addition, a storage storage pushing member 66 is provided on the inner wall of the deepest portion of the sheet feeding device 30. The storage push-out member 66 incorporates a spring, and in the position where the rollers 63a and 63b engage with the latches 65a and 65b to fix the sheet storage 62, the spring is contracted. Therefore, when the sheet storage case 62 is released from the fixed state, the sheet storage case 62 is pushed outward from the sheet feeding device 30 by the repulsive force of the spring.

  Specifically, when the user stacks sheets on the sheet stacking board 61, the following operation is performed. When the user presses a storage release button (not shown) provided on the upper portion of the sheet feeding device 30, the above-described latch is released. Then, the sheet storage case 62 is pushed out by the repulsive force of the spring described above. The user can then manually withdraw the sheet storage 62.

  Thus, after moving the sheet storage 62 to a position where the sheets S can be stacked on the sheet stacking table 61, the user stacks the sheets S on the sheet stacking table 61 and stores the sheets S. The storage 62 is pushed back to the inside of the sheet feeding device 30.

  A rattling is provided between the rails 67 and 68 of the sheet feeding device 30 and the rails 67 a and 68 a on the sheet storage case 62 side. The play is for enabling smooth sliding of the sheet storage case 62 when engaged with each other. In this embodiment, 8 mm play is provided. Further, the sheet storage case (sheet stacking device) 62 is configured to be able to store a long sheet.

  Therefore, when the rails 67a and 68a of the sheet storage case 62 do not move in parallel with the rails 67 and 68 of the sheet feeding device 30 and are not stored, a slight skew of the sheet storage case 62 causes a large deviation.

  FIG. 4 is a conceptual view showing how the sheet storage case is diagonally pushed into the sheet feeding apparatus. In FIG. 4, L1 is a width (910 mm in this embodiment) between the rollers 63a and 63b, and θ is an angle of skew feeding of the sheet storage case 62 with respect to the running direction of the rail (broken line). In the rattling (8 mm) in this embodiment, in consideration of the deflection of the rail, a skew or inclination of up to 1.5 ° may occur.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the sheet storage case 62 is pushed obliquely in the arrow direction, the roller 63 a reaches the latch 65 a before the roller 63 b reaches the latch 65 b in the insertion direction. This difference (the amount of skewing l) increases as the width L1 between the rails increases. For example, in the case where the skew angle is θ = 1.5 °, which is the maximum, and L1 = 910 mm, the skew amount l is about 23.8 mm. Therefore, when one latch, that is, the latch 65a in FIG. 4 is positioned to engage with the roller 63a, at least the other latch, that is, the latch 65b in FIG. If it is not secured with a length of 23.8 mm or more, it will be in the state of half latch. That is, only the latch 65a engages with the roller 63a, and a state of a half latch in which the latch 65b can not engage with the roller 63b occurs. The half latch can not sufficiently fix the sheet storage case 62 to the sheet feeding device 30. As a result, sheet feeding becomes unstable, and there is a possibility that conveyance failure or sheet jam may occur.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the sheet assembly and the rollers of the sheet storage case.

  In FIG. 5, (a) is a view showing a state in which the sheet storage case 62 is advanced straight to the sheet feeding device 30 and normally pushed in, and (b) is a state in which the sheet storage case 62 is inclined to the sheet feeding device 30. It is a figure which shows a mode that it lined and was pushed. FIG. 5 is an example in which two latches 65 a and 65 having triangular tips are connected by a latch connection portion 64 to configure a latch assembly. The entire latch assembly is configured to be rotatable about the rod axis of the rod-shaped latch connection 64. For this reason, when the roller moves in the direction of arrow A and the tip thereof contacts at least one of the two rollers 63a and 63b and further moves in the direction of arrow A, the latch assembly rotates in the direction of arrow B And ride on the colo.

  According to FIG. 5A, the latch 65a passes over the roller 63a, and the latch 65b passes over the roller 63b, and engages with the recesses 69a and 69b of the two latches. That is, the latch 65a engages with the recess 69a and the latch 65b engages with the recess 69b, and the sheet storage case 62 is correctly fixed to the sheet feeding device 30. On the other hand, according to FIG. 5B, the roller 63b is beyond the top of the tip of the latch 65b, but the roller 63a is not beyond the top of the tip of the latch 65a. In this state, when the latch 65a and the latch 65b move downward, the latch 65b engages with the roller 65b, but the latch 65a does not engage with the roller 63a and falls in front of it. As a result, the latch 65a is not engaged and is in the state of the half latch described above. That is, before the latch 65a reaches a position where the engagement operation is performed to the roller 63a, the latch 65b performs the engagement operation to the roller 63b. Therefore, the operator is in the correct engagement state in which both the latch 65a and the latch 65b are depressed despite the fact that the latch 65a is not engaged and the latch 65b is engaged in the half latch state. You may misunderstand it and end the operation.

  In this embodiment, even if the sheet storage case 62 is pushed obliquely to the sheet feeding device 30 to some extent, the shape of the tip of the latch is made to be triangular so that the left and right latches function properly. Change to a substantially trapezoidal shape.

  FIG. 6 is a side view showing the detailed shape of the latch portion.

  The upper view of FIG. 6 shows the side of a conventional latch having a triangular tip as a comparative example, and the lower view of FIG. 6 shows the shape of the latches 65a, 65b according to this embodiment. The dimensions of the triangular shape as a comparative example are a = 23.5 mm, b = 29.5 mm, c = 37.8 mm. In the shape of the comparative example, it is not possible to secure a length of 23.8 mm, which is an area where the latch 65b contacts the roller 63b, which is necessary to cope with the skewing which causes the half latch described above. Therefore, half-latching may occur when skewing occurs at the maximum angle.

  As can be seen by comparing the upper comparative example and the lower latch of this embodiment, the tip (portion indicated by the broken line E) of the latch of the comparative embodiment has a triangular shape, while the latch of this embodiment The tip has a trapezoidal shape. That is, the shape of the tip of the latch of this embodiment is such that the shape of the tip of the latch of the comparative example is extended in the extending direction, and the triangular shape is substantially trapezoidal.

  In this embodiment, the end portions of the latches 65a and 65b are extended by 15 mm in the extending direction to form short sides 71a and 71b having a length of 15 mm. Thus, an area in which the short side portion 71b of the latch 65b contacts the roller 63b is secured to 23.8 mm or more. That is, the roller contact area in FIG. 6 is equal to or greater than the maximum value of the skew amount l in FIG. 4. Therefore, even when skewing occurs at the maximum angle, there is no possibility that the half latch occurs. Moreover, the shape mentioned above is not restricted to perfect trapezoid shape.

  In summary, the latches 65a and 65b in this embodiment have a trapezoidal shape having slopes 70a and 70b and short sides 71a and 71b at their tips, and the recesses 69a and 69b in this order in the insertion direction. It has a structure that it has.

  In the example shown in FIG. 6, the shape of the latch tip which was 152.1 mm in length and 29.6 mm in height in the comparative example is extended by 15 mm in the extending direction, and the elongated length is a short trapezoidal shape It is the side length. Therefore, the extension size increase of the size of the latch in this embodiment is kept to less than 10%. Therefore, the size change of the housing of the sheet feeding device 30 accommodating the sheet storage case 62 can be avoided.

  In this embodiment, the sheet feeding device 30 is provided with a latch assembly employing the above-described latch in the shape of the tip.

  Next, a state in which the sheet storage case 62 having the above-described configuration is obliquely inserted into the above-described configuration into the sheet feeding device 30 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a temporal transition of the relative positional relationship between the two latches and the two rollers when the sheet storage case is pushed obliquely into the sheet feeding apparatus.

In FIG. 7, the left side shows the temporal transition of the relative positional relationship between the latch 65a and the roller 63a, and the right side shows the temporal transition of the relative positional relationship between the latch 65b and the roller 63b. Further, in FIG. 7, the time (t) changes from t _{1 to} t ₁ , t ₂ ,..., T ₁₁ in the vertical direction from the top to the bottom. Then, the sheet storage case 62 is pushed into the inside of the sheet feeding device 30 according to the transition. Therefore, in FIG. 7, the relative positional relationship between the latch 65a and the roller 63b and the relative positional relationship between the latch 65b and the roller 63b can be compared at the same time. Further, in FIG. 7, the arrow AR indicates the insertion direction of the sheet storage case 62.

  Hereinafter, when the sheet storage case 62 is pushed obliquely into the sheet feeding device 30, the relative positional relationship between the two latches and the two rollers will be described according to the transition of time. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the roller 63a reaches the latch 65a before the roller 63b reaches the latch 65b. Of course, it goes without saying that the present invention is also applicable to the case where the roller 63b reaches the latch 65b before the roller 63a reaches the latch 65a.

T = t ₁
The roller 63a of the sheet storage case 62 approaches the tip of the latch 65a first. On the other hand, the roller 63b of the sheet storage case 62 still has a distance before the leading end of the latch 65b reaches.

T = t ₂
The roller 63a of the sheet storage case 62 first contacts the sloped portion 70a at the tip of the latch 65a. On the other hand, the roller 63b of the sheet storage case 62 does not reach the latch 65b.

T = t ₃
The roller 63a abuts on the sloped portion 70a at the tip of the latch 65a to gradually lift the latch 65a. On the other hand, although the latch 65b is not in contact with the roller 63b of the sheet storage case 62, the latch 65b is also lifted because it is integrated with the latch 65a as a latch assembly.

T = t ₄
After the roller 63a contacts the sloped portion 70a at the tip of the latch 65a and lifts the latch 65a gradually, the roller 63a reaches the top between the sloped portion 70a at the tip of the latch 65a and the short side 71a. On the other hand, although the latch 65b is not in contact with the roller 63b of the sheet storage case 62, the latch 65b is also lifted because it is integrated with the latch 65a as a latch assembly.

T = t ₅
The roller 63a moves in a state where the short side 71a rides on the roller 63a and the short side 71a and the roller 63a abut. On the other hand, although the latch 65b is not yet in contact with the roller 63b, the roller 63b approaches the latch 65b while the latch 65b is lifted.

T = t ₆
The state where the roller 63a passes the short side portion 71a and the short side portion 71a rides on the roller 63a ends. On the other hand, in the latch 65b, the short side portion 71b runs on the roller 63b, and the roller 63b moves below the short side portion 71b.

T = t ₇
The roller 63a passes the short side portion 71a, and the state where the short side portion 71a rides on the roller 63a is ended. On the other hand, the roller 63b does not pass through the short side 71b, and the short side 71b continues to run on the roller 63b. The latch 65a is integral with the latch 65b as a latch assembly so that it remains lifted.

T = t ₈
This is immediately before the end of the state where the short side portion 71b rides on the roller 63b. The state where the short side portion 71a rides on the roller 63a is ended. The latch 65a is integral with the latch 65b as a latch assembly so that it remains lifted.

T = t ₉
The roller 63b passes through the short side 71b of the latch 65b, and the state where the short side 71b rides on the roller 63b is ended. Then, the roller 63b moves to the recess 69b of the latch 65b which is the engagement position. At this time, the latch 65b starts an engagement operation with the roller 63b. In synchronization with this, the latch 65a operating integrally with the latch 65b as a latch assembly also starts the engagement operation.

T = t ₁₀
When the roller 63b passes the short side 71b and reaches the recess 69b which is the engagement position, the roller 63a has already passed the short side 71a and reaches the recess 69a which is the engagement position. Therefore, when the latch 65b engages with the roller 63b, the latch 65a can also engage with the roller 63a. When engaged, the latch 65a engages with the roller 63a at the deepest part (left end in the drawing) of the recess 69a, and the latch 65b engages with the roller 63b at the foremost part (right end in the drawing) of the recess 69b. Become.

T = t ₁₁
The latch 65 a and the roller 63 a, and the latch 65 b and the roller 63 b are engaged, and the sheet storage case 62 is fixed to the sheet feeding device 30. In this state, when the sheet storage case 62 is further pushed into the sheet feeding device 30, the latch 65a is engaged at the foremost portion of the recess 69a, and the latch 65b is also engaged at the foremost portion of the recess 69b. As a result, the state in which the sheet storage case 62 is obliquely fed to the sheet feeding device 30 is eliminated.

  In summary, when the sheet storage case 62 is maximally inclined with respect to the sheet supply device 30 and inserted along the insertion direction, the roller 63a reaches the engagement position with the latch 65a, and the roller 63b and the latch 65b When it has not reached the engagement position of the following. That is, the latch 65a does not engage with the roller 63a, and the latch 65b does not engage with the roller 63b. Then, when the roller 63a reaches the engagement position with the latch 65a and the roller 63b reaches the engagement position with the latch 65b, the latch 65a engages with the roller 63a and the latch 65b engages with the roller 63b .

  According to the embodiment described above, by changing the tip shape of the latch, even if the sheet storage case is pushed into the sheet feeding device in a skewed state with respect to the sheet feeding device, the state of the half latch Both sides of the sheet storage can be latched without the occurrence of Therefore, without using a complicated mechanism such as providing a sensor for detecting a half latch and controlling the latch according to the detection, the occurrence of a half latch state can be prevented with a simple configuration that does not cause an increase in the number of parts. Becomes possible.

  Furthermore, in the conventional configuration, when the half latch state occurs, the user manually cancels the half latch state, takes out the sheet storage case, and performs an additional operation such as returning the sheet storage device again. However, according to this embodiment, there is an advantage that the additional operation is not necessary and the user convenience is improved.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, the sheet feeding apparatus and the image forming apparatus are separately provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the sheet feeding apparatus is incorporated in the image forming apparatus. It may be a built-in configuration.

30 sheet feeding device, 61 sheet loading table, 62 sheet storage (sheet loading device),
63a, 63b roller, 64 latch connector, 65a, 65b latch,
66 storage push-out members, 67, 67a, 68, 68a rails

Claims (4)

A sheet feeding apparatus for feeding a sheet to an image forming apparatus, comprising:
And
A storage unit which is accommodated inside the housing and has a sheet loading unit for loading the sheets, and which is movable in the insertion direction with respect to the housing;
A first rotating body provided at one end of the storage means in a direction intersecting the insertion direction;
A second rotating body provided at the other end of the storage means in a direction intersecting the insertion direction;
A first latch portion provided in the housing and engaged with the first rotating body;
A second latch portion provided in the housing and engaged with the second rotating body;
A connecting portion connecting the first latch portion and the second latch portion;
Feeding means for feeding the sheet stacked on the sheet stacking unit to the image forming apparatus;
The housing includes the first latch unit, the second latch unit, the connection unit, and the feeding unit.
The storage means includes the first rotating body and the second rotating body,
The first latch portion and the second latch portion are connected by the connection portion and move integrally.
The first rotary body reaches an engagement position in the insertion direction with the first latch portion when the storage means is inserted at a maximum inclination with respect to the housing, and the second When the rotary body does not reach the engagement position with the second latch portion in the insertion direction, the first latch portion does not engage with the first rotary body and the second latch portion Not engaged with the second rotating body,
The first rotary body reaches the engagement position in the insertion direction with the first latch portion, and the second rotary body reaches the engagement position in the insertion direction with the second latch portion The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the first latch portion engages with the first rotary body and the second latch portion engages with the second rotary body. The first latch portion and the second latch portion move downward to engage;
After the first rotary body and the first latch portion come into contact with each other, the first rotary body and the second rotary body reach an engagement position in the insertion direction with the corresponding latch portion. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the first latch portion and the second latch portion are held upward until the second sheet. The first latch unit and the second latch unit are sequentially arranged from the head toward the insertion direction.
A slope portion inclined with respect to the insertion direction;
A short side connected to the inclined surface and having a smaller angle with the insertion direction than an angle formed by the insertion direction and the inclined surface;
A recess connected to the short side and engaged with the corresponding rotating body;
The length in the insertion direction from the position where the corresponding rotary member of the inclined surface first contacts to the position where the recess is connected to the short side portion maximizes the storage means with respect to the housing The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding device is longer than a distance between the first rotating body and the second rotating body in the insertion direction when inserting at an angle. A sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
An image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet to be fed by the sheet feeding device;

Images