JP2019131347A - Sheet feeding cassette and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a sheet feeding cassette that can reliably prevent a movement of a side fence with a simple mechanism regardless of a size of the sheet.SOLUTION: A sheet cassette 21 includes: a stacking plate 33 that can be moved up and down; a holding member 35 that urges the stacking plate 33 from a lowered position toward a raised position; a pair of side fences 37 that slides in a width direction; an interlocking mechanism 39 that slides the pair of side fences 37; an engaging part 61 and a to-be-engaged part 81, provided at the stacking plate 33 and the interlocking mechanism 39, for regulating the slide of the pair of side fences 37 by the interlocking mechanism 39 by engaging with each other. When the stacking plate 33 is held at the raised position, the engagement between the engaging part 61 and the to-be-engaged part 81 is released and sliding of the pair of side fences 37 is permitted. When the stacking plate 33 is lowered to the lowered position, the engaging part 61 and the to-be-engaged part 81 are engaged, and the sliding of the pair of side fences 37 is restricted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette and an image forming apparatus that store paper on which an image is formed.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a multifunction machine or a printer, a sheet is sent out from a sheet feeding cassette to an image forming unit. The paper feed cassette is provided with a pair of slidable side fences for positioning the paper in the width direction of the paper perpendicular to the direction in which the paper is fed out.

  The paper feed cassette may be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body along a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the paper is sent out, that is, the paper width direction. In this case, if the paper feeding cassette is vigorously inserted into the apparatus main body, there is a problem that a force is applied from the paper to the side fence, and the center position in the width direction of the pair of side fences is displaced.

  For such a problem, Patent Document 1 describes a paper feed tray (paper feed cassette) in which a large side fence that prevents the movement of the fence (side fence) is detachably provided. Patent Document 2 describes a paper feed cassette provided with a regulating member that prevents movement of a separation claw that holds both corners of a side guide (side fence). Further, Patent Document 3 describes a paper feed cassette that includes an attachment pin that temporarily fixes a cursor (side fence) to a cassette frame.

JP 11-193134 A JP 2000-16625 A JP 2009-46304 A

  However, in the paper feed cassettes described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, when the paper size changes, it is necessary to move a member for preventing the movement of the side fence, and there is a problem that workability is lowered. is there. Moreover, there are few variations of applicable paper sizes.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding cassette and an image forming apparatus including the sheet feeding cassette that can reliably prevent the movement of the side fence with a simple mechanism regardless of the size of the sheet. .

  In order to achieve the above object, the paper feed cassette according to the present invention is detachably attached to the apparatus main body, and is provided with a main body part that accommodates paper fed out along a predetermined feeding direction, and is movable up and down in the main body part. A stacking plate on which sheets are stacked, a holding member that urges the stacking plate from the lowered position to the raised position, and holds the raised plate in the raised position, and slides in the width direction orthogonal to the feeding direction. A pair of side fences that contact the side edges of the paper loaded on the stacking plate, an interlocking mechanism that slides the pair of side fences synchronously in a direction approaching or separating from each other, and the stacking plate and the interlocking mechanism, respectively A regulating portion having an engaging portion and an engaged portion that restrict sliding of the pair of side fences by the interlocking mechanism by being engaged with each other, and the regulating portion includes the loading plate But When the holding member is held in the raised position, the engagement between the engaging portion and the engaged portion is released, and the pair of side fences is allowed to slide by the interlocking mechanism, and the stacking plate In a state where the engaging member is lowered to the lowered position against the urging force of the holding member, the engaging portion engages with the engaged portion and restricts sliding of the pair of side fences by the interlocking mechanism. It is characterized by that.

  In the sheet feeding cassette of the present invention, the interlocking mechanism is provided on the pair of side fences, and is provided with a pair of rack gears that slide in the width direction, and is provided on the main body portion and meshes with the pair of rack gears to rotate. The engaging portion is provided on a back surface of the stacking plate, and the engaged portion is provided on at least one of the pair of rack gears or on an upper surface of the pinion gear. It may be characterized by being.

  In the paper feed cassette of the present invention, the stacking plate may be lowered to the lowered position against a biasing force of the holding member when a predetermined number of sheets are stacked.

  In the paper feed cassette of the present invention, the holding member may be a coil spring.

  The sheet feeding cassette of the present invention includes a lifting mechanism that lifts and lowers the lifting plate between a feeding position where paper can be fed and the lowered position, and the lifting mechanism is provided outside the main body. A lift plate that can be connected to the drive source and is rotatably supported between the bottom plate of the main body and the stacking plate, and the lift plate is rotated by the drive source, The stacking plate may be lifted by the lift plate and lifted from the lowered position to the feeding position.

  In the paper feed cassette according to the present invention, the apparatus main body may be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body along a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a sheet feeding cassette according to any one of the above, a cassette mounting unit on which the sheet feeding cassette is detachably mounted, and a sheet from the sheet feeding cassette mounted on the cassette mounting unit. The image forming unit includes: a feeding unit that feeds the paper; and an image forming unit that forms an image on the paper fed from the paper cassette by the feeding unit.

  According to the present invention, when sheets are stacked on the stacking plate, the engaging portion when the stacking plate is lowered is engaged with the engaged portion of the interlocking mechanism, and the sliding of the pair of side fences by the interlocking mechanism is restricted. Is done. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the positional deviation of the sheet in the width direction due to the movement of the pair of side fences when the sheet feeding cassette is inserted with a simple configuration.

1 is a front view schematically showing an internal structure of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view illustrating a paper feeding unit of the printer according to the embodiment of the invention. It is a perspective view which shows the paper feed cassette which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing an engaging portion and an engaged portion that are not engaged in the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing an engaging portion and an engaged portion that are engaged in the paper feed cassette according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the paper feed cassette concerning one embodiment of the present invention, it is a modification of an engaging part and an engaged part, and is a front view showing an engaging part and an engaged part which are not engaged. In the paper feed cassette concerning one embodiment of the present invention, it is a modification of an engaging part and an engaged part, and is a front view showing an engaging part and an engaged part which are engaged.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus and a paper feed cassette according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, an overall configuration of a printer 1 as an image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the front side of the page in FIG. 1 is the front side (front side) of the printer 1. Fr, Rr, L, and R in the drawings indicate the front side, the rear side, the left side, and the right side of the printer 1, respectively.

  The printer 1 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 2 having a hollow portion. A cassette mounting portion 3 is formed at the lower portion of the housing 2 so that a paper feed cassette 21 described later can be detachably mounted. An opening 3 a is formed on the front surface of the cassette mounting portion 3.

  In the housing 2, a feeding unit 5 that feeds the sheet S from the sheet feeding cassette 21 mounted in the cassette mounting unit 3 along the transport direction, and an image forming unit 7 that forms a toner image on the fed sheet S. A fixing device 9 that fixes the formed toner image onto the paper S, a discharge device 11 that discharges the paper S on which the toner image is fixed, and a discharge tray 13 on which the discharged paper S is stacked. It has been. Further, a conveyance path 15 is formed in the housing 2 through which the sheet S is conveyed from the feeding unit 5 through the image forming unit 7 and the fixing device 9 toward the discharge device 11.

  Next, the feeding unit 5 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the feeding portion, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the paper feed cassette, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the engaging portion and the engaged portion that are not engaged, and FIG. It is a cross-sectional perspective view which shows the engaged part and engaged part which were engaged.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the feeding unit 5 includes a paper feeding cassette 21 that stores the paper S, a paper feeding mechanism 23 that feeds the paper S from the paper feeding cassette 21 toward the image forming unit 7, It has. The paper feed cassette 21 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 3 of the housing 2 as shown in FIG. The paper feed cassette 21 slides in the front-rear direction through the opening 3 a between the accommodation position accommodated in the cassette mounting portion 3 and the drawing position pulled forward from the cassette mounting portion 3. The paper feed mechanism 23 is provided in the upper right corner of the cassette mounting unit 3. The paper feed mechanism 23 sends out the paper S obliquely upward to the right from the paper feed cassette 21 toward the transport path 15. A direction in which the paper S is sent out is defined as a feeding direction Y of the paper S, and a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction Y is defined as a width direction W of the paper S.

  The paper feed cassette 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. The paper feed cassette 21 includes a main body 31, a stackable plate 33 on which sheets S are stacked, a holding member 35 (not shown in FIG. 3) that urges the stacking plate 33 in the upward direction, and a width direction. A pair of side fences 37 that slide to W to position the paper S, an interlocking mechanism 39 that slides the pair of side fences 37 along the width direction W, and a stacking plate 33 and an interlocking mechanism 39 are provided. A regulation unit 40 and an end fence 41 that slides in the feeding direction Y and positions the paper S are provided.

  The main body 31 has a shallow box shape with an open top surface, and includes a bottom plate 31a, front and rear side plates 31b, and left and right side plates 31c. As shown in FIG. 3, front and rear grooves 45 and left and right grooves 47 are formed in the bottom plate 31a. The front-rear groove 45 extends along the width direction W in a downstream portion in the feeding direction Y. The left and right grooves 47 extend substantially along the width direction W along the feeding direction Y. In addition, on the bottom plate 31a, marks 51 indicating the positions of both side edges or one side edge in the width direction W of the paper S of a reference size (for example, A4 horizontal size, A4 vertical size, B4 vertical size) are marked. . As shown in FIG. 2, on the inner surfaces of the front and rear side plates 31b, pins 53 are erected on the same axis in the substantially central portion in the feeding direction Y, respectively. Further, a cover plate (not shown) is provided on the outer surface of the front side plate 31b. The cover plate closes the opening 3a of the housing 2 when the paper feed cassette 21 slides to the storage position.

  The stacking plate 33 has a stacking portion 57 and a pair of support portions 59. The stacking portion 57 is formed in a flat plate shape on which the downstream portion of the sheet S in the feeding direction Y can be stacked. The pair of support portions 59 stands upright with respect to the stacking portion 57 from both side edges in the width direction W of the stacking portion 57. The pair of support portions 59 are respectively formed with recesses 59a. Each recess 59 a is engaged with a pin 53 provided on each of the side plates 31 b before and after the main body 31.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the stacking plate 33 is rotated around the pin 53 by the elevating mechanism 64. The lifting mechanism 64 has a lift plate 65 and a lifting motor 67. The lift plate 65 is a flat plate-like member having a shorter length along the feeding direction Y than the stacking plate 33. The lift plate 65 is provided with a rotation shaft 65 a along the downstream edge in the feeding direction Y. The lift plate 65 is disposed between the bottom plate 31 a of the main body 31 and the stacking portion 57 of the stacking plate 33. The rotary shaft 65a protrudes rearward through the side plate 31b on the rear side of the main body 31.

  The lifting motor 67 is a motor that can rotate forward and backward. The elevating motor 67 is disposed in the cassette mounting portion 3 and is connected to the end of the rotating shaft 65a of the lift plate 65 protruding rearward from the rear side plate 31b of the main body 31 via a gear or the like. By rotating the elevating motor 67 in the forward direction and the reverse direction, the lift plate 65 rotates upward and downward about the rotation shaft 65a. When the lift plate 65 pivots upward, the stacking portion 57 of the stacking plate 33 is pushed up and pivots upward (ascends) about the pin 53 as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. That is, the stacking portion 57 is inclined upward toward the downstream side in the feeding direction Y. On the other hand, when the lift plate 65 is rotated downward, the stacking portion 57 of the stacking plate 33 is lowered by the lift plate 65, is rotated downward (lowered) about the pin 53, and the main body portion 31. It overlaps with the bottom plate 31a.

  The holding member 35 is, for example, a coil spring, and is interposed between the stacking portion 57 of the stacking plate 33 and the bottom plate 31a of the main body 31 as shown in FIG. The lower end of the holding member 35 is fixed to the bottom plate 31 a, and the upper end is in contact with the lower surface of the stacking portion 57. When the sheet S is not stacked on the stacking unit 57, the holding member 35 urges the stacking unit 57 upward to move the stacking plate 33 in the feeding direction Y as shown by a solid line in FIG. It is held in a rising posture inclined upward toward the downstream side. When a predetermined number of sheets S are stacked on the stacking unit 57, the stacking unit 57 rotates against the urging force of the holding member 35 to the lowered position overlapping the bottom plate 31a.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the pair of side fences 37 each have a slide portion 71 and a side wall portion 73. The slide portion 71 is slidably engaged with the front and rear grooves 45 of the bottom plate 31 a of the main body portion 31. The side wall part 73 stands substantially upright with respect to the bottom plate 31a from the slide part 71 and extends along the feeding direction Y.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the interlocking mechanism 39 has a pair of rack gears 77 and a pinion gear 79. The pair of rack gears 77 are respectively connected to the slide portions 71 of the pair of side fences 37 and are slidably accommodated in the front and rear grooves 45 of the bottom plate 31 a of the main body portion 31. The pinion gear 79 is rotatably supported near the center in the width direction W of the front and rear groove 45 between the pair of rack gears 77. The pair of rack gears 77 mesh with the pinion gear 79. As the side wall portions 73 slide in a direction approaching or separating from each other, the rack gear 77 slides along the front and rear grooves together with the slide portion 71, and the pinion gear 79 rotates.

  The restricting portion 40 includes an engaging portion 61 and an engaged portion 81 that can be engaged with each other. The engaging portion 61 and the engaged portion 81 have the same position in the width direction W, and are provided on the same rotation path centered on the rotation center (pin 53) of the stacking plate 33. As shown in FIG. 2, the engaging portion 61 is fixed near the center of the back surface of the stacking portion 57 in the feeding direction Y and the width direction W.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the engaging portion 61 includes a disk-shaped base portion 61 a and a tooth portion 61 b provided on the lower surface of the base portion 61 a. The tooth portions 61b are arranged at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface. Each tooth portion 61b may have a tapered cross-sectional shape in the circumferential direction. The engaged portion 81 is fixed to the upper surface of the pinion gear 79. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the engaged portion 81 includes a disk-like base portion 81a and a tooth portion 81b provided on the upper surface of the base portion 81a. The tooth portions 81b are arranged on the outer peripheral portion of the upper surface with a predetermined interval along the circumferential direction. When the stacking portion 57 is raised by the lifting mechanism 64, the engaged portion 81 is separated from the engaging portion 61, and when the loading portion 57 is lowered, the engaged portion 81 is engaged with the engaging portion 61.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the paper feed mechanism 23 includes a pickup roller 85 and a paper feed roller 87 for feeding the paper S from the paper feed cassette 21, and a separation roller 89 for separating the fed paper S. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pickup roller 85 and the paper feed roller 87 are sequentially arranged along the feeding direction Y, and are respectively supported by the holder 91 so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis. A drive motor 93 is connected to the rotation shaft of the paper feed roller 87 via a gear or the like. A gear (not shown) is interposed between the rotation shaft of the pickup roller 85 and the rotation shaft of the paper feed roller 87. When the rotation shaft of the paper feed roller 87 rotates, the pickup roller 85 rotates in the same direction as the paper feed roller 87 about the rotation shaft.

  The holder 91 is supported so as to be swingable in the vertical direction around the rotation axis of the paper feed roller 87. The holder 91 is urged so as to swing downward by a coil spring (not shown).

  The separation roller 89 is disposed so as to face the paper feed roller 87 from below and is rotatably supported.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the end fence 41 is slidably engaged with the left and right grooves 47 of the bottom plate 31 a of the main body 31.

  A sheet feeding operation in the feeding unit 5 having the above configuration will be described. When the paper S is stored in the paper feed cassette 21, first, the paper feed cassette 21 is slid to the drawer position. When the sheet S is not stored in the sheet feeding cassette 21, that is, when the sheet S is not stacked on the stacking unit 57, the stacking unit 57 is rotated by the holding member 35 and held at the raised position. For this reason, the stacking portion 57 is spaced upward from the bottom plate 31 a of the main body portion 31, and the engaging portion 61 is not engaged with the engaged portion 81 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4. In this state, the pair of side fences 37 are slid according to the size of the sheets S to be stacked, based on the mark 51 of the bottom plate 31a.

  Next, the sheets S are stacked on the stacking unit 57. Then, the stacking portion 57 rotates to the lowered position against the urging force of the holding member 35 due to the weight of the paper S. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5, the engaging portion 61 is engaged with the engaged portion 81. Specifically, each tooth portion 61 b of the engaging portion 61 is inserted into a gap between adjacent tooth portions 81 b of the engaged portion 81. At this time, when each tooth portion 61b has a tapered shape, it is easily inserted between adjacent tooth portions 81b. Thus, when each tooth part 61b of the engaging part 61 is inserted into the gap between the adjacent tooth parts 81b of the engaged part 81 and the engaging part 61 engages with the engaged part 81, the pinion The rotation of the gear 79 is restricted. That is, when the sheets S are stacked on the stacking portion 57, the engaging portion 61 automatically engages the engaged portion 81 and restricts the rotation of the pinion gear 79. Next, the end fence 41 is slid and brought into contact with the rear end of the paper S.

  Thereafter, the paper feed cassette 21 containing the paper S is slid to the storage position. At this time, even if the paper feeding cassette 21 is pushed in vigorously and a strong force is applied to the rear side fence 37 from the paper S, the rotation of the pinion gear 79 is restricted, so that the side fence 37 does not move.

  After the paper feed cassette 21 slides to the storage position, the lift motor 67 rotates in the forward direction, the lift plate 65 rotates upward, and the stacking unit 57 is pushed up to rotate upward. The stacking portion 57 is inclined upward toward the downstream side in the feeding direction Y. Then, the uppermost sheet S among the sheets S stacked on the stacking unit 57 is pressed against the pickup roller 85 and the pickup roller 85 is pushed up, and the holder 91 swings to a predetermined sheet feeding position. Note that when the stacking portion 57 is inclined upward by the lift plate 65, the engaging portion 61 is separated from the engaged portion 81, but the side fence 37 does not move at this time, so the position of the paper S There are no problems such as misalignment. 2, when the stacking portion 57 is inclined upward by the lift plate 65 and the upper end of the holding member 35 is separated from the stacking portion 57, the holding member 35 is loaded from the loading plate 33. Extends to a free length that is not affected.

  Thereafter, the pickup roller 85 rotates and the uppermost sheet S is sent out along the feeding direction Y. The fed paper S is fed between the paper feed roller 87 and the separation roller 89 and then sent to the transport path 15.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the sheet S is not stacked on the stacking portion 57, the stacking plate 33 is held at the raised position by the holding member 35. 81 is not engaged, and the pinion gear 79 is freely rotatable. That is, the pair of side fences 37 can be freely slid. On the other hand, when the sheets S are stacked on the stacking portion 57 when the sheets S are replenished, the stacking portion 57 rotates to the lowered position against the urging force of the holding member 35 and the engaging portion 61 is engaged. And the rotation of the pinion gear 79 is restricted. That is, the sliding of the pair of side fences 37 is restricted. For this reason, the pinion gear 79 does not rotate even if the paper cassette 21 is slid vigorously after the paper S is replenished and a strong force is applied to the rear side fence 37 from the paper. Do not slide. Therefore, the positional deviation of the paper S in the width direction W when the paper feeding cassette 21 is inserted can be prevented with a simple configuration. In particular, since the holding member 35 is a coil spring, a simpler configuration can be achieved.

  Further, since the paper feed cassette 21 can be pulled out from the housing 2, the operation of replenishing the paper S or exchanging the paper S is facilitated.

  Furthermore, since the interlocking mechanism 39 includes a pair of rack gears 77 and a pinion gear 79, the pair of side fences 37 can be slid in synchronization with each other in a direction approaching or separating from each other with a simple configuration. .

  Next, with reference to FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, about the modification of the engaging part 61 and the to-be-engaged part 81, FIG. 6A and 6B are front views which show the modification of an engaging part and to-be-engaged part. is there.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, the engaging portion 61 has a protrusion 95 that protrudes downward from the lower surface of the stacking portion 57 of the stacking plate 33 and extends along the feeding direction Y. The engaged portion 81 has a pair of protrusions 97 that protrude upward from the upper surface of the rear rack gear 77 and are arranged at a predetermined interval in the width direction W. Each protrusion 97 extends along the feeding direction Y. The pair of protrusions 97 are formed at positions corresponding to the engaged portions 81 in the width direction W when the pair of side fences 37 are slid so as to correspond to the respective sheets S of the reference size.

  In this example, the pair of side fences 37 are slid in accordance with the size of the sheets S to be stacked based on the marks 51 on the bottom plate 31a, and then the sheets S are stacked and the stacking portion 57 is attached to the holding member 35. When descending against the force, as shown in FIG. 6B, the protrusion 95 of the stacking portion 57 enters the gap between the pair of protrusions 97 of the rack gear 77, and the engaging portion 61 engages with the engaged portion 81. . Thereby, the movement of the rack gear 77 is restricted by the stacking plate 33. Accordingly, even if the paper cassette 21 is slid swiftly and a strong force is applied to the rear side fence 37 from the paper S, the rear rack gear 77 does not move, and thus the pair of side fences 37 do not move. Therefore, the positional deviation of the paper S in the width direction W can be prevented.

  As described above, the engaged portion 81 can be formed on the pinion gear 79 or one of the rack gears 77. When the engaged portion 81 is formed on the pinion gear 79, the tooth portion 81b of the engaged portion 81 and the tooth portion 61b of the engaging portion 61 are engaged with each other at a plurality of positions, so that the rotation of the pinion gear 79 is restricted. The power to do becomes stronger. Moreover, what is necessary is just to provide the to-be-engaged part 81 in one place. On the other hand, when the engaged portion 81 is formed in the rack gear 77, the restraining force due to the weight of the paper S is directly transmitted to the rear side fence 37 that receives the force from the paper S when the paper feeding cassette 21 is inserted. The movement of the rear side fence 37 can be reliably prevented. However, the shapes of the engaging portion 61 and the engaged portion 81 are not limited to this embodiment. For example, the pinion gear 79 may be provided with a pair of protrusions 97 similar to the engaged portion 81 provided on the rack gear 77, and the stacking plate 33 may be provided with a protrusion 95 that can be inserted between the pair of protrusions 97. Further, an engaged portion may be provided on both the pinion gear 79 and the rack gear 77, and an engaging portion that engages with each engaged portion may be provided on the stacking plate 33.

  In this embodiment, the stacking plate 33 is rotated by the lifting mechanism 64 having the lifting motor 67 and the lift plate 65, but may be rotated by a biasing member such as a coil spring. In this case, since the holding member 35 can be used as the lifting mechanism 64, the configuration is further simplified.

  Furthermore, since the above description of the embodiment of the present invention describes a preferred embodiment of the image forming apparatus and the sheet cassette according to the present invention, various technically preferable limitations are attached. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments unless specifically described to limit the present invention. That is, the above-described components in the embodiment of the present invention can be appropriately replaced with existing components and the like, and various variations including combinations with other existing components are possible. The description of the embodiment of the present invention described above does not limit the contents of the invention described in the claims.

1 Printer (image forming device)
2 apparatus main body 3 cassette mounting unit 5 feeding unit 7 image forming unit 21 paper feed cassette 31 main unit 33 stacking plate 35 holding member (coil spring)
37 Side fence 39 Interlocking mechanism 40 Restricting part 61 Engaging part 64 Lifting mechanism 65 Lift plate 67 Motor (drive source)
77 Rack gear 79 Pinion gear 81 Engaged part

Claims (7)

A main body unit that is detachable from the apparatus main body and accommodates paper fed along a predetermined feeding direction;
A loading plate provided in the main body so as to be movable up and down, and for loading paper;
A holding member that biases the loading plate from the lowered position toward the raised position and holds the loaded plate at the raised position;
A pair of side fences that slide in the width direction orthogonal to the feeding direction and abut against the side edges of the paper loaded on the stacking plate;
An interlocking mechanism for sliding the pair of side fences in synchronization with each other toward or away from each other;
A regulating portion provided on each of the loading plate and the interlocking mechanism, and having an engaging portion and an engaged portion for restricting sliding of the pair of side fences by the interlocking mechanism by engaging with each other. ,
The regulating part is
When the stacking plate is held at the raised position by the holding member, the engagement between the engaging portion and the engaged portion is released, and the pair of side fences is allowed to slide by the interlocking mechanism. ,
In a state where the stacking plate is lowered to the lowered position against the urging force of the holding member, the engagement portion engages with the engaged portion, and the pair of side fences slide by the interlocking mechanism. Paper feed cassette characterized by restricting. The interlocking mechanism is
A pair of rack gears provided on the pair of side fences and sliding in the width direction;
A pinion gear provided in the main body portion and rotating in mesh with the pair of rack gears,
The engagement portion is provided on a back surface of the stacking plate, and the engaged portion is provided on at least one of the pair of rack gears or on an upper surface of the pinion gear. The paper cassette described in 1.   3. The sheet feeding cassette according to claim 1, wherein the stacking plate descends to the lowered position against a biasing force of the holding member when a predetermined number of sheets are stacked.   The paper feed cassette according to claim 1, wherein the holding member is a coil spring. An elevating mechanism for elevating the elevating plate between a feeding position where the paper can be fed and the lowered position;
The lifting mechanism is
A lift plate that is connectable to a drive source provided outside the main body and is rotatably supported between a bottom plate of the main body and the stacking plate;
The rotation of the lift plate by the drive source causes the stacking plate to be lifted by the lift plate and lifted from the lowered position to the feeding position. The paper cassette described in the section.   The sheet feeding cassette according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding cassette is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body along a direction orthogonal to the feeding direction. A paper feed cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A cassette mounting portion on which the paper feed cassette is detachably mounted;
A feeding unit that feeds paper from the paper feed cassette mounted on the cassette mounting unit;
An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette by the feeding unit.

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