JP2024049724A - Sheet conveying device, image reading device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a sheet conveying device that facilitates taking out a sheet from a paper ejection tray, while reducing the height of the paper ejection tray, an image reading device, and an image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: An image reading device 103 comprises a paper ejection roller pair 10 that ejects documents D, and a paper ejection tray 3 on which the ejected documents D are stacked. The paper ejection tray 3 has a first support part 31 that has a first portion 31a and a second portion 31b arranged separate from each other in a width direction, and a second support part 32 that is arranged between the first portion 31a and the second portion 31b and provided at a position lower than the first support part 31 in the vertical direction. The second support part 32 is provided with a convex part 33 that is in contact with an undersurface of the document D supported on the second support part 32 and separates a leading end of the document D upward from the second support part 32.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a sheet transport device that transports sheets, and an image reading device and an image forming device that are equipped with the same.

Conventionally, image reading devices installed in image forming devices such as copiers are known to be equipped with an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) that transports documents loaded on a document tray one by one. In such image reading devices, documents transported by the ADF are discharged to a discharge tray after the image is read by a reading unit.

Patent Document 1 discloses an ejection tray that includes a first support section that supports wide documents and a second support section that is located lower than the first support section and supports narrow documents in order to improve the stacking capacity of small-sized documents. This second support section has a recess in which a user can insert a finger to lift a narrow document when removing it. This allows the user to easily remove the document supported by the second support section.

JP 2020-196567 A

However, when forming a recess in the second support part of the discharge tray, the second support part, which is located at a lower position than the first support part, needs to have a shape that is recessed further downward. This requires space to form the recess below the second support part, which creates an issue in that the discharge tray becomes larger in the height direction, resulting in a larger device.

The present invention aims to provide a sheet conveying device, an image reading device, and an image forming device that can easily remove sheets from the discharge tray while keeping the height of the discharge tray low.

One aspect of the present invention is a sheet conveying device comprising: a discharge means for discharging a sheet in a discharge direction; and a discharge stacking section on which the sheets discharged by the discharge means are stacked. The discharge stacking section is characterized in that it has a first support section having a first part and a second part spaced apart from each other in a width direction of the sheet intersecting the discharge direction, the first support section supporting a first sheet whose width in the width direction is wider than the gap between the first part and the second part; a second support section disposed between the first part and the second part in the width direction and located lower than the first support section in the vertical direction, the second support section supporting a second sheet whose width in the width direction is narrower than the gap between the first part and the second part; and a protrusion protruding upward from the second support section, which abuts against the underside of the sheet supported by the second support section and separates the leading end of the sheet in the discharge direction upward from the second support section.

The present invention provides a sheet conveying device, an image reading device, and an image forming device that can easily remove sheets from the discharge tray while keeping the height of the discharge tray low.

1 is an overall schematic view of an image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a discharge tray according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a discharge tray according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the discharge tray in a state in which a small-sized document is supported. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the discharge tray in a state in which a small-sized document is supported. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the discharge tray in a state in which a large-sized document is supported. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the discharge tray in a state in which a large-sized document is supported. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the discharge tray. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the discharge tray. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a discharge tray according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a discharge tray in a state in which a document is supported according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a discharge tray in a state in which a document is supported according to a second embodiment.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, a sheet feeding device, an image reading device, and an image forming device according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative positions of the components described in the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of application of the present technology, unless otherwise specified.

<Description of Image Forming Apparatus>
First, the schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. In the following description, the position where the user faces the operation unit where various inputs/settings are made to the image forming apparatus is referred to as the "front side" of the image forming apparatus, and the rear side is referred to as the "rear side". That is, FIG. 1 shows the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 101 as viewed from the front side. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 101 includes a printer main body 101A and an image reading device 103. The image reading device 103 arranged above the printer main body 101A includes a reader 30 and an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) 1, as will be described later in detail, and optically scans an original to read image information. The original is paper such as paper and envelopes, plastic film such as overhead projector sheets (OHP), and sheets such as cloth. The image information converted into an electric signal by the image reading device 103 is transferred to a control unit 132 provided in the printer main body 101A.

The printer body 101A has an image forming section 133 capable of forming an image on a sheet P, which is a recording medium, and a sheet feeding section 140 that feeds the sheet P to the image forming section 133. The sheet feeding section 140 has sheet storage sections 137a, 137b, 137c, and 137d that can store sheets of different sizes. The sheets stored in each sheet storage section are fed out by a pickup roller 141, separated one by one by a feed roller 142 and a retard roller 143, and passed to the corresponding conveying roller pair 131. The sheet P is then passed in sequence to multiple conveying roller pairs 131 arranged along the sheet conveying path, and conveyed to the registration roller pair 136.

The sheet P placed on the manual feed tray 137e by the user is fed into the printer body 101A by the feed roller 138 and transported to the registration roller pair 136. The registration roller pair 136 stops the leading edge of the sheet P to correct any skew, and resumes transport of the sheet P in accordance with the progress of the image forming operation, which is the toner image forming process by the image forming unit 133.

The image forming section 133 that forms an image on the sheet P is an electrophotographic image forming unit equipped with a photosensitive drum 121, which is a photosensitive body. The photosensitive drum 121 can rotate along the transport direction of the sheet P, and a charger 118, an exposure device 123, a developer 124, a transfer charger 125, a separation charger 126, and a cleaner 127 are arranged around the photosensitive drum 121. The charger 118 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 121, and the exposure device 123 exposes the photosensitive drum 121 based on image information input from the image reading device 103 or the like, forming an electrostatic latent image on the drum.

The developing device 124 contains a two-component developer containing toner and carrier, and develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image by supplying charged toner to the photosensitive drum 121. The toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 121 is transferred to a sheet P conveyed from a pair of registration rollers 136 by a bias electric field formed by a transfer charger 125. The sheet P as a recording medium to which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 121 by a bias electric field formed by a separation charger 126, and is conveyed toward the fixing section 129 by a pre-fixing conveying section 128. Note that any deposits such as transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 121 without being transferred to the sheet P are removed by a cleaner 127, and the photosensitive drum 121 is prepared for the next image forming operation.

The sheet P conveyed to the fixing section 129 is sandwiched between a pair of rollers and heated while being pressurized, and the image is fixed by melting and fixing the toner. When the image output is completed, the sheet P on which the fixed image is obtained is discharged to the discharge tray 130 protruding outward from the printer body 101A via the discharge roller pair 40. When an image is formed on the back side of the sheet P in double-sided printing, the sheet P that has passed through the fixing section 129 is reversed between the front and back sides by the reversing section 139, and is conveyed to the registration roller pair 136 by the double-sided conveying section 150. Then, the sheet P on which the image is formed again by the image forming section 133 is discharged to the discharge tray 130. In this way, the image forming section 133 can form an image on the sheet P based on the image of the document D read by the first reading unit 151 and the second reading unit 201 described later. Note that the image forming section 133 as an image forming means is not limited to the electrophotographic method described above, and may use another method such as an inkjet method.

<Explanation of Image Reading Device>
Next, the configuration of the image reading device 103 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image reading device 103. As shown in Fig. 2, the image reading device 103 is composed of a reader 30 as a reading unit that reads a document, and an ADF 1 as a sheet conveying device. The ADF 1 has a base portion 13, an opening/closing cover 11 supported on the base portion 13 so as to be openable and closable, a document tray 2 on which documents are loaded, and a discharge tray 3 disposed below the document tray 2. The image reading device 103 also includes a first reading unit 151 disposed on the reader 30, and a second reading unit 201 disposed on the ADF 1. The first reading unit 151 and the second reading unit 201 are examples of reading means in this embodiment.

The first reading unit 151 reads an image of the first side of the document D. The second reading unit 201 reads an image of the second side of the document D, which is opposite to the first side. In this embodiment, the first side refers to the lower side of the document D in the double-sided reading section DR, and the second side refers to the upper side of the document D in the double-sided reading section DR. The first reading unit 151 and the second reading unit 201 constitute a double-sided reading section DR that can simultaneously read both sides of the document D transported by the ADF 1. However, the double-sided reading section DR does not always perform simultaneous reading of both sides, and is also capable of reading only one side.

The first reading unit 151 and the second reading unit 201 are composed of a contact image sensor (hereinafter referred to as CIS), which is a scanning device with a life-size optical system. The first reading unit 151 and the second reading unit 201 are equipped with a light source composed of an LED array arranged in a main scanning direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the original D, and a plurality of light receiving elements also arranged in the main scanning direction. The light emitted from the LED array and reflected by the original D is imaged on each light receiving element via a lens and photoelectrically converted by the light receiving element.

The reader 30 is fixed to the top surface of the printer body 101A (see FIG. 1). A transparent document table 30a is disposed on the top surface of the reader 30. The first reading unit 151 is supported by a carriage (not shown) that is movable left and right in the figure, and can move from a predetermined position (position shown) in the double-sided reading section DR along the document table 30a over the entire length of the document table 30a.

The ADF 1 is supported by a hinge mechanism (not shown) located at the rear of the figure so that it can be opened and closed in the vertical direction relative to the reader 30. The document tray 2, which serves as a feeding and stacking section, supports the document D placed by the user. The ADF 1 is formed with a document transport path T that is curved in a roughly U-shape, and transports the document D placed on the document tray 2 to the double-sided reading section DR via the document transport path T. The user can open a portion of the document transport path T by opening the opening and closing cover 11 relative to the base section 13.

Next, the configuration for transporting the document D of the ADF 1 will be described in detail. The ADF 1 has a pickup roller 4, a transport roller 5, a separation roller 6, a pair of registration rollers 7, a pair of transport rollers 8 and 9, and a pair of discharge rollers 10, which are arranged in this order along the transport direction of the document (indicated by the arrow in the figure). The pickup roller 4 as a feeding means can move in the vertical direction relative to the upper surface of the document tray 2, and abuts against the document D on the document tray 2 to feed the document D in the feed direction FD. The transport roller 5 transports the document D received from the pickup roller 4 downstream in the feed direction FD. The separation roller 6 forms a separation nip N as a separation section between the transport roller 5 by being pressed against the transport roller 5, and separates the document D transported by the transport roller 5 one by one. In this embodiment, the separation nip N is formed by the transport roller 5 and the separation roller 6, but is not limited to this. For example, instead of the separation roller 6, a retard roller to which reverse drive is input via a torque limiter, a separation pad, etc. may be used.

The feed shaft, which is the rotation shaft of the transport roller 5, is rotatably supported by the opening/closing cover 11, and the pickup roller 4 is supported so as to be swingable relative to the feed shaft via a pickup arm (not shown). One of the registration rollers 7 is also rotatably supported by the opening/closing cover 11.

The registration roller pair 7, while stopped rotating, receives the downstream end (hereinafter referred to as the leading end) of the document D conveyed by the conveying roller 5 in the conveying direction, and bends the document D to correct the skew. The registration roller pair 7 also conveys the document D, whose skew has been corrected, through the bent portion of the document conveying path T, and delivers it to the conveying roller pair 8. The conveying roller pair 8 sends the document D to the double-sided reading section DR, and delivers it to the downstream conveying roller pair 9. At this time, the image of the document D is read by the first reading unit 151 and the second reading unit 201. The conveying roller pair 9 delivers the document D that has passed through the double-sided reading section DR to the discharge roller pair 10. The discharge roller pair 10, which is a discharge means, discharges the document D in the discharge direction DD. The document D discharged by the discharge roller pair 10 is stacked on the discharge tray 3, which serves as a discharge stacking section.

The image reading device 103 thus configured reads image information from the original D in a flow reading mode in which the original image is scanned while the original D is fed by the ADF 1, and in a fixed reading mode in which the original placed on the original table 30a is scanned. The flow reading mode is selected when the device detects the original D placed on the original tray 2, or when the user explicitly instructs it via the operation panel of the printer main body 101A. In this case, the ADF 1 feeds the original D one sheet at a time toward the double-sided reading section DR while the first reading unit 151 is in a predetermined position of the double-sided reading section DR. Then, in the case of simultaneous double-sided reading, both the first reading unit 151 and the second reading unit 201 irradiate scanning light onto the original D to scan it, and in the case of single-sided reading, one of them irradiates scanning light onto the original D to scan it. The image information converted into an electrical signal by the light receiving element is transferred to the control unit 132 of the printer main body 101A.

On the other hand, the fixed reading mode is selected when the device detects an original D placed on the platen 30a or when the user explicitly instructs this via the operation panel of the printer main body 101A. In this case, the first reading unit 151 scans the original D placed on the platen 30a by irradiating it with light while moving along the platen 30a. Then, the image information converted into an electrical signal by the light receiving element of the first reading unit 151 is transferred to the control unit 132 of the printer main body 101A.

<Explanation of output tray>
Next, the configuration of the discharge tray 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 8. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the discharge tray of the ADF 1. In FIG. 3, the document tray 2 is not shown for the sake of explanation. In the following description, the left-right direction of the image reading device 103 when viewed from the front side (the front side of the image forming device 101) is defined as the X direction. The front-rear direction of the image reading device 103, which is perpendicular (intersecting) to the X direction, is defined as the Y direction (main scanning direction, document width direction). In addition, the up-down direction of the image reading device 103, which is perpendicular to both the X direction and the Y direction, is defined as the Z direction (vertical direction in normal use). The ADF 1 feeds the document placed on the document tray 2 toward one side in the X direction (feed direction FD) and discharges the document to the discharge tray 3 toward the other side in the X direction (discharge direction DD).

The ADF1 has a base portion 13 that constitutes the outer surface of the device, and the discharge tray 3 is supported by the base portion 13. The discharge tray 3 may be integrally formed with the base portion 13. The discharge tray 3 has a first support portion 31 that supports a wide large-sized document D1 (first sheet) and a second support portion 32 that supports a narrow small-sized document D2 (second sheet). Here, the large-sized document D1 is a document that is wider than the distance in the Y direction between the first portion 31a and the second portion 31b described later, and the small-sized document D2 is a document that is narrower than the distance in the Y direction between the first portion 31a and the second portion 31b. In this embodiment, the large-sized document D1 is a standard size document of A size (A6/A5/A4/A3), B size (B6/B5/B4/B3), LTR (letter), LGL (legal), STMT (statement), or 16K size. Additionally, the small-sized document D2 is a standard business card (No. 3, No. 4, European and American sizes). The smallest size of small-sized document D2 that can be transported by the ADF1 is a No. 3 business card size (49 mm x 85 mm). Here, "the smallest size of document that can be transported" refers to a size that is predetermined in the device specifications or the like. However, the sizes of the large-sized document D1 and small-sized document D2 described above are merely examples, and may be set arbitrarily by the device.

The first support portion 31 is composed of a first portion 31a and a second portion 31b, which are ribs extending in the X direction. The first portion 31a and the second portion 31b are spaced apart in the Y direction, and the first portion 31a is located further back than the second portion 31b. The first portion 31a and the second portion 31b are inclined so as to become higher in the Z direction as they move downstream in the discharge direction DD. The second support portion 32 is disposed between the first portion 31a and the second portion 31b in the Y direction, and is located at a lower position in the Z direction than the surface of the first support portion 31 that contacts the document. The second support portion 32 has a convex portion 33 formed in the center in the Y direction. The convex portion 33 is a protrusion that protrudes upward in the Z direction from the second support portion 32.

The discharge tray 3 has a bottom surface 34 arranged in an area further back than the first portion 31a in the Y direction and in an area further forward than the second portion 31b. The bottom surface 34 is located in a position lower than the surface of the first support portion 31 that contacts the document in the Z direction, and is at the same height as the second support portion 32. The discharge tray 3 may be formed so that the first portion 31a and the second portion 31b extend to the back side and the front side in the Y direction, respectively, without providing the bottom surface 34. In addition, a wall portion 35 extending in the Y direction and the Z direction (upward) is formed at the upstream end of the first support portion 31 and the second support portion 32 in the discharge direction DD of the discharge tray 3. Due to the inclination of the first portion 31a and the second portion 31b, the upstream end (hereinafter referred to as the rear end) of the large-sized document D1 supported by the first support portion 31 in the transport direction hits the wall portion 35.

The discharge roller pair 10 has four roller members 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d aligned from the rear to the front in the Y direction as members that nip the document. Four cutouts aligned in the Y direction are formed in the wall portion 35, and the roller members 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d are respectively arranged in these cutouts. The second support portion 32 is located between the roller member 10a located at the rearmost side in the Y direction and the roller member 10d located at the frontmost side. In addition, the first portion 31a of the first support portion 31 is located between the roller members 10a and 10b in the Y direction, and the second portion 31b is located between the roller members 10c and 10d.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the discharge tray 3 as viewed from the X direction. The first part 31a of the first support part 31 has a wall surface 311 extending in the X direction and the Z direction at the boundary with the second support part 32 in the Y direction. The second part 31b of the first support part 31 has a wall surface 312 extending in the X direction and the Z direction at the boundary with the second support part 32 in the Y direction. Here, assuming that the ADF 1 feeds the document D vertically, the document with the smallest width in the large size document D1 is A6 size (105 mm x 148 mm), and the document with the largest width in the small size document D2 is business card size No. 4 (55 mm x 91 mm). In this case, the distance W between the wall surface 311 and the wall surface 312 in the Y direction is set to satisfy 55 mm < W < 105 mm. In this embodiment, the distance W is 80 mm. In this case, an A6-sized document is loaded on the first support section 31 without dropping into the second support section 32, and a No. 4-sized document is loaded on the second support section 32 without climbing onto the first support section 31. Note that the distance W is the distance between the first portion 31a and the second portion 31b of the first support section, and is the length (width) of the second support section 32 in the Y direction.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the discharge tray 3 viewed from the Y direction when the small-sized original D2 is loaded on the second support portion 32. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the discharge tray 3 viewed from the X direction when the small-sized original D2 is loaded on the second support portion 32. As shown in Figure 5, the convex portion 33 has an apex 33a, which is the portion (upper end) that protrudes most from the second support portion 32, and an inclined portion 33b that is inclined so as to become higher in the Z direction as it moves downstream in the discharge direction DD. That is, the inclined portion 33b is inclined so that the amount of protrusion from the second support portion 32 increases as it moves downstream in the discharge direction DD. When the small-sized original D2 is discharged by the discharge roller pair 10, it is loaded on the second support portion 32 of the discharge tray 3. At this time, the lower surface of the small-sized original D2 abuts against the convex portion 33 formed on the second support portion 32, and is aligned by being butted against the wall portion 35 by the inclined portion 33b. In addition, when the small-sized original D2 is loaded on the second support section 32, it comes into contact with the convex section 33, creating a gap V2 between the leading end of the small-sized original D2 and the second support section 32. That is, the convex section 33 lifts the leading end of the small-sized original D2, separating it from the second support section 32. The second support section 32 can load the small-sized original D2 by a height of a distance T in the Z direction from the apex 33a of the convex section 33 to the first support section 31, and the small-sized original D2 loaded on the second support section 32 is aligned in the Y direction by the wall surfaces 311 and 312.

It is preferable that the distance L1 in the X direction from the wall portion 35 to the apex 33a of the protruding portion 33 is shorter than the length of the smallest size document that the ADF1 can transport, and is longer than half the length of the smallest size document that the ADF1 can transport. It is also preferable that the distance L2 in the X direction from the apex 33a to the tip of the document is 10 mm or more. For example, if the smallest size document that the ADF1 can transport is a business card size of No. 3 (49 mm x 85 mm), it is preferable that the distance L1 in the X direction from the wall portion 35 to the apex 33a of the protruding portion 33 is set to satisfy 42.5 mm (85/2 mm) < L1 < 75 mm. As a result, the distance L2 in the X direction from the apex 33a to the tip of the document is 10 mm or more, and when the user takes out the document from the second support portion 32, he or she can easily grasp the document by inserting his or her finger through the gap V2. In this embodiment, the distance L1 is 60 mm.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the discharge tray 3 viewed from the Y direction when the large-sized original D1 is loaded on the first support portion 31. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the discharge tray 3 viewed from the X direction when the large-sized original D1 is loaded on the first support portion 31. As described above, the first portion 31a and the second portion 31b are inclined so as to become higher in the Z direction as they move downstream in the discharge direction DD. Therefore, the large-sized original D1 loaded on the first support portion 31 hits the wall portion 35 and is aligned in the X direction. At this time, the convex portion 33 is located lower in the Z direction than the first support portion 31, so it does not come into contact with the large-sized original D1. A gap V1 is generated between the large-sized original D1 loaded on the first support portion 31 and the bottom surface 34, and the user can easily remove the large-sized original D1 from the discharge tray 3 by inserting his or her finger or hand through the gap V1. The bottom surface 34 may be flush with (at the same height as) the first support portion 31. In this case, the user can easily remove the large-sized document D1 from the discharge tray 3 by inserting a finger or hand through the gap V12 that is created between the second support portion 32 and the large-sized document D1.

In the embodiment described above, the second support portion 32 that supports the discharged small-sized original D2 has a convex portion 33. This allows the user to easily remove the small-sized original D2 from the discharge tray 3. In addition, because the convex portion 33 is a protrusion that protrudes upward from the second support portion 32, it is possible to reduce the height of the discharge tray 3 in the Z direction compared to a configuration in which the second support portion 32 has a recess that is recessed downward.

<Modifications of the protrusions>
9 and 10 are perspective views showing modified examples of the convex portion 33. As shown in FIG. 9, the convex portions 33 formed on the second support portion 32 may be arranged in a plurality of positions in the Y direction. In FIG. 9, two convex portions 33 are arranged side by side in the Y direction on the second support portion 32. Also, as shown in FIG. 10, the convex portion 33 formed on the second support portion 32 may be formed continuously so as to extend from the first portion 31a to the second portion 31b in the Y direction. In such a case, the alignment of the small-sized original D2 loaded on the second support portion 32 is improved.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 11 to 13. The ADF 1 in the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it has a convex portion 36 (second protrusion) in addition to the convex portion 33 (first protrusion) described in the first embodiment. Therefore, a description of the same configuration of the second embodiment as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

Figure 11 is a perspective view showing the discharge tray 3 in the second embodiment. As in the first embodiment, the discharge tray 3 of the ADF 1 in this embodiment has a first support portion 31 that supports the large-sized original D1 and a second support portion 32 that supports the small-sized original D2. In this embodiment, the second support portion 32 has a convex portion 33 and a convex portion 36 formed downstream of the convex portion 33 in the discharge direction DD. In other words, the second support portion 32 has two protrusions (convex portion 33 and convex portion 36) aligned in the X direction.

In the following description, the document that can be loaded on the first support section 31 is referred to as the large-sized document D1, the document that can be loaded on the second support section 32 and the convex section 33 is referred to as the small-sized document D2, and the document that can be loaded on the second support section 32 and the convex section 36 is referred to as the document D3. In this embodiment, the large-sized document D1 and the small-sized document D2 are the same size as in the first embodiment, and the document D3 is a check paper (76 mm x 169 mm). In other words, the document D3 is a document that is shorter in width than the large-sized document D1 and longer in the conveying direction than the small-sized document D2. Since the width of the document D3 is smaller than the distance W between the wall surface 311 and the wall surface 312, when the document D3 is discharged by the discharge roller pair 10, the document D3 is loaded on the second support section 32 of the discharge tray 3. However, the sizes of the large-sized document D1, the small-sized document D2, and the document D3 described above are merely examples, and may be set arbitrarily by the device.

Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view of the discharge tray 3 viewed from the Y direction when the document D3 is loaded on the second support portion 32. Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of the discharge tray 3 viewed from the X direction when the document D3 is loaded on the second support portion 32. As shown in Figure 12, the convex portion 36 has an apex 36a which is the portion (upper end) which protrudes most from the second support portion 32, and an inclined portion 36b which is inclined so as to become higher in the Z direction toward the downstream side of the discharge direction DD. The apex 36a of the convex portion 36 is located in a position higher in the Z direction than the apex 33a of the convex portion 33 and lower than the same position in the Y direction of the first support portion 31.

When the document D3 is discharged by the discharge roller pair 10, it is loaded on the second support section 32 of the discharge tray 3. At this time, the lower surface of the document D3 abuts against the convex section 36 formed on the second support section 32, and the rear end is abutted against the wall section 35 by the inclined section 36b and aligned. In addition, the document D3 loaded on the second support section 32 abuts against the convex section 36, creating a gap V3 between the tip of the document D3 and the second support section 32. That is, the convex section 36 lifts the tip of the document D3 to separate it from the second support section 32. The second support section 32 can load the document D3 by the height of the distance T2 in the Z direction from the apex 36a of the convex section 36 to the first support section 31, and the document D3 loaded on the second support section 32 is aligned in the Y direction by the wall surface 311 and the wall surface 312.

The distance L3 in the X direction from the wall 35 to the apex 36a of the protruding portion 36 is longer than the length of the smallest size document that the ADF1 can transport. That is, the distance L3 is longer than the distance L1. In addition, the distance L4 from the apex 36a to the tip of the document D3 in the X direction is preferably 10 mm or more. For example, if the document D3 is a check paper (76 mm x 169 mm), it is preferable that the distance L3 in the X direction from the wall 35 to the apex 36a of the protruding portion 36 is set to satisfy 84.5 mm (169/2 mm) < L3 < 159 mm. As a result, the distance L4 from the apex 36a to the tip of the document D3 in the X direction is 10 mm or more, and when the user removes the document D3 from the second support portion 32, the user can easily grasp the document by inserting his/her finger through the gap V3. In this embodiment, the distance L3 is 130 mm.

In the second embodiment described above, the second support portion 32 that supports the discharged small-sized original D2 has a convex portion 33, as in the first embodiment, so that the user can easily remove the small-sized original D2 from the discharge tray 3. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, the second support portion 32 has a convex portion 36 in addition to the convex portion 33. This allows the user to easily remove the original D3 from the discharge tray 3. Also, since the convex portion 33 and the convex portion 36 are protrusions that protrude upward from the second support portion 32, it is possible to reduce the height of the discharge tray 3 in the Z direction compared to a configuration in which the second support portion 32 has a concave portion recessed downward.

1 ADF
3 Discharge tray 10 Discharge roller pair 31 First support portion 32 Second support portion 33 Convex portion 36 Convex portion 101 Image forming device 103 Image reading device

Claims (12)

A discharge means for discharging the sheet in a discharge direction;
a discharge stacking section on which the sheets discharged by the discharge means are stacked,
The discharge stacking section is
a first support portion having a first portion and a second portion disposed apart from each other in a width direction of the sheet intersecting the discharge direction, the first support portion supporting the first sheet having a width in the width direction wider than a distance between the first portion and the second portion;
a second support portion disposed between the first portion and the second portion in the width direction and provided at a position lower than the first support portion in the vertical direction, the second support portion supporting a second sheet having a width in the width direction narrower than the gap between the first portion and the second portion;
a protrusion protruding upward from the second support portion, the protrusion abutting against a lower surface of the sheet supported by the second support portion to separate a leading end of the sheet in the discharge direction upward from the second support portion;
A sheet conveying device comprising: An upper end of the protrusion in the vertical direction is located at a position lower than the first support portion.
2. The sheet transport device according to claim 1. the discharge stacking portion has a wall portion extending upward from upstream ends of the first support portion and the second support portion in the discharge direction,
a distance from the wall portion to an upper end of the protrusion portion in the discharge direction is shorter than a length in the discharge direction of a sheet of a minimum size that can be conveyed by the sheet conveying device;
2. The sheet transport device according to claim 1. a distance from the wall portion to the upper end of the protrusion portion in the discharge direction is longer than half the length of the minimum size sheet in the discharge direction;
4. The sheet transport device according to claim 3. The discharge stacking section has a plurality of the protruding portions arranged in the width direction on the second support portion.
2. The sheet transport device according to claim 1. The protruding portion is formed so as to extend from the first portion to the second portion in the width direction.
2. The sheet transport device according to claim 1. The protruding portion has an inclined portion that is inclined such that the protruding amount from the second support portion increases toward the downstream side in the discharge direction.
2. The sheet transport device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet transport device is a sheet conveying device. the protrusion is a first protrusion,
the discharge stacking portion is disposed downstream of the first protrusion portion in the second support portion and has a second protrusion portion protruding upward from the second support portion;
2. The sheet transport device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet transport device is a sheet conveying device. An upper end of the second protrusion is located at a higher position than an upper end of the first protrusion.
9. The sheet transport device according to claim 8. a feeding/stacking section on which sheets are stacked;
a feeding means for feeding the sheets stacked in the feeding/stacking section,
The discharge stacking section is disposed below the feed stacking section in the vertical direction.
10. The sheet transport device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet transport device is a sheet conveying device. The sheet conveying device according to claim 10;
a reading means for reading an image on the sheet fed by the feeding means,
1. An image reading apparatus comprising: The image reading device according to claim 11,
and an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium based on the image information of the sheet read by the reading unit.
1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images