JP2886358B2 - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is provided on the upstream side (side for supplying paper) of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.
The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device provided with a plurality of sheet feeding units for feeding sheets to an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a sheet feeding device provided in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a front loading type sheet feeding apparatus which is attached to a main body of the image forming apparatus is known. FIG. 10 shows the structure of a sheet feeding deck in this type of sheet feeding apparatus.

In FIG. 1, a paper feed deck includes a deck case 1 having a box-shaped structure with an open top, and a lifter plate 2 disposed in the deck case 1 for loading paper.
It has. The lifter plate 2 includes a lifter drive motor M
Is driven, the slide member 71 moves inside the deck case 1.
Slide up and down with. The paper (not shown) stacked on the lifter plate 2 is regulated in the width direction by the regulating plate 11, and the trailing end is regulated by the regulating plate 12. These regulating plates 11 and 12 are attached to the bottom plate 6 of the deck case 1.
7 respectively. Then, the arrow 1 extends along the rectangular openings 146 and 147 formed in the lifter plate 2.
It is movable in 5 and 16 directions, and is adapted to various paper sizes.

Now, when the regulating plates 11 and 12 are moved in accordance with the sheet size, the sheet size is detected by the position detectors 195 and 196 which are engaged with the regulating plates 11 and 12, respectively. The position detectors 196, 1
Signal cables 197 and 199 are provided from 97 and are connected to a connector C fixed to the side plate 120 of the deck case 1.

One side of the deck case 1 (left side in the figure)
Is provided with a rail 200 and a guide roller 201. The deck case 1 is guided by the rail 200 and the guide roller 201, and is loaded in a storage unit (not shown) that stores the deck case 1. . When the deck case 1 of the paper feed deck is pushed in, the lock rollers 121 rotatably supported by the bracket 122 fixedly provided on the back side of the deck case 1 engage with lock claws (not shown). By doing so, the sheet feeding deck is positioned with respect to the storage unit. On the other hand, a slide member 71 for sliding inside the deck case 1 is provided on each side of the lifter plate 2 on which sheets are stacked.

[0006] Four wipe fixing members 72, 73, 75 and 76 are fixed to the side of the lifter plate 2, and extend to the outside from a slit formed in the side wall of the bottom plate 67 of the deck case 1. I have.

A wire shaft 8 is provided at the lower right side of the deck case 1.
1 is rotatably mounted, and one end of a wire shaft 81 extending from the deck case 1 is attached to a sprocket 2.
02 and a lifter pulley 83 are fixed to each other, and a lifter pulley 84 is fixed to the other end. A lifter drive motor M is configured on a back side plate 120 of the deck case 1 via a bracket 203, and a sprocket 205 fixed to an output shaft thereof is connected to a chain 206.
Is connected to the sprocket 202.

As will be described later, one end of each of two wires 85 and 86 is locked and wound around the lifter pulley 83. A pair of guide pulleys 87 and 89 are respectively supported on upper portions of the front and rear rear plates of the lifter plate 2. The other end of the wire 85 fed from the guide pulley 87 is connected to the guide pulley 8.
9, and is locked to the wire fixing tools 72, 73,
The other wire 86 is locked to wire fixing members 73 and 75 via guide pulleys 89 and 87, respectively.

In the above configuration, the wire shaft 81 rotates in the forward and reverse directions by driving the lifter drive motor M, and the lifter plate 2 moves up and down by this rotation. The signal cable MSD of the lifter drive motor M is also connected to the connector C.

[0010]

However, in the above-described conventional apparatus, since the lifter drive motor M is mounted on the deck case 1, electric power such as a connector C for supplying power and a drive signal to the lifter drive motor M is provided. Connection equipment is needed. Further, since the deck case 1 has the position detectors 196 and 197 for detecting the sheet size, a connector for communication between the position detectors 196 and 197 and a microcomputer (not shown) is required.

That is, in the conventional apparatus, an electric bundle is wired in the deck case 1, and a connector for electrically connecting the electric bundle to the image forming apparatus main body is required. Thus, the conventional apparatus has the following disadvantages. (1) A connector used in an image forming apparatus or the like usually has a low impact resistance because its structure is made of a mold.
That is, if the user moves the deck case 1 roughly in and out, the connector may be damaged.

(2) Normally, since the mounting precision between the male and female connectors is required, the connector on the main body side of the paper feeder is adjusted to the connector on the deck case 1 and assembled. This complicates the mechanical assembly and leads to an increase in cost.

(3) The signal cable MSD between the lifter drive motor M and the connector C, and the position detectors 195, 19
The presence of the electric bundle such as the signal cables 197 and 199 between the connector 6 and the connector C requires a cover for covering the electric bundle so that the user does not hinder the electric bundle from the viewpoint of electric safety. Therefore, the apparatus becomes complicated and the cost increases.

As described above, the presence of electric components in the deck case 1 not only complicates the apparatus and increases the cost, but also decreases the reliability, safety and durability of the apparatus. There is a problem of doing.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a paper feeder capable of detecting the position of a regulating plate without using an electrical connector used between the machine body and the paper feed deck. The purpose is to do so.

[0016]

According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding deck of a front loading type capable of being pulled out of an apparatus main body in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which stacked sheets are fed to an image forming apparatus, and A lifter plate which is provided movably up and down and on which sheets are stacked, a vertical regulating plate which regulates a rear end position in the feed direction and a position in the width direction of the paper on the lifter plate, and a pair of A horizontal regulation plate, a vertical paper size detection sensor and a horizontal paper size detection sensor that are provided in the apparatus main body and detect the size in the paper feeding direction and the size in the width direction, respectively, and the vertical regulation plate and the horizontal regulation plate, respectively. And an operating unit for operating the vertical paper size detection sensor and the horizontal paper size detection sensor in conjunction with the movement of each regulation plate. A sensor and an operating unit connected to the horizontal regulating plate are positioned rearward in the drawing direction of the paper feeding deck, and an operating unit connected to the vertical regulating plate is positioned rearward in the drawing direction of the paper feeding deck. And, while being positioned so as to be movable in parallel with the moving direction of the vertical regulating plate, an operating portion is directly connected to the horizontal regulating plate, the operating portion is connected to the vertical regulating plate, and the fulcrum is on the vertical paper size detection sensor side. It is characterized by being connected via a link.

[0017]

[0018]

Based on the above structure, the rear end position and the width direction of the sheet loaded on the lifter plate movably provided in the front loading type paper feeding deck are vertically moved and the vertical regulating plate and the mutual position, respectively. It is regulated by a pair of interlocking lateral regulation plates. In addition, an operation unit that operates the vertical paper size detection sensor and the horizontal paper size detection sensor that detect the size of the paper in the feed direction and the width direction, and operates the horizontal paper size detection sensor in conjunction with the movement of the horizontal restriction plate, The operating section is directly connected to the horizontal regulating plate while being located rearward in the pulling-out direction of the sheet feeding deck, and the operating section moving in conjunction with the horizontal regulating plate at this rear position operates the horizontal paper size detection sensor.

Further, an operating portion for operating the vertical paper size detection sensor is located rearward in the drawing direction of the paper feeding deck,
In addition, it is positioned so as to be movable in parallel with the moving direction of the vertical regulating plate, is connected to the vertical regulating plate via a link having a fulcrum on the vertical paper size detection sensor side, and moves in conjunction with the vertical regulating plate at this position. The vertical paper size detection sensor is operated by the operating unit.

[0020]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The components having the same meaning as those shown in FIG. 10 are represented by the same reference numerals.

The paper feeder of the present invention has a plurality of front-loading paper feed decks arranged laterally on a copying machine as an image forming apparatus. , Each of which has a plurality of divided storage units. FIG. 8 shows an example of an image forming apparatus provided with the sheet feeding device of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a paper feeder 40 according to the present invention
It is connected to and attached to an apparatus main body 42 of a copying machine 41 as an image forming apparatus. The paper feeding device 40 has an upper storage unit 43 and a lower storage unit 45 that are vertically divided. The upper storage unit 43 includes a manual paper feed unit 46 on which about 50 sheets S can be stacked, and a plurality of upper / middle decks (sheet feed decks) 47, 49 on which about 1000 sheets S1, S2 are stacked. The lower storage unit 45 stores lower decks 50 capable of stacking about 3000 sheets S3.

The copier 41 is originally used as a cassette paper feeder. When the paper feeder 40 of this embodiment is connected to the copier 41, the cassette paper feeder in the copier 41 is used. A unit (not shown) is completely replaced with a guide and a pair of rollers to form a transport path for the sheet feeding device 40. This transport path is hereinafter referred to as interface unit I. This interface unit I
There are paths connected to the upper storage unit 43 and the lower storage unit 45, respectively.

The copying system including the copying machine 41 includes:
A document processing device 53 which is disposed above the copying machine 41 and automatically feeds the document 51, and an automatic duplexing device which also serves as a mounting table of the copying machine 41 and is used for forming images on both sides of the sheet S 55 and the like.

In the apparatus main body 42, an optical system 56 for scanning the original 51 and a photosensitive drum 57 on which a toner image is formed by the exposure and development device by the optical system 56.
And a transfer unit 59 for transferring the toner image to the sheet S, a fixing device 60 for fixing the toner image, and the like.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the sheet feeding device 40. A cover 61 that covers the manual paper feed unit 46 is provided above the paper feed device 40, and prevents foreign matter such as dust from entering the paper S of the manual paper feed unit 46. A transparent cover 62 is provided to be freely opened and closed. The apparatus body 42 of the copying machine 41 and the front covers 6 of the sheet feeding decks 47, 49, and 50 (see FIG. 1) of the sheet feeding device 40.
The space between 3, 65 and 66 is covered by gap covers 67 and 69. The front door 68 and the front covers 63, 65, 66 of the copier 41 are on the same plane.

Next, the upper / middle decks 47 and 49 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 which is a top view and FIGS. 2 to 5. 2 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow P in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow Q in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow R in FIG. 1, and FIG. Are respectively shown.

The upper / middle decks 47 and 49 are made of the same components, respectively, and have front covers 63 and 6 respectively.
Only the mounting position of 5 is different, and the corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and will be described in the same drawing.

Upper / middle deck (paper feed deck) 47, 49
The deck case 1 has an opening on one side, a channel-shaped (U-shaped) bottom plate (case bottom) 67 and a right side plate 6.
9, the left side plate 70 is formed in a box-shaped structure. In the deck case 1, a lifter plate 2 on which the sheets S are stacked is disposed. A slide member 71 for allowing the lifter plate 2 to slide in the deck case 1 is provided on each side of the lifter plate 2. Also, four wire fixing members 7 are provided on the side of the lifter plate 2.
2, 73, 7576 are respectively fixed, and slits 7 formed in the side walls of the bottom plate 67 of the deck case 1 are provided.
7 extends outside.

In FIG. 3, a wire shaft 81 is rotatably mounted on the rear end of the deck case 1, and one end of the wire shaft 81 has a coupling (female) as a connecting means and a lifter. The pulleys 83 are respectively fixed.

As will be described later, the lifter pulley 83 is wound around one end of two wires 85 and 86 while being locked. A pair of guide pulleys 87 and 8 are provided on the upper side plate on the front side and the rear side of the lifter plate 2.
9 are pivotally supported. The lifter pulley 8
3 is connected to the connecting pulleys 90, 9
1 and are locked to wire fixtures 72 and 73 via guide pulleys 87 and 89 on the near side. The other wire 86
Is connected to the wire fixing tool 9 via the guide pulleys 89 and 87.
2 and 93 respectively.

In FIG. 6, a groove 103 formed around the boss 102 and two grooves 105 and 106 branched from the groove 103 are formed on the end face of the pulley body 101, respectively. The depth of the grooves 105 and 106 is substantially equal to the diameter of the wire. The groove 10
Numeral 5 is used for right winding, and groove 106 is used for reverse winding. The above wires 85, 8
Reference numeral 6 is connected inside the lifter pulley 83 and is constituted by one wire, and is divided into two by a holed ball 109 caulked to the wire.

The holed ball 109 is attached to the pulley body 101.
Is engaged with and fixed to a convex portion 110 provided in the middle of the groove 103. Then, the wires 85 and 86 are sandwiched between the flange 111 and the pulley main body 101 to form the flange 1.
11 is fixed by screws 112 so that the wire 8
5,86 are fixed. Note that a notch 113 into which the holed ball 109 is fitted is also formed on the flange 111. By fixing the wires 85 and 86 made of one wire as described above, only the difference between the pulling forces acting on the wire 85 and the wire 86 is reduced.
9, the wire can be fixed more stably than by simply caulking the wire end. Also, since the wires 85 and 86 are not bent excessively,
5,86 can be stably wound.

The wire 85 is connected to the lifter pulley 83
Is locked by the flange 115 in a state where the phase is rotated by 180 ° with respect to the other surface. Thus, the four wires 85 and 86 on both sides of the lifter plate 2
The lifter plate 2 is raised and lowered.

FIG. 7 shows a lock unit that locks the upper / middle decks 47 and 49 and the lower deck 50 in the pull-out direction, and is provided corresponding to each deck.

In the same figure, each upper / middle deck 47, 4
A bracket 122 on which a lock roller 121 is pivotally supported is fixed to the case side plate 120 of No. 9. A support member 125 is fixed to a frame (not shown) of the upper storage unit 43.
6 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 127, and is urged in a counterclockwise direction in the figure by the elastic force of a tension spring 129 whose one end is locked to the frame. The claw portion 130 of the lock claw 126 is formed in an arc shape around the axis 127, and the claw portion 130 is formed on the upper / middle deck 4
When you press and set 7,49, the lock roller 1
21 to lock the upper / middle decks 47, 49 so that they cannot be pulled out.

A stopper 131 made of rubber is fixed to the support member 125 of the frame.
Acts as a stopper when 7, 49 is pushed in. The base of a leaf spring 132 is fixed to the support member 125, and the leaf spring 132 has a function of pushing back the pushed upper / middle decks 47 and 49 forward. Thus, the lock roller 121 and the claw portion 130 of the lock claw 126 are always in contact with each other, and the upper / middle decks 47 and 49 are positioned in the pull-out direction.

The solenoid 135 fixed to the frame of the upper storage unit 43 is connected to the rear end of the lock claw 126 via a lever 136. This solenoid 13
When the lock claw 126 is turned on, the lock claw 126 is rotated to the chain line position, and the leaf spring 132 is displaced by d1 in the direction of the arrow 137 to push back the upper / middle decks 47 and 49 slightly in the pull-out direction. The lock release by 126 is completed. The above-mentioned solenoid 135 is moved by upper / middle decks 47 and 49 by a deck drawer sensor (not shown).
It is designed to be turned off upon detecting that it has been pushed back.

The above-mentioned lock pawl 126 and lock roller 121
The lock unit 10 includes the solenoid 135 and the like. The lower deck 50 is also locked by the same lock unit 10 as the upper / middle decks 47 and 49.

In FIG. 4, a drive source (hereinafter, referred to as a lifter drive motor) M is fixed to the machine body 9 of the sheet feeding device, and a coupling (male) 142 as a connecting means is detached from its output shaft. Stopped and slidably mounted. The coupling 142 is urged toward the free end of the output shaft by the elastic force of a compression spring 145 disposed between the stopper 143 fixed to the output shaft and the coupling 142.

The wire shaft 81, the lifter pulley 8
3, a drive system 25 for vertically moving the lifter plate 2 is constituted by the wires 85, 86, etc., and the drive system 25 is provided with a sheet feeding deck 47,
It is provided on the 49, 50 side. The coupling 82 on the side of the wire shaft 81 and the coupling 142 on the side of the lifter drive motor M constitute a connecting means 26 capable of connecting and disconnecting the drive system 25 to the lifter drive motor M.

Next, the operation of mounting the upper / middle decks 47 and 49 to the machine body 9 will be described.

Now, when the deck case 1 of the upper / middle decks 47, 49 is set in the machine body 9, the drawer sensor (not shown) is pushed by the actuator leaf spring 140 (see FIG. 3) to turn on the drawer sensor. I do.
In response to this ON signal, the solenoid 135 of FIG. 7 is turned on as described above, and the deck case 1 of the upper / middle decks 47, 49 is locked to the machine body 9.

At the same time, a coupling (female) 82 as connecting means fixed to the wire shaft 81 is fitted and connected to the coupling 142 of the lifter drive motor M.
In this manner, the drive of the lifter drive motor M attached to the machine body 9 is controlled by the coupling means (the coupling 8).
2, 142) via the lifter pulley 8 of the wire shaft 81
3 and the lifter pulley 83 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions, whereby the lifter plate 2 moves up and down (moves up and down).
It is supposed to.

Next, the configuration of the user's paper switching mechanism will be described.

In FIG. 1, upper / middle decks 47, 49
The bottom plate 67 is provided with regulating plates 11 and 12 for regulating the width direction of the sheets S1 and S2, and a regulating plate 13 for regulating the rear ends of the sheets S1 and S2. These control plates 11, 1
Reference numerals 2 and 13 denote rectangular openings 14 formed in the lifter plate 2.
6, 147, 149 along the regulation guide rail 150,
Guided by 151 and 52, it is movable in the directions of arrows 15 and 16.

Next, a description will be given of paper size detection by setting the above-mentioned regulating plates 11 and 12.

In FIG. 5, a lock lever 155 rotatable about a lock fulcrum 157 is provided with a torsion spring 159.
Is resiliently biased in the counterclockwise direction in the figure.
With this bias, the pawl 160 of the lock lever 155 is engaged with and coupled to the regulating guide rail plate 151.

Now, the user selects the paper S according to the paper size.
When changing the widthwise regulating plates 11 and 12, the regulating plate 12
A finger is inserted through the opening 153, and the cut-and-raised portion 156 provided on the regulating plate 12 and the lock lever 155 are pinched by a finger, and the lock lever 155 is rotated in the direction of arrow 17. By this rotation, the lock lever 155 is moved to the regulating guide rail 15.
It is released from 1. The claw 160 formed on the lock lever 155 is attached to the regulating guide rail plate 151.
Paper size guide holes 161 and 16 according to each paper size
2, 163, 165, 166, and 167 (see FIG. 1).

As described above, when the user releases his / her finger from the lock lever 155 at the desired paper size, the lock lever 155 is locked by friction with the lock rubber 169 adhered to the regulating guide rail plate 151, and The pawl 160 is fitted into each paper size guide hole of the regulating guide rail plate 151. Thus, the regulating plate 12 is fixed to the regulating guide rail plate 151.

Racks 170 and 171 are formed at opposing portions of the regulating plates 11 and 12, respectively, and mesh with the pinions 172, respectively. The user sets the restriction plate 1
When the sheet 2 is moved according to the sheet size, the regulating plate 11 moves in the direction of the arrow 15 in a direction in which the regulating plate 11 approaches or separates from the regulating plate 12. At the outer end of the regulating plate 11, an operating portion (hereinafter referred to as a lateral cam) 175 for detecting the lateral size of the sheet S is provided. The horizontal cam 175 detects the paper size of the paper S by turning on or off a paper size detection sensor (hereinafter, referred to as a horizontal size detection sensor) 19 or 20 composed of two micro switches for each paper size. I have. The horizontal size detection sensors 19 and 20 are provided with a micro switch board 179 fixed to the machine body 9.
Are mounted vertically in parallel.

Referring to FIG. 4, a case where the user changes the position of the regulating plate 13 in the vertical direction of the sheet S according to the sheet size will be described. The lock lever 181 has a lock fulcrum 183
And is urged in the counterclockwise direction in the figure by the elastic force of a torsion spring (not shown).

When the position of the regulating plate 13 is changed, the regulating plate 1
3 puts the user's finger through the opening 180 provided in
The cut-and-raised portion 182 provided on the regulating plate 13 and the lock lever 1
By pinching 81, the lock lever 181 is rotated in the direction of arrow 17. This rotation causes the lock lever 181 to lock the lock rubber 185 fixed to the regulating guide rail plate 152.
Away from the guide rail plate 152 is released. When the user releases the lock lever 181 at a desired position, the lock lever 181 moves to the regulating guide rail plate 1.
The restricting plate 13 is fixed to the restricting guide rail plate 152 by coming into contact with the lock rubber 185 adhered to 52 and locking by the friction.

In FIG. 1, one end of a link 187 that is rotatable about a fulcrum 186
It is pivoted to 89. An operating portion (hereinafter, referred to as a vertical cam) 190 is slidably provided in a groove 192 of a cam guide 191 fixed to the deck case 1, and the other end of the link 187 is attached to the vertical cam 190 by a dowel (not shown). It is pivoted by

The micro switch base 193 attached to the machine main body 9 is provided with two paper size detection sensors (hereinafter, referred to as vertical size detection sensors) 21 and 22 which are vertically arranged in parallel. Now, when the user changes the position of the regulating plate 13 in the vertical direction of the sheet S according to the sheet size, the link 1
The vertical cam 190 interlocking with the regulating plate 13 via 87 moves in the left-right direction in FIG. The size of the set sheet S is detected by whether the moving vertical cam 190 turns on or off the vertical size detection sensors 21 and 22 for each sheet size.

As described above, the sheet size detection is performed in cooperation with the horizontal (width) size detection sensors 19 and 20 of the sheet S and the vertical size detection sensors 21 and 22 of the sheet S. This logical table is shown in Table 1.

[0057]

[Table 1] As described above, the size of the sheet loaded on the lifter plate 2 is detected, and based on this detection signal, the sheet size is displayed on an operation unit (not shown) to notify the user of the size.

In the embodiment described above, the lifter drive motor M for driving the lifter plate 2 for raising and lowering the sheet S to a predetermined position is disposed on the machine body 9 side, and connects the drive force of the drive motor M. Coupling 82,1 as means
Although the power is transmitted to the sheet feeding deck via 42, a swing gear or the like may be used instead of the couplings 82 and 142.

In detecting the paper size, the paper S
The horizontal (width) size and the vertical size are detected by the horizontal size detection sensors 19, 20, 21, and 22 composed of micro switches, but the paper size is, for example, only the vertical size detection sensors 21 and 22 for vertical size detection. May be detected. For example, in FIG. 1, the lever ratio La / Lb of the link 187 is shown.
Is designed to be large, the vertical size detection sensor 2
Only 1 and 22 are possible.

In the above-described embodiment, the micro switch is used as the paper size detecting element provided on the machine main body 9 side.
It is also possible to use a sensing element such as a photo interrupter or a potentiometer.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the paper size detection sensor and the operating section are arranged rearward in the drawing direction of the paper feeding deck, the space in the height direction of the paper feeding deck can be reduced. When a plurality of paper feed decks are arranged in the vertical direction, the height of a portion for storing the paper feed decks can be reduced, or the paper storage capacity of each paper feed deck can be increased. be able to. In addition, if the pair of lateral regulating plates are linked to each other to move each lateral regulating plate by half of the width direction of the paper, the width direction of the paper can be regulated. Also, the moving amount of the operating unit can be reduced, so that even when the operating unit is disposed rearward, the space behind the sheet feeding deck can be reduced, and the device can be prevented from being enlarged. Further, by connecting an operating portion that moves in parallel to the moving direction of the vertical regulating plate via a link to the vertical regulating plate having a large moving amount, the moving amount of this operating portion can be reduced, thereby enabling the operation. Even in the case where the unit is disposed at the rear, the space behind the paper feed deck can be reduced, and the apparatus can be prevented from being enlarged. Further, electrical components such as a paper size detection sensor can be removed from the paper feeding deck, and a connector used to connect the paper feeding deck to the machine main body is omitted, and paper feeding to the image forming apparatus is omitted. The alignment adjustment at the time of connecting the apparatus can be easily performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sheet feeding deck of a sheet feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow P in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow Q in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow R in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line SS in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a lifter pulley.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the lock unit.

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional side view of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a sheet feeder attached to the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a sheet feeding deck in a conventional sheet feeding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

S, S1, S2, S3 Paper M Drive source (lifter drive motor) 1 Deck case 2 Lifter plate 9 Machine body 10 Lock mechanism 11, 12 Horizontal (width) regulating plate 13 Vertical and longitudinal regulating plate 19, 20 Paper size detection sensor ( Horizontal size detection sensor) 21, 22 Paper size detection sensor (vertical size detection sensor) 25 Drive system 26 Connecting means 40 Paper feeder 47, 49, 50 Paper feed deck 175 Actuator (horizontal cam) 190 Actuator (vertical cam)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet feeding deck front loading type which can be drawn from the loading the apparatus main body in a direction perpendicular to the direction for feeding the paper to the image forming apparatus, provided vertically movably on the feed within the deck a lifter plate sheets are stacked Te, the sheets on the lifter plate, the feeding direction rear end
Vertical regulating plates located and each regulated under the position in the width direction and
A pair of horizontal regulating plates which are interlocked with each other, and which are provided on the main body of the apparatus, and have a size in the sheet feeding direction and a size in the width direction.
A vertical sheet size detecting sensor and the lateral sheet size detection sensor for respectively detecting each are <br/> connected to the vertical regulating plates and transverse regulating plate, the vertical sheet size in association with the movement of the regulating plate
An operation unit for operating a detection sensor and a horizontal paper size detection sensor, respectively , and the respective paper size detection sensors and an operation unit connected to the horizontal regulation plate are moved rearward in the drawing direction of the paper feeding deck. position is not Rutotomoni, before
Pull the operating part connected to the vertical regulating plate
Backward in the dispensing direction, and with the moving direction of the vertical regulating plate.
Operates on the horizontal restricting plate while positioned to be movable in parallel
Directly connect the operating part to the vertical regulating plate and the fulcrum
A paper feeding device connected via a link on the paper size detection sensor side .