JP2898784B2 - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

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

[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. FIGS. 13 and 14 show 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 stacking sheets. When a lifter drive motor (not shown) is driven, the lifter plate 2 moves up and down while sliding in the deck case 1 with the slide member 71. Here, the description of the lifting mechanism of the lifter plate 2 is omitted.

The sheets stacked on the lifter plate 2 are regulated in the width direction and the rear end by guide plates 201, 202, and 203. In this case, the sheet is a guide plate 201,
The rear end is regulated by the guide plate 203 in the width direction by the guide plate 202. These guide plates 201, 20
2 and 203 are installed on the bottom plate 67 of the deck case 1. Then, a rectangular opening 2 formed in the lifter plate 2
It is movable in the directions of arrows 15 and 16 along lines 05, 206 and 207, and is adapted to various sheet sizes.

In FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, the rear end guide plate 203 is moved in the direction of arrow 16 so that each sheet to be stacked hits the side surface L of the deck case 1 uniformly, and the rear end of the sheet is moved. regulate. Also, the guide plate 201,
202 is moved to the arrow 15 and the normal width (paper bundle) +
The paper width is regulated within the range (1-2 mm). By regulating the sheet as described above, the sheet can be stably conveyed without skewing, lateral displacement, or delay.
In other words, if the stackability of the sheets on the deck case 1 is poor, the conveyance of the sheets becomes unstable, and the possibility of occurrence of a jam increases.

For this reason, the guide plate 20 for regulating the sheet is provided.
It is necessary to design the user's 1, 202 and the rear end guide plate 203 so as to be easy for the user to use while maintaining rigidity in order to ensure the stackability of sheets.

[0007]

However, in order to meet the above-mentioned requirements, the size of the conventional deck case 1 is limited to the maximum size of a stackable sheet (usually 11 ″) as shown in FIGS. × 17 ″), (maximum sheet size: p) + (space of high rigid regulation plate: q) + (space for operating the operation knob:
r) was absolutely necessary.

As a result, in the conventional paper feeder, there is a problem that the machine cannot be downsized and an inexpensive paper feeder cannot be provided, and the machine becomes large and complicated.

In view of the above, according to the present invention, it is possible to feed a large-size sheet by making a regulating plate for regulating the rear end of the sheet movable between a use position and a non-use position according to the sheet size. Nevertheless, an object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeder in which the apparatus is downsized.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding apparatus having a sheet storing means for storing sheets to be fed to an image forming apparatus, and a sheet feeding means for feeding sheets from the sheet storing means. A lifter plate that is provided in the sheet storage means so as to be able to move up and down, and stacks sheets, and a rear end of the sheet that is provided in the sheet storage means so as to be movable in a sheet feeding direction, A sheet trailing edge regulating plate regulating at a regulating position according to the size, and a sheet outlet provided on a side wall in the sheet feeding direction of the sheet accommodating means, wherein the sheet trailing edge regulating plate is loaded. The lifter plate is configured to be retractable to a retracted position below the lifter plate that does not regulate the sheet in accordance with the sheet size, and the lifter plate is configured such that the sheet outlet side end of the lifter plate faces downward. It is characterized in that by Uni inclined.

The sheet accommodating means is of a front loading type capable of being taken in and out of the apparatus main body.

[0012]

According to the above construction, the rear end of the sheets stacked on the lifter plate is regulated at the regulating position by the sheet rear end regulating plate, while the large size sheet is regulated on the lifter plate by the sheet rear end regulation. The plate is retracted to a retract position where the sheet below the lifter plate is not restricted.

Further, the lifter plate is inclined such that the sheet outlet side end of the lifter plate is directed downward, so that the distance between the sheet outlet side end and the sheet outlet of the sheet storage means is increased.

[0014]

[0015]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The paper feeder of the present invention has a plurality of front loading paper feed decks which are arranged side by side in a copier as an image forming apparatus, and the paper feed deck is provided in the main body of the paper feeder. , 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 sheet feeding unit 46 capable of stacking about 50 sheets S, and a plurality of upper / middle decks (sheet feeding decks) 47 and 49 on which about 1000 sheets S1 and S2 are stacked. In the lower storage unit 45, lower decks 50 capable of stacking about 3000 sheets S3 are stored.

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. The interface unit I includes the upper storage unit 43 and the lower storage unit 4.
5 has a path connected to each.

A 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 an exposure and developing 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 shows 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 sheet 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.
3, 65, 66 are covered by gap covers 25, 26. The front door 27 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. A lifter plate 2 on which the sheets S are stacked is disposed in the deck case 1. 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.
The slits 7 fixed to the side walls of the bottom plate 67 of the deck case 1 are respectively fixed.
7 (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

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

The lifter pulley 83 is configured such that one ends of two wires 85 and 86 are locked and wound, as will be described later. 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 lock pawl 126 and the lock roller 121 described above.
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 main 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 pressed 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 structure of the user's sheet 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 restriction plates 11,
12 and 13 are rectangular openings 1 formed in the lifter plate 2.
46, 147, 149 along the regulation guide rail 15
It is movable in the directions of arrows 15 and 16 guided by 0, 151 and 52.

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

In FIG. 5, a lock lever 155 that is rotatable about a lock fulcrum 157 is urged clockwise in the figure by the elastic force of a torsion spring 159. With this bias, the pawl 160 of the lock lever 155 is engaged with and coupled to the regulating guide rail plate 151.

When the user changes the regulating plates 11 and 12 in the width direction of the sheet S according to the sheet size, the user puts his / her finger through the opening 153 of the regulating plate 12 and locks the cut-and-raised 156 provided on the regulating plate 12 with the lock. The lever 155 is pinched by a finger to rotate the lock lever 155 in the direction of arrow 17.
By this rotation, the lock lever 155 is released from the regulating guide rail 151. Note that the claw 160 formed on the lock lever 155 is connected to the regulating guide rail plate 151.
Has a sheet size guide hole 1 corresponding to each sheet size.
61, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167 (FIG. 1)
Refer to).

As described above, when the user releases his / her finger from the lock lever 155 at a desired sheet size, the lock lever 155 is locked by friction with the lock rubber 169 adhered to the regulating guide rail plate 151, and at the same time, is locked. The pawl 160 is fitted into each sheet size guide hole of the regulating guide rail plate 151. Thereby, the regulating plate 12
Are 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. An operating portion (hereinafter referred to as a lateral cam) 17 for detecting the lateral size of the sheet S is provided at an outer end of the regulating plate 11.
5 are provided. The horizontal cam 175 detects the sheet size of the sheet S by turning on or off a sheet size detection sensor (hereinafter, referred to as a horizontal size detection sensor) 19 or 20 composed of two micro switches for each sheet size. I have. This horizontal size detection sensor 1
The reference numerals 9 and 20 are vertically mounted on the micro switch substrate 179 fixed to the machine body 9.

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 is the lock fulcrum 1
It is rotatably supported around 83 and is urged clockwise 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.
From the anger 152 is released. When the user releases the lock lever 181 at a desired position, the lock lever 181 comes into contact with the lock rubber 185 adhered to the restriction guide rail plate 152 and locks by the friction, whereby the restriction plate 13 is moved by the restriction guide rail plate 152. Fixed to

Now, the size of the deck case 1 is as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11, the maximum sheet size P (LGR: 11 ″ × 17 ″ in this embodiment) is set to reduce the size of the machine.

For this reason, small size sheets (up to B4)
Is set as described above by changing the position of the regulating plate 13 so that the regulating plate 13 is fitted to the rear end of the sheet. For a large-size sheet, the regulating plate 13 is tilted down as shown by an arrow 32 in FIG. The lifter plate 2 is retracted from the sheet mounting position H. FIG. 11 shows the details.

Reference numeral 13A denotes a state in which the sheet rear end regulating plate 13 is set, and reference numeral 13B denotes a state where the sheet rear end regulating plate 13 is rotated by approximately 90 ° from the position 13A with the support shaft 13P as a fulcrum. This shows a state in which the operation has been released.

The regulating base 27 is supported by the regulating plate 13. This regulation base 27 is used for the regulation guide rail plate 1.
52 and is slidable in the direction of arrow 16 in FIG. A tension spring 29 is stretched between the regulating plates 13 and the regulating base 27, and when the regulating plate 13 is set, the base 13a of the regulating plate 13 and the base 27a of the regulating base 27 come into contact with each other to perform positioning. Holds state. Further, when the restriction plate 13 is released (reference numeral 13B), the tension spring 29 gets over the fulcrum 13P,
It becomes a so-called toggle spring, and holds the state where the regulating plate 13 is in contact with the regulating guide rail plate 152.

Next, sheet size detection will be described.

In FIG. 1, one end of a link 187 that is rotatable about a fulcrum 186 is pivotally attached to a dowel 189 at an appropriate position on the regulating plate 13. An operating portion (hereinafter referred to as a vertical cam) 190 is slidably provided in a groove 192 of the cam guide 191 fixed to the deck case 1. The other end of the link 187 is attached to the vertical cam 109 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 sheet size detection sensors (hereinafter, referred to as vertical size detection sensors) 21 and 22 arranged vertically. 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 vertical cam 190 linked to the regulating plate 13 via the link 187 moves in the left-right direction in FIG. Depending on whether the moving vertical cam 190 turns on or off the vertical size detection sensors 21 and 22 for each sheet size,
The size of the set sheet S is detected.

As described above, the sheet size detection sensors 19 and 20 and the sheet S vertical size detection sensors 21 and 22 cooperate to detect the sheet size. This logical table is shown in Table 1.

[0057]

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

[0058]

The number of sheets loaded on the deck case 1 is determined by the size of the sheet outlet 30 of the left side plate 70 of the deck case 1 and the size of the lifter plate 2.

Now, in order to retract the sheet rear end regulating plate 13 and retract it from the sheet stacking position of the lifter plate 2, a regulating plate retreat space is required as shown in FIG. 11, for example. The lowest point of 2 must be raised. For this reason, the number of stacked sheets decreases.

As a countermeasure, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the lifter plate 3 is further provided with an appropriate inclination inclining downward with respect to the horizontal plane in the feeding direction. By setting S <b> 11, that is, by increasing the distance S <b> 10 between the sheet exit 30 and the end of the lifter plate 2 on the sheet exit side, a space for evacuating the regulating plate is secured and the number of stacked sheets is not reduced. .

In this embodiment, the sheet rear end regulating plate 1
Although a spring is used to hold the seat 3, the base 13 b of the sheet rear end regulating plate 13 is formed in a hook shape with respect to the regulating base 27, as shown in FIG. This may be fitted to a pin 31 fixed to the regulation base 27 to hold the sheet rear end regulation plate 13.

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 as a means,
Although the power is transmitted to the sheet feeding deck by 142, a swing gear or the like may be used instead of the couplings 82 and 142.

In the detection of the sheet size, the horizontal (width) size and the vertical size of the sheet S are detected by the horizontal size detection sensors 19, 20, 21, 22 comprising micro switches. The detection may be performed only by the vertical size detection sensors 21 and 22 for detecting the vertical size. For example, in FIG.
If a / Lb is designed to be large, only the vertical size detection sensors 21 and 22 can be used.

In the above-described embodiment, a microswitch is used as a sheet-size detection element provided on the machine body 9 side. Instead of this microswitch, a detection element such as a photo interrupter or a potentiometer is used. It is also possible to use.

In the above-described embodiment, the sheet is fed by the center reference. However, even if the sheet is fed by one side, the same effect can be realized.

[0067]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The sheet trailing edge regulating plate that regulates the trailing edge of the sheets loaded on the lifter plate can be retracted to a retracted position that does not regulate the sheet trailing edge. By retracting the regulating plate to the retracted position, a large-sized sheet can be stacked and the apparatus can be downsized.

Also, by inclining the sheet outlet side end of the lifter plate downward and increasing the distance between the sheet outlet side end and the sheet outlet of the sheet storage means, the sheet rear end regulating plate is moved to the retracted position. Even when the sheet is retracted, it is possible to realize a downsized sheet feeding device without reducing the number of stacked sheets.

[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 side view showing a sheet rear end regulating plate portion.

FIG. 11 is a side view of a sheet feeding device according to a comparative example of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the sheet feeding device of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a side view showing a modified example of the sheet rear end regulating plate holding portion.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a sheet feeding deck in a conventional sheet feeding device.

FIG. 15 is a side view of the same.

[Description of Signs] S, S1, S2, S3 Sheet 1 Deck case 2 Lifter plate 2A Feeding end of lifter plate 11, 12 Sheet width regulating plate 13 Sheet rear end regulating plate 13A Regulation position 13B Retreat position 40 Paper feed Apparatus 41 Image forming apparatus 47, 49, 50 Paper feed deck

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet feeding device having a sheet storage unit for storing a sheet to be fed to an image forming apparatus, and a sheet feeding unit for feeding a sheet from the sheet storage unit, wherein the sheet storage unit can be moved up and down. And a lifter plate for stacking sheets, and movably provided in the sheet feeding direction in the sheet storage means.
Are, shea the trailing edge of sheets stacked on the lifter plate on
A sheet rear end regulating plate for regulating the sheet at a regulating position corresponding to the sheet size, and a sheet feeding means provided on a side wall in a sheet feeding direction of the sheet accommodating means.
A sheet outlet was provided with, the sheet rear end regulating plate, Do regulates the sheet below said lifter plate in response to the sheet size to be the loading
The lifter plate
So that the sheet outlet side end of the lifter plate faces downward.
A sheet feeding device characterized in that the sheet feeding device is inclined . 2. A sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said sheet storage means is of a front loading type which can be taken in and out of the apparatus main body.