JP3080249B2 - 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. 14 and FIG. 15 show an example of this type of sheet feeding device.

In FIG. 1, a sheet feeding deck includes a lifter plate 2 for loading sheets in a deck case 1 having an open top and a box-shaped structure. When a drive motor (not shown) is rotated, the lifter plate 2 moves up and down while sliding inside 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 by the regulating plates 11 and 12, and the trailing end is regulated by the regulating plate 13, respectively. These control plates 11, 1
2 and 13 are installed on the bottom plate 67 of the deck case 1. Then, it can be moved in the directions indicated by arrows A and B along rectangular openings 146, 147, and 149 formed in the lifter plate 2 so as to correspond to various paper sizes.

In FIGS. 14 and 15, each sheet is moved in the direction of arrow B to regulate the trailing edge of the sheet so that the sheet is evenly applied to the side surface L of the deck case 1. Further, the paper width is regulated in the normal range of (paper width) + (1-2 mm) by moving the side regulating plates 11 and 12 in the direction of arrow A.

[0006] By regulating the paper as described above,
The paper can be stably conveyed without skew, lateral displacement or delay. In other words, if the loadability of the paper on the deck case 1 is poor, the conveyance of the paper becomes unstable,
Jams may occur.

For this reason, the sheet width regulating plate 1 for regulating the sheet
In general, in order to ensure the stackability of the paper, the first and second end plates 12 and the rear end regulating plate 13 must be designed to maintain rigidity and be easy for the user to use.

[0008]

However, in response to the above-mentioned demand, in the conventional apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the vertical dimension of the sheet feeding deck is as follows.
Paper of the maximum vertical paper size that can be fed (usually 11 "x 1
In order to feed 7 ″) vertically, (maximum vertical paper size: p) + (space of the highly rigid regulating plate: q) + (space for operating the operation knob: r) is definitely required.

Similarly, the dimension in the width direction of the paper feeding deck is the maximum width paper size (usually A
3: Maximum width and horizontal size: s + (Rigid regulating plate space:
t) + (space for operating the operation knob: r) was definitely required.

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

In addition, in response to the space requirement, conventionally,
As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the maximum horizontal size is set to p (in this example, LGR; 11 ″ × 17 ″). To reduce the size of the machine, the small-size paper (up to B4) is The position of the regulating plate 13 is changed as described above, and the regulating plate 13 is set so as to contact the rear end of the sheet.
GR), as shown by the arrow C in FIG. 16, the regulating plate 13 is tilted so as to be retracted from the paper loading position of the lifter plate 2.

FIG. 17 shows the details. here,
Reference numeral 13A indicates a state of the operating position where the restriction plate 13 is set, and reference numeral 13B indicates a state of the release position where the restriction plate 13 is rotated by about 90 ° about the support shaft 13p as a fulcrum.
The regulation base plate 201 is engaged with the regulation guide rail 152 and is slidable in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The tension spring 2 is provided between the regulating plate 13 and the regulating base plate 201.
When the restricting plate 13 is set, the engaging portion 13a of the restricting plate 13 and the engaging portion 201a of the restricting base plate 201 come into contact with each other, and the position is maintained.

Further, at the release position 13B of the regulating plate 13, a so-called toggle spring which goes over the pin 13p is shown, and the regulating plate 13 is in contact with the regulating guide rail 152. As described above, the longitudinal direction of the deck case 1 can be set to the longitudinal size (17 ″ +1 to 2 mm) of the maximum paper size LGR, and the outside of the machine can be downsized.

Now, when the user sets the A3 paper in the deck case 1 and sets it in the machine body, the vicinity of the leading end of the paper is regulated by the regulating plates 11 and 12, as shown in FIG. Since the edges are not regulated, the sheets are stacked with a slanting shift as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. At this time, the sheet is skewed, laterally displaced or delayed, and stable sheet conveyance cannot be performed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS.
When the paper of R or B4 or less is set in the deck case 1 and the deck case 1 is set in the machine body, the paper rear loading is regulated by the deck case side plate 69 and the regulating plate 13. It will not be loaded diagonally.

In this case, the restriction plate 13 may be provided on the A3. The difference between the length of the A3 and the length of the LGR is about 12 mm, and the deck is set to approximately 17 ″ for the purpose of miniaturization. It is extremely difficult to provide a highly rigid rear end regulating plate 13 that can regulate the paper between the two.
Further, even if the regulating plate 13 is provided, there is a disadvantage that it becomes very complicated and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeder which can easily operate a regulating plate which regulates a sheet end portion and which can reduce the size of a machine.

Further, the present invention provides one or more fixed regulating plates for regulating the width of the sheet having the maximum width, thereby preventing skew, lateral displacement and delay of the sheet, thereby enabling stable sheet conveyance. It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper feeder which has a small size and a small size machine.

[0019]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a lifter plate provided vertically movably in a case, on which sheets are stacked, and a movable paper end for regulating the end of the paper on the lifter plate. In the feeding device having a part regulating plate, an operation lever disposed between the sheet end regulating plate and the case, for fixing and releasing the fixing of the sheet end regulating plate,
An opening provided in the sheet end regulating plate so that the operation lever can be operated from a lifter plate side. Further, in the invention, it is preferable that the sheet end regulating plate is a sheet width regulating plate for regulating a width direction of the sheet on the lifter plate in a conveying direction. Further, in the invention, it is preferable that the sheet edge regulating plate is a sheet trailing edge regulating plate that regulates a trailing edge of the sheet on the lifter plate in a conveying direction.

[0020]

[0021]

According to the above construction, the operation for fixing and releasing the fixing of the sheet edge regulating plate between the case and the sheet edge regulating plate for regulating the edge of the sheet stacked on the lifter plate. A lever is provided, and an opening for operating the operation lever is provided in the sheet end regulating plate, and the operation lever is operated from the lifter plate side by the opening.

Thus, the operation of the operation lever can be performed even from the inside of the sheet feeding deck, so that the machine can be simplified and downsized.

[0023]

[0024]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that those having the same meanings as those shown in each figure after FIG. 14 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The paper feeding apparatus of the present invention has a plurality of front loading paper feeding decks which are arranged laterally to a copying machine as an image forming apparatus, and the above-mentioned paper feeding deck is provided in a machine main body of the paper feeding 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. 8, 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 the present embodiment is connected to the copier 41, the cassette 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 machine 41
The copying system includes a document processing device 53 which is disposed above the copying machine 41 and automatically feeds the document 51, and forms an image on both sides of the sheet S by also serving as a mounting table of the copying machine 41. An automatic double-sided device 55 and the like used for the above are provided.

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 development device by the optical system 56 are provided in the apparatus main body 42.
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 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.
3, 65, 66 are covered by gap covers 67a, 69a. 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 formed of the same components, respectively, and the front covers 63 and 6 are provided.
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, 75, and 76 are fixed, and extend outward from slits 77 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) formed in the side wall of the bottom plate 67 of the deck case 1.

At the rear end of the deck case 1, a wire shaft 81 is rotatably mounted.
A coupling (female) 82 as a connecting means and a lifter pulley 83 are fixedly attached to one end of the first member 1.

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 surface 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 for locking 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 on 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 the detection of the sheet size by setting the above-mentioned regulating plates 11 and 12.

In FIG. 5, a lock lever 155 rotatable around 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.

According to the present invention, 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 provides the regulating plate 12 with the finger. The cut-raised 156 and the lock lever 155 are pinched by a finger, and the lock lever 155 is rotated in the arrow 17 direction. By this rotation, the lock lever 155 is released from the regulating guide rail 151. The pawl 160 formed on the lock lever 155 is provided on the regulating guide rail plate 151 with paper size guide holes 161, 162, 163, 165, 166, 167 corresponding to each paper size.
(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 bonded 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 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 guide rail 152 is released. When the user releases the lock lever 181 at a desired position, the lock lever 181 is moved to the regulating guide rail plate 152.
The restricting plate 13 is fixed to the restricting guide rail plate 152 by coming into contact with the lock rubber 185 adhered to the restricting guide rail plate 152.

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

For this reason, small-size paper (up to B4)
As described above, the position of the regulating plate 13 is changed so that the regulating plate 13 is fitted to the rear end of the sheet. For large-size paper, the regulating plate 13 is tilted down as shown by an arrow C in FIG. 2 is retracted from the paper stacking position. FIG. 11 shows the details. Here, reference numeral 13A indicates a state in which the restricting plate 13 is set, and reference numeral 13B indicates a state in which the restricting plate 13 is rotated by about 90 ° about 13p and released.

The regulating base plate 201 is pivotally supported by the regulating plate 13, and the regulating base plate 201 is engaged with the regulating guide rail 152 so as to be slidable in the direction of arrow 16 in FIG. A tension spring 202 is stretched between the regulating plate 13 and the regulating base plate 201. When the regulating plate is set, the engaging portion 13a of the regulating plate 13 and the regulating base plate 2 are arranged.
In this state, the engaging portion 201a of No. 01 is in contact with and positioned. Further, the regulating plate 13 is moved to the position 13B.
At the time of release, the state becomes a so-called toggle spring that goes over 13p, and the state in which the regulating plate 13 is in contact with the regulating guide rail 152 is maintained.

By configuring the paper feeding device as described above,
When the user operates the regulating plates 11, 12, and 13, the operation shown in FIG.
In FIG. 14, the fingers are inserted through the openings 153, 180 of the respective regulating plates 11, 12, 13 from the directions of the arrows K and N to operate the lock levers 155, 181.
The operation knob in the conventional apparatus of FIG. 15 does not require the space r and μ operated by the user, and the apparatus can be reduced in size and simplified.

In the above 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. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the paper is set to the center reference feed has been described.
The same applies to the one-sided reference.

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 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 paper size detection sensors 19 and 20 and the paper S vertical size detection sensors 21 and 22 cooperate to detect the paper size. This logical table is shown in Table 1.

[0065]

[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.

Next, FIG. 12 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, two operation openings for opening the thumb and forefinger are provided for operating the position of each regulating plate in accordance with the sheet size. In this embodiment, there is an effect that the user can easily understand the operation method when operating the restriction plate.

In the above-described embodiment, 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 embodiment, the micro switch is used as the paper size detecting element provided on the machine body 9 side.
It is also possible to use a sensing element such as a photo interrupter or a potentiometer. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the paper is fed at the center reference ground reference has been described. However, the same applies to the case of one-side reference.

Next, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described.

In the first embodiment, the fixing restricting plates 205 and 206 for the sheets of the maximum width that can be stacked are arranged as shown in FIG.

As a result, when the user sets the A3 paper S in the deck case 1 and loads it on the machine body 9, no oblique displacement of the paper S due to the restriction of the rear end of the paper does not occur.

On the other hand, when the sheet S of LGR or B4 or less is set in the deck case 1 and loaded, the trailing edge of the sheet is the deck case side plate 69 or the trailing end regulating plate 13.
, The paper S is not stacked diagonally.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the second embodiment, only one fixing regulating plate 206 is provided on the inner side of the machine body 9. Now, when the sheet S of A3 is set in the deck case 1 and loaded on the machine main body 9, the function of preventing the sheet S from being shifted obliquely is remarkable by the fixing regulating plate on the machine rear side. For this reason, only one fixing regulating plate 206 disposed on the inner side of the
May be prevented.

In Reference Example 1 and Reference Example 2,
The case of the center reference has been described.
The same applies to the case where the paper S is restricted, and only by providing the fixed restriction plate at a position corresponding to the reference A3 width, the oblique displacement of the paper S can be prevented.

[0078]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The paper width regulating plate that regulates the width direction of the paper stacked on the lifter plate and the paper trailing edge regulating plate that regulates the trailing edge of the paper are provided with openings for operation. The respective operation levers for moving the control plates can be operated even from the inside of the sheet feeding deck, so that the machine provided with the operation levers for moving the respective control plates can be simplified and downsized.

[0079]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sheet feeding deck of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a first embodiment and a third 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 vertical sectional side view showing a sheet trailing end regulating plate portion.

11 is an enlarged view of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a sheet feeding deck unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a sheet feeding deck showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

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

FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional side view of the same.

FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing the sheet width regulating plate part.

FIG. 17 is an enlarged view of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a state in which sheets are stacked.

FIG. 19 is a plan view showing a state in which sheets are stacked.

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing a state in which sheets are stacked.

[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 Paper width regulating plate 13 Paper trailing edge regulating plate 19, 20 Paper size detection sensor (horizontal) Size detection sensor) 21, 22 Paper size detection sensor (vertical size detection sensor) 40 Paper feeding device 41 Image forming device 47, 49, 50 Paper feeding deck 153 Opening 155, 156 Operating lever 180 Opening 181, 182 Operating lever 205, 206 Fixed regulation plate

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A feeder having a lifter plate movably provided in the case and loaded with paper, and a paper end regulating plate movable to regulate the end of the paper on the lifter plate. In the feeding device, an operation lever disposed between the paper end regulation plate and the case to fix and release the paper end regulation plate, and the operation lever can be operated from a lifter plate side. And an opening provided in the sheet end regulating plate so as to perform the sheet feeding. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet end regulating plate is a sheet width regulating plate that regulates a width direction of the sheet on the lifter plate in a conveying direction. 3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet edge regulating plate is a sheet trailing edge regulating plate that regulates a trailing edge of the sheet on the lifter plate in a conveying direction.