JP3411135B2 - 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 a sheet feeding device mounted on an image forming apparatus or the like, and more particularly to a sheet feeding device capable of automatically replenishing sheets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A sheet feeding device for feeding sheets one by one from a sheet bundle stored in a cassette or a tray by a sheet feeding means such as a sheet feeding roller is an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer. Widely used.

Conventionally, in order to effectively use the space in the apparatus in an image forming apparatus or the like, a plurality of sheet storage units are provided, and when the sheets in one sheet storage unit are exhausted, other sheet storage units are stored. There has been proposed a sheet feeding device in which the number of stored sheets is increased by automatically transferring or replenishing sheets from a unit.

[0004] For example, the applicant of the present application has filed Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-144.
A paper feeder as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 600 is proposed. To briefly explain the sheet feeding device, as shown in FIG.
A machine base 60 containing 80 is provided. Paper feeder 7
0 and 80 are 1 sheets of paper at the upper right corner of the paper storage section, respectively.
A sheet feeding unit for feeding the sheets one by one is provided, and the fed sheets are fed to the image forming unit in the copying machine main body 50 via a common vertical conveyance path.

The upper sheet feeding device 70 sets sheets of a smaller size than the lower sheet feeding device 80, but in order to eliminate the dead space due to the small sheets, it is possible to accommodate the small sheets in parallel. It has become. That is, the sheet storage section of the upper sheet feeding device 70 that stacks and stores sheets is configured by the first and second sheet storage sections 100 and 200, and each exists as an independent tray. When all the sheets in the first sheet storage unit 100 are consumed, the sheets stored in the second sheet storage unit 200 can be slid to the right and transferred into the first sheet storage unit 100. There is.

The first sheet storage section 100 can be pulled out integrally with the second sheet storage section 200 toward the front side of the copying machine (toward the front side of the drawing). In addition, the second sheet storage unit 200
Can be pulled out to the front side of the copying machine alone or integrally with the first sheet storage unit 100. Then, during the paper feeding operation, only the second paper storage unit 200 can be pulled out, and the paper can be replenished during the paper feeding operation, that is, during the copying machine operation by replenishing the paper there.
It enables endless paper feeding.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the upper sheet feeding device 70, a sheet feeding means 300 is provided above the sheet feeding side (right side in the figure) of the first sheet container 100. The sheet feeding means 300 includes a pickup roller 301 and a separation roller pair 3.
02, 303 and a paper end detection sensor 304. The first sheet storage unit 100 includes a pair of side fences 101 facing each other that guides both side positions of the sheet.
a, b, a bottom plate 102 for placing sheets, a pair of end fences 10 for holding the rear ends of the sheets stacked
5, 106 (106 is not shown).

The end fences 105 and 106 are attached to the side fences 101a and 101b, respectively. In the case of the end fence 105 shown in FIG. 3, a guide 105a is used.
And the main body 105b. Body 105
The rear end of b (the rear end in the paper transport direction) is bent in an L shape to form a paper pressing portion 105c. And the guide 10
The long hole formed in the extension of the lower end of the rack 5a
It is fitted on a boss provided at the end of a.

The rack 103a is meshed with a pinion gear of a stepping motor (not shown), and the rack and pinion mechanism slides the rack 103a in the longitudinal direction. As a result, the end fence 105 rotates with the shaft portion, which is an assembly portion to the side fence 101a, as a fulcrum. When the rack 103a moves to the lower left in the figure, the end fence 105 rotates clockwise around the shaft in the figure, and the sheet pressing portion 105c retracts to the outside of the side fence 101a (outside the sheet stacking portion). To do. When the rack 103a moves to the upper right in the figure from the retracted state, the end fence 105 rotates clockwise in the figure, and the paper pressing portion 105c moves the side fence 101.
It returns to the inside of a and presses the rear end of the sheet on the bottom plate 102.

Another end fence 10 (not shown)
6 (similarly to the paper stacking part, the end fence 105
(Symmetrically to) and also side fence 101
The shaft part, which is an assembly part to b, is rotated as a fulcrum. The rotation of the end fences 105 and 106 presses the rear end of the stacked sheets and releases the pressing.

When the paper in the first paper storage unit 100 is consumed, the paper stored in the second paper storage unit 200 is transferred into the first paper storage unit 100, but in that case, it is not shown. By driving the stepping motor, the end fences 105, 1 are driven by the rack and pinion mechanism described above.
06 is rotated to retract the bent portion of the end fence to the outside of the side fences 101a and 101b. Then, the rear end of the first paper storage unit 100 in the paper transport direction is opened and the first paper storage unit 100 is retracted from the paper transport area. In FIG. 2, the back fence (pressing plate) 202 of the second sheet storage unit 200 slides to the right, and the sheets placed on the sheet placement plates 209a, 209b, 209c are transferred to the first sheet storage unit 100. Transfer to. When the transfer of the sheet is completed, the end fences 105 and 106 are rotated in the opposite directions by the reverse rotation of the stepping motor to support the rear end of the sheet set on the sheet mounting plate 102 of the first sheet storage unit 100. To do.

With the configuration and operation as described above, the pair of end fences 105 and 106 can be installed in the first sheet storage section 100.
Since the rear end of the sheet is supported in the second sheet storage section 20
It was possible to improve the paper feeding performance and reliability in the next operation after transferring the paper accommodated in 0 into the first paper accommodation unit 100, that is, the paper feeding operation.

[0013]

However, in the above-mentioned paper feeding device, the pair of end fences 105, 10 is used.
Since there is no means for detecting whether or not the end fences 105 and 106 are located at proper positions for pressing the trailing edge of the sheet (positions where the end fence is closed) when 6 is closed to support the trailing edge of the sheet. Even if the paper is not properly transferred for some reason or the paper is not completely set, it cannot be detected even if the end fences 105 and 106 are in an inappropriate position. Therefore, there is a problem that the sheet feeding operation is started without completely supporting the trailing edge of the sheet, and a sheet feeding failure such as non-feed may occur.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems in the above-described paper feeding device, detects whether the end fence is at the proper position after the completion of the paper transportation, and can prevent the paper feeding failure. An object is to provide a paper device.

[0015]

According to the present invention, the above-mentioned problem is solved by the present invention. A first sheet accommodating section for accommodating a plurality of sheets and a sheet feeding means for feeding the sheets one by one from the first sheet accommodating section. A second sheet accommodating portion arranged horizontally and in parallel with the first sheet accommodating portion, and a sheet transfer means for collectively conveying the sheets in the second sheet accommodating portion to the first sheet accommodating portion, A sheet feeding device having at least one sheet pressing member which is provided in the first sheet accommodating portion and which is retracted from the transfer area during sheet transfer and holds the trailing edge of the sheet after the sheet transfer is completed. A detection unit for detecting that the pressing member has pressed the rear end of the paper is provided, and when the detection unit detects that the rear end of the paper is pressed, the paper is fed from the first paper storage unit. It will be solved by doing.

Further, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention informs that the rear end of the paper is not pressed when it does not detect that the paper pressing member presses the rear end of the paper. It is suggested to output a message to that effect.

Further, according to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the first and second sheet accommodating portions are provided so as to be pulled out from an image forming apparatus main body in which the sheet feeding device is mounted. When the first and second sheet accommodating portions are inserted and set in the image forming apparatus main body, and when the detection unit detects that the rear end of the sheet is pressed, the initializing operation for opening and closing the paper pressing member is not performed. It is suggested to move to the next operation.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 shows details in a plane when the present invention is applied to the upper sheet feeding device 70 of the copying machine described above. In this figure, a pair of side fences 101 for guiding the positions of both sides of the first sheet storage unit 100
A pair of end fences 105 and 106 that are substantially L-shaped in plan view and that hold the rear ends of the sheets are shown.

A rack 103 constituting a rack and pinion mechanism for rotating the end fences 105 and 106.
The a, b, the stepping motor 104, and the like are arranged below the bottom plate 102 on which a sheet is placed. Similarly, below the bottom plate 102, near the front end of the first paper storage unit 100 (the front end in the paper transport direction), sensors 108 and 112 for detecting the open / closed state of the end fences 105 and 106 are provided. The sensor 108 is a home position detection sensor that detects the home position (open state) of the end fence. Further, the sensor 112 is a closing detection sensor that detects a closed state of the end fences, and the end fences 105, 10
It is detected that the rear end bent portion 6 projects to the inside of the side fences 101a and 101b and reaches the position for pressing the rear end of the sheet.

The home position detecting sensor 108 and the close detecting sensor 112 correspond to the respective sensors, and the rack 10
The protruding portion (detected portion) provided on 3a is detected. The positional relationship between the protrusion of the rack 103a and both sensors is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, the rack 103a is provided with two projecting portions 113 and 114. Sensors 108 and 112 are arranged near each protrusion. Figure 5
In the open state of the end fences 105 and 106 shown in (a), the home position detection sensor 108 detects the protrusion 113 and is turned on, but the close detection sensor 112 does not detect the protrusion 114. , Is off. Therefore, when the sensor 108 is ON and the sensor 112 is OFF, it can be determined that the end fences 105 and 106 are at the positions where the rear ends are open (this is the home position).

Also, the end fence 1 shown in FIG. 5 (b).
In the closed state of 05 and 106, the home position detection sensor 1
08 is OFF because it does not detect the protrusion 113, but the closing detection sensor 112 detects the protrusion 114 and is ON.
It has become. Therefore, when the sensor 108 is OFF and the sensor 112 is ON, it can be determined that the end fences 105 and 106 are at the positions where the trailing ends are closed (the positions where the trailing ends of the paper P are pressed).

FIG. 6 shows another example of the arrangement of the sensor and the protruding portion. In the example shown in this figure, in the open state of the end fences 105 and 106 in (a), the home position detection sensor 108 detects the protruding portion 113b and turns on, and the closing detection sensor 112 also detects the protruding portion 114b. It is turned on. Therefore, when both sensors are ON, it can be determined that the end fences 105 and 106 are in positions where the rear ends are open. In addition, the end fence 10 of (b)
In the closed state of 5, 106, the home position detection sensor 108
The closing detection sensor 112 and the closing detection sensor 112 are both OFF because they do not detect the protruding portion. Therefore, when both sensors are OFF, it can be determined that the end fences 105 and 106 are at the positions where the rear ends are closed (the positions where the rear ends of the sheets P are pressed).

Now, the structure of the sheet feeding device will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 as well. As shown in FIG.
It is supported by 00 and can be pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction, and in the front direction perpendicular to the paper surface of the drawing.
The first sheet storage unit 100 includes slide rails 400 and 600.
It can be pulled out in the direction perpendicular to the paper conveyance direction.

A sheet feeding means 300 is disposed at the upper front end of the first sheet storage section 100. The paper feeding means 300 has a paper end detection sensor 304, and can detect the presence / absence of a paper that has been raised to a paper feeding position by a bottom plate elevating device described later.

The bottom plate lifting device 10 is shown in FIG.
In FIG. 7, a compression spring 12 and a coupling 13 are attached to an output shaft of a bottom plate lifting motor 11 capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions, and the coupling 13 is slidable in the output shaft direction. A pin 16 provided on the pressure shaft 14 is meshed with the coupling 13, and the bottom plate lifting motor 11
As a result, the pressure shaft 14 is rotated in the forward and reverse directions. A pressure plate 15 is fixed to the pressure shaft 14. As shown in FIG. 4, the pressure shaft 14 and the pressure plate 15 serve as the first paper storage unit 100.
Is supported so as to extend below the bottom plate 102.

When the pressure shaft 14 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 7, the pressure plate 15 lifts the bottom plate 102 from below, and the sheet bundle stacked on the bottom plate is urged upward on the feeding side. The uppermost sheet is brought into contact with the pickup roller 301.

By the way, the first sheet storage section 100 is
It can be pulled out integrally with the sheet storage unit 200, and the second sheet storage unit 200 can be pulled out alone or integrally with the first sheet storage unit 100 to the front side of the copying machine. At this time, whether the two paper storage units are integrated or divided is determined by the behavior of the first lock claw 107 shown in FIG. The first lock pawl 107 is driven by the lock pawl drive device 20.

Although the details of the lock pawl drive device 20 are omitted, the second lock pawl 22 is turned on as shown in FIG. 8A by turning on a solenoid (not shown) of the drive device.
Locks the rear end portion of the first sheet storage section 100 so that the first sheet storage section 100 cannot be pulled out from the main body. Further, an arm (not shown) linked to the second lock claw 22 rotates the first lock claw 107 provided in the first sheet storage section 100, so that the first sheet storage section 100 and the second sheet storage section 100 are connected to each other.
The sheet storage unit 200 is not integrated with the sheet storage unit 200 but is in a divided state. Therefore, if the tray is pulled out at this time, the second sheet storage unit 20
Only 0 can be withdrawn. That is, during the image processing, by turning on the lock pawl drive device 20, only the second sheet storage unit 200 can be pulled out, and the sheet can be replenished to the second sheet storage unit 200.

Further, except during image processing, the solenoid of the drive unit 20 is in the OFF state, the second lock claw 22 is raised, and the lock of the first sheet storage section 100 is released. At this time, the first lock claw 107 locks the second sheet storage unit 200 by the returning force of the coil spring (not shown), as shown in FIG.
The paper storage unit 200 is integrated. Therefore, the first sheet storage unit 100 and the second sheet storage unit 200 can be integrally pulled out, and even if the tray is pulled out during the sheet transfer from the second sheet storage unit 200 to the first sheet storage unit 100, Does not damage the paper and the paper transport mechanism.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the second sheet storage section 200 includes a pair of fixed side fences 201a and 201b for positioning the side edges of the stacked sheets, a back fence 202 for positioning the rear edges, and a sheet. A bottom plate 209a for mounting the
It is composed of b and c. By pressing the substantially central portion of the trailing edge of the stacked paper in the second paper storage unit 200, the stacked paper is moved to the first position.
In order to move in the direction of the sheet storage unit 100 at once,
The back fence 202 is attached to a slider 210 connected to a timing belt 205, and the attachment position is changed according to the size of the stacked sheets.

The timing belt 205 is stretched around one drive pulley 211 and three driven pulleys 212, and the drive pulley 211 is rotatably driven by a DC motor 203 in a forward and reverse direction. The slider 210 is provided with a protruding piece 210a, and the position where the protruding piece 210a is detected by the detection sensor 213 is the home position of the back fence 202. These device members for moving the back fence are installed below the bottom plates 209a, 209b, 209c, and the pressing portion of the back fence 202 that abuts the paper stands upright above the bottom plate.

When the back fence 202 presses and moves the sheet, the sheet transfer is stopped at the position where the slider protrusion 210a is pressed and detected by the detection sensor 214, and the back fence 202 immediately starts to move backward. . Further, the presence / absence of paper in the second paper storage unit 200 is detected by the detection sensor 215.

Next, the operation of the present paper feeder will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 9 for the paper feeder and the flowchart of FIG. 10 for the bottom plate. When the tray is set in the upper sheet feeding device 70 after the power of the copying machine is turned on, the transfer home sensor 213 in the second sheet storage unit 200 is set.
The ON / OFF state of is determined (step 1, hereinafter step is abbreviated as S). Transfer home sensor 213 is ON
In case of (the back fence 202 is at the home position)
Normally, the process proceeds to S9, when it is determined whether the end fences 105 and 106 of the first sheet storage unit 100 are closed by the ON / OFF state of the closing detection sensor 112, and when the closing of the end fences 105 and 106 is recognized. Immediately starts the bottom plate / paper feeding operation (S10).

On the other hand, at S1, the transfer home sensor 213 becomes O.
In the case of FF, the transfer motor 203 is normally rotated (S2),
The ON / OFF state of the pressing sensor 214 is determined (S3). When this sensor is turned on, the transfer motor 203
Is reversed (S4) and the state of the transfer home sensor 213 is checked (S5). When the transport home sensor 213 is ON, the stepping motor 104 of the first sheet storage unit 100 is normally rotated (S6) as an initializing operation, and the state of the home sensor 108 is checked (S7) to reverse the stepping motor 104. (S8), O of the close detection sensor 112
N / OFF is determined (S9). When the closing detection sensor 112 recognizes the closing of the end fences 105 and 106,
The bottom plate / paper feeding operation is started (S10).

When the closing detection sensor 112 detects that the end fences 105 and 106 are not closed, it is determined whether or not the initialization operation has been executed (S22). When the initialization operation has not been performed yet, that is, as the normal state after tray setting, S
When you proceed to S9 from 1 and further to S22,
The process proceeds from S22 to S6 to execute the initialization operation. If the end fences 105 and 106 are not closed even though the initialization operation has already been executed, it is determined that there is something wrong with the paper set, and the paper is reloaded on the main body display (not shown) of the copying machine. Is displayed (S23) and the process returns to the step before S1. The message to be displayed can be set as appropriate, such as a message prompting the user to reset the paper, a message prompting confirmation of the paper set, or a message notifying the abnormality of the paper set.

Here, the bottom plate / paper feeding operation of S10 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the bottom plate / paper feeding operation, the pressing plate 15 is rotated by the lifting motor 11 (see FIG. 7) to lift the bottom plate 102. When the height detecting sensor detects that the bottom plate 102 has risen to a predetermined position, the raising motor 11 is stopped. Paper end detection sensor 3
If 04 does not detect the paper end, the copy operation is started. When the paper end is detected during the copy operation, the copy operation is ended, and also when the paper end is detected before the start of the copy operation, the raising motor 11 is rotated in the reverse direction to cause the bottom plate 102 to move.
To lower. When the lowering detection sensor 109 detects the bottom plate 102, the raising motor 11 stops and the bottom plate lowering operation ends. Then, the process returns to the flowchart of FIG.

Subsequent to the bottom plate / paper feeding operation, the presence / absence of a sheet in the second sheet storage section 200 is determined by the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 215 (S11), and if there is a sheet, the stepping motor 104 is rotated forward (S12). End fence 105,
The opening operation of 106 is performed, the transfer motor 203 is normally rotated (S13), and the paper in the second paper storage unit 200 is transferred to the first paper storage unit 100. O of pressing sensor 214
The N / OFF state is determined (S15), and when it is turned ON, the transfer motor 203 is rotated in the reverse direction (S16) and the back fence 2
Return 02. The transport home sensor 213 determines that the back fence 202 has returned to the initial position (S1
7) Reverse the stepping motor 104 (S18)
Then, the end fences 105 and 106 are closed. Whether the end fence is closed or not is determined by the close detection sensor 112 (S19), and if the end fences 105 and 106 are closed, the bottom plate / paper feeding operation is performed again (S20). After the bottom plate / sheet feeding operation, the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 215 causes a second
The presence or absence of paper in the paper storage unit 200 is checked (S21). If the paper presence / absence detection sensor 215 is OFF, the first
When there is no paper in both the second paper storage units 100 and 200, the control shown in this flow chart is ended and a message of no paper is displayed on the main body display section (not shown) of the copying machine (shown in the flow chart). No). If the close detection sensor 112 is OFF in S19, that is, if the end fences 105 and 106 are not closed, a message prompting the user to reload the paper is displayed on the main body display (S).
24) Return to before S1.

By the way, the transfer home sensor 213 is OF
The case of F means that the back fence 202 is not at the home position, but when the tray is set after the power is turned on, the state of the transfer home sensor 213 is determined in S1, and if it is OFF, the operation up to S5 is performed. This is because the back fence 202 is moved when the tray is set again to continue the paper transfer operation even when the tray is pulled out during the paper transfer. For example, when the tray is pulled out without noticing that the paper is being transferred, or when the tray is re-set due to the fact that the paper remains, the second paper storage unit is configured to continue the paper transfer operation. The 200 sheets are transferred to the first sheet storage unit 100.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the close detection sensor 112 is provided to check the closed state of the end fences 105 and 106, the paper may not be transferred properly or the paper may not be set properly. , End fence 10
When 5, 106 are not closed, the paper feeding operation is not executed, and therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of paper feeding failure such as non-feeding.

If the closing detection sensor 112 does not confirm the closed state of the end fences 105 and 106, a message prompting the user to reload the paper is displayed on the display unit, so that the user is aware of the incorrect paper loading. , It is possible to prompt the user to reset the paper on the spot so that a reliable paper feeding operation can be performed.

Further, as a conventional example, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
In the paper feeding device of No. 144600, the second paper storage unit 20
After the 0th sheet was transferred to the first sheet storage unit 100, the opening / closing of the end fences 105, 106 was performed, but in the present embodiment, the closed state of the end fences 105, 106 is detected by the close detection sensor 112. Since the next operation (bottom plate / paper feeding operation) is immediately performed after confirmation, the copying operation can be performed promptly, the waiting time can be shortened, and the operability can be improved.

Depending on how the paper is set, the initialization operation may not be successful due to the resistance of the paper, but variations in the paper set such that the end fences 105 and 106 do not close cause a paper feed failure but cannot be initialized. Assuming that there is no problem in the paper set variation, if the end plates 105 and 106 are checked for the closed state to shift to the bottom plate / paper feed operation, the paper re-set is displayed each time initialization cannot be performed. Therefore, the operability can be improved.

[0044]

As described above, according to the paper feeding apparatus of the present invention, the detecting means for detecting that the paper pressing member has pressed the rear end of the paper is provided, and the detecting means detects the rear end of the paper. When it is detected that the paper is pressed, the paper is fed one by one from the first paper storage unit. Therefore, the paper may not be transferred properly or the paper may be improperly set. When the trailing edge of the sheet is not pressed, the sheet feeding operation is not executed, and therefore, it is possible to prevent occurrence of sheet feeding failure such as non-feeding.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, if the paper pressing member does not detect that the rear end of the paper is pressed, a message to the effect that the rear end of the paper is not pressed is output. It is possible to have the user recognize that the paper is not set correctly, prompt the paper to be reloaded on the spot, and perform a reliable paper feeding operation.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the first and second sheet accommodating portions are provided so as to be pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body in which the sheet feeding device is mounted, and the first and second sheet accommodating portions are provided with an image. When it is inserted and set in the main body of the forming apparatus, and when the detecting means detects that the rear end of the paper is pressed, the operation proceeds to the next operation without performing the initializing operation for opening and closing the paper pressing member. The paper feeding operation can be started, the waiting time can be shortened, and the operability can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a copying machine including a paper feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a paper feeding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing an end fence of the sheet feeding device.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the sheet feeding device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

5A and 5B are diagrams showing the relationship between the state of the end fence and the sensor for detecting the end fence and the detected portion in the embodiment, FIG. 5A showing the end fence open state, and FIG. 5B showing the end fence closed state. Show.

6A and 6B are views showing another example of the sensor for detecting the state of the end fence and the detected portion, wherein FIG. 6A shows the end fence open state, and FIG. 6B shows the end fence closed state.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view showing a bottom plate raising device of the paper feeding device shown in FIG.

8A and 8B are diagrams showing the operation of the lock claw driving device of the sheet feeding device shown in FIG. 4, in which FIG. 8A shows a state in which the second lock claw is engaged with the first sheet accommodating portion, and FIG. ) Indicates that the first lock claw is engaged with the second sheet storage unit.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the paper feeding device in this embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a bottom plate / paper feeding operation in the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

70 Upper feeder 100 First paper storage unit 101a, b Side fence 102 bottom plate 103 racks 104 stepping motor 105,106 End fence 108 Home position detection sensor 112 Close detection sensor 113,114 Projection (Detected part) 200 Second paper storage unit 202 back fence 203 Transfer motor 213 Transport home sensor 214 pressing sensor 215 Paper presence detection sensor

Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-5-124737 (JP, A) JP-A-7-137851 (JP, A) JP-A-7-76428 (JP, A) JP-A-6-239476 (JP , A) JP-A-6-183575 (JP, A) JP-A-7-225533 (JP, A) JP-A-6-144600 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB) Name) B65H 1/26 B65H 1/04 326 B65H 1/30 320 G03G 15/00 516

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first sheet accommodating section for stacking a plurality of sheets, a sheet feeding unit for feeding the sheets one by one from the first sheet accommodating section, and a horizontal and parallel arrangement with respect to the first sheet accommodating section. A second sheet storage section disposed in the first sheet storage section, sheet transfer means for collectively transferring the sheets in the second sheet storage section to the first sheet storage section, and a transfer section provided in the first sheet storage section during sheet transfer. A paper feeding device having at least one automatically openable and closable paper pressing member that functions to press the rear end of the paper after evacuating from the area and transferring the paper, and detecting that the paper pressing member presses the rear end of the paper A sheet feeding device, wherein the sheet feeding device is configured to feed the sheet from the first sheet accommodating portion when the sheet detecting unit detects that the trailing edge of the sheet is pressed. 2. When the sheet pressing member does not detect that the trailing edge of the sheet has been pressed, a message indicating that the trailing edge of the sheet is not pressed is output. Item 1. The sheet feeding device according to item 1. 3. The first and second sheet accommodating portions are provided so as to be pulled out from an image forming apparatus main body in which the sheet feeding device is mounted, and the first and second sheet accommodating portions are provided in the image forming apparatus main body. In the case where the sheet is inserted and set, when the detecting means detects that the rear end of the sheet is pressed, the next operation is performed without performing the initializing operation for opening and closing the sheet pressing member. 1. The sheet feeding device described in 1.