JP3524307B2 - Sheet feeding device and image forming device - 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 apparatus used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a laser beam printer, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet feeding apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional automatic document feeder using a vacuum suction belt will be described with reference to FIGS.

The original tray 32 on which the originals 31 are stacked is
In order to prevent the second and subsequent documents from being double-fed, as shown in FIG. 10, the downstream side in the transport direction is inclined by a predetermined angle θ so as to be located above the upstream side in the transport direction. Is common. Then, the manuscript is the rear end regulating plate 4
It is placed on the original tray 32 in a state of being abutted against 0.

A notch 34 is provided at the center of the front portion of the document tray 32 (see FIG. 11). A rubber belt 35 having a large number of holes 36 is installed in the cutout 34. As shown in FIG. 10, a vacuum box 37 connected to a blower is installed on the back surface (inside the track) of the belt 35. Therefore, by operating this blower, through the vacuum box 37, the hole 3
By sucking air from 6, the lowermost original among the originals accumulated on the original tray 32 can be adsorbed to the belt 35. Then, by rotating the belt 35 in this state, the sucked original is sent out in the rotating direction of the belt 35.

The separating device 38 provided above the front end of the belt 35 is provided with a large number of outlets 39 for spraying air obliquely downward. The separation device 38
Is the lowermost original 31 taken out by the belt 35.
By blowing air from the blow-out port 39 between the stack and the stack (other sheet) on it, when two originals are taken out while overlapping, this is separated and only the lower one is sent out. .

A wing member 29 is provided on the original tray 32 in order to assist the separating action by blowing air. By raising both left and right sides of the document upward by the wing member 29, it is easy to form an air layer between the attracted document and the deposit thereon.

[0007]

However, the conventional document feeder has the following problems. That is, the wing member 29 is provided between both side portions of the document and the document tray 32, so that the document is in a closed state (a state in which the sealing property is high). Therefore, the separation nozzle 39
The air blown from (not shown) flows between the lowermost original document 30 adsorbed on the belt 35 and the original document 31 thereon, as shown by an arrow D in FIG. 12, to form an air layer.

However, since air easily escapes from the trailing edge of the document, pressure is concentrated on both side portions of the document,
There was a problem that double feeding was likely to occur. In order to solve such a problem, for example, US Pat. No. 4,411,417.
Also shown is a tray shape as shown in the issue.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an air separating type sheet feeding device in which a floating state of a sheet is uniform, good seals are obtained at both side portions and a rear portion of the sheet, and double feeding does not occur. To do.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to achieve the above-mentioned object, and is provided with a sheet stacking means for stacking sheets and a suction portion, and is provided for the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means. Adsorption conveying means for adsorbing and conveying the lowermost sheet to the adsorption portion, and blowing air from the front to the lower part of the sheet group stacked on the sheet stacking means, so that the sheet is stacked on the sheet stacking means. And a sheet separating unit that separates the lowermost sheet and the other sheets on the lowermost sheet, and the sheet stacking unit,
A stacking surface forming member having a sheet stacking surface on which sheets are stacked, and an inclined surface whose position relative to the sheet stacking surface increases as it goes upstream in the sheet conveying direction,
The sheet conveying direction on the sheet stacking surface, which includes a rear end seal member arranged on the sheet stacking surface and an inclined surface whose position with respect to the sheet stacking surface becomes higher as it goes in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. And side seal members arranged to face each other in the vertical direction, and the rear end seal member is arranged over the entire width of the sheet stacking surface between the side seal members arranged to face each other. The edge of the sheet is lifted by the seal member and the rear end seal member, and a seal is formed between the lowermost sheet adsorbed by the adsorbing and conveying means and the rear portion of another sheet on the lowermost sheet. It is characterized by that.

It is preferable that the trailing edge sealing member can change its position on the sheet stacking surface in the conveying direction.

The sheet stacking means further includes a trailing edge regulating member for regulating the trailing edge of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking surface, and the trailing edge sealing member and the trailing edge regulating member are integrated. Is preferably provided.

[0013]

The side seal member may be integrated with the stacking surface constituting member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a document table, an image reading section for reading an image of a document placed on the document table, and a separately prepared document are sequentially conveyed to the document table. A sheet feeding device according to a first aspect, a sheet feeding unit that feeds a sheet on which an image is formed, and an image forming unit that forms an image read by the image reading unit on the sheet fed by the sheet feeding device. An image forming apparatus is provided having:

The operation will be described.

The trailing edge seal member keeps the rear portion of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking surface higher than the sheet stacking surface. As a result, the sealability between the sheets at the sheet rear end portion is improved. On the other hand, the side seal member is similarly
Improves sealing performance on the left and right sides of the seat. As a result, the air blown by the sheet separating means uniformly spreads between the lowermost sheet and the sheet above it, thereby enhancing the separability.

If the position of the sealing rear seal member is changed according to the size of the sheet, the separability of sheets of various sizes can be surely improved.

The side seal member and the stacking surface constituting member are
Further, the device can be simplified by integrating the rear end sealing member and the rear end regulating member.

[0020]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet feeding apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a sheet tray 53 and a sheet tray 5.
Adsorption transport device 1 arranged on the downstream side of the lower side of the sheet feeding direction 3
00, a separating device 38, and a rear end regulating plate 51.

The sheet tray 53 is for stacking sheets. The sheet tray 53 is tilted rearward to increase the efficiency of the device, as shown in FIG. This tilt angle θ ranges from about 1 ° to about 15 °. Further, the sheet tray 53 has side wings 53a provided with an angle α (= 1 ° to 10 °) with respect to the central plane 53b of the sheet tray 53 on both sides in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. Is provided. Also,
A cutout 70 is provided in the central portion on the upstream side of the sheet tray 53 in parallel with the sheet feeding direction (see FIG. 1). This notch 7
0 is used to attach the trailing edge regulating plate 51 to the sheet tray 53.

The trailing edge regulating plate 51 is for regulating the trailing edge of the stacked sheets. The rear end regulation plate 51 is
As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet tray 53 is provided vertically to the sheet tray 53 at a position corresponding to the upstream side of the sheet feeding direction of the sheet tray 53. Further, it is configured so as to be movable with respect to the sheet feeding direction as shown by an arrow C. By appropriately changing the position of the trailing edge regulating plate 51, various sheet sizes can be accommodated. The specific mounting structure of the trailing edge regulation plate 51 to the sheet tray 53 is as follows. The bottle portion 72 protruding from the bottom surface of the rear end regulation plate 51 is attached to the sheet tray 53.
The trailing edge regulating plate 51 is attached to the sheet tray 53 while keeping the state in which it can move in parallel by being inserted into the notch 70 and attaching a nut.

Further, the rear end regulating plate 51 of this embodiment is
A transition wing 52 is provided on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The transition wing 52 moves toward the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction, and the central plane 53b of the sheet tray 53 is
It is provided with a flat portion where the position to be set becomes high. The angle β of the transition wing 52 with respect to the central plane 53b is about 1
It is from 10 ° to 10 °. Transition wing 52 and rear end regulation plate 5
1 and 1 are formed integrally. Therefore, the rear end regulation plate 51
When the slide wing is slid to change its position in the carrying direction, the transition wing 52 is also slid in conjunction with this and the position in the carrying direction is changed.

The suction conveyance device 100 is for adsorbing and conveying a sheet. As shown in FIG. 2, the suction conveyance device 100 has a suction chamber 58 having a suction opening 58a in the upper portion as a mechanism for sucking the lowermost sheet among the sheets stacked on the sheet tray 53.
And a suction blower 57 connected to the suction chamber 58. The suction chamber 58 is arranged such that the suction opening 58a is substantially parallel to the sheet tray 53. Therefore, the suction blower 57 is operated to suck air through the suction chamber 58 and the suction opening 58a, so that the lowermost sheet is sucked onto the conveyor belt 56 (described later) in the region corresponding to the suction portion A. Has become.

The suction / conveyance device 100 further includes a suction chamber 5 as a mechanism for conveying the adsorbed sheet.
8, a conveyor belt 56 arranged so as to cover the suction opening 58a, rollers 54 and 55 for supporting the conveyor belt 56, and a roller 5
And a motor (not shown) that drives the motor 5. The conveyor belt 56 is rotated by the roller 55 in the direction of arrow B. Further, the conveyor belt 56 has a plurality of suction holes 56a.

The separating device 38 injects air,
The purpose is to help separate the sheets. The separation device 3
Specifically, 8 is composed of a blower blower (not shown) and an air blowing nozzle 60 for injecting an air flow supplied from the blower blower. The direction of the air blow by the air blowing nozzle 60 is set so that the jetted air hits the upper surface of the suction unit A, that is, the leading end of the lowermost sheet from above the downstream side of the sheet tray 53. A plurality of the air blowing nozzles 60 are provided at positions corresponding to the suction area of the conveying belt 56 in the sheet width direction.

The "sheet stacking means" referred to in the claims means the sheet tray 53 in the present embodiment.
It corresponds to the rear end regulation plate 51 and the transition wing 52. In particular,
The “stacking surface constituent member” corresponds to the central portion of the sheet tray 53. The “sheet stacking surface” means the sheet tray 53.
Corresponding to the central plane 53b. The “rear end seal member” corresponds to the transition wing 52. The “rear end regulating member” corresponds to the rear end regulating plate 51. "Side seal member"
Corresponds to the side wing portion 53a. The “adsorption transfer means” corresponds to the adsorption transfer device 100. The “sheet separating means” corresponds to the separating device 38.

The operation will be described.

The user adjusts the position of the trailing edge regulating plate 51 according to the size of the sheets to be stacked so that the trailing edge of the stacked sheets comes into contact with the trailing edge regulating plate 51. After the position adjustment, the sheets are stacked on the sheet tray 53.

When the sheet feeding is started, first, the suction blower 57 and the blowing blower (not shown) are operated.

The suction blower 57 sucks air through the suction opening 58a and the suction hole 56a. Then, the lowermost sheet among the sheets stacked on the sheet tray 53 is attracted to the transport belt 56 by the suction force.

On the other hand, the air (air) sent from the blower blower (not shown) is guided to the air blowing nozzle 60 through the jet duct (not shown), and is jetted from there toward the leading edge of the sheet.

This injected air is used for the lowermost sheet S.
1 and the other seats S, and the pocket 71
Are formed (see FIGS. 4 and 5). In this case, in this embodiment, since the side wing portion 53a and the transition wing 52 are provided in the sheet tray 53, the pocket 71 is easily and reliably formed. That is, since the side wings 53a and the transition wings 52 lift the edge of the lowermost sheet S1, the side wings 53a.
A good seal is formed between the lowermost sheet S1 adsorbed around the transition wing 52 and the other sheets S. By forming such a good seal, high pressure is generated between the lowermost sheet S1 and the other sheets, and the pocket 71 is reliably formed. Then, by forming the pockets 71, the air jetted from the air blowing nozzle 60 uniformly flows to the sheet (see FIG. 6), and the sheet is stably floated.

Thereafter, the sucked lowermost sheet S1 is
It is conveyed by the conveyor belt 56.

In the embodiment described above, the sucked lowermost sheet S1 and the other sheets S are well sealed not only on both sides but also on the rear side. Therefore, it is possible to ensure a very stable floating of the sheet S. Therefore, it is possible to carry the lowermost sheet S1 with a very light load.

In this embodiment, the side wing portion 53a
Was integrally formed with the main body portion (center portion) of the sheet tray 53. However, the two do not necessarily have to be integrally formed. Further, the rear end regulation plate 51 and the transition wing 5
Similarly, 2 and 2 do not necessarily have to be integrally formed. [Second Embodiment] The sheet feeding apparatus according to the present embodiment has a sheet tray 53 as shown in Figs.
The suction conveyance device 100 is disposed on the downstream side of the sheet tray 53 in the sheet feeding direction, the separation device 38, the trailing edge regulation unit 80, and the sheet abutting pad 81.

The sheet tray 53 is for stacking sheets. The sheet tray 53 is tilted rearward to increase the efficiency of the device, as shown in FIG. This tilt angle θ ranges from about 1 ° to about 15 °. The side edges of the sheet tray 53 are provided with an angle α (about 1 ° to 10 °) with respect to the central plane 53b of the sheet tray 53 on both sides in the direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. 53a is provided (FIG. 8).
reference).

The trailing edge regulating unit 80 serves to regulate the trailing edge of the stacked sheets and to return the sheet once fed onto the sheet tray 53. The trailing edge regulating unit 80 is arranged on the upstream side of the sheet tray 53 in the sheet feeding direction. The trailing edge regulation unit 80 is configured to be movable in the paper feeding direction.
Specifically, a gear (not shown) provided on the bottom surface portion of the trailing edge regulation unit 80 moves the rack on the stacking tray 53 to realize the movement. In this case, the internal mechanism is also moved together. By appropriately changing the position of the trailing edge regulating unit 80, various sheet sizes can be accommodated.

Among the functions of the trailing edge regulating unit 80 described above, the sheet once fed is circulated to circulate the sheet tray 53.
The mechanism for returning to the top (for example, the discharge roller 80b) is
It is provided inside the rear end regulation unit 80.

On the other hand, the function of regulating the trailing edge of the sheet is constituted by the trailing edge regulating plate 80a provided downstream of the trailing edge regulating unit 80 in the conveying direction. That is,
The rear end of the stacked sheets is regulated by abutting the rear end regulating plate 80a. Further, the trailing edge regulating plate 80a of the present embodiment includes a transition wing 52 on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction. The transition wing 52 is provided with a flat portion in which the position of the sheet tray 53 with respect to the central flat surface 53a increases toward the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction. The angle β between the transition wing 52 and the central plane 53a is about 1 °.
To 10 °. Transition wing 52 and rear end regulation plate 80
It is formed integrally with a. Therefore, when the rear end regulation unit 80 is slid to change its position, the transition wing 52 is also slid to change its position.

The sheet abutting pad 81 is fed by the sheet feeding device, and then the trailing edge regulating unit 8
This is for stopping the sheets returned to the sheet tray 53 by 0. The sheet butting pad 81
Are arranged vertically to the sheet tray 53 on the downstream side of the sheet tray 53 in the sheet feeding direction.
The surface is made of a material such as felt that absorbs sound.

The suction conveyance device 100 is for adsorbing and conveying a sheet. As shown in FIG. 7, the suction conveyance device 100 has a suction chamber 58 having a suction opening 58a at the upper portion as a mechanism for sucking the lowermost sheet among the sheets stacked on the sheet tray 53.
And a suction blower 57 connected to the suction chamber 58. The suction chamber 58 is arranged such that the suction opening 58a is substantially parallel to the sheet tray 53. Therefore, the suction blower 57 is operated to suck air through the suction chamber 58 and the suction opening 58a, so that the lowermost sheet is sucked onto the conveyor belt 56 (described later) in the region corresponding to the suction portion A. Has become.

The adsorption / conveyance apparatus 100 further includes a suction chamber 5 as a mechanism for conveying the adsorbed sheet.
8, a conveyor belt 56 arranged so as to cover the suction opening 58a, rollers 54 and 55 for supporting the conveyor belt 56, and a roller 5
And a motor (not shown) that drives the motor 5. The conveyor belt 56 is rotated in the direction of arrow B by the roller 55. The conveyor belt 56 has a plurality of suction holes 56a.

The separating device 38 injects air,
The purpose is to help separate the sheets. The separation device 3
Specifically, 8 is composed of a blower blower (not shown) and an air blowing nozzle 60 for injecting an air flow supplied from the blower blower. The direction of the air blow by the air blowing nozzle 60 is set so that the jetted air hits the upper surface of the suction unit A, that is, the leading end of the lowermost sheet from above the downstream side of the sheet tray 53. A plurality of the air blowing nozzles 60 are provided at positions corresponding to the suction area of the conveying belt 56 in the sheet width direction.

The operation will be described.

The user adjusts the position of the trailing edge regulating unit 80 according to the size of the sheets to be stacked so that the trailing edge of the stacked sheets comes into contact with the trailing edge regulating plate 80a.
After the position adjustment, the sheets are stacked on the sheet tray 53.

When the sheet feeding is started, first, the suction blower 57 and the blower blower (not shown) are operated.

The suction blower 57 sucks air through the suction opening 58a and the suction hole 56a. Then, the lowermost sheet among the sheets stacked on the sheet tray 53 is attracted to the transport belt 56 by the suction force.

On the other hand, the air (air) sent from the blower blower (not shown) is guided to the air blowing nozzle 60 through the jet duct (not shown), and is jetted from here toward the front end of the sheet.

The injected air is used for the lowermost sheet S.
1 and the other seats S, and the pocket 71
Are formed (see FIG. 5). In this case, in this embodiment, since the side wing portion 53a and the transition wing 52 are provided in the sheet tray 53, the pocket 71 is easily and reliably formed. That is, the side wing portion 53a
The transition wing 52 lifts up the edge portion of the lowermost sheet S1, so that the lowermost sheet S1 adsorbed around the side wing portion 53a and the transition wing 52.
A good seal is formed between the sheet S and the other sheets S. By forming such a good seal, high pressure is generated between the lowermost sheet S1 and the other sheets, and the pocket 71 is reliably formed. Then, by forming the pockets 71, the air jetted from the air blowing nozzle 60 uniformly flows to the sheet (see FIG. 6), and the sheet is stably floated.

Thereafter, the sucked lowermost sheet S1 is
It is conveyed to the reversing unit (not shown) by the conveyor belt 56. After that, it is sent to the trailing edge regulation unit 80 through a platen (not shown) of a copying machine or the like. Then, the sheet is discharged onto the sheet tray 53 by the discharge roller 80b of the trailing edge regulating unit 80. The discharged sheet flies on the sheet tray 53 and hits the sheet abutting pad 81. Then, the sheets are stacked again on the sheet tray 53.

In the embodiment described above, the sucked lowermost sheet S1 and the other sheets S are well sealed not only on both sides but also on the rear side. Therefore, it is possible to ensure a very stable floating of the sheet S. Therefore, it is possible to carry the lowermost sheet S1 with a very light load. [Third Embodiment]
The third embodiment is a copying machine equipped with an automatic document feeder. In this embodiment, as the automatic document feeder, the sheet feeder of the above-described first embodiment is adopted. The copying machine will be described below with reference to FIG.

At the top of the copying machine main body 900, a document table 9 is provided.
An automatic document feeder 901 for automatically supplying a document is installed on the 06. As described above, in this embodiment, the sheet feeding device described in the first embodiment is adopted as the automatic document feeding device 901.

A light source 907, an optical system 908, a paper feeding unit 909, an image forming unit 902 and the like are arranged in the main body 900 of the copying machine. The image forming unit 902 is provided with a cylindrical photoconductor 914, a developing device 915, a transfer charger 916, a separation charger 917, a cleaner 918, a primary charger 919, and the like. A conveying device 920, a fixing device 904, a pair of discharge rollers 905, and the like are arranged on the downstream side of the image forming unit 902.

When a paper feed signal is output from the control device 930 provided in the copying machine main body 900, in response to this,
The paper feeding unit 909 is a paper feeding tray 910 or a cassette 911.
Sheet-like recording material is fed from. The skew of the fed recording material is corrected by the registration roller pair 921. In addition, the image forming unit 9 is synchronized with the timing of other mechanism units.
Sent to 02.

On the other hand, the automatic document feeder 901 conveys the lowest document among the documents (sheets) stacked on the tray to the document table 906. Details of the transportation are as described in the first embodiment.

When the document reaches the document table 906, the light source 9
Reference numeral 07 irradiates the document D placed on the document table 906 with light. The optical system 908 focuses the reflected light on the cylindrical photoconductor 914. In this case, the photoconductor 914 is previously charged by the primary charger 919. By applying the reflected light from the original document to the photoconductor 914, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor 914. The developing unit 915 containing toner forms a toner image on the photoconductor 914 according to the electrostatic latent image. Then, the transfer charger 91
6 transfers the toner image on the photoconductor 914 to the recording material that has been sent. The separation charging device 917 separates the recording material from the photoconductor 914 by charging the recording material on which the toner image is transferred to the opposite polarity to the transfer charging device 916.

The transport device 920 transports the recording material separated from the photoconductor 914 to the fixing device 904. The fixing device 904 permanently fixes the unfixed transferred image on the sheet. The discharge roller pair 905 discharges the recording material on which the image is fixed to the outside of the copying machine main body 900.

In the copying machine of the third embodiment, the separation of originals is more reliable.

[0060]

As described above, in the sheet feeding apparatus and the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the separation of the sheets by blowing air is more reliable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sheet feeding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the sheet feeding device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the sheet feeding device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view of the sheet feeding device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing how sheets are separated by air.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the flow of air.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a sheet feeding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a sheet feeding device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a copying machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side perspective view showing a conventional sheet feeding device.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a conventional sheet stacking tray.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram showing an air flow in a conventional sheet feeding apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

38 Separator 51 Rear end regulation plate 53 sheet tray 52 Transition Wing 53a Side wing part 56 conveyor belt 57 Suction blower 58 suction chamber 60 air blowing nozzle 72 Bottle 80 Rear end control unit 80a Rear end regulating plate 81 Seat butting pad 100 adsorption transport device

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Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sheet stacking unit for stacking sheets, a suction unit for sucking and transporting a lowermost sheet of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit by sucking and transporting the sheet to the suction unit. Sheet separation for separating the lowermost sheet stacked on the sheet stacking means from other sheets on the bottom by blowing air from the front to the lower part of the sheet stack stacked on the sheet stacking means and means, the said sheet stacking means includes a stacking surface component including a sheet stacking surface of the sheet are stacked, according yuku the sheet conveyance direction on the upstream side, a position with respect to the sheet stacking surface increases the inclination A trailing edge sealing member disposed on the sheet stacking surface, the sheet having a surface, and the sheet being moved in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction.
A slanted surface that increases its position relative to the loading surface,
Opposite to the above-mentioned sheet conveying direction on the sheet stacking surface
And side seal members arranged in parallel, and the seal between the side seal members arranged opposite to each other.
The rear end seal member is arranged over the entire width of the loading surface.
The side seal member and the rear end seal member.
The edge of the sheet is lifted and sucked by the suction conveyance means.
The bottom sheet to be worn and others on top of the bottom sheet
Sheet feeding apparatus according to claim to form a seal, the between the rear of the seat. 2. The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trailing edge seal member is capable of changing its position on the sheet stacking surface in the transport direction. 3. The sheet stacking device further includes a trailing end regulating member that regulates a trailing end of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking surface, wherein the trailing end sealing member and the trailing end regulating member are: The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the sheet feeding device is integrated. Wherein said side seal member, said that it is integrated with the loading surface component, a sheet feeding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein. Provided 5. A platen, an image reading section for reading an image of a document placed on the document table, sequentially one of claims 1 to 4, conveyed to the separately prepared by said platen the document 1 And a sheet supply unit that supplies a sheet on which an image is formed, and an image forming unit that forms an image read by the image reading unit on the sheet supplied by the sheet supply unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: