JP3528786B2 - 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 technique of a sheet feeding device for feeding a sheet from a sheet feeding cassette to an image recording section in a copying / facsimile multifunction machine, a copying machine or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copier / facsimile multifunction machine or a copying machine, recording paper of a paper feed cassette is picked up from the rear side of the main body of the apparatus opposite to the direction of pulling out the paper feed cassette. Was equipped with a paper feeder. In such an image forming apparatus, the sheet conveying path for conveying the recording sheet to the image recording section is provided in the apparatus main body further behind the sheet feeding cassette. Then, a door capable of opening the paper conveyance path is provided on the rear side of the apparatus, and when a jam occurs in the paper conveyance path, the door is opened to cancel the jam. There is also known an image forming apparatus having a configuration in which a sheet feeding device is arranged on the side surface side rather than the rear surface side of the apparatus main body, and a door capable of opening a paper conveyance path is provided on the side surface of the apparatus main body.

[0003]

In the conventional image forming apparatus having the sheet conveying path on the rear side of the apparatus main body, it is necessary to work on the rear side of the apparatus to clear the jam, and when the jam occurs, the image is formed. It was necessary to move the device body and secure an installation space for it. This installation space is a space in which the operator can perform work by moving the image forming apparatus itself and opening the door for opening the paper transport path. For this reason, when the image forming apparatus is placed in an empty space such as near a wall, it is difficult to remove the jam. This is a similar problem even in the case of the image forming apparatus in which the sheet conveying path is provided on the side surface side of the apparatus body.

As one means for solving the above-mentioned problems, in an image forming apparatus configured to feed a recording sheet from a sheet feeding cassette to an image recording section, it is possible to perform jam processing from the front side of the apparatus main body. . In this case, if the paper feed path is provided in the paper feed cassette and the paper feed path itself can be pulled out from the main body of the device when the paper feed cassette is pulled out from the main body of the device, the jam is set from the front side of the main body of the device. It can be processed.

In a paper feeding device having a paper feeding path provided in a paper feeding cassette, if the paper feeding cassette is pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus with the recording paper remaining in the paper feeding path, the recording paper will be ejected. It may be left behind on the body. Then, the remaining recording paper may cause a jam when the paper feed cassette is stored again in the apparatus main body. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper feeding device having the above-described structure with a function of preventing recording paper from remaining when the paper feeding cassette is pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus.

[0006]

The problems to be solved by the present invention are as described above. Next, the means for solving the problems will be described. That is, according to the first aspect, in the image forming apparatus including the paper cassette that can be pulled out,
A paper conveyance path is provided in the paper feed cassette at the back side in the drawing direction, the paper conveyance path is configured to be able to be drawn out together with the paper feed cassette, and a member capable of nipping the paper is provided along the paper conveyance path. When the paper feed cassette is pulled out from the paper, the paper is nipped by the nip member.

In the second aspect, the nip member is composed of two rollers.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the nip member is composed of a pressing plate and a part of the conveyance guide.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the paper feed cassette is further pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, the nip member releases the nip.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a facsimile machine to which the paper feeder of the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a left side sectional view of the facsimile machine showing the paper feeder and the paper feeding section, and FIG. 3 shows a conveyance path. 5 is a left side sectional view of the intermediate conveying device and the sheet feeding unit, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the facsimile device showing a state in which a conveying path provided in a sheet feeding cassette is opened, and FIG.
6 is a plan sectional view of the sheet feeding unit showing a housed state of the sheet feeding cassette, FIG. 6 is a plan sectional view of the sheet feeding unit showing a drawn state of the second cassette, and FIG. 9 is a plan sectional view of the sheet feeding unit showing a pulled-out state, FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view of a rear portion of the sheet feeding cassette showing a nip releasing state by the nip mechanism of the first example, and FIG. 9 is a nip of the first example. FIG. 11 is a plan sectional view of the rear portion of the paper feed cassette showing the nip state by the mechanism, FIG. 10 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the paper feed cassette showing the nip release state by the nip mechanism of the first embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 12 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the paper feeding cassette showing the nip state by the nip mechanism of the embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the paper feeding cassette showing the nip release state by the nip mechanism of the first embodiment. Figure 1 FIG. 14 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the paper feed cassette showing a nip release state by the nip mechanism of the second embodiment, and FIG. 14 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the paper feed cassette showing the nip state by the nip mechanism of the second embodiment. And Figure 1
5 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the sheet feeding cassette showing a nip releasing state by the nip mechanism of the second embodiment.

First, a schematic structure of a facsimile apparatus to which the paper feeding apparatus 60 of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. The configuration of the sheet feeding device of the present invention is not limited to the facsimile device as long as it is an image forming apparatus including a sheet feeding device such as an image recording unit and a sheet feeding cassette. In the following description, the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 1 will be referred to as the front (front side) of the facsimile device 1 for convenience. The facsimile apparatus 1 has an image reading unit 3 arranged above the image recording unit 2 and a paper feeding unit 4 arranged below the image recording unit 2. Further, an intermediate conveyance unit 5 is provided between the image recording unit 2 and the paper feed unit 4, and the intermediate conveyance unit 5 allows the paper feed unit 4 to operate.
The recording sheet is supplied from the image recording unit 2 to the image recording unit 2. Then, after recording an image on the recording sheet supplied to the image recording section 2, the recording sheet is discharged to a recording sheet discharge tray 6 provided in front of the upper part of the image recording section 2. Here, the intermediate conveying section 5 and the sheet feeding section 4 constitute a sheet feeding device 60 for feeding a sheet to the image recording section 2.

In the document reading unit 3, the document reading unit 3
The upper surface of the casing of the
An image reading device including a scanning body or the like provided with a mirror is housed, and the original placed on the original placement surface is scanned by the scanning body to perform reading. Further, above the document reading unit 3, there is arranged a document pressing cover 7 configured to be openable and closable around its one side, and the document pressing cover 7 allows the document placed on the document mounting surface to move upward. It is supposed to be pressed from.

An automatic document feeder (ADF device) 8 for automatically feeding a document is attached to one end of the document pressing cover 7. Further, the automatic paper feeder 8 includes a document supply tray 9
And a document discharge tray 10 is formed on the upper surface of the document pressing cover 7. Then, the originals placed on the original supply tray 9 are picked up and conveyed one by one by the automatic paper feeder 8, and the contents of the conveyed originals are read while the scanning body is kept stationary inside the original reading unit 3. After that, the document is discharged to the document discharge tray 10.

That is, the document reading unit 3 is used as a flat bed type scanner which scans a scanning body to read a still original, and a sheet feed type scanner which fixes a position of the scanning body and carries out reading while conveying the original. It is configured so that it can be used as.

The paper feed section 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. The sheet feeding unit 4 is configured by vertically arranging the sheet feeding units 20. The paper feeding unit 20 is composed of a paper feeding cassette case 11 and a paper feeding cassette 12, and the paper feeding cassette 12 is inserted into the paper feeding cassette case 11 so that the paper feeding cassette 12 can move back and forth. .

The paper feed cassette 12 is a two-stage type cassette, and is composed of a first cassette 34 on the paper transport side and a second cassette 35 on the paper feed side. Second cassette 35
Is configured to be movable back and forth by a predetermined constant width with respect to the first cassette 34, and when an operator pulls out the second cassette 35 from the main body of the facsimile apparatus 1, after pulling out the predetermined width, the first cassette 34 is continuously pulled out. Are being pulled out.

Both the first cassette 34 and the second cassette 35 constituting the paper feeding cassette 12 are formed so that the upper surfaces thereof are entirely opened. The bottom plate 1 is attached to the second cassette 35.
3 is rotatably supported so that the recording paper can be placed on the bottom plate 13. Further, frame bodies 14 and 15 are rotatably supported at the rear portion of the first cassette 34, and the frame bodies 14 and 15 constitute a conveyance guide, and a paper conveyance path 16 is formed in the conveyance guide. ing. That is, in the paper feeding device 60, the paper transport path 16 is provided on the inner side in the drawing direction of the paper feeding cassette 12. The paper feed unit 20 is configured so that when the paper feed cassette 12 is pulled out from the main body of the facsimile apparatus 1, the paper transport path 16 can be pulled out at the same time. A pickup roller 17 is provided in the paper feed cassette 12 above the rear portion of the bottom plate 13.
The sheets 7 placed on the bottom plate 13 are taken out one by one by 7 and supplied to the sheet conveying path 16.

A transport roller 18 is disposed above the frame 15 along the paper transport path 16, and a transport roller 19 is disposed on the frame 14 so as to contact the transport roller 18. The paper supplied to the paper carrying path 16 is carried along the paper carrying path 16 by the carrying rollers 18 and 19. Further, openings are formed in the lower surface of the rear portion of the first cassette 34 and the upper and lower surfaces of the rear portion of the paper feed cassette case 11 so that the paper can be conveyed upward from below along the paper conveyance path 16. ing. Then, the sheet conveying paths 16 of the adjacent sheet feeding units 20 are connected to each other. Therefore, the paper feeding unit 2
Even when 0s are vertically arranged in a plurality of stages, the paper feeding units 20 provided in the middle position and the upper position than the lower paper feeding unit 20.
Paper can be transported via the.

As described above, the paper feeding section 4 is constructed so that the direction in which the recording paper is conveyed and the direction in which the paper feeding cassette 12 is pulled out are within the same plane (in the side surface in this embodiment). There is. Therefore, when a paper jam occurs, it is possible to pull out the paper feed cassette 12 and simultaneously pull out the recording paper remaining in the transport path 16 as shown in FIG. In particular, even when the remaining recording paper is straddled by the conveyance path 16 of the other paper feeding cassette 12 arranged side by side, the paper feeding cassette 12 is pulled out along the paper surface of the recording paper, so that the recording paper is not overpowered. Is taken out. On the other hand, even if the paper feed cassette is provided with a paper feed path, if the paper feed path is formed on the side surface side of the main body of the facsimile apparatus as in the conventional case, the recording paper feed direction and the paper feed The drawer direction of the cassette is always vertical.
In this case, the paper surface of the conveyed paper is perpendicular to the direction of pulling out the paper feed cassette. Therefore, if the paper feed cassette is pulled out when a jam occurs, the paper is broken and the remaining recording paper remains. Cannot be taken out easily. Therefore, when the sheet feeding unit 4 is configured as in the present embodiment, the jam processing can be easily performed on the front side of the facsimile device 1. This kind of action
The intermediate transporting device 24, which will be described later, is also the same since a route for transporting the recording paper is formed in the same plane.

Regarding the intermediate transfer section 5, as shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the intermediate transfer unit 5 includes an intermediate transfer device case 23 and an intermediate transfer device 24.
The intermediate carrier 24 is inserted into the intermediate carrier case 23 so that the intermediate carrier 24 can move back and forth. The upper surface of the intermediate transfer device 24 is formed so as to be entirely open, and the intermediate transfer device 24 has a rear part as a paper transfer part 21 and a front part as a storage part 22.

In the rear part of the intermediate transfer device 24, a frame 25
26 is provided, the frame 25 is fixed to the intermediate transfer device 24, and the frame 26 is pivotally supported with respect to the intermediate transfer device 24. A transport guide is constituted by the frames 25 and 26, and a paper transport path 27 is provided in the transport guide.
Are formed. As described above, the paper transport unit 21
Is provided at the rear of the intermediate transfer device 24. Conveyance rollers 28, 29, 3 are attached to the frame 25 along the paper conveyance path 27.
0 is provided, and the transport rollers 31, 32, 33 are arranged so as to come into contact with the transport rollers 28, 29, 30 respectively.
Is provided on the frame body 26. Then, the transport roller 28
The paper can be transported along the paper transport path 27 by the 29, 30 and the transport rollers 31, 32, 33.

Now, a nip mechanism provided in the paper feeding device 60 of the present invention for making it difficult to cause a jam will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 13. As described above, the sheet feeding device 60 is composed of the intermediate conveying section 5 and the sheet feeding section 4, and the nip mechanism is provided in the sheet feeding cassette 12 of the sheet feeding section 4. The nip mechanism is composed of a nip member and an operating member, and the operating member is the second cassette 35.
And actuated by the actuating member to actuate the nip member. The nip mechanism is provided along the paper transport path 16 and is configured to nip the recording paper remaining in the paper transport path 16.

First, the nip mechanism 40 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Nip mechanism 40
Then, the nip member constituting the nip mechanism 40 is composed of the pressing plate 41 and the frame body 15. The frame 15 is
It is one member that constitutes the transport guide. 5 to 7
In the figure, a state in which the paper feed cassette 12 is pulled out from the paper feed cassette case 11 is shown for each stage. The state shown in FIG. 5 is the first stage, in which the paper feed cassette 12 is stored in the paper feed cassette case 11. The state shown in FIG. 6 is the second stage, and the second cassette 35 has been pulled out from the first cassette 34. The state shown in FIG. 7 is the third stage, in which the entire paper feed cassette 12 is pulled out from the paper feed cassette case 11. The nip mechanism in this embodiment operates when shifting from the state shown in FIG. 5 to the state shown in FIG. Also, in FIG.
9 shows the nip mechanism 40 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, respectively.
Is an enlarged view.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, supporting members 42 and 44 are fixedly mounted on the frame body 14, and the pressing plate 41 is pivotally mounted on the supporting member 42 with the rotation fulcrum shaft 43 as a rotation fulcrum. It is set up. In addition, the pressing plate 41 and the support body 44 form the biasing spring 4
5, the pressing plate 41 is biased toward the transport path 16 side. As shown in FIGS. 8 to 11, an actuating member 46 is pivotally mounted on the frame body 14. Actuating member 46
Is extended in the left-right direction along the frame body 14, and one end (the right end in this embodiment) of the operating member 46 is formed so as to be able to contact the rear end of the pressing plate 41. In addition, the second cassette 35
An actuating member 47 is fixed to the rear end of the rear end, and the actuating member 47 extends rearward. The operating member 47 moves together with the second cassette 35, and is configured to be able to move forward and backward with respect to the first cassette 34 within the range of the constant width described above. In addition, the other end (the left end in this embodiment) of the operating member 46 extends to the rear of the operating member 47, and when the operating member 47 is pushed into the first cassette 34 together with the second cassette 35. The rear end of the operating member 47 contacts the left end of the operating member 46.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the actuating member 47 is in contact with the actuating member 46, the right end of the actuating member 46 is urged forward and abuts against the lower rear end of the pressing plate 41.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, the pressing plate 41 resists the urging force of the urging spring 45, and the upper part of the pressing plate 41 rotates rearward about the rotation fulcrum shaft 43, and the conveyance path 16 is opened. It will be in the state of being. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, when the operating member 47 is separated from the operating member 46, the operating member 46 does not receive the pressing force from the operating member 47. At this time, FIG.
As shown in, the pressing plate 41 receives the urging force of the urging spring 45, and the upper portion of the pressing plate 41 rotates forward around the rotation fulcrum shaft 43 to block the conveyance path 16. Then, the operating member 46
Contacts the lower rear end of the pressing plate 41 and rotates rearward as the lower part of the pressing plate 41 rotates rearward. The frame 14 is provided with an opening 14a so that the pressing portion 41a formed at the front end of the pressing plate 41 can pass through the opening 14a. The pressing portion 41a that has passed through the opening 14a is close to the front frame 15 and blocks the paper transport path 16.

Therefore, when the paper feed cassette 12 is pulled out to remove it from the main body of the facsimile apparatus 1, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, first, the second cassette 35 is pulled out and the operating member 47 is pulled out. Also pull forward. Actuating member 47
Moves toward the front with respect to the first cassette 34, the pressing force on the operating member 46 is released. Therefore, the pressing portion 41a of the pressing plate 41 is rotated forward by the biasing spring 45, and the paper transport path 16 is blocked. If the recording paper remains in the paper conveyance path 16, the recording paper is nipped by the pressing plate 41 and the rear end of the frame 15. That is, the recording paper remaining on the paper transport path 16 is fixed to the paper feed cassette 12 to be removed, and taken out together with the paper feed cassette 12 from the main body of the facsimile apparatus 1. In addition, the path length of the paper transport path 16 formed in one paper feed cassette 12 is formed shorter than the length of a commonly used recording paper (B5 / A4 size or the like). Therefore, when the recording paper remains on the paper transport path, the adjacent paper feed cassettes 1
In many cases, it extends over the paper transport path 16 of 2.12. Therefore, in the facsimile apparatus 1, when the number of the intermediate conveying device 24 and the paper feed cassettes 12, 12, ... Totally arranged is small (about three in total), no matter which paper feed cassette 12 is pulled out, It is possible to take out the recording paper remaining on the paper transport path.

The nip mechanism 4 of the first embodiment described above is used.
0, and the nip mechanism 50 of the second embodiment described later may be provided in the intermediate conveyance device 24. In this case, not only the paper feeding cassette 12 but also the intermediate conveying device 24 is pulled out from the facsimile device 1, the recording paper remaining on the paper conveying path can be taken out.

When the paper feed cassette 12 is pulled out from the paper feed cassette case 11, the nip mechanism is configured to release the nip. A mechanism for releasing this nip will be described. The frame body 14 is attached to the paper feed cassette 12 by the rotation fulcrum shaft 48 as described above.
Has been pivoted to. On the other hand, guide rails (not shown) are provided on the left and right inner walls of the paper feed cassette case 11,
Engaging portions that engage with the guide rails are provided on the left and right outer surfaces of the frame body 14. Then, the frame body 14 is engaged with the guide rail of the paper feed cassette case 11 so as to be slidable back and forth. With the above configuration, when the paper feed cassette 12 is partially inserted in the paper feed cassette case 11, the frame body 14 and the guide rail are engaged with each other, and the rotation fulcrum shaft 48 of the frame body 14 is rotated. Is trying to stop the rotation of. The posture of the frame body 14 at this time in a side view is as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. When the paper feed cassette 12 is pulled out from the paper feed cassette case 11, the engagement between the frame body 14 and the guide rail is released, and the frame body 14 is rotated rearward. The reason why the frame 14 is rotated rearward is that the center of gravity of the frame body 14 is located behind the rotation fulcrum shaft 48.

A coil spring 49 as an urging means is externally fitted to the rotation fulcrum shaft 48, and both ends of the coil spring 49 extend to the outside. When the frame body 14 is engaged with the guide rail, both ends of the coil spring 49 do not simultaneously contact other members. For this reason,
In this state, the coil spring 49 is rotatable around the rotation fulcrum shaft 48. When the frame body 14 rotates rearward, both ends of the coil spring 49 come into contact with the rear end of the frame body 14 and the bottom surface 34a of the first cassette 34, respectively. Then, the coil spring 49 urges the frame body 14 forward, so that the frame body 14 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
The neutral position is shown at 2.

With the above structure, when the paper feed cassette 12 is pulled out from the paper feed cassette case 11,
The frame body 14 is automatically rotated rearward and stopped so that the sheet conveying path 16 is opened. In this way, the nip between the pressing plate 41 and the frame body 15 is released. When the sheet remaining on the sheet conveying path is taken out from the facsimile apparatus 1 together with the sheet feeding cassette 12, the nip by the nip mechanism is released, and the recording sheet can be easily taken out from the sheet conveying path 16. it can.

In the present embodiment, the nip mechanism is configured so that the nip is released when the sheet feeding cassette 12 is pulled out from the sheet feeding cassette case 11, but the present invention has this configuration. It is not limited to. The nip may be released by releasing the engagement between the frame body 14 and the guide rail while the sheet feeding cassette 12 is not pulled out from the sheet feeding cassette case 11.

Next, the nip mechanism 50 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. Nip mechanism 5
At 0, the nip member forming the nip mechanism 50 is composed of the transport rollers 18 and 19. Nip mechanism 4
At 0, the pressing plate 41 and the frame body 15 located in front of the frame body 41 enable nipping of the sheet. On the other hand, in the nip mechanism 50, the conveyance roller 19 is moved by the pressing plate 51.
Is pressed, and the transport roller 19 and the transport roller 18 located in front of the transport roller 19 are configured to enable a nip of the sheet. That is, the difference between the first embodiment and the second embodiment is the configuration of the nip member, and the operating members 46 and 47 are different.
The operating structure of the nip member according to is common to both embodiments. In the following, description of the same configuration as the first embodiment will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, a supporting body 42 is fixedly mounted on the frame body 14, and a pressing plate 51 is pivotally mounted on the supporting body 42 with a rotation fulcrum shaft 43 as a rotation fulcrum. ing. Further, the pressing plate 51 and the support body 44 are connected by a biasing spring 45 so that the pressing plate 41 is biased toward the conveyance path 16 side. The pressing plate 51 has a pressing portion 51a formed on the upper portion thereof, and the pressing portion 51a is configured to be capable of contacting the transport roller 19 disposed on the frame body 14. The pressing plate 51 receives the urging force of the urging spring 45, and the conveying roller 1
When pressing 9, the transport roller 19 abuts the transport roller 18 more strongly.

When the operating member 47 is in contact with the operating member 46, the right end of the operating member 46 is biased forward,
It contacts the lower rear end of the pressing plate 51. At this time, as shown in FIG. 13, the pressing plate 51 resists the urging force of the urging spring 45, the pressing portion 51a rotates rearward about the rotation fulcrum shaft 43, and the conveying roller 19 applies the urging force. I do not receive it. On the other hand, when the operating member 47 is separated from the operating member 46, the operating member 46 receives no pressing force from the operating member 47. At this time, as shown in FIG.
In response to the urging force of the pressing roller 51a, the pressing portion 51a rotates forward around the rotation fulcrum shaft 43 and presses the transport roller 19.

Therefore, when the paper feeding cassette 12 is pulled out to be removed from the main body of the facsimile apparatus 1,
The transport roller 19 abuts the transport roller 18 more strongly,
When the recording paper remains in the paper conveyance path 16, the recording paper is nipped by the conveyance rollers 18 and 19. That is, the recording paper remaining on the paper transport path 16 is fixed to the paper feed cassette 12 to be removed, and taken out together with the paper feed cassette 12 from the main body of the facsimile apparatus 1.

The operation of the nip mechanism of the second embodiment is as follows.
This is similar to the case of the first embodiment. The mechanism for releasing the nip when the paper feed cassette 12 is pulled out from the paper feed cassette case 11 is the same as in the first embodiment, and the posture of the frame body 14 in a side view is shown in FIG. As shown in.

[0037]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus provided with the paper feed cassette that can be pulled out, the paper feed path is provided in the paper feed cassette at the back side in the drawing direction, and the paper feed path is used as the paper feed cassette. A member that can be pulled out together is provided so that the paper can be nipped along the paper transport path, and when the paper feed cassette is pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body, the paper is nipped by the nip member. The paper remaining inside can be taken out from the main body together with the paper feed cassette. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of jam. Also, since the jam processing can be performed on the front side of the image forming apparatus, the space for opening the door provided for opening the conveyance path can be improved compared with the case where the conveyance path is provided on the side surface and the rear surface of the apparatus body. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a space for moving the image forming apparatus. Therefore, the required installation space of the image forming apparatus can be made small.

Since the nip member is composed of two rollers, the existing member is used and only the member for pressing the roller is provided, and the sheet remaining on the conveyance path is removed from the image forming apparatus. Can be taken out easily.

Since the nip member is composed of the pressing plate and a part of the conveyance guide as described in claim 3, the paper jammed in the paper conveyance path can be easily taken out when the paper feed cassette is pulled out, and the image forming apparatus is provided. Jam can be processed on the front side of

When the paper feed cassette is further pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, the nip member releases the nip. Therefore, when the paper feed cassette is pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, Since the nip member releases the nip, the paper can be easily taken out.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a facsimile device to which a paper feeding device of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a left side cross-sectional view of a facsimile device showing a paper feeding device and a paper feeding unit.

FIG. 3 is a left side sectional view of an intermediate conveyance device and a paper feed unit showing a conveyance path.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the facsimile apparatus showing a state in which a conveyance path provided in a paper feed cassette is opened.

FIG. 5 is a plan cross-sectional view of the paper feeding unit showing a housed state of the paper feeding cassette.

FIG. 6 is a plan cross-sectional view of the sheet feeding unit showing a pulled-out state of the second cassette.

FIG. 7 is a plan cross-sectional view of the paper feeding unit showing a pulled-out state of the first and second cassettes.

FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view of the rear portion of the sheet feeding cassette showing a nip releasing state by the nip mechanism of the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a plan sectional view of the rear portion of the sheet feeding cassette showing a nip state by the nip mechanism of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the paper feed cassette showing a nip release state by the nip mechanism of the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the paper feeding cassette showing a nip state by the nip mechanism of the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the sheet feeding cassette showing a nip releasing state by the nip mechanism of the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the paper feed cassette showing a nip release state by the nip mechanism of the second embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the paper feeding cassette showing a nip state by the nip mechanism of the second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a left side sectional view of the rear portion of the paper feed cassette showing a nip release state by the nip mechanism of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Facsimile machine 12 paper cassettes 14 ・ 15 frame 16.27 Paper transport path 18 ・ 19 Conveyor roller 40/50 nip mechanism 41 ・ 51 Pressing plate 46/47 actuating member 60 paper feeder

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus provided with a drawable paper feed cassette, wherein a paper feed path is provided in the paper feed cassette at the back side in the pull-out direction, and the paper feed path can be pulled out together with the paper feed cassette. A sheet feeding device, wherein a member capable of nipping a sheet is provided along a sheet conveying path, and when the sheet feeding cassette is pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, the sheet is nipped by the nip member. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the nip member is composed of two rollers. 3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the nip member is composed of a pressing plate and a part of a conveyance guide. 4. The paper feed according to claim 1, wherein the nip member releases the nip when the paper feed cassette is further pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus. apparatus.