JP3619937B2 - Method for connecting large capacity sheet supply device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a connection method for connecting a sheet supply unit and an image forming apparatus having a sheet supply unit for supplying a sheet on which an image is formed on an image forming apparatus main body in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a printer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
A widely used image forming apparatus main body includes a sheet supply unit that accommodates a sheet in the image forming apparatus main body. However, since there is no space for storing a large amount of sheets in the main body of the image forming apparatus, a sheet supply unit called a large capacity tray that can store a large amount of sheets can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The attached one is used. In such an image forming apparatus, an adjuster foot is provided for each of the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet supply unit, and when the image forming apparatus is installed, each of the adjuster foot of the image forming apparatus main body and the adjuster foot of the sheet supply unit is provided. By adjusting, the sheet receiving port of the main body of the image forming apparatus and the sheet supply port of the sheet supply unit are aligned.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Since the adjuster foot of the image forming apparatus main body and the adjuster foot of the sheet supply unit must be adjusted, there is a problem that it takes a long time to install the image forming apparatus and the work efficiency is poor.
[0004]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve the efficiency of installation work of an image forming apparatus in the prior art.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The object of the present invention is achieved by the following invention.
[0006]
1. In a method of connecting a large-capacity sheet supply device that supplies a sheet to the image forming apparatus main body to an image forming apparatus main body that forms an image on a sheet,
A supporting member is provided on the image forming apparatus main body via a reinforcing frame,
A positioning member and a leg are provided in the large capacity sheet supply device,
While supporting the large capacity sheet supply device with the leg, lift one side of the large capacity sheet supply device upward,
The large capacity sheet supply device is moved toward the image forming apparatus main body while being supported by the legs, and the large capacity sheet supply device is brought close to the image forming apparatus main body.
By lowering the one side of the large capacity sheet supply device, the positioning member is placed on the lower support member, and the image forming apparatus main body is moved to the image forming apparatus main body via the reinforcing frame body , the lower support member, and the positioning member. how to connect a high capacity sheet feeding apparatus characterized by connecting a high capacity sheet feeder.
[0007]
2. The large-capacity sheet supply device has a leg body different from the leg body, and the different leg body is separated from the floor surface by lifting one side of the large-capacity sheet supply device upward. A method for connecting the large capacity sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1.
[0008]
3. The lower leg is separated from the floor surface when one side of the large capacity sheet supply device is lowered and the large capacity sheet supply device is connected to the main body of the image forming apparatus. A method of connecting a large capacity sheet feeding device.
[0009]
4). An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming apparatus main body that forms an image on a sheet; and a large capacity sheet supply device that is connectable to the image forming apparatus main body and supplies the sheet to the image forming apparatus main body.
A support member provided on the image forming apparatus body via a reinforcing frame;
The large-capacity sheet supply that is provided in the large-capacity sheet supply apparatus, supports the large-capacity sheet supply apparatus with one side lifted, and is moved to the image forming apparatus main body side with the one side lifted Legs supporting the device;
A positioning member that is provided in the large capacity sheet supply device and is placed on the support member when the one side of the large capacity sheet supply device is lowered at a position close to the image forming apparatus main body;
The image forming apparatus, wherein the large-capacity sheet supply device is connected to the image forming apparatus main body through the reinforcing frame, the lower support member, and the positioning member.
[0010]
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the large-capacity sheet supply device has a leg that is different from the leg.
[0011]
6). The positioning member is placed on the support member when the one side of the large-capacity sheet feeding device is lowered at a position where the height of the different leg relative to the leg is close to the image forming apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the height is such a height.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Before describing the details of each part in the embodiment of the present invention, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 schematically shows an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.
[0014]
In FIG. 1, 10 is an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet by an electrophotographic method, 20 is an image reading unit that reads an image of a document and outputs image data, and 30 is a sheet discharged from the image forming unit 10. A post-processing unit 200 that performs post-processing such as sorting, stapling, and punching, and 200 is a large-capacity sheet that is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body 300 and accommodates an image forming sheet supplied to the image forming unit 10. It is a supply device. As for 406, 407, and 413, the image forming unit 10, which will be described later, charges the photoconductor 11, exposes, and develops to form a toner image on the photoconductor 11. The toner image formed on the photoreceptor 11 is transferred to a recording sheet P (see FIGS. 2 and 3) and fixed by the fixing device 15. The sheet P on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the post-processing unit 30. The image forming unit 10 includes sheet supply devices 13a, 13b, and 13c that store sheets on which images are formed, and a sheet reversing unit 14 for forming double-sided images. The large-capacity sheet supply device 200 as a sheet supply unit has a capacity capable of accommodating a larger number of sheets than the sheet supply devices 13a, 13b, and 13c in the image forming unit 10, for example, the sheet supply device 13a. , 13b, and 13c have a capacity of 4000 sheets, whereas the capacity is 4000 sheets.
[0015]
The image reading unit 20 receives a document feeding table 21 on which a document is placed, a platen roller 22 that conveys the document and forms a reading position, a document discharge table 23 on which a scanned document is placed, and image light. And an image sensor 24 for converting into an image signal.
[0016]
Next, the sheet supply mechanism of the sheet supply apparatuses 13a, 13b, and 13c will be described. 2 and 3 are a front view and a side view of the sheet supply apparatus 13a, 13b, or 13c, respectively.
[0017]
A worm gear 103 provided in a drive motor 102 which is a driving means fixed to the support frame 101 is provided, and a worm gear 103 rotatably fitted to a shaft 105 is provided to transmit the rotational driving force of the worm gear 103. Connected to the large-diameter gear 104. On the other hand, a shaft 108 is rotatably provided on the support frame 101, and a large-diameter gear 107 is fixed to one end of the shaft 108, and a torque limiter 109 is provided to the other end, and the small-diameter gear 110 is driven via the torque limiter 109. Power is transmitted.
[0018]
A small-diameter gear 106 is provided integrally with the large-diameter gear 104, and is connected to the large-diameter gear 107. Further, a large-diameter gear 112 and a small-diameter gear 110 that are rotatably provided on the shaft 111 are connected.
[0019]
A sector gear 114 is fixed to one end of a shaft 115 rotatably provided on the support frame 101, and the sector gear 114 is coupled to a small diameter gear 113 provided integrally with the large diameter gear 112. A drive transmission system that greatly reduces the rotation of the drive motor 102 relative to the sector gear 114 is configured by a drive transmission system from the large diameter gear 104 to the small diameter gear 113.
[0020]
A sheet push-up member 116 is provided as a pressing means having a length substantially equal to the width of the sheet P fed in the longitudinal direction of the shaft 115 operating integrally with the decelerated sector gear 114. In addition, a sheet placement table 123 for placing the sheet P on the support frame 101 is provided, and a sheet sensor PS is provided below the sheet placement table 123. The shaft 115 is rotated by the rotating action of the sector gear 114, and the sheet push-up member 116 that pushes up the sheet front end of the sheet placing table 123 is moved up and down. A detection projection 117 is provided at the side end of the sheet push-up member 116, and the lower position of the sheet push-up member 116 is detected by a lower sensor 118 provided at a part of the sheet blocking plate 101A. Further, a pickup roller 119 that is a rotating body of the feeding means is disposed above the sheet push-up member 116. The pickup roller 119 is provided at the tip of a swinging rod 120 that is a support member rotatably provided on the shaft 125 of the conveying roller 124, and is pushed up by the sheet push-up member 116 as shown in FIG. It arrange | positions so that the sheet | seat P blocked | prevented by may be contacted. Further, a double feed prevention roller 126 for conveying only one sheet P is provided facing the conveying roller 124. The pickup roller 119, the swinging rod 120, the conveying roller 124, and the double feed prevention roller 126 are components of the feeding means.
[0021]
Further, a detection protrusion 121 is provided at one end of the swinging rod 120 so that the pickup roller 119 is always held at a predetermined position together with the sheet P, and the detection is made by the upper sensor 122 which is a detection means constituting the limiting means. Yes.
[0022]
Next, the operation of this sheet supply apparatus will be described. When the sheet P is not detected by the sheet sensor PS of the sheet mounting table 123, the fan gear 114 is rotated in the direction of the solid arrow by the drive motor 102 via the speed reduction mechanism, so that the sheet push-up member 116 is rotated via the shaft 115. The detection protrusion 117 is detected by the lower sensor 118, and the vehicle is stopped.
[0023]
Next, a plurality of sheets P are stacked on the sheet mounting table 123 and pushed into the sheet push-up member 116 so that the sheet P is detected by the sheet sensor PS, and a control unit (not shown) starts the drive motor 102. The rotation of the drive motor 102 causes the worm gear 103 to decelerate the large-diameter gear 104, the small-diameter gear 106, and the large-diameter gear 107, and the small-diameter gear 110, the large-diameter gear 112, and the small-diameter gear 113 via the torque limiter 109 The sheet P is rotated in the direction of the dotted arrow and the sheet push-up member 116 pushes up the sheet P. When the sheet P is pushed up, the pickup roller 119 is also pushed up, and when the upper sensor 122 detects the detection protrusion 121 of the swinging rod 120, the drive motor 102 stops and the sheet P is held at the feeding position.
[0024]
The sheet P in contact with the pickup roller 119 is sent out by the rotation of the pickup roller 119, and is conveyed between the conveyance roller 124 and the double feed prevention roller 126 together with the plurality of sheets P that have contacted. Here, only one sheet P having the leading end in contact with the transporting roller 124 is transported by the transporting roller 124, and the lower sheet P is not transported because the leading end is blocked by the double feed prevention roller 126. When the sheet P is conveyed in this way and the sheet P on the sheet placing table 123 is not detected by the sheet sensor PS (in the absence of the sheet), the fan gear 114 is moved from the drive motor 102 through the speed reduction mechanism to the solid line arrow. The sheet push-up member 116 is lowered again by rotating in the direction, and the detection protrusion 117 is detected by the lower sensor 118 to be stopped.
[0025]
Thus, when the operation of raising and lowering the sheet push-up member 116 is performed by transmitting the driving force of the drive motor 102 to the sector gear 114 by the drive transmission system, the raising and lowering operations of the sheet push-up member 116 are performed by the lower sensor 118. Detected by the upper sensor 122, the drive motor 102 is started and stopped. However, the rotation of the drive motor 102 may be continued for some reason.
[0026]
When the drive transmission system that performs significant deceleration is used, the driving force acting on the downstream member in the drive transmission system is strong, and the rotation of the drive motor 102 damages the gear or the seat push-up member 116. May end up. In the present embodiment, an excessive driving force is transmitted to the small-diameter gear 110 by the torque limiter 109 as the rotational force of the rotating shaft 108 when the sheet push-up member 116 comes into contact with a part of the sheet supply apparatus 100. Rather, breakage of parts such as gears constituting the drive transmission system is reliably prevented. The torque limiter 109 desirably has a limit driving force that is 50 to 100 g larger than the driving force required to push up the sheet P. In order to prevent damage to the drive transmission system, it is desirable that the torque limiter 109 has a limit driving force that is 50 to 100 g smaller than the driving force that damages the drive transmission system.
[0027]
The drive motor 102 starts to operate in response to a sheet delivery command signal, and controls to stop the drive motor 102 in response to a detection signal for raising the sheet push-up member 116 from the upper sensor 122 is performed by a control unit (not shown). In this control, when the detection signal is not output from the upper sensor 122 within a predetermined time from the start of driving of the drive motor 102, the control means judges that the drive motor 102 is abnormal and forcibly stops the drive motor 102. The predetermined time as the threshold value in the forced stop is a time slightly longer than the time required for the sheet push-up member 116 to move from the lower limit position detected by the lower sensor 118 to the upper limit position detected by the upper sensor 122.
[0028]
The torque limiter 109 is provided between the shaft 108 and the small-diameter gear 110, but may be provided at another position of the drive transmission system. 2 and 3 can also be used as a sheet supply device in a document conveying device in addition to a sheet supply device as a recording material on which an image is formed.
[0029]
Next, the remaining amount display mechanism of the large capacity sheet supply apparatus 200 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the sheet supply mechanism and the sheet remaining amount detection mechanism of the large capacity sheet supply apparatus 200.
[0030]
In the drawing, a large amount (for example, about 4000 sheets) of sheets P are accommodated in a machine frame 201 of a large capacity sheet supply apparatus 200 and stacked on a sheet support table 202 that can move up and down. On the other hand, a rotary shaft 206 is rotatably provided in the machine casing 201, wire operating members 205A and 205B are fixed to both ends of the rotary shaft 206, and one ends of the wires 203A and 203B are connected to the wire operating members 205A and 205B. Wrapped and fixed, part of the wires 203A and 203B was vertically arranged, the ends of the vertical portions of the wires 203A and 203B were attached to the sheet support base 202, respectively, and the other ends of the wires 203A and 203B were extended downward Thereafter, the other end is wound around the wire actuating members 205A and 205B so as to be in the direction opposite to the winding direction.
[0031]
Further, one end of the wires 204A and 204B is wound around and fixed to the wire actuating members 205A and 205B, a part of the wires 204A and 204B is arranged vertically, and the sheet support base 202 is placed on the wires 204A and 204B at the vertical positions. While fixing each other, the other ends of the wires 204A and 204B are extended downward, and then the other ends are wound around the wire actuating members 205A and 205B so as to be in the direction opposite to the winding direction.
[0032]
It should be noted that the wires 203A, 203B, 204A, and 204B other than the fixed portions are suspended movably on a plurality of suspension members provided on the machine casing 201. The wires 203A, 203B, 204A, 204B and the wire actuating members 205A, 205B are components of the lifting means.
[0033]
Reference numeral 207 denotes a motor. A gear 209 rotated by a worm gear 208 rotated by the motor 207 is driven to rotate, and a small-diameter gear 210 is provided coaxially with the gear 209. The wire actuating members 205A and 205B are rotated by the motor 207 by transmitting to the large diameter gear 213 while being decelerated by the small diameter gear 211 coaxial with the gear 212 and fixing the large diameter gear 213 to the rotating shaft 206. When the large-diameter gear 213 is rotated in the direction of the solid arrow by the rotation of the motor 207, the vertical portions of the wires 203A, 203B, 204A, 204B are moved in the direction of the solid arrow, and the sheet support base 202 is maintained in a horizontal state together with the sheet P. Rise.
[0034]
Further, a small-diameter gear 214 is provided at one end of the rotary shaft 206, and the large-diameter gear 217 is connected to a large-diameter gear 217 from a small-diameter gear 215 coaxial with the small-diameter gear 215. The speed is greatly reduced, and a fan-shaped rotor 218 is provided on the shaft 217A of the large-diameter gear 217. A gear train from the small-diameter gear 214 to the large-diameter gear 217 is a component of a reduction drive system, and the reduction drive transmission system is detachably provided as a unit in the large-capacity sheet supply apparatus 200.
[0035]
A plurality of sensors 219, 220, 221, and 222 that detect the moving state of the fan-shaped rotor 218 that is a rotating body as a component of the remaining amount display means are arranged at regular intervals along the rotation path of the fan-shaped rotor 218. Deploy. The sensors 219 to 222 are configured by a photosensor including a light emitting element and a light receiving element that are arranged with the rotation trajectory of the fan-shaped rotor 218 interposed therebetween. The fan-shaped rotor 218 and the sensors 219 to 222 constitute sheet remaining amount display means.
[0036]
Further, a pickup roller 223 that sequentially feeds the sheets P of the sheet support table 202 is provided in the machine frame 201, and a plurality of sheets P fed by the pickup roller 223 are overlapped with a conveying roller 224. The sheet is conveyed between the feeding prevention rollers 225 and separated into one sheet P, and the sheet P is conveyed to the image forming unit 10 of FIG. 3 by a pair of conveying rollers 226 and 227.
[0037]
Further, in order to detect the sheet P on the sheet mounting table 202, a sheet contact 228 that contacts the sheet P is provided. When the sheet P exists on the sheet mounting table 202, the sensor 229 detects the sheet contact 228. When the sheet P is consumed and becomes zero, the sheet contact 228 is separated from the sensor 229 to display the replenishment of the sheet P.
[0038]
Next, according to FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E, 5G, 5H, a fan-shaped rotor according to a change in the remaining amount of the sheet P is obtained. Rotation of 218 and sheet remaining amount detection by the four sensors 219 to 222 will be described.
[0039]
The fan-shaped rotor 218 blocks only the sensor 219 in FIG. 5A. As the rotation angle of the fan-shaped rotor 218 increases, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the number of sensors that the fan-shaped rotor 218 blocks light is increased in FIG. 5D. All the sensors 219 to 222 are blocked from light. From FIG. 5 (f) to FIG. 5 (h), the number of the light-shielded objects disappears from the sensor 219, so that the number decreases and becomes zero in FIG. 5 (h). As shown in FIG. 5, eight rotation angles of the fan-shaped rotor 218 can be discriminated and displayed using four sensors.
[0040]
5A shows the remaining amount of about 3500 to 4000 sheets, FIG. 5B shows the remaining amount of about 3000 to 3500 sheets, and FIG. 5C shows the remaining amount of about 2500 to 3000 sheets. 5D shows the remaining amount of about 2000 to 2500 sheets, FIG. 5E shows the remaining amount of about 1500 to 2000 sheets, FIG. 5F shows the remaining amount of about 1000 to 1500 sheets, and FIG. ) Shows the remaining amount of about 500 to 1000 sheets, and FIG. 5H shows the case where the remaining amount of about 0 to 500 sheets is displayed. The sheet remaining amount corresponding to the rotation angle of the fan-shaped rotor 218 detected by the sensors 219 to 222 shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on a display unit (not shown) that is a component of the sheet remaining amount display means.
[0041]
In FIG. 6, a resistor R is provided instead of the sensors 219, 220, 221, and 222 that are constituent elements of the display means, and a rotating body 218 </ b> A that rotates while contacting the resistor R is provided instead of the fan-shaped rotor 218. It is another embodiment.
[0042]
That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the rotating contact piece 218A is provided on the shaft 217A that has been decelerated, and the rotating contact piece 218A rotates in the direction of the arrow according to the rotation of the motor 207 corresponding to the decrease in the remaining sheet amount on the sheet support base 202. The resistance value of the resistor R changes according to the rotation of the rotary contact piece 218A, and the change in the resistance value is displayed on a display unit (not shown) that is a component of the display means.
[0043]
Next, a coupling mechanism between the image forming apparatus main body 300 and the large capacity sheet supply apparatus 200 will be described. The image forming apparatus schematically shown in FIG. 1 is configured by connecting a large capacity sheet supply apparatus 200 to an image forming apparatus main body 300.
[0044]
A support member 413 for providing the large capacity sheet supply device 200 at a predetermined position is provided on the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body 300. By connecting the lower portion of the large capacity sheet supply device 200 to the support member 413, a large support member 413 is provided. The sheet supply port 412 of the sheet P of the capacity sheet supply apparatus 200 and the sheet reception port 416 of the image forming apparatus main body 300 are accurately aligned (described in detail in FIGS. 7 and 8).
[0045]
In FIG. 7, a reinforcing frame body 414A is provided on the side of the lower frame body 414 of the image forming apparatus main body 300, and a lower support member 413 shown in the perspective view of FIG. 8 is fixed to the reinforcing frame body 414A. The lower support member 413 is provided with a placement surface 413A for placing a part of the large capacity sheet supply apparatus 200, and locking projections 411A and 411B are provided at two places in the longitudinal direction of the placement surface 413A. On the other hand, at the end of the positioning member 408 of the large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus 200, engagement holes 409 and 410 that engage with the locking projections 411A and 411B are provided at the two locations. Form.
[0046]
A large amount of sheets P are stored in the large-capacity sheet supply apparatus 200, and the sheet P is fed by a pickup roller 223 that feeds out the sheet P, and one sheet P is conveyed by a conveyance roller 224 and a double feed prevention roller 225. Then, the image forming apparatus main body 300 is supplied from the sheet supply port 412 by a pair of conveying rollers 226 and 227.
[0047]
On the other hand, the image forming apparatus main body 300 is formed with a sheet receiving port 416 that conveys the sheet P from the sheet supply units 13a, 13b, and 13c in the apparatus and receives the sheet P from the large-capacity sheet supply apparatus 200. The sheet P received from the sheet receiving port 416 is conveyed to the image forming unit 10 in FIG. 3 by a pair of conveying rollers 417 and 418.
[0048]
A caster 415 that supports the image forming apparatus main body 300 is fixedly provided on the lower frame body 414, and a caster 406 that supports the large-capacity sheet feeding device 200 and a caster 407 that is lower than the caster 406 are also provided on the positioning member 408. Provide fixed.
[0049]
In order to mount the large-capacity sheet supply apparatus 200 configured as described above to the image forming apparatus main body 300, first, as shown in FIG. 8, the large-capacity sheet supply apparatus 200 is set with a positioning member 408 in the arrow A1 direction. The lower caster 407 is lifted to a position above the lower support member 413 and separated from the floor surface 401A. Next, the large capacity sheet supply apparatus 200 is supported by the floor surface 401A by the caster 406 and moved in the direction of arrow A2 to supply the large capacity sheet. The apparatus 200 and the image forming apparatus main body 300 are brought close to each other, and the large-capacity sheet feeding apparatus 200 is dropped in this direction in the direction of the arrow A3, whereby the engagement holes 409 and 410 of the positioning member 408 are used for locking the lower support member 413. Engage with the projections 411A, 411B, one end of the positioning member 408 is placed on the placement surface 413A, and a large capacity sheet Feeding device 200 is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body 300.
[0050]
Since the caster 407 is lowered with respect to the caster 406, the positioning member 408 is placed on the lower support member 413. Therefore, an error occurs in the vertical positioning of the large-capacity sheet supply apparatus 200 and the image forming apparatus main body 300 without any adjustment. There is nothing to do.
[0051]
By performing such an assembling operation, the sheet supply port 412 of the large-capacity sheet supply apparatus 200 and the sheet receiving port 416 for receiving the sheet P in the image forming apparatus main body 300 are accurately aligned.
[0052]
【The invention's effect】
When connecting a large-capacity sheet supply device to the image forming apparatus main body, it is possible to adjust both heights of the image forming apparatus main body and the large-capacity sheet supply device without adjusting the height between them. It is possible to combine them with each other, and alignment between the supply port of the large-capacity sheet supply device and the reception port of the main body of the image forming apparatus is ensured by an extremely simple operation.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of a sheet feeding device in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.
3 is a side view of a sheet feeding device in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.
4 is a perspective view of a large-capacity sheet supply device in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining detection of a remaining sheet amount by a sensor.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of sheet remaining amount detection means.
7 is a side view of a coupling portion between the image forming apparatus main body and the large capacity sheet supply apparatus in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the connecting portion shown in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Sheet supply apparatus 101 Support frame 102, 107 Drive motor 103 Worm gears 104, 107, 112, 212, 213, 215, 217 Large diameter gears 106, 110, 113, 210, 211, 214, 216 Small diameter gear 109 Torque limiter 114 Fan gear 116 Sheet push-up member 117 Detection protrusion 118 Lower sensor 122 Upper sensor 200 Large capacity sheet supply device 203A, 203B, 204A, 204B Wire 205A, 205B Wire actuating member 206 Rotating shaft 219, 220, 221, 222 Sensor R Resistance Body 218A Rotating body 300 Image forming apparatus main body 413 Lower support member 413A Placement surface 409, 410 Engagement hole 408 Positioning member 412 Sheet supply port 416 Sheet receiving port

Claims (6)

In a method of connecting a large-capacity sheet supply device that supplies a sheet to the image forming apparatus main body to an image forming apparatus main body that forms an image on a sheet,
A supporting member is provided on the image forming apparatus main body via a reinforcing frame,
A positioning member and a leg are provided in the large capacity sheet supply device,
While supporting the large capacity sheet supply device with the leg, lift one side of the large capacity sheet supply device upward,
The large capacity sheet supply device is moved toward the image forming apparatus main body while being supported by the legs, and the large capacity sheet supply device is brought close to the image forming apparatus main body.
By lowering the one side of the large capacity sheet supply device, the positioning member is placed on the lower support member, and the image forming apparatus main body is moved to the image forming apparatus main body via the reinforcing frame body , the lower support member, and the positioning member. how to connect a high capacity sheet feeding apparatus characterized by connecting a high capacity sheet feeder. The large-capacity sheet supply device has a leg body different from the leg body, and the different leg body is separated from the floor surface by lifting one side of the large-capacity sheet supply device upward. A method for connecting the large capacity sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1. The lower leg is separated from the floor surface when one side of the large capacity sheet supply device is lowered and the large capacity sheet supply device is connected to the main body of the image forming apparatus. A method of connecting a large capacity sheet feeding device. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming apparatus main body that forms an image on a sheet; and a large capacity sheet supply device that is connectable to the image forming apparatus main body and supplies the sheet to the image forming apparatus main body.
A support member provided on the image forming apparatus body via a reinforcing frame;
The large-capacity sheet supply that is provided in the large-capacity sheet supply apparatus, supports the large-capacity sheet supply apparatus with one side lifted, and is moved to the image forming apparatus main body side with the one side lifted Legs supporting the device;
A positioning member that is provided in the large capacity sheet supply device and is placed on the support member when the one side of the large capacity sheet supply device is lowered at a position close to the image forming apparatus main body;
  The image forming apparatus, wherein the large-capacity sheet supply device is connected to the image forming apparatus main body through the reinforcing frame, the lower support member, and the positioning member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the large-capacity sheet supply device has a leg that is different from the leg. The positioning member is placed on the support member when the one side of the large-capacity sheet feeding device is lowered at a position where the height of the different leg relative to the leg is close to the image forming apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the height is such a height.

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