JP4604874B2 - Paper feed tray for image forming apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus paper feed tray (image forming apparatus paper feed cassette) and an image forming apparatus, and is particularly effective when applied to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (laser printer).

The recording medium placed on the paper feed tray is usually placed in a positioned state by contacting a wall surface such as an outer peripheral wall of the paper feed tray.
Therefore, in a paper feed tray corresponding to recording media of various sizes (sizes), the wall-shaped regulating wall member that contacts the end of the recording medium and positions the recording medium can be displaced, and the regulating wall member A lock mechanism is provided for restricting the displacement (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Then, the size of the recording medium to be placed is changed as follows. That is, by operating the release operation part that releases the lock mechanism, the fixed state (locked state) of the restriction wall member is released, and the size of the recording medium on which the restriction wall member is placed is maintained with this release state maintained. Displace (slide) to position.
JP 2003-137445 A

  By the way, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, in the state where the thumb is applied to the wall surface with which the recording medium contacts among the restriction wall members and the index finger is applied to the release operation part, for example, the release operation part is placed on the restriction wall member. The fixed state of the restriction wall member is released by gripping the restriction wall member and the release operation portion so as to approach the side.

  For this reason, when the recording medium is placed (stacked) near the upper end of the restriction wall member, the placed recording medium becomes an obstacle to the operation and the restriction wall member cannot be picked. That is, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the release operation unit cannot be operated in a state in which the recording medium is placed on the paper feed tray up to near the maximum number of loaded sheets. It has the problem that it cannot be changed and adjusted.

  Note that this problem can be solved by making the height of the restriction wall member higher than the maximum number of mounted sheets, but this means does not increase the maximum number of mounted sheets, although the maximum number of mounted sheets does not increase. There arises a problem that the height of the paper tray becomes large.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily change and adjust the position of a restriction wall member without increasing the height dimension of the paper feed tray.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a mounting tray (91) having a mounting portion (91) on which a recording medium conveyed to the image forming means (10) is mounted. 92) and a regulating wall member (94) that is detachably assembled to the mounting tray (92) and regulates the position of the recording medium when the wall (93) contacts the end of the recording medium, The lock mechanism (95) for restricting the displacement of the restriction wall member (94) and the placement part (91) on the opposite side of the wall part (93) are disposed, and the restriction state by the lock mechanism (95) is released. A release operation part (97) and a knob surface (98a) that is fixedly arranged on the opposite side of the mounting part (91) across the wall part (93) and that is substantially orthogonal to the operation direction of the release operation part (97). A picking member (98), an upper end (97a) of the release operation part (97), and a knob The upper end of the timber (98) (98b), characterized in that it is configured to be lower than the upper end of the wall portion (93) (93a).

  Accordingly, in the present invention, the release operation part (97) is placed on the knob surface (98a) in a state where, for example, the thumb is applied to the knob surface (98a) of the knob member (98) and the index finger is applied to the release operation part (97). The release operation portion (97) and the knob member (98) can be picked so as to be pulled toward the) side to release the fixed state of the restriction wall member (94).

  At this time, in the present invention, both the release operation portion (97) and the knob member (98) are arranged on the opposite side of the placement portion (91) with the wall portion (93) of the restriction wall member (94) interposed therebetween. Therefore, when the release operation part (97) and the picking member (98) are picked, the recording medium placed on the placing part (91) does not become an obstacle to the operation, regardless of the number of placed sheets. The fixed state of the regulating wall member (94) can be released by holding the release operation part (97) and the knob member (98).

  Therefore, the restriction wall member (94) is released from the fixed state by holding the release operation portion (97) and the knob member (98) without making the height of the restriction wall member (94) higher than the maximum placement number height. Therefore, even when the maximum number of sheets is placed, the position of the restriction wall member (94) can be easily changed and adjusted.

  By the way, the recording medium placed on the placement portion (91) is normally fed to the main body by a paper feed roller provided in the main body. In general, when the recording medium is fed (conveyed), the sheet feeding roller moves to the mounting portion (91) and rotates while contacting the recording medium, and the feeding of the recording medium is completed. When the recording medium is not fed or the recording medium is not fed, it is stored on the main body side.

  However, when the paper feeding cannot be completed completely due to a recording medium being conveyed being jammed or the like, the paper feeding roller is not stored on the main body side, but is placed on the placement unit (91) side. It will be in the state where it moved to.

  For this reason, in this state, when the paper feed tray is removed from the main body to remove the jammed recording medium, the paper feed roller and the paper feed tray moved to the placement portion (91) interfere with each other (collision). As a result, the paper feed tray and the paper feed roller may be damaged.

Therefore, in the present invention, the regulation wall member (94) is provided with the first recess (94a) that is recessed from the upper end to the lower end side, thereby feeding the sheet feeding roller and the like moved to the placement portion (91) side. In addition to preventing interference (collision) with the tray, the release operation portion (97) of the release operation portion (97) is provided by providing the release operation portion (97) and the knob member (98) in the first recess (94a). The upper end (97a) and the upper end (98b) of the knob member (98) are the upper end (93a) of the wall (93).
I try to make it lower.

  In other words, in the present invention, the upper end (97a) of the release operation portion (97) and the upper end of the picking member (98) are utilized by using the first recess (94a) that prevents interference between the paper feed roller and the paper feed tray. Since (98b) is lower than the upper end (93a) of the wall portion (93), the position of the regulating wall member (94) can be easily changed and adjusted without significantly changing the design of the paper feed tray. A paper feed tray can be obtained.

  By the way, in order to change the position of the regulating wall member (94), as described above, for example, a thumb is applied to the knob surface (98a) of the knob member (98), and for example, an index finger is applied to the release operation portion (97). In the state, the release operation part (97) and the knob member (98) are gripped so as to draw the release operation part (97) toward the knob surface (98a), and the fixed state of the restriction wall member (94) is released. It is necessary to move the regulating wall member (94) while maintaining the released state. Therefore, there is a high possibility that a relatively large force acts on the knob member (98).

  For this reason, if the knob member (98) is configured with a protrusion protruding from the bottom (94b) of the first recess (94a), a very large bend is formed on the base side of the protrusion (the knob member (98)). Since there is a high risk of stress being generated, the protrusion (the knob member (98)) may be broken from the root side.

  For this problem, means such as reducing the protruding dimension of the protruding portion (pick member (98)) can be considered, but with this means, the protruding portion (pick member (98)) should be sufficiently picked. Therefore, the operability when moving the regulating wall member (94) may be significantly deteriorated.

On the other hand, in the present invention, the bottom (94b) of the first recess (94a) is provided with a second recess (94c) that is recessed on the lower end side of the regulating wall member (94). Face (98
a) is constituted by the side wall of the second recess (94c).

  Thereby, in this invention, since the picking surface (98a), ie, the picking member (98), will be in the state fixed in three places of the horizontal direction both ends and upper end side of the side wall which comprises the picking surface (98a). The mechanical strength of the knob member (98) can be sufficiently increased, and even if a large force acts on the knob member (98), the knob member (98) can be prevented from being damaged.

  In addition, when the knob member (98) is configured by a protrusion protruding from the bottom (94b) of the first recess (94a), the protrusion (the knob member (98)) and the paper feeding roller are not interfered with each other. Although it is necessary to sufficiently increase the depth of the recess (94a), the mechanical strength of the regulating wall member (94) may be significantly reduced if the depth of the recess is increased.

  On the other hand, in the present invention, since the knob surface (98a) is configured by the side wall of the second recess (94c), there is no need to increase the recess depth of the first recess (94a) more than necessary. The mechanical strength of the regulating wall member (94) can be prevented from greatly decreasing.

In the present invention, the upper end (97a) of the release operation portion (97) and the upper end (9
8b) is characterized in that it substantially coincides with the bottom (94b) of the first recess (94a) when viewed in the horizontal direction.

As a result, the bottom (94b) of the first recess (94a) is in a substantially flat state when viewed from the horizontal direction, so that interference between the paper feed roller and the paper feed tray can be reliably prevented.
By the way, as described above, in order to change the position of the restriction wall member (94), the release operation portion (97) and the knob member (98) are drawn so that the release operation portion (97) is pulled toward the knob surface (98a). It is necessary to release the fixed state of the restriction wall member (94) and move the restriction wall member (94) while maintaining the released state.

Therefore, as in the present invention, if the knob surface (98a) is substantially orthogonal to the displacement direction of the regulating wall member (94), the force for moving the regulating wall member (94) can be efficiently used. Since it can be made to act on (98a), the operativity at the time of changing the position of a control wall member (94) can be improved.

As in the present invention, the regulating wall member (94) constitutes a part of the outer peripheral wall of the placing tray (92), and the regulating wall member (94) is further arranged on the rear end side of the placing portion (91). It is desirable to arrange in.

In the present invention, an image forming means (10) for forming an image on a recording medium and a mounting portion (91) on which the recording medium is placed, and a main body on which the image forming means (10) is mounted. A mounting tray (92) assembled in a detachable manner, and a recording medium provided on the mounting tray (92) above the mounting portion (91) in the main body, and image forming means ( 10), the paper feed roller (22) and the mounting tray (92) are assembled so as to be displaceable, and the wall (93) comes into contact with the end of the recording medium to thereby position the recording medium. A regulating wall member (94) for regulating, a lock mechanism (95) for regulating displacement of the regulating wall member (94), and a wall portion (93)
Is disposed on the opposite side of the mounting portion (91), and the release operation portion (97) for releasing the restricted state by the locking mechanism (95), and the mounting portion (91) with the wall portion (93) interposed therebetween. A knob member (9) which is fixedly arranged on the opposite side and has a knob surface (98a) substantially orthogonal to the operation direction of the release operation portion (97).
8), and an upper end (97a) of the release operation portion (97) and an upper end (98 of the knob member (98).
b) is configured to be lower than the upper end (93a) of the wall (93).

  Accordingly, in the present invention, similarly to the first aspect of the present invention, the release operation portion (97) and the knob member (98) are formed without making the height of the restriction wall member (94) higher than the maximum number of mounted sheets. Since the fixed state of the restriction wall member (94) can be released by picking up and down, the position of the restriction wall member (94) can be easily changed and adjusted even when the maximum number of sheets is placed. Can do.

In the present invention, the regulation wall member (94) prevents the paper feeding roller (22) and the regulation wall member (94) from interfering when the mounting tray (92) is attached to and detached from the main body. The first recess (94a) is provided, and the release operation portion (97) and the knob member (98) are also provided at the bottom (94b) of the first recess (94a). .

Thus, the present gun invention, the first recess (9 to prevent interference between the paper feed roller, etc. and the sheet feeding tray
4a), the upper end (97a) of the release operation portion (97) and the upper end (
98b) is lower than the upper end (93a) of the wall portion (93), so that the position of the regulating wall member (94) can be easily changed and adjusted without significantly changing the design of the paper feed tray. It is possible to obtain a paper feed tray that can be used.

In the present invention, the bottom (94b) of the first recess (94a) is provided with a second recess (94c) that is recessed on the lower end side of the regulating wall member (94), and the knob surface (98a) is The second concave portion (94c) is constituted by the side wall.

Accordingly, the present gun invention, knob surface (98a), i.e. the knob member (98) is knob surface (9
8a), the mechanical strength of the knob member (98) can be sufficiently increased because the side walls constituting the side wall 8a) are fixed at three positions on the both ends in the horizontal direction and the upper end side. Even if a large force is applied, it is possible to prevent the knob member (98) from being damaged.

  Moreover, since the knob | pick surface (98a) is comprised by the side wall of the 2nd recessed part (94c), it is not necessary to enlarge the hollow depth of a 1st recessed part (94a) more than necessary, and a regulation wall member (94) It is possible to prevent the mechanical strength of the material from greatly decreasing.

In the present invention, the upper end (97a) of the release operation portion (97) and the upper end (9
8b) is characterized in that it substantially coincides with the bottom (94b) of the first recess (94a) when viewed in the horizontal direction.

Accordingly, the present gun invention, the bottom of the first recess (94a) (94b) is, when viewed from the horizontal direction, since a substantially flat condition, reliably prevent interference between the paper feed roller, etc. and the sheet feeding tray can do.

The present invention is characterized in that the knob surface (98a) is substantially orthogonal to the displacement direction of the regulating wall member (94).
Thus, as in the present gun invention, the force for moving the regulating wall member (94), can be made to act efficiently knob surface (98a), to change the position of the regulating wall member (94) Operability can be improved.

As in the present invention, the regulating wall member (94) constitutes a part of the outer peripheral wall of the placing tray (92), and the regulating wall member (94) is further arranged on the rear end side of the placing portion (91). It is desirable to distribute it.

  Incidentally, the reference numerals in parentheses for each of the above means are examples showing the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later, and the present invention is indicated by the reference numerals in the parentheses of the above respective means. It is not limited to specific means.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a so-called laser printer, and the present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a laser printer 1 according to the present embodiment. The laser printer 1 is installed with the upper side of the paper as the upper side in the direction of gravity, and usually the rear side of the paper as the front side. used.

  The housing 3 of the laser printer 1 is formed in a substantially box shape (cubic shape), and a recording medium discharged from the housing 3 after printing is placed on the upper surface side of the housing 3. A paper discharge tray 5 is provided. In the present embodiment, paper such as paper or an OHP sheet is assumed as the recording medium.

  Further, the paper discharge tray 5 is configured with an inclined surface 5a that is inclined so as to descend from the upper surface of the housing 3 toward the rear side, and printing is finished on the rear end side of the inclined surface 5a. A discharge unit 7 (see FIG. 2) for discharging the recording medium is provided.

  The upper cover 9 formed in a substantially U-shape so as to surround the paper discharge tray 5 (inclined surface 5a) in the casing 3 includes a case where the laser printer 1 is connected to the network and a case where the laser printer 1 is disconnected from the network. Are provided, a line switch 1a for switching, a job cancel switch 1b for forcibly ending (interrupting) printing, and the like.

2. Internal Configuration of Laser Printer FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a main part of the laser printer 1. The image forming unit 10 constitutes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, and the feeder unit 20 constitutes a part of a conveying unit that supplies the recording medium to the image forming unit 10. .

  The first discharge chute 30 and the second discharge chute 40 are turned by approximately 180 ° so as to make a U-turn in the conveyance direction of the recording medium on which image formation has been completed in the image forming unit 10, thereby fixing the recording medium to the fixing unit 80 (details). (Which will be described later)) constitutes a guide member for guiding to the discharge portion 7 provided above.

  The forward / reverse switching mechanism 50 constitutes a paper discharge roller reversing mechanism that reverses the transport direction of the recording medium discharged from the image forming unit 10 and transports the recording medium whose transport direction is reversed to the image forming unit 10 side again. These devices 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and the like are housed in the housing 3.

2.1. Image Forming Unit The image forming unit 10 includes a scanner unit 60, a process cartridge 70, a fixing unit 80, and the like.

2.1.1. Scanner unit The scanner unit 60 is provided in the upper part of the housing 3 and forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of a photosensitive drum 71 described later. Specifically, the laser unit 60 includes a laser light source, a polygon mirror, an fθ lens, It is composed of a reflecting mirror and a reflecting mirror.

  The laser beam based on the image data emitted from the laser light source is deflected by the polygon mirror, passes through the fθ lens, the optical path is folded back by the reflecting mirror, and the optical path is further bent downward by the reflecting mirror. As a result, the surface of the photosensitive drum 71 is irradiated and an electrostatic latent image is formed.

2.1.2. Process cartridge The process cartridge 70 is detachably disposed in the housing 3 below the scanner unit 60. The process cartridge 70 includes a photosensitive drum 71, a charger 72, a transfer roller 73, a developing cartridge 74, and the like. It is composed of

  The photosensitive drum 71 serves as an image carrying means for carrying an image to be transferred to a recording medium. The outermost layer is a cylindrical drum body 71a formed of a positively charged photosensitive layer made of polycarbonate or the like, In the axial center of this drum main body 71a, it has the drum axis | shaft 71b extended along the longitudinal direction of the drum main body 71a, and supporting the drum main body 71a rotatably.

  The charger 72 serves as a charging unit that charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 71. The charger 72 is disposed on the rear side of the photosensitive drum 71 diagonally above the photosensitive drum 71 with a predetermined interval so as not to contact the photosensitive drum 71. It is installed. Note that the charger 72 according to the present embodiment employs a scorotron charger that charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 71 substantially uniformly using corona discharge.

  The transfer roller 73 is disposed opposite to the photosensitive drum 71 and rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 71, and is opposite to the electric charge charged on the photosensitive drum 71 when the recording medium passes near the photosensitive drum 71. Forming a transfer means for transferring the toner adhering to the surface of the photosensitive drum 71 to the printing surface of the recording medium by applying a negative charge (in this embodiment, a negative charge) to the recording medium from the side opposite to the printing surface. It is.

  The developing cartridge 74 includes a toner storage chamber 74a that stores toner, a toner supply roller 74b that supplies the toner to the photosensitive drum 71, a developing roller 74c, and the like.

  The toner stored in the toner storage chamber 74a is supplied to the developing roller 74c side by the rotation of the toner supply roller 74b, and the toner supplied to the developing roller 74c side is carried on the surface of the developing roller 74c. In addition, the thickness of the toner carried by the layer thickness regulating blade 74d is adjusted to be constant (uniform) at a predetermined thickness, and then supplied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 71 exposed by the scanner unit 60.

2.1.3. Fixing unit The fixing unit 80 is disposed on the downstream side of the photosensitive drum 71 in the conveyance direction of the recording medium, and fixes the toner transferred to the recording medium by heating and melting. Specifically, the fixing unit 80 is disposed on the printing surface side of the recording medium to heat the toner, and the fixing unit 80 is disposed on the opposite side of the heating roller 81 across the recording medium to heat the recording medium. A pressure roller 82 that presses the roller 81 is provided.

  Incidentally, the heating roller 81 according to the present embodiment is composed of a metal tube whose surface is coated with a fluororesin, and a halogen lamp for heating in the metal tube, while the pressure roller 82 is composed of a metal tube. The made roller shaft is covered with a roller made of a rubber material.

In the image forming unit 10 described above, an image is formed on a recording medium as follows.
That is, the surface of the photosensitive drum 71 is uniformly positively charged by the charger 72 as it rotates, and then exposed by high-speed scanning of the laser beam emitted from the scanner unit 60. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image to be formed on the recording medium is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 71.

  Next, when the developing roller 74 c is rotated, the positively charged toner carried on the developing roller 74 c is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 71 when it contacts the photosensitive drum 71. The electrostatic latent image, that is, the surface of the photosensitive drum 71 that is uniformly positively charged, is supplied to an exposed portion exposed to a laser beam and having a lowered potential. As a result, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 71 is visualized, and a toner image by reversal development is carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 71.

  Thereafter, the toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 71 is transferred to a recording medium by a transfer bias applied to the transfer roller 73. Then, the recording medium to which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 80 and heated, and the toner transferred as the toner image is fixed to the recording medium, thereby completing the image formation.

2.2. Feeder unit The feeder unit 20 is provided in a sheet feeding tray 90 housed in the lowermost part of the housing 3 and a printer main body above the front end of the sheet feeding tray 90, and feeds a recording medium to the image forming unit 10. The roller 22 and the separation roller 23 and the separation pad 24 that separate the recording medium conveyed by the sheet feeding roller 22 one by one are configured. Then, the recording medium placed on the paper feed tray 90 is conveyed to the image forming unit 10 disposed substantially at the center in the housing 3 so as to make a U-turn on the front side in the housing 3. The

  Note that the paper dust adhered to the image forming surface (printing surface) of the recording medium is outside the top of the portion of the recording medium conveyance path from the paper feed tray 90 to the image forming unit 10 that is turned in a substantially U shape. A paper dust removing roller 25 is disposed, and an opposing roller 26 that presses the recording medium to be conveyed against the paper dust removing roller 25 is disposed inside the top.

  In addition, a registration roller 27 including a pair of rollers that adjusts the conveyance state of the recording medium by applying a conveyance resistance to the recording medium at the entrance of the image forming unit 10 in the conveyance path from the paper feed tray 90 to the image forming unit 10. Is arranged.

2.2.1. 3 is a top view of a paper feed tray 90 including a part of the main body side such as the paper feed roller 22, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 3, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the paper feed tray 90, FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the paper feed tray 90, and FIG. 8 is a top view of the loading tray 92. 9 is a side perspective view, FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a portion A in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the lock mechanism 95.

2.2.1.1. Structure of Paper Feed Tray As shown in FIG. 5, the paper feed tray 90 is configured such that a placement tray 92 on which a placement portion 91 on which a recording medium is placed is formed, and a wall portion 93 are in contact with the end of the recording medium. By doing so, it is composed of a regulating wall member 94 or the like that regulates the position of the recording medium.

  And the regulation wall member 94 is assembled | attached to the rear end side of the mounting tray 92 so that it can displace to the front-back direction with respect to the mounting tray 92, and the mounting tray 92 formed in the substantially rectangular shape. The displacement of the regulation wall member 94 is regulated by a lock mechanism 95 as shown in part A of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the lock mechanism 95 includes a first locking portion 91 a and a second locking portion 91 b provided on the bottom portion (mounting portion 91) of the mounting tray 92, and a regulation wall member 94. It is comprised from the latching member 96 etc. which are fixed to and are displaced integrally with the control wall member 94.

  The locking member 96 is provided with a first engaging portion 96a that engages with the first locking portion 91a and a second engaging portion 96b that engages with the second locking portion 91b. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the first locking portion 91a and the first engaging portion 96a are configured to have a sawtooth uneven shape and engage with each other, while the second engaging portion 96b is engaged with each other. The distal end side is formed in a substantially isosceles triangular projection shape, and the second locking portion 91b is configured by a recess into which the isosceles triangular projection portion of the second engagement portion 96b is fitted.

  In the present embodiment, among the sawtooth irregularities formed in the first locking portion 91a, the inclination angle θ1 of the rear inclined portion is smaller than the inclination angle θ2 of the front inclined portion. The first locking portion 91a is formed in a sawtooth shape by forming a plurality of substantially right triangular protrusions.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a release operation part 97 for releasing the restriction state by the lock mechanism 95 is disposed on the opposite side of the mounting part 91 with the wall part 93 interposed therebetween. On the placement portion 91 side, on the opposite side of the placement portion 91 with the wall portion 93 in between, the operation direction of the release operation portion 97 (the front-rear direction in the present embodiment) and the displacement direction of the restriction wall member 94 (the book) In the embodiment, a knob member 98 having a knob surface 98 a substantially orthogonal to the front-rear direction) is fixedly disposed on the restriction wall member 94.

  Further, the upper end 97 a of the release operation portion 97 and the upper end 98 b of the knob member 98 are configured to be lower than the upper end 93 a of the wall portion 93. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the regulation wall member 94 is provided with a first recess 94 a that is recessed from the upper end to the lower end side, and the release operation portion 97 and the knob member 98 are provided with the first recess. The upper end 97a of the release operation portion 97 and the upper end 98b of the knob member 98 are configured to substantially coincide with the bottom portion 94b of the first recess 94a when viewed from the horizontal direction. .

  And the bottom part 94b of the 1st recessed part 94a is provided with the 2nd recessed part 94c dented in the box shape at the lower end side of the control wall member 94, as shown in FIG. 5, In this embodiment, the knob surface 98a is provided. Is constituted by the side wall of the second recess 94c that is recessed in a box shape.

Incidentally, the protrusion 94d provided at the upper end of the restriction wall member 94 is a maximum height restricting means for restricting the maximum height of the recording medium placed on the placement tray 92.
Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the release operation unit 97 slightly rotates (oscillates) about the rotation shaft 99 rotatably attached to the restriction wall member 94 so as to In this embodiment, the release operation portion 97, the rotation shaft 99, the spring portion 100, the first arm portion 101 having the first locking portion 91a formed on the distal end side, and the first arm portion 101 on the distal end side. The second arm portion 102 on which the two locking portions 91b are formed is integrally formed of resin.

  Although the restriction wall member 94 is omitted in FIG. 9, the restriction wall member 94 is actually detachably assembled to the restriction wall member 94 with locking protrusions 99a and 99b that are locking means using elastic deformation.

  Further, the spring portion 100 is a plate spring-like shape, and when the distal end side 100a contacts the inner wall of the regulating wall member 94, an elastic force that restores the release operation portion 97 to the original position as a reaction is released. Act on 97.

  In addition, the release operation unit 97 is provided at a position shifted in the left-right direction (horizontal direction) with respect to the rotation shaft 99, and the second arm unit 102 has a lower rigidity than the first arm unit 101 and is deformed. The first arm portion 101 and the second arm portion 102 are linked to each other when the release operation portion 97 is displaced (swings) around the rotation axis 99 by operating the release operation portion 97. Thus, it is configured to be displaced (oscillated) around the rotation axis 99.

  Each of the first locking portion 91a and the second locking portion 91b is elastically deformed so that the distal end side of the second arm portion 102 bends toward the first arm portion 101 side. The second engagement portions 96b are engaged and assembled, and these engagement states are mainly held by the elastic force of the first arm portion 101.

2.2.1.2. Operation of Restriction Wall Member 94 and Lock Mechanism 95 As described above, the first locking portion 91a and the second engagement portion are elastically deformed so that the distal end side of the second arm portion 102 is bent toward the first arm portion 101 side. Each of the stop portions 91b is engaged and assembled to each of the first engagement portion 96a and the second engagement portion 96b. Then, at least the first locking portion 91a and the first engagement portion 96a are engaged (engaged), so that the displacement of the restriction wall member 94 with respect to the mounting tray 92 is restricted.

  Further, when the operation force indicated by the black arrow in FIG. 9 acts on the release operation unit 97, the release operation unit 97 slightly rotates (swings) leftward about the rotation shaft 99. The two-arm portion 102 also slightly rotates (oscillates) leftward about the rotation shaft 99, and the engagement state between the first locking portion 91a and the first engagement portion 96a is released.

  Therefore, if the operation force indicated by the black arrow in FIG. 9 is applied to the release operation portion 97 to release the engagement state between the first locking portion 91a and the first engagement portion 96a, the restriction wall member 94 is moved. It is possible to displace (slide) the mounting tray 92 in the front-rear direction.

  Note that when the operation force indicated by the black arrow in FIG. 9 is applied to the release operation portion 97, the engagement state between the first locking portion 91a and the first engagement portion 96a is released, but the second arm portion. 102 also tries to rotate leftward about the rotation axis 99, and an isosceles triangular protrusion provided at the tip of the second locking portion 91b fits into a recess constituting the second engaging portion 96b. Therefore, the second arm unit 102 is bent so as to rotate leftward by an amount corresponding to the operation amount (displacement amount) of the release operation unit 97.

For this reason, even if the release operation part 97 is operated and the engagement state between the first engagement part 91a and the first engagement part 96a is released, the second engagement part 91b and the second engagement part 96b The engaged state is not released.
However, as described above, the protrusions constituting the second locking portion 91b are formed in a substantially isosceles triangle shape, and the recesses constituting the second engagement portion 96b are also formed in a substantially isosceles triangle shape. Therefore, when a force in the front-rear direction is applied to the first locking portion 91a, the protrusions constituting the second engagement portion 96b are pushed up the slope of the recess formed in the second engagement portion 96b. Trying to displace to the 1-arm part 101 side.

  At this time, since the second arm portion 102 has a structure that is relatively easily elastically deformed, the regulating wall member is in a state in which the engagement state between the first locking portion 91a and the first engagement portion 96a is released. When 94 is displaced in the front-rear direction, the engaged state between the second locking portion 91b and the second engaging portion 96b is easily released.

  Therefore, the engagement between the second locking portion 91b and the second engagement portion 96b hardly affects the displacement of the restriction wall member 94. Rather, in the present embodiment, the second engagement is achieved. By engaging the stop portion 91b and the second engagement portion 96b, an appropriate moderation feeling (click feeling) is given to the user when the restriction wall member 94 is displaced.

  By the way, in this embodiment, since the first locking portion 91a is formed in a sawtooth shape by forming a plurality of right-angled triangular protrusions whose rear side is an inclined surface, the force from the rear side to the front side is When acting on the locking member 96 (first engagement portion 96a), the first protrusion is formed so that the protrusion formed on the first engagement portion 96a moves up the slope of the protrusion formed on the first engagement portion 91a. It tries to be displaced toward the two-arm part 102 side.

  Therefore, although the first arm portion 101 is less elastically deformed than the second arm portion 102, a relatively large force acts on the locking member 96 (first engagement portion 96a) from the rear side toward the front side. Then, the first arm portion 101 may bend toward the second arm portion 102 and the engagement state between the first locking portion 91a and the first engagement portion 96a may be shifted.

  On the other hand, since the first locking portion 91a is configured by a right-angled triangular projection having a slope on the rear side, the force is applied to the locking member 96 from the front side to the rear side, contrary to the previous case. Even if it acts on the (first engaging portion 96a), almost no force is generated to displace the protrusion formed on the second engaging portion 96b to the second arm portion 102 side.

  For this reason, even if a force from the front side to the rear side acts on the locking member 96 (first engagement portion 96a), the engagement state between the first locking portion 91a and the first engagement portion 96a is The restriction wall member 94 is not displaced without being released.

2.3. First discharge chute and second discharge chute 40
As shown in FIG. 2, the first discharge chute 30 is disposed on the downstream side in the transport direction from the fixing unit 80 in the transport direction of the recording medium, and the recording medium on which image formation has been completed in the image forming unit 10. The guide means guides the recording medium to the second discharge chute 40 by turning the transport direction of the recording medium approximately 90 °.

  The second discharge chute 40 is provided on the upper cover 9 with a predetermined gap 40a with respect to the first discharge chute 30, and the recording medium whose conveyance direction is turned by approximately 90 ° by the first discharge chute 30. Is a guiding means for further guiding approximately 90 ° to the discharge section 7.

  Further, a gap 40 a between the first discharge chute 30 and the second discharge chute 40 is a recording medium conveyance path (conveyance path indicated by a thick two-dot chain line) whose conveyance direction is reversed by the forward / reverse switching mechanism 50. Part of it. Incidentally, in FIG. 2, a conveyance path indicated by a thick one-dot chain line indicates a conveyance path of the recording medium conveyed by the feeder unit 20.

3. Features of Laser Printer According to Embodiment In the paper feed tray 90 according to this embodiment, the upper end 97a of the release operation unit 97 and the upper end 98b of the knob member 98 are configured to be lower than the upper end 93a of the wall portion 93. Therefore, in a state where, for example, a thumb is applied to the knob surface 98a of the knob member 98 and an index finger is applied to the release operation part 97, for example, the release operation part 97 and the knob member 98 ( It is possible to release the fixed (locked) state of the regulating wall member 94 by pinching the knob surface 98a).

  At this time, in this embodiment, both the release operation part 97 and the knob member 98 are arranged on the opposite side of the mounting part 91 with the wall part 93 of the restriction wall member 94 interposed therebetween. When the member 98 is picked, the recording medium placed on the placing portion 91 does not become an obstacle to the operation, and the release operation portion 97 and the picking member 98 are grasped regardless of the number of placed pieces, and the regulation wall The fixed state of the member 94 can be released.

  Therefore, since the release operation portion 97 and the knob member 98 can be picked and the fixed state of the restriction wall member 94 can be released without making the height of the restriction wall member 94 higher than the maximum placement number height, Even when the number of sheets is set, the position of the restriction wall member 94 can be easily changed and adjusted.

  By the way, the recording medium placed on the placement portion 91 is normally fed to the main body (image forming portion 10) by a paper feed roller 22 provided in the printer main body. When the recording medium is normally fed (conveyed), the sheet feeding roller 22 moves to the mounting portion 91 side and rotates while contacting the recording medium, and the feeding of the recording medium is completed. In this case or when the recording medium is not fed, it is stored on the printer main body side.

  However, when the paper feeding cannot be completed completely due to a recording medium being transported being jammed, the paper feeding roller 22 is not stored on the printer main body side, but is placed on the placement unit 91 side. It will be in the state where it moved to.

  For this reason, in this state, when the paper feed tray 90 is removed from the printer main body to remove the jammed recording medium, the paper feed roller 22 moved to the placement portion 91 side interferes with the paper feed tray 90 ( The paper feed tray 90 and the paper feed roller 22 may be damaged.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the regulation wall member 94 is provided with the first recess 94a that is recessed from the upper end to the lower end side, so that the feed roller 22 and the like that have moved to the placement portion 91 side and the feed tray 90 is prevented from interfering (collision), and the release operation portion 97 and the knob member 98 are provided in the first recess 94a, so that the upper end 97a of the release operation portion 97 and the upper end of the knob member 98 are provided. 98 b is made lower than the upper end 93 a of the wall portion 93.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the upper end 97a of the release operation portion 97 and the upper end 98b of the knob member 98 are connected to the wall portion 93 by using the first recess 94a that prevents interference between the paper feed roller 22 and the paper feed tray 90. Therefore, the position of the regulating wall member 94 can be easily changed and adjusted without significantly changing the design of the paper feed tray 90.

  By the way, in order to change the position of the regulating wall member 94, as described above, the release operation unit 97 is moved in a state where, for example, a thumb is applied to the knob surface 98 a of the knob member 98 and an index finger is applied to the release operation unit 97. It is necessary to release the fixed state of the restriction wall member 94 by holding the release operation portion 97 and the knob member 98 so as to be pulled toward the knob surface 98a, and to move the restriction wall member 94 while maintaining the released state. . Therefore, there is a high possibility that a relatively large force acts on the knob member 98.

  For this reason, if the knob member 98 is configured with a protrusion protruding from the bottom 94b of the first recess 94a, a very large bending stress is likely to be generated on the root side of the protrusion (the knob member 98). There is a possibility that the protruding portion (the knob member 98) is broken from the root side.

  In order to solve this problem, means such as reducing the projecting dimension of the protrusion (the knob member 98) can be considered, but with this means, the protrusion (the knob member 98) may not be sufficiently picked. Therefore, the operability when moving the regulating wall member 94 may be significantly deteriorated.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the second concave portion 94c that is depressed on the lower end side of the regulating wall member 94 is provided in the bottom portion 94b of the first concave portion 94a, and the knob surface 98a is configured by the side wall of the second concave portion 94c. Therefore, the picking surface 98a, that is, the picking member 98 is fixed at three positions on the both ends in the horizontal direction and the upper end of the side wall constituting the picking surface 98a. Therefore, since the mechanical strength of the knob member 98 can be sufficiently increased, it is possible to prevent the knob member 98 from being damaged even if a large force acts on the knob member 98.

  Also, if the knob member 98 is configured with a protrusion protruding from the bottom 94b of the first recess 94a, the depth of the depression of the first recess 94a is prevented so that the protrusion (the knob member 98) and the paper feed roller do not interfere with each other. However, if the depth of the recess is increased, the mechanical strength of the regulating wall member 94 may be greatly reduced.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the knob surface 98a is constituted by the side wall of the second recess 94c, it is not necessary to increase the depth of the recess of the first recess 94a more than necessary, and the regulating wall member 94 It is possible to prevent the mechanical strength of the material from greatly decreasing.

  In addition, since the bottom 94b of the first recess 94a is configured to be substantially flat when viewed from the horizontal direction, it is possible to reliably prevent interference between the paper feed roller 22 and the paper feed tray 90. Can do.

  By the way, as described above, in order to change the position of the restriction wall member 94, the release operation part 97 and the knob member 98 are gripped so that the release operation part 97 is pulled toward the knob surface 98a, and the restriction wall member 94 is fixed. While releasing the state, it is necessary to move the regulating wall member 94 while maintaining the released state.

  Therefore, if the knob surface 98a is substantially orthogonal to the displacement direction of the restriction wall member 94, the force for moving the restriction wall member 94 can be efficiently applied to the knob surface 98a. The operability when changing the position of the member 94 can be improved.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, the paper feed tray according to the present invention is applied to the laser printer. However, the application of the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a laser printer. However, the application of the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to, for example, a copying machine.
In the above-described embodiment, the regulation wall member 94 constitutes a part of the outer peripheral wall of the mounting tray 92. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the outer peripheral wall of the mounting tray 92. Apart from this, the present invention can also be applied to a paper feed tray provided with a regulating wall member 94.

  In the above-described embodiment, the release operation portion 97 and the knob member 98 are provided at the bottom of the first recess 94a for preventing interference between the paper feed roller 22 and the paper feed tray 90. It is not limited.

  In the above-described embodiment, the knob member 98 is configured by the side wall of the second recess 94c. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a protrusion projecting from the bottom 94b of the first recess 94a. The knob member 98 may be configured.

In the above-described embodiment, the knob surface 98a is substantially orthogonal to the displacement direction of the restriction wall member 94, but the present invention is not limited to this.
Further, the lock mechanism 95 is not limited to that shown in the above-described embodiment, and for example, the second locking portion 91b and the second engagement portion 96b may be eliminated.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as long as it matches the gist of the invention described in the claims.

1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a laser printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part sectional side view which shows the laser printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a top view of a paper feed tray (including a part of a main body part) according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a top surface side perspective view of a paper feed tray concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a back side perspective view of the paper feed tray concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of the paper feed tray which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is an upper surface side perspective view of the mounting tray which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the A section enlarged view of FIG. It is an enlarged view of the locking mechanism which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser printer, 1a ... Line switch, 3 ... Housing, 5 ... Paper discharge tray,
5a ... inclined surface, 7 ... discharge part, 9 ... upper cover, 10 ... image forming part, 20 ... feeder part,
22 ... feed roller, 25 ... paper dust removing roller, 26 ... opposite roller,
27: Registration roller, 30: First discharge chute, 40: Second discharge chute,
50 ... Forward / reverse switching mechanism, 60 ... Scanner unit, 70 ... Process cartridge,
71 ... photosensitive drum, 71a ... drum body, 71b ... drum shaft, 72 ... charger,
73 ... transfer roller, 74 ... developing cartridge, 74a ... toner storage chamber,
74b ... toner supply roller, 74c ... developing roller, 74d ... layer thickness regulating blade,
80: fixing unit, 81: heating roller, 82: pressure roller, 90: paper feed tray,
91: Placement part, 91a ... First engagement part, 91b ... Second engagement part, 92 ... Placement tray,
93 ... Wall part, 94 ... Restriction wall member, 94a ... 1st recessed part, 94c ... 2nd recessed part,
95 ... Lock mechanism, 96 ... Locking member, 96a ... First engaging portion, 96b ... Second engaging portion,
97 ... Release operation part, 98 ... Picking member, 98a ... Picking surface, 99 ... Rotating shaft,
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Spring part, 101 ... 1st arm part, 102 ... 2nd arm part.

Claims (8)

A mounting tray having a mounting portion on which a recording medium conveyed to the image forming means is mounted;
A regulating wall member that is assembled so as to be displaceable with respect to the mounting tray, and that regulates the position of the recording medium by the wall portion contacting the end of the recording medium;
A lock mechanism for restricting displacement of the restriction wall member;
A release operation part that is disposed on the opposite side of the mounting part across the wall part, and that releases the restricted state by the lock mechanism;
A pinch member that is fixedly arranged on the opposite side of the mounting portion with the wall portion interposed therebetween and has a pinch surface that is substantially orthogonal to the operation direction of the release operation portion,
The upper end of the release operation portion and the upper end of the knob member are configured to be lower than the upper end of the wall portion,
The restriction wall member is provided with a first recess recessed from the upper end to the lower end side,
Furthermore, the release operation part and the knob member are provided at the bottom of the first recess ,
The bottom of the first recess is provided with a second recess recessed on the lower end side of the regulating wall member,
Further, the picking surface is constituted by a side wall of the second recess, and the image forming apparatus paper feed tray. 2. The sheet feeding tray for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein an upper end of the release operation portion and an upper end of the knob member are substantially coincident with a bottom portion of the first recess when viewed from a horizontal direction. . The knob surface, paper feed tray for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it is substantially perpendicular to the direction of displacement of the regulating wall member. The restriction wall member constitutes a part of the outer peripheral wall of the placing tray,
Further, the regulating wall member includes a sheet feeding tray for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that arranged on the rear side of the mounting section. Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium;
A mounting tray having a mounting portion on which a recording medium is mounted, and detachably assembled to a main body on which the image forming unit is mounted;
A paper feed roller that is provided on the upper side of the placement unit in the main body and feeds a recording medium placed on the placement tray to the image forming unit;
A regulating wall member that is assembled so as to be displaceable with respect to the mounting tray, and that regulates the position of the recording medium by the wall portion contacting the end of the recording medium;
A lock mechanism for restricting displacement of the restriction wall member;
A release operation part that is disposed on the opposite side of the mounting part across the wall part, and that releases the restricted state by the lock mechanism;
A pinch member that is fixedly arranged on the opposite side of the mounting portion with the wall portion interposed therebetween and has a pinch surface that is substantially orthogonal to the operation direction of the release operation portion,
The upper end of the release operation portion and the upper end of the knob member are configured to be lower than the upper end of the wall portion,
The restriction wall member is provided with a first recess for preventing the paper feed roller and the restriction wall member from interfering when the mounting tray is attached to and detached from the main body.
Furthermore, the release operation part and the knob member are provided at the bottom of the first recess ,
The bottom of the first recess is provided with a second recess recessed on the lower end side of the regulating wall member,
Further, the picking surface is constituted by a side wall of the second recess . The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein an upper end of the release operation portion and an upper end of the knob member are substantially coincident with a bottom portion of the first recess when viewed from a horizontal direction. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the knob surface is substantially orthogonal to a displacement direction of the restriction wall member. The restriction wall member constitutes a part of the outer peripheral wall of the placing tray,
Further, the regulating wall member, an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 5 to 7, characterized in that arranged on the rear end side of the mounting section.