JP5303484B2 - Cassette and processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cassette that accommodates sheets and a processing apparatus that applies a predetermined process to the sheets accommodated in the cassette.

  A cassette that accommodates a sheet bundle formed by laminating a plurality of sheets is suitably used in an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, or a multifunction machine having these functions. The image forming apparatus takes out sheets one by one from the cassette, and forms an image on the taken out sheets.

  In order to stabilize the conveyance of the sheet from the cassette, in many cases, the cassette includes a regulating member that regulates the displacement in the width direction of the sheet (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In many cases, the regulating member is formed to be movable in the width direction of the sheet. Thereby, the position of the regulating member is adjusted with respect to the plurality of types of sheets.

  The restricting member of Patent Document 1 is characterized by including a claw portion that can rotate in the width direction of the sheet. The pawl portion of the restricting member of Patent Document 1 is rotated in the width direction of the sheet when the sheet is installed in the cassette. Further, the pawl portion of the restriction member of Patent Document 1 is disposed at a position protruding inward from the restriction member so as to hold down the upper surface of the sheet bundle in the cassette while the sheet is supplied from the cassette.

JP 2005-187095 A

  The structure of the regulating member of Patent Document 1 can suppress damage to the sheet bundle accommodated in the cassette because the claw portion is opened outward. Moreover, since the structure of the regulation member of Patent Document 1 enables the claw portion to protrude inward, it is possible to suppress jumping of the sheet conveyed from the cassette. However, the structure of the regulating member disclosed in Patent Document 1 does not contribute to the reduction of the gap between the side edge of the sheet and the regulating member.

  When the user adjusts the position of the restricting member, the user is concerned about the folding of the sheet, and in many cases, a slight gap is allowed between the side edge of the sheet and the restricting member. As a result, the restricting member cannot sufficiently play the role of stabilizing the sheet conveyance that should originally be performed. Since the pivotable claw portion of Patent Document 1 rotates outside the regulating member standing along the side edge of the sheet bundle and projects inward from the upper end edge of the regulating member. Even if the structure of the claw portion of Patent Document 1 is applied, stabilization of sheet conveyance is not obtained. In addition, the structure of the restricting member of Patent Document 1 requires the user to rotate the claw portion, which increases the labor of installing the sheet on the cassette.

  Such a problem related to stabilization of sheet conveyance is not limited to the image forming apparatus, but is common to any processing apparatus that applies a predetermined process to the sheet.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problem, and is a process for applying a predetermined process to a sheet accommodated in a cassette that can effectively stabilize the conveyance of the sheet. An object is to provide an apparatus.

A cassette according to an aspect of the present invention is a cassette having a regulating member having a regulating surface that regulates displacement in the width direction of the sheet along a side edge of the sheet, and the regulating member protrudes from the regulating surface. A regulation adjustment piece formed to be movable between a regulation position to be moved and a retracted position that is immersed in the regulation member with respect to the regulation position, and a bias that biases the regulation adjustment piece toward the regulation position you wherein including a buffer portion and a part.

  According to the above configuration, the restriction surface of the restriction member restricts displacement in the width direction of the sheet, which contributes to stabilization of sheet conveyance. The restricting member further includes a restricting adjustment piece formed so as to be movable between a restricting position protruding from the restricting surface and a retracted position immersed in the restricting member with respect to the restricting position. The regulation adjusting piece is urged toward the regulation position by the urging unit. Therefore, even if the user allows a slight gap between the side edge of the sheet and the regulation surface, the regulation adjustment piece protrudes to fill the gap, so that the regulation adjustment piece abuts on the side edge of the sheet. As a result, the conveyance of the sheet is further stabilized. In addition, since the regulation adjustment piece can be moved to the retracted position, the regulation adjustment piece can be prevented from excessively abutting against the side edge of the sheet, and problems such as sheet folding can be suppressed. .

In the above configuration, the cassette has a cassette housing in which an opening for taking out the sheet from the cassette is formed, a lift plate that supports the sheet, and a moving mechanism that moves the lift plate toward the opening. When, further comprising a, the regulating adjustment piece, it is not preferable that includes a first inclined surface which increases gradually protruding amount as from the lifting plate toward the opening.

  According to the above configuration, since the sheet is taken out from the opening, the moving mechanism moves the lift plate toward the opening. Since the first inclined surface gradually increases the protrusion amount from the lift plate toward the opening, the regulation adjustment piece is gradually retracted according to the strength of contact between the regulation adjustment piece and the side edge of the seat. Will be moved to. Thus, it is possible to suppress the regulation adjusting piece from being excessively abutted against the side edge of the sheet, and it is possible to suppress problems such as sheet folding.

In the above configuration, the restricting member may have preferably comprise a thickness regulating portion projecting from the regulation adjusting piece so as to regulate the thickness of the stack of the sheets.

  According to the above configuration, since the thickness restricting portion protrudes from the restriction adjusting piece, the thickness of the sheet bundle can be restricted. Therefore, overloading of sheets is suppressed.

In the above configuration, the restricting member includes a thickness restricting portion protruding from the restricting adjustment piece so as to restrict the thickness of the sheet bundle, and the thickness restricting portion protrudes from the restriction adjusting piece. it is not preferable that includes a second inclined surface inclined first edge toward the accommodation direction of the sheet to the cassette housing.

  According to the above configuration, as the second inclined surface protrudes from the regulation adjustment piece, the second inclined surface is inclined toward the accommodation direction of the sheet into the cassette housing. The part is urged to the retracted position. Thus, the user can store the sheet in the cassette relatively easily.

In the above configuration, the biasing portion, it is not preferable to include an elastic deformable resin member or a plate spring is connected to the regulation adjusting pieces.

  According to the said structure, a regulation adjustment piece will be urged | biased toward a protrusion position suitably.

A processing apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention is formed so as to apply a predetermined process to a sheet. The processing apparatus includes: a main housing that houses a processing unit that performs the predetermined processing; and a cassette that holds the sheet that is transported to the processing unit in the main housing, the cassette being on a side of the sheet A restricting member having a first surface along the edge, the restricting member being formed to be movable between a restricting position protruding from the restricting surface and a retracted position recessed into the restricting member from the restricting position. a regulating adjusting pieces which are, you comprising a buffer unit including an urging portion for urging the the regulating adjusting pieces in the regulating position.

  According to the above configuration, the restriction surface of the restriction member restricts displacement in the width direction of the sheet, which contributes to stabilization of sheet conveyance. The restricting member further includes a restricting adjustment piece formed so as to be movable between a restricting position protruding from the restricting surface and a retracted position immersed in the restricting member with respect to the restricting position. The regulation adjusting piece is urged toward the regulation position by the urging unit. Therefore, even if the user allows a slight gap between the side edge of the sheet and the regulation surface, the regulation adjustment piece protrudes to fill the gap, so that the regulation adjustment piece abuts on the side edge of the sheet. As a result, the conveyance of the sheet is further stabilized. In addition, since the regulation adjustment piece can be moved to the retracted position, the regulation adjustment piece can be prevented from excessively abutting against the side edge of the sheet, and problems such as sheet folding can be suppressed. . Thus, the sheet is appropriately conveyed to the processing unit, and predetermined processing is suitably performed.

In the above configuration, the predetermined process, it is not preferable that an image forming process for forming an image on the sheet.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to perform the image forming process while suppressing inconveniences related to sheet conveyance.

  The present invention can effectively stabilize sheet conveyance.

1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus with the cassette removed. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cassette that is inserted into or pulled out of the image forming apparatus. It is a perspective view of the cassette shown by FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of the slider of the cassette shown by FIG. It is a perspective view of the buffer part of the slider shown by FIG. It is a top view of the lift board of the cassette shown by FIG. It is a figure which shows schematically the moving mechanism of the cassette shown by FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a cassette including the moving mechanism shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for schematically explaining the interlocking between the lift plate shown in FIG. 8 and the buffer portion shown in FIG. 7.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that terms used in the following description, such as “up”, “down”, “left”, “right” and the like, are merely for the purpose of clarifying the explanation and do not limit the present invention. Not what you want. Further, in the following description, the term “sheet” means copy paper, coated paper, OHP sheet, cardboard, postcard, tracing paper, other sheet material subjected to image forming processing, or any processing other than image forming processing. Means the sheet material to receive. The terms “upstream”, “downstream” and similar terms used in the following description mean “upstream”, “downstream” and similar concepts in the sheet conveyance direction. The term “sheet width direction” and similar terms used in the following description mean a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction. The term “side edge of the sheet” and the like terms used in the following description means the edge of the sheet extending in the direction along the sheet conveyance direction. In the following description, an image forming apparatus is shown as the processing apparatus. However, in another embodiment, any apparatus formed to perform a desired process on a sheet may be used as the processing apparatus. Good.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 schematically shows the internal structure of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. The image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is a so-called in-body discharge type copier, but in other embodiments, a printer, a facsimile machine, a multifunction machine having these functions, or a toner image on a sheet. Other devices for forming may be used.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a main housing 2 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The main housing 2 connects a substantially rectangular parallelepiped lower housing 21, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped upper housing 22 disposed above the lower housing 21, and the lower housing 21 and the upper housing 22. And a connecting housing 23. The connection housing 23 extends along the right edge and the back edge of the main housing 2. The sheet subjected to the printing process is discharged into a discharge space 24 surrounded by the lower casing 21, the upper casing 22, and the connecting casing 23.

  The operation unit 221 protruding in the front direction of the upper housing 22 includes, for example, an LCD touch panel 222. The operation unit 221 is formed so as to be able to input information related to the image forming process. For example, the user can input the number of sheets to be printed, the print density, and the like through the LCD touch panel 222. Housed in the upper housing 22 are mainly an apparatus for reading an image of a document and an electronic circuit that controls the entire image forming apparatus 1.

  A pressing cover 223 disposed on the upper housing 22 is used for pressing the document. The presser cover 223 is attached to the upper housing 22 so as to be rotatable up and down. The user rotates the holding cover 223 upward to place the document on the upper housing 22. Thereafter, the user can operate the operation unit 221 to read an image of the document on a device provided in the upper housing 22.

  The lower casing 21 accommodates a cassette 500 formed so as to be capable of accommodating sheets. The cassette 500 can be pulled out from the lower housing 21 in the front direction. The sheets stored in the cassette 500 are subjected to an image forming process in the lower housing 21 based on an instruction input by the user through the operation unit 221 and are discharged into the discharge space 24.

  A tray 212 is rotatably attached to the right surface of the lower housing 21. As shown in FIG. 1, when the tray 212 is in a position protruding to the right of the lower housing 21, the user can place a sheet on the tray 212. The sheet on the tray 212 is drawn into the lower housing 21 based on an instruction input by the user through the operation unit 221, is subjected to image forming processing, and is discharged into the discharge space 24. When the tray 212 is rotated upward, the tray 212 is accommodated in the accommodation space 213 that is recessed in the right surface of the lower casing 21, and the supply port for drawing the sheet into the lower casing 21 is closed.

  The lower housing 21 accommodates various devices for forming an image on a sheet. Further, the connection housing 23 accommodates various devices for discharging the sheet subjected to the image forming process to the discharge space 24.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows the internal structure of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. The image forming apparatus 1 will be further described with reference to FIG. 1 in conjunction with FIG.

The upper housing 22 accommodates the scanning mechanism 224. The user can cause the image forming apparatus 1 to read an image of a desired document through the scanning mechanism 224. A contact glass 225 attached to the upper surface of the upper housing 22 is disposed on the scanning mechanism 224. The pressing cover 223 is used for pressing a document placed on the contact glass 225.
When the user operates the image forming apparatus 1 through the operation unit 221, the scanning mechanism 224 scans and reads an image of the document on the contact glass 225. Analog information of the image read by the scanning mechanism 224 is converted into a digital signal. The image forming apparatus 1 forms an image on a sheet based on the digital signal.

  The lower casing 21 accommodates toner containers 900Y, 900M, 900C, and 900K, an intermediate transfer unit 92, an image forming unit 93, an exposure unit 94, a fixing unit 97, and a paper discharge unit 96. In the present embodiment, the image forming unit 93 is used as a processing unit that applies an image forming process to a sheet. In other processing apparatuses, the processing unit includes, for example, a cutting element that cuts a sheet, and a bending element that folds a sheet. Further, it may be a punching element for punching a sheet or a processing element for applying a desired process to the sheet.

  The image forming unit 93 includes a yellow toner container 900Y, a magenta toner container 900M, a cyan toner container 900C, and a black toner container 900K. Below these containers, developing devices 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K corresponding to the respective colors of YMCK are disposed.

  The image forming unit 93 includes a photosensitive drum 17 (a photosensitive member on which a latent image is formed by an electrophotographic method) that carries a toner image of each color. As the photosensitive drum 17, a photosensitive drum using an amorphous silicon (a-Si) material can be used. The photosensitive drums 17 are supplied with yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners from the toner containers 900Y, 900M, 900C, and 900K, respectively.

  Around the photosensitive drum 17, a charger 16, a developing device 10 (10Y, 10M, 10C, 10K), a transfer device (transfer roller) 19 and a cleaning device 18 are arranged. The charger 16 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 17. The surface of the photosensitive drum 17 after charging is exposed by the exposure unit 94 to form an electrostatic latent image. The exposure unit 94 emits laser light based on the digital signal generated by the scanning mechanism 224 described above. The developing devices 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K develop the electrostatic latent images formed on the respective photosensitive drums 17 using the toners of the respective colors supplied from the toner containers 900Y, 900M, 900C, and 900K, respectively ( Visualization). The transfer roller 19 forms a nip portion with the photosensitive drum 17 across the intermediate transfer belt 921, and primarily transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 17 onto the intermediate transfer belt 921. The cleaning device 18 cleans the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 17 after the toner image is transferred.

  Each developing device 10Y, 10M, 10C, 10K includes a developing case 20. A two-component developer having a magnetic carrier and toner is accommodated in the developing case 20. Further, in the developing case 20, two stirring rollers 11 and 12 (developer stirring members) are rotatably arranged in parallel near the bottom of the developing case 20 with the longitudinal direction as an axial direction.

  A developer circulation path is set on the inner bottom surface of the developing case 20, and the stirring rollers 11 and 12 are disposed in the circulation path. A partition wall 201 erected from the bottom of the developing case 20 is provided in the axial direction between the stirring rollers 11 and 12. The partition wall 201 divides the circulation path. A circulation path is formed so as to circulate around the partition wall 201. The two-component developer is charged while being stirred and conveyed on the circulation path by the stirring rollers 11 and 12.

  The two-component developer circulates in the developing case 20 while being stirred by the stirring rollers 11 and 12, and the toner is charged. The two-component developer on the stirring roller 11 is attracted and conveyed by the magnetic roller 14 located on the upper side. The sucked two-component developer forms a magnetic brush (not shown) on the magnetic roller 14. The layer thickness of the magnetic brush is regulated by the doctor blade 13. The toner layer on the developing roller 15 is formed by a potential difference between the magnetic roller 14 and the developing roller 15. The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 17 is developed by the toner layer.

  The exposure unit 94 includes various optical system devices such as a light source, a polygon mirror, a reflection mirror, and a deflection mirror. Light based on image data is provided on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 17 provided in each of the image forming units 93. To form an electrostatic latent image.

  The intermediate transfer unit 92 includes an intermediate transfer belt 921, a driving roller 922, and a driven roller 923. On the intermediate transfer belt 921, toner images are overcoated from a plurality of photosensitive drums 17 (primary transfer). The overcoated toner image is secondarily transferred to the sheet supplied from the cassette 500 or the tray 212 (see FIG. 1) in the secondary transfer unit 98. A driving roller 922 and a driven roller 923 that rotate the intermediate transfer belt 921 are rotatably supported by the lower housing 21.

  The fixing unit 97 performs a fixing process on the toner image on the sheet secondarily transferred from the intermediate transfer unit 92. The sheet with the color image that has been subjected to the fixing process is discharged toward a paper discharge unit 96 formed in the upper part of the fixing unit 97 (in the connection housing 23).

  The paper discharge unit 96 discharges the sheet conveyed from the fixing unit 97 onto the upper surface 213 of the lower housing 21 used as a paper discharge tray.

  The cassette 500 stores a sheet bundle formed by stacking a plurality of sheets on which images are formed. The cassette 500 is detachably attached to the lower housing 21 as described above. When the pickup roller 40 provided in the cassette 500 is driven, the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle in the cassette 500 is taken out one by one, fed out to the paper feed conveyance path 133, and introduced into the image forming unit 93. The Roll elements disposed in the middle of the pickup roller 40, the paper feed conveyance path 133, and the paper feed conveyance path 133 are used as a conveyance unit that conveys the sheet to the image forming unit 93 that forms an image on the sheet.

  The tray 212 is disposed above the cassette 500. The tray 212 shown in FIG. 2 is in a closed position for closing the paper feed port. The lower end portion of the tray 212 serves as a rotation shaft, and the tray 212 is rotated rightward so that a sheet bundle formed by stacking a plurality of sheets can be supported. A paper feed structure 950 is disposed near the lower end of the tray 212. The paper feed structure 950 feeds the sheets placed on the tray 212 one by one to the image forming unit 93, and an image is formed on the sheet by the image forming unit 93.

  FIG. 3 shows the image forming apparatus 1 with the cassette 500 removed. The image forming apparatus 1 will be further described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 in conjunction with FIG.

  The lower housing 21 includes a wall portion 610 that forms an accommodation space 600 for accommodating the cassette 500. In FIG. 3, a side wall 611 facing the side surface of the cassette 500 and a bottom wall 612 facing the lower surface of the cassette 500 are shown. A rail 613 extending in the depth direction of the main housing 2 (a direction from the front side toward the back side) is attached to the side wall 611.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the cassette 500 inserted into the storage space 600 or the cassette 500 pulled out from the storage space 600. The cassette 500 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 in conjunction with FIG. 4.

  The cassette 500 is formed so as to be accommodated in the accommodation space 600. The user pulls out the cassette 500 from the storage space 600 when replenishing the sheet in the cassette 500 or when replacing the sheet in the cassette 500 with another sheet. The user pushes the cassette 500 into the accommodation space 600 when a new sheet is replenished in the cassette 500 or after the sheet in the cassette 500 is replaced with a new sheet. When the cassette 500 is accommodated in the accommodation space 600, the cassette 500 holds the sheet in the lower housing 21. The movement of the cassette toward the inside and outside of the accommodation space 600 is guided by the rail 613. In the following description, the direction in which the cassette 500 is pulled out from the storage space 600 (the direction from the back side to the front side) is referred to as the first direction for convenience, and the cassette 500 is stored in the opposite direction to the first direction. The direction pushed into the space 600 (the direction from the front side to the back side) is referred to as the second direction for convenience.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cassette 500. The cassette 500 is further described with reference to FIGS. 2-4 in conjunction with FIG.

  The cassette 500 includes a cassette housing 510 formed so as to be able to accommodate sheets. The cassette housing 510 includes a substantially rectangular bottom wall 511, and a pair of side walls 512, a front wall 513, and a back wall 514 erected upward from the periphery of the bottom wall 511. A front wall 513 extending between the front side edges of the pair of side walls 512 appears on the outer surface of the main housing 2 when the cassette housing 510 is completely housed in the housing space 600. The back wall 514 is disposed to face the front wall 513. Of the pair of side walls 512, the right side wall is a downstream wall 515 located downstream in the sheet conveyance direction, and the left side wall is an upstream wall 516 located upstream in the sheet conveyance direction. It is. Each of the pair of side walls 512 meshes with the rail portion 613, so that the movement of the cassette 500 in the first direction and the second direction is guided. The front wall 513 includes a substantially U-shaped grip portion 518. The user can grip the grip portion 518 and move the cassette 500 in the first direction and the second direction. The upper edges of the pair of side walls 512, the front wall 513 and the back wall 514 form an opening 517 for accommodating a sheet in the cassette 500. The user can store the sheet in the cassette housing 510 through the opening 517.

  The cassette 500 further includes a pair of sliders 520 adjacent to the front wall 513 and the back wall 514, respectively. The slider 520 includes a restriction surface 522 that extends upward from the bottom wall 511 and extends along the side edge of the sheet disposed in the cassette housing 510. The restricting surface 522 restricts displacement in the width direction of the sheet disposed on the lift plate 530. A guide groove 521 for guiding the movement of the slider 520 is formed in the bottom plate 511. The guide groove 521 extends from the front wall 513 toward the back wall 514. Therefore, the slider 520 can move in the width direction of the sheet. Thus, the user can bring the slider 520 into contact with the side edge of a sheet of any size. In the present embodiment, the slider 520 regulates displacement in the width direction of the sheet conveyed from the cassette 500 and is used as a regulating member for stabilizing the conveyance of the sheet. In other embodiments, the cassette 500 is used. Any element that is fixedly provided on the bottom wall 511 of the sheet and formed so as to restrict displacement in the width direction of the sheet may be used as the restricting member.

  The slider 520 includes a buffer 700 that further stabilizes the conveyance of the sheet. The buffer 700 is disposed at the downstream end of the slider 520.

  FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the slider 520 around the buffer portion 700. FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the slider 520 viewed from the regulation surface 522 side, and FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the slider 520 viewed from the surface opposite to the regulation surface 522.

  An opening 523 is formed on the upper edge surface of the slider 520, and an accommodation space for accommodating the buffer 700 is formed downward from the opening 523.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the buffer portion 700. FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the buffer portion 700 viewed from the regulation surface 522 side, and FIG. 7B is a perspective view of the buffer portion 700 viewed from the side opposite to the regulation surface 522. The buffer 700 is further described with reference to FIG. 6 in conjunction with FIG.

  The buffer part 700 formed in a rod shape as a whole includes an urging part 710 formed in a substantially L shape and a regulation adjusting piece 720 extending upward from the tip part of the urging part 710. The urging unit 710 includes a protrusion 711 for connecting to the slider 520. In the present embodiment, the urging portion 710 is formed in a thin plate shape as a whole and can be elastically deformed. The urging portion 710 is formed integrally with the regulation adjusting piece 720. In another embodiment, a leaf spring may be applied to the urging portion 710.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the regulation adjusting piece 720 protrudes from the substantially U-shaped slit formed on the regulation surface 522 toward the side edge of the sheet. The accommodation space extending downward from the opening 523 formed on the upper edge surface of the slider 520 allows the regulation adjusting piece 720 to move in a direction away from the side edge of the sheet. In the following description, the position where the regulation adjustment piece 720 protrudes from the regulation surface 522 (the position of the regulation adjustment piece 720 shown in FIG. 6) is referred to as a regulation position for convenience, and is located inside the slider 520 rather than the regulation position. The position where the sheet is immersed (the position separated from the side edge of the sheet) is referred to as a retracted position for convenience. In the present embodiment, the regulation adjustment piece 720 is movable between a regulation position and a retracted position. Further, when the regulation adjusting piece 720 is in the retracted position, the biasing portion 710 is bent and elastically deformed. The urging portion 710 is attached to the slider 520 so as to urge the restriction adjusting piece 720 to the protruding position, and when the force to move the restriction adjusting piece 720 to the retracted position is removed, the elastic deformation of the urging portion 710 is bent. Is eliminated, and the regulation adjustment piece 720 moves toward the regulation position. The regulation adjustment piece 720 includes a restriction member 721 that protrudes from the side edge of the regulation adjustment piece 720. The restriction member 721 restricts the movement of the restriction adjustment piece 720 toward the restriction position. Thus, the restriction position of the restriction adjustment piece 720 is determined.

  The buffer portion 700 further includes a thickness restricting portion 730 that protrudes from the restricting adjustment piece 720 toward the center of the sheet. The thickness regulating unit 730 regulates the thickness of the sheet bundle disposed in the cassette housing 510. A second inclined surface 731 is formed on the upper surface of the thickness regulating portion 730. The second inclined surface 731 is inclined in the sheet accommodation direction (ie, downward) in the cassette housing 510 as the thickness restricting portion 730 protrudes from the restriction adjusting piece 720. Therefore, when the user accommodates the sheet in the cassette housing 510, the regulation adjustment piece 720 is guided to the retracted position by the contact between the side edge of the sheet and the second inclined surface. Thus, excessive interference between the sheet to be accommodated in the cassette housing 510 and the thickness regulating portion 730 is suppressed, and the user can accommodate the sheet in the cassette housing 510 relatively easily. Become.

  Please refer to FIG. 5 again. The cassette 500 further includes a lift plate 530 that supports sheets accommodated in the cassette housing 510. The lift plate 530 plays a role of supplying the sheet stored in the cassette housing 510 to the pickup roller 40.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view of the lift plate 530. The lift plate 530 will be further described with reference to FIG. 5 in conjunction with FIG.

  The lift plate 530 is a substantially H-shaped thin plate. The lift plate 530 includes a front end plate 531 and a base end plate 532 extending in the sheet width direction, and a connection plate 533 formed to connect the front end plate 531 and the base end plate 532. The base end plate 532 includes a pair of thin plate-like connecting portions 534 along the front wall 513 and the back wall 514. A slit 535 is formed in the connecting portion 534. A rotation shaft 536 extending from the inner surface of each of the front wall 513 and the back wall 514 supports the lift plate 530 in a rotatable manner. The lift plate 530 is connected to the front wall 513 and the back wall 514 so as to be rotatable around the rotation shaft 536. As a result, the tip plate 531 of the lift plate 530 can move up and down. The position / posture of the lift plate 530 approaching the opening 517 formed by the upper edge of the pair of side walls 512, the front wall 513, and the back wall 514 is referred to as the close position for convenience. The position / posture where the tip plate 531 of the lift plate 530 moves downward from the proximity position and is separated from the opening 517 is referred to as a separation position for convenience.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a moving mechanism for moving the lift plate 530 between the proximity position and the separation position. FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram schematically showing the lift plate 530 and the moving mechanism, and FIG. 9B is a schematic diagram schematically showing the lift plate 530 in the proximity position. c) is a schematic view schematically showing the lift plate 530 in the separated position. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the cassette 500 as viewed from below. The moving mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 4, and 5 in conjunction with FIGS. 9 and 10.

  The moving mechanism 540 is attached to the rotary shaft 541 extending between the bottom wall 511 of the cassette housing 510 and the tip plate 531 of the lift plate 530, and is attached to the middle portion of the rotary shaft 541 and extends in the radial direction of the rotary shaft 541. And an extruding portion 543 having a rectangular flat plate shape. A base end portion of the rotation shaft 541 is located outside the back wall 514. The rotating shaft 541 passes through the back wall 514 and extends toward the front wall 513. The proximal end portion of the rotating shaft 541 includes a connecting rod 542 that extends in the radial direction from the peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 541. When the cassette housing 510 is completely accommodated in the accommodating space 600, the connecting rod 542 meshes with a coupling attached to a rotating shaft of a motor (not shown) disposed at the back of the accommodating space 600. By driving the motor, the rotating shaft 541 rotates between the lift plate 530 and the bottom wall 511 of the cassette housing 510.

  A base end portion of the pushing portion 543 is integrally connected to the rotating shaft 541. Therefore, the pushing portion 543 rotates integrally with the rotating shaft 541. When the pushing portion 543 rotates along with the rotation of the rotation shaft 541, the lift plate 530 rotates around the rotation shaft 536. As a result, the tip of the pushing portion 543 comes into contact with the lower surface of the lift plate 530. As a result, the front end plate 531 of the lift plate 530 moves toward the pickup roller 40 disposed above the opening 517 of the cassette housing 510. As a result, the sheet bundle including the plurality of sheets S stacked on the lift plate 530 comes into contact with the pickup roller 40. Thus, the moving mechanism 540 moves the lift plate 530 to the close position, and the sheet S is supplied to the pickup roller 40.

  FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the interlocking between the lift plate 530 and the buffer portion 700. FIG. 7A shows the lift plate 530 and the buffer portion 700 before ascending, and FIG. 7B shows the lift plate 530 and the buffer portion 700 being raised. The interlocking between the lift plate 530 and the buffer portion 700 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, and 9 together with FIG. 11.

  The regulation adjustment piece 720 of the buffer 700 includes a first inclined surface 722. The first inclined surface 722 is located at the lower end of the regulation adjustment piece 720 and contacts the side edge of the sheet S when the lift plate 530 is raised. Since the first inclined surface 722 is inclined so as to gradually increase the protruding amount from the lift plate 530 toward the opening 517 of the cassette housing 510, when the rising sheet S and the first inclined surface 722 come into contact with each other. The regulation adjustment piece 720 gradually moves toward the retracted position. As a result, the urging portion 710 is bent and elastically deformed in a direction away from the side edge of the sheet S.

  The present invention can be applied to a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a multifunction machine having these functions, various apparatuses for forming an image on a sheet, and a processing apparatus for applying a predetermined process to a sheet.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus 2 ... Main housing 500 ... Cassette 510 ... Cassette housing 517 ... Opening 520 ... Restriction member 522 ... Restriction surface 530- ··· Lift plate 540 ··· Movement mechanism 700 ··· buffer portion 710 ··· urging portion 720 ··· regulation adjustment piece 722 ··· first inclined surface 730 · · · thickness regulating portion ..Sheet

Claims (3)

A regulating member having a regulating surface that regulates the displacement in the width direction of the sheet along the side edge of the sheet, a cassette housing in which an opening from which the sheet is taken out is formed, a lift plate that supports the sheet, A moving mechanism for moving the lift plate toward the opening ,
The regulating member includes the a regulating adjustment piece that is movably formed between a retracted position retracted into restriction member, is connected to the regulating adjusting pieces to the restriction position and the restriction position projecting from the regulation surface And a buffer portion having an urging portion that is formed of a resin member or a leaf spring that is elastically deformable and urges the restriction adjusting piece toward the restriction position ,
The regulation adjustment piece includes a first inclined surface that gradually increases a projection amount from the lift plate toward the opening, and a thickness regulation portion that projects so as to regulate the thickness of the bundle of sheets. Including
The thickness restricting portion includes a second inclined surface that inclines forward and downward toward the sheet accommodation direction into the cassette housing as it protrudes from the restriction adjusting piece,
The urging portion is a substantially L-shaped thin plate, and includes an elastically deformable vertical surface and a horizontal surface connected to the restriction adjusting piece,
When the regulation adjusting piece comes into contact with the sheet and moves to the retracted position, the vertical surface of the biasing portion is bent and elastically deformed, and the thickness regulating portion moves in the horizontal direction. . A processing device for applying a predetermined process to a sheet,
A main housing that houses a processing section that performs the predetermined processing;
A cassette according to claim 1,
The cassette holds the sheet conveyed to the processing unit in the main casing. The processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the predetermined process is an image forming process for forming an image on the sheet.

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