JP5553929B2 - Sheet feeding device and image forming apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device that feeds a sheet such as a document to a predetermined document reading position, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet feeding device.

  An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine includes a sheet feeding device that conveys a document sheet such as a document having an image to a predetermined reading position, a reading device that reads a document image of the document sheet at the reading position, and obtains image data; And an image forming unit that forms an image based on the image data on a recording sheet.

  The sheet feeding device includes, as basic components, a pickup roller that feeds document sheets placed on the sheet tray one by one to the conveyance path, and a feeding roller that further feeds the document sheet taken out by the pickup roller to the conveyance path. It includes a paper roller, a plurality of conveyance roller pairs that convey the document sheet toward the document reading position, and a cover unit that rotatably holds these members.

  Further, such a sheet feeding device further includes a stopper. The stopper is a member disposed between the pickup roller and the paper feed roller, and contacts the leading edge of the document sheet placed on the sheet tray before the pickup roller performs a paper feeding operation. The position of the leading edge in the sheet feeding direction is regulated, that is, the position of the leading edge in the sheet feeding direction is made uniform. By aligning the positions of the leading ends in the sheet feeding direction, it is possible to prevent the document sheet from being sent to the conveyance path in an oblique posture during the sheet feeding operation of the pickup roller.

  As a sheet feeding apparatus using such a stopper, the one disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In the sheet feeding device of Patent Document 1, the stopper is connected to the drive shaft of the pickup roller via a one-way clutch. When the document sheet is placed on the sheet tray and the leading end in the paper feeding direction comes into contact with the stopper, a load of the driving system acts on the stopper via the one-way clutch. Can be defined. On the other hand, when the drive shaft of the pickup roller rotates, the drive system load acting on the stopper is released by the action of the one-way clutch, and the stopper is pushed up (rotated) by the pressing force of the document sheet to be fed. ), Away from the leading edge in the paper feeding direction. As a result, the original sheet is fed into the conveyance path.

JP 2002-29639 A

  In the sheet feeding device configured as described above in Patent Document 1, when a jam occurs due to a sheet feeding operation by the pickup roller or the sheet feeding roller, the user opens the cover unit to expose the conveyance path to the outside. The jammed original sheet can be removed. However, if the user does not know such a jam processing procedure, if the original sheet is jammed and a part of the jammed original sheet (for example, the rear end in the paper feeding direction) remains on the sheet tray, the user Grasping the trailing edge of the paper feeding direction, try to pull out the jammed sheet from the transport path. Therefore, the stopper is easily caught on the original sheet that is about to be pulled out. If the stopper is caught on the document sheet, the document sheet may be damaged.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device capable of suppressing damage to a document sheet even when a jammed sheet is forcibly pulled out, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet feeding device. And

  In order to achieve the above object, a sheet feeding apparatus according to the present invention is located on the sheet feeding path, a sheet feeding mechanism that feeds a sheet along a sheet feeding path, a support, and the sheet feeding path. A member that is supported by the support so as to be rotatable about the first rotation fulcrum, and has a contact end, and the contact mechanism is configured to perform the contact before the sheet feeding operation for feeding the sheet. A regulation posture in which the end portion abuts on the leading edge of the sheet feeding direction to regulate the position of the leading edge of the sheet feeding direction, and the contact toward the first direction in which the sheet is fed during the sheet feeding operation. The paper feed allowable posture in which the contact end portion is separated from the front end in the paper feed direction and the paper feed around the first rotation fulcrum so that the contact end portion is directed in the second direction opposite to the first direction. A stopper piece that changes its posture between a rotating posture that rotates from an allowable posture, and the support can be rotated around a second rotating fulcrum. A holder that supports the sheet, and the support rotates in the first rotation direction around the second rotation fulcrum during the sheet feeding operation in which the sheet moves in the first direction. Is rotated in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction around the second rotation fulcrum when the sheet is pulled out in the second direction, and the sheet feeding mechanism Is rotatably held by the holder, and a roller member that feeds the sheet by a rotating operation, and a posture of the roller member, and the roller member contacts the sheet and starts the sheet feeding operation. And a swinging means for changing a posture between a feeding posture to be retracted and a retracting posture away from the sheet, and the stopper piece takes the restricting posture when the roller member takes the retracting posture. On the other hand, the roller When wood is taking the sheet feed position, it takes the paper feed tolerance attitude, when the pulling operation is performed, taking the pivot posture.

  According to the sheet feeding device of the present invention, the stopper piece changes its posture between the regulating posture, the paper feeding allowable posture, and the rotating posture. The stopper piece takes a restricting posture before the sheet feeding operation of the sheet feeding mechanism, and regulates the position of the leading end in the sheet feeding direction by the contact end. In addition, the stopper piece does not interfere with the paper feeding operation because the stopper end assumes a paper feeding permissible posture in which the contact end portion is separated from the front end in the paper feeding direction.

  Further, when a jam occurs in the paper feed mechanism, the stopper piece rotates from the paper feed allowable posture around the first rotation fulcrum so that the contact end portion faces the second direction, which is the direction in which the sheet is pulled out. And take a rotating posture. Thereby, it is suppressed that a sheet | seat is hooked on a stopper piece. As a result, the pressure received from the sheet from which the stopper piece is pulled out is reduced, and damage to the original sheet is suppressed.

  The sheet feeding mechanism further includes a holder that rotatably supports the support, and the support is a rotatable member that rotates around the second rotation fulcrum on the holder. The support is rotated in the first rotation direction around the second rotation fulcrum in conjunction with the change in the posture of the stopper piece to the paper feed allowable posture, The stopper piece rotates in the second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction around the second rotation fulcrum in conjunction with the posture change to the rotation posture.

  According to this structure, the pressure with respect to the stopper piece of the sheet | seat pulled out is transmitted to a support body from a stopper piece. However, the support body rotates in the second rotation direction in conjunction with the posture change of the stopper piece to the rotation attitude. Therefore, the pressure of the sheet is released in the order of the stopper piece and the support body. Thereby, the attitude | position change to the rotation attitude | position of a stopper piece is performed smoothly.

  The paper feeding mechanism includes the holder, a roller member that is rotatably held by the holder, and feeds the sheet by a rotating operation, and a swinging unit that swings the holder. The moving means swings the holder to change the posture of the roller member, the feeding posture where the roller member comes into contact with the sheet and starts the feeding operation of the sheet, and the retreating away from the sheet. When the roller member is in the retracted position, the stopper piece is in the restricting position while the roller member is in the feeding position. The roller member assumes the paper allowable posture, and the roller member takes the retracted posture at a timing when the support member rotates in the second rotation direction and the stopper piece takes the rotation posture.

  According to this configuration, the roller member takes the retracted position (position away from the sheet) at the timing when the support body rotates in the second rotation direction and the stopper piece takes the rotation position. Is smoothly pulled out from the sheet feeding mechanism, and the catch of the stopper piece on the sheet is further suppressed.

  In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the holder has a shaft portion, and the support is supported by the shaft portion so as to be rotatable about the second rotation fulcrum.

  According to this configuration, since the support body is supported by the shaft portion of the holder so as to be rotatable around the second rotation fulcrum, the change in the posture of the stopper piece and the change in the posture of the roller member are synchronized. Is easy.

  In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sheet feeding device further includes a housing that houses the sheet feeding mechanism, the stopper piece, and the support, and the housing contacts the support. And a first contact piece that prevents the support body from rotating in the first rotation direction, the first contact piece being in a state in which the stopper piece is in the restricting posture. When contacting the support.

  According to this configuration, the first abutting piece abuts the support body when the stopper piece is in the restricting posture, and prevents the support body from rotating in the first rotation direction. Therefore, the stopper piece is prevented from rotating and the contact end portion is prevented from being directed in the first direction. Thereby, the restriction posture of the stopper piece is maintained. As a result, the position of the leading edge in the sheet feeding direction is appropriately regulated before the sheet feeding operation.

  In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, when the stopper piece is in the sheet feed allowable posture, the support member exceeds the predetermined rotation range in the first rotation direction. It has the 2nd contact piece which contacts when it rotates.

  According to this configuration, in the case where the stopper piece is in the paper feed allowable posture, in other words, in the case where the roller member is in the paper feed posture, the second abutting piece has the support body rotated in the first direction. Abuts when rotating in a direction beyond a predetermined rotation range. Accordingly, the support body is prevented from rotating more than necessary, and the sheet feeding allowable posture of the stopper piece is stabilized.

  In still another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the holder further includes a third contact piece that contacts the support and prevents the support from rotating in the second rotation direction. The third contact piece comes into contact with the support body when the stopper piece is in the rotating posture.

  According to this configuration, the third abutting piece abuts on the support body when the stopper piece is in the rotational posture, and prevents the support body from rotating in the second rotation direction. Therefore, the rotation posture of the stopper piece is maintained. Thereby, the drawing operation of the sheet from the sheet feeding mechanism is smoothly performed.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention has a conveyance path for conveying an original sheet, and a reading position at which an original image on the original sheet is read, and conveys the original sheet to the reading position. And a reading device that reads the original image at the reading position to obtain image data, and an image forming unit that forms an image based on the image data on a recording sheet. A sheet feeding device is used.

  Since the image forming apparatus according to the present invention uses a sheet feeding device capable of suppressing sheet breakage, the image forming operation can be performed smoothly.

  According to the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, since the stopper piece can take a rotating posture, it is possible to suppress damage to the sheet even if the jammed sheet is forcibly pulled out.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of an automatic document feeder. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal structure of the image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the automatic document feeder. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a portion of a document feeding unit of an automatic document feeder. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the document feeding unit viewed from the lower surface side. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the upper cover unit of the automatic document feeder viewed from the lower surface side. It is a side view which shows a stopper mechanism typically, and shows the state which the stopper piece of a stopper mechanism has taken the control attitude | position. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state in which the stopper piece has taken the paper feeding permissible attitude | position. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the stopper piece has taken the rotation attitude | position.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an automatic document feeder 3, and FIG. 3 is an internal view of the image forming apparatus 1. It is sectional drawing which shows a structure. Here, the in-body discharge type copier is illustrated as the image forming apparatus 1, but the image forming apparatus 1 may be a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine having these functions.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a main body 2 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing structure and an in-cylinder space (in-cylinder paper discharge unit 24), and an automatic document feeder 3 (on the upper surface of the main body 2). Sheet feeding device) and an additional paper feeding unit 4 assembled on the lower side of the apparatus main body 2.

  The apparatus main body 2 performs an image forming process on the sheet. The apparatus main body 2 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped lower casing 21, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped upper casing 22 disposed above the lower casing 21, and a connection that connects the lower casing 21 and the upper casing 22. And a housing 23. The lower housing 21 accommodates various devices for image formation, and the upper housing 22 accommodates various devices for optically reading a document image. An in-cylinder space surrounded by the lower casing 21, the upper casing 22, and the connecting casing 23 serves as an in-cylinder discharge unit 24 that can store a sheet after image formation. The connection housing 23 is disposed on the right side surface of the apparatus main body 2 and is provided with a discharge port 961 for discharging the sheet to the in-body discharge unit 24.

  The in-cylinder space used as the in-cylinder sheet discharge unit 24 is open to the outside on the front surface and the left side surface of the apparatus main body 2. The user can insert his / her hand through these open portions and take out the sheet after image formation from the in-body sheet discharge unit 24. A bottom surface 241 of the in-cylinder space is partitioned by the upper surface of the lower housing 21 and a sheet discharged from the discharge port 961 is stacked thereon.

  An operation panel unit 25 protrudes from the front surface of the upper housing 22. The operation panel unit 25 includes an operation key 251 including a numeric keypad and a start key, an LCD touch panel 252 and the like, and receives input of various operation instructions from the user. The user can input the number of sheets to be printed and the like and input the print density and the like through the operation panel unit 25.

  A paper feed cassette 211 that houses a recording sheet on which image forming processing is performed is mounted on the lower housing 21. The additional sheet feeding unit 4 also includes sheet feeding cassettes 41 and 42 that store recording sheets on which image forming processing is performed. These sheet feeding cassettes 211, 41, and 42 are cassettes provided for automatic sheet feeding, and can accommodate a large number of recording sheets according to size. Further, the paper feed cassettes 211, 41, and 42 can be pulled out from the front of the lower housing 21 or the additional paper feed unit 4. In FIG. 3, only the paper feed cassette 211 of the lower housing 21 is illustrated.

  A multi-tray unit M is installed on the right side of the apparatus main body 2 for allowing the user to manually feed paper. The multi-tray unit M includes a paper feed tray 43 on which a manually fed recording sheet is placed, and a paper feeding unit 44 that carries the recording sheet into an image forming unit in the lower housing 21. The paper feed tray 43 is attached to the lower housing 21 at its lower end so as to be openable and closable, and is closed when not in use. When the user manually feeds paper, the user opens the paper feed tray 43 and places a recording sheet thereon.

  The automatic document feeder 3 is attached to the upper surface of the apparatus body 2 so as to be rotatable at the rear side. In FIG. 3, the description of the automatic document feeder 3 is omitted. The automatic document feeder 3 automatically feeds a document sheet to be copied toward a predetermined document reading position (position where the first contact glass 222 is assembled) in the apparatus body 2. On the other hand, when the user manually places the document sheet on a predetermined document reading position (position of the second contact glass 223), the automatic document feeder 3 is opened upward.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the automatic document feeder 3 includes a main body housing 30, a document feed tray 31, a document transport unit 32, a document discharge tray 33, and a document reversing tray 31B. The main body housing 30 is a housing that houses various mechanisms provided in the automatic document feeder 3, and has a front wall portion 301 and a rear wall that protrude upward from the left side portion that houses the document conveying portion 32. A portion 302 is provided, and a substantially flat low layer portion is provided on the right side portion.

  The document feed tray 31 is a tray on which a document sheet fed to the image reading position is placed, and is attached to the main body housing 30 so as to extend from the feeding port 30H of the main body housing 30. . The document feed tray 31 is provided with a pair of cursors 311 for adjusting the width of the placed document sheet.

  The document transport unit 32 includes a transport path and a paper feed mechanism for transporting a document sheet on the document feed tray 31 to the document discharge tray 33 via the image reading position. The document conveying unit 32 includes an upper cover unit 32 </ b> U that is fitted into an opening between the front wall portion 301 and the rear wall portion 302 of the main body housing 30. The cover unit 32 </ b> U can be opened and closed with respect to the main body housing 30. These details will be described in detail later based on FIG.

  The document discharge tray 33 is a tray from which a document sheet after a document image is optically read is discharged. An upper surface of the lower layer portion on the right side of the main body housing 30 is a document discharge tray 33. The document reversing tray 31B is a tray from which a document sheet is temporarily ejected when a document sheet having document images on both sides is read.

  Next, the internal structure of the apparatus main body 2 will be described with reference to FIG. In the lower casing 21, toner containers 99Y, 99M, 99C, and 99K, an intermediate transfer unit 92, an image forming unit 93, an exposure unit 94, and the above-described paper feed cassette 211 are accommodated in this order from the top.

  The image forming unit 93 includes four image forming units 10Y and 10M that form yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) toner images in order to form a full-color toner image. 10C, 10K. Each of the image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K includes a photosensitive drum 11, and a charger 12, a developing device 13, a primary transfer roller 14, and a cleaning device 15 that are arranged around the photosensitive drum 11. .

  The photosensitive drum 11 rotates about its axis, and an electrostatic latent image and a toner image are formed on its peripheral surface. As the photoreceptor drum 11, a photoreceptor drum using an amorphous silicon (a-Si) material can be used. The charger 12 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 11 after charging is exposed by the exposure unit 94 to form an electrostatic latent image.

  The developing device 13 supplies toner to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 11 in order to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 11. The developing device 13 is for a two-component developer, and includes stirring rollers 16 and 17, a magnetic roller 18, and a developing roller 19. The stirring rollers 16 and 17 charge the toner by circulating and conveying the two-component developer while stirring. A two-component developer layer is carried on the peripheral surface of the magnetic roller 18, and toner formed by transferring toner to the peripheral surface of the developing roller 19 due to a potential difference between the magnetic roller 18 and the developing roller 19. The layer is supported. The toner on the developing roller 19 is supplied to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 11 and the electrostatic latent image is developed.

  The primary transfer roller 14 forms a nip portion with the photosensitive drum 11 across the intermediate transfer belt 921 provided in the intermediate transfer unit 92, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 is primary transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 921. To do. The cleaning device 15 cleans the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 11 after the toner image is transferred.

  The yellow toner container 99Y, the magenta toner container 99M, the cyan toner container 99C, and the black toner container 99K respectively store toner of each color, and image forming units 10Y, 10M, and 10C corresponding to the respective colors of YMCK. Each color toner is supplied to the 10K developing device 13 through a supply path (not shown).

  The exposure unit 94 includes various optical system devices such as a light source, a polygon mirror, a reflection mirror, and a deflection mirror, and is provided on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 11 provided in each of the image forming units 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K. The electrostatic latent image is formed by irradiating light based on the image data of the document 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 the plurality of photosensitive drums 11 (primary transfer). The overcoated toner image is secondarily transferred to the recording sheet supplied from the paper feed cassette 211 by 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 paper feed cassette 211 (41, 42) stores a sheet bundle in which a plurality of recording sheets are stacked. A pickup roller 212 is disposed at the upper right side of the paper feed cassette 211. By driving the pickup roller 212, the uppermost recording sheet of the sheet bundle in the sheet feeding cassette 211 is fed out one by one and carried into the carry-in conveyance path 26. On the other hand, the manually fed recording sheet placed on the paper feed tray 43 is carried into the carry-in conveyance path 26 by driving the paper feed roller 45 of the paper feed unit 44.

  On the downstream side of the carry-in conveyance path 26, a sheet conveyance path 28 that extends to the discharge port 961 through the secondary transfer unit 98, a fixing unit 97 and a paper discharge unit 96 described later is provided. The upstream portion of the sheet conveyance path 28 is formed between an inner wall formed in the lower housing 21 and an inner wall that forms the inner surface of the reverse conveyance unit 29. The outer surface of the reverse conveyance unit 29 constitutes one side of a reverse conveyance path 291 that reversely conveys the sheet during duplex printing. A registration roller pair 27 is disposed on the upstream side of the sheet transfer path 28 from the secondary transfer unit 98. After the sheet is temporarily stopped by the registration roller pair 27 and skew correction is performed, the sheet is sent to the secondary transfer unit 98 at a predetermined timing for image transfer.

  A fixing unit 97 and a paper discharge unit 96 are accommodated in the connection housing 23. The fixing unit 97 includes a fixing roller and a pressure roller, and performs a fixing process by heating and pressing the recording sheet on which the toner image is secondarily transferred in the secondary transfer unit 98. The recording sheet with the color image that has been subjected to the fixing process is discharged from the discharge port 961 toward the in-body discharge unit 24 by a discharge unit 96 disposed downstream of the fixing unit 97.

  A first contact glass 222 and a second contact glass 223 are fitted on the upper surface of the upper housing 22. The first contact glass 222 is provided for reading a document sheet automatically fed from the automatic document feeder 3. The second contact glass 223 is provided for reading a manually placed document sheet.

  A scanning mechanism 224 and an image sensor 225 for optically reading document information on a document sheet are accommodated in the upper housing 22. The scanning mechanism 224 includes a light source, a moving carriage, a reflection mirror, and the like, and guides reflected light from the document to the image sensor 225. The image sensor 225 photoelectrically converts the reflected light into an analog electrical signal. The analog electric signal is converted into a digital electric signal by an A / D conversion circuit (not shown) and then input to the exposure unit 94.

  Next, the internal structure of the automatic document feeder 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part (original conveying section 32) of the automatic document feeder 3. The document transport unit 32 includes first to fifth transport paths 341 to 345 that serve as transport paths for document sheets, and first to fifth transport roller pairs disposed at appropriate positions of the first to fifth transport paths 341 to 345. 351 to 355 and a document feeding unit 5 that feeds a document sheet placed on the document feeding tray 31 into the document transport unit 32. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the document feeding unit 5, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the document feeding unit 5 viewed from the lower surface side, and FIG. 7 is a view of the upper cover unit 32U described above from the lower surface side. FIG.

  The first, second, and third conveyance paths 341, 342, and 343 are configured to discharge the original sheet from the feeding port 30H to the original discharge tray 33 via the optical reading position X of the original image. A U-shaped curved conveyance path extending to the paper mouth 30E is formed. On the other hand, the fourth and fifth conveyance paths 344 and 345 are switchback conveyance paths used for reversing the original sheet when reading an original sheet having an original image on both sides.

  The first conveyance path 341 is a conveyance path that continues to the document feed tray 31 and extends to the left from the feeding port 30H slightly downward, and the document sheet sent out from the document feeding unit 5 first passes therethrough. It is a transport path. The upper conveyance surface of the first conveyance path 341 is defined by a guide member 321 (see FIG. 7) of the upper cover unit 32U. The second conveyance path 342 is an arcuate conveyance path that extends from the downstream end of the first conveyance path 341 to a position facing the first contact glass 222 that is the document reading position X. One transport surface of the second transport path 342 is also defined by the guide member 321 of the upper cover unit 32U. The third conveyance path 343 is a conveyance path extending slightly upward from the position facing the first contact glass 222 to the right to the paper discharge outlet 30E. A contact surface guide 36 that slides the document sheet against the first contact glass 222 is disposed at a position facing the first contact glass 222.

  The fourth conveyance path 344 is a conveyance path that branches from the third conveyance path 343 and extends to the upper right. A sorting lever 37 is disposed at a branch portion between the third transport path 343 and the fourth transport path 344. The sorting lever 37 guides the original sheet to the third conveyance path in the case of normal single-sided reading, but when double-sided reading of the original sheet is executed, the original sheet that has been subjected to single-sided reading needs to be reversed upside down. When there is, the document sheet is guided to the fourth conveyance path 344. The fifth conveyance path 345 is a substantially horizontal conveyance path that communicates with the fourth conveyance path 344 and the first conveyance path 341 and the document reversing tray 31B. The fifth conveyance path 345 receives a document sheet to be turned upside down from the fourth conveyance path 344. This is a transport path for switchback transport to one transport path 341.

  The first, second, third, fourth, and fifth transport roller pairs 351, 352, 353, 354, and 355, respectively, drive rollers 351A, 352A, 353A, and 354A that generate a rotational driving force for transporting the original sheet. And 355A and driven rollers 351B, 352B, 353B, 354B, and 355B that are in contact with and rotate.

  The first conveyance roller pair 351 is disposed between the first conveyance path 341 and the second conveyance path 342 and feeds the document sheet toward the second conveyance path 342 that is largely curved. The second transport roller pair 352 is disposed immediately upstream of the document reading position X, and feeds the document sheet to the document reading position X. The third conveyance roller pair 353 is arranged immediately downstream of the document reading position X, and sends the document sheet after image reading to the third conveyance path 343 or the fourth conveyance path 344. The fourth transport roller pair 354 is disposed in the vicinity of the paper discharge port 30 </ b> E and discharges the original sheet toward the original discharge tray 33. The fifth conveyance roller pair 355 is a pair of rollers capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation, and is disposed in the fifth conveyance path 345, and executes the switchback conveyance of the document sheet by utilizing the document reversing tray 31B.

  The document feeding unit 5 includes a pickup roller 51 (roller member), a document feeding roller 52 disposed downstream of the pickup roller 51 in the sheet conveyance direction, and a document sheet placed on the document feeding tray 31. A stopper mechanism 53 that regulates the above, a holder 50 that holds these members, a drive mechanism 56 (swing means) that swings the holder 50, and a torsion coil spring 57 that applies a rotational force to the holder 50. As shown in FIG. 7, the document feeding unit 5 is assembled to the upper cover unit 32U. The automatic document feeder 3 further includes a motor (not shown) that applies a rotational driving force in the forward direction or the reverse direction to the drive mechanism 56.

  The holder 50 is a box-shaped member that includes a flat plate-like upper plate 500 and a front plate 501, a rear plate 502, and a middle plate 503 made of rib members integrated with the upper plate 500. The front plate 501 and the rear plate 502 are provided with a front cylindrical portion 504 and a rear cylindrical portion 505 that are coaxially arranged. The holder 50 swings around the cylindrical center of the front cylindrical portion 504 and the rear cylindrical portion 505.

  The pickup roller 51 is given a rotational force that rotates about its axis, and feeds the original sheets placed on the original paper feed tray 31 one by one toward the original conveyance section 32 (first conveyance path 341). The rotation shaft of the pickup roller 51 is rotatably supported on the right end side of the rear plate 502 and the middle plate 503. The pick-up roller 51 is configured so that the front cylindrical portion 504 and the rear cylindrical portion 505 of the holder 50 swing around the center of the cylinder, and the feeding position that contacts the upper surface of the document sheet on the document feed tray 31 and the document sheet The position is changed between a retreat position spaced upward from the upper surface.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a separation pad 313 is disposed at a position facing the pickup roller 51 at the downstream end 312 of the document feed tray 31. When the pickup roller 51 is at the paper feed position, a nip portion is formed between the pickup roller 51 and the rolling pad 313.

  The document feed roller 52 transports one document sheet sent from the pickup roller 51 further toward the first transport path 341. The rotation shaft 521 of the document feed roller 52 is rotatably supported by the front plate 501 and the rear plate 502 of the holder 50. When a document sheet feeding operation is performed, a rotation driving force is applied to the rotating shaft 521, and the document feeding roller 52 rotates. As shown in FIG. 4, a driven roller 350 is disposed in the main body housing so as to face the document feeding roller 52. The front cylindrical portion 504 and the rear cylindrical portion 505 of the holder 50 are attached so as to be rotatable around the rotation shaft 521. In other words, the axis of the rotating shaft 521 and the cylinders of the front cylindrical part 504 and the rear cylindrical part 505 of the holder 50 are coaxial, so that the document feed roller 52 moves up and down even if the holder 50 swings. The driven roller 350 and the paper feed nip portion are always formed without moving.

  The stopper mechanism 53 is located between the pickup roller 51 and the document feed roller 52 in the left-right direction. The stopper mechanism 53 regulates the leading edge of the document sheet in the sheet feeding direction before the pickup roller 51 starts the feeding operation, and aligns the leading edge in the sheet feeding direction. By aligning the leading ends in the paper feeding direction, it is possible to prevent the original sheet from being fed into the first conveyance path 341 in an oblique posture. The configuration of the stopper mechanism 53 will be described in detail later.

  A first wheel 541 having a large number of grooves formed on the outer peripheral surface is fixed to the rotation shaft of the pickup roller 51. A second wheel 542 having a similar groove is fixed to the rotation shaft 521 of the document feed roller 52 (see FIG. 6). These first and second wheels 541 and 542 are arranged at positions on the rear side of the pickup roller 51 and the document feed roller 52, respectively. An endless belt 55 (transmission mechanism) for power transmission is stretched over the first and second wheels 541 and 542. On the inner peripheral surface of the endless belt 55, a number of protrusions that engage with grooves provided in the first and second wheels 541 and 542 are formed. When a rotational driving force (forward rotational driving force in the forward direction; clockwise rotational driving force when viewed from the front) is applied to the rotating shaft 521 of the original paper feeding roller 52, the rotational force is endless. It is transmitted to the rotating shaft of the pickup roller 51 through the belt 55. As a result, both the pickup roller 51 and the document feed roller 52 rotate synchronously.

  The driving mechanism 56 is a mechanism for transmitting a rotational driving force in the forward direction or the reverse direction of the motor to the rotating shaft 521 of the document feeding roller 52. The drive mechanism 56 includes a coupling portion 561, a shaft 562, a drive input portion 563, and a pressing spring 564.

  The coupling portion 561 is a portion that engages with the rotation shaft 521 and has a cylindrical shape that receives the rotation shaft 521. A groove portion 561A extending in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 521 is provided on the cylindrical wall of the coupling portion 561. On the other hand, a pin 522 protrudes from the peripheral wall of the rotating shaft 521, and the engagement is achieved by fitting the pin 522 into the groove portion 561A. The pressing spring 564 biases the coupling portion 561 in the forward direction, and ensures the engagement of the groove portion 561A with the pin 522.

  The drive input unit 563 is given a rotational driving force from a motor via a gear mechanism (not shown). The coupling portion 561, the shaft 562, and the drive input portion 563 are integrated, and when the drive input portion 563 is rotated, the coupling portion 561 is also rotated, and the rotational driving force is transmitted to the rotating shaft 521. Along with this, the pickup roller 51 and the document feed roller 52 rotate.

  As described above, since the front cylindrical portion 504 and the rear cylindrical portion 505 of the holder 50 are inserted through the rotation shaft 521, the holder 50 can be rotated around the axis of the rotation shaft 521. For this reason, when a rotational drive force in the positive direction is applied to the rotation shaft 521, a moment in the clockwise direction acts on the holder 50. As a result, the holder 50 rotates clockwise about the axis of the rotation shaft 521, and the pickup roller 51 moves to a paper feed position that contacts the upper surface of the original sheet placed on the original feed tray 31. On the other hand, when a reverse rotational driving force (counterclockwise rotational driving force when viewed from the front) is applied to the rotary shaft 521, a counterclockwise moment acts on the holder 50. As a result, the holder 50 rotates counterclockwise around the axis of the rotation shaft 521, and the pickup roller 51 moves to a retracted position spaced upward from the upper surface of the document sheet. 4 and 5 show a state where the pickup roller 51 is moved to the retracted position.

  The torsion coil spring 57 urges the holder 50 so that the coil portion is inserted through the rotation shaft 521 and the pickup roller 51 maintains the retracted position. The biasing force of the torsion coil spring 57 is set to be smaller than the clockwise moment generated in the holder 50 when a positive rotational driving force is applied to the rotary shaft 521. Therefore, when the rotating shaft 521 rotates in the forward direction when the document sheet is fed, the holder 50 rotates clockwise around the axis of the rotating shaft 521 against the urging force of the torsion coil spring 57. On the other hand, when a reverse rotational driving force is applied to the rotating shaft 521 and the pickup roller 51 moves to the retracted position, the posture of the holder 50 at that time is maintained by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 57. In the retracted position, the holder 50 is abutted against the top plate 320 of the upper cover unit 32U.

  Next, in addition to FIGS. 4 and 5, the stopper mechanism 53 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a side view schematically showing the stopper mechanism 53, and shows a state in which the stopper piece of the stopper mechanism 53 is in a regulating posture described later. The stopper mechanism 53 is attached to the outer surface side of the front plate 501 and the rear plate 502 of the holder 50 so as to be positioned between the pickup roller 51 and the document feed roller 52. Since each stopper mechanism 53 has the same structure, here, the stopper mechanism 53 attached to the front plate 501 will be described.

  The stopper mechanism 53 includes a support body 531 and a stopper piece 532. The support body 531 has a substantially triangular shape when viewed from the front, and has a semi-cylindrical rotation fulcrum portion (hereinafter referred to as a second rotation fulcrum portion 533) whose one side swells in the right direction. . The second rotation fulcrum part 533 has a rotation fulcrum (second rotation fulcrum) of the support 531. A shaft portion 508 protrudes from the front plate 501 of the holder 50. The shaft portion 508 is located between the pickup roller 51 and the document feed roller 52 when viewed from the front. The support body 531 can be rotated around the second rotation fulcrum by being supported by the shaft portion 508 via the second rotation fulcrum portion 533. A portion above the second rotation fulcrum 533 on the one side of the support 531 is a contact portion 535.

  The support 531 further includes a hanging piece 536 that hangs substantially vertically from the bottom. The drooping piece 536 has a pair of front and rear sides in the front-rear direction, and a rotation support shaft 536A that protrudes forward is formed on the front side, and also protrudes rearward on the rear side. A rotating support shaft 536A (see FIG. 7) is formed.

  A rotation prevention piece 537 is integrally formed with the hanging piece 536. The rotation preventing piece 537 has a front side surface and a rear side surface in the front-rear direction. The rotation prevention piece 537 is set wider than the drooping piece 536 in the right view or the left view. The position of the rotation prevention piece 537 is set above the rotation support shaft 536A of the drooping piece 536. As will be described later, the rotation preventing piece 537 is in contact with the stopper piece 532 and prevents the stopper piece 532 from rotating clockwise in front view.

  The stopper piece 532 is an elongated member disposed on the sheet conveyance path. As is apparent from the description made with reference to FIG. 4, the sheet conveyance path is a path through which the document sheet is conveyed in the order of the pickup roller 51, the document feed roller 52, and the first to third conveyance roller pairs 351 to 353. is there. The stopper piece 532 has a rotation fulcrum portion (hereinafter referred to as a first rotation fulcrum portion 534) and an abutting end portion 538.

  The first rotation fulcrum part 534 has a rotation fulcrum (first rotation fulcrum) of the stopper piece 532. The first rotation fulcrum portion 534 is set at a portion near one end portion of the stopper piece 532 and has a pair of front walls 539 and a rear wall 540 that are separated in the front-rear direction. The distance between the front wall 539 and the rear wall 540 is set larger than the distance between the front side surface and the rear side surface of the hanging piece 536, and the hanging piece 536 is located in the space between the front wall 539 and the rear wall 540. Contained. A coaxial through hole 534H is formed in each of the front wall 539 and the rear wall 540, and a pair of rotational support shafts 536A of the drooping piece 536 are inserted through the corresponding through holes 534H. Accordingly, the stopper piece 532 is rotatable about the first rotation fulcrum with respect to the support 531.

  The distance between the front wall 539 and the rear wall 540 is set to be equal to or smaller than the distance between the front side surface and the rear side surface of the rotation preventing piece 537, and the front wall 539 and the rear wall In the space between 540, the rotation preventing piece 537 is not accommodated. Therefore, the surfaces facing rightward of each of the front wall 539 and the rear wall 540 are contact surfaces 539S and 540S that are contacted with the rotation prevention piece 537. When the stopper piece 532 tries to rotate clockwise in front view, the contact surface 539S is stopped by the rotation preventing piece 537. Thereby, clockwise rotation of the stopper piece 532 is restricted.

  As described above, the stopper piece 532 is allowed to turn counterclockwise when viewed from the front, while being restricted from turning clockwise by the rotation preventing piece 537.

  The other end of the stopper piece 532 acts as a contact end 538. The abutting end 538 abuts on the leading edge of the document sheet placed on the document feeding tray 31 before the pickup operation of feeding the document sheet by the pickup roller 51 is started. Regulate the position. The abutting end 538 has a regulating surface 538S that abuts on the front end in the paper feeding direction.

  The stopper piece 532 of the stopper mechanism 53 configured as described above can be changed in posture between a restricting posture, a paper feed allowable posture, and a rotating posture. FIG. 8 described above is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the stopper piece 532 is in the restricting posture, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the stopper piece 532 is in the paper feed allowable posture. These are the schematic diagrams which show the state which the stopper piece 532 is taking the rotation attitude | position. Hereinafter, each posture of the stopper piece 532 will be described with reference to FIGS.

(Regulatory attitude)
The stopper piece 532 takes a regulating posture in order to regulate the position of the leading end SU of the document sheet S in the sheet feeding direction. As shown in FIG. 8, the stopper piece 532 takes a restricting posture when the pickup roller 51 takes a retracted posture in which the pickup roller 51 is separated from the original sheet S by the swinging operation of the holder 50. The stopper piece 532 is in a state of protruding toward the downstream end 314 of the document feeding tray 31 when in the regulating posture, and the regulating surface 538S of the contact end 538 is placed on the document feeding tray 31. The wall surface extends substantially perpendicular to the original sheet S. Thereby, the regulation surface 538S of the contact end 538 can contact the leading end SU of the document sheet S in the sheet feeding direction. Therefore, the position of the leading end SU of the document sheet S in the sheet feeding direction is regulated, and the leading ends SU in the sheet feeding direction are aligned. As a result, the document sheet S is prevented from being sent out by the pickup roller 51 in an oblique posture.

  The restriction posture of the stopper piece 532 is maintained by the first contact piece 322 (see FIG. 4). The first contact piece 322 is formed on the top plate 320 of the upper cover unit 32U. The holder 50 is abutted against the top plate 320 when the pickup roller 51 is in the retracted posture. The position of the first contact piece 322 is such that the first contact piece 322 can contact the contact portion 535 of the support body 531 of the stopper mechanism 53 in a state where the holder 50 is in contact with the top plate 320. It is set so that.

  When the stopper piece 532 is in the restricting posture, when the user places the document sheet S on the document feeding tray 31 and abuts the leading end SU in the feeding direction against the abutting end 538 of the stopper piece 532, the abutting end. The pressing force of the document sheet S acts on 538. The pressing force of the document sheet S attempts to rotate the stopper piece 532 and thus the support 531 clockwise (first rotation direction) when viewed from the front. However, at this time, since the first contact piece 322 contacts the contact portion 535 of the support body 531, the support body 531 is prevented from rotating clockwise. Thereby, the restriction posture of the stopper piece 532 is maintained.

(Paper tolerance)
As shown in FIG. 9, the stopper piece 532 takes a paper feeding allowable posture from the regulation posture shown in FIG. 8 when the pickup roller 51 takes a paper feeding posture by the swinging operation of the holder 50. When the holder 50 swings so that the pickup roller 51 takes a sheet feeding posture, that is, when the right end of the holder 50 is lowered, the contact portion 535 of the support member 531 of the stopper mechanism 53 is moved to the first contact of the top plate 320. Separate from the piece 322. As a result, the support body 531 is allowed to rotate clockwise. When the feeding of the document sheet S is started by the rotation operation of the pickup roller 51, the stopper piece 532 is pushed up by the leading end SU in the feeding direction of the fed document sheet S and rotates clockwise. The abutting end portion 538 is separated from the leading end SU in the sheet feeding direction. As a result, the regulation of the leading end SU in the sheet feeding direction by the contact end 538 is released. The stopper 532 can be rotated clockwise by the support body 531 in a state where the stopper piece 532 is allowed to rotate clockwise. At this time, the contact end portion 538 faces in the direction (first direction F) in which the document sheet S is conveyed from the pickup roller 51 toward the document feed roller 52 so as not to interfere with the feeding of the document sheet S. . The contact end 538 is positioned on the sheet transport path when the document sheet S is transported, and the document sheet S is transported while sliding relative to the contact end 538.

  A second contact piece 506 (see FIG. 5) is formed on the front plate 501 of the holder 50. The position of the second contact piece 506 on the front plate 501 is set near the support 531 and closer to the pickup roller 51 than the support 531 when viewed from the front. The second contact piece 506 extends in the vertical direction of the front plate 501. The height of the second contact piece 506 in the vertical direction is determined when the support 531 rotates beyond the predetermined rotation range in the clockwise direction when the stopper piece 532 is in the sheet feeding allowable posture. The upper edge of the second contact piece 506 is set so as to be able to contact the contact portion 535 of the support 531.

  Therefore, when the stopper piece 532 is pushed up by the document sheet S and the support 531 attempts to rotate beyond a predetermined rotation range in the clockwise direction, the second contact piece 506 is brought into contact with the contact portion 535 of the support 531. Abut. Therefore, the support body 531 is prevented from rotating more than necessary, and the sheet feeding allowable posture of the stopper piece 532 is stabilized.

(Rotating posture)
In the present embodiment, the stopper piece 532 can further take the rotation posture shown in FIG. 10 from the paper feed allowable posture shown in FIG. 9. The stopper piece 532 can take a rotating posture when the jamming of the original sheet S occurs in the original conveying unit 32 (that is, the sheet conveying path) in the state where the feeding allowable posture shown in FIG. 9 is taken.

  In the automatic document feeder 3 of the present embodiment, when a jam of the document sheet S occurs, the upper cover unit 32U (see FIG. 4) is opened and the first transport path 341 and the second transport path 342 are set to the outside. By exposing, the jammed original sheet S can be removed.

  However, if the user does not know the above jam processing procedure, if a part of the jammed original sheet S (for example, the rear end in the paper feeding direction) remains on the original paper feeding tray 31, the user The user grasps the rear end and tries to forcibly pull out the jammed original sheet S from the first conveyance path 341 or the second conveyance path 342. If the user pulls out the original sheet S forcibly, there is a possibility that the stopper piece 532 that is in the permissible feeding position is caught on the original sheet S and the original sheet S is damaged.

  In this embodiment, changing the posture of the stopper piece 532 from the paper feed allowable posture to the rotational posture solves the above-described problem. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when a jam of the document sheet S occurs in a state where the pickup roller 51 is in the conveying posture and the stopper piece 532 is in the paper feeding allowable posture, the user who does not know the jam processing procedure. Grasps a portion of the document sheet S remaining outside the pickup roller 51 (the rear end portion in the paper feeding direction) and tries to pull it out in a direction opposite to the first direction F (second direction R). The pickup roller 51 receives a pressing force acting upward from the document sheet S by the pulling-out operation of the document sheet S in the second direction R. When the pressing force is transmitted to the holder 50 via the pickup roller 51, the holder 50 starts to swing and the pickup roller 51 starts to move upward. That is, the pickup roller 51 starts to take a retracted posture.

  At this time, the contact end portion 538 of the stopper piece 532 that is in contact with the jammed original sheet S faces the first direction F, so that the stopper piece is pulled out by the drawing operation of the original sheet S in the second direction R. A tensile force that moves the contact end portion 538 in the second direction R acts on the contact end portion 538 of 532. Due to the tensile force, a force that rotates the stopper piece 532 counterclockwise acts on the stopper piece 532. As described above, the stopper piece 532 is configured to be rotatable around the first rotation fulcrum. Therefore, when a tensile force is applied to the contact end portion 538 of the stopper piece 532, the stopper piece 532 rotates counterclockwise around the first rotation fulcrum as shown in FIG. The part 538 faces in the second direction R. In this way, the stopper piece 532 takes a rotating posture. The rotation range of the stopper piece 532 is set such that the contact end portion 538 faces the second direction R. In a state where the contact end portion 538 is directed in the second direction R, the stopper piece 532 extends substantially parallel to the document sheet S, and the surface of the stopper piece 532 opposite to the regulating surface 538S is the document sheet S. It will be in the state which contacted one side of. Therefore, the pressure (tensile force) received by the stopper piece 532 from the original sheet S to be pulled out is reduced. Thereby, the document sheet S is prevented from being damaged.

  The support body 531 that supports the stopper piece 532 so as to be rotatable about the first rotation fulcrum is also counterclockwise (first rotation) in conjunction with the rotation operation of the stopper piece 532 (the attitude change to the rotation attitude). The second rotation direction opposite to the direction). Specifically, when a tensile force acts on the contact end portion 538 of the stopper piece 532, the tensile force is transmitted to the support body 531 through the stopper piece 532. As described above, the support 531 is configured to be rotatable around the second rotation fulcrum. Therefore, when the tensile force is transmitted to the support 531, the support 531 rotates counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 10 from the state of FIG. 9. By the counterclockwise rotation of the support 531, the pressure of the document sheet S that is pulled out is released in the order of the stopper piece 532 and the support 531. Thereby, the attitude | position change to the rotation attitude | position of the stopper piece 532 is performed smoothly.

  The rotation posture of the stopper piece 532 is maintained by the third contact piece 507 (see FIG. 5). The third contact piece 507 is formed on the front plate 501 of the holder 50. The third contact piece 507 is formed at a position immediately below the bottom side of the support body 531 and at a right-right position of the rotation prevention piece 537 of the support body 531. That is, the third contact piece 507 is formed at a position where the stopper piece 532 can come into contact with the rotation prevention piece 537 when the stopper piece 532 is in the restricting posture. When the support body 531 rotates counterclockwise as the posture of the stopper piece 532 is changed to the rotation posture, the third contact piece 507 comes into contact with the rotation prevention piece 537. Thereby, rotation of the support body 531 is prevented and the rotation posture of the stopper piece 532 is maintained.

  According to the automatic document feeder 3 according to the present embodiment described above, the stopper piece 532 is supported by the support 531 so as to be rotatable around the first rotation fulcrum, and the support 531 is It is supported by the holder 50 so as to be rotatable around two rotation fulcrums. That is, in the present embodiment, the stopper that regulates the position of the leading end SU of the document sheet S in the sheet feeding direction is divided. When the jam occurs and the document sheet S is pulled out in the second direction R, the stopper piece 532 rotates around the first rotation fulcrum and takes a rotation posture. The pressure (tensile force) received from the original sheet S is reduced. As a result, the document sheet S is prevented from being damaged. In addition, since the support 531 rotates counterclockwise (second rotation direction) in conjunction with the change in the posture of the stopper piece 532 to the rotation posture, the pressure of the document sheet S pulled out is the stopper piece 532. The support 531 is released in this order. Thereby, the attitude | position change to the rotation attitude | position of the stopper piece 532 is performed smoothly.

  Further, according to the automatic document feeder 3 according to the present embodiment, the pickup roller 51 moves from the document sheet S at a timing when the support 531 rotates counterclockwise and the stopper piece 532 takes the rotation posture. Take the retracted position away. Therefore, the jammed document sheet S is smoothly pulled out from the sheet conveyance path. As a result, the stopper piece 532 is further prevented from being caught on the document sheet S.

  Furthermore, according to the automatic document feeder 3 according to the present embodiment, the support 531 is supported by the shaft portion 508 of the holder 50 so as to be rotatable around the second rotation fulcrum, and thus the stopper It is easy to synchronize the posture change of the piece 532 and the posture change of the pickup roller 51.

  Furthermore, according to the automatic document feeder 3 according to the present embodiment, the first contact piece 322 to the third contact piece 507 that maintain the posture of the stopper piece 532 are provided. Since the first contact piece 322 maintains the restriction posture of the stopper piece 532, the position of the leading edge SU in the sheet feeding direction of the document sheet S is appropriately regulated before the sheet feeding operation by the pickup roller 51. In addition, the second contact piece 506 prevents the support body 531 from rotating beyond the predetermined rotation range in the first rotation direction, so that the feeding allowable posture of the stopper piece 532 is stabilized. Further, since the third contact piece 507 maintains the rotation posture of the stopper piece 532, the operation of pulling out the original sheet S from the sheet conveyance path is smoothly performed.

1 Image forming apparatus 3 Automatic document feeder (sheet feeder)
32 Document conveying section 51 Pickup roller 52 Document feeding roller 53 Stopper mechanism 531 Support body 532 Stopper piece 533 Second rotation fulcrum section 534 First rotation fulcrum section 535 Contact section 536 Hanging piece 537 Rotation prevention piece 538 Contact End 538S Restricting surface 539 Front wall 540 Rear wall F First direction R Second direction S Original sheet SU Front end of original sheet feeding direction

Claims (6)

A paper feed mechanism for feeding sheets along a sheet feed path;
A support;
A member that is positioned on the sheet feeding path and is supported by the support so as to be rotatable about a first rotation fulcrum, having a contact end, and the sheet feeding mechanism feeds the sheet. Prior to the paper feeding operation, the contact end abuts against the front end of the sheet in the paper feeding direction to regulate the position of the front end of the paper feeding direction, and the sheet is fed during the paper feeding operation. The paper feed allowance posture in which the contact end portion is separated from the front end in the paper feed direction toward the first direction in which paper is fed, and the contact end portion is directed in a second direction opposite to the first direction. A stopper piece that changes its attitude between a rotation attitude that rotates around the first rotation fulcrum from the sheet feeding allowable attitude;
A holder for rotatably supporting the support body around a second rotation fulcrum,
The support member rotates in the first rotation direction around the second rotation fulcrum during the sheet feeding operation in which the sheet is directed in the first direction, while the sheet is directed in the second direction. At the time of the pulling-out operation, the second rotation direction is rotated around the second rotation fulcrum in the second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction.
The sheet feeding mechanism is rotatably held by the holder, and a roller member that feeds the sheet by a rotation operation, and a posture of the roller member, and the roller member contacts the sheet and feeds the sheet. A swinging means for changing a posture between a paper feeding posture for starting a paper operation and a retracting posture separated from the sheet;
The stopper piece takes the regulating posture when the roller member is in the retracted posture, and takes the paper feeding allowable posture when the roller member is in the paper feeding posture, and performs the pulling operation. A sheet feeding device that takes the rotating posture when the operation is performed. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1,
The holder has a shaft portion;
The sheet feeding device is supported by the shaft so that the support is rotatable about the second rotation fulcrum. In the sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
And a housing that houses the paper feed mechanism, the stopper piece, and the support.
The housing includes a first abutting piece that abuts on the support and prevents the support from rotating in the first rotation direction.
The first contact piece is a sheet feeding device that comes into contact with the support when the stopper piece is in the restricting posture. In the sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
When the stopper piece is in the sheet feeding allowable posture, the holder comes into contact with the support when the support rotates beyond a predetermined rotation range in the first rotation direction. A sheet feeding device having a piece. In the sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The holder further includes a third contact piece that contacts the support and prevents the support from rotating in the second rotation direction;
The third contact piece is a sheet feeding device that contacts the support when the stopper piece is in the rotating posture. A sheet feeding device having a conveyance path for conveying the document sheet, and a reading position at which a document image of the document sheet is read, and conveying the document sheet to the reading position;
A reading device that reads the original image at the reading position to obtain image data;
An image forming unit for forming an image based on the image data on a recording sheet;
With
An image forming apparatus in which the sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1 is used as the sheet feeding apparatus.