JP5777536B2 - Image forming apparatus, post-processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet stacking apparatus including a mechanism for moving a tray for stacking discharged sheets, and a post-processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the sheet stacking apparatus.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 6, a post-processing device 141 attached to an image forming apparatus 140 such as a copying machine is known. The post-processing device 141 discharges the sheet to the external tray 142 after performing post-processing such as stapling on the sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 140. When the post-processing setting is invalid, the sheet that has passed through the post-processing device 141 is discharged to the external tray 142 without being subjected to post-processing. The sequentially discharged sheets are stacked on the external tray 142.

  By the way, in order to stack a large amount of sheets on the external tray 142, the interval from the sheet discharge port 143 to the external tray 142 may be increased. However, if this interval is too large, the sheets stacked on the external tray 142 will not be aligned. For this reason, the conventional post-processing device 141 is provided with a vertical movement mechanism for moving the external tray 142 in the vertical direction, and the external tray 142 is moved in the vertical direction. Since this vertical movement mechanism is provided, the external tray 142 is arranged at a position where the sheets discharged from the discharge port 143 can be stacked so that they can be aligned, and when a certain amount of sheets are stacked on the external tray 142 The external tray 142 can be moved downward. As a result, the number of sheets that can be stacked on the external tray 142 can be increased, and the sheets can be stacked on the external tray 142 in a constantly aligned state.

  As such a vertical movement mechanism, as in the sheet post-processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, two link levers are connected in a cross shape, and the link lever is swung around the connecting shaft, thereby linking the link lever. A mechanism for moving up and down a stack tray provided at the upper end of a lever is known.

JP 2011-16649 A

  However, since the conventional vertical movement mechanism described in Patent Document 1 described above extends in the vertical direction when each link lever approaches the left and right direction, a sufficient space is required in the vertical direction. When it approaches the vertical direction, it extends in the left-right direction, so a sufficient space in the left-right direction is required. That is, the conventional vertical movement mechanism has a large movable space. Therefore, the post-processing apparatus provided with the conventional vertical movement mechanism has a problem that the scale of the apparatus increases. In the case of an image forming apparatus with a built-in post-processing device, the vertical movement mechanism is built in the lower part of the image forming apparatus, so that the tray is positioned higher than the conventional position. For this reason, some users may find it difficult to take out the sheets stacked on the tray, which is not preferable from the viewpoint of universal design.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make a mechanism for moving the tray compact so that useless space can be eliminated and a large number of sheets can be stacked. The object is to provide a stacking device, a post-processing device, and an image forming apparatus.

(1) The present invention has a sheet placement surface on which the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port is placed, and is defined below the sheet discharge port along a first direction passing through the sheet placement surface. A tray supported movably between the first position and a second position defined below the first position, and supports the tray below the tray, and is substantially in the first direction. Along a second vertical direction, the second position is movable between a third position close to the sheet discharge port and a fourth position far from the sheet discharge port, and is moved from the third position to the fourth position. A moving body that moves the tray from the first position to the second position while supporting the tray, and a driving force that supplies the moving body with a driving force that moves the moving body in the second direction. And a sheet stacking device including a supply mechanism.

  Thus, since the sheet stacking apparatus of the present invention is configured, the tray can be moved in the first direction as long as there is a space for moving the moving body in the second direction. Accordingly, it is not necessary to provide a large-scale mechanism for moving the tray in the tray moving direction, that is, in the first direction, and the apparatus can be made compact in the first direction without increasing the size of the apparatus. Can do. Further, when the sheet stacking apparatus of the present invention is mounted on the image forming apparatus, the position of the tray in the image forming apparatus can be lowered, so that the sheet take-out position is lowered, which is preferable from the viewpoint of universal design. is there.

(2) The drive force supply mechanism is provided in the sheet stacking device, provided in the sheet stacking device, a drive source mounted on the movable body, a transmission gear mounted on the movable body and transmitting a rotational drive force from the drive source A rack gear that converts the rotational driving force from the transmission gear into the linear driving force in the second direction. Thereby, the downsizing of the driving force supply mechanism is specifically realized.

(3) The transmission gear is provided so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis substantially in the same direction as the first direction.

  If the transmission gear has a large diameter with respect to the thickness of the tooth portion, such as a spur gear, the driving force supply mechanism can be provided by rotating the rotation shaft about the rotation axis substantially in the same direction as the first direction. It can be made more compact in the substantially same direction as the first direction.

(4) The tray is supported so as to be movable along the first direction while maintaining the state in which the end side near the sheet discharge port is inclined downward. Moreover, the support part which the said mobile body supports the said tray has the inclined surface of the same angle as the inclination of the said tray.

  Thereby, when the moving body is moved in the second direction, the tray can be smoothly moved in the first direction.

(5) The moving body includes a rotating member that is rotatably supported by a support portion that supports the tray.

  Thereby, since the frictional resistance between the moving body and the back surface of the tray is lowered, the load when moving the moving body in the second direction can be reduced. When the bottom of the movable body is supported so as to be movable along the second direction, the movable body may have a rotating member that is rotatably supported by the bottom that is the supported portion. Good. In this case, not only the frictional resistance between the moving body and the back surface of the tray but also the frictional resistance between the moving member and the support member supporting the bottom of the moving body is reduced, so the moving body is moved in the second direction. The load at the time of making it reduce further.

(6) Preferably, the first direction is a vertical direction and the second direction is a horizontal direction.

(7) Further, the present invention can also be understood as a post-processing apparatus including the sheet stacking apparatus described above. The present invention is also suitable for such a configuration.

(8) The present invention can also be understood as an image forming apparatus including the sheet stacking apparatus described above. The present invention is also suitable for such a configuration. In particular, in a type of image forming apparatus capable of discharging in a cylinder, since a tray is provided above the image forming unit, conventionally, a moving mechanism is provided above the image forming unit, and a tray is further provided above the tray. Was provided. In this case, the size of the image forming apparatus in the height direction inevitably increases and the position of the tray also increases. However, if the in-body discharge type image forming apparatus adopting the sheet stacking apparatus of the present invention is used, the mechanism for moving the tray is compact, and thus the enlargement of the image forming apparatus can be prevented. Further, since the position of the tray is lowered, it becomes possible to easily take out the sheet from the tray regardless of age or sex, which is preferable from the viewpoint of universal design.

  According to the present invention, the mechanism for moving the tray can be made compact so that a useless space can be eliminated, and a large amount of sheets can be stacked on the tray.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view schematically showing a configuration of a post-processing unit 30 mounted on the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view schematically showing a state in which an external tray 52 is removed from the post-processing unit 30. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a driving force transmission unit 71. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the operation of the external tray 52. FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional image forming apparatus 140.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Each embodiment described below is only an example in which the present invention is embodied, and each embodiment can be changed without changing the gist of the present invention.

  First, a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 (an example of an image forming apparatus of the present invention) will be described with reference to FIG. In each figure, with the image forming apparatus 10 installed as shown in FIG. 1, the direction of arrow 6 is defined as the vertical direction, the direction of arrow 7 is defined as the front-rear direction, and the direction of arrow 8 is defined as the left-right direction. Define.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 is a so-called in-body discharge type, and is a complex machine having functions such as a printer, a copier, and a facsimile machine. The image forming apparatus 10 prints an input image on a printing paper (an example of a sheet of the present invention) using a printing material such as toner. The image forming apparatus 10 is provided with a scanner 12 for reading an image of a document at the top and an electrophotographic image forming unit 14 at the bottom. In FIG. 1, a post-processing unit 30 (an example of the post-processing apparatus of the present invention) is provided on the right side of the image forming apparatus 10. The post-processing unit 30 is provided so as to connect the image forming unit 14 and the scanner 12 while forming a paper discharge space 21 between the image forming unit 14 and the scanner 12. Note that the lower side of the paper discharge space 21 is partitioned by the upper surface 24 of the image forming unit 14 or its housing, and a spacer 54 described later moves along the upper surface 24 with the upper surface 24 as a support surface. .

  The image forming unit 14 includes a plurality of paper feed trays 16, a transport roller 17, a transfer device 18, a fixing device 19, and a control unit (not shown) that controls these. Note that the image forming apparatus 10 is not limited to a multifunction machine, and the present invention can be applied to a dedicated machine such as a printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile machine.

  The scanner 12 is provided with a document placement surface (not shown). When the image forming apparatus 10 functions as a copying machine, when a document is set on the document placement surface and a copy start instruction is input from an operation panel (not shown), a reading operation by the scanner 12 is started and read. An image is printed on the printing paper based on the image data of the original document. When the image forming apparatus 10 functions as a printer or a facsimile, an image is printed on a print sheet based on image data input from the outside together with a print instruction.

  Next, the post-processing unit 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the post-processing unit 30 is built in the image forming apparatus 10 and is provided at a connection portion between the image forming unit 14 and the scanner 12. The post-processing unit 30 stocks printing paper after image formation conveyed from the image forming unit 14, and executes stapling processing for binding a plurality of printing papers together. Although not installed in the post-processing unit 30 of the present embodiment, a mechanism for realizing a sorting function for moving and sorting printing paper, a function for folding the printing paper at the center, and the like may be provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the post-processing unit 30 includes a carry-in port 31 on the bottom surface 25 adjacent to the image forming unit 14. The carry-in entrance 31 is an entrance that accepts printing paper after image formation conveyed from the image forming unit 14. Further, the post-processing unit 30 includes a discharge port 32 (corresponding to the sheet discharge port of the present invention) formed in the side wall 26 facing the paper discharge space 21. The discharge port 32 is an outlet for discharging the printing paper from the post-processing unit 30 to the paper discharge space 21, and is formed in the upper part of the side wall 26. In the conveyance path 34 from the carry-in port 31 to the discharge port 32, a conveyance roller pair 35 including a driving roller and a driven roller is provided at the end portion on the carry-in port 31 side, and at the end portion on the discharge port 32 side. A discharge roller pair 44 including a discharge roller 42 and a driven roller 43 is provided.

  An intermediate tray 38 and a staple unit 40 are provided on the transport path 34. The intermediate tray 38 temporarily stores printing paper conveyed by the conveyance roller pair 35. If the stapling process in the post-processing unit 30 is set to be valid, the printing paper that has entered the carry-in port 31 from the image forming unit 14 is conveyed to the intermediate tray 38 by the conveyance roller pair 35 and is stored here. Is done. When a predetermined number of printing sheets are stocked, the stapling process is executed by the staple unit 40 at a predetermined position of the sheet bundle. Thereafter, the sheet bundle is discharged from the discharge port 32 while being sandwiched by the discharge roller pair 44. When the stapling process is not set to be effective, the printing paper conveyed to the intermediate tray 38 is sequentially conveyed toward the discharge port 32 and is discharged from the discharge port 32.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the post-processing unit 30 includes an external tray 52 (an example of the tray of the present invention) and a spacer 54 (an example of the moving body of the present invention).

  The external tray 52 is for stacking print sheets discharged from the discharge port 32 of the post-processing unit 30. The upper surface of the external tray 52 is a sheet placing surface 59 for placing a sheet (corresponding to the sheet placing surface of the present invention). The external tray 52 is provided in the paper discharge space 21. The external tray 52 is in a state in which the discharge port 32 side is inclined downward, specifically, a state in which the position of the end portion 52A on the side close to the discharge port 32 is lower than the position of the opposite end portion 52B (hereinafter, “ It is provided in the paper discharge space 21 while maintaining the “inclined state”). The inclination angle of the external tray 52 is generally set within a range of 10 ° to 40 °.

  The external tray 52 is supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction 6 in the paper discharge space 21. As a support mechanism for the external tray 52, for example, two vertically narrow slits 61 formed in the side wall 26, guide pieces 63 (see FIG. 5) provided at the end 52A of the external tray 52, and the side wall 26 are provided. A slide support mechanism constituted by a fixed plate 64 (see FIG. 5) fixed to the guide piece 63 from the back side of the plate is conceivable. Specifically, the guide piece 63 inserted through the slit 61 is fixed by the fixing plate 64 from the back surface side of the side wall 26. In the present embodiment, the fixing plate 64 is fixed to the guide piece 63 so that the side wall 26 is loosely held between the end portion 52A and the fixing plate 64. By supporting the external tray 52 in this manner, the external tray 52 can be supported while being maintained in the inclined state, and supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction 6 along the side wall 26. Can do. Further, in order to smoothly move the external tray 52 in the vertical direction 6, a bearing or the like may be provided on the end 52 A and the fixed plate 64 on the surface facing the side wall 26. Such a slide support mechanism is merely an example of a support mechanism for the external tray 52, and a mechanism that supports the slide tray by using a rail or suspends it by using a wire or the like may be employed. The vertical direction 6 that is the moving direction of the external tray 52 is a direction that penetrates the sheet placement surface 59 and corresponds to the first direction of the present invention, and this moving direction coincides with the vertical direction. .

  The external tray 52 is discharged between a predetermined first position (corresponding to the first position of the present invention) in the vertical direction 6 and a predetermined second position (corresponding to the second position of the present invention). Move in the paper space 21. The first position is a position below the discharge port 32 (the position shown in FIG. 5B). The second position is a position further lower than the first position (the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 5A). In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a spacer 54 is provided between the back surface of the external tray 52 and the upper surface 24 of the image forming unit 14 in a state where the external tray 52 is disposed at the second position. An arrangementable space is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the spacer 54 is provided on the upper surface 24 of the image forming unit 14. The spacer 54 is movably provided on the upper surface 24. Specifically, the spacer 54 is supported so as to be movable in the left-right direction 8 (corresponding to the second direction of the present invention) along the upper surface 24 that is formed horizontally and smoothly. As shown in FIG. 3, the spacer 54 is supported by a rail 66 provided on the upper surface 24 and a rail guide (not shown) provided on the back surface of the bottom wall 56 of the spacer 54. A support mechanism is adopted. Of course, the support mechanism of the spacer 54 is not limited to such a rail support mechanism. In the present embodiment, the spacer 54 has a third position (corresponding to the third position of the present invention) set on the side closer to the discharge port 32 and a side farther from the discharge port 32 than the third position (FIG. 1). In this case, it is configured to move between a fourth position (corresponding to the fourth position of the present invention) set to the left side in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the spacer 54 is formed in a box shape so that a space is formed inside. A driving force transmission unit 71 (see FIG. 4) described later is provided inside the spacer 54. As shown in FIG. 5, two rotating rollers 69 are rotatably supported on the bottom wall 56 of the spacer 54, and the two rotating rollers 69 are separated in the left-right direction 8 on the bottom wall 56. In the center in the front-rear direction 7. Since these rotating rollers 69 are provided, the frictional resistance between the spacer 54 and the upper surface 24 when moving the upper surface 24 becomes small, and the spacer 54 can move smoothly. In addition, an inclined plate 55 that is inclined at the same angle as the inclination angle of the external tray 52 is provided above the spacer 54. Two rotating rollers 68 (an example of the rotating member of the present invention) are rotatably supported on the inclined plate 55. The two rotating rollers 68 are arranged at the center in the front-rear direction 7 with the inclined plate 55 being separated in the left-right direction 8. For convenience of explanation, the inclined plate 55 is not shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the spacer 54 is disposed between the outer tray 52 and the upper surface 24 to support the outer tray 52 from below. Specifically, the outer tray 52 is supported while the inclined state is maintained by contacting a rotating roller 68 provided on the inclined plate 55 of the spacer 54 on the back surface of the outer tray 52. In the present embodiment, the first position of the outer tray 52 corresponds to the third position of the spacer 54, and the second position of the outer tray 52 corresponds to the fourth position of the spacer 54. Specifically, when the spacer 54 is moved from the third position (see FIG. 5B) to the fourth position (see FIGS. 1 and 5A), the rotating roller 68 is moved to the outer tray 52. The outer tray 52 is moved from the first position (see FIG. 5B) to the second position (see FIGS. 1 and 5A) in a state of being in contact with the back surface. Further, when the spacer 54 is moved from the fourth position (see FIGS. 1 and 5A) to the third position (see FIG. 5B), the rotating roller 68 moves the back surface of the external tray 52. By pressing upward, the external tray 52 is moved from the second position (see FIGS. 1 and 5A) to the first position (see FIG. 5B). Since the rotating roller 68 is in contact with the back surface of the external tray 52, the frictional resistance between the spacer 54 and the back surface of the external tray 52 when the spacer 54 is moved becomes small, and the spacer 54 can move smoothly.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a driving force transmission unit 71 is provided inside the spacer 54. A rack gear 72 extending in the left-right direction 8 is provided on the upper surface 24 of the image forming unit 14. The driving force transmission unit 71 is for generating a driving force for moving the spacer 54 in the left-right direction 8 and supplying the driving force to the spacer 54 via the rack gear 72. Note that the driving force transmission mechanism of the present invention is specifically realized by the driving force transmission unit 71 and the rack gear 72.

  The driving force transmission unit 71 includes a motor 74 (an example of a driving source of the present invention) that is rotationally controlled in both forward and reverse directions by a control unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus 10, a worm (screw gear) 75, a worm A wheel (helical gear) 76 and a pinion gear 77 are included. These are all provided inside the spacer 54. The worm 75, the worm wheel 76, and the pinion gear 77 are examples of the transmission gear of the present invention. By adopting a so-called worm gear comprising a worm 75 and a worm wheel 76 as the transmission gear, a large reduction ratio can be obtained without using a large number of transmission gears. For this reason, the transmission gear can be arranged in a narrow space in the spacer 54, and a low-torque small motor can be applied as the motor 74.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the motor 74 is fixed to the bottom wall 56 of the spacer 54. The motor 74 is disposed in front of the rotating roller 69, and its output shaft extends to the front side of the image forming apparatus 10. A worm 75 is connected to the output shaft of the motor 74. A worm wheel 76 is rotatably supported in the spacer 54 so as to be able to mesh with the worm 75. A pinion gear 77 is rotatably supported in the spacer 54 so as to be able to mesh with the worm wheel 76.

  The worm wheel 76 is rotatably supported by a rotation shaft 80 extending in the vertical direction from the bottom wall 56. Further, the pinion gear 77 is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 82 extending in the vertical direction from the bottom wall 56. In order to obtain a large reduction ratio from the motor 74, a worm wheel 76 having a relatively large diameter, that is, one having a large number of teeth is employed. Further, a pinion gear 77 having a relatively large diameter, that is, a gear having a large number of teeth is employed so as to correspond to the worm wheel 76. Therefore, by supporting the worm wheel 76 and the pinion gear 77 so that the side surfaces are horizontal, the driving force transmission unit 71 and the spacer 54 in which the driving force transmission unit 71 is accommodated can be made compact in the vertical direction 6.

  The rack gear 72 is disposed on the front side of the image forming apparatus 10 on the upper surface 24. A pinion gear 77 is engaged with the rack gear 72.

  Since the driving force transmission unit 71 and the rack gear 72 are thus provided, the rotational driving force from the motor 74 can be transmitted to the rack gear 72 via the worm 75, the worm wheel 76, and the pinion gear 77. The rotational driving force transmitted to the rack gear 72 is converted into a linear driving force in the left-right direction 8 by the rack gear 72. This linear driving force moves the spacer 54 in the left-right direction 8. The movement direction of the spacer 54 is controlled by switching the motor 74 to the forward rotation direction or the reverse rotation direction by a control unit (not shown), and the movement amount of the spacer 54 is adjusted by the rotation amount of the motor 74 by the control unit. To be controlled.

  Since the image forming apparatus 10 is configured as described above, the external tray 52 can be moved in the vertical direction 6 simply by moving the spacer 54 in the horizontal direction 8. In the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, in order to stack the print sheets discharged from the discharge port 32 on the external tray 52 in an aligned state, the external tray 52 is the first position (FIG. 5B shown in FIG. 5B). ))). In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the spacer 54 is moved from the fourth position (see FIG. 5A) to the right side (the third position side). At this time, the rotating roller 68 presses the back surface of the external tray 52 upward as the spacer 54 moves. As a result, the external tray 52 placed at the second position (see FIG. 5A) starts to move upward (to the first position side). When the spacer 54 reaches the third position (see FIG. 5B), the external tray 52 is disposed at the first position (see FIG. 5B). When a certain amount of printing paper is stacked on the external tray 52, the spacer 54 is moved from the third position to the fourth position in order to move the external tray 52 to the second position side. At this time, the external tray 52 moves from the first position to the second position, so that further print sheets can be stacked on the external tray 52.

  Further, as described above, the external tray 52 can be moved in the up-down direction 6 simply by moving the spacer 54 in the left-right direction 8, that is, as long as there is a space for moving the spacer 54 in the left-right direction 8. Since the tray 52 can be moved in the up-down direction 6, it is not necessary to provide a useless space in the up-down direction 6 that is the moving direction of the external tray 52. Thereby, the image forming apparatus 10 and the post-processing unit 30 can be made compact without increasing the size. Further, since the image forming apparatus 10 and the post-processing unit 30 are compact in the vertical direction 6, the position of the external tray 52 in the image forming apparatus 10 can be lowered accordingly. This lowers the printing paper take-out position, which is preferable from the viewpoint of universal design. Particularly, in the case of the in-body discharge type such as the image forming apparatus 10, since the external tray 52 is provided above the image forming unit 14, the moving mechanism of the external tray 52 is made compact in the vertical direction 6. Thus, the position of the external tray 52 can be lowered, and it becomes possible to easily take out the printing paper regardless of age or sex.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the post-processing unit 30 of the in-body discharge type image forming apparatus 10 is provided with the sheet stacking device of the present invention is shown, but the present invention discharges the recording paper from the side surface. This type of image forming apparatus can also be applied to an embodiment in which the sheet stacking apparatus of the present invention is provided on the side surface. Needless to say, the sheet stacking apparatus of the present invention is not a form mounted on the post-processing unit 30 or the image forming apparatus, but can be regarded as a single apparatus.

10: image forming apparatus 21: paper discharge space 30: post-processing unit 32: discharge port 42: discharge roller 52: external tray 54: spacer 55: inclined plate 59: sheet placement surface 68, 69: rotating roller 71: driving force Transmission unit 72: rack gear 74: motor 75: worm 76: worm wheel 77: pinion gears 80, 81: rotating shaft

Claims (7)

A sidewall on which a sheet discharge port is formed;
Has a sheet placing surface for placing the discharged sheets from the sheet discharge port, along a first direction passing through said sheet stacking surface, between a first position defined below the sheet discharge port, A tray supported movably between a second position defined below the first position;
A guide piece provided at an end of the tray on the sheet discharge port side, a slit formed in the side wall at a lower side of the sheet discharge port in the first direction, and the guide piece inserted through the slit. A support mechanism that has a fixed plate that is fixed and sandwiches the side wall with the end, and supports the tray movably in the first direction;
The second surface is supported by a support surface provided below the tray and supports the back surface of the tray below the tray , and is close to the sheet discharge port along a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The tray is movably provided on the support surface between a third position and a fourth position far from the sheet discharge port, and supports the tray when moved from the third position to the fourth position. Moving the vehicle from the first position to the second position;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a driving force supply mechanism that supplies a driving force for moving the moving body in the second direction to the moving body. The driving force supply mechanism includes a driving source mounted on the moving body, a transmission gear mounted on the moving body and transmitting a rotational driving force from the driving source, and a transmission gear provided in the sheet stacking apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a rack gear that converts a rotational driving force of the first to a linear driving force in the second direction. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transmission gear is provided so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis substantially in the same direction as the first direction. The tray is supported movably along the first direction while maintaining a state in which the end side near the sheet discharge port is inclined downward,
The moving body includes an inclined plate to have a slanted surface for supporting the tray are formed to the same angle as the inclination of the front Symbol tray, and a bottom plate which is supported on the support surface, and the inclined plate and the bottom plate The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the driving source and the transmission gear are provided in an internal space between the two . The moving member has a rotatably supported rotating member to the inclined plate which supports the tray of claim 4 having a rotatably supported rotary member to said bottom plate Image forming apparatus . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first direction is a vertical direction and the second direction is a horizontal direction. A sidewall on which a sheet discharge port is formed;
A sheet placement surface on which the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port is placed; a first position defined below the sheet discharge port along a first direction passing through the sheet placement surface; A tray supported movably between a second position defined below the first position;
A guide piece provided at an end of the tray on the sheet discharge port side, a slit formed in the side wall at a lower side of the sheet discharge port in the first direction, and the guide piece inserted through the slit. A support mechanism that has a fixed plate that is fixed and sandwiches the side wall with the end, and supports the tray movably in the first direction;
The second surface is supported by a support surface provided below the tray and supports the back surface of the tray below the tray, and is close to the sheet discharge port along a second direction substantially perpendicular to the first direction. The tray is movably provided on the support surface between a third position and a fourth position far from the sheet discharge port, and supports the tray when moved from the third position to the fourth position. Moving the vehicle from the first position to the second position;
A post-processing apparatus comprising: a driving force supply mechanism that supplies a driving force for moving the moving body in the second direction to the moving body .