JP6354686B2 - Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus provided with the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus that is used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine, and feeds a sheet-like recording medium and a document.

  A sheet feeding device is indispensable for feeding a document, a cut paper (paper), or the like in an image forming apparatus represented by a copying machine or a printer. A sheet feeding device in an image forming apparatus is used for a document conveying device, a cassette type paper feeding unit, a manual paper feeding unit and the like mounted on the image forming apparatus, and a document feeding tray, a paper feeding cassette, a manual paper feeding tray, etc. In general, a large number of originals and papers are stored in advance in the storage unit, and are supplied one by one from the uppermost layer of the originals and papers stacked in the storage unit.

  Such a sheet feeding apparatus is configured to be able to accommodate papers (sheets) of various regular sizes such as A series, B series, and inch series. Further, a slidable width alignment cursor is provided at a position corresponding to the size of the stored paper, and the feeding position is regulated by bringing the width alignment cursor into contact with the side edge of the paper. Yes.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a manual feed tray that guides paper feeding by manual feed, and forward / reverse movement in a paper width direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction according to the paper width dimension provided in the manual feed tray. There is disclosed a sheet feeding device that includes a pair of possible width alignment cursors and is movable toward the inside of the apparatus main body with the width alignment cursors arranged at a predetermined minimum separation distance.

JP 2007-22754 A

  With the width alignment cursor as described above, the position of the width alignment cursor easily changes if the load required for positioning operation of the width alignment cursor (hereinafter referred to as “operation force”) is too small. descend. On the other hand, if the operation force is too large, the operability of the width alignment cursor is degraded. Therefore, conventionally, the operation force of the width alignment cursor has been controlled by pressing a part of the width alignment cursor against a cursor guide provided on a cursor cover that slidably holds the width alignment cursor. The pressure contact force of the width alignment cursor with respect to the cursor guide is constant over the entire area in the movement direction of the width alignment cursor.

  Here, in a state where the distance between the width restricting portions (operation portions) of the pair of width adjusting cursors is narrow, that is, in a state where each width restricting portion is close to the cursor holding structure provided in the center portion of the cursor cover, The posture stabilizes while standing vertically from the cursor cover. However, as shown in FIG. 15, the distance between the width restricting portions 36 is wide, that is, the width restricting portions 36 are arranged at both ends of the cursor cover 40, and the pinion gear 50 provided at the center portion of the cursor cover 40. In a state of being separated from the (cursor holding structure), the rack portion 37 that meshes with the pinion gear 50 bends, and the width regulating portion 36 falls inward (indicated by a broken line in FIG. 15). Therefore, in the state where the width restricting portions 36 are disposed at both ends of the cursor cover 40, there is a problem in that the operating force of the width adjusting cursor increases and the operability deteriorates.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a sheet feeding apparatus capable of stably operating a cursor with a constant operating force over the entire range of movement of the cursor that regulates the edge of the sheet, and image formation including the same. An object is to provide an apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first configuration of the present invention is a sheet feeding apparatus including a sheet stacking unit, a cursor, and a cursor cover. The sheet stacking unit can stack sheets. The cursor is in contact with the edge of the sheet stacked on the sheet stacking unit and positions the sheet. The cursor cover has a groove-like cursor guide portion that holds the cursor in a slidable manner. The cursor guide part has a pair of sliding surfaces parallel to the sliding direction of the cursor. The cursor is provided with a first contact portion that contacts one sliding surface of the cursor guide portion, and a second contact portion that contacts the other sliding surface of the cursor guide portion. And at least one of the second contact portion and the second contact portion can be elastically deformed in a direction approaching or separating from the sliding surface, and the distance between the sliding surfaces of the cursor guide portion can be changed within the movement range of the cursor. Yes.

  According to the first configuration of the present invention, the amount of bending of the first contact portion or the second contact portion with respect to the sliding surface of the cursor guide portion is changed by changing the distance between the sliding surfaces of the cursor guide portion. Therefore, the pressing force of the first contact portion and the second contact portion with respect to the sliding surface of the cursor guide portion can be varied. Therefore, the cursor operating force can be easily adjusted within the cursor operating range.

1 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating an internal structure of an image forming apparatus 100 including a manual sheet feeder 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view which looked at the state where the manual paper feeder 11 of this embodiment was opened from the inside Side sectional view of the manual sheet feeder 11 of this embodiment. The perspective view which looked at the width alignment cursor 35 and the cursor cover 40 mounted in the manual sheet feeder 11 of this embodiment from the front side. The perspective view which looked at the width alignment cursor 35 and the cursor cover 40 mounted in the manual sheet feeder 11 of this embodiment from the back side. Perspective view of width alignment cursor 35 Enlarged view around the holding mechanism of the width alignment cursor 35 in FIG. The partial top view which looked at the cursor cover 40 with which the width alignment cursor 35 was mounted | worn from the back side 8 is a partial enlarged view of the periphery of the first contact portion 39a of the width alignment cursor 35 in FIG. Partial enlarged view of the contact portion (inside the broken line circle S1 in FIG. 8) between the first contact portion 39a and the inner side surface of the cursor guide portion 43 in a state where the width restricting portions 36 are disposed at both ends of the cursor cover 40. The first contact portion 39a and the inner side surface of the cursor guide portion 43 at a position (inside the broken line circle S2 in FIG. 8) where the width restricting portion 36 has moved from the position in FIG. Enlarged view of the contact area A front view of the width adjusting cursor 35 and the cursor cover 40 when viewed from the paper feeding direction when the width regulating portion 36 is located at a position close to the central portion in the paper width direction. The front view which looked at the width alignment cursor 35 and the cursor cover 40 from the paper feeding direction when the width regulation part 36 exists in the position near the both ends of the paper width direction. The partial enlarged view which looked at the other cursor cover 40 mounted in the manual sheet feeder 11 of this embodiment from the back side. In the conventional width alignment cursor 35 and cursor cover 40, a front view of the state where the width restricting portion 36 is located near both ends in the paper width direction as viewed from the paper feeding direction.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an internal structure of an image forming apparatus 100 provided with a manual sheet feeder 11 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the image forming apparatus (for example, a monochrome printer) 100, an image forming unit P that forms a monochrome image by each process of charging, exposure, development, and transfer is disposed. In the image forming portion P, along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 5 (clockwise direction in FIG. 1), the charging unit 4, the exposure unit (laser scanning unit, etc.) 7, the developing unit 8, the transfer roller 14, and the cleaning device 19 and a static eliminator (not shown) are disposed.

  When the image forming operation is performed, the photosensitive drum 5 rotating in the clockwise direction is uniformly charged by the charging unit 4, and the electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 5 by the laser beam from the exposure unit 7 based on the document image data. An image is formed, and a developer (hereinafter referred to as toner) is attached to the electrostatic latent image by the developing unit 8 to form a toner image.

  The toner is supplied to the developing unit 8 from the toner container 9. The image data is transmitted from a personal computer (not shown) or the like. Further, a static elimination device (not shown) for removing residual charges on the surface of the photosensitive drum 5 is provided on the downstream side of the cleaning device 19 with respect to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 5.

  A sheet is conveyed from the sheet feeding cassette 10 or the manual sheet feeder 11 via the sheet conveying path 12 and the registration roller pair 13 toward the photosensitive drum 5 on which the toner image is formed as described above, and the transfer roller 14. The toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 5 is transferred onto the sheet by (image transfer unit). The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 5 and conveyed to the fixing device 15 to fix the toner image. The sheet that has passed through the fixing device 15 is conveyed to the upper part of the apparatus through the sheet conveying path 16, and is discharged to the discharge tray 18 by the discharge roller pair 17 when an image is formed on only one side of the sheet (during single-sided printing).

  On the other hand, when images are formed on both sides of a sheet (during double-sided printing), the conveyance direction is reversed after the trailing edge of the sheet has passed through the branch portion 20 of the sheet conveyance path 16. As a result, the sheet is distributed to the reversal conveyance path 21 branched from the branching unit 20 and re-conveyed to the registration roller pair 13 with the image surface reversed. Then, the next toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 5 is transferred by the transfer roller 14 to the surface on which the sheet image is not formed. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 15 where the toner image is fixed, and then discharged onto the discharge tray 18 by the discharge roller pair 17.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the manual sheet feeding device 11 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the inside, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the manual sheet feeding device 11 according to the present embodiment. The manual sheet feeder 11 includes a side cover 30, a sheet stacking tray 31, a width alignment cursor 35, a paper stack unit 39 including an auxiliary tray 34, a separation transport unit 32, a lifting plate 33, a sheet feeding clutch (not shown), and the like. A paper feed unit including a paper feed unit, a paper feed detection unit including a bypass feed substrate (not shown), and the like.

  The side cover 30 is rotatably supported on the main body side surface of the image forming apparatus 100 at two left and right fulcrums 30a. (Refer to FIG. 1) and is selectively disposed at a closed position that becomes a part of the side surface of the main body. A sheet stacking tray 31 and an auxiliary tray 34 to be described later slide on the upper surface of the side cover 30 individually.

  The sheet stacking tray 31 is connected to the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 by a link member (not shown). Specifically, one end portion and the other end portion of the link member are rotatably connected to the sheet stacking tray 31 and the main body side surface of the image forming apparatus 100, respectively, and the upstream end of the sheet stacking tray 31 with respect to the sheet feeding direction. The portion engages with guide grooves provided at both ends in the width direction of the side cover 30. As a result, the paper stacking tray 31 can slide with respect to the side cover 30. The paper stacking tray 31 is provided with a pair of width alignment cursors 35 that can move in the paper width direction. The paper width and the presence / absence of paper in the paper stack set on the paper stacking tray 31 are detected by a paper detection sensor (not shown) attached to the bypass feed board, and the vertical size of the paper stack is stored in the paper stacking tray 31. It is detected by a paper length sensor (not shown) provided. Note that the paper width may be detected by the interval of the width alignment cursor 35.

  An auxiliary tray 34 is attached to the upstream end of the paper stacking tray 31 with respect to the paper feeding direction. The auxiliary tray 34 is slidably engaged with a guide rail (not shown) provided on the inner side edge of the paper stacking tray 31. Further, on the upstream side of the guide rail with respect to the paper feeding direction, an engagement hole (not shown) is provided in which a boss portion (not shown) provided on the auxiliary tray 34 can be engaged. The auxiliary tray 34 is fixed to the paper stacking tray 31 when the auxiliary tray 34 is pulled out to a position where the engagement hole engages with the engagement hole. In this way, the auxiliary tray 34 is selectively disposed at the storage position overlapping the paper stacking tray 31 and the support position at which the auxiliary tray 34 is pulled out from the paper stacking tray 31 and supports the sheet bundle. 2 shows a state where the auxiliary tray 34 is disposed at the support position, and FIG. 3 illustrates a state where the auxiliary tray 34 is disposed at the storage position.

  The elevating plate 33 is pivotally supported on the sheet stacking tray 31 at an end portion (upper right in FIG. 3) away from the separating and conveying unit 32, and can be lifted and lowered by turning around the pivot. The elevating plate 33 is in a state of being lowered to a position substantially the same as the upper surface of the sheet stacking tray 31 unless an external force is applied from a cam and a cam actuator (not shown). In this state, the sheet stacking tray 31 is replenished or replaced.

  The width alignment cursor 35 is supported by a cursor cover 40 disposed at the downstream end of the paper stacking tray 31 with respect to the paper feeding direction, and is in the paper width direction (left-right direction in FIG. 2) with respect to the cursor cover 40. Is slidable. The sliding mechanism of the width alignment cursor 35 will be described later.

  Next, the sheet feeding operation of the manual sheet feeder 11 will be described. When a user inputs a paper feed instruction from the manual paper feeder 11, a control signal is transmitted from a control unit (not shown) in the image forming apparatus 100, and the paper feed clutch is operated to feed the paper feed roller 32a. Start spinning. Then, the cam is rotated by a predetermined amount at a predetermined timing. Along with this, the pressing force acting on the lifting plate 33 via the cam actuator is released, and the lifting plate 33 is pushed up by the urging force of the compression spring, so that the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle is fed by the paper feed roller 32a. The paper feeding operation is performed.

  Then, only the uppermost sheet in contact with the paper feed roller 32a is separated at the nip portion between the paper feed roller 32a and the separation pad 32b and transported to the paper transport path 12 (see FIG. 1) in the image forming apparatus 100. Is done.

  4 and 5 are perspective views of the width alignment cursor 35 and the cursor cover 40 mounted on the manual sheet feeding device 11 of the present embodiment as viewed from the front side and the back side, respectively, and FIG. 6 illustrates the width alignment cursor. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the holding mechanism for the width alignment cursor 35 in FIG. The configuration and operation of the width alignment cursor 35 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The cursor cover 40 is configured in a flat box shape with an open bottom surface, and can accommodate members such as a width alignment cursor 35 and a pinion gear 50 therein. The upper surface of the cursor cover 40 is a sheet stacking surface together with the sheet stacking tray 31. A pair of moving grooves 41 extending in the paper width direction are formed on the upper surface of the cursor cover 40.

  Two (one pair) width alignment cursors 35 are mounted on the upper surface of the cursor cover 40. The two width alignment cursors 35 are arranged side by side at positions symmetrical with respect to the center line in the paper width direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction. Each width alignment cursor 35 is a movement groove of the cursor cover 40. 41 is slidable.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the width alignment cursor 35 includes a width restricting portion 36, a rack portion 37, and a connecting portion 38 that connects the width restricting portion 36 and the rack portion 37. The shape seen from the direction of the arrow 6 is substantially L-shaped. When the sheet bundle is placed on the sheet stacking tray 31, the width restricting portion 36 contacts the side edge of the sheet bundle.

  The rack portion 37 is a plate-like member extending in the paper width direction, and is accommodated in a groove-like cursor guide portion 43 formed on the back surface of the cursor cover 40. As the width regulating portion 36 slides in the paper width direction, the rack portion 37 also moves in the paper width direction. Note that the rack portions 37 of the two width alignment cursors 35 are arranged with their positions shifted in the paper feeding direction, so that they do not collide with each other even if they move in the paper width direction.

  Rack teeth 37a extending in the paper width direction are formed on the opposing surfaces of each rack portion 37 in the paper feeding direction. Further, on the upper surface of each rack portion 37, an engaging convex portion 37 b is formed that is slidably engaged with the moving groove 41 together with the connecting portion 38. Further, a first abutting portion 39a and a second abutting portion 39b are projected from a position near the width regulating portion 36 on the side end surface of each rack portion 37 in the sheet feeding direction. The first abutting portion 39a approaches or extends in a direction (paper feeding direction) orthogonal to the extending direction (paper width direction) of the rack portion 37, that is, the inner side surface 43a (see FIG. 8) of the cursor guide portion 43. Elastic deformation is possible in the direction of separation.

  When the width alignment cursor 35 is attached to the cursor cover 40, the rack portion 37 is inserted from the upper surface side of the cursor cover 40 to the rear surface side through the movement groove 41. As a result, the width restricting portion 36 protrudes from the moving groove 41 to the upper surface side, and the connecting portion 38 and the engaging convex portion 37b are slidably engaged with the moving groove 41.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the pinion gear 50 is extrapolated to a bearing portion 45 formed at the center of the back surface of the cursor cover 40 and is supported rotatably with respect to the cursor cover 40. The pinion gear 50 is held so as not to drop off from the bearing portion 45 by a pair of locking claws 45 a protruding from the bearing portion 45.

  The rack teeth 37a of the pair of width alignment cursors 35 are respectively engaged with the pinion gear 50 on the upstream side and the downstream side in the paper feeding direction to constitute a rack and pinion mechanism. Thus, when one width alignment cursor 35 is moved in the paper width direction, the other width alignment cursor 35 is also moved in the opposite direction in conjunction with this. That is, each width alignment cursor 35 moves symmetrically with respect to the center line in the paper width direction. In addition, a cursor support protrusion 47 that protrudes inward from the inner side surface 43 a of the cursor guide portion 43 is formed at the center in the longitudinal direction of the cursor cover 40 (in the vicinity of the pinion gear 50).

  The procedure for assembling the width alignment cursor 35 will be described. First, with the upper surface side of the cursor cover 40 facing upward, the rack portions 37 of the pair of width alignment cursors 35 are respectively inserted into the movement grooves 41 from the upper surface side of the cursor cover 40. Then, the connecting portion 38 and the engaging convex portion 37 b are engaged with the moving groove 41. Then, in a state in which the cursor cover 40 is reversed and the back side is directed upward, the position adjustment cursors 35 are positioned so that the first rack portions 37 are symmetrical about the bearing portion 45 (for example, the outermost side in the paper width direction). To move.

  Next, the pinion gear 50 is mounted on the bearing portion 45 so as to mesh with the rack teeth 37 a formed on each rack portion 37. Then, the cursor cover 40 is reversed again and mounted on the paper stacking tray 31 with the upper surface side facing upward. At this time, since the rack portion 37 is sandwiched between the two cursor support protrusions 47 and the pinion gear 50 provided at the longitudinal center of the cursor cover 40, there is no possibility that the width alignment cursor 35 falls from the back surface of the cursor cover 40. . When the width adjustment cursor 35 is removed from the cursor cover 40, the tip of the rack portion 37 can be rotated in the horizontal direction by removing the pinion gear 50 from the bearing portion 45. Therefore, the rack portion 37 is rotated to support the cursor. After releasing the engagement with the protrusion 47, the rack portion 37 is pulled out from the moving groove 41.

  Next, a mechanism for adjusting the operating force of the width alignment cursor 35 will be described. FIG. 8 is a partial plan view of the cursor cover 40 to which the width alignment cursor 35 is mounted as viewed from the back side. FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view of the vicinity of the first contact portion 39a of the width alignment cursor 35 in FIG. It is.

  The width of the cursor guide portion 43 formed on the cursor cover 40 (the distance between the inner side surfaces 43a of the cursor guide portion 43 parallel to the sliding direction of the width alignment cursor 35) W is applied to the rack portion 37 of the width alignment cursor 35 by an external force. It is slightly shorter than the distance between the tips of the first contact portion 39a and the second contact portion 39b in a state where no is added. When the width alignment cursor 35 is attached to the cursor cover 40, the first contact portion 39a is elastically deformed in the direction of the white arrow in FIG. 9 so that the first contact portion 39a and the second contact portion 39b are the cursor guide portion 43. And a pair of inner side surfaces 43a. As a result, a predetermined operating force is applied to the width alignment cursor 35 when the pair of width restriction portions 36 protruding from the upper surface of the cursor cover 40 are gripped and the position is changed according to the side edge of the sheet bundle. Can do.

  As described above, when the pair of width restricting portions 36 are arranged at both ends of the cursor cover 40 and the distance between the width restricting portions 36 is wide, when a force is applied in a direction to narrow the interval between the width restricting portions 36. The rack part 37 bends and the width restricting part 36 falls inward (see FIG. 15). As a result, the operating force of the width alignment cursor 35 is increased and the operability is lowered.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, when the width restricting portion 36 is at the center portion of the cursor cover 40, the operation force of the width aligning cursor 35 is large, and as the width aligning cursor 35 moves from the center portion of the cursor cover 40 to both ends. The operation force of the width alignment cursor 35 is reduced. Specifically, the pressure contact force of the first contact portion 39 a against the inner side surface 43 a of the cursor guide portion 43 is set so as to decrease from the center portion to the end portion of the cursor cover 40.

  FIG. 10 shows a contact portion between the first contact portion 39a and the inner side surface 43a of the cursor guide portion 43 (within the broken line circle S1 in FIG. 8) in a state where the width restricting portions 36 are disposed at both ends of the cursor cover 40. FIG. In this state, the bending amount of the first contact portion 39a relative to the inner surface (sliding surface) 43a of the cursor guide portion 43 (the first contact portion 39a and the inner surface in a state where no external force is applied to the first contact portion 39a). The amount of overlap with 43a is t1.

  11 shows the first contact portion 39a and the cursor guide portion 43 at a position (within the broken line circle S2 in FIG. 8) where the width restricting portion 36 has moved from the position of FIG. It is the elements on larger scale of the contact part with the inner surface. The inner side surface 43a of the cursor guide portion 43 is provided with a slight inclination in a direction approaching the rack portion 37 from both end portions of the cursor cover 40 toward the central portion (from left to right in FIG. 10). That is, the distance W (see FIG. 9) between the inner side surfaces 43a of the cursor guide portion 43 gradually decreases from both end portions of the cursor cover 40 toward the central portion. Therefore, the bending amount t2 of the first contact portion 39a with respect to the inner side surface 43a of the cursor guide portion 43 is larger than t1.

  Similarly, the first contact portion 39a and the cursor guide portion 43 at a position where the width regulating portion 36 has moved from the position in FIG. 11 by a predetermined distance toward the central portion in the paper width direction (inside the broken line circle S3 in FIG. 8). A bending amount of the first contact portion 39a with respect to the inner side surface 43a of the cursor guide portion 43 at a contact portion with the inner side surface is defined as t3. Further, the first contact portion 39a and the inner side surface of the cursor guide portion 43 at the position where the width restricting portion 36 has moved further by a predetermined distance toward the center portion of the cursor cover 40 (inside the broken line circle S4 in FIG. 8). The amount of bending of the first contact portion 39a with respect to the inner side surface 43a of the cursor guide portion 43 at the contact portion is defined as t4. At this time, the relationship between the deflection amounts t1, t2, t3, and t4 is t1 <t2 <ty3 <t4.

  As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, when the width restricting portion 36 is located near the center in the sheet width direction, the first contact portion 39a provided near the width restricting portion 36 is bent with respect to the inner side surface 43a. Since the amount is increased, it is possible to obtain an operation force that does not easily move the width restricting portion 36.

  As shown in FIG. 13, when the width restricting portion 36 is located at a position close to both ends in the sheet width direction, the bending amount of the first abutting portion 39 a provided close to the width restricting portion 36 with respect to the inner side surface 43 a. Therefore, the increase in the operating force due to the bending deformation of the rack portion 37 is offset by the decrease in the operating force due to the decrease in the bending amount of the first contact portion 39a with respect to the inner side surface 43a. Accordingly, a substantially constant operation force can be obtained over the entire operation range of the width alignment cursor 35.

  FIG. 14 is a partially enlarged view of another cursor cover 40 mounted on the manual sheet feeder 11 of this embodiment as viewed from the back side. In the cursor cover 40 shown in FIG. 14, the first contact portion 39a is applied to the inner side surface 43a of the cursor guide portion 43 when the width restricting portion 36 is adjusted to each paper size (A4, B4, B5, etc.). Concave portions 60a to 60c that engage with the first contact portion 39a are provided at the contact positions.

  According to the configuration shown in FIG. 14, the user can obtain an appropriate click feeling when aligning the width restricting portion 36, and thus can reliably move the width restricting portion 36 to a position corresponding to each paper size. .

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the first contact portion 39a of the width alignment cursor 35 can be elastically deformed in a direction approaching or separating from the inner side surface 43a of the cursor guide portion 43, but the first contact portion 39a Instead, the second contact portion 39b may be elastically deformable in a direction approaching or separating from the inner side surface 43a. Alternatively, both the first contact portion 39a and the second contact portion 39b may be elastically deformable in a direction approaching or separating from the inner side surface 43a.

  In the above-described embodiment, the width alignment cursor 35 mounted on the manual sheet feeding device 11 that feeds paper has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the manual sheet feeding device 11, and is not limited to the sheet feeding cassette or the sheet shape. You may apply to the width alignment cursor of the document conveying apparatus which conveys a document. Further, the present invention is not limited to the width alignment cursor, and may be applied to a rear end cursor that regulates the position of the rear end of the sheet bundle in the paper feeding cassette.

  The present invention is not limited to the monochrome printer as shown in FIG. 1, and may be applied to other types of image forming apparatuses including a manual sheet feeder such as a color printer, monochrome and color copier, digital multifunction peripheral, or facsimile. Of course, is also applicable.

  The present invention can be used in a sheet feeding apparatus that feeds a sheet-like recording medium. By utilizing the present invention, a sheet feeding apparatus capable of stably operating a cursor with a constant operation force over the entire movement range of the cursor for regulating the edge of the sheet, and an image forming apparatus including the sheet feeding apparatus are provided. be able to.

11 Manual feeding device (sheet feeding device)
30 Side cover 30a Tip 31 Paper stacking tray (sheet stacking unit)
32 Separation and transport unit 32a Paper feed roller (feeding member)
32b Separation pad (separation member)
33 Lifting plate 34 Auxiliary tray 35 Width alignment cursor 36 Width regulating portion 37 Rack portion 37a Rack tooth 38 Connection portion 39a First contact portion 39b Second contact portion 40 Cursor cover 41 Moving groove 43 Cursor guide portion 43a Inner side surface (slider) Moving surface)
45 Bearing part 50 Pinion gear 60a-60c Concave part 100 Image forming apparatus

Claims (5)

A sheet stacking unit capable of stacking sheets;
A cursor that contacts the edge of the sheet stacked on the sheet stacking unit and positions the sheet;
A cursor cover having a groove-like cursor guide portion for slidably holding the cursor;
In the sheet feeding apparatus provided with
The cursor guide portion has a pair of sliding surfaces parallel to the sliding direction of the cursor,
The cursor is provided with a first contact portion that contacts one of the sliding surfaces of the cursor guide portion and a second contact portion that contacts the other sliding surface of the cursor guide portion. , At least one of the first contact portion and the second contact portion is elastically deformable in a direction approaching or separating from the sliding surface,
A sheet feeding apparatus, wherein a distance between the sliding surfaces of the cursor guide portion is changed within a movement range of the cursor. The cursors are a pair of width alignment cursors that contact the edge in the width direction of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit and perform positioning in the width direction of the sheets,
A pair of the cursor guide portions are formed from both end portions of the cursor cover toward the center portion,
The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a distance between the sliding surfaces of the cursor guide portions is gradually narrowed from both end portions of the cursor cover toward a central portion. A pair of the width alignment cursors are slidably held in the cursor guide portion, and a rack portion formed with rack teeth that mesh with a pinion gear provided in a central portion of the cursor cover, and the rack portion, A width regulating portion that is formed at one end near the both ends of the cursor cover, protrudes from the upper surface of the cursor cover, and abuts against the edge in the width direction of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking portion;
The sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the first contact portion and the second contact portion are provided at positions close to the width restricting portion of the rack portion.   When the cursor is arranged in accordance with a predetermined sheet size, a concave portion for engaging the first contact portion or the second contact portion is formed at a predetermined position on the sliding surface of the cursor guide portion. The sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sheet feeding device is characterized in that:   An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet feeding device according to claim 1.