JP6447187B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided with a paper feed unit such as a paper feed tray or a paper feed cassette, and in particular, an image forming unit that forms an image using an electrophotographic system regardless of the type such as color / monochrome. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an image forming apparatus in which a paper feeding unit for storing paper is provided so as to be able to be pulled out and stored with respect to an apparatus main body. In this type of image forming apparatus, the paper feed unit is provided with a pair of paper feed unit side rails, and the apparatus main body is provided with a pair of device main body side rails. The pair of paper feed unit side rails and the pair of devices In many cases, the paper feeding unit is configured to be able to be pulled out and stored by engaging with the main body side rail (see, for example, JP 2012-126575 A (Patent Document 1)).

JP 2012-126575 A

  Here, in terms of safety measures, in the image forming apparatus, even when an external force is applied to the paper feed unit in the vertical direction with the paper feed unit pulled out from the apparatus main body to the maximum extent, It is required that the device does not fall off the main body. On the other hand, from the viewpoint of reducing the size of the image forming apparatus, it is preferable to configure the engagement margin between the pair of paper feed unit side rails and the pair of apparatus body side rails as small as possible. The more you do this, the greater the risk that the paper feed unit will fall off.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problem, and an image having a simple configuration that can prevent the sheet feeding unit from dropping from the apparatus main body even when the engagement margin between the rails is small. An object is to provide a forming apparatus.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, a device main body that includes a sheet feeding unit that supplies the sheet to the image forming unit, and a drawer that can be pulled out and stored in the sheet feeding unit. A paper feeding unit for containing paper to be supplied to the image forming unit. The sheet feeding unit has a sheet feeding unit side left rail and a sheet feeding unit provided on each of the left and right side surfaces of the sheet feeding unit when the direction parallel to the drawing and storing direction of the sheet feeding unit is the front-rear direction. The apparatus body has a right rail, and the apparatus body includes an apparatus body side left rail and an apparatus body side right rail provided in correspondence with the sheet feeding unit side left rail and the sheet feeding unit side right rail, respectively. have. Here, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the sheet feeding unit side left rail and the apparatus body side left rail engage with each other in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and the sheet feeding unit side right rail. When the rail and the apparatus main body side right rail are engaged with each other in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, the paper feeding unit can be pulled out and stored in the front-rear direction from the apparatus main body. The sheet feeding unit and the apparatus main body further include a set of drawer limiting stoppers for limiting the drawer of the sheet feeding unit by contacting each other in the front-rear direction, and the set of drawer limiting Of the stoppers, the paper feed unit side drawer limiting stopper provided in the paper feed unit is provided only on either the left side portion or the right side portion of the paper feed unit. The sheet feeding unit has a predetermined amount in the left-right direction between at least one of the sheet feeding unit side left rail and the apparatus body side left rail and between the sheet feeding unit side right rail and the apparatus body side right rail. The device body is assembled so that a clearance is formed. In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the rear end portion of the left rail of the sheet feeding unit side is in the maximum pulled out state in which the sheet feeding unit is pulled out from the apparatus main body in the longitudinal direction. While engaging the front end of the apparatus body side left rail and maintaining the state where the rear end of the paper supply unit side right rail is engaged with the front end of the apparatus body side right rail, When the stoppers come into contact with each other, the sheet feeding unit is inclined toward one of the left and right directions due to the clearance.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the sheet feed unit side pull-out limiting stopper includes the sheet feed unit side left rail and the apparatus body side left of the left side portion and the right side portion of the sheet feed unit. The rail is provided at a portion having a larger engagement margin among the engagement margin in the left-right direction of the rail and the engagement margin in the left-right direction of the sheet feeding unit side right rail and the apparatus main body side right rail. It is preferable.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, a portion of the paper feeding unit located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the paper supplied from the paper feeding unit to the image forming unit is on the left side of the paper feeding unit. Of the right and left portions of the sheet feeding unit side rail and the apparatus main body side left rail, and the right and left engagement of the sheet feeding unit side right rail and the apparatus body side right rail. It is preferable to match the portion of the margin that has the smaller engagement margin.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the sheet feeding unit and the apparatus main body are in contact with each other in the front-rear direction to limit a tilt of the sheet feeding unit in the maximum drawer state. In this case, the set of tilt limiting stoppers is provided with the set of drawer limiting stoppers of the left side portion and the right side portion of the paper feeding unit. It is preferable that it is provided in the part located on the opposite side to the part which was provided.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, in the maximum drawer state, the portion of the left side portion and the right side portion of the paper feed unit that is provided with the one set of drawer restriction stoppers. In the portion located on the opposite side, the sheet feeding unit may be in contact with a part of the apparatus main body in the left-right direction, whereby the inclination of the sheet feeding unit in the maximum drawer state may be limited.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having a simple configuration that can prevent the sheet feeding unit from dropping off from the apparatus main body even when the engagement margin between the rails is small.

1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a model front view which shows the support structure of the paper feed unit shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a storage state and a maximum drawer state of the paper feeding unit illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view illustrating a storage state and a maximum drawer state of the paper feeding unit illustrated in FIG. 1. It is an enlarged view of the principal part shown in FIG. It is a model front view which shows the support structure of the paper feed unit which concerns on a 1st modification. FIG. 7 is a schematic bottom view showing a maximum drawing state of the paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 6. It is a schematic front view which shows the support structure of the paper feed unit which concerns on a 2nd modification. FIG. 9 is a schematic bottom view showing a maximum drawing state of the paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 8.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same or common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing a support structure of the paper feed unit shown in FIG. 3A and 3B are schematic cross-sectional views showing the storage state and the maximum drawer state of the paper feed unit shown in FIG. 1, respectively. Here, the cross section shown in FIG. 3 is taken along the line III-III shown in FIG. First, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Note that the image forming apparatus 1 exemplified in the present embodiment is a color copying machine employing an electrophotographic system.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 mainly includes an apparatus main body 2 and paper feeding units 5 and 6. The apparatus main body 2 includes an image forming unit 3 that is a part for forming an image on a sheet, and a paper feeding unit 4 that is a part for supplying the sheet to the image forming unit 3. Here, the paper feed unit 5 is a so-called paper feed tray, and the paper feed unit 6 is a so-called paper feed cassette.

  Each of the paper feeding units 5 and 6 accommodates paper to be supplied to the image forming unit 3 and is provided in the paper feeding unit 4 so that it can be drawn out and stored. Here, “provided to be able to be pulled out” means that a part of the paper feeding units 5, 6 is outside the device main body 2 from the storage state where the paper feeding units 5, 6 are completely stored inside the device main body 2. This means that the paper feed units 5 and 6 are completely removed from the apparatus main body 2. However, the sheet feeding units 5 and 6 are configured to be able to be completely removed from the apparatus body 2 by performing some operation in the maximum drawing state where the sheet feeding units 5 and 6 are pulled out from the apparatus body 2 to the maximum extent. The case is not excluded.

  Further, the paper feed unit 4 may be separately provided with a manual feed tray 7 for supplying paper to the image forming unit 3, and further, at a predetermined position of the apparatus main body 2, a so-called paper jam is eliminated. An open / close door 8 for maintenance may be installed.

  Here, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the X-axis direction shown in the figure is the left-right direction, the Y-axis direction shown in the figure is the front-rear direction, and the Z-axis direction shown in the figure is the up-down direction. In this case, the paper feeding units 5 and 6 are both installed on the left side and the lower side of the apparatus main body 2, and all of the paper feeding units 5 and 6 are configured to be pulled out and stored in the front-rear direction. The image forming unit 3 is installed on the left side and on the upper side of the apparatus main body 2, and various drive rollers and conveyance rollers for conveying sheets are mainly located on the right side of the apparatus main body. is set up. The manual feed tray 7 and the open / close door 8 described above are provided on the right side of the apparatus main body.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the paper feed unit 5 has a box shape with an open top surface, and has a pair of side surfaces including a left side surface and a right side surface, and a front surface, a rear surface, and a bottom surface. ing. The paper feeding unit 5 is supported by the apparatus main body 2 so that it can be pulled out and stored.

  On the left side of the pair of side surfaces of the sheet feeding unit 5, a ridge-shaped sheet feeding unit side left rail 51 </ b> L is provided that extends along the front-rear direction and protrudes toward the left outer side. On the other hand, on the right side of the pair of side surfaces of the sheet feeding unit 5, a ridge-shaped sheet feeding unit side right rail 51R that extends along the front-rear direction and projects toward the right outer side is provided. .

  Further, a portion near the rear end of the left side portion of the bottom surface of the paper feeding unit 5 is provided with a paper feeding unit side drawer limiting stopper 52L that protrudes downward. A sheet feeding unit side tilt limiting stopper 52R that protrudes downward is provided at a portion of the bottom surface of the right side portion near the rear end of the right side portion.

  In the housed state (see FIG. 3A), the apparatus main body 2 corresponding to the paper feed unit side left rail 51L can receive a front end portion in the protruding direction of the paper feed unit side left rail 51L. The main body side left rail 21L is provided, and the apparatus main body 2 corresponding to the paper supply unit side right rail 51R can receive the front end portion in the protruding direction of the paper supply unit side right rail 51R. A side right rail 21R is provided. Each of the apparatus main body side left rail 21L and the apparatus main body side right rail 21R is provided so as to extend in the front-rear direction, and has a concave shape in cross section.

  Further, in the maximum drawer state (see FIG. 3B), the portion of the apparatus main body 2 corresponding to the paper feed unit side drawer limit stopper 52L has the paper feed unit side drawer limit stopper along the front-rear direction. An apparatus main body side drawer limiting stopper 22L that comes into contact with 52L is provided, and a portion of the apparatus main body 2 corresponding to the paper supply unit side inclination limiting stopper 52R is inclined toward the paper supply unit along the front-rear direction. An apparatus main body side tilt limiting stopper 22R that contacts the limiting stopper 52R is provided. The apparatus main body side drawer limiting stopper 22L and the apparatus main body side tilt limiting stopper 22R are positioned on the front side as viewed from the paper feed unit side drawer limiting stopper 52L and the paper feed unit side tilt limiting stopper 52R, respectively. It protrudes and is located inside the apparatus main body 2.

  2 and 3, the sheet feeding unit side left rail 51L and the apparatus main body side left rail 21L are engaged with each other in the vertical direction and the left and right direction, and the sheet feeding unit side right rail 51R and the apparatus main body are engaged with each other. The side right rail 21R is engaged with each other in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. As a result, the paper feed unit 5 is configured to be able to be pulled out and stored along the front-rear direction with respect to the apparatus main body 2.

  Here, the paper feed unit side drawer limiting stopper 52L and the apparatus main body side drawer limiting stopper 22L are in contact with each other in the front-rear direction in the maximum drawer state, thereby limiting further drawer of the paper feed unit 5. The sheet feeding unit side tilt limiting stopper 52R and the apparatus main body side tilt limiting stopper 22R are in contact with each other in the front-rear direction in the maximum pull-out state, so that the tilt of the sheet feeding unit 5 to be described later It is a part for restricting.

  In the housed state shown in FIG. 3A, the paper feeding unit 5 is completely housed in the apparatus main body 2, and the paper is fed so as to close the opening 2a provided on the front surface of the apparatus main body 2. The front surface of the unit 5 is located. In this state, by pulling out the paper feed unit 5 in the direction of the arrow AR shown in the drawing (ie, forward), the paper feed unit 5 slides forward through the opening 2a. In this case, the paper feeding unit 5 is engaged by the engagement between the paper feeding unit side left rail 51L and the apparatus main body side left rail 21L and the paper feeding unit side right rail 51R and the apparatus main body side right rail 21R. Will be guided.

  After that, as shown in FIG. 3B, the paper feed unit side drawer limiting stopper 52L and the apparatus main body side drawer limiting stopper 22L come into contact with each other, so that the paper drawer unit 5 is pulled out to the maximum extent. At this point, further drawing out of the sheet feeding unit 5 is restricted. When the paper feeding unit 5 is stored in the apparatus main body 2, the paper feeding unit 5 is pushed rearward.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, a predetermined clearance (hereinafter referred to as the left clearance CL) is provided in the left-right direction between the paper supply unit side left rail 51L and the apparatus body side left rail 21L. A predetermined clearance (hereinafter, this clearance is referred to as a right clearance CR) is also provided in the left-right direction between the paper supply unit-side right rail 51R and the apparatus main body-side right rail 21R. In addition, a predetermined clearance is provided in the vertical direction between the upper end of the sheet feeding unit side left rail 51L and the device body side left rail 21L facing the upper end of the sheet feeding unit side left rail 51L. A predetermined clearance is also provided in the vertical direction between the upper end and the apparatus main body side right rail 21 </ b> R at a portion facing the upper end. Thereby, when the paper feeding unit 5 is pulled out and stored, the smooth movement can be realized.

  Further, the left clearance CL described above is provided between the paper supply unit side left rail 51L and the apparatus main body side left rail 21L, so that the paper supply unit side left rail 51L and the apparatus main body side left rail 21L in the left-right direction. The engagement margin (hereinafter, the engagement margin is referred to as the left engagement margin EL) includes an outer dimension in the left-right direction of the sheet feeding unit side left rail 51L and an inner dimension in the left-right direction of the concave portion of the apparatus body side left rail 21L. Both will be smaller. Similarly, the right clearance CR described above is provided between the paper supply unit side right rail 51R and the apparatus main body side right rail 21R, so that the left and right directions of the paper supply unit side right rail 51R and the apparatus main body side right rail 21R are set. The engagement margin (hereinafter, this engagement margin is referred to as the right engagement margin ER) is the outer dimension in the left-right direction of the sheet feeding unit side right rail 51R and the inner dimension in the left-right direction of the concave portion of the apparatus body side right rail 21R. Both are smaller than the dimensions.

  Here, in the case where the left engagement EL and the right engagement ER are configured to be small in accordance with a request for downsizing of the apparatus, if no measures are taken, the sheet feeding unit 5 is vertically moved in the maximum drawing state. There is a concern that the sheet feeding unit 5 may fall off the apparatus main body 2 when an external force is applied to the apparatus body 2. Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 1 in the present embodiment, the problem is solved by taking the measures described below.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic bottom view showing a storage state and a maximum drawer state of the paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are an area VA and an area VB shown in FIG. 4, respectively. FIG. Hereinafter, the reason why the above problem can be solved in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the distance in the front-rear direction between the paper feed unit side drawer limiting stopper 52L and the apparatus body side drawer limiting stopper 22L in the housed state. DL is configured to be smaller than the distance DR in the front-rear direction between the sheet feeding unit side tilt limiting stopper 52R and the apparatus main body side tilt limiting stopper 22R. That is, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in the drawing, the paper feed unit side drawer limiting stopper 52L and the paper feed unit side tilt limiting stopper 52R are provided at the same position in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the apparatus main body side drawer limiting stopper 22L is disposed rearward of the apparatus main body side inclination limiting stopper 22R.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4B, in the maximum drawer state, after the sheet feeding unit side drawer limiting stopper 52L and the apparatus body side drawer limiting stopper 22L are in contact with each other on the left side portion of the sheet feeding unit 5. In this case, the right side portion of the paper feed unit 5 is slightly pulled out further forward, and the right side portion of the paper feed unit 5 is further pulled out, so that the paper feed unit 5 is moved to the right side. It is in a state of being inclined (that is, a state of being inclined by an angle θ shown in the figure). As described above, the left clearance CL described above is provided between the paper supply unit side left rail 51L and the apparatus main body side left rail 21L, and the paper supply unit side right rail 51R and the apparatus main body side right are provided. This is because the right clearance CR described above is provided between the rail 21R and the sheet feeding unit 5 can be rotated along the horizontal plane by the amount of these clearances.

  In this state where the paper feeding unit 5 is tilted, the right side portion of the paper feeding unit 5 protrudes forward, so that the paper feeding unit side tilt limiting stopper 52R and the apparatus main body side tilt limiting stopper 22R are moved. As a result, a further inclination (rotation) of the sheet feeding unit 5 is limited.

  Even in the state after the sheet feeding unit 5 is tilted, the rear end portion of the sheet feeding unit side left rail 51L is kept engaged with the front end portion of the apparatus body side left rail 21L. The rear end portion of the rail 51R is maintained in a state of being engaged with the front end portion of the apparatus main body side right rail 21R.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 5A, along with the rotation of the paper feeding unit 5 described above, a part of the rear end portion of the paper feeding unit side left rail 51L enters the inside of the apparatus main body side left rail 21L. It will rush out to do. Therefore, the overlapping area SL between the sheet feeding unit side left rail 51L and the apparatus main body side left rail 21L has a shape as shown in the figure, and the width of the overlapping area SL in the left-right direction is the sheet feeding unit side left rail. Compared with the case where the rail 51L is at a position before rotation (the position is indicated by a two-dot chain line 51L ′ in the drawing), the rail 51L is increased by a width WL shown in the drawing.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, along with the rotation of the paper feeding unit 5 described above, a part of the rear end portion of the paper feeding unit side right rail 51R also enters inside the apparatus main body side right rail 21R. Will be rushed out. Therefore, the overlapping region SR between the paper supply unit side right rail 51R and the apparatus main body side right rail 21R has a shape as shown in the figure, and the width of the overlapping region SR in the left-right direction is the right side of the paper supply unit side. Compared with the case where the rail 51R is at the position before rotation (the position is indicated by a two-dot chain line 51R ′ in the drawing), the rail 51R is increased by the width WR shown in the drawing.

  Therefore, with the above configuration, even when the left engagement EL and the right engagement ER are configured to be small in accordance with a request for downsizing of the apparatus, the sheet feeding unit 5 is inclined along the horizontal plane in the maximum drawn state. Thus, the engagement width in the left-right direction of the overlapping area SL between the paper feeding unit side left rail 51L and the apparatus main body side left rail 21L, and the overlapping area SR between the paper feeding unit side right rail 51R and the apparatus main body side right rail 21R. It is possible to increase the engagement width in the left-right direction, and even when an external force is applied to the sheet feeding unit 5 in the up-down direction in the maximum drawing state, the sheet feeding unit 5 is detached from the apparatus main body 2. Can be prevented.

  As described above, by adopting the configuration shown in the present embodiment, even when the engagement between the rails is small, image formation with a simple configuration that can prevent the sheet feeding unit from dropping from the apparatus main body. It can be a device.

  In the above description, the paper feeding unit 5 which is a paper feeding tray among the paper feeding units 5 and 6 has been described. However, the paper feeding unit 6 which is a paper feeding cassette has the same configuration. can do.

  Here, the widths WL and WR shown in FIG. 5 are the length in the front-rear direction and the length in the left-right direction of the paper feed unit 5, and the installation of the paper feed unit side drawer limiting stopper 52L and the apparatus main body side drawer limiting stopper 22L. The position greatly varies depending on the position, the installation position of the sheet feeding unit side inclination limiting stopper 52R and the apparatus body side inclination limiting stopper 22R, and the like. Therefore, the above-described effects can be obtained by optimizing these conditions.

  However, it may be difficult to set the above-described optimum conditions due to the specifications of the image forming apparatus. In this case, this increases in one of the above-described pair of left and right engagement widths, whereas the other It is also assumed that this will decrease in Hereinafter, even in such a case, a case as an effective measure will be described as a first modification.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic front view showing a support structure of a paper feed unit according to a first modification, and FIG. 7 is a schematic bottom view showing a maximum drawer state of the paper feed unit shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the first modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7.

  Unlike the case of the above-described embodiment, the first modified example can ensure a relatively large engagement margin for the left engagement EL, while ensuring only a relatively small engagement margin for the right engagement ER. This is an example suitable for a case where it is impossible. As such a case, for example, as in the image forming apparatus 1 with reference to FIG. 1, various drive rollers, conveyance rollers, and the like are installed on the right side of the sheet feeding units 5 and 6. In view of the installation layout, a case where the right engagement ER cannot be sufficiently secured is assumed. In other words, in the right side portion of the paper feeding units 5 and 6 that are downstream in the conveyance direction of the paper supplied from the paper feeding units 5 and 6 to the image forming unit 3, a case where a sufficient clearance between the rails cannot be secured. Furthermore, in other words, it is a case where it is not possible to secure an engagement margin between the rails on the right side portion where the manual feed tray 7 and the maintenance door 8 are installed.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the first modification, the outer dimension in the left-right direction of the sheet feeding unit side left rail 51 </ b> L and the inner dimension in the left-right direction of the concave portion of the apparatus body side left rail 21 </ b> L are compared. The outer dimension in the left-right direction of the paper supply unit-side right rail 51R and the inner dimension in the left-right direction of the concave portion of the apparatus body-side right rail 21R are both small. For this reason, the right engagement ER is smaller than the left engagement EL because of this, and if no countermeasure is taken, the amount of the sheet feeding unit 5 in the right part of the sheet feeding unit 5 is increased accordingly. The risk of dropout will increase.

  Therefore, in the first modification, a set of drawer limiting stoppers provided in the apparatus main body 2 and the paper feed unit 5 are both provided in the left side portion of the paper feed unit 5 and the corresponding part of the apparatus main body 2. A set of tilt limiting stoppers provided on the apparatus main body 2 and the paper feeding unit 5 are both provided on the right side of the paper feeding unit 5 and on the apparatus main body 2 corresponding thereto. That is, the sheet feeding unit side drawer limiting stopper 52L and the apparatus body side drawer limiting stopper are provided on the left side portion of the sheet feeding unit 5 and the corresponding portion of the apparatus main body 2 that can ensure a relatively large margin between the rails. 22L is provided on the right side portion of the paper feed unit 5 where the engagement between the rails can be ensured only relatively small, and the device main body 2 of the corresponding portion of the paper feed unit side tilt limiting stopper 52R and the device. A main body side tilt limiting stopper 22R is provided.

  Here, as described above, the engagement width between the rails includes the length in the front-rear direction and the length in the left-right direction of the sheet feeding unit, the installation position of the set of drawer limiting stoppers, and the set of tilt limiting stoppers. Although it varies greatly depending on the installation position or the like, normally, the engagement width is surely increased with the rotation of the sheet feeding unit on the side where the pair of tilt limiting stoppers are provided. Therefore, as described above, by providing a pair of tilt limiting stoppers on the right side portion where only a relatively small engagement margin can be secured, the engagement width can be increased on the right side portion, and the apparatus main body This makes it possible to prevent the paper feeding unit from falling off.

  In the embodiment described above and the first modification thereof, the case where a pair of tilt limiting stoppers is provided in addition to the pair of drawer limiting stoppers is illustrated. However, in some cases, the inclination in the maximum drawer state can be limited without providing a pair of inclination limiting stoppers. Hereinafter, an example thereof will be described as a second modification.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic front view showing a support structure of a paper feed unit according to a second modification, and FIG. 9 is a schematic bottom view showing a maximum drawer state of the paper feed unit shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the second modification will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in the second modification, as in the above-described embodiment, the left side portion of the paper feeding unit 5 and the apparatus main body 2 corresponding to the left side portion are connected to the paper feeding unit. While the side drawer limiting stopper 52L and the apparatus main body side drawer limiting stopper 22L are provided, the right side portion of the paper feeding unit 5 and the corresponding part of the apparatus main body 2 are provided with a stopper 52R for tilting the paper feeding unit side. The apparatus main body side tilt limiting stopper 22R is not provided.

  Also in this case, as shown in FIG. 9, in the maximum drawer state, the sheet feeding unit side drawer limiting stopper 52L and the apparatus body side drawer limiting stopper 22L are in contact with each other on the left side portion of the sheet feeding unit 5. However, the right side portion of the paper feeding unit 5 is slightly pulled out further forward, and the right side portion of the paper feeding unit 5 is further pulled out. It will be in a state tilted towards.

  At this time, if the rearmost portion of the front end portion in the left-right direction of the paper supply unit side right rail 51R is configured to abut against the inner surface 11Ra of the apparatus main body side right rail 21R, this allows that of the paper supply unit 5 to be The above inclination can be limited. Therefore, by configuring in this way, it is possible to naturally limit the inclination in the maximum drawer state without providing a pair of inclination limiting stoppers.

  In the above description, when the sheet feeding unit 5 is tilted, the sheet feeding unit-side right rail 51R and the apparatus main body-side right rail 21R come into contact with each other to restrict further inclination of the sheet feeding unit 5. However, the inclination may be limited by the right side surface of the sheet feeding unit 5 coming into contact with the apparatus main body side right rail 21R, or the inclination may be restricted by contacting another part. . In any case, if a part of the sheet feeding unit 5 is in contact with the apparatus main body 2 in the left-right direction so that the inclination is limited, it is not necessary to provide a pair of inclination limiting stoppers. Tilt can be limited.

  In the above-described embodiment of the present invention and the modifications thereof, the sheet feeding unit side drawer limiting stopper, which is a pair of drawer limiting stoppers, is provided on the left side of the sheet feeding unit and the apparatus main body corresponding thereto. In addition, the case where the apparatus main body side drawer limiting stopper is provided has been illustrated, but it should be understood that these may be provided on the right side portion of the paper feed unit and the corresponding portion of the apparatus main body.

  In the above-described embodiments of the present invention and modifications thereof, the case where the sheet feeding unit is configured to be pulled out from the front side of the image forming apparatus toward the front side is illustrated. An image forming apparatus configured to pull out the paper feeding unit from the side surface toward the side, or an image forming apparatus configured to pull out the paper feeding unit from the back side of the image forming apparatus toward the back side Of course, the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment of the present invention and its modifications, the case where the present invention is applied to a color copying machine adopting an electrophotographic system has been described as an example. It is not limited to. The present invention can be applied to any image forming apparatus provided with a paper feed unit such as a paper feed tray or a paper feed cassette, and in particular, regardless of the type such as color / monochrome. The present invention can be suitably applied to a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and the like provided with an image forming unit that forms an image using an electrophotographic system.

  As described above, the above-described embodiment and its modifications disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The technical scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus, 2 Apparatus main body, 2a Opening part, 3 Image forming part, 4 Paper feed part, 5,6 Paper feed unit, 7 Manual feed tray, 8 Opening / closing door, 21L Apparatus main body side left rail, 21R Apparatus main body side right Rail, 22L Device body side movement restriction stopper, 22R Device body side inclination restriction stopper, 21La Inner surface, 51L Paper supply unit side left rail, 51R Paper supply unit side right rail, 52L Paper supply unit side movement restriction stopper, 52R Feeding unit side tilt limiting stopper, CL left clearance, CR right clearance, EL left engagement, ER right engagement, SL left overlap area, SR right overlap area.

Claims (5)

An apparatus main body including an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, and a sheet feeding unit that supplies the sheet to the image forming unit;
An image forming apparatus provided with a paper feed unit that is provided so as to be able to be pulled out and stored in the paper feed unit, and that stores paper to be supplied to the image forming unit;
The sheet feeding unit has a sheet feeding unit-side left rail and a sheet feeding unit provided on each of the left and right side surfaces of the sheet feeding unit, when the direction parallel to the drawing and storing direction of the sheet feeding unit is the front-rear direction. It has a unit side right rail,
The apparatus main body has an apparatus main body side left rail and an apparatus main body side right rail provided corresponding to the paper supply unit side left rail and the paper supply unit side right rail,
The sheet feeding unit side left rail and the apparatus main body side left rail are engaged with each other in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, and the sheet feeding unit side right rail and the apparatus main body side right rail are in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. By being engaged with each other, the paper feed unit is configured to be able to be pulled out and stored along the front-rear direction from the apparatus main body,
The paper feed unit and the apparatus main body further have a set of drawer restriction stoppers for restricting the drawer of the paper feed unit by contacting each other in the front-rear direction,
Of the pair of drawer limiting stoppers, the paper feeding unit side drawer limiting stopper provided in the paper feeding unit is provided only in either the left side portion or the right side portion of the paper feeding unit,
The sheet feeding unit has a predetermined left-right direction between at least one of the sheet feeding unit side left rail and the apparatus body side left rail and between the sheet feeding unit side right rail and the apparatus body side right rail. Assembled to the device body so that a clearance is formed,
The rear end of the paper supply unit-side left rail engages with the front end of the device main body-side left rail in the maximum pulled-out state in which the paper supply unit is pulled out from the apparatus main body in the longitudinal direction. While the rear end portion of the paper feed unit side right rail is engaged with the front end portion of the apparatus main body side right rail, the pair of drawer limiting stoppers abut each other, thereby However, the image forming apparatus is inclined toward one of the left and right directions due to the clearance.   The paper feed unit side pull-out limiting stopper engages in the left-right direction of the paper feed unit side left rail and the apparatus main body side left rail of the left side portion and the right side portion of the paper feed unit, and the paper feed unit 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is provided in a portion having a larger engagement margin between a unit side right rail and an engagement margin in the left-right direction of the apparatus main body side right rail.   The portion of the paper feed unit that is located downstream in the conveyance direction of the paper supplied from the paper feed unit to the image forming unit is the left side and the right side of the paper feed unit. One having a smaller engagement margin between the engagement margin in the left-right direction of the rail and the apparatus main body side left rail and the engagement margin in the left-right direction of the sheet feeding unit side right rail and the apparatus main body side right rail. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus conforms to a portion of the image forming apparatus. The sheet feeding unit and the apparatus main body further have a set of tilt limiting stoppers that limit the tilt of the sheet feeding unit in the maximum drawer state by contacting each other in the front-rear direction,
The set of tilt limiting stoppers is provided on a portion of the left side portion and the right side portion of the sheet feeding unit that is located on the opposite side to the portion on which the set of drawer limiting stoppers is provided. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   In the maximum drawer state, in the portion located on the opposite side of the left side portion and the right side portion of the paper feed unit to the portion provided with the one set of drawer limiting stoppers, the paper feed unit is 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an inclination of the sheet feeding unit in the maximum pulled-out state is limited by contacting a part of the apparatus main body in the left-right direction.