JP6680341B2 - Manual paper feeding device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

  BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manual sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a manual sheet feeding device in which an opening / closing member of a device body is provided with a manual feeding tray that can be opened and closed, and an image forming apparatus equipped with the manual sheet feeding device.

  An image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine is equipped with a manual sheet feeding device that supplies sheets such as recording sheets and OHP films stacked on a manual sheet feeding tray to a sheet conveying path of the image forming apparatus main body. In this manual sheet feeding device, there is known one in which a manual sheet feeding tray is provided on an opening / closing member that opens a sheet conveying path of an image forming apparatus main body. The opening / closing member has a structure in which the upper part opens / closes with a lower rotation fulcrum with respect to the main body of the image forming apparatus. The opening / closing member is opened from the closed position in the upright position to the open position in the inclined position to open the sheet conveying path. By doing so, the jammed sheet jammed in the sheet conveying path can be easily removed. The manual feed tray has a structure in which the upper part opens and closes with a pivoting fulcrum at the bottom with respect to the opening / closing member, and the manual feed tray is loaded from the closed state in the upright posture to the open state in the inclined posture to stack the sheets on the manual feed tray. As a result, the sheet can be supplied to the sheet conveying path.

  In this type of manual feeding device, if the opening / closing member is opened while sheets are stacked on the manual feeding tray in the open state, the upper part of the opening / closing side of the manual tray falls below the lower part of the rotation fulcrum side. , Sheets may slip off the bypass tray.

  Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preventing such slipping of a sheet. In the technique of Patent Document 1, by connecting the image forming apparatus main body and the manual feed tray with a connecting member, the opening tilt angle of the manual feed tray is regulated so as not to be too large, and the sheets stacked on the manual feed tray are I try not to fall.

However, since the technique of Patent Document 1 is configured to connect one end side of the connecting member to the image forming apparatus main body, in such a configuration, various parts of the image forming apparatus main body exist in the middle of the connecting path. There was a problem that the link mechanism became complicated.
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a manual sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus capable of preventing a problem that a sheet slips off a manual tray with a simple configuration. To do.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a manual sheet feeding device according to the present invention is a manual sheet feeding device that feeds sheets stacked on a manual feeding tray to a sheet conveying path of an apparatus main body, and is provided below the apparatus main body. An opening / closing member whose upper part opens and closes with a rotation fulcrum, a member which holds the position of the opening / closing member when the opening / closing member is opened with respect to the apparatus main body, and a member which is rotated downward with respect to the opening / closing member. includes a manual feed tray top is opened and closed with a moving fulcrum, and a mechanism for holding the position of the manual feed tray in the state in which opening the manual feed tray to the closing member, before Symbol member linear A member has the manual feed tray, the opening / closing member has a first through hole through which the linear member penetrates, and the manual feed tray has a second through hole through which the linear member penetrates from the inside to the outside. Having the above linear Material is pulled by a spring member, in a state in which the closing member is the manual feed tray the manual feed tray is the state and the closing member is opened to open closed is opened, the manual feed tray, horizontal state, the manual feed tray state oscillation end is tilted upward from the horizontal state, or, the oscillating end is configured so that kept tilted at an angle of less than 10 degrees downward from the horizontal state.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a manual sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus capable of preventing a problem that a sheet slips off a manual feeding tray with a simple configuration.

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a copying machine according to an embodiment of a manual sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus of the present invention viewed from the front direction. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which the opening / closing member and the manual feed tray of the manual paper feeding device are closed in the copying machine according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a side view showing an extracted state in which the opening / closing member of the manual paper feeding device is closed and the manual paper feeding tray is opened in the copying machine according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which the opening / closing member of the manual paper feeding device is opened and the manual paper feeding tray is closed in the copying machine according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a side view showing an extracted state of the open / close member and the manual feed tray of the manual paper feeding device in the copying machine according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the manual feed tray of the manual feed device is opened in the copying machine according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the opening member in the copying machine according to the embodiment with the manual feed tray of the manual feed device open. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a manual feed tray of the manual feed device in the copying machine according to the embodiment. It is a perspective view which expands and shows a part of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the manual feed tray of the manual feed device in the copying machine according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between the inclination angle of the manual feed tray with respect to the horizontal and the drop of the sheet in the copying machine according to the embodiment.

  An embodiment in which the manual sheet feeder and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention are applied to a copying machine will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11. It should be noted that in order to make the drawings easier to see in FIGS. 4 and 5, the illustration of sheets stacked on a manual feed tray described later is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the copying machine 1 includes an image forming apparatus main body 2, an image reading apparatus 3 arranged on the image forming apparatus main body 2, and a table-like arrangement arranged under the image forming apparatus main body 2. The sheet feeding device 4 and the automatic document feeder 5 which is arranged on the image reading device 3 so as to be openable and closable. Further, the copying machine 1 includes a switchback device 42 and a manual paper feeding device 70.

  The image forming apparatus main body 2 includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 10 as an image carrier therein. A charging device 11 is arranged on the left side in the figure around the photoconductor 10, and along the rotation direction of the photoconductor 10 (counterclockwise direction: arrow A in the figure), a developing device 12, a transfer device 13, and a cleaning device 14. Are arranged. The transfer device 13 is configured by winding a transfer belt 17 between upper and lower rollers 15 and 16, and is configured to press the transfer belt 17 at the transfer position B against the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 10.

  A toner replenishing device 20 that replenishes the developing device 12 with new toner is arranged on the left side of the charging device 11 and the cleaning device 14. Further, inside the image forming apparatus main body 2, there is arranged a sheet conveying device C that conveys a sheet such as a sheet or an OHP sheet from a supply position described later and conveys the sheet through a transfer position B to a stack position. The sheet conveying device C includes a supply path R1, a manual sheet supply path R2, and a sheet conveyance path R, which will be described later. The sheet conveyance path R has a substantially L-shape that passes between the photoconductor 10 and the transfer device 13, extends from the bottom to the top in the drawing, and then bends to the left.

  A registration roller 21 is arranged upstream of the photoconductor 10 in the sheet conveyance path R. Further, a fixing device 22 is arranged at the downstream position of the photoconductor 10. The fixing device 22 includes a pair of fixing rollers (fixing roller rotating bodies) 31 and 32. A fixing heater (not shown) is arranged inside one fixing roller 31, and a pressure spring and a pressure arm are arranged around the other fixing roller 32. The pressing spring and the pressing arm press the other fixing roller 32 against the one fixing roller 31. A thermistor and a thermostat are arranged on one fixing roller 31.

  Then, the fixing heater keeps one fixing roller 31 at a predetermined temperature by turning on or off the fixing heater by the thermostat while measuring the temperature of the fixing roller 31 by the thermistor.

  Discharge branch claws 34, discharge rollers 35, first pressure rollers 36, second pressure rollers 37, and waist rollers 38 are arranged further downstream of the fixing device 22, and the image-formed sheet is placed ahead of them. A stack stack (discharging position) 39 is arranged.

  A laser writing device 47 is arranged on the left side of the developing device 12 in the drawing. The laser writing device 47 includes a laser light source (not shown), a rotary polygon mirror 48 for scanning, a polygon motor 49, and a scanning optical system 50 such as an fθ lens.

  The image reading device 3 includes a light source 53, a plurality of mirrors 54, an imaging optical lens 55, an image sensor 56 such as a CCD, and the like, and a contact glass 57 is arranged on the upper surface.

  One end of the automatic document feeder 5 is connected to one end of the upper surface of the image reading device 3 by a hinge-type connecting tool. In the automatic document feeder 5, the lower surface is in a horizontal state in which the original sheet placed on the upper surface of the contact glass 57 is pressed from above, and the inclination angle with respect to the upper surface of the contact glass 57 is, for example, 90 degrees at maximum. It is provided so that it can be opened and closed. The automatic document feeder 5 is provided with a mounting table (not shown) at a document mounting position and a discharge table (not shown) at a discharging position, and a sheet such as a document is transferred from the mounting table onto the contact glass 57 of the image reading device 3. Is provided with a sheet conveying device having a document conveying path (not shown) that conveys the sheet to the discharge table via the reading position. The sheet conveying device includes a plurality of sheet conveying rollers (sheet conveying rotating bodies) (not shown) for conveying a sheet such as a document.

  The paper feeding device 4 is internally provided with a plurality of paper separating devices 61, which are the supply positions of the sheets S. Each sheet separating device 61 includes a pickup roller (feeding roller) 62, a feed roller (feeding roller) 63, and a reverse roller (separating roller) 64 correspondingly. On the right side of the sheet separating devices 61 arranged in multiple stages in the drawing, a supply path R1 leading to the sheet conveying path R of the image forming apparatus main body 2 is formed. The supply path R1 includes a number of sheet transport rollers (sheet transport rotators) 66 that transport the sheet.

  The switchback device 42 is arranged on the right side surface of the image forming apparatus main body 2 in the figure. The switchback device 42 includes a sheet transport device D that branches from the position of the discharge branch claw 34 of the sheet transport path R. The sheet conveying device D includes an inversion path R3 that leads to a switchback position 44 where a pair of switchback rollers 43 are arranged, and a re-conveying path R4 that leads from the switchback position 44 to the registration roller 21 of the sheet conveying path R again. Have Further, the sheet conveying device D has a plurality of sheet conveying rollers (sheet conveying rotating body) 66 that conveys a sheet. In the present embodiment, the switchback device 42 is configured to be attached to the opening / closing member 71 described later.

  The manual sheet feeder 70 is arranged on the right side surface of the image forming apparatus main body 2 in the figure. The manual sheet feeding device 70 includes a pickup roller (feeding roller) 67A, a feed roller (feeding roller) 67B, and a reverse roller (feeding roller) 67C, and stores the sheets S stacked on the manual feed tray 72 in the image forming apparatus main body. The sheet is supplied to the second sheet conveying path R.

  Next, the operation of the copying machine 1 will be described. First, in order to generate a copy using the copying machine 1, a main switch (not shown) is turned on and a document is set on the document automatic conveying device 5. Alternatively, the automatic document feeder 5 is opened, the original is set directly on the contact glass 57 of the image reading device 3, and the automatic document feeder 5 is closed and pressed by it.

  Then, when a start switch (not shown) is pressed, when a document is set on the automatic document feeder 5, the document is moved by the sheet transport roller to the contact glass 57 through the document transport path, and then the image reading device 3 is turned on. It drives to read the contents of the document and discharge it on the discharge tray. On the other hand, when the original is set directly on the contact glass 57, the image reading device 3 is immediately driven.

  When the image reading device 3 starts driving, the light source 53 moves along the contact glass 57 while emitting light, and irradiates the document surface on the contact glass 57 with light. The plurality of mirrors 54 receives the reflected light from the document surface and reflects it toward the imaging optical lens 55. The image forming optical lens 55 forms an image of the reflected light on the image sensor 56. As a result, the image sensor 56 reads the content of the document.

  At the same time, the photoconductor 10 is rotated by a photoconductor drive motor (not shown), and accordingly, the surface of the photoconductor is uniformly charged by the charging device 11 using a charging roller, and then the laser writing device 47. Irradiates the surface of the photoconductor with laser light according to the contents of the original read by the image reading device 3 described above, thereby writing is performed on the surface of the photoconductor, whereby an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 10. It is formed. After that, when the electrostatic latent image portion formed on the surface of the photoconductor corresponds to the developing device 12, toner is adsorbed on the surface of the photoconductor, and the electrostatic latent image becomes a visible image.

  Further, when the start switch is pressed, the corresponding paper separating device 61 is selected from among the plurality of paper separating devices 61 provided in the paper feeding device 4 in multiple stages based on the paper size selection signal. Then, the pickup roller 62 corresponding to the sheet separating device 61 sends out one sheet S in the sheet separating device 61. The reverse roller 64 separates the uppermost one sheet S when feeding a plurality of sheets S, and prevents the remaining sheets S from being conveyed. Subsequently, the feed roller 63 feeds the sheet S into the supply path R1 while conveying the sheet S, the sheet conveyance roller 66 continuously conveys the sheet S and guides the sheet S to the sheet conveyance path R, and the registration roller 21 abuts the sheet S so that the sheet S Stop transportation. Then, the registration roller 21 rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the photoconductor 10 described above, and sends the sheet S to the right side of the photoconductor 10.

  When performing manual paper feeding, the manual paper feeding device 70 shifts the manual paper feeding tray 72 of the manual paper feeding device 70 from the closed state of the upright posture to the open state of the inclined posture, and the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual paper feeding tray 72. Set the sheet on top. When the start switch is pressed, the pickup roller 67A sends out one sheet, and the feed roller 67B continues to take out the sheet. The reverse roller 67C separates the uppermost one sheet when feeding a plurality of sheets and prevents the remaining sheets from being conveyed. The sheet carrying roller 66 continues to carry the sheet supplied to the manual feed path R2 and guides it to the sheet carrying path R. After that, similarly to the above-described sheet feeding device 4, the registration roller 21 feeds the photosensitive member 10 to the right side of the photosensitive member 10 in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive member 10.

  Next, when the sheet S sent to the right side of the photoconductor 10 reaches the transfer position B, the transfer device 13 transfers the toner image on the photoconductor 10 to the sheet S to form an image. The cleaning device 14 removes and cleans the residual toner on the photoconductor 10 after the image transfer, and then the destaticizing device (not shown) removes the residual potential on the photoconductor 10 to start the next image starting from the charging device 11. Prepare for formation.

  Next, the fixing device 22 conveys the sheet S on which the above-described toner image is transferred by the transfer belt 17 and passes it between the pair of fixing rollers 31 and 32, and applies heat and pressure at the fixing position to fix the transferred image. . The sheet S on which the fixing has been performed is then flattened in the process of passing through the first pressure roller 36, the discharge roller 35, the second pressure roller 37, and the waisted roller 38, and the sheet stack S is discharged. It is discharged onto 39 and stacked there.

  When the images are transferred to both sides of the sheet S, the discharge branch claw 34 is switched. Then, the sheet S having the image transferred to the front surface is put into the reversing path R3 from the sheet feeding path R, is fed by the sheet feeding roller 66, is placed in the switchback position 44, and is switched back in the switchback position 44. After that, the sheet is put in the re-conveyance path R4, inverted, conveyed by the sheet conveyance rollers 66, guided to the sheet conveyance path R again, and the image is transferred onto the back surface of the sheet in the same manner as described above.

  2 to 5, the manual sheet feeding device 70 has an opening / closing member 71 (see FIG. 3) whose upper part opens and closes with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 2 and which has a rotation fulcrum 71A. And a manual feed tray 72 (see FIG. 4) that has a rotation fulcrum 72A on the bottom and opens and closes on the top.

  Further, the manual paper feeding device 70 is fixed to the link member 73 that connects the opening / closing member 71 to the image forming apparatus main body 2 in an openable and closable manner, one end side is fixed to the linear member fixing portion 80 of the link member 73, and the other end side is the manual paper feeding tray. And a flexible linear member 81 fixed to 72. A wire is used for the flexible linear member 81 here.

  In order to easily remove jammed sheets and sheets jammed in the sheet conveying path R and the re-conveying path R4 and maintain the inside of the image forming apparatus main body 2 easily, the opening / closing member 71 is in a tilted open state (see FIG. 3). Then, the sheet conveying path R and the re-conveying path R4 are opened. That is, the manual sheet feeding device 70 changes the opening / closing member 71 from the closed state in the upright posture (see FIG. 2) to the open state in the inclined posture (see FIG. 3) to open the sheet transport path R and the re-transport path R4. , Jam and sheet removal and maintenance can be performed easily.

  Further, the manual sheet feeding device 70 stacks the sheets on the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual sheet tray 72 from the closed state of the upright posture (see FIG. 2) to the open state of the inclined posture (see FIG. 4). Thus, the sheet for manual feeding can be supplied to the sheet conveying path R.

  The link member 73 has an open leg link structure including two arms 74. One ends of the two arms 74 are rotatably connected at a rotation fulcrum 74A, and the other end of one arm 74 is rotatably connected to the image forming apparatus body 2 at a rotation fulcrum 74B. The other end of the arm 74 is rotatably connected to the opening / closing member 71 at a rotation fulcrum 74C.

  When the opening / closing member 71 is in the closed state, the link member 73 is arranged on the side surface side of the opening / closing member 71, and the other end of the other arm 74 is on the side surface of the opening / closing member 71 at the rotation fulcrum 74C. It is rotatably connected.

  The link member 73 can open and close the opening / closing member 71 by opening and closing the two arms 74. The open / close member 71 holds the position and tilt angle in the open state shown in FIG. 3 by the legs of the two arms 74 opening and stretching.

  The linear member fixing portion 80 of the link member 73 is provided at an intermediate portion of one of the two arms 74. In the present embodiment, the linear member fixing portion 80 is provided at the intermediate portion of the other arm 74 whose other end is rotatably connected to the opening / closing member 71.

  In the manual feed device 70, when the manual feed tray 72 is in the inclined posture open state (see FIG. 4), the opening / closing member 71 shifts from the upright posture closed state (see FIG. 4) to the inclined posture open state (see FIG. 5). At this time, the linear member fixing portion 80 of the link member 73 moves in the direction in which the linear member 81 is pulled, and the manual tray 72 is set horizontally, and the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual tray 72 are fed by the manual tray. It is configured to keep the tilt angle at the limit so as not to slip off from 72. The amount of movement of the linear member fixing portion 80 can be adjusted by the position where one end of the linear member 81 is fixed to the link member 73.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the opening / closing member 71 has a through hole 71B through which the linear member 81 passes. The linear member 81 passes through the through hole 71B and is fixed to the link member 73 at one end side.

  In the manual feed tray 72, a spring member 82 that pulls the linear member 81 is connected to the other end of the linear member 81. The spring member 82 has one end fixed to the other end of the linear member 81 and the other end fixed to the manual feed tray 72. As the spring member 82, for example, a coil spring that expands and contracts is used.

  A position fixing portion 83 is provided on the other end of the linear member 81. Further, the manual feed tray 72 is provided with a stopper portion 84. Further, the manual feed tray 72 is provided with a pulley 85 that changes the extending direction of the linear member 81. The manual paper feeding device 70 is configured to hold the tilt angle of the manual paper feeding tray 72 with respect to the horizontal by the position fixing portion 83 contacting the stopper portion 84.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the manual feed tray 72 has a rectangular plane. As shown in FIG. 9, the manual feed tray 72 is provided with a through hole 86 on either side of two sides that are separated from each other in the direction orthogonal to the feeding direction of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking surface 72B. There is. The through hole 86 is for extending the linear member 81 from the inside to the outside of the manual feed tray 72, and the linear member 81 passes through.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the spring member 82, the position fixing portion 83, the stopper portion 84, and the pulley 85 are arranged on one side of the manual feed tray 72 along the one side, as with the through hole 86. ing.

  Next, the relationship between the open / closed state of the open / close member 71 and the manual feed tray 72 and the linear member 81, the spring member 82, and the position fixing portion 83 will be described.

  In FIG. 2, the open / close member 71 is in a closed state in which the image forming apparatus main body 2 is in an upright posture, and the manual feed tray 72 is in a closed state in which the open / close member 71 is in an upright posture. At this time, the linear member 81 is in a loosened state and the spring member 82 is in a contracted state. The position fixing portion 83 of the linear member 81 is separated from the stopper portion 84 of the manual feed tray 72.

  In FIG. 3, the opening / closing member 71 is in an inclined posture open state with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 2, and the manual feed tray 72 is in an upright posture closed state with respect to the opening / closing member 71. At this time, the linear member fixing portion 80 of the link member 73 is moving in the direction of pulling the linear member 81 from the position when the opening / closing member 71 is in the closed state, but the linear member 81 does not stretch and does not come loose. It is a state. The spring member 82 is in a contracted state. The position fixing portion 83 of the linear member 81 is separated from the stopper portion 84 of the manual feed tray 72. Further, the open position and the inclination angle of the opening / closing member 71 with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 2 are held by the two arms 74 of the link member 73 being opened and stretched.

  In FIG. 4, the opening / closing member 71 is in a closed state in an upright posture with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 2, and the manual feed tray 72 is in an opened state in an inclined posture with respect to the opening / closing member 71. At this time, the linear member fixing portion 80 of the link member 73 has not moved from the position when the opening / closing member 71 is in the closed state, but the slack of the linear member 81 due to the spring member 82 pulling the linear member 81. It has been resolved. The position fixing portion 83 of the linear member 81 is separated from the stopper portion 84 of the manual feed tray 72. Further, the manual feed tray 72 is held in the open position and the tilt angle by a positioning mechanism different from the linear member 81.

  In FIG. 5, the opening / closing member 71 is in an opened state in which it is inclined with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 2, and the manual feed tray 72 is in an opened state in which it is inclined in relation to the opening / closing member 71. At this time, the linear member fixing portion 80 of the link member 73 is moved in the direction of pulling the linear member 81 from the position when the opening / closing member 71 is in the closed state. Further, the position fixing member 83 of the linear member 81 comes into contact with the stopper portion 84 of the manual feed tray 72 by moving in the pulling direction of the linear member 81. Due to the abutment of the position fixing portion 83, the manual feed tray 72 is held at the position and the inclination angle in the open state with respect to the horizontal.

  Originally, the manual feed tray 72 can be opened to a predetermined tilt angle with respect to the opening / closing member 71 by a positioning mechanism different from the linear member 81. However, the manual feed tray 72 is configured to be supported by the link member 74 by the linear member 81, and the manual feed tray is up to an inclination angle at which the position fixing portion 83 of the linear member 81 contacts the stopper portion 84 of the manual feed tray 72. When 72 rotates, the linear member 81 is stretched and the manual tray 72 stops rotating. Therefore, the manual feed tray 72 is stopped at an intermediate position instead of the original stop position when only the manual feed tray 72 is opened.

  At this time, the manual paper feeding device 70 is configured to keep the manual paper feeding tray 72 at an inclination angle described below to the extent that the sheet does not slip out, so that the sheet does not slip off from the manual paper feeding tray 72.

  That is, when the manual feed tray 72 is in the open state (see FIG. 4) and the opening / closing member 71 is moved from the closed state (see FIG. 4) to the open state (see FIG. 5), the linear member fixing portion 80 of the link member 73 is linear. The member 81 is moved in a pulling direction. Thus, the linear member 81 is configured to keep the manual feed tray 72 in a horizontal state or in a tilted state to the extent that the sheet does not slip out, and prevent a problem in which the sheet slips from the manual feed tray 72.

  Here, the inclination angle of the manual feed tray 72 with respect to the horizontal will be described with reference to FIG. 11.

  In FIG. 11, the positive inclination angle is the case where the swinging end of the manual feed tray 72 is located higher than the lower part on the rotation fulcrum side with respect to the horizontal. The minus inclination angle is the case where the swinging end of the manual feed tray 72 is located lower than the lower part on the rotation fulcrum side with respect to the horizontal.

  The inclination angle of the manual feed tray 72 is set to −10 ° with respect to the horizontal direction. The frictional force acts between the manual feed tray 72 and the sheets and between the sheets, and therefore the sheet is gravity-actuated to cause the manual feed tray to move. This is because it does not slip off from 72.

  In the data of FIG. 11, at a negative inclination angle of -12.5 ° or more, the sliding force due to the gravitational force becomes larger than the static force due to friction, so the sheet slides down. Therefore, it is preferable that the tilt angle of the manual feed tray 72 with respect to the horizontal is not more than −10 ° as long as the sheets stacked on the manual feed tray 72 do not slide out from the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual feed tray 72.

  In the present embodiment, in the manual paper feeding device 70, one end side of the linear member 81 is fixed in the middle of the two arms 74 of the link member 73 on the projecting side. Therefore, in the manual paper feeding device 70, various parts of the image forming apparatus main body do not exist in the middle of the connection path between the link member 73 and the manual paper feeding tray 72.

  Further, the manual paper feeding device 70 has a structure in which the link member 73 and the manual paper feeding tray 72 are connected by a simple connecting mechanism called a linear member 81. As a result, when the manual feed tray 72 is in the open state (see FIG. 4), when the opening / closing member 71 shifts from the closed state (see FIG. 4) to the open state (see FIG. 5), the linear member fixing portion 80 causes the linear member fixing portion 80 to move. 81 is moved in a pulling direction. Then, the linear member 81 keeps the manual feed tray 72 in a horizontal state or at the above-mentioned plus or minus inclination angle.

  As described above, according to the copying machine 1 according to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) In the manual paper feeding device 70, the linear member fixing portion 80 of the link member 73 pulls the linear member 81 when the open / close member 71 shifts from the closed state to the open state when the manual tray 72 is open. It is configured to move and maintain the manual feed tray 72 with respect to the horizontal at an inclination angle at which the sheets stacked on the manual feed tray 72 do not slip out of the manual feed tray 72. Therefore, even if the opening / closing member 71 shifts from the closed state to the open state in the open state of the manual feed tray 72, the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual feed tray 72 do not slip off from the manual feed tray 72.

  Further, in the manual paper feeding device 70, various parts of the image forming apparatus main body 2 do not exist in the middle of the connection path connecting the link member 73 and the manual paper feeding tray 72 with the linear member 81. For this reason, when the manual feed tray 72 is in the open state and the opening / closing member 71 is changed from the closed state to the open state, it is possible to maintain the tilt angle at the limit where the sheet does not slip out of the manual feed tray 72. This holding mechanism can be realized by a simple configuration as compared with the case where the image forming apparatus main body and the manual feed tray are connected by a conventional connecting member.

  As a result, it is possible to provide the manual feed device 70 and the copying machine 1 as the image forming device capable of preventing the problem that the sheet slips off the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual feed tray 72 with a simple configuration.

  Further, in the manual paper feeding device 70, one end side of the linear member 81 is fixed to the link member 73, so that the one end side of the connecting member is fixed to the main body of the image forming apparatus as in the conventional case. The length of the strip-shaped member 81 can be shortened. As a result, the cost of the manual paper feeding device 70 and the copying machine 1 equipped with the same can be reduced.

(2) In the manual paper feeding device 70, the link member 73 has a direction in which the linear member fixing portion 80 pulls the linear member 81 when the manual tray 72 is opened and the opening / closing member 71 is changed from the closed state to the open state. Since it has an open leg structure that moves to the open position, the open manual feed tray 72 forms the open open / close member 71 more than the tilt angle formed by the open manual feed tray 72 with respect to the closed open / close member 71. The tilt angle can be reduced. As a result, the tilt angle formed by the manual feed tray 72 with respect to the horizontal can be maintained at a tilt angle within a range in which the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual feed tray 72 do not slip out of the manual feed tray 72.

(3) In the manual paper feeding device 70, since the opening / closing member 71 has the configuration having the through hole 71B through which the linear member 81 passes, the manual feeding tray 72 is placed in the upright closed state with respect to the opening / closing member 71. At this time, the linear member 81 can be housed between the opening / closing member 71 and the manual feed tray 72. As a result, the manual paper feeding device 70 and the copying machine 1 equipped with the manual paper feeding device 70 can be made compact.

(4) In the manual paper feeding device 70, the spring member 82 for pulling the linear member 81 is connected to the other end of the linear member 81, so that the slack of the linear member 81 is reduced. You can

(5) In the manual paper feeding device 70, the position fixing member 83 is provided on the other end of the linear member 81, and the stopper 84 is provided on the manual paper feeding tray 72. Further, the position fixing portion 83 is in contact with the stopper portion 84 to control the inclination angle of the manual feed tray 72. Therefore, the inclination angle of the manual feed tray 72 with respect to the opening / closing member 71 can be controlled.

  In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the other end of the linear member 81 is fixed to the manual feed tray 72 via the spring member 82 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the other end of the linear member 81 may be directly fixed to the manual feed tray 72. In this case as well, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained, but when the opening / closing member 71 is closed and the manual feed tray 72 is open, the linear member 81 may loosen.

  In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the present invention is applied to the copying machine 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to a printer, for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the reversing path R3 and the re-conveying path R4 are provided in the opening / closing member 71 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to the case where the reversing path R3 is provided in the image forming apparatus main body 2, for example.

  As described above, the manual sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention have the effect of preventing the problem of the sheet slipping off the manual sheet feeding tray with a simple configuration, and the image forming apparatus such as a printer and a copying machine. It is useful for a manual paper feeding device mounted on it.

1 Copier (image forming device)
2 Image forming device body (device body)
3 Image Reading Device 4 Paper Feeding Device 5 Automatic Document Feeding Device 70 Manual Paper Feeding Device 71 Opening / Closing Member 71A Rotation Support 71B Through Hole 72 Manual Feed Tray 72A Rotation Support 72B Sheet Stacking Surface 73 Link Member 80 Linear Member Fixing 81 -Shaped member 82 Spring member R Sheet conveyance path

JP, 2008-308329, A

Claims (17)

A manual paper feeding device for feeding sheets stacked on a manual feed tray to a sheet conveying path of the apparatus main body,
An opening / closing member that opens and closes with an upper part having a rotation fulcrum in relation to the device body,
A member that holds the position of the opening / closing member when the opening / closing member is opened with respect to the apparatus main body;
With respect to the opening-and-closing member, a manual feed tray whose upper part opens and closes with a rotation fulcrum at the bottom,
A mechanism for holding the position of the manual feed tray when the manual feed tray is opened with respect to the opening / closing member,
Before SL member has had the manual feed tray by the linear member,
The opening / closing member has a first through hole through which the linear member passes,
The manual tray has a second through hole through which the linear member penetrates from the inside to the outside ,
The linear member is pulled by a spring member, the open / close member is closed and the manual feed tray is open, and the open / close member is open and the manual feed tray is open. state swinging end of the manual feed tray is tilted upward from the horizontal state, or, the oscillating end is characterized Rukoto kept tilted at an angle of 10 degrees or less downward from the horizontal state Manual paper feeder. The length of the linear member from the first through hole of the opening / closing member to the second through hole of the manual feeding tray when the opening / closing member is open and the manual feeding tray is open is the opening / closing It is shorter than the length of the linear member from the first through hole of the opening / closing member to the second through hole of the manual feeding tray when the member is closed and the manual feeding tray is opened. The manual sheet feeding device according to claim 1 .   The manual sheet feeder according to claim 1, wherein the spring member is a coil spring that expands and contracts.   The manual feed according to claim 1, wherein, when the opening / closing member is open and the manual feed tray is open, the spring member extends more than when the open / close member is closed and the manual feed tray is open. Paper feeder.   The manual feed according to claim 1, wherein when the opening / closing member is closed and the manual feed tray is open, the spring member extends more than when the open / close member is closed and the manual feed tray is closed. Paper feeder.   The manual sheet feeder according to claim 1, wherein when the opening / closing member is closed and the manual feed tray is open, the linear member is pulled by the spring member to eliminate looseness. .   The manual sheet feeder according to claim 1, wherein the spring member is contracted when the opening / closing member is closed and the manual feed tray is closed.   The manual sheet feeder according to claim 1, wherein the linear member is slack when the opening / closing member is closed and the manual feed tray is closed. The opening / closing member has a first through hole through which the linear member passes,
The manual sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the linear member penetrates the first through hole between one end side of the linear member and the other end side of the linear member. The manual sheet feeder according to claim 9 , wherein the linear member is bent at the position of the first through hole. Before SL member includes a first arm and a second arm,
One end side of the first arm and one end side of the second arm are rotatably connected at a rotation fulcrum,
The other end of the first arm is fixed to the device body,
The manual sheet feeder according to claim 1, wherein the other end of the second arm is fixed to the opening / closing member. The manual sheet feeder according to claim 11 , wherein the one end side of the linear member is fixed to the second arm.   The manual feed tray according to claim 1, wherein, in the manual feed tray, when the opening / closing member is opened and the manual feed tray is opened, the position and the tilt angle of the open state are held by the linear member. Paper equipment. The manual sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation fulcrum of the manual feed tray is located above the rotation fulcrum of the opening / closing member . The manual sheet feeder according to claim 1 , wherein when the manual tray is opened, the sheets stacked on the manual tray are supplied to a sheet conveying path of the apparatus main body. The manual sheet feeder according to claim 15 , wherein the sheet conveying path is opened when the opening / closing member is open. Image forming apparatus characterized by mounting the manual sheet feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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