JP6733011B2 - Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is related to an image forming apparatus for forming a sheet feeding apparatus and an image on a sheet feeding sheets.

2. Description of the Related Art Today, in image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, and facsimiles, those in which a sheet stored in a sheet storage unit is fed to an image forming unit to form an image are widely used. As such sheet storage means, there is a sheet-like sheet stacking means for stacking sheets, which is vertically movable.

Then, when replenishing the sheets, the sheet stacking means is lowered, and when the sheets are fed, the sheet stacking means is raised and the upper surface of the stacked sheets is moved to a position where it can be fed by the upper pickup roller. Let Further, the sheet accommodating means is provided in the apparatus main body so as to be drawn out, and when accommodating the sheet, after the sheet accommodating means is pulled out, the sheet is set on the sheet stacking means from above.

The sheet storage means has a trailing edge regulating means for regulating the position of the upstream side edge (hereinafter referred to as the trailing edge) of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking means so that sheets of different sizes can be stored. It is provided so as to be movable along the sheet feeding direction. Further, the sheet storing means is provided with side edge regulating means for regulating the side edge position of the sheet in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction (hereinafter, referred to as width direction) so as to be movable in the width direction. Then, the side edge regulating means regulates the side edge of the sheet, and the trailing edge regulating means regulates the rear edge of the sheet, thereby regulating the position of the sheet to a predetermined position (see Patent Document 1). ..

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a paper feed cassette 50 which is a sheet storage means provided with such a regulation means. The sheet cassette 50 can selectively store the A3 size sheet S1 and the 11×17 inch size sheet S2. The paper feed cassette 50 includes a pair of side edge regulation plates 51 and 52 that are movable in the width direction to regulate the positions of the accommodated sheets S1 and S2 of the two sizes in the width direction, and the rear edges of the sheets S1 and S2. The trailing edge regulating plate 63 that is movable in the sheet feeding direction that regulates the sheet is provided.

Here, when the paper feed cassette 50 is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body in a fully loaded state, for example, an impact is applied to the paper feed cassette 50, and the impact causes the side edge regulating plates 51 and 52 to bend, and accordingly, the sheet S1. , S2 may rotate with the side end regulating plates 51 and 52 as fulcrums. Therefore, in order to prevent the sheets S1 and S2 from rotating due to the impact at the time of insertion, the sheet feeding cassette 50 corresponds to the rear end side of the side edge of the A3 size sheet S1 and the 11×17 inch size sheet S2. Ribs 53 and 54 for preventing seat rotation are provided at the respective positions.

Japanese Patent No. 3359174

By the way, in the conventional sheet storing means, the ribs 53 and 54 for preventing the sheet rotation are the side edges of the sheet S1 having the maximum sheet width or the sheet S2 having the maximum sheet length among the sheets that can be stored as described above. It is arranged at a position corresponding to the rear end side. Therefore, when the sheet cassette 50 stores sheets of a size smaller than the sheets S1 and S2, when the sheet cassette 50 is impacted at the time of insertion, the sheet strikes the ribs 53 and 54. Will rotate up to .

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a sheet feeding apparatus and an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing the rotation of the sheet due to an impact when the sheet feeding cassette is attached to the apparatus main body. shall be the object of the present invention is to provide.

According to one embodiment of the present invention , a sheet feed cassette that can be attached to a main body of the apparatus and stores a sheet to be fed, and a sheet feed cassette that is movable in a width direction orthogonal to a sheet feeding direction are stored in the sheet feed cassette. Side edge regulating means capable of regulating the side edge portion of the formed sheet, and an auxiliary detachably provided at a predetermined mounting position in the cassette body of the sheet feeding cassette upstream of the side edge regulating means in the sheet feeding direction. The member and the auxiliary member are provided to be movable along the sheet feeding direction independently of the auxiliary member in order to regulate the position of the upstream end of the sheet stored in the sheet feeding cassette in the sheet feeding direction, and A rear end regulating member that can move upstream of the auxiliary member mounted on the cassette body in the sheet feeding direction, and the first size of the paper feed cassette in which the auxiliary member is not mounted at the predetermined mounting position. When the loading operation of loading the sheet of the sheet and loading the sheet cassette to the apparatus main body is performed, the first surface provided on the cassette main body comes into contact with the side edge of the first size sheet, and It is possible to suppress the rotation of the first size sheet, and the sheet feeding cassette in which the auxiliary member is mounted at the predetermined mounting position is shorter than the first size in the width direction. When two size sheets are stored and the mounting operation of the paper feed cassette is performed, the auxiliary member comes into contact with a side edge of the second size sheet to suppress rotation of the second size sheet. The mounting direction of the paper feed cassette with respect to the apparatus main body is a direction along the moving direction of the side end regulating means, and the mounting direction of the paper feed cassette is outside the first surface in the width direction of the cassette main body. Is provided with a space portion having an opening formed in the upper portion, and when the auxiliary member is mounted from above into the predetermined mounting position, a part of the auxiliary member is inserted into the space portion through the opening. When a part of the auxiliary member is inserted into the space, the width from the predetermined mounting position of the auxiliary member when the mounting operation of the paper feed cassette is performed. The sheet feeding device is characterized in that movement in a direction is restricted.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a sheet feeding cassette that can be attached to the apparatus main body and stores a sheet to be fed, and a sheet that is provided in the apparatus main body and is stored in the sheet feeding cassette are fed. A feeding roller, an image forming unit that is provided in the apparatus main body and forms an image on a sheet fed by the feeding roller, and is provided so as to be movable in a width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction. A side end regulating means capable of regulating a side end portion of a sheet stored in a paper cassette, and a predetermined part in a cassette body of the paper feeding cassette upstream of the side end regulating means in the paper feeding cassette in the sheet feeding direction. In order to regulate the position of the auxiliary member detachably provided at the mounting position and the upstream end of the sheet stored in the paper feeding cassette in the sheet feeding direction, the auxiliary member is independently provided in the paper feeding cassette. A rear end regulating member that is movable along the sheet feeding direction and that can move upstream of the auxiliary member mounted on the cassette body in the sheet feeding direction; When a first size sheet is stored in the paper feed cassette without the auxiliary member and the paper feed cassette is mounted on the apparatus main body, the first surface provided on the cassette main body is It is possible to prevent the rotation of the first size sheet by coming into contact with the side edge of the first size sheet, and to prevent the rotation of the first size sheet in the paper feed cassette in which the auxiliary member is mounted at the predetermined mounting position. When the second size sheet, which is shorter than the first size in the width direction, is stored and the mounting operation of the paper feed cassette is performed, the auxiliary member comes into contact with the side edge of the second size sheet. It is possible to suppress the rotation of the second size sheet, and the mounting direction of the sheet feeding cassette with respect to the apparatus main body is a direction along the moving direction of the side end regulating means. A space portion having an opening formed in an upper portion is provided outside the first surface in the width direction of the main body, and when the auxiliary member is mounted from above into the predetermined mounting position, the auxiliary member A part of the auxiliary member is configured to be inserted into the space through the opening, and the mounting operation of the paper feed cassette is performed when a part of the auxiliary member is inserted into the space. In this case, the image forming apparatus is characterized in that movement of the auxiliary member in the width direction from the predetermined mounting position is restricted.

According to the present invention , it is possible to suppress the rotation of the sheet due to the impact when the sheet feeding cassette is attached to the apparatus main body .

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a full-color laser beam printer which is an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a mounting portion of the full-color laser beam printer and a sheet feeding cassette detachably mounted in the mounting portion. The figure explaining the structure of the front side side regulation member provided in the said paper feed cassette. The figure explaining the operation|movement which attaches an auxiliary|assistant side regulation member to the said front side regulation member. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which sheets of different sizes are stored in the paper feed cassette. The figure which shows the structure of the conventional paper feed cassette.

Hereinafter, an example of the sheet feeding device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a full-color laser beam printer which is an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a full-color laser beam printer (hereinafter referred to as printer), 1A is a printer main body which is an image forming apparatus main body, 1B is an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet, and 20 is a fixing unit. An image reading device 2 is an upper device installed substantially horizontally above the printer body 1A, and a discharge space P is formed between the image reading device 2 and the printer body 1A. Reference numeral 30 is a sheet feeding device provided below the printer body 1A, and reference numeral 15 is a toner cartridge.

The image information read by the image reading device 2 or the image information input from an external device such as a personal computer (not shown) is subjected to image processing, converted into an electric signal, and transmitted to the laser scanner 10 of the image forming unit 1B. .. Then, in the image forming unit 1B, the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 of each process cartridge 11 is scanned with laser light corresponding to the image information of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black component colors emitted from the laser scanner 10. As a result, the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 whose surface is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity and potential by the charger 13 is sequentially exposed, and yellow, magenta, and cyan are respectively transferred onto the photosensitive drums of the process cartridges 11. And a black electrostatic latent image is sequentially formed.

Thereafter, the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 14 with yellow, magenta, cyan, and black color toners to be visualized. Then, by the primary transfer bias applied to the primary transfer roller 19, the toner images of the respective colors on the respective photosensitive drums are sequentially superposed and transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 16. As a result, a toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 16.

On the other hand, the sheet S sent out from the sheet feeding device 30 passes through the registration roller pair 40 and is sent to the secondary transfer portion configured by the drive roller 16 a and the secondary transfer roller 17. At the secondary transfer portion, the toner images formed by the image forming portion 1B are collectively transferred onto the sheet S. Next, the sheet S on which the toner image has been transferred in this manner is conveyed to the fixing unit 20 and is subjected to heat and pressure in the fixing unit 20 to be fixed on the sheet S as a color image.

After that, the sheet S on which the image is fixed is discharged to the discharge space P by the pair of discharge rollers 25a and 25b, and is stacked on the stacking portion 23 protruding to the bottom surface of the discharge space P. When images are formed on both sides of the sheet S, after the images are fixed, the sheet S is conveyed to the reconveyance path R by the pair of reversing rollers 22 provided in the double-sided reversing unit 1D and capable of forward and reverse rotation. After that, it is again conveyed to the image forming unit 1B.

Here, the sheet feeding cassette 60, which is a sheet storing means, is detachably attached to the attaching portion 1E shown in FIG. 2 formed in the lower portion of the printer body 1A. As shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed cassette 60 has a back side regulating plate 61 that regulates one position in the depth direction (width direction) orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction of the sheet S, that is, the downstream side in the depth direction. Is provided so as to be movable in the depth direction. Further, the paper feeding cassette 60 is provided with a front side regulation plate 62 that is provided so as to face the back side regulation plate 61 and regulates the position of the sheet S on the upstream side in the depth direction, and is movable in the depth direction. There is. The back side regulating plate 61 and the front side regulating plate 62, which constitute the pair of side edge regulating means 61A, are provided with interlocking mechanisms (not shown) so that the side edge positions on the upstream side and the downstream side in the depth direction of the sheet are adjusted. Move in tandem to regulate.

Further, the sheet feeding cassette 60 is provided with a trailing edge regulating plate 63 that regulates the position of the trailing edge, which is the upstream side edge of the sheet S in the sheet feeding direction, so as to be movable along the sheet feeding direction. Further, the sheet feeding cassette 60 is provided with an intermediate plate (not shown) on which sheets are stacked. The sheets stacked on the intermediate plate include a back side regulation plate 61, a front side regulation plate 62, and a side regulation plate 62. The rear end regulating plate 63 regulates the position.

On the back side wall 60a of the cassette body 60A of the sheet feeding cassette 60, a swing arm 64 having a swing pin 65 at its tip is swingably supported about a shaft 64a. Further, a pull-in unit 66 that is a pull-in unit that pulls the paper feed cassette 60 into the mounting section 1E is arranged on the inner wall surface of the mounting section 1E on the back side. The pull-in unit 66 includes a pull-in unit base 69 and a pull-in hook 67 provided at a tip end thereof, and a pull-in arm 68 rotatably supported on the pull-in unit base 69 about a fulcrum 70.

The pull-in hook 67 of the pull-in arm 68 has a recess 91 for locking the swing pin 65 of the swing arm 64. An arm pin 71 is provided between the pull-in hook 67 of the pull-in arm 68 and the fulcrum 70. The arm pin 71 has a tension spring 73 whose one end is locked to a base pin 72 provided on the pull-in unit base 69. The other end of is locked. The pull-in spring 73 urges the pull-in arm 68 to rotate about the fulcrum 70.

When pulling out the paper feed cassette 60, while the recess 91 holds the swing pin 65, the pull-in arm 68 resists the tension spring 73 and moves from the position shown in FIG. Rotate counterclockwise. Thereafter, when the paper feed cassette 60 is further pulled out, the pull-in arm 68 rotates to the standby position where the locking of the swing pin 65 by the recess 91 is released. When the retractable arm 68 rotates by a predetermined amount before the retractable arm 68 rotates to the standby position, a pulling spring 73 applies a counterclockwise rotating force to the retractable arm 68. Due to this force, the pull-in arm 68 moves to the standby position and then comes into contact with a stopper (not shown) and stops.

When in the standby position, the pull-in arm 68 is in a position where the swing pin 65 of the swing arm 64 enters the recess 91 of the pull-in hook 67 when the paper feed cassette 60 is mounted on the printer body 1A. Therefore, when the paper feeding cassette 60 is inserted into the mounting portion 1E, the swing pin 65 enters the recess 91 of the pull-in hook 67. Thereafter, when the paper feed cassette 60 is further pushed in, the pull-in arm 68 is pushed inward through the swing pin 65 and the pull-in hook 67.

As a result, the retracting arm 68 pivots clockwise around the fulcrum 70 against the tension spring 73. When the retracting arm 68 pivots to a predetermined position thereafter, the retracting arm 68 is biased by the tension spring 73. As a result, it rotates clockwise. Then, the recess 91 of the pull-in hook 67 engages with the swing pin 65 in the process in which the pull-in arm 68 rotates clockwise in this way. As a result, when the pull-in arm 68 is rotated by the tension spring 73, the paper feed cassette 60 is mounted while receiving a biasing force in the depth direction by the tension spring 73 via the pull-in arm 68.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the paper feed cassette 60 is attached to one end (right end) orthogonal to the depth direction upstream of the depth direction of the cassette body 60A, positioning of the paper feed cassette 60 in the depth direction is performed. A positioning unit 74 for performing is provided. Then, when the paper feed cassette 60 is mounted, the positioning portion 74 positions the paper feed cassette 60 in the depth direction. Further, after the paper feed cassette 60 is mounted, the intermediate plate rotatably provided in the cassette body 60A in the vertical direction is lifted, and the sheet S on the intermediate plate contacts the pickup roller 75.

By the way, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the back side side regulating member 80 is provided on the upstream side of the back side wall 60a in the sheet feeding direction, and the back side side regulating member 80 is provided on the front side wall 60b of the cassette body 60A in the sheet feeding direction upstream. A front side regulating member 81 is provided on the side. The distance between the back side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member 81 constituting the pair of upstream end regulating means 80A in the width direction is set to be the maximum sheet width of the sheets that can be accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 60. Is set to.

In the present embodiment, since the maximum sheet size is LGL, the distance between the back side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member 81 in the width direction is set to the LGL width, and FIG. 2 shows the LGL size sheet. The state when S1 is accommodated is shown. Then, the back side regulation plate 61, the front side regulation plate 62, the rear side regulation plate 63, the back side regulation member 80, and the front side regulation member 81 shift the position of the sheet S1 in the paper feed cassette 60. Is being prevented.

Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the front side regulating member 81 is located on the side surface in the width direction of a predetermined size sheet (LGL size sheet) having the maximum sheet width among the sheets that can be accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 60. It has a restricting portion (restricting surface) 81a for restricting. Since the back side regulating member 80 has the same structure, only the front side regulating member 81 will be described below.

Further, the front side regulating member 81 is provided with a mounting space 81c for selectively mounting the auxiliary side regulating member 82 which is the auxiliary side end regulating means from the upper opening. Here, the auxiliary side regulation member 82 regulates the position in the width direction of a small size sheet smaller than the maximum sheet width that can be accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 60, and the side edge of the small size sheet. Is provided with a convex portion 82a.

Further, when the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is attached to the central portion of the regulating portion 81a of the front side regulating member 81 in the sheet feeding direction, the convex portion 82a is protruded from the front side regulating member 81 toward the seat side. A slit groove 81b which is an opening extending in the direction is formed. As a result, when the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is inserted from the opening above the mounting space of the front side regulating member 81 as shown in FIG. 4A, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 as shown in FIG. 4B. The convex portion 82 a of 82 projects from the front side side regulating member 81 to the inside of the cassette body. A slide groove (not shown) extending in the vertical direction is formed on the back side of the restriction portion 81a to guide the mounting of the auxiliary side restriction member 82 into the mounting space 81c from above.

Then, in the present embodiment, when storing a small-sized sheet in the sheet feeding cassette 60, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is attached to the back side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member 81. As a result, it is possible to regulate the side end position of the small size sheet stored in the sheet feeding cassette 60.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the auxiliary member accommodating portion 83 is adjacent to the front side wall 60b of the cassette body 60A at a position in the vicinity of the front side regulating member 81 that does not hinder the stacking of sheets. Are provided. Then, when the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is not used, that is, when the sheet having the maximum sheet width is accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 60, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is accommodated in the auxiliary member accommodating portion 83. This can prevent the auxiliary side regulating member 82 from being lost.

Here, in the present embodiment, the regulation width by the auxiliary side regulation member 82 attached to the back side regulation member 80 and the front side regulation member 81 as shown in FIG. A4 width (210 mm) smaller than 215.9 mm) is set. In addition, when accommodating a sheet of a size smaller than this, for example, when it is desired to set the regulation width to the B5 width (182 mm), an auxiliary side regulation member in which the protrusion amount from the slit groove 81b is set to the B5 width is prepared.

Further, in the present embodiment, the positions of the back side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member 81 in the sheet feeding direction are LTR (215.9 mm) and the side edge of an A4 (210 mm) size sheet can be regulated. Is set to. It should be noted that FIG. 5A shows a state in which the sheet S2 having the LTR size is accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 60. As a result, when the LTR size sheet S2 is stored, the vicinity of the rear end of the sheet S2 abuts against the regulation surface of the regulation portion 80a of the rear side regulation member 80 and the regulation portion 81a of the front side regulation member 81, and the width of the sheet S2. The directional position is restricted.

Further, FIG. 5B shows a state in which the A4 size sheet S3 is accommodated in the sheet feeding cassette 60. When accommodating the A4 size sheet S3 in this way, as described above, the auxiliary side regulating members 82 are attached to the back side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member 81, respectively. Thus, when the A4 size sheet S3 is stored, the vicinity of the rear end of the sheet S3 hits the convex portion 82a serving as the regulation surface of the auxiliary side regulating member 82, and the position of the sheet S3 in the width direction is regulated. When the LGL, which is the maximum sheet size in the present embodiment, is accommodated, the sheet width of the LGL is the same as the sheet width of the LTR, and thus the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is removed as shown in FIG. Accommodates seats.

As described above, when accommodating a sheet having a shorter length in the depth direction (width direction) than a sheet of a predetermined size, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is set to the back side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member 81. It is attached to the seat to regulate the side edge position of the seat. As a result, it is possible to prevent the sheet from rotating due to a shock when the sheet cassette 60 is inserted. As a result, the sheet can be supplied to the image forming unit 1B in a state where skewing and positional deviation are suppressed, and image deviation with respect to the sheet can be suppressed.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is configured to be slidably attached in the sheet stacking direction. For this reason, even when the user touches the auxiliary side regulating member 82 or the paper feed cassette 60 is inserted with a strong force when the sheet is stored, the auxiliary side regulating member 82 is not affected by the back side regulating member 80 and the front side regulating member. It does not come off easily from 81. As a result, the position of the sheet in the width direction can be reliably regulated by the auxiliary side regulating member 82.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Full-color laser beam printer, 1A... Printer main body, 1B... Image forming part, 1E... Mounting part, 60... Paper feed cassette, 60A... Cassette main body, 60a... Back side wall of cassette main body, 60b... Front side of cassette main body Side wall, 61... Back side regulation plate, 61A... Side end regulation means, 62... Front side regulation plate, 63... Rear regulation plate, 80... Back side regulation member, 80A... Upstream side regulation means, 81... Front-side side regulating member, 81a... regulating portion (first surface) , 81b... slit groove, 81c... mounting space, 82... auxiliary side regulating member, 82a... convex portion, 83... auxiliary member accommodating portion, S, S1, S2, S3... Sheet

Claims (4)

A paper feed cassette that can be attached to the main body of the device and stores sheets to be fed,
A side edge regulating means that is movable in a width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction and is capable of regulating a side edge of the sheet stored in the sheet feeding cassette;
An auxiliary member removably provided at a predetermined mounting position in the cassette body of the sheet feeding cassette, upstream of the side edge regulating means in the sheet feeding direction;
In order to regulate the position of the upstream end in the sheet feeding direction of the sheets stored in the sheet feeding cassette, the sheet is provided movably along the sheet feeding direction independently of the auxiliary member, and A rear end regulating member movable upstream from the auxiliary member mounted on the cassette body in a direction,
When a mounting operation is performed in which a sheet of a first size is stored in the sheet feeding cassette in which the auxiliary member is not mounted at the predetermined mounting position and the sheet feeding cassette is mounted in the apparatus main body, the sheet is provided in the cassette main body. The first surface is in contact with the side edge of the first size sheet to prevent rotation of the first size sheet,
The second size sheet, which is shorter in the width direction than the first size, is accommodated in the paper feed cassette having the auxiliary member mounted at the predetermined mounting position, and the mounting operation of the paper feed cassette is performed. In this case, the auxiliary member comes into contact with the side edge of the second size sheet to suppress the rotation of the second size sheet,
The mounting direction of the paper feed cassette with respect to the apparatus main body is a direction along the moving direction of the side end regulating means,
A space portion having an opening formed in an upper portion is provided outside the first surface in the width direction of the cassette body, and the auxiliary member is attached when the auxiliary member is attached from above to the predetermined attachment position. A part of the member is configured to be inserted into the space through the opening, and in a state where a part of the auxiliary member is inserted into the space, the mounting operation of the paper feed cassette is performed. The sheet feeding apparatus, wherein movement of the auxiliary member in the width direction from the predetermined mounting position is restricted when the sheet is carried out. The cassette body is a second surface that forms the space portion on the outer side in the width direction with respect to the first surface, and is a part of the auxiliary member that is mounted at the predetermined mounting position. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising a second surface facing from the outer side in the width direction. The cassette body is a third surface which is provided outside the width direction with respect to the first surface and inside the width direction with respect to the second surface, and which forms the space portion, It opposes a part of the auxiliary member mounted at the predetermined mounting position from the inside in the width direction, and restricts movement of the auxiliary member together with the second surface in the width direction from the predetermined mounting position. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2, further comprising a third surface that is formed. A paper feed cassette that can be attached to the main body of the device and stores sheets to be fed,
A feeding roller that is provided in the apparatus body and feeds the sheets stored in the paper feeding cassette,
An image forming unit which is provided in the apparatus main body and forms an image on a sheet fed by the feeding roller,
A side edge regulating means that is movable in a width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction and is capable of regulating a side edge of the sheet stored in the sheet feeding cassette;
An auxiliary member removably provided at a predetermined mounting position in the cassette body of the paper feed cassette upstream of the side end regulating means in the paper feed cassette in the sheet feeding direction;
In order to regulate the position of the upstream end in the sheet feeding direction of the sheets stored in the sheet feeding cassette, the sheet feeding cassette is provided movably along the sheet feeding direction independently of the auxiliary member. And a rear end regulating member movable upstream from the auxiliary member mounted on the cassette body in the sheet feeding direction,
When a mounting operation is performed in which a sheet of a first size is stored in the sheet feeding cassette in which the auxiliary member is not mounted at the predetermined mounting position and the sheet feeding cassette is mounted in the apparatus main body, the sheet is provided in the cassette main body. The first surface is in contact with the side edge of the first size sheet to prevent rotation of the first size sheet,
The second size sheet, which is shorter in the width direction than the first size, is accommodated in the paper feed cassette having the auxiliary member mounted at the predetermined mounting position, and the mounting operation of the paper feed cassette is performed. In this case, the auxiliary member comes into contact with the side edge of the second size sheet to suppress the rotation of the second size sheet,
The mounting direction of the paper feed cassette with respect to the apparatus main body is a direction along the moving direction of the side end regulating means,
A space portion having an opening formed in an upper portion is provided outside the first surface in the width direction of the cassette body, and the auxiliary member is attached when the auxiliary member is attached from above to the predetermined attachment position. A part of the member is configured to be inserted into the space through the opening, and in a state where a part of the auxiliary member is inserted into the space, the mounting operation of the paper feed cassette is performed. An image forming apparatus, wherein movement of the auxiliary member in the width direction from the predetermined mounting position is restricted when the auxiliary member is performed.

Images