JP6818254B2 - Feeding device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a feeding device and an image forming device.

Conventionally, as a feeding device used in an image forming apparatus, a feeding tray that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the device, a bottom plate, a lever member that is connected to the bottom plate via a spring, and a regulating member that regulates the lowering of the lever member. It is known that the apparatus main body is provided with an ascending guide for a lever member.
According to Patent Document 1, as this type of feeding device, the tip of the swinging portion of the lever member is connected to the bottom plate via a spring, and the tip of the swinging portion swings upward so as to move the lever member. A feeding device that pulls the bottom plate upward via a spring is described. In this feeding device, the lever member is regulated to a predetermined height by the regulating member, and the lever member engages with the ascending guide on the device main body side in the middle of the insertion operation of the feeding tray into the device main body, and further insertion operation is performed. , The tip of the lever member moves upward by the guidance of the ascending guide. By moving the tip upward from before insertion, the bottom plate connected via the spring also moves upward, and when the insertion operation is completed, the uppermost surface of the sheet whose lower surface is supported by the bottom plate is provided on the device body. Contact the feeding roller.

However, in the feeding device described in Patent Document 1, the bottom plate of the feeding tray pulled out from the main body of the device hangs from the lever member via a spring without contacting the bottom surface of the feeding tray, and the position of the bottom plate is changed. It was sometimes unstable. If the position of the bottom plate is not stable, it becomes difficult to place the sheet on the bottom plate when replenishing the sheet to the feeding tray, the sheet cannot be loaded properly, and there is a risk of poor transportation during feeding.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a seat accommodating housing that accommodates a seat and can be pulled out and inserted into the main body of the apparatus, and at least a part of the seat accommodating housing moves in the vertical direction. A possible bottom plate member, a bottom plate connecting member located above the bottom plate member and connecting to the bottom plate member, and an engaging portion of the bottom plate connecting member by an insertion operation of the seat accommodating housing into the device main body. A feeding device including a guide member for guiding the engaging portion upward and a regulating member for restricting the lowering of the bottom plate connecting member so that the engaging portion has a height at which the engaging portion can be engaged with the guide member. The lower protrusion that can be projected below the bottom surface of the housing that forms the bottom surface of the seat accommodating housing and the regulation member can be moved in the vertical direction so that the amount of protrusion of the lower protrusion can be adjusted. Correspondingly, it is characterized by including a regulated height control mechanism for controlling the height of the regulated member.

According to the present invention, at least a part of the bottom plate member is moved upward by the operation of inserting the seat accommodating housing into the device main body, and the position of the bottom plate member in the seat accommodating housing pulled out from the device main body is stabilized. It has the excellent effect of making it possible.

Schematic cross-sectional view of the feed tray placed on the top of the table. The external perspective view of the printer which concerns on embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the printer which concerns on embodiment. Sectional view of the feeding device. Perspective view of the feeding device. Explanatory drawing of the operation to pull out a feed tray from a printer body. A perspective view of the feeding tray taken out from the printer body. An explanatory view of an operation of placing a sheet on a feeding tray taken out from the printer main body. An explanatory diagram of the operation of attaching the feed tray to the printer body. An explanatory diagram of the configuration required when placing a sheet on the delivery tray. Explanatory drawing of the configuration required when inserting a feed tray into a device body of a printer. Explanatory drawing of the configuration required when the feed tray is completely attached to the device body of the printer. Top view of the feed tray in a state where it is completely attached to the printer device body. Explanatory drawing of the feed tray in the state shown in FIG. 1 in which the bottom surface and the bottom plate pressure spring are omitted for convenience. Schematic cross-sectional view of the feed tray in the process of being inserted into the printer device body. Schematic cross-sectional view of the feeding tray in a state where it is completely attached to the printer device body. The explanatory view of the mounting operation of the feed tray in an example of the conventional printer which can load a small number of sheets. The explanatory view of the mounting operation of a feed tray in an example of a conventional printer having a large number of loadable sheets. An enlarged perspective view of a feeding tray showing a state in which the gap “β” shown in FIG. 18B is formed. It is explanatory drawing of the attachment operation of the feed tray in the printer which examined the improvement plan of the trouble which occurred in the printer shown in FIG. The perspective view which shows an example of two printers which differ only in the number of sheets set in a feed tray.

Hereinafter, as an embodiment of the image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied, an electrophotographic printer that forms an image by an electrophotographic method will be described with reference to the drawings. In each figure, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

In the following description, the "image forming apparatus" is used to form an image by adhering a developer or ink to a medium such as paper, OHP sheet, thread, fiber, cloth, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, or ceramics. Means a device. Further, "image formation" means not only giving an image having a meaning such as characters or figures to the medium, but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern to the medium.

The "sheet" of the present embodiment includes paper, coated paper, transparencies, label papers, films, fabrics and the like. Further, the "sheet" also includes what is called a recording medium, a recording medium, a recording paper, a recording paper, etc., which are media to which a developing agent or ink can be attached. Further, the "sheet" includes not only a flexible one but also a hard plate-shaped one and a relatively thick one.

In the following embodiments, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements and the like described in the description of each component are examples, and the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited thereto unless otherwise specified.

First, the basic configuration of the electrophotographic printer according to the embodiment will be described.
FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an electrophotographic printer (hereinafter, simply referred to as a printer 100) according to the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the printer 100. The printer 100 is a color laser printer.

The printer 100 includes an image forming unit 400 which is an image forming means for forming an image on the sheet P, and a feeding device 300 which is a feeding means for feeding the sheet P toward the image forming unit 400. The image forming unit 400 includes four process units 1 (K, Y, M, C), and these process units 1 are black (K) and yellow (Y) corresponding to the color separation components of the color image. , Magenta (M), and cyan (C) are used to form an image.

Each process unit 1 (K, Y, M, C) has the same configuration except that it has a toner bottle 6 (K, Y, M, C) containing unused toners of different colors. .. Therefore, the configuration of the black process unit 1K, which is one process unit 1, will be described below, and the description of the configuration of the other process units 1 (Y, M, C) will be omitted.

The black process unit 1K includes a black image carrier 2K (for example, a photoconductor drum), a black cleaning device 3K, a black static eliminator, a black charging device 4K, a black developing device 5K, and the like. The black process unit 1K is detachably attached to the main body of the printer 100, and consumable parts can be replaced at the same time.

An exposure device 7 is arranged above the four process units 1 (K, Y, M, C) of the printer 100. The exposure device 7 is configured to emit laser light from the laser diode based on the image data.

A transfer device 15 is arranged below the four process units 1 (K, Y, M, C) of the printer 100. The transfer device 15 includes a primary transfer roller 19 (K, Y, M, C), an intermediate transfer belt 16, and the like. The four primary transfer rollers 19 (K, Y, M, C) are intermediately transferred so as to face each of the four image carriers 2 (K, Y, M, C) with the intermediate transfer bell and 16 interposed therebetween. It is arranged in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the belt 16.
The intermediate transfer belt 16 circulates in a state of being hung on four primary transfer rollers 19 (K, Y, M, C), a drive roller 18, and a driven roller 17.

The secondary transfer roller 20 is arranged in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 16 so as to face the drive roller 18 with the intermediate transfer belt 16 interposed therebetween. If the image carrier 2 (K, Y, M, C) is the first image carrier of each color, the intermediate transfer belt 16 has the image supported on the first image carrier of each color superimposed on the surface. It is a second image carrier that is transferred and synthesized.

The belt cleaning device 21 is installed on the downstream side of the secondary transfer roller 20 in the traveling direction of the intermediate transfer belt 16. Further, the cleaning backup roller 21a is installed on the side opposite to the belt cleaning device 21 with respect to the intermediate transfer belt 16.

A feeding device 300 including a feeding tray 30 and a feeding roller 47 is installed under the printer 100, and the feeding tray 30 can accommodate a large number of sheets P in a bundle. The feeding tray 30 can be attached to and detached from the main body of the printer 100 for replenishment of the sheet P and the like. The feeding roller 47 is arranged so as to be located above the feeding tray 30 installed in the printer 100, and feeds the sheet P from the feeding tray 30 toward the feeding path 31. There is.

The timing roller pair 14 is arranged on the immediate upstream side of the secondary transfer roller 20, and the sheet P fed from the feed tray 30 can be abutted against the resist nip formed by the two rollers and temporarily stopped. it can. This temporary stop forms a slack on the tip side of the sheet P.

In the sheet P in which the slack is formed, the secondary transfer roller 20 and the drive roller 18 come into contact with each other via the intermediate transfer belt 16 at the timing when the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 16 is suitably transferred. It is sent to the secondary transfer nip. In the sent out sheet P, the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 16 by the secondary transfer nip is transferred to a desired transfer position with high accuracy.

A post-transcriptional transfer path 33 is provided above the secondary transfer nip, and a fixing device 34 is installed near the upper end of the post-transcriptional transfer path 33.

The fixing device 34 includes a fixing roller 34a including a heat generating source such as a halogen lamp, and a pressure roller 34b that rotates while abutting on the fixing roller 34a at a predetermined pressure. A post-fixing transport path 35 is provided above the fixing device 34, and is branched into a discharge path 36 and a reverse transport path 41 at the upper end of the post-fixing transport path 35.

A switching member 42 is arranged at the branch portion, and the switching member 42 is swung driven around the swing shaft 42a. Further, a discharge roller pair 37 is arranged near the opening end of the discharge path 36.

The reverse transport path 41 joins the supply path 31 at an end opposite to the branch portion. A reverse transfer roller pair 43 is arranged in the middle of the reverse transfer path 41. An discharge tray 44 is provided on the upper portion of the printer 100 so as to form a concave shape inward of the printer 100.

A powder container 10 (for example, a toner container) is arranged between the transfer device 15 and the feed tray 30. The powder container 10 is detachably attached to the main body of the printer 100.

The printer 100 of the present embodiment requires a predetermined distance from the feeding roller 47 to the secondary transfer roller 20 due to the transportation of the sheet P. Then, in order to secure this distance, the powder container 10 is installed in the dead space generated in the vertical direction to reduce the size of the entire printer 100.

The transfer cover 8 is installed above the feed tray 30 and on the front side (right side in FIG. 3) of the feed tray 30 in the withdrawal direction. Then, by opening the transfer cover 8, the inside of the printer 100 can be inspected. The transfer cover 8 is provided with a manual feed roller for manual feed and a manual feed tray for manual feed.

Next, the basic operation of the printer 100 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. First, a case of performing single-sided printing will be described. The feeding roller 47 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3 by a feeding signal from the control unit of the printer 100. Then, the feeding roller 47 separates only the uppermost sheet P of the bundle-shaped sheet P loaded on the feeding tray 30 and sends it out to the feeding path 31.

When the tip of the sheet P delivered by the feeding roller 47 reaches the resist nip of the timing roller pair 14, it forms a slack and stands by in that state. Then, the optimum timing (synchronization) for transferring the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 16 to the sheet P is set, and the tip skew of the sheet P is corrected.

In the case of manual feeding, the bundled sheets P loaded on the manual feeding tray pass through a part of the reversing transport path 41 one by one from the highest sheet P by the manual feeding roller, and the timing roller pair. It is conveyed to 14 resist nip. Subsequent operations are the same as feeding from the feeding tray 30.

Here, regarding the image-creating operation, the black process unit 1K, which is one of the four process units 1, will be described, and the description of the other process units 1 (Y, M, C) will be omitted. ..
First, the surface of the black image carrier 2K is uniformly charged to a high potential by the black charging device 4K.

Next, the exposure device 7 irradiates the surface of the black image carrier 2K with a laser beam L based on the image data. On the surface of the black image carrier 2K irradiated with the laser beam L, the potential of the irradiated portion is lowered to form an electrostatic latent image.

Next, the black developing apparatus 5K transfers the unused black toner supplied from the black toner bottle 6K to the surface portion of the black image carrier 2K on which the electrostatic latent image is formed. Then, the black image carrier 2K to which the toner has been transferred forms (develops) a black toner image on its surface. Then, the toner image formed on the black image carrier 2K is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 16.

The black cleaning device 3K removes residual toner adhering to the surface of the black image carrier 2K after undergoing the intermediate transfer step. The removed residual toner is sent to the waste toner accommodating portion in the black process unit 1K by the waste toner transport means and collected. Further, the black static eliminator removes the residual charge of the black image carrier 2K from which the residual toner has been removed by the black cleaning device 3K.

In the other process units 1 (Y, M, C) of each color, a toner image is formed on the image carrier 2 (Y, M, C) in the same manner, and the intermediate transfer belt 16 so that the toner images of each color overlap each other. Transfer to.

The intermediate transfer belt 16 transferred so that the toner images of each color overlap each other causes the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 16 to be transferred to the timing roller when the intermediate transfer belt 16 travels to the secondary transfer nip between the secondary transfer roller 20 and the drive roller 18. Transfer to the sheet P delivered by pair 14.

The sheet P is sent out to the secondary transfer nip at the timing when the toner image formed by superimposition transfer on the intermediate transfer belt 16 is preferably transferred. In the delivered sheet P, the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 16 by the secondary transfer nip is transferred to a desired transfer position with high accuracy.

The sheet P on which the toner image is transferred is transferred to the fixing device 34 through the transfer path 33 after transfer. The sheet P conveyed to the fixing device 34 is sandwiched between the fixing roller 34a and the pressure roller 34b, and is heated and pressurized to fix the unfixed toner image. The sheet P on which the toner image is fixed is sent out from the fixing device 34 to the transport path 35 after fixing.

The switching member 42 is in a position to open the vicinity of the upper end of the transport path 35 after fixing as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3 at the timing when the sheet P is sent out from the fixing device 34. Then, the sheet P sent out from the fixing device 34 is sent out to the discharge path 36 via the transport path 35 after fixing. The discharge roller pair 37 sandwiches the sheet P sent out to the discharge path 36 and rotationally drives the sheet P to discharge the sheet P to the discharge tray 44. Single-sided printing is completed by these operations.

Next, a case where double-sided printing is performed will be described. As in the case of single-sided printing, the fixing device 34 sends the sheet P to the discharge path 36. When performing double-sided printing, the discharge roller pair 37 carries a part of the sheet P out of the printer 100 by rotational drive.

Then, when the rear end of the sheet P passes through the discharge path 36, the switching member 42 swings around the swing shaft 42a to the position shown by the broken line in FIG. 3, and closes the upper end of the transport path 35 after fixing. .. Almost at the same time as the closing of the upper end of the transfer path 35 after fixing, the discharge roller pair 37 rotates in the direction opposite to the direction in which the sheet P is conveyed to the outside of the printer 100 and sends it out to the reverse transfer path 41.

The sheet P sent out to the reversing transport path 41 passes through the reversing transport roller pair 43 and reaches the timing roller pair 14 again. Then, the timing roller pair 14 sends the sheet P to the secondary transfer nip at the optimum timing (synchronization) for transferring the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 16 to the toner image untransferred surface of the sheet P.

Then, when the sheet P passes through the secondary transfer nip, the toner image is transferred to the toner image untransferred surface of the sheet P. Then, the sheet P on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 34 through the transfer path 33 after transfer, as in the case of single-sided printing.

The fixing device 34 sandwiches the sheet P between the fixing roller 34a and the pressure roller 34b, and heats and pressurizes the sheet P to fix the unfixed toner image on the sheet P. Then, the sheet P on which the toner image is fixed is sent out from the fixing device 34 to the transport path 35 after fixing.

The switching member 42 is in a position to open the vicinity of the upper end of the transport path 35 after fixing as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3 at the timing when the sheet P is sent out from the fixing device 34. Then, the sheet P sent out from the fixing device 34 is sent out to the discharge path 36 via the transport path 35 after fixing. The discharge roller pair 37 sandwiches the sheet P sent out to the discharge path 36, is rotationally driven, and discharges the sheet P to the discharge tray 44. Double-sided printing is completed by these operations.

After the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 16 is transferred to the sheet P, residual toner adheres to the intermediate transfer belt 16. Then, the belt cleaning device 21 removes the residual toner from the intermediate transfer belt 16. The toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 16 is conveyed to the powder container 10 by the waste toner conveying means and collected in the powder container 10.

Next, the feeding device 300, which is a separation pad type sheet feeding device, will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the feeding device 300. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the feeding device 300. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the front panel 104 of the feed tray 30 is removed.

The feeding rollers 47 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are arranged on the printer 100 main body side. Further, the bottom plate 46 and the cradle 49 are arranged on the feed tray 30.
The feeding tray 30 includes a tray front portion 101 and a tray rear portion 102. The tray rear portion 102 can move in a direction parallel to the feeding direction (arrow “α” direction in FIG. 5) with respect to the tray front portion 101, and slides the tray rear portion 102 with respect to the tray front portion 101. As a result, the size of the feeding tray 30 in the feeding direction can be changed. An end fence 107 that regulates the position of the rear end of the seat P in the feeding direction is arranged on the feeding tray 30. The rear portion 102 of the tray is provided with a rail groove portion 110 extending in a direction parallel to the feeding direction, the lower portion of the end fence 107 engages with the rail groove portion 110, and the end fence 107 is provided in the feeding direction along the rail groove portion 110. It can slide in parallel directions.

By making it possible to change the size of the feeding tray 30 in the feeding direction, the end fence 107 regulates the position of the rear end in the feeding direction for the sheets P having various sizes in the feeding direction. It can be stored in the feed tray 30.

A right side fence 105 and a left side fence 106, which are position regulating members in the width direction, are arranged on the tray front portion 101 of the feed tray 30, and these side fences (105, 106) are orthogonal to the feed direction. It is possible to slide in the direction of In the feed tray 30, the position in the width direction of the seat P to be stored by the right side fence 105 and the left side fence 106 is regulated, and the position of the rear end of the seat P is regulated by the end fence 107, whereby the feed tray 30 is regulated. Regulate the position of the seat P within.

As shown in FIG. 5, the right lever 130 and the left lever 131 are swingably attached to the tray front portion 101. The upper ends of the bottom plate pressure springs 132 are attached to the swing ends of the right lever 130 and the left side lever 131, and the lower ends of the two bottom plate pressure springs 132 are each in the width direction near the tip of the bottom plate 46 in the feeding direction. It is hooked on the end.

The feeding roller 47 is stopped from rotating by the feeding roller shaft 50 and a D-cut or a pin, and is supported by the printer 100 main body via a bearing.

The feeding roller shaft 50 extends in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 4 (hereinafter, width direction). A drive gear is attached to the shaft end of the feed roller shaft 50.

This drive gear is connected to a drive source such as a motor via a plurality of idle gears or drive connecting members such as a clutch and a solenoid. Then, by transmitting the driving force from the drive source to the feed roller shaft 50, the feed roller 47 is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction in FIGS. 2 and 4.

By controlling the connection time of the drive connection member and the stop time of the drive source described above, the feed roller 47 is configured to operate intermittently at a predetermined timing.
The surface layer portion of the feeding roller 47 is made of rubber having a high friction coefficient so that a predetermined conveying force can be applied to the sheet P. Then, the seat P is fed by controlling the connection time of the drive connecting member and the stop time of the drive source.

The dimensions of the feeding roller 47 can be, for example, 36 [mm] in diameter and 45 [mm] in width. As for the dimensions, an appropriate feeding roller dimension can be selected according to the type of the seat P to be supported by the feeding device 300 and the space in the device.

The bottom plate 46 of the feed tray 30 is rotatably supported by a bottom plate rotation shaft 51 provided in the feed tray 30. The bottom plate 46 is always urged upward by two bottom plate pressure springs 132 whose upper ends are fixed to each of the right lever 130 and the left lever 131 when the feed tray 30 is attached to the printer 100. There is.

When a bundle of sheets P is stored in the feeding tray 30 and the feeding tray 30 is inserted into the printer 100 main body, the uppermost sheet P in the feeding tray 30 comes into contact with the feeding roller 47. The sheet P is provided with a conveying force when the feeding roller 47 rotates due to the frictional force between the urging force of the bottom plate pressure spring 132 and the feeding roller 47 due to the friction coefficient of the feeding roller 47. Is transported to the right.

The cradle 49 is provided with a pad portion which is a pad material having a high coefficient of friction, and by hindering the movement of the sheet P other than the top sheet P in the feeding direction by the pad portion, the top sheet P and the top sheet P A separation unit that separates the other sheet P and feeds only the top sheet P is configured. When the sheet P is conveyed by the rotation of the feeding roller 47, the highest sheet P is separated from the other sheets P at this separation portion, and only the highest sheet P is moved downstream from the separation portion by the feeding roller 47. It is transported and separated.

As shown in FIG. 4, a bottom plate pad 52, which is a pad material having a high friction coefficient, is installed at the tip of the bottom plate 46 in the feeding direction. The bottom plate pad 52 is configured to give a constant load to the bottom sheet P. This makes it possible to prevent the bottom sheet P and the second sheet P from the bottom from being double-fed when a bundle of sheets P is loaded.

When the sheet P is stored in the feeding tray 30, the feeding tray 30 is pulled out from the main body of the printer 100, and the sheet P is placed and stored on the upper surface of the bottom plate 46.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of pulling out the feed tray 30 from the main body of the printer 100. The feed tray 30 can be taken out from the printer 100 main body by grasping the grip portion 104a of the front panel 104 of the feed tray 30 and pulling it out as shown by an arrow “A” in FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the feeding tray 30 taken out from the printer 100 main body.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of placing the sheet P on the feed tray 30 taken out from the printer 100 main body. After setting the side fences (105, 106) and the end fence 107 of the feeding tray 30 taken out from the printer 100 main body at predetermined positions, the sheet P is placed as shown by the arrow “B” in FIG.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of attaching the feed tray 30 to the printer 100 main body. FIG. 9A is a perspective view of the front side of the printer 100 with the feed tray 30 removed, and FIG. 9B is a perspective view of the front side of the printer 100 in the process of inserting the feed tray 30. Is.
As shown in FIG. 9A, there is a tray insertion slot 330 into which the feed tray 30 is inserted below the transfer cover 8 which is the front surface of the printer 100 main body. Then, as shown by the arrow “E” in FIG. 9B, the feeding tray 30 on which the sheet P is placed is inserted into the tray insertion slot 330 of the printer 100 main body and pushed in to complete the setting.

When the feeding tray 30 on which the sheet P is placed is inserted into the printer 100 main body, the swinging ends of the right lever 130 and the left lever 131 are lifted and held upward by the lever guide member provided in the printer 100 main body. By this operation, the upper ends of the two bottom plate pressure springs 132 attached to the right lever 130 and the left lever 131 are pulled upward. Then, the bottom plate pressure spring 132 is extended, and the tip side of the bottom plate 46 in the feeding direction is pulled upward by the urging force of the extended bottom plate pressure spring 132. As a result, the upper surface of the sheet P placed on the bottom plate 46 is pressed against the feeding roller 47 mounted on the printer 100 main body side.

Next, a configuration in which the bottom plate is raised by mounting the feed tray on the main body of the conventional image forming apparatus will be described.
As for the feed tray of the feed device used in the image forming apparatus, the seat is replenished and set with the feed tray pulled out in order to replenish the seat. As this type of feeding tray, there is a configuration in which a sheet is loaded and a bottom plate for pressing the loaded sheet against the feeding roller is provided. In such a configuration, when loading the sheet, the bottom plate is arranged at a low position near the bottom surface of the feeding tray, and after mounting on the apparatus main body, the bottom plate is raised and the sheet to be loaded is pressed against the feeding roller.

Feed trays equipped with such a bottom plate include a lock method in which a sheet is loaded with the bottom plate locked on the bottom surface and then unlocked by a set operation on the device body, or a feed tray set on the device body. Later, a method of raising the bottom plate with a motor is already known.
In the lock type feed tray, when the bottom plate is unlocked, a large impact may be generated, which may disturb the settability of the seat or generate an impact noise. In addition, the method of raising the bottom plate with a motor requires a motor, parts for controlling the rotation of the motor, and the like, resulting in high cost.

On the other hand, in the feeding tray 30 of the present embodiment, when the feeding tray 30 is inserted into the printer 100 main body, the lever members (130, 131) are lifted upward by the lever guide member on the printer 100 main body side. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent a problem due to an impact at the time of unlocking such as the lock method, and it is possible to reduce the cost as compared with the method of raising by a motor.

The conventional feed tray that lifts the lever member of the feed tray upward by the lever guide member on the device body side has the following problems.
That is, if the number of sheets that can be loaded on the feed tray is small (for example, 250), the bottom plate can be brought into close contact with the bottom surface of the feed tray with the feed tray pulled out from the main body of the apparatus. However, in a feed tray having a large number of loadable sheets (for example, 500 sheets), the bottom plate may not be brought into close contact with the bottom surface of the feed tray with the feed tray pulled out from the main body of the apparatus. If the bottom plate cannot be brought into close contact with the bottom surface, the bottom plate hangs from the lever member and can swing around, and the position becomes unstable. If the position of the bottom plate on which the sheet is placed is unstable, the operability when setting the sheet deteriorates, and if the sheet cannot be set normally due to the deterioration of the operability, poor transport such as skew occurs and an abnormal image appears. It may occur.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of the mounting operation of the feed tray 30 in an example of the conventional printer 100 having a small number of loadable sheets. FIG. 17 (a) is an explanatory view during mounting, and FIG. 17 (b) is an explanatory view when mounting is completed.

Reference numeral "200" in the drawing indicates a housing of the feeding tray 30 (hereinafter, referred to as "tray housing 200"), and in the present embodiment, the tray front portion 101 and the tray rear portion 102 are combined. Is. Further, reference numeral "133" in the drawing is a lever guide member provided in the printer 100 main body, and is a member that guides the right lever 130 upward when the feeding tray 30 is inserted (hereinafter, "right lever guide member 133"). "). Further, reference numeral "201" in the drawing is a stopper portion for preventing the right lever 130, which can swing about the right lever swing shaft 130a, from falling below a height at which the right lever 130 can ride on the right lever guide member 133. (Hereinafter, "right stopper portion 201"). Further, the reference numeral "150" in the drawing is a rubber-like foot (hereinafter referred to as "rubber foot 150") for installing the apparatus main body of the printer 100 on the installation surface S such as the upper surface of the desk.

In the printer 100 shown in FIG. 17, as shown in FIG. 17A, the bottom plate 46 of the feeding tray 30 before mounting is arranged in close contact with the bottom surface 56 of the tray housing 200 (layout). It is possible. As shown by the arrow "E" in FIG. 17A, by inserting the feed tray 30 into the apparatus main body, the right lever 130 rides on the right lever guide member 133 and is lifted upward and held. To. At this time, the bottom plate 46 is pulled up by the urging force of the bottom plate pressure spring 132 that is lifted together with the right lever 130, and is pressed against the feeding roller 47 with a predetermined load.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of the mounting operation of the feed tray 30 in an example of the conventional printer 100 having a large number of loadable sheets. The printer 100 shown in FIG. 18 has the same configuration as the printer 100 shown in FIG. 17 and the main body of the apparatus, and the number of loaded trays 30 is large. FIG. 18A is an explanatory view during mounting, and FIG. 18B is an explanatory view when mounting is completed.

In the printer 100 shown in FIG. 18, as shown in FIG. 18A, even if the size of the tray housing 200 in the height direction increases, the right lever 130 can ride on the right lever guide member 133 at the time of insertion. Must be located at height. Further, in order to press the bottom plate 46 against the feeding roller 47 with a predetermined load by the urging force of the bottom plate pressure spring 132 at the time of mounting shown in FIG. 18 (b), the natural length of the bottom plate pressure spring 132 is shown in FIG. It cannot be longer than the indicated printer 100. Therefore, in the printer 100 shown in FIG. 18 having a large number of loadable sheets, when the feed tray 30 is not attached to the apparatus main body, “β” in FIG. 18B is formed between the bottom plate 46 and the bottom surface 56. The layout will have a gap as shown by.
FIG. 19 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the left front end portion of the feed tray 30 in the state where the gap “β” shown in FIG. 18B is formed.

In this way, in a layout in which a gap is opened between the bottom plate 46 and the bottom surface 56, when the sheet P is loaded, the bottom plate 46 can be brought into close contact with the bottom surface 56 of the tray housing 200 (lowermost position). This is not possible, and the operability of the loading operation of the seat P deteriorates.

FIG. 20 shows the printer 100 having a large number of sheets that can be loaded like the printer 100 shown in FIG. 18, and the feeding tray 30 in the printer 100 for examining the improvement plan of the problem that occurred in the printer 100 shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the mounting operation of. FIG. 20A is an explanatory view during mounting, and FIG. 20B is an explanatory view when mounting is completed.

In the printer 100 shown in FIG. 20, as shown in FIG. 20A, the printer 100 shown in FIG. 18 is such that the bottom plate 46 and the bottom surface 56 are in contact with each other when the feeding tray 30 is not attached to the apparatus main body. The natural length of the bottom plate pressure spring 132 of the feed tray 30 is longer than that of the feed tray 30. However, in this configuration, as shown in FIG. 20B, when the feeding tray 30 is attached to the apparatus main body, a gap “γ” is formed between the feeding roller 47 and the bottom plate 46, and the sheet P is formed. The configuration shown in FIG. 20 cannot be set because there is a problem that the product cannot be transported.

Here, the conditions required for an image forming apparatus including a feed tray that pulls up the bottom plate by pulling up the lever member by the lever guide member are summarized.
As for the configuration of the image forming apparatus, there is a demand for an apparatus having the same configuration as the apparatus main body and different only in the number of sheet sets of the feeding tray.
FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing an example of two printers 100 that differ only in the number of sheets set in the feed tray (the number of sheets that can be loaded). 21 (a) is a perspective view of the printer 100 in which the number of sheets P set is 250, and FIG. 21 (b) is a perspective view of the printer 100 in which the number of sheets P set is 500.

Next, the configuration required for the delivery tray 30 will be described.
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration required when the sheet P is placed on the feed tray 30, and is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the feed tray 30 taken out from the printer 100 is placed on the table 500.
As shown in FIG. 10, when the sheet P is placed on the feed tray 30, the bottom plate 46 is required to be in contact with the bottom surface 56, which is the lowest position. By being in this position, the operability when the sheet P is placed is improved.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration required when the feeding tray 30 is inserted into the apparatus main body of the printer 100.
The tip of the right lever 130 is required to be located above the lower end of the right lever guide member 133. In this position, when the feed tray 30 is inserted into the apparatus main body, the tip of the right lever 130 rides on the right lever guide member 133 and the tip faces upward, whereby the right lever 130 swings on the right lever. It rotates around the shaft 130a in the clockwise direction in FIG.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration required when the feeding tray 30 is completely attached to the apparatus main body of the printer 100.
The right lever 130 is required to have a configuration in which the right lever 130 is lifted further upward and lifted to a predetermined position while riding on the right lever guide member 133. As a result, the bottom plate pressure spring 132 attached to the right lever 130 stops the bottom plate 46 in a state of being pressed against the feeding roller 47 with a predetermined load.

Next, a feature portion of the feed tray 30 of the present embodiment having a configuration that satisfies the conditions required for the feed tray 30 described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 11 will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the right end portion of the feed tray 30 in a state where the feed tray 30 of the embodiment is placed on the upper surface of the table 500. FIG. 13 is a top view of the feeding tray 30 in a state where the printer 100 has been mounted on the main body of the apparatus. In FIG. 13, the right lever 130 and the bottom plate pressurizing spring 132 are shown by broken lines for convenience, and the reference numeral “100a” in FIG. 13 is the right side plate of the housing of the apparatus main body of the printer 100. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line FF of the feed tray 30 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 13, the feed tray 30 of the present embodiment has a right guide lever 135 and a guide lever pressing spring 140 in addition to the configuration of the conventional feed tray 30 described with reference to FIG. And. The right guide lever 135 is arranged outside the bottom plate 46 in the width direction of the feed tray 30 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1, left-right direction in FIG. 13) and below the right lever 130. .. A guide lever pressing spring 140 is provided below the right guide lever 135.

As shown in FIG. 13, a shaft hole 203a is provided in the right side plate 203 of the tray housing 200, and the right guide lever swing shaft 137 of the right guide lever 135 is inserted into the shaft hole 203a. As a result, the right guide lever 135 is configured to be swingably supported by the right side plate 203 about the right guide lever swing shaft 137. The guide lever pressing spring 140 is mounted on the lower surface of the right guide lever 135 on the downstream side in the feeding direction with the right guide lever swing shaft 137 interposed therebetween.

A right guide lever convex portion 138 is provided at a position below the right lever 130 on the right guide lever 135. The right guide lever 135 includes a right guide lever lower protrusion 136 that projects downward on the side opposite to the right guide lever convex 138 with the right guide lever swing shaft 137 interposed therebetween.

The bottom surface housing 202, which forms the bottom surface 56 of the tray housing 200, is formed with a bottom surface opening 210 into which the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 is inserted. When there is nothing that abuts below the bottom housing 202, the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 protrudes from the bottom opening 210 and the tip of the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 protrudes from the bottom housing 202, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 described later. Will be located below.

The guide lever pressing spring 140 urges the right guide lever convex portion 138 so as to face upward. This urging force acts to rotate the right guide lever 135 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. Therefore, the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 located on the opposite side of the right guide lever swing shaft 137 and the guide lever pressing spring 140 is urged downward. Therefore, in a state where no other force is applied, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 protrudes from the bottom opening 210, and its tip is below the bottom housing 202. It will be in a positioned state.
Although the mechanism of the right guide lever 135 on the right side of the feed tray 30 on which the right lever 130 is arranged has been described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 13, the left side of the feed tray 30 on which the left lever 131 is arranged is also described. It has a similar mechanism.

In the feed tray 30 of the present embodiment, the function of the right stopper portion 201 of the conventional feed tray 30 described with reference to FIG. 18 and the like is substituted by the right guide lever convex portion 138. Then, the right guide lever 135 provided with the right guide lever convex portion 138 that presses the lower surface of the right lever 130 rotates, so that the right lever 130 also rotates in conjunction with the rotation. The tip of the bottom plate 46 on the downstream side in the feeding direction is connected to the right lever 130 via the bottom plate pressure spring 132.

Next, sheet replenishment in the printer 100 of the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of the feed tray 30 in the state shown in FIG. 1 in which the bottom surface 56 and the bottom plate pressure spring 132 are omitted for convenience. FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the feed tray 30 being inserted into the apparatus main body of the printer 100, and FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the feed tray 30 in a state where it is completely mounted on the apparatus main body of the printer 100. is there. In FIGS. 15 and 16, the bottom surface 56 and the bottom plate pressure spring 132 are omitted for convenience as in FIG.

First, a step of supplying (placeting) the sheet P on the feeding tray 30 will be described. As shown by the arrow “A” in FIG. 6, the feeding tray 30 is pulled out from the main body of the apparatus, and the pulled out feeding tray 30 is placed on a workbench such as a table 500 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 14. The sheet P is placed in this state.
When the feed tray 30 is placed on the table 500, the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 is pushed up to the table 500, and the right guide lever 135 is centered on the right guide lever swing shaft 137 by the arrows in FIGS. 1 and 14. Rotate in the direction of "G". At this time, the right guide lever convex portion 138 located on the side opposite to the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 with the right guide lever swing shaft 137 sandwiched rotates in the direction of the arrow “H” in FIGS. 1 and 14. It goes down.

When the right guide lever convex portion 138 is lowered, the right lever 130 whose lower surface is pressed by the right guide lever convex portion 138 is also lowered by its own weight. At this time, the right lever 130 rotates in the direction of the arrow "I" in FIGS. 1 and 14 so that the swinging end to which the bottom plate pressurizing spring 132 is connected is lowered. As a result, the position of the upper end of the bottom plate pressure spring 132 is lowered, and the tip of the bottom plate 46 to which the lower end of the bottom plate pressure spring 132 is attached on the downstream side in the feeding direction is also lowered, as shown in FIG. In addition, the bottom plate 46 is in contact with the bottom surface 56. Thereby, as described with reference to FIG. 10, when the sheet P is placed on the feed tray 30, the bottom plate 46 can be positioned in contact with the bottom surface 56. By being in this position, the bottom plate 46 is supported by the bottom surface 56, and the position of the bottom plate 46 when the sheet P is placed is stable, so that the operability when the sheet P is placed is good and it is easy to set. Become.

Next, a step of inserting the feed tray 30 into the main body of the apparatus will be described.
The feed tray 30 is inserted into the device body in order to mount the feed tray 30 on the device body. When inserting the feed tray 30 into the main body of the apparatus, the operator lifts the feed tray 30 in the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 14 from the table 500. As a result, since the bottom surface housing 202 is separated from the table 500, the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 does not come into contact with the table 500, and the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 can protrude below the bottom case 202. Therefore, it is pushed up by the guide lever pressing spring 140 arranged under the right guide lever 135, and the right guide lever 135 rotates about the right guide lever swing shaft 137 in the direction indicated by the arrow “J” in FIG. To do. Then, the portion on the upstream side in the feeding direction with the right guide lever swing shaft 137 in contact with the bottom surface 56 (the upper surface of the bottom surface housing 202) stops.

Further, the right guide lever 135 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow “J” in FIG. 15, and the swing end of the right guide lever 130 is lifted upward in conjunction with the operation of pushing up the right guide lever convex portion 138. Rotates in the clockwise direction (arrow "K" direction) in FIG. When a part of the right guide lever 135 comes into contact with the bottom surface 56 and the rotation stops, the rotation of the right lever 130 also stops. At this time, the swinging end of the right lever 130 stops at a position above the lower end of the right lever guide member 133. Further, the left lever 131 also rotates so that the swing end can be lifted in the same manner. As a result, as described with reference to FIG. 11, when the feeding tray 30 is inserted into the apparatus main body of the printer 100, the tip of the right lever 130 is positioned above the lower end of the right lever guide member 133. be able to.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the tray insertion port 330, which is the insertion portion of the feed tray 30 in the apparatus main body of the printer 100, has a bottom surface such as a bottom member of the housing in a portion below the feed tray 30. There is no member that covers the lower surface of the housing 202. Further, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the main body of the printer 100 forms a gap between the printer 100 and the installation surface S by the rubber feet 150. When the feeding tray 30 is inserted into the apparatus main body of the printer 100, the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 can protrude into the gap with the installation surface S, so that the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 is the bottom housing. It can be inserted while protruding below 202.

Next, a step of mounting the feed tray 30 on the apparatus main body will be described.
By further inserting the feed tray 30 from the state shown in FIG. 15 and pushing it completely into the device body, the right lever 130 is lifted upward by the right lever guide member 133 provided in the device body. Similarly, the left lever 131 is also lifted upward by the right lever guide provided in the apparatus main body. Thereby, as described with reference to FIG. 12, the right lever 130 can be lifted further upward while riding on the right lever guide member 133, and can be lifted to a predetermined position.

The feeding device 300 of the present embodiment loads the sheet P on the feeding tray 30, separates and conveys the sheet P. The feed tray 30 includes a bottom plate 46 on which the seat P is loaded, and has a standby position shown in FIG. 14 and a standby position shown in FIG. 15 as standby positions for lever members (130, 131) that pull up the bottom plate 46 via the bottom plate pressure spring 132. It is possible to stand by in two stages with the standby position shown in.

By setting the standby position shown in FIG. 14, when replenishing the sheet P, the bottom plate 46 and the bottom surface 56 of the feeding tray 30 are in contact with each other instead of replenishing the sheet P while the bottom plate 46 is floating (maximum). The seat P can be replenished in the state (in the lower position). Therefore, even if the device has a large number of sheets P that can be loaded, the sheets P can be set without impairing the operability.
As a result, the sheet P can be appropriately loaded, and the transfer defect in the printer 100 and the image defect caused by the transfer defect can be suppressed.

In the feed tray 30 of the above-described embodiment, the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 is configured to protrude downward from the bottom housing 202 through the bottom opening 210, but is not provided with the bottom opening 210. May be. The right guide lever lower protrusion 136 may be arranged outside the width of the tray housing 200, and the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 may move up and down outside the width of the bottom housing 202. However, by providing the bottom opening 210 in the bottom housing 202, it is not necessary to provide the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 on the outside in the width direction of the bottom housing 202, and the bottom housing 202 can be miniaturized in the width direction. , The size of the feeding device 300 in the width direction can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus is a laser printer has been described. The image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied is not limited to a printer, and may be a copying machine, a facsimile, a printing machine, an inkjet recording apparatus, or the like. Further, it may be a multifunction device that combines two or more of a copier, a facsimile, a printer, a printing machine, an inkjet recording device, and an image reading device.

In the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the feeding device for feeding the sheet from the seat accommodating portion is applied to the image forming device for forming an image on the sheet has been described. The device provided with the same feeding device is not limited to the image forming device, and can be applied to an image reading device provided with an image reading means for reading an image on a sheet fed from the feeding device.

What has been described above is an example, and each of the following aspects produces a unique effect.

(Aspect A)
A sheet accommodating housing such as a feed tray 30 that accommodates a sheet such as a sheet P and can be pulled out and inserted into a device body such as a printer 100, and at least a part of the sheet accommodating housing moves in the vertical direction. Possible bottom plate members such as the bottom plate 46, bottom plate connecting members such as the right lever 130 located above the bottom plate member and connected to the bottom plate member, and swinging of the bottom plate connecting member by inserting the seat accommodating housing into the device body. A guide member such as the right lever guide member 133 that engages with an engaging portion such as an end and guides the engaging portion upward, and a bottom plate connecting member so that the engaging portion has a height that allows it to engage with the guide member. A feeding device such as a feeding device 300 including a regulating member such as a right guide lever convex portion 138 that regulates descent, from a housing bottom portion such as a bottom housing 202 that forms the bottom surface of the seat accommodating housing. Right guide lever that can be projected downward The lower protrusion such as the lower protrusion 136 and the regulating member can be moved in the vertical direction, and the height of the regulating member is controlled according to the amount of protrusion of the lower protrusion. It is provided with a regulated height control mechanism such as a guide lever 135 and a guide lever pressing spring 140.
According to this, as described in the above embodiment, at least a part of the bottom plate member is moved upward by the insertion operation of the seat accommodating housing, and the bottom plate member in the seat accommodating housing pulled out from the apparatus main body. It becomes possible to stabilize the position of. This is due to the following reasons.
That is, in a configuration in which at least a part of the bottom plate member is moved upward by the insertion operation of the seat accommodating housing, the height of the portion of the bottom plate connecting member that can be moved in the vertical direction depending on the height of the connecting portion with the bottom plate member. Is decided. Further, in order to move the bottom plate connecting member upward by the insertion operation and move at least a part of the bottom plate member connected to the bottom plate member upward by the insertion operation, the bottom plate connecting member engages with the guide member during the insertion operation. It is required to be in a possible position. In the conventional configuration, the height of the bottom plate connecting member before engaging with the guide member is defined by a regulating member having a constant height. Therefore, even when the seat accommodating housing is pulled out from the main body of the device, the height of the bottom plate connecting member remains at a height at which it can engage with the guide member. In this state, the bottom plate member connected to the bottom plate connecting member The height of the portion that can be moved in the vertical direction may be higher than that of the bottom surface of the housing.
On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the regulating member can move in the vertical direction, and the regulating height control mechanism controls the height of the regulating member according to the amount of protrusion of the lower protrusion. Then, as the regulation height control mechanism, the height of the regulation member is set to a height at which the bottom plate connecting member can engage with the guide member when the lower protrusion protrudes downward with respect to the bottom surface of the housing. However, the height of the regulating member is set to be lower as the amount of protrusion is smaller. With this setting, when the seat accommodating housing is inserted into the main body of the device, the lower protrusion is projected below the bottom surface of the housing, so that the engaging portion of the bottom plate connecting member is engaged with the guide member by the insertion operation. , It becomes possible to move it upward. As a result, since the bottom plate member connected to the bottom plate connecting member also moves upward, it is possible to realize a configuration in which at least a part of the bottom plate member moves upward by the insertion operation of the seat accommodating housing. Further, when the seat accommodating housing pulled out from the main body of the device is placed on a workbench such as a table, the bottom surface of the housing comes into contact with the upper surface of the workbench, and the lower protrusion abuts on the upper surface of the workbench, so that the amount of protrusion is small. Become. As described above, by setting the height of the regulating member to be lower as the amount of protrusion is smaller, the position of the bottom plate connecting member is lowered, and the position of the bottom plate member connected to this is also lower than that in the insertion operation. Become. Therefore, the height of the bottom plate connecting member is set to a height that allows it to engage with the guide member during the insertion operation, and the vertically movable portion of the bottom plate member connected to the bottom plate connecting member cannot contact the bottom surface of the seat accommodating housing. Even in the configuration, the bottom plate connecting member can be lowered in the seat accommodating housing pulled out from the apparatus main body. Therefore, it is possible to bring the vertically movable portion of the bottom plate member connected to the bottom plate connecting member in the seat accommodating housing pulled out from the apparatus main body into contact with the bottom surface, and by contacting the bottom surface member, the bottom plate member It is possible to stabilize the position of.

(Aspect B)
In aspect A, a hole such as a bottom opening 210 that penetrates the bottom surface of the housing such as the bottom housing 202 is provided, and the lower protrusion such as the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 is a hole from above the bottom surface of the housing. It is configured to protrude below the bottom surface of the housing through the portion.
According to this, as described in the above-described embodiment, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the lower protrusion portion protrudes below the bottom surface portion of the housing.

(Aspect C)
In aspects A or B, a bottom plate tension spring such as a bottom plate pressure spring 132 that connects a bottom plate member such as the bottom plate 46 and a bottom plate connecting member such as the right lever 130 is provided.
According to this, as described in the above-described embodiment, the bottom plate member can be pressed against the device main body side member such as the feeding roller 47 with a predetermined load. Stable feeding is possible if the structure is such that the feeding roller 47 is pressed against the feeding roller 47.

(Aspect D)
In any of aspects A to C, the regulated height control mechanism includes a rotating member such as a right guide lever 135 that can rotate about a rotating shaft such as the right guide lever swing shaft 137, and rotates. The moving member includes a lower protrusion such as a right guide lever lower protrusion 136 and a regulating member such as a right guide lever convex 138 on opposite sides of the rotation shaft.
According to this, as described in the above embodiment, when the rotating member rotates so that the lower protrusion moves upward so that the amount of protrusion of the lower protrusion decreases, the regulating member moves downward. The height of the regulating member is lowered. Therefore, when the lower protrusion protrudes downward with respect to the bottom surface of the housing, the height of the regulating member is set so that the bottom plate connecting member and the guide member can engage with each other, and the protrusion amount is set. The smaller the number, the lower the height of the regulating member can be set.

(Aspect E)
In any of the aspects A to D, the sheet accommodating housing such as the feed tray 30 is pulled out from the main body of the device such as the printer 100 and placed on a workbench such as the table 500, whereby the right guide lever lower protrusion 136 The amount of protrusion of the lower protrusions such as the above is reduced, the regulating member such as the right guide lever convex portion 138 is lowered, and the connecting portion of the bottom plate connecting member such as the right lever 130 with the bottom plate member such as the bottom plate 46 is also lowered. The bottom plate member comes into contact with the bottom surface of the housing such as the bottom housing 202.
According to this, as described in the above-described embodiment, when the seat accommodating housing is placed on the workbench for loading the seat, the position of the bottom plate member is stable and the work of loading the seat becomes easy. ..

(Aspect F)
In an image forming apparatus such as a printer 100 provided with an image forming means such as an image forming unit 400 for forming an image on a sheet such as a sheet P and a feeding means for feeding the sheet to the image forming means. As a means, a feeding device such as a feeding device 300 according to any one of aspects A to E is provided.
According to this, as described in the above-described embodiment, the sheet can be appropriately loaded on the sheet accommodating housing such as the feed tray 30, so that a transfer defect occurs due to a loading defect and a transfer defect occurs. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of image defects caused by.

1K Black Process Unit 1 Process Unit 2K Black Image Carrier 2 Image Carrier 3K Black Cleaning Device 4K Black Charging Device 5K Black Developer 6 Toner Bottle 6K Black Toner Bottle 7 Exposure Device 8 Transfer Cover 10 Powder Container 14 Timing roller pair 15 Transfer device 16 Intermediate transfer belt 17 Driven roller 18 Drive roller 19 Primary transfer roller 20 Secondary transfer roller 21 Belt cleaning device 21a Cleaning backup roller 30 Feed tray 31 Feed path 33 Post-transfer transfer path 34 Fixing device 34a Fixing roller 34b Pressurizing roller 35 Post-fixing transport path 36 Discharge path 37 Discharge roller pair 41 Reverse transport path 42 Switching member 42a Swing shaft 43 Reverse transport roller pair 44 Discharge tray 46 Bottom plate 47 Feed roller 49 Receiving base 50 Feeding roller shaft 51 Bottom plate rotation shaft 52 Bottom plate pad 56 Bottom plate 100 Printer 101 Tray front 102 Tray rear 104 Front panel 104a Grip 105 Right side fence 106 Left side fence 107 End fence 110 Rail groove 130 Right lever 130a Right lever swing Moving shaft 131 Left lever 132 Bottom plate Pressurizing spring 133 Right lever guide member 135 Right guide lever 136 Right guide lever lower protrusion 137 Right guide lever swing shaft 138 Right guide lever convex part 140 Guide lever pressing spring 150 Rubber foot 200 Tray housing Body 201 Stopper 202 Bottom housing 203 Right plate 203a Shaft hole 210 Bottom opening 300 Feeding device 330 Tray insertion slot 400 Image forming part 500 Table L Laser beam P Sheet S Installation surface

Patent No. 4204990

Claims (6)

A seat storage housing that houses the seat and can be pulled out and inserted into the device body,
A bottom plate member whose at least a part can move in the vertical direction with respect to the seat accommodating housing,
A bottom plate connecting member located above the bottom plate member and connecting to the bottom plate member,
A guide member that engages with the engaging portion of the bottom plate connecting member by the insertion operation of the seat accommodating housing into the device main body and guides the engaging portion upward.
A feeding device including a regulating member that regulates the lowering of the bottom plate connecting member so that the engaging portion has a height that allows it to engage with the guide member.
A lower protrusion that can protrude below the bottom surface of the housing that forms the bottom surface of the seat housing housing,
A feeding device characterized in that the regulating member is movable in the vertical direction and is provided with a regulated height control mechanism that controls the height of the regulating member according to the amount of protrusion of the lower protrusion. In the feeding device of claim 1,
A hole that penetrates the bottom surface of the housing is provided.
The feeding device is characterized in that the lower protrusion portion protrudes below the bottom surface portion of the housing through the hole portion from above the bottom surface portion of the housing. In the feeding device of claim 1 or 2,
A feeding device including a bottom plate tension spring that connects the bottom plate member and the bottom plate connecting member. In the feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The regulated height control mechanism includes a rotating member that can rotate around a rotating shaft.
The feeding device is characterized in that the rotating member is provided with the lower protrusion and the regulating member at positions opposite to each other with the rotating shaft interposed therebetween. In the feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
By pulling out the seat accommodating housing from the apparatus main body and placing it on the workbench, the amount of protrusion of the lower protrusion is reduced, the regulation member is lowered, and the connecting portion of the bottom plate connecting member with the bottom plate member is formed. The feeding device is characterized in that the bottom plate member comes into contact with the bottom surface portion of the housing. An image forming means for forming an image on a sheet and
In an image forming apparatus provided with a feeding means for feeding the sheet toward the image forming means.
An image forming apparatus comprising the feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 as the feeding means.

Images