JP7186737B2 - Paper feeder and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a paper feeder for conveying a transfer medium and an image forming apparatus equipped with the paper feeder.

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a transfer medium and performs printing, paper is supplied from a paper feeder on which paper is stacked for printing. In the paper feeder, the paper is fed by placing the paper feed tray at the paper feed position.
By the way, in an image forming apparatus, an image may be formed on a sheet called long sheet. A long sheet is a sheet that is long in a predetermined direction, unlike sheets of A3 size, A4 size, or the like. Long paper has various lengths such as 660 mm, 750 mm, and 1200 mm, and in recent years, demand for large-volume printing has increased, especially for long paper up to 660 mm in length .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and controls the elevation of a paper feed tray based on a user's operation to open or close a split lid that closes an opening of a paper feeder main body. It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet feeder and an image forming apparatus capable of

That is, the first form of the sheet feeding device of the present invention is
A paper feeding device for storing and feeding an image forming medium,
a paper feeder main body;
an image forming medium stacking unit provided in the paper feeding device main body for stacking image forming media;
an elevating unit that elevates the image forming medium stacking unit;
A control unit that controls the lifting of the lifting unit,
The paper feeder main body has a first state for stacking image forming media that can be accommodated in the paper feeder on the image forming medium stacking unit, and a state in which the image forming medium is accommodated in the paper feeder and is higher than the first state . a second state for stacking an image forming medium long in the paper feeding direction on the image forming medium stacking unit ;
The control unit performs a second user operation for setting the image forming medium stacking unit to a first height and the second state based on a first user operation for setting the first state. and the second height is higher than the first height .

Another aspect of the paper feeding device invention is a paper feeding device that accommodates and feeds an image forming medium,
a paper feeder main body;
an image forming medium stacking unit provided in the paper feeding device main body for stacking image forming media;
an elevating unit that elevates the image forming medium stacking unit ;
A control unit that controls the lifting unit ,
The paper feeding device main body is capable of accommodating a first size image forming medium that fits inside the paper feeding device and an image forming medium of a second size that is different from the first size and that fits inside the paper feeding device, and
A first state for setting the image forming medium of the first size in the paper feeding device and a second state for setting the image forming medium of the second size in the paper feeding device. have
The control section may control the elevation section so that a position for setting the image forming medium differs between the first state and the second state .

The invention of another embodiment of the paper feeding device is the invention of the above embodiment, wherein the paper feeding device main body has an opening at the top,
having an upstream split lid located on the upstream side in the transport direction and a downstream split lid located on the downstream side in the transport direction, which block part or all of the opening;
The first state is a state in which only the downstream split lid is opened by the first user operation to open only the downstream split lid, and the second state is a state in which the upstream split lid and the downstream split lid are opened. The upstream split lid and the downstream split lid are opened by the second user operation to open.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device according to the aspect of the invention, further comprising a lid opening/closing detection unit for detecting opening/closing of the upstream split lid and the downstream split lid.
The invention of another aspect of the paper feeding device is the invention of the above aspect, wherein the control section moves up from the first state or the second state to a paper feeding position where the image forming medium is fed. It is characterized by controlling the said raising/lowering part so that.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device according to the aspect of the invention, further comprising an image forming medium stacking portion height detection portion for detecting the height of the image forming medium stacking portion.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device according to the aspect of the invention, wherein the lifting section has a drive motor.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feeding device according to the above aspect of the invention, which further comprises a paper feeding roller for feeding the image forming medium.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device in which at least an intermediate position and a lower end position are set as the lowerable positions in the control section.

According to another aspect of the paper feeding device, in the above aspect of the present invention, the intermediate position is based on an upper stacking height of the transfer media stacked on the paper feeding tray.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feeding device, wherein the intermediate position is the height when the long transfer medium is stacked.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device, wherein the controller sets a standby position as the lowerable position.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device, wherein the control unit is capable of lowering the sheet feeding tray in a state in which the downstream side split lid is open and the upstream side split lid is closed. The position is set to the lower end position of the paper feed tray, and the lower limit possible position of the paper feed tray is set to the intermediate position in a state in which the upstream split lid and the downstream split lid are open.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the control unit sets the intermediate position according to the type of the transfer medium placed on the upstream division lid.

According to another aspect of the paper feeding device, in the above aspect of the present invention, the type of the transfer medium is basis weight.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the paper feeding device according to the aspect of the invention is characterized in that the detection result further includes presence or absence of placement of the transfer medium on the upstream side split lid.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feeding device having a transfer medium detection section for detecting placement of a transfer medium on the upstream side split lid.

According to another aspect of the paper feeding device, in the present invention of the above aspect, the control section causes the paper feeding tray to descend when it is detected that the transfer medium is placed on the upstream side split lid. characterized by prohibiting

According to another aspect of the paper feeding device, in the present invention of the above aspects, the control unit opens the downstream split cover when it is detected that the transfer medium is placed on the upstream split cover. It is characterized by prohibiting the paper feed operation when the

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device, wherein the split lid is a double door or a slide door.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feeding device, wherein the tray height detection unit performs detection based on the height of the transfer medium stacked on the top of the paper feeding tray. do.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device according to the above aspect, wherein the upstream split lid and the downstream split lid have a structure in which the downstream split lid opens preferentially. do.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding device, wherein the downstream side split lid has an overlapping portion so as to be positioned on the upstream side split lid when closed.

An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises an image forming unit that forms an image on an image forming medium;
A paper feeding device according to any one of the above aspects.
An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the invention is an image forming apparatus main body having the image forming unit and a paper feed unit main body tray for accommodating an image forming medium in the above-described aspect of the invention;
and the sheet feeding device.

According to the present invention, it is possible to create a stacking state according to the size of the transfer medium used by the user by controlling the open state of the split lid and the elevation of the paper feed tray. Since this can be reflected in the height of the tray, it is possible to prevent the transfer medium from being bent or wrinkled due to user's erroneous operation, and improve the user's operability.
In addition, even when the transfer media are stacked across the paper feed tray and the split lid, the upper part of the paper feed unit can be covered with the downstream split lid to ensure safety during paper feeding.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a paper feeding device and an image forming apparatus of the present invention; FIG. Similarly, it is a figure which shows the schematic structure of a sheet feeding apparatus. Similarly, it is a figure which shows the accommodation length of a sheet feeding apparatus. Similarly, it is a figure which shows the top which set the long sheet in the paper feeder. Similarly, it is a figure which shows the control block of a paper feeder. Similarly, it is a diagram showing a state in which only the downstream side split lid of the split lids of the paper feeding device is open and the lowerable position of the paper feed tray. FIG. 10 is a diagram similarly showing a state in which both split lids of the paper feeding device are open and a position where the paper feeding tray can be lowered; Similarly, of the split lids of the paper feeder, only the upstream split lid is open, and the long paper is placed across the upstream split lid. Similarly, it is a flow chart showing a procedure for controlling the elevation of the paper feed tray according to the opening/closing of the split lid and the presence/absence of the long paper.

An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 shows the mechanical configuration of the image forming apparatus of the present invention and the outline of the image forming apparatus.
The image forming apparatus 1 includes an image forming apparatus main body 1A, and a sheet feeding device 2 is connected to the front side of the image forming apparatus main body 1A. In this embodiment, no post-processing device is provided on the rear stage side of the image forming apparatus main body 1A, but a post-processing device may be provided. Appropriate sheets are stored in the sheet feeding device 2 . In this embodiment, the paper corresponds to the transfer medium. The transfer medium is not limited to paper, and may be made of cloth, plastic, or the like, and the material is not limited.
In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 is configured by the image forming apparatus main body 1A and the devices connected to the image forming apparatus main body 1A. The type and number of devices used are not particularly limited. Further, the image forming apparatus may be configured only by the main device 1A.

The paper feeding device 2 may be included in the image forming apparatus, or may be used as an external device connected to the image forming apparatus. In this embodiment, the sheet feeder 2 is included in the image forming apparatus 1. FIG.

The image forming apparatus 1 has an image forming unit 15 for forming an image in the image forming apparatus main body 1A. The upper part of the image forming apparatus main body 1A receives operations from an operator and displays information. It has an operation panel 14 . The operation panel 14 can be configured by an LCD having a touch panel, for example. Further, an operation unit for performing operations and a display unit for performing display may be configured separately. On the operation panel 14, setting of the paper in the paper feed section body tray 10 and the paper feed device 2 can be performed.

Furthermore, the image forming apparatus 1 has a document reading section 13 including an automatic document feeder for automatically reading a document on the upper side of the main body 1A of the image forming apparatus 1, and the document reading section 13 reads the image of the document. In addition, a paper feed unit main body tray 10 for storing paper is provided on the lower side of the image forming apparatus main body 1A.

The image forming apparatus main body 1A has a transport path 12 for transporting paper, and paper feeding may be performed from a plurality of paper feed section main body trays 10 in the apparatus main body 1A. The paper may be fed from the Sheets fed from the sheet feeding unit main body tray 10 or the sheet feeding device 2 are conveyed by the conveying path 12 via conveying rollers 13 A and 13 B and the like, and reach the image forming unit 15 . The image is transferred to the paper in the image forming unit 15, and the fixing device 15E applies heat and pressure to fix the toner image, thereby performing printing. The paper of this embodiment corresponds to the transfer medium of the invention. The transfer medium is not limited to paper, and may be made of cloth or the like. Also, the paper on which the image has been formed may be conveyed to a post-processing device.

Although not shown in the drawing, the reverse transport path branches downstream of the fixing device 15E, and joins the transport path 12 upstream of the image forming section 15. FIG. When images are formed on the front and back sides of the paper, the paper on which the image is formed on the front side is conveyed to the reversing conveyance path. Forming can take place.
Note that the mechanism for forming an image on the back surface of the paper is not limited to the above, and a separate image forming unit for the back surface may be provided.

The image forming section 15 has photoreceptors 15A prepared for respective colors (cyan, magenta, yellow, black, etc.). are arranged. The surface of the photoreceptor 15A charged by the charger is image-exposed by a writing unit such as an LD based on the image information of the image data, and a latent image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 15A. The latent image is developed into a toner image by a developing unit. The toner image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 15B, and the image on the intermediate transfer belt 15B is transferred to the paper that is conveyed along the conveying path 12 and pressed by the secondary transfer roller 15C.

In the image forming unit 15, a cleaning blade for removing residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 15B is provided on the side of the intermediate transfer belt 15B in the rotational direction from the paper transfer position and on the side opposite to the transfer position with respect to each photoreceptor 15A in the rotational direction. 15D is placed.
The photoreceptors 15A and the intermediate transfer belt 15B are driven to rotate by a driving motor (not shown). The sheet onto which the image has been transferred is fixed by the fixing device 15E and printed. When printing only on the front side of the paper, the paper is discharged along the transport path 12 as it is after image formation.
When printing on the back side of the paper, the paper is sent to the reversing conveying path, reversed, and circulated to the conveying path 12 on the upstream side of the image forming section 15 . The circulated paper has an image transferred to the back side in the same manner as described above, and is discharged along the transport path 12 after the image is fixed by the fixing device 15E.
In this embodiment, a color image forming apparatus will be described, but a monochrome image forming apparatus may be used.

The image forming apparatus 1 is connected to an external device 4 via a LAN 3 to constitute an image forming system. Examples of the external device 4 include a management device that manages a PC terminal and an image forming device. The image data may be acquired by the image forming apparatus 1 or may be acquired from job data sent from the external device 4 . The job data consists of image data, printing condition data, and the like. Further, when the external device 4 is used as a device for managing the image forming device 1, the control of the paper feeding device 2 can be performed by a control unit provided in the external device.

FIG. 2 shows a mechanical schematic of the paper feeder 2 .
The paper feeder 2 has a paper feeder main body 2A for storing transfer media, and an opening 2B at the top.
The paper feeder main body 2A has a paper feed tray 20 capable of stacking a plurality of sheets. be able to.

The lifting unit 21 can be configured by a drive motor, a drive transmission mechanism, and the like (not shown). The elevation unit 21 may be any device as long as it can raise and lower the paper feed tray 20, and the configuration of the elevation unit 21 is not particularly limited in the present invention.
The paper feed tray 20 can be lifted by the operation of the elevating section 21 so that the upper surface of the stacked paper is at the paper feed position, and the paper feeding height can be made constant. In this state, the paper at the upper end is sequentially fed by a paper feed unit 25 having a paper feed roller and the like.

The opening 2B can be closed with a downstream side split lid 22 positioned downstream in the paper transport direction and an upstream side split lid 23 positioned upstream. Each split lid is axially fixed at both ends in the conveying direction on the upper side of the paper feeder main body 2A, and can be opened and closed like a double door with the axially fixed portion as a fulcrum. The downstream side split lid 22 and the upstream side split lid 23 may cover the entire opening 2B, or may cover a portion of the opening 2B.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the downstream split lid 22 and the upstream split lid 23 are always positioned above the upstream split lid 23 when the respective split lids are closed. With this configuration, when opening the split lids, the user always performs an operation to open the split lid on the downstream side.
In this embodiment, the entire downstream side split lid 22 is positioned above the upstream side split lid 23 and the order of opening and closing is regulated, but the configuration for determining the order of opening and closing is not limited to the above. Instead, when each split lid is closed, the ends of the lids may overlap each other, and the lid on the downstream side may overlap so that it always covers the upper side, or other configurations may be adopted. may

Further, the paper feeding device main body 2A has a manual lowering switch 24 for instructing the lowering of the paper feeding tray 20, and the paper feeding tray 20 can be lowered by the elevating section 21 by the user's operation. The descent may be to a constant height position. By lowering the paper feed tray 20, the paper can be loaded through the opening 2B.

Note that the paper feeder main body 2A has a size L1 that allows paper to be taken in and taken out with the downstream side split lid 22 opened. can handle. Therefore, the length L2 of the downstream side split lid 22 is set to L2>L1, for example, 500 mm or more. Further, the paper feeder main body 2A has a length L3 for accommodating the maximum length of paper with the downstream side split lid 22 and the upstream side split lid 23 opened. can be length.

Further, when the upstream division lid 23 is opened about the fulcrum on the upstream side, it is stopped at an obtuse angle with respect to the paper feed tray 20 .
When the user loads long sheets of a size that fits inside the paper feeder, the downstream side split lid 22 and the upstream side split lid 23 are opened.

Under these conditions, it is assumed that long sheets of paper that fit inside the paper feeder 2 are loaded. By improving the capacity and limiting the weight loaded on the tray, it becomes possible to share the up-and-down drive that has been applied to the A3 and A4 size paper feeders.
As shown in FIG. 4, long paper LP can be stacked across the paper feed tray 20 and the open upstream division lid 23 .
When the user loads a sheet longer than the storage length of the paper feeder, the downstream side split lid 22 and the upstream side split lid 23 are opened.

The upstream division lid 23 has a paper detection section 26 for detecting the setting of paper. The presence of paper can be detected by using an optical sensor or the like in the paper detection unit 26 . However, according to the present invention, the configuration of the paper detection section is not particularly limited, and it is sufficient that the presence or absence of paper on the upstream split lid 23 can be detected.

Further, the paper feeding device 2 has a tray height detection section 27 (shown in FIG. 5) for detecting the height position of the paper feeding tray 20 . The tray height detection unit 27 can detect the height position of the paper feed tray 20 and the upper surface of the paper by a sensor or the like provided at an appropriate place. It is also possible to calculate the height position of the upper surface of the paper. The present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can detect the height position of the paper feed tray 20 and the upper surface of the paper.

FIG. 5 shows a control block in the paper feeding device 2. As shown in FIG.
The paper feeder 2 may be controlled by an image forming control section included in the apparatus main body 1 , or may be controlled by a paper feed control section provided in the paper feeder 2 . An image forming control section or a paper feeding control section that controls the paper feeding device 2 corresponds to the control section of the present invention. Furthermore, the image formation control section and the paper feed control section may cooperate to constitute the control section of the present invention.

The control unit 200 is connected to the elevating unit 21 so as to be controllable.
An open sensor (not shown) for the downstream side split lid 22 is controllably connected to the control section 200 , and a signal from the open sensor for the downstream side split lid 22 is sent to the control section 200 . Alternatively, a closed sensor may be provided and a signal of the closed sensor may be transmitted to the control section 200 .
An open sensor (not shown) for the upstream split lid 23 is connected to the controller 200 so as to be controllable, and a signal from the open sensor for the upstream split lid 23 is sent to the controller 200 . Alternatively, a closed sensor may be provided and a signal of the closed sensor may be transmitted to the control section 200 .

An operation signal of the lowering switch 24 is also transmitted to the control section 200 . When an operation signal of the lowering switch 24 is input to the control section 200, the control section 200 controls the lifting section 21 so that, for example, the paper feed tray is lowered to a predetermined position.
Further, the control unit 200 is connected to the paper detection unit 26 so as to be controllable, and the detection result of the paper detection unit 26 is transmitted to the control unit 200 .
Further, a tray height detection unit 27 is connected to the control unit 200 so as to be controllable, and the result of detection by the tray height detection unit 27 is transmitted to the control unit 200 .

The controller 200 determines the lowerable position of the paper feed tray based on the open/closed states of the downstream side split lid 22 and the upstream side split lid 23 . The lowerable position is stored in a non-volatile memory or the like provided in the control section 200 . The lowerable position may be set by the user through the operation panel 14 . Further, an operation panel may be provided on the paper feeding device 2 to receive user's operations.

FIG. 6 shows a lowering position C and a lowering position A that can be lowered when the downstream split lid 22 is opened.
When the user loads sheets of A3 size or smaller, only the downstream split lid 22 is opened.
When only the downstream side split lid 22 is opened, it once stops at the lowered position C on the upper side, and after that, when the user presses the lowering switch 24 for stacking the paper, the lowering position of the lowest point. Lower the tray to A.
By using this condition when stacking sheets of A3 size or smaller, the user can easily stack a large amount of normal size sheets.

The lowered position C corresponds to the standby position. The standby position is a position in which the upper paper stack height is slightly lower than the paper feed height position. By lowering the upper paper stacking height slightly below the paper feed height position, it is possible to remove a jam in the paper feed section 25 . In this embodiment, when the downstream side split lid 22 is opened, a signal from the open sensor of the downstream side split lid 22 is sent to the controller 200 . Based on this signal, the control unit 200 lowers the paper feed tray 20 so that the height of the upper paper stacked on the paper feed tray 20 is at the lowered position C and stops.

Further, when the lowering switch 24 is operated in a state in which the downstream side split lid 22 is open and the upstream side split lid 23 is closed, the signal of the open sensor of the downstream side split lid 22 and the operation signal of the lowering switch 24 are changed. It is transmitted to the control unit 200 . The controller 200 lowers the paper feed tray 22 to the lowered position A based on these signals. The lowered position A is the lowest position of the paper feed tray 22 .

FIG. 7 shows a lowered position C and a lowered position B in which the downstream side split lid 22 and the upstream side split lid 23 are open.
In this state, the paper feed tray 20 is once lowered so that the upper paper stacking height reaches the upper lowering position C, and then the user presses the lowering switch 24 for stacking paper. In this case, the paper feed tray 20 is lowered so that the upper paper stack height is at the lowered position B. The lowered position B corresponds to the intermediate position of the present invention.
When the downstream side split lid 22 and the upstream side split lid 23 are open, the signal of the open sensor of the downstream side split lid 22 is sent to the control section 200 in the same manner as described above. Based on this signal, the control unit 200 lowers the paper feed tray 20 so that the height of the upper paper stacked on the paper feed tray 20 is at the lowered position C and stops.

Further, when the lowering switch 24 is pushed in this state, the sheet feeding tray 20 is lowered so that the sheet stacking height of the sheet feeding tray 20 reaches the lowering position B and stops. The lowering position B is based on the upper paper stacking height on the paper feed tray 20, and the long paper LP can be placed across the paper feed tray 20 and the upstream split lid 23 and fed. is the height of Therefore, when the amount of paper stacked on the paper feed tray 20 differs, the position where the paper feed tray 20 stops also differs.

The height of the intermediate position can be changed according to the paper type of the long paper LP. As the type of paper, the basis weight is typically shown. Normally, wrinkles are less likely to occur with paper with a larger basis weight, and wrinkles are more likely to occur with paper with a smaller basis weight. can be done.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which the upstream dividing lid 23 is opened and the long paper LP is placed from the paper feed tray 20 across the upstream dividing lid 23 .
In this state, the paper feed tray 20 descends so that the upper paper stacking height reaches the lowered position C once and then stops. Long paper can be loaded without causing wrinkles or folds.
By stacking the sheets, the sheets are detected by the sheet detection unit 26 provided in the upstream division lid 23 . The paper detection section 26 corresponds to the transfer medium detection section of the present invention.
After this state is reached, even if the user presses the lowering switch 24 to load paper, the paper feed tray is not lowered.

Under these conditions, to prevent the paper from folding or wrinkling due to the tray being lowered too much, when the paper is set, the upper paper stacking height is set to the lowering position C so that the long paper does not hang down too much between the paper feed tray and the upstream split lid. It is necessary to fix the paper feed tray so that it is positioned correctly. Therefore, it is necessary to limit the downward movement of the paper feed tray.
In this state, the presence of the long paper LP is detected by the paper detection unit 26 and the detection result of the paper detection unit 26 is transmitted to the control unit 200 .
Upon receipt of the detection result of the paper detection section 26, the control section 200 prohibits the lowering of the paper feed tray 20. FIG. Therefore, even if the lowering switch 24 is pressed in this state, the paper feed tray 20 will not lower any further.
^The position of the lowering ^position C varies depending on the set basis weight of the paper. By narrowing the lowering range, the tray can be stopped at a stacking position suitable for the paper to be used.
The downstream split lid 22 can be closed after the upstream split lid 23 is opened. It is also possible to control so that the paper feed operation is not performed unless the downstream side division lid 22 is closed.

Next, a procedure for controlling the elevation of the paper feed tray 20 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
At the start of control, it is determined whether or not the downstream split lid is opened (step s1). If the downstream side split lid is not opened (step s1, No), the procedure ends.
If the downstream side split lid is open (step s1, Yes), the paper feed tray is lowered until the upper paper stacking position of the paper feed tray reaches the lowered position C (step s2).

Next, it is determined whether or not the upstream split lid is open (step s3). If the upstream split lid is not opened (step s3, No), it is determined whether the descent switch is turned on (step s4). If the descent switch is not turned on (step s4, No), the procedure is terminated. Step s5), the procedure ends.

In step s3, if the upstream division lid is open (step s3, Yes), it is determined whether the length of the long sheet is shorter than the length of the paper feeder (step s6). Determination can be made based on whether a long paper is detected by the paper detection unit. That is, if the long paper is detected by the paper detection unit, it can be determined that the length of the long paper is longer than the length of the paper feeder. It can be determined that the paper length is not longer than the paper feeder length.

If the long paper is smaller than the length of the paper feeder (step s6, Yes), it is determined whether the lowering switch is turned on (step s7). If the descent switch is ON (step s7, Yes), the paper feed tray is lowered so that the upper paper stacking position on the paper feed tray is in the middle position (step s8), and the procedure ends.
If the long paper is longer than the length of the paper feeder (step s6, No), lowering is prohibited and the procedure ends.

After the lowering control, when paper feeding is instructed, the control unit 200 can raise the paper feeding tray so that the upper paper stacking position becomes the paper feeding position, and paper feeding can be started.
When feeding paper, if the downstream side split lid is not closed, paper feeding is prohibited, and if the downstream side split lid is closed, paper feeding is allowed. Even when the paper is stacked across the top of the paper feed section, the opening can be covered with the downstream side split lid, ensuring safety during paper feeding.

In this embodiment, in the paper feeding device that feeds the paper to the main body of the image forming apparatus, a plurality of divided upper lids are opened to set the paper, and the paper stacking member is set at a predetermined height at the paper feeding position. There is a mechanism for maintaining the stack, and when stacking sheets, the stacking member is lowered to stack the sheets, and the sheets can be loaded by opening the upper lid or by operating the descent switch after opening the lid.
Further, in this embodiment, the paper feeding device has an opening at the top of the paper feeding device and has a plurality of divided lids for closing the opening, and each lid has a rotatable fulcrum at the end thereof. , the state in which only the downstream side lid is open, the state in which the downstream side lid and the upstream side lid are open, the state in which the downstream side lid and the upstream side lid are opened, and the paper straddles the lid and the elevating tray It has control means for varying the lowerable position of the elevating tray in each of the stacking states, and enables stacking of long sheets.
By controlling the open state of the open lid and the lowering position limit of the elevating tray, it is possible to create a stacking state according to the size of paper used by the user, and the state of the user's paper stacking is also reflected in the lowerable position of the elevating tray. As a result, it is possible to prevent paper folding, wrinkling, etc. due to user's erroneous operation, and improve user operability.

Although the present invention has been described above based on the above embodiments, appropriate modifications can be made to the embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 image forming apparatus 2 paper feeding device 2A paper feeding device main body 2B opening 4 external device 14 operation panel 15 image forming section 20 paper feeding tray 21 lifting section 22 downstream side split lid 23 upstream side split lid 24 descent switch 25 paper feeding section 26 paper detector 27 tray height detector 200 controller

Claims (9)

A paper feeding device for storing and feeding an image forming medium,
a paper feeder main body;
an image forming medium stacking unit provided in the paper feeding device main body for stacking image forming media;
an elevating unit that elevates the image forming medium stacking unit;
A control unit that controls the lifting of the lifting unit,
The paper feeder main body has a first state for stacking image forming media that can be accommodated in the paper feeder on the image forming medium stacking unit, and a state in which the image forming medium is accommodated in the paper feeder and is higher than the first state. a second state for stacking an image forming medium long in the paper feeding direction on the image forming medium stacking unit;
The control unit performs a second user operation for setting the image forming medium stacking unit to a first height and the second state based on a first user operation for setting the first state. and the second height is higher than the first height, and the second height is higher than the first height. Device. The paper feeder main body has an opening at the top,
having an upstream split lid located on the upstream side in the transport direction and a downstream split lid located on the downstream side in the transport direction, which block part or all of the opening;
The first state is a state in which only the downstream split lid is opened by the first user operation to open only the downstream split lid, and the second state is a state in which the upstream split lid and the downstream split lid are opened. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the upstream division lid and the downstream division lid are opened by the second user operation to open. 3. The sheet feeder according to claim 2, further comprising a cover opening/closing detector for detecting opening/closing of the upstream split lid and the downstream split lid. 1 to 4, wherein the control unit controls the elevating unit so as to rise from the first state or the second state to a paper feeding position where the image forming medium is fed. 4. The paper feeding device according to any one of 3. 5. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 , further comprising an image forming medium stacking section height detection section for detecting the height of the image forming medium stacking section. 6. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 , wherein the lifting section has a drive motor. 7. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising a paper feeding roller for feeding the image forming medium. an image forming unit that forms an image on an image forming medium;
An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 . an image forming apparatus main body having the image forming unit and a paper feed unit main body tray for accommodating an image forming medium;
9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising the sheet feeding device.

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