JP7243804B2 - Manual feeder and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a manual paper feeder and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a manual paper feeder having a manual feed tray that can be opened and closed on an opening/closing member of an apparatus main body, and an image forming apparatus equipped with the manual paper feeder.

2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses such as printers and copiers are equipped with a manual sheet feeder for feeding sheets such as recording sheets and OHP films stacked on a manual feed tray to a sheet conveying path of the image forming apparatus main body. Among such manual sheet feeders, there is known one in which a manual feed tray is provided in an opening/closing member for opening the sheet conveying path of the image forming apparatus main body. The opening/closing member has a rotation fulcrum at its lower portion with respect to the image forming apparatus main body and is opened and closed at its upper portion. By doing so, the jammed sheet jammed in the sheet conveying path can be easily removed. The manual feed tray has a rotation fulcrum in the lower part with respect to the opening/closing member so that the upper part opens and closes, and the manual feed tray is changed from a closed state in an upright posture to an open state in an inclined posture, and sheets are stacked on the manual feed tray. Thereby, the sheet can be supplied to the sheet conveying path.

In this type of manual feeder, if the opening/closing member is opened with sheets stacked in the open manual feed tray, the upper portion of the manual feed tray on the opening/closing side will be lower than the lower portion on the rotation fulcrum side. , the sheet may slip out of the manual feed tray.

Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-100001 discloses a technique for preventing such a sheet from slipping down. According to the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-100000, the image forming apparatus main body and the manual feed tray are connected by a connecting member, so that the opening inclination angle of the manual feed tray is regulated so that the sheets stacked on the manual feed tray are prevented from becoming too large. I try not to fall.

However, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-200003 is configured such that one end side of the connecting member is connected to the main body of the image forming apparatus. , there is a problem that the link mechanism becomes complicated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a manual sheet feeder and an image forming apparatus that can prevent a sheet from slipping off a manual feed tray with a simple structure. do.

In order to solve the above-described problems, a manual sheet feeder according to the present invention is a manual sheet feeder that supplies sheets stacked on a manual feed tray to a sheet conveying path of an apparatus main body. An opening/closing member provided on one side surface facing the width direction of the front surface when viewed from the front of the apparatus body, and an upper portion opening/closing with respect to the opening/closing member. and a manual feed tray provided on the one side surface , wherein the opening/closing member is a first opening in the width direction of the one side surface through which a linear holding member that holds the manual feed tray penetrates. The manual feed tray has a through hole closer to an end in the width direction of the one side than the manual feed tray in the width direction of the one side, and the manual feed tray has the holding member penetrating from the inside to the outside, a second through hole located closer to the center in the width direction of the one side surface than the first through hole on the end side in the width direction of the tray, and the opening/closing member is closed to open the manual feed tray In the state in which the opening/closing member is opened and the manual feed tray is opened, the manual feed tray is in a horizontal state, in a state in which the swinging end of the manual feed tray is tilted upward from the horizontal state, or in the swinging state. The end is configured to remain tilted at an angle of 10 degrees or less below the horizontal.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a manual sheet feeder and an image forming apparatus that can prevent the problem of a sheet slipping off the manual feed tray with a simple configuration.

1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a copier according to an embodiment of a manual sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus of the present invention, viewed from the front direction; FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which the opening/closing member of the manual feeder and the manual feed tray are closed in the copying machine according to the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a side view showing an extract of a state in which an opening/closing member of a manual feeder is closed and a manual feed tray is opened in the copying machine according to the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a side view showing an extract of a state in which an opening/closing member of the manual feeder is opened and the manual feed tray is closed in the copying machine according to the embodiment; FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state in which an opening/closing member of a manual feeder and a manual feed tray are opened in the copying machine according to the embodiment; 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a manual feed tray of a manual feeder is opened in a copying machine according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of an opening member with a manual feed tray of a manual paper feeder opened in the copying machine according to one embodiment; 1 is a perspective view of a manual feed tray of a manual feeder in a copying machine according to an embodiment; FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an enlarged part of FIG. 8; 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a manual feed tray of a manual feeder in the copying machine according to one embodiment; FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the tilt angle of the manual feed tray with respect to the horizontal and the drop of sheets in the copying machine according to the embodiment;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments in which a manual sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention are applied to a copier will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 11. FIG. 4 and 5, the illustration of sheets stacked on a manual feed tray, which will be described later, is omitted in order to make the drawings easier to see.

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

The image forming apparatus main body 2 includes a drum-shaped photoreceptor 10 as an image carrier inside thereof. Around the photoreceptor 10, a charging device 11 is arranged on the left side in the figure, and along the rotation direction of the photoreceptor 10 (counterclockwise direction: arrow A in the figure), a developing device 12, a transfer device 13, and a cleaning device 14 are arranged. are placed. The transfer device 13 is constructed by winding a transfer belt 17 between upper and lower rollers 15 and 16 and pressing the transfer belt 17 against the peripheral surface of the photosensitive member 10 at the transfer position B. As shown in FIG.

To the left of the charging device 11 and the cleaning device 14, a toner replenishing device 20 for replenishing new toner to the developing device 12 is arranged. Further, inside the image forming apparatus main body 2, a sheet conveying device C is arranged for feeding sheets such as paper and OHP sheets from a supply position described later and conveying them to a stack position via a transfer position B. The sheet conveying device C includes a supply path R1, a manual supply path R2, and a sheet conveying path R, which will be described later. The sheet conveying path R passes between the photoreceptor 10 and the transfer device 13, extends from bottom to top in the figure, and then curves to the left, forming a substantially L shape.

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

The fixing heater measures the temperature of the fixing roller 31 with a thermistor and turns the fixing heater on or off with a thermostat to keep one of the fixing rollers 31 at a predetermined temperature.

Further downstream of the fixing device 22, an ejection branch claw 34, an ejection roller 35, a first pressure roller 36, a second pressure roller 37, and a stiff roller 38 are arranged. A discharge stacking portion (discharge position) 39 for stacking is arranged.

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

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

One end of the automatic document feeder 5 is connected to one end of the upper surface of the image reading device 3 by a joint having a hinge structure. The automatic document feeder 5 changes from a horizontal state in which the lower surface presses a document sheet placed on the upper surface of the contact glass 57 from above to a state in which the inclination angle with the upper surface of the contact glass 57 is 90 degrees at maximum. It is provided so that it can be opened and closed freely. The automatic document feeder 5 is equipped with a loading table (not shown) at the document loading position and a discharge table (not shown) at the discharging position. A sheet conveying device having a document conveying path (not shown) that conveys the document to a discharge table through the reading position of . The sheet conveying device includes a plurality of sheet conveying rollers (sheet conveying rotators) (not shown) that convey sheets such as originals.

The sheet feeding device 4 includes multiple stages of sheet separating devices 61 at which the sheets S are supplied. Each sheet separation device 61 has a pickup roller (feeding roller) 62, a feed roller (feeding roller) 63, and a reverse roller (separation roller) 64 corresponding to each other. A supply path R1 leading to the sheet conveying path R of the image forming apparatus main body 2 is formed on the right side of the sheet separation device 61 arranged in multiple stages in the drawing. The supply path R1 includes several sheet conveying rollers (sheet conveying rotators) 66 for conveying sheets.

The switchback device 42 is arranged on the right side of the image forming apparatus main body 2 in the drawing. The switchback device 42 includes a sheet conveying device D that branches from the position of the discharge branch claw 34 of the sheet conveying path R. As shown in FIG. The sheet conveying device D includes a reversing path R3 leading to a switchback position 44 where a pair of switchback rollers 43 are arranged, and a re-conveying path R4 leading from the switchback position 44 to the registration rollers 21 of the sheet conveying path R again. have. Further, the sheet conveying device D has a plurality of sheet conveying rollers (sheet conveying rotators) 66 for conveying sheets. In this embodiment, the switchback device 42 is configured to be attached to an opening/closing member 71 to be described later.

The manual paper feeding device 70 is arranged on the right side of the image forming apparatus main body 2 in the figure. The manual sheet feeding device 70 includes a pickup roller (feeding roller) 67A, a feed roller (feeding roller) 67B, and a reverse roller (feeding roller) 67C. No. 2 sheet conveying path R is supplied.

Next, the operation of copying machine 1 will be described. First, in order to generate a copy using this copying machine 1, a main switch (not shown) is turned on and a document is set on the automatic document feeder 5. FIG. Or, open the automatic document feeder 5, set the document directly on the contact glass 57 of the image reader 3, close the automatic document feeder 5, and press it.

When a start switch (not shown) is pressed, when a document is set on the automatic document feeder 5, the document is moved onto the contact glass 57 through the document feed path by the sheet conveying roller, and then the image reading device 3 is moved. drive to read the content of the document and discharge it onto the discharge table. On the other hand, when the document is set directly on the contact glass 57, the image reading device 3 is immediately driven.

When the image reading device 3 starts driving, the light source 53 moves along the contact glass 57 while emitting light to irradiate the document surface on the contact glass 57 with light. A plurality of mirrors 54 receive reflected light from the document surface and reflect the light toward an imaging optical lens 55 . The imaging optical lens 55 forms an image of this reflected light on the image sensor 56 . Thereby, the image sensor 56 reads the content of the document.

At the same time, the photoreceptor 10 is rotated by a photoreceptor drive motor (not shown). writes on the surface of the photoreceptor by irradiating the surface of the photoreceptor with laser light in accordance with the content of the document read by the image reading device 3, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor 10. It is formed. After that, when the electrostatic latent image portion formed on the surface of the photoreceptor corresponds to the developing device 12, the toner is attracted to the surface of the photoreceptor, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized.

Further, when the start switch is pushed, the corresponding paper separating device 61 is selected from among the plurality of paper separating devices 61 arranged in multiple stages in the paper feeding device 4 based on the paper size selection signal. Then, a pickup roller 62 corresponding to this paper separation device 61 feeds out one sheet S in this paper separation device 61 . The reverse roller 64 separates the uppermost sheet S and prevents the rest of the sheets S from being conveyed when the plurality of sheets S is to be sent out. Subsequently, the feed roller 63 conveys the sheet S into the supply path R1, the sheet conveying roller 66 continues conveying the sheet S and guides it to the sheet conveying path R, and the registration roller 21 comes into contact with the sheet S, causing the sheet S to move. stop transport. Then, the registration roller 21 rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the photoreceptor 10 described above, and feeds the sheet S to the right side of the photoreceptor 10 .

When the manual sheet feeder 70 performs manual sheet feeding, the manual feed tray 72 of the manual feeder 70 is shifted from the upright closed state to the tilted open state, and the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual feed tray 72 is opened. Place a sheet on top. When the start switch is pressed, the pickup roller 67A feeds one sheet, and subsequently the feed roller 67B takes over feeding of the sheet. The reverse roller 67C separates the uppermost sheet and prevents the rest of the sheets from being conveyed when sending out a plurality of sheets. The sheet conveying roller 66 continues to convey the sheet supplied to the manual feed path R<b>2 and guides it to the sheet conveying path R. After that, the registration rollers 21 feed the sheet to the right side of the photoreceptor 10 in synchronization with the rotation of the photoreceptor 10, in the same manner as the paper feeding device 4 described above.

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

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

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

2 to 5, the manual sheet feeder 70 includes an opening/closing member 71 (see FIG. 3) having a rotation fulcrum 71A at its lower portion with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 2 and whose upper portion opens and closes. It has a manual feed tray 72 (see FIG. 4) whose upper part opens and closes while holding a rotation fulcrum 72A at its lower part.

The manual sheet feeding device 70 includes a link member 73 that connects the opening/closing member 71 to the image forming apparatus main body 2 so that the opening/closing member 71 can be opened and closed. and a flexible linear member 81 fixed to 72 . A wire is used here as the flexible linear member 81 .

In order to easily remove a jammed sheet jammed in the sheet conveying path R or the re-conveying path R4, or perform maintenance inside the image forming apparatus main body 2, the opening/closing member 71 is placed in an open state in an inclined posture (see FIG. 3). to open the sheet conveying path R and the re-conveying path R4. That is, the manual sheet feeder 70 opens the sheet conveying path R and the re-conveying path R4 by changing the opening/closing member 71 from the upright closed state (see FIG. 2) to the inclined open state (see FIG. 3). , removal of jammed sheets, maintenance, etc. can be easily performed.

Also, the manual feeder 70 stacks sheets on the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual feed tray 72 by changing the manual feed tray 72 from the upright closed state (see FIG. 2) to the tilted open state (see FIG. 4). Thus, a sheet for manual feeding can be supplied to the sheet conveying path R.

The link member 73 has an open-leg link structure consisting of two arms 74 . One end of the two arms 74 is connected to each other at a pivot point 74A so that the legs can be freely opened, and the other end of one arm 74 is connected to the image forming apparatus main body 2 at a pivot point 74B so as to be pivotable. The other end of the arm 74 is rotatably connected to the opening/closing member 71 at a fulcrum 74C.

When the opening/closing member 71 is in the closed state, the link member 73 is arranged on the side surface of the opening/closing member 71 as shown in FIG. They are rotatably connected.

The link member 73 can open and close the opening and closing member 71 by opening and closing the two arms 74 . The opening/closing member 71 is held at the position and inclination angle in the open state shown in FIG.

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

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

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

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

A positioning fixing portion 83 is provided on the other end side of the linear member 81 . Also, the manual feed tray 72 is provided with a stopper portion 84 . Further, the manual feed tray 72 is provided with a pulley 85 for changing the extending direction of the linear member 81 . The manual sheet feeder 70 is configured to hold the inclination angle of the manual sheet feed tray 72 with respect to the horizontal by the positioning fixing portion 83 coming into contact with the stopper portion 84 .

As shown in FIG. 8, the manual feed tray 72 has a rectangular plane. The manual feed tray 72 is provided with a through hole 86 as shown in FIG. there is The through hole 86 is for extending the linear member 81 from the inside to the outside of the manual feed tray 72, and the linear member 81 passes through it.

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

Next, the relationship between the opening/closing state of the opening/closing member 71 and the manual feed tray 72, and the linear member 81, the spring member 82, and the positioning fixing portion 83 will be described.

In FIG. 2 , the opening/closing member 71 is in an upright closed state with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 2 , and the manual feed tray 72 is in an upright closed state with respect to the opening/closing member 71 . At this time, the linear member 81 is in a relaxed state and the spring member 82 is in a contracted state. Further, the positioning fixing portion 83 of the linear member 81 is separated from the stopper portion 84 of the manual feed tray 72 .

In FIG. 3, the opening/closing member 71 is in an open state in which it is tilted with respect to the main body 2 of the image forming apparatus, and the manual feed tray 72 is in a closed state in which it is upright with respect to the opening/closing member 71 . At this time, the linear member fixing portion 80 of the link member 73 is moved in the direction of pulling the linear member 81 from the position when the opening/closing member 71 is closed, but the linear member 81 is not stretched and loosened. is in a state. Also, the spring member 82 is in a contracted state. Further, the positioning fixing portion 83 of the linear member 81 is separated from the stopper portion 84 of the manual feed tray 72 . Further, the open position and tilt angle of the opening/closing member 71 with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 2 are maintained by stretching the two arms 74 of the link member 73 with their legs spread.

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

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

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

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

That is, when the opening/closing member 71 shifts from the closed state (see FIG. 4) to the open state (see FIG. 5) while the manual feed tray 72 is in the open state (see FIG. 4), the linear member fixing portion 80 of the link member 73 is linearly fixed. It moves in the direction of pulling the shaped member 81 . Thereby, the linear member 81 is configured to keep the manual feed tray 72 in a horizontal state or an inclined state to the extent that the sheet does not slide out, thereby preventing the trouble of the sheet slipping down from the manual feed tray 72. - 特許庁

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

In FIG. 11, a positive tilt angle is a case where the swinging end of the manual feed tray 72 is positioned above the lower portion on the pivot point side with respect to the horizontal. A negative tilt angle is a case where the swinging end of the manual feed tray 72 is positioned below the lower portion on the pivot point side with respect to the horizontal.

The reason why the inclination angle of the manual feed tray 72 is allowed to be −10° with respect to the horizontal is that frictional force acts between the manual feed tray 72 and the sheets, and between the sheets, so that the sheets are inclined to the manual feed tray by the action of gravity. This is because it will not slip off from 72 .

According to the data in FIG. 11, when the tilt angle is -12.5° or more, the slipping force due to gravitational action becomes greater than the static force due to friction, so the sheet slides down. Therefore, it is preferable that the tilt angle of the manual feed tray 72 with respect to the horizontal is −10° or less as a limit for preventing the sheets stacked on the manual feed tray 72 from slipping out of the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual feed tray 72 .

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

Further, the manual sheet feeding device 70 has a configuration in which the link member 73 and the manual sheet feeding tray 72 are connected by a simple connecting mechanism of the linear member 81 . As a result, when the manual feed tray 72 is in the open state (see FIG. 4) and the opening/closing member 71 shifts from the closed state (see FIG. 4) to the open state (see FIG. 5), the linear member fixing portion 80 is fixed to the linear member. Move in the direction of pulling 81. Then, the linear member 81 maintains the manual feed tray 72 in a horizontal state or at the plus or minus tilt angle described above.

As described above, the copier 1 according to the present embodiment provides the following effects.

(1) The manual paper feeding device 70 is configured such that the linear member fixing portion 80 of the link member 73 pulls the linear member 81 when the opening/closing member 71 shifts from the closed state to the open state while the manual feed tray 72 is in the open state. It is configured to move and keep the manual feed tray 72 at an inclination angle of the limit to prevent the sheets stacked on the manual feed tray 72 from slipping out of the manual feed tray 72 . Therefore, even if the opening/closing member 71 shifts from the closed state to the open state while the manual feed tray 72 is in the open state, the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual feed tray 72 do not slide down from the manual feed tray 72 .

Further, in the manual feeder 70 , various parts of the image forming apparatus main body 2 do not exist in the middle of the connection path connecting the link member 73 and the manual feed tray 72 with the linear member 81 . Therefore, when the opening/closing member 71 shifts from the closed state to the open state while the manual feed tray 72 is in the open state, the sheet can be kept at the limit of inclination angle that does not slide out of the manual feed tray 72 . This holding mechanism can be realized with a simpler structure than when the image forming apparatus main body and the manual feed tray are connected by a conventional connecting member.

As a result, it is possible to provide the manual sheet feeder 70 and the copier 1 as an image forming apparatus that can prevent the sheet from slipping off the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual feed tray 72 with a simple configuration.

In addition, since one end of the linear member 81 is fixed to the link member 73 in the manual feeder 70, compared to the conventional case where one end of the connecting member is fixed to the main body of the image forming apparatus, The length of the shaped member 81 can be shortened. As a result, it is possible to reduce the cost of the manual sheet feeder 70 and the copier 1 equipped with it.

(2) In the manual feeder 70, the link member 73 is set in the direction in which the linear member fixing portion 80 pulls the linear member 81 when the opening/closing member 71 shifts from the closed state to the open state while the manual feed tray 72 is in the open state. Therefore, the manual feed tray 72 in the open state makes an inclination angle with respect to the openable member 71 in the closed state, rather than the inclination angle formed by the manual feed tray 72 in the open state with respect to the openable member 71 in the closed state. The tilt angle can be made small. As a result, the tilt angle of the manual feed tray 72 with respect to the horizontal can be kept within the limit of the tilt angle at which the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking surface 72B of the manual feed tray 72 do not slide out of the manual feed tray 72 .

(3) In the manual feeder 70, the opening/closing member 71 has a through hole 71B through which the linear member 81 passes. Then, the linear member 81 can be accommodated between the opening/closing member 71 and the manual feed tray 72 . As a result, the manual paper feeding device 70 and the copying machine 1 equipped with this manual paper feeding device 70 can be made compact.

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

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

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

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the copier 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to printers, for example.

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

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the manual sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention have the effect of preventing the problem of sheets from slipping off the manual sheet tray with a simple structure. It is useful for the manual paper feeding device mounted thereon.

1 copier (image forming device)
2 Image forming apparatus main body (apparatus main body)
3 image reading device 4 paper feeder 5 automatic document feeder 70 manual paper feeder 71 opening/closing member 71A rotation fulcrum 71B through hole 72 manual feed tray 72A rotation fulcrum 72B sheet stacking surface 73 link member 80 linear member fixing portion 81 line shaped member 82 spring member R sheet conveying path

JP 2008-308329 A

Claims (18)

A manual sheet feeder that supplies sheets stacked on a manual feed tray to a sheet conveying path of an apparatus main body,
an opening/closing member provided on one side face of the device main body which opens and closes at its upper portion with a lower pivot point with respect to the device main body and faces in the width direction of the front face when viewed from the front of the device main body;
a manual feed tray provided on the one side surface whose upper part opens and closes with respect to the opening and closing member ,
The openable/closable member has a first through hole through which a linear holding member that holds the manual feed tray penetrates, and which opens in the width direction of the one side surface. , having on the end side in the width direction of the one side surface,
In the manual feed tray , the holding member penetrates from the inside to the outside, and the second through hole is closer to the center in the width direction of the one side than the first through hole is on the end side in the width direction of the one side. has a through-hole of
When the opening/closing member is closed and the manual feed tray is opened, and when the opening/closing member is opened and the manual feed tray is opened, the manual feed tray is horizontal, and the swing end of the manual feed tray is horizontal. a state in which the swing end is tilted upward, or a state in which the swinging end is tilted downward by an angle of 10 degrees or less from the horizontal state. A member for holding the position of the opening/closing member when the opening/closing member is opened with respect to the apparatus main body, and holding the position of the manual feed tray when the manual feed tray is opened with respect to the opening/closing member. 2. The manual sheet feeder according to claim 1, wherein said member holds said manual feed tray by means of said holding member. The length of the holding member from the first through-hole of the opening/closing member to the second through-hole of the manual feed tray when the opening/closing member is opened and the manual feed tray is opened is the opening/closing member. is shorter than the length of said holding member from the first through-hole of said opening/closing member to said second through-hole of said manual feed tray when said manual feed tray is open with said manual feed tray open. 1. The manual paper feeding device according to 1. 2. A manual paper feeder according to claim 1, wherein said holding member is pulled by a spring member, and said spring member is a coil spring that expands and contracts. 5. The manual feeder according to claim 4, wherein when said opening/closing member is opened and said manual feed tray is opened, said spring member extends more than when said opening/closing member is closed and said manual feed tray is opened. Paper feeder. 5. The manual feeder according to claim 4, wherein when said opening/closing member is closed and said manual feed tray is opened, said spring member extends more than when said opening/closing member is closed and said manual feed tray is closed. Paper feeder. 5. The manual sheet feeding device according to claim 4, wherein when the opening/closing member is closed and the manual feed tray is opened, the holding member is pulled by the spring member to eliminate slack. 5. The manual paper feeder according to claim 4, wherein the spring member is contracted when the opening/closing member is closed and the manual feed tray is closed. 2. A manual paper feeder according to claim 1, wherein said holding member is slackened when said opening/closing member is closed and said manual feed tray is closed. the opening/closing member has a first through hole through which the holding member passes;
2. A manual sheet feeder according to claim 1, wherein said holding member penetrates said first through hole between one end side of said holding member and the other end side of said holding member. 11. The manual sheet feeding device according to claim 10, wherein the holding member is bent at the position of the first through hole. the member has a first arm and a second arm,
one end side of the first arm and one end side of the second arm are rotatably connected at a pivot point;
The other end side of the first arm is fixed to the device main body,
3. A manual sheet feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the other end of said second arm is fixed to said opening/closing member. 13. The manual paper feeding device according to claim 12, wherein the one end of the holding member is fixed to the second arm. 2. The manual paper feeding method according to claim 1, wherein when the opening/closing member is opened and the manual feed tray is in the open state, the manual feed tray is held in an open position and an inclination angle by the holding member. Device. 2. A manual sheet feeder according to claim 1, wherein the rotation fulcrum of said manual tray is located above said rotation fulcrum of said opening/closing member. 2. The manual paper feeder according to claim 1, wherein the sheets stacked on the manual feed tray are fed to a sheet conveying path of the apparatus main body when the manual feed tray is in an open state. 17. The manual sheet feeding device according to claim 16, wherein the sheet conveying path is opened when the opening/closing member is opened. An image forming apparatus comprising the manual sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 17.

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