JPH03267226A - Picture image forming device with multistage tray - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simply adjust roller pressure and the gap in a feeding passage as a unit for each paper-feeding mechanism by energizing the passage-forming member on a cover side with a spring toward the passage-forming member on a body side, and also by providing a projection, by which a gap allowing the passage of a paper sheet can be maintained between the cover and the side surface of the body, on either side of the passage-forming members. CONSTITUTION:A paper-feeding mechanism 32 comprises a pair of feeding members 34, 36 for feeding a paper sheet while holding it between them, and a pair of passage-forming members 41, 42 for forming a passage through which a paper sheet is passed. One side 39 of the feeding members of each paper- feeding mechanism 32 and one side 42 of a pair of passage-forming members are fitted to a cover 10 by means of a supporting member 33, and the other side feeding member 38 and the other side passage-forming member 41 are fitted to the body 6 side of a cabinet. Further, the passage-forming member 42 on the cover 10 side is energized by a spring 44 toward the passage-forming member 41 on the body 6 side, and a projection 55 for maintaining a gap allowing the passage of a paper sheet between the cover 10 and the side surface of the body 6 is provided to the passage-forming member 42.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention has a dedicated cabinet having multiple paper trays and an image forming apparatus main body placed on the cabinet, and is capable of printing an image on paper in any tray. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus with a multi-stage tray that can form an image.

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus with a multi-stage tray that has an image forming apparatus main body such as a copying machine or a printer placed in a dedicated cabinet with multi-stage paper trays, and is capable of forming an image on paper in any tray. is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 62-194634. In this image forming apparatus, the side wall of the cabinet extends to the lower part of the image forming apparatus main body and constitutes a cover that is integrated with the side wall of the main body, and there are A feeding means is provided to send the paper taken out from the tray to the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the cover is attached to the cabinet and the main body of the image forming apparatus so as to be openable and closable.

As described above, in addition to the feeding means for feeding the paper from the tray of the cabinet to the main body of the image forming apparatus, this apparatus also includes a return feeding means for returning the paper that has been copied on one side to the tray. It is provided on a side surface different from the side of the camera, and is configured so that double-sided copying, multiple copying of different images, etc. can be selected. In addition, as mentioned above, this device has a cover that can be opened and closed, opening the paper path of the previous feeding means and return feeding means, and preventing paper jams and other feeding defects, that is, jams. Easy to remove paper in case.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Since the cover of the known image forming apparatus with multi-stage trays can be opened and closed, it is easy to remove paper in the event of a jam. However, only the cover is opened, and the feed roller as a paper feeding member and the guide plate as a paper feeding path forming member are provided on the cabinet or the main body of the image forming apparatus, so jammed paper can be removed easily. These rollers, guide plates, etc. may get in the way of paper removal, and if a jam occurs with paper caught between a pair of rollers or a pair of guide plates, it will be difficult to remove the paper. There was still room for improvement in paper removal.

As a paper feeding device other than the above-mentioned device, a sorter is known which has multiple substantially horizontal shelves and feeds sheets from the top of these shelves through a vertical feeding path. This sorter is provided with a cover that can be opened and closed on the side so that the jammed paper can be easily removed in the event of a jam.

In other words, this sorter has a pair of feed rollers that serve as a pair of feed members that sandwich and feed paper, and a pair of guide plates that serve as paper path forming members that secure a paper path between them. One of the feeding means is attached to the cover side,
The other feeding means is attached to the side of the body. Therefore, when the cover is opened, the pair of feeding means opens and the paper in this area can be easily removed.

However, even in the case of such a sorter, each time the cover is opened and closed, the pressure between the feeding rollers (feeding members) and the gap between the passages of the guide plates (forming paper path forming members) change, which can lead to paper jams. This caused frequent jams. For this reason, it is necessary to readjust the pressure contact force and the interval each time the cover is opened and closed, which has the disadvantage that maintaining normal feeding becomes troublesome.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus with a multi-stage tray that maintains the normal feeding of paper without the need for readjustment even if the cover is repeatedly opened and closed, and that even if a jam occurs, the jammed paper can be easily removed. An object of the present invention is to provide a forming device.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the object, the present invention includes a dedicated cabinet having multi-stage paper trays and an image forming apparatus main body placed thereon, so that the side wall of the cabinet is A cover that extends to the lower part of the image forming apparatus main body is configured, and a feeding means is provided between this cover and the side surface of the cabinet main body for feeding the paper taken out from each tray to the image forming apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus is equipped with a multi-stage tray that is attached to a cabinet so as to be openable and closable, and the feeding means includes a paper feeding mechanism provided for each tray, and each paper feeding mechanism feeds paper with paper sandwiched between them. It includes a pair of feeding members for feeding and a pair of path forming members for forming a path through which the paper passes, and one of the feeding members and one of the pair of path forming members of each sheet feeding mechanism is supported by a supporting member. attached to the cover, the other feeding member and the other passage forming member are attached to the main body side of the cabinet, and the feeding member on the cover side is supported by the supporting member so as to come into contact with the feeding member on the main body side. The passage forming member on the cover side is biased by a spring toward the passage forming member on the main body side, and one of the passage forming members has a protrusion that maintains a gap between the cover and the side surface of the main body through which the paper can pass. An image forming apparatus is provided, characterized in that it is installed in a 1L.

Further, according to the present invention, in the above image forming apparatus,
Each paper feeding mechanism in the feeding path from each horizontal tray of the cabinet to the vertical cover has a deflection member that changes the orientation of the paper from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation toward the feeding path;
This deflection member is pivotally supported at the lower end, and when the cover is opened, the upper end pivots downward under its own weight.This allows the deflection member to prevent the paper from jamming even if it occurs at the awkward location of the paper deflection point. This makes it easier to remove paper.

Further, according to the present invention, in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, support is provided so that when the cover is closed, the feeding member on the cover side is arranged at a position suitable also in the perpendicular direction to the feeding member on the cabinet main body side. One of the member and the cabinet body is provided with protrusion means, and the other of the support member and the cabinet body is provided with protrusion engaging means that engages with the protrusion means to properly position the cover-side feeding member. This allows proper paper feeding to be maintained.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the entire image forming apparatus 1 with multi-tiered trays according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The multi-tray-equipped image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention includes:
It has a dedicated cabinet 6 having paper trays 2, 3, 4 and 5 arranged in a large number of stages, and an image forming apparatus main body 7 (in this embodiment, a copying machine) placed thereon.

In the cabinet 6, each tray 2.3.4 and 5 is constructed so that it can be pulled out to the front side as shown in FIGS. It is configured. In addition, the tray 5 at the bottom is formed larger than the other trays so that it can accommodate a large amount of paper, and the casters 8 are mounted on the casters 9 of the entire cabinet so that it can withstand the weight even if a large amount of paper is inserted. It is set up separately.

Moreover, as is clear from FIG. 2, the tray 4 is not a simple paper storage tray. It consists of an intermediate tray that is used to form an image on one side and form another image on the same side.

At the bottom of an image forming apparatus main body 7 such as a copying machine placed on the upper part of the cabinet 6, a cover 10 forming a side wall of the cabinet 6 extends to the side wall of the main body 7. In this embodiment, the upper part of the cover 10 extends to the lower side surface of the image forming apparatus main body 7, and covers the entire paper feeding path extending from the tray of the cabinet 6 to the image forming apparatus main body 7. That is, this cover 10 and the side surface 1 of the cabinet body
A feeding path 12 is formed between the tray 1 and the tray 1 for feeding the paper taken out from the selected tray to the main body of the image forming apparatus. Note that the cover 10 does not need to be continuous with the image forming apparatus main body 7, and may be formed so as to cover only the cabinet 6. In this case, the image forming apparatus main body 7 would also be provided with a cover.

Further, a similar cover 13 is provided on the opposite side surface, and a return feeding passage 14 for returning the paper that has been copied on one side from the image forming apparatus main body 7 is connected between the cover 13 and the cabinet side surface. is formed between. These covers 10 and 13 are mounted so that they are pivoted at the rear and open at the front (see FIG. 1), so that paper jams can be easily removed. Note that these covers and paper feeding means will be explained in more detail later.

In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus main body 7 is an ordinary copying machine. Inside the copying machine 7, there is an optical device 17 for scanning an image of a document placed on a platen 16;
A photoreceptor drum 18, a developing device 19, a cleaning device 20, etc. are arranged, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoreceptor drum 18 by the light beam from the optical device 17, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by the toner from the developing device [19]. The latent image is developed into a visible image.

The image developed with this toner is transferred to the photoreceptor drum 1.
In the transfer unit 21 of No. 8, the image is transferred onto a sheet of paper fed from the paper tray by the sheet feeding device 22. The paper is
The alignment device 26 adjusts the feeding so that the image on the photoreceptor drum is transferred to the proper position, and when the image is transferred to the paper in the transfer section, the image is sent to the fixing device 24 by the conveyance device 23. The toner image is now fused to the paper.

The paper with the fused image is normally ejected to tray 25 through an ejection path. Note that the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum is cleaned by the cleaning device 20 before the next image formation.

The copying machine 7, which serves as the main body of the image forming apparatus, is equipped with a normal paper tray 27 and a manual feed tray 28 on the side of the main body so that special paper such as postcards can be manually fed. Further, in the present invention, as described above, the cabinet 6 is provided with a large number of stacked paper trays 2 to 5, and the user can appropriately select the tray to print the required size or desired copy size. can be obtained. Therefore,
The paper trays 2.3.5.27 store paper of different sizes, including the manual feed tray 28, and paper selection is performed by pressing a button on the operation panel 29.

The selected paper is fed from the selected tray toward the photosensitive drum by a feeding means, and aligned by the aligning device 22. Note that when the manual feed tray 28 is selected, the normal operation of the feeding means is stopped so that sheets are not fed from other trays. Feeding paper from paper trays 2 to 5 in cabinet 6 is as follows:
through a paper feed path 12, which path 12 includes:
As a means for feeding the paper, a pair of feeding members, ie, rollers, which sandwich and feed the paper, and a pair of path-forming members, ie, guide plates, which form a path through which the paper passes, are provided. ing. These feeding means are similarly provided in the return path 14, and the sheet with single-sided copies left from the fixing device [24 and deflected by the deflection member 30 is fed to the return path 14. In addition, in the return passage 14,
A deflection member 31 for reverse paper feeding is provided for selecting whether to accommodate the paper in the intermediate tray 4 in a reversed state or in the same direction as the state of the transfer unit 21. . When the deflection member 31 is in the position shown in FIG. 2, the paper continues to move downward along the return path 14, and after being sent to the lower part of the tray 5, the paper is transferred to the intermediate tray by the reverse rotation of the pair of rollers adjacent to the deflection member. 4, the paper is stored with the image side facing up as in the transfer section 21, and in the next image formation, an image is formed on the back side (that is, double-sided copying).

When the deflection member 31 changes direction and sends the paper that has been sent through the return path 14 to the intermediate tray 4, the paper is stored with the image side upside down, and in the next image formation, the image is formed on the front side (i.e. , multiple copies).

The above is a description of the overall structure and operation of the image forming apparatus 1 with multi-stage trays according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The details of the feeding means, which is a feature of the present invention, will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

In the present invention, a paper feeding mechanism 32 is provided on the paper feeding side of each of trays 2 to 5. Each paper feeding mechanism 32 includes a pair of feeding rollers as a feeding member on the paper feeding side of each tray of the cabinet 6, and a pair of guide plates as a paper path forming member. Then, each paper feeding mechanism 32
One of the pair of feeding rollers and the pair of guide plates is attached to the support member 33.
The other feed roller and guide plate are attached to the main body side of the cabinet 6. Further, as shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and subsequent figures, the feed roller on the cover side is supported by a support member 33 so as to come into contact with the feed roller on the cabinet body side. As shown in the figure, this support member 33 supports the feed roller and guide plate on the cover side so that they can move independently with respect to the cover, and both the feed roller and the guide plate are supported by the cover. If it is possible to move independently of each other while
It may be formed integrally with the guide plate.

Further, the guide plate on the cover 10 side is biased by a spring toward the guide plate on the main body side, and a protrusion is provided on either side of the guide plate to maintain a gap between the cover and the front side of the main body through which the paper can pass. It is being In the following description, this protrusion is described as being provided on the guide plate side on the cover side, but it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained even if it is provided on the guide plate side on the cabinet body side.

FIG. 3 shows a feeding means for feeding paper from trays 2 and 3 toward feeding path 12. As shown in FIG. In this example, each paper tray is provided with a feed roller 35 that pulls out the paper, thereby feeding out the topmost paper one by one. The fed paper is gripped by a pair of paper feed rollers 34 and 36 and directed toward the feed path 12.

Note that the lower paper feed roller (roller 36) is
It acts as a retard roller to prevent double feeding of two or more sheets of paper. The sheets fed one by one by the sheet feed rollers 34 and 36 are deflected from a horizontal position to a vertical position by a deflection member 37.

The sheet exiting the deflection member 37 is gripped by a pair of feed rollers 38 and 39, which act as a feed member in the present invention, and is fed directly through the vertical feed path 12. In this embodiment, the feeding roller 38 is driven by a driving means such as a motor, and the other feeding roller 39 is used as a pinch roller that presses the paper between the rollers.

Next, for example, the paper fed upward from the lower tray 3 in FIG. Ru. Note that if the side surface of the deflection member 37 described above is used as the guide plate 41, there is no need to prepare a guide plate as a separate component. Passing through this pair of guide plates, the paper is transferred to a second pair of feeding rollers 38 as a feeding member.
and 39, and is fed further upward toward the alignment device 26 in FIG.

As described above, in the present invention, the paired feeding means of the paper feeding mechanism 32 provided for each tray are provided separately on the cover 10 side and the cabinet main body side. That is, for each tray, the negative roller 38 is attached to the cabinet main body side, and the other roller 39 is provided to the cover 10 side. Also, one guide plate 4
1 is attached to the side of the cabinet body, and the other guide plate 42 is attached to the side of the cover 10. Therefore,
When the cover 10 is pivoted, the cover 10 moves between the rollers 39 and the guide plate 4, as shown in FIGS. 1, 5 and 6.
2 to facilitate the removal of paper caught between the roller and guide plate pair. In addition, in this example,
Unlike the cover described in Japanese Patent No. 194,634, the hinge point of the cover is provided on the rear side of the device to further facilitate the removal of jammed sheets. As shown in FIG. 1, one feed roller and one guide plate are similarly attached to the cover 13 on the side of the return feed passage 14, and the other roller and guide plate are attached to the side of the cabinet body. Installed separately.

In the present invention, the pair of feeding rollers 38 and 39 as feeding members of each paper feeding mechanism 32 are pressed against each other in order to feed the paper with the paper sandwiched between them.

Therefore, the roller 39 on the cover 10 side
A spring (not shown) or the like is provided between the roller and the support member or cover, so that the roller 39 is pressed against the roller 38 on the cabinet main body side.

Further, in the present invention, the guide plate 42 on the side of the cover 10 is
Spring 4 toward guide plate 41 on the main body side of cabinet 6
It is energized at 4. In order to maintain a gap between the cover 10 and the side surface of the cabinet body, which serves as a paper feeding path and allows the paper to pass through, the guide plates 41 and 42 are
) is provided with a protrusion 46. This protrusion 46
is preferably provided at several locations, so that
The gap serving as the paper feeding path can be made uniform over a wide range. That is, when the cover 10 is closed, the guide plate 42 is pushed against the other guide plates by the spring 44 and the protrusion 46 to maintain a predetermined gap as a paper feeding path, as shown in FIG. is held in

As shown in the figure, each sheet feeding mechanism 32 on the cover 10 side includes a feeding roller 39 as a feeding member, a guide plate 42 as a passage forming member, a spring 44 that maintains a gap between the feeding passages, and A protrusion 46 is attached to the support member 33, and the support member 33 is attached to the feed roller 39 and the guide plate 42.
Cover 1 can be moved towards the side of the cabinet body.
It is attached to 0. In the present invention, the support member 33 also supports the feed roller 39 and the guide plate 42 so that they can move in the vertical direction, and the paper feed mechanism 3
2, in particular, the roller 39 and guide plate 42 are placed at appropriate positions relative to the roller 38 and guide plate 41 on the other side.

In this way, in order to make the support member 33 movable, the support member 33 has an arm 47 extending toward the cover 10, and is attached to the support member 33 through an elongated hole 49 formed in the frame 48 of the cover 10. Bins are connected. Note that the support member 3
3 is integrally formed with the guide plate 42,
Arm 47 extends from the guide plate. Therefore, cover 10
When the protrusion 46 begins to abut against the guide plate 41 on the main body side when it is closed to the position shown in FIG.
The arm 47 moves through the long hole 49 of the frame 48 of the cover 10, and the entire guide plate 42 moves toward the cover. In addition, arm 4 should be adjusted so that this guide plate moves smoothly.
It is preferable that a plurality of 7s are provided.

Furthermore, the position of the guide plate 42, especially the guide plate 4 on the other side.
1 and also the position of the feed roller 39, in particular the vertical position relative to the mating feed roller 38. An engaging hook portion 55 is formed.

Therefore, when the cover 10 is closed, the hook portion 55 engages the pin 45 to hold the feed roller 39 in the proper position with respect to the feed roller 38 and the guide plate 42 with respect to the guide plate 41. Note that the pin may simply be a protrusion, and the hook portion may be any engagement means as long as it engages with the protrusion means. Further, in the illustrated example, the bin is provided on the cabinet body side, but it may be provided on the cover side, that is, the support member 33, and in this case, the hook portion is provided on the cabinet body.

As already mentioned, each horizontal tray 2.3 of the cabinet 6
．． 5 to the vertical cover 10 etc., the feeding passage 12 includes
A deflecting member 37 is provided to change the orientation of the paper from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation toward the feeding path. In the present invention, when viewed in cross section, the deflecting member 37 is formed into a triangular shape with an acute corner at the top, as shown in FIG. 3 and the like. Note that it is preferable that the space between the paper feed roller 36 and the feed roller 39 be curved downward at a predetermined radius so that the paper from each tray can be smoothly changed from a horizontal posture to a vertical posture. . Due to its shape, this deflection member 37 not only deflects the paper from the tray from a horizontal position to a vertical position, but also forms a guide plate surface for the vertical feeding path of the paper fed from the lower tray. This ensures smooth feeding.

In the present invention, the deflection member 37 is pivotally supported by a shaft 50 at its lower end. Therefore, when the cover 10 is opened, the upper part pivots downward about the shaft 50 due to its own weight (see FIG. 5). A stopper pin 51 is provided so that the deflection member 37 that has been lowered in this manner does not fall below a certain range. Thereby, when the open cover 10 is closed, the guide plate 42 can raise the deflecting member 37 and fix it to the lid in the operating position, which is convenient. In this case, it is preferable that the deflection member 37 is also provided with a protrusion 53 that abuts against the passage member 52 in order to maintain a predetermined gap for the sheet feeding passage. Note that, like the projection 46, the projection 53 is also connected not to the deflection member 37 but to the passage member 5.
2 may be formed. In this manner, when the cover 10 is opened, the deflecting member 37 pivots, thereby opening the opening portion of the tray, and the paper jammed in this portion can be easily removed. It is preferable that the deflecting member 37 is made of a transparent member, since the jammed paper can be visually checked when the cover is opened.

Effects of the Invention In the image forming apparatus with multi-stage trays according to the present invention, the feeding means includes a paper feeding mechanism provided for each tray, and each paper feeding mechanism has a pair of paper feeding mechanisms that feed paper with paper sandwiched between them. a pair of passage forming members forming a passage through which the paper passes, one of the feeding members of each paper feeding mechanism and one of the pair of passage forming members being attached to the cover by a support member; The other feeding member and the other passage forming member are attached to the main body side of the cabinet, the feeding member on the cover side is supported by the support member so as to come into contact with the feeding member on the main body side, and the feeding member on the cover side is attached to the main body side of the cabinet. Since the member is spring biased toward the passage forming member on the main body side and a protrusion is provided on one of the passage forming members to maintain a gap between the cover and the side surface of the main body through which the paper can pass, each paper feed Each mechanism can be easily adjusted as a unit to adjust the roller pressure and feed passage gap.

According to the apparatus of the present invention, in each paper feeding mechanism,
Since both the feeding member and the path-forming member are properly positioned with respect to the mating member, paper feeding is performed accurately and the occurrence of paper jams or jams is minimized. Of course, in the unlikely event that a jam occurs, by opening the cover, there are no obstructive members or parts, and it becomes extremely easy to remove the jammed paper.

Furthermore, even if the cover is closed again after the jam is cleared, both the feeding member and the path forming member are properly positioned, so the contact pressure of the feeding member is maintained at a predetermined value, and the gap in the paper feeding path is reduced. A predetermined interval is maintained to maintain normal paper feeding.

Also, according to the invention, there is a feed channel from each horizontal tray of the cabinet to the vertical cover! is provided with a deflecting member that changes the orientation of the paper from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation toward the feeding path. provides an image forming apparatus with a multi-stage tray having a configuration in which the upper end portion pivots downward, and according to this, even if a jam occurs at an awkward location such as a deflection point of the paper, it is easy to remove the jammed paper. Can be done.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, one of the supporting member and the cabinet body is arranged such that when the cover is closed, the feeding member on the cover side is arranged at a position suitable also in the perpendicular direction to the feeding member on the cabinet body side. is provided with protrusion means, and the other of the support member and the cabinet body is provided with protrusion engagement means that engages with the protrusion means to properly position the feeding member on the cover side. Appropriate feeding can be maintained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus with a multi-tier tray according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the image forming apparatus with a multi-tier tray according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus with a multi-tier tray according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the paper feeding path portion of the image forming apparatus with the cover closed, FIG. 4 is an arrow view seen from the TV-TV line in FIG. 3, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the paper feeding path portion of the image forming apparatus with a tray when the cover is open, and is a view taken along the line VT-VI in FIG. 5. Explanation of symbols 1... Image forming apparatus with multi-stage tray 2.3.5
．． 27... Paper tray 4... Intermediate tray 6... Cabinet body 7... Image forming device (copying machine) 10.13...
...Cover 12... Paper feeding passage 14... Return feeding passage 16... Platen 18...
...Photosensitive drum 9...Developing device 20.
...Printing IJ-ning system 4...Fixing device 32...Paper feeding mechanism 3...Supporting member 34.36...Paper feeding Roller 5...
-・Feeding roller 7...Deflecting member 8.39...Roller 1.42 as a feeding member
...Guide plate 4 as a passage forming member...
・・・Spring 45・・・Bin (protrusion means)
6...Protrusion 47...Arm 0...Pivot shaft 51...Stopper 3...Protrusion 55...Hook Partial Figure 2 Figure 4 Figure 3 #PIJ5 Figure

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A dedicated cabinet with multiple paper trays,
The side wall of the cabinet constitutes a cover that extends to the lower part of the image forming apparatus main body, and between this cover and the side surface of the cabinet body there is a In an image forming apparatus with a multi-tiered tray, the feeding means is provided for feeding the loaded paper to the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the cover is attached to a cabinet so as to be openable and closable, the feeding means being provided for each tray. a paper feeding mechanism, each paper feeding mechanism including a pair of feeding members that feed paper with paper therebetween and a pair of passage forming members that form a passage through which the paper passes; One of the feeding members and one of the passage forming member pair are attached to the cover by a support member, the other feeding member and the other passage forming member are attached to the main body side of the cabinet, and the feeding member on the cover side is attached to the cover. The feeding member is supported by the support member so as to come into contact with the feeding member on the main body side, the passage forming member on the cover side is biased by a spring toward the passage forming member on the main body side, and the passage forming member on the cover side is biased toward the passage forming member on the main body side. An image forming apparatus with a multi-stage tray, characterized in that one of the passage forming members is provided with a protrusion that maintains a gap between which sheets can pass. (2) In the feeding path from each horizontal tray of the cabinet to the vertical cover, each paper feeding mechanism has a deflection member that changes the orientation of the paper from a horizontal orientation to a vertical orientation toward the feeding path. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the deflection member is pivoted at its lower end, and its upper end pivots downward under its own weight when the cover is opened. (3) A projection means is provided on one of the support member and the cabinet body so that when the cover is closed, the feeding member on the cover side is placed in a position suitable for vertically to the feeding member on the cabinet body side. Claim: wherein the support member and the cabinet main body are provided with protrusion engaging means on the other side of the support member and the cabinet body to engage with the protrusion means and properly position the feeding member on the cover side. 1. The device according to 1.