JPH082697A - Longitudinal type paper feeding tray for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the insertion of a paper sheet and facilitate the positioning operation of a manual insertion tray for a paper sheet by installing a means for preventing the excessive feed of paper sheets when the manual insertion tray is arranged in a longitudinal form on the side part of an image forming device body. CONSTITUTION:For the side part of an image forming device body 1, a longitudinal type tray unit 30 is arranged in a pulling-out enabled form, on the front side. The side guides 45 and 45a for regulating the side part of a paper sheet are installed on a paper sheet accommodation unit 33 installed on the longitudinal tray unit 30, and further, a stage part is formed for the side guide, and the paper sheet insertion and taking-out operations are carried out easily even in case of the paper sheet having a small size. Further for the longitudinal paper feeding tray, a means for detecting the thickness of the whole of the paper sheet inserted into a peper sheet accommodation part is installed, and a means for preventing the paper sheet from being accommodated, exceeding the limit, is installed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vertical manual feed tray arranged along the side of a main body of an electrophotographic copying machine or the like.
The present invention relates to a vertical paper feed tray of an image forming apparatus, which can easily perform positioning corresponding to a paper feed position and is provided with means capable of coping with excessive supply of paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, an image recording unit provided in the main body of the apparatus is connected to a sheet storage unit such as a sheet feeding tray mounted in a sheet feeding unit via a sheet conveying path. And forms a means for feeding the paper. And
A paper feed tray for accommodating paper of different sizes is arranged in the paper feed unit so that any paper can be sent out according to information such as the size of the original. Further, in a device such as the general electrophotographic copying machine, a manual feed tray is arranged on the side of the main body of the device, and recording paper is formed by using special papers that cannot be accommodated in the paper feed tray or a plastic film. Is also being created. The manual feed tray is often provided on the side of the apparatus main body so as to be openable and closable, and there is a problem that an extra space is required on the side of the main body of the apparatus to open and close the manual feed tray.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it has been proposed to arrange a manual bypass tray vertically on the side of the main body of the apparatus, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 3-103455. . In the conventional vertical paper feed tray,
Since paper can be stored by inserting it from the top of the manual feed tray, it is not necessary to provide an extra space on the side of the main body of the apparatus as compared with a conventional manual tray that can be opened and closed. Even when the unit is restricted by a wall or the like, the manual paper feeding can be easily performed. As an example of the vertical paper feed tray, for example, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the vertical paper feed tray 10 is arranged on the side of the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 so that the paper can be replenished from the upper paper feed port 11.

The vertical type paper feed tray 10 shown in FIG.
Then, a sheet feeding device 15 as shown in FIG. 25 is provided,
The paper feeding device 15 is configured by combining a pickup roller 16 for feeding the paper and a paper separating device 17. Then, a large-size paper P inserted into the vertical paper feed tray from above is held in a state of being placed on the holding plate 12 of the paper storage unit, and means (not shown) for pressing from behind the paper is provided. Use paper to pick up roller 16
By pressing the pickup roller 16 to rotate the pickup roller 16 in the paper feeding direction, the paper is sent toward the paper separating device 17, and in the paper separating device 17, while separating the paper between the feed roller and the retard roller, the paper is conveyed by the main body. It is made possible to send it to the road.

[0005]

However, in the vertical type paper feed tray as described above, for example, when a large number of large size sheets are inserted at once, the sheets are vertically moved as shown in FIG. The paper may be curved in the direction, or the paper may not be aligned. If the paper is not accurately positioned, the problem that the paper feeding operation from the tray is not accurately performed occurs.
Further, when a very large number of sheets are inserted in excess of the number of sheets that can be accommodated in the vertical paper feed tray, they are pushed out from the holding plate 12 that receives the paper in the vertical paper feed tray. Therefore, there is a problem that the paper passes through the pickup roller and falls into the paper separating device.

Therefore, in order to prevent the paper from being dropped excessively, for example, as shown in FIG.
Label 13 that indicates the limit of paper insertion thickness for 1
It is also considered to prevent the operator from feeding an excessive number of sheets. However, even if such a display is made, it is difficult to accurately know the limit of the thickness of the sheet to be inserted when the sheets to be inserted in the state as shown in FIG. 25 are not aligned at the upper end portion of the sheet. Therefore, the problem of excessive paper supply cannot be solved. Further, when the vertical paper feed tray is arranged on the side of the main body of the electrophotographic copying machine or the like, when the main body of the apparatus is arranged in close contact with the wall or the like, the operation of supplying paper is smoothly performed. There is a problem that you can not. Then, in a state where the paper feeding operation cannot be easily performed due to a wall or the like, it is inevitable to try to replenish a large amount of paper at one time in order to reduce the number of times of paper replenishment. .

In order to solve the above problems,
For example, as shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-88639, it is conceivable to provide a manual feed tray on the front side of the apparatus main body so that it can be pulled out. In the above-mentioned conventional example, the paper is replenished with the manual feed tray pulled out, and the paper feeding action can be exhibited when the tray is inserted inside the apparatus main body. However, if the pull-out manual feed tray is provided so as to be insertable into and removable from the apparatus main body, the size of paper that can be replenished is limited by the size of the manual feed tray, and a large number of sheets cannot be loaded at one time. Problem remains, and there is a problem that the use performance of the manual feed tray is greatly affected.

Further, in addition to the above problem, the paper stored in the conventional vertical paper feed tray can be positioned with respect to the paper in a state where one end of the insertion port is pressed against the end of the paper. In many cases, the side registration type image forming apparatus is characterized in that the paper can be easily positioned. However, in an apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a center registration type apparatus is often used in addition to a side registration type sheet conveying apparatus. In such a center registration type apparatus, a vertical type feeding apparatus is used. There is a problem that it is difficult to accurately position the paper to be inserted into the paper tray. Therefore, as shown in the above-mentioned conventional example, it is conceivable to provide a paper positioning means for a manual feed tray that can be drawn out from the apparatus main body, but a large number of papers of about 50 are stored. Configuring a manual feed tray for this requires the same effort as when developing a new vertical feed tray, and it is desired to develop a new vertical feed tray that is different from the conventional manual feed tray. ing.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the problems of the conventional manual feed tray as described above, and to provide means for limiting the number of sheets that can be loaded in the vertical feed tray at one time. An object of the present invention is to provide a vertical paper feed tray that can easily perform a positioning operation for paper stored in the vertical paper feed tray and can easily perform a paper supply operation.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided a vertical type sheet feeder having a sheet storing section for storing sheets in a substantially vertical state and a sheet feeding device for feeding the sheets stored in the sheet storing section one by one. Regarding paper trays. In the present invention, a paper holding member for positioning the paper is provided in the paper storage portion of the tray, and at least one of the paper holding members is provided with a step portion corresponding to the paper size. Further, in the present invention, the paper holding member may be configured as a paper excessive supply detection member.

[0011]

In the vertical paper feed tray of the image forming apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, when the paper to be stored in the vertical paper feed tray is positioned by using the paper holding member, both sides of the paper are regulated. It is possible to dispose side guides for carrying out the above, and a paper pressing member for carrying out positioning in the thickness direction of the paper, and to hold the paper at the paper feeding position of the tray using those paper positioning members. You can And
The side guides are provided with a stepped portion corresponding to the size of the paper so that the small-sized paper can be easily accommodated and the paper can be stored in the tray even for the large-sized paper. It can be prevented from falling inside and can be held in a state of leaning correctly. Also,
When a means for preventing excessive replenishment of paper is provided for the paper pressing member of the paper holding member corresponding to the thickness direction of the paper, it is detected that the paper pressing member is swung by the paper. When the means is arranged and the number of inserted sheets is equal to or larger than the set number, it is possible to display a command to reduce the number of sheets by a signal from the detecting means.

Further, in the vertical paper feed tray of the present invention, the vertical paper feed tray is moved to the front side of the apparatus main body in addition to the fixed vertical arrangement of the vertical paper feed tray. In this state, it is possible to configure a mechanism that can perform the operation of replenishing paper. Then, at the position where the vertical paper feed tray is pulled out, the paper storage member is tilted to replenish the paper, or after pulling out the vertical paper feed tray and swinging it through the vertical axis, the front side of the apparatus main body is moved. A configuration such as paper replenishment can be used, and means for reducing the burden on the operator can be configured.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A vertical paper feed tray of an image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated example. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a vertical paper feed tray 10 is arranged on a side portion of a main body of an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine.
It shows a case where a means for preventing excessive replenishment of the sheet with respect to 0 is configured. A holding plate 12 is arranged in the paper storage portion of the vertical paper feed tray 10 to constitute a means for locking and holding the inserted paper, and the pickup roller 16 is provided at an opposite position above the holding plate 12. Are arranged. Further, in order to press the paper held by the holding plate 12 toward the pickup roller, a means for pressing the paper is arranged behind the paper (right side in the drawing). Can use an arbitrary pressing member, so that the pressing operation can be performed from the back of the paper in response to a paper feed command from the tray.

In the vertical paper feed tray, the paper holding member 2 as a paper holding member for regulating the paper on the pickup roller side and for positioning the paper.
0 is provided, and means for urging the paper pressing member 20 by a spring 23 via a support shaft member 21 is provided. Further, the support shaft member 21 is slidably provided to a side frame 24 configured as a front plate of the vertical paper feed tray, and configured to support the spring 23. Further, an actuator 22 corresponding to the sensor 28 is provided at the front end portion of the main body side where the support shaft member 21 penetrates the side frame 24, and constitutes means for detecting excessive replenishment of paper.

In a state in which less than the specified number of sheets have been inserted into the vertical sheet feed tray, the support shaft member 21 is not pushed excessively as shown in FIG. The sheet stored in the tray can be fed toward the image recording unit without being detected by the sheet. On the other hand, when the paper is excessively replenished, as shown in FIG. 2, the paper pressing member 20 is largely pushed to the main body side, so that the support shaft member 21 is moved to the side frame 2
4 toward the sensor side, the actuator 2
2 is detected by the sensor 28. Therefore,
As shown in FIG. 2, when a large number of sheets P are stored in the tray, a part of the stored sheets P is held by the holding plate 1.
It falls off from 2 and falls into a state where the paper separating device does not operate normally. Therefore, a signal output from the sensor causes an excessive replenishment signal to be output from the control device provided in the main body of the apparatus, and the operator is instructed to remove a part of the paper, etc. It is possible to perform processing such as temporarily stopping the paper feeding from.

In addition to the above-described embodiment, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, the paper pressing member 25 and the actuator 26 may be integrally formed to simplify the structure of the paper holding member. . In the example shown in FIG. 3, the paper pressing member 25 is composed of a member such as a leaf spring,
The upper end portion is attached to the side frame 24 of the tray, and the vertical portion is configured to press the sheets stored in the tray. Further, the front end portion of the sheet pressing member is configured as the actuator 26 in a state of being bent toward the side frame side, and the sensor 28 is arranged on the sheet storage side of the side frame in correspondence with the swing locus of the actuator 26. . Then, the paper P stored in the vertical paper feed tray
However, within the predetermined thickness range, even if the paper pressing member 25 is swung, the actuator 26 is not detected by the sensor, so that the operation of feeding from the vertical paper feeding tray can be performed. it can.

On the other hand, when the paper is excessively replenished, as shown in FIG. 4, the paper pressing member 25 is largely swung, so that the actuator 26 is detected by the sensor and the sensor The signal from 28 causes the control device to output an oversupply signal. Then, the operation of feeding the paper from the vertical feed tray is stopped, and a display for instructing the operator to return the insertion amount of the paper to a proper value is displayed. In the above embodiment, a normal transmission type optical sensor can be used as the sensor 28, and the actuator arranged corresponding to the paper pressing member is turned off by blocking the optical path of the sensor. It can be configured to output a signal.

[0018]

[Embodiment 2] As described above, in addition to providing the means for detecting excessive supply of paper to the vertical paper feed tray, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. Can be configured as one sheet feeding unit, and a device that can move the vertical tray unit 30 via the main body guide rail 31 with respect to the side portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 can be configured. As shown in FIG. 6, the vertical tray unit 30 as the vertical paper feed tray shown in FIG. 5 is configured by integrally forming the vertical paper feed tray main body and the paper feeding device 15. A paper feed path from the vertical paper feed tray can be connected to the paper transport path 5 to feed the paper toward the image recording unit.

In the image forming apparatus 1, the sheets are aligned through the registration roller device 2 provided in the sheet conveying path 5 as in the case of the general image forming apparatus, and the photosensitive drum 3 is provided.
The toner image formed on the sheet is formed on the sheet by discharging the transfer corotron 4. In addition, a paper feed unit is disposed below the paper transport path 5 of the apparatus main body so that the paper can be sent out from the paper feed tray, and the transport roller device 6 disposed in the paper transport path is used to remove the paper from the tray. It is possible to feed paper from the vertical tray unit 30 as well as to feed the paper.

As described above, the vertical tray unit 30 arranged on the side of the main body of the electrophotographic copying machine or the like has the side of the image forming apparatus 1 close to the wall 8 of the building as shown in FIG. It can be placed in the state of being allowed. Then, when pulling out the vertical tray unit 30 from the apparatus main body to the front side, as described above, the vertical tray unit 30 is slid through the main body guide rail provided in the apparatus main body. Is a paper feeding device 15 as shown in FIG.
And a paper storage unit 33 on the upper side are provided.
Are stored in a state of being positioned with respect to the paper storage unit 33. In the paper storage unit 33 shown in FIG. 7, side guides 45 and 45a as paper holding members are provided so as to be movable in the width direction of the paper as shown in FIGS. There is. In addition, the vertical tray unit 3 shown in FIG.
0, a paper feeding device is provided inside the lower unit 32, a paper holding device is provided in the paper storage unit 33, and paper is inserted into the paper storage unit 33 from above, and the side guide 45 is inserted. , 45a enables the paper to be positioned in the width direction.

The side guides 45, 45a are shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the guide means 4 provided on the support plate member 40
When the means for moving the side guides in interlock is provided, the image forming apparatus can be adapted to a center registration type image forming apparatus. It should be noted that, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, it is possible to dispose a means for detecting excessive replenishment of the sheet with respect to the support plate member 40 so that the sheet is not excessively inserted. . Further, each of the side guides arranged in the paper storage unit may be configured to be independently movable to exert a positioning effect on the paper. 1
It can be provided so that only one side guide can be moved.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, in the paper storage unit 33 of the vertical tray unit, stepped portions 46, 4 are provided on the surface facing the side guides 45, 45a.
6a are respectively arranged, and the stepped portion is formed so that the central portion is low and the height is increased toward both sides. Then, even if a small-sized sheet is inserted into the sheet storage unit and the side guides are moved toward the center to position the sheet, it is possible to easily perform the action of removing the sheet. To do. On the other hand, when accommodating a large-sized sheet, the side guides on both sides of the side guide are formed so that the side portions on both sides of the sheet are held, so that the sheet may fall down, It is possible to prevent the sheet from being greatly curved in either direction, and to accurately perform the holding action on the sheet.

[0023]

[Embodiment 3] In the embodiment of the vertical tray unit, the vertical tray unit 30 is pulled out to the front side of the image forming apparatus so that the paper can be replenished while the paper storage unit 33 is kept upright. I showed you how to
In the vertical tray unit 30 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 11, it is also possible to provide a means for performing the replenishment of the paper with the paper storage unit 33 lying sideways. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the vertical tray unit 30 is supported by the lower unit 32 of the vertical tray unit 30 so that the paper storage unit 33 is swingably supported via a support shaft 34. The operation of inserting the paper P can be easily performed by pulling it out from the apparatus main body to the front side and rocking the paper storage unit 33 with respect to the lower unit 32 to make it fall sideways. Then, after the paper is inserted into the paper storage unit, the side guides can be moved to position the paper in the width direction, and the burden on the operator can be reduced.

Further, instead of providing the means for swinging the paper storage unit 33 via the horizontal axis with respect to the lower unit 32 as shown in FIG. 11, as shown in FIGS. Slide plate 35 for mold tray unit 30
Alternatively, it is also possible to configure a means for swinging through the vertical axis and a means for easily performing the operation of replenishing paper. In the example shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the vertical tray unit 30 arranged on the side of the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 is slidably provided via the main body guide rail as shown in FIG. A means for sliding the slide plate 35 of the vertical tray unit 30 with respect to the main body guide rail is configured. Further, a member in which the lower unit 32 and the paper storage unit 33 are integrally formed with the slide plate 35 is swingably provided via a vertical axis 36. And
As shown in FIG. 12, with the vertical tray unit 30 pulled out from the main body to the front side, as shown in FIG. 13, the vertical tray unit is parallel to the front surface of the apparatus main body through the support shaft 36. Swing up to the position so that paper can be replenished.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the paper storage unit 33 is provided swingably with respect to the lower unit via the horizontal axis, and as shown in FIG. 13, the vertical tray unit 30 is provided. By oscillating along the vertical axis, it is easy to handle paper when replenishing it with a vertical paper feed tray or when replacing the paper stored in the tray. You can Further, as described above, the work of loading the paper into the paper storage unit is provided to the operator by providing a means for tilting the tray sideways and rotating it through the vertical axis after pulling out the tray. It becomes possible to perform operations such as replenishment of paper even when the side of the main body of the device that is on the vertical feed tray side is blocked by a wall or other office equipment. be able to.

[0026]

Fourth Embodiment Construction of Paper Positioning Means In the vertical tray unit 30 of the present invention constructed as described above, the side guides 45 and 45a are arranged for the paper supplied to the paper storage unit 33, respectively. Then, a means for performing positioning with respect to both side portions of the paper is configured. In order to move the side guides inside the paper storage unit, the side guides are configured as shown in FIGS. 14 to 23, the paper is positioned inside the paper storage unit, and the paper conveyance path of the image forming apparatus main body is arranged. It is possible to configure a means for carrying along the carrying reference line.
In the example shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the handle members are arranged with respect to the side guides 45 and 45a arranged in the paper storage unit 33, and the handle member 55 is arranged on the apparatus main body side of the side guides 45. are doing. And
The vertical tray unit is pulled out from the side portion of the apparatus main body to the front side, and the operator manually holds and moves the handle member 55 to press the side guide 45 against the side surface of the sheet.

As for the other side guide 45a, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a handle member 56 is arranged on the apparatus main body side, and like the handle member 55, it is a vertical type. The side guide 45a is moved with the tray unit pulled out. Further, as shown in FIG. 15, a handle member 56a is arranged slidably with respect to an opening 51 provided in the back plate in a state of protruding from the back plate 50 of the manual feed tray. When the side portion on the side is not in contact with the wall or the like, the side guide 45a can be moved using the handle member 56a. Therefore, as mentioned above,
By disposing the handle members with respect to the side guides, in the state where the vertical tray unit is pulled out to the front side along the side portion of the image forming apparatus main body, the handle members are attached to the two side guides 45 and 45a. 5
5 and 56 can be used to move the sheet, and the sheet positioning operation can be easily performed.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the case where the sheet positioning means is configured corresponding to the case where the reference line for the sheet conveyance in the sheet conveyance path of the image forming apparatus is set to the front side is shown. Shows. In this embodiment, the side guide 45 arranged on the rear side of the vertical tray unit is configured to be movable so that the paper can be fed while the paper is positioned between the fixed guide 48 and the side guide 45. In the side guide 45 on the moving side, a handle member 55 is arranged on the main body side, and a handle member 55a is provided through an opening 51 to a back plate 50 formed integrally with the fixed guide 48. The side guide 45 is moved using the handle member 55 when the vertical tray unit is pulled out to the front side, and the handle member 55a is provided when there is an extra space behind the manual feed tray. Use the to move the side guide. Therefore, the paper P mounted on the manual feed tray is fed in a state where the side portion on the reference line side of the image forming apparatus is regulated by the fixed guide and the other side portion is regulated by the movable side guide. You can

In addition to each of the above-described embodiments, in the present invention, means for arbitrarily operating the two side guides from the side portion or front side of the image forming apparatus main body can be configured. Further, as shown in FIG. 18, an opening 51 is formed at a predetermined position at the front end of the back plate 50, and a finger is inserted into the pressing portion 58 in the front side guide 45a. A hole 59 is provided. When the side guide 45a is to be moved, the side guide 45a is moved to the front side by pushing through the pressing portion 58 to move the side guide to the rear side and pulled out through the hole 59. Be able to move. If the reference line of the sheet conveying device of the apparatus is set to the rear side, the side guide 45 on the rear side shown in FIG. 18 is fixedly arranged, and the side guide 45 on the front side is provided through an opening provided in the back plate. It is also possible to configure means for moving only the side guide 45a.

Apart from the embodiment shown in FIG. 18, FIG.
In the embodiment shown in, the side guide 45a on the front side of the vertical tray unit may be fixedly provided, and a means for moving the side guide 45 on the rear side may be configured. In the vertical tray unit shown in FIG. 19, the side guides 45a on the front side are arranged at a fixed position so as to coincide with the reference line of the sheet conveyance of the apparatus body, and the side guides 45 on the rear side and the back plate 50 are integrally formed. And is provided so as to be movable, and is arranged so as to project to the front side of the back plate 50. Then, by using the handle member 57 integrated with the back plate to move with respect to the side guide, it is possible to regulate the side portion on the rear side of the sheet.

Further, as described above, in addition to using the means for individually moving the side guides, in the vertical tray unit of the present invention, as shown in FIGS.
It is also possible to configure a means for moving the two side guides in conjunction with each other to bring them into contact with and separate from the paper. In the embodiment in which the driving device 60 is arranged as the moving means for the side guides, as shown in FIG. 22, the two side guides 45 and 45a are fixed to the endless belt member 61 via the fixing portions 62 and 62a. It is fixed, and the belt member 61 is bridged through four pulleys 63, 63a .... The lever member 6 is attached to the belt member 61.
4, the operator holds the lever member 64 by hand and moves the lever member 64 up and down so that the two side guides 45 and 45a are brought into and out of contact with each other to perform positioning with respect to the sheet.

In the manual feed tray, as shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, an elongated hole 65 is arranged on the front side of the tray, and a lever member 64 is provided so as to be vertically movable along the elongated hole. There is. Further, with the display unit 66 arranged along the moving path of the lever member and the lever member 64 stopped at a position corresponding to the displayed paper size, the two side guides are provided on both sides of the paper of that size. To be able to position. Therefore, in the device for moving the two side guides by using the driving device, the paper conveying device of the image forming apparatus is configured as a center registration type device without pulling the vertical tray unit. The side guide on the rear side can be moved, and the positioning of the paper can be easily performed. As the side guide interlocking mechanism of the present invention,
It is also possible to use other arbitrary interlocking means instead of the means for separating and contacting the two side guides with each other using the belt member.

In the example shown in FIG. 23, only the rear side guide 45 is provided with the driving device 7 using the screw member 71.
The case where the means for moving by 0 is configured is shown.
In this embodiment, a mechanism for engaging the screw member 71 with respect to the side guide 45 is provided, and a mechanism that allows the side guide to move by rotating the screw member 71 using the handle 72 is configured. ing. Then, when the handle 72 is rotated to one side in accordance with the shape of the screw thread of the screw member, the side guide 45 is moved toward the other side guide 45a in a direction to approach the side guide 45a, and the handle is rotated in the opposite direction. As a result, the distance between the two side guides can be increased. Therefore, with respect to the movable side guide 45, the other side guide 45a is arranged at a fixed position,
When the side registration type sheet conveying device is configured, the sheet can be easily positioned in the tray.

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 23,
With respect to the screw member 71, a screw thread in different directions is formed on both sides from the central portion in the lengthwise direction, and a means for moving the two side guides in a direction in which they are brought into contact with and separated from each other according to the rotation of the screw member is configured. You can also Then, by positioning the side guides on both sides of the paper loaded in the tray and pressing and holding the side guides, when the manual feed tray is arranged corresponding to the center registration type device, the paper feeding position of the paper is adjusted. Adjustment can be easily performed. When the drive device 70 shown in FIG. 23 is used, the means for rotating the screw member can be arranged on the front side of the vertical tray unit, and when the vertical tray unit is pulled out. Alternatively, the vertical tray unit can be replenished and positioned in a state in which the vertical tray unit is still arranged on the side of the image forming apparatus.

As described above, the vertical paper feed tray of the present invention can be replenished with paper by providing the vertical tray unit so that it can be pulled out from the side of the image forming apparatus. It is also possible to press the stored sheets by the side guides for positioning. Further, in the vertical tray unit of the present invention, in order to make the state of the loaded paper visible from the outside, all or a part of the members constituting the paper storage unit are made of transparent plastic plate members. can do. Then, for example, by configuring the side plate on the front side of the vertical tray unit and the side guides with transparent members, the state of the paper stored in the manual feed tray can be easily performed without pulling out the vertical tray unit. You can check.

[0036]

Since the vertical sheet feeding tray of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is constructed as described above, when the vertical sheet feeding tray is arranged at the side of the apparatus main body, a sheet is inserted. Providing a means for displaying the limit can prevent problems such as excessive supply. Therefore, by inserting an appropriate number of sheets into the vertical sheet feeding tray, it is possible to prevent the sheet feeding device arranged in the tray from operating normally and prevent the occurrence of double feeding and sheet feeding error. Further, when the vertical paper feed tray of the present invention is configured as a vertical tray unit, it is possible to pull out the vertical tray unit to the front side of the apparatus main body to perform paper replenishment work. Even when there is no extra space on the side of the sheet, the operation of replenishing the sheet can be easily performed. Further, when a side guide is arranged for the vertical tray unit and a step portion is provided for the side guide, it is possible to easily insert and remove a small-sized sheet and The positioning effect can be exhibited well. In addition to the above configuration, when the vertical tray unit is provided so as to be swingable through the vertical axis, or when the paper storage unit is provided so as to be swingable with respect to the lower unit of the vertical tray unit, the vertical tray unit is provided. With the unit pulled out, the work of inserting the paper into the paper storage unit can be performed more easily.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a case where an excessive replenishment detection unit is arranged in a vertical paper feed tray.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a large number of sheets are inserted in a tray.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of another example in which the excessive replenishment detection unit is arranged in the vertical paper feed tray.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where a large number of sheets are inserted in the tray of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which a vertical tray unit is provided so as to be drawn out at a side portion of an apparatus main body.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a configuration of a vertical tray unit.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the vertical tray unit is pulled out.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which a vertical guide unit is provided with a side guide.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which a step is formed on the side guide.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of guide means of a side guide.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which a paper storage unit is provided so that it can be laid down sideways.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which a vertical tray unit is rotatably provided via a vertical axis.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which a vertical tray unit is rotated with respect to a slide plate to supply paper.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a side guide moving unit in the tray of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a rear view of the tray of FIG.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory view of a second embodiment of the side guide moving means.

17 is a rear view of the tray of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a rear view of a third embodiment of the side guide moving means.

FIG. 19 is a rear view of a fourth embodiment of the side guide moving means.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a device that interlocks two side guides.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of a display unit arranged on the side of the tray.

22 is an explanatory diagram of a drive device provided in FIG. 20. FIG.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram of a mechanism for moving a side guide by a screw member.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which a vertical paper feed tray is arranged on the side of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a large-sized sheet has been inserted into the vertical sheet feeding tray.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of an example in which a means for regulating the insertion amount of paper is provided in the insertion opening of the vertical paper feed tray.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 image forming apparatus, 3 photosensitive drum, 10
Vertical feeding tray, 12 holding plate, 15 feeding device, 20/25 paper pressing member, 22/26 actuator, 28 sensor, 30 vertical tray unit, 31 main body guide rail, 32 lower unit, 33 paper storage unit, 34 ・ 36
Support shaft, 35 slide plates, 40 support plate members, 45 side guides, 46 steps, 48
Fixed guide, 50 back plate, 51 opening, 55
~ 57 handle member, 60 drive device, 61
Belt member, 64 lever member, 66 display unit, 70 driving device, 71 screw member,
72 handles.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A vertical paper feed tray comprising a paper storage unit for storing paper in a substantially vertical state and a paper feeding device for feeding the papers stored in the paper storage unit one by one. A vertical paper feed tray for an image forming apparatus, characterized in that a paper holding member for positioning paper is provided in the storage portion, and at least one of the paper holding members is provided with a step portion corresponding to the paper size. . 2. The vertical paper feed tray of the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper holding member is configured as a paper excessive supply detection member.