JPS63185740A - Duplex recording intermediate tray - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify a paper feeding mechanism, by pushing loading sheets to a paper feed roller in common use in a way of interlocking with the descent of a bottom plate of an intermediate tray provided with a regulating plate, regulating a tip and both sides of a discharging sheet and the bottom plate making the sheet tip go down. CONSTITUTION:In order to transfer the back of the sheet that finished the specified copy on one side, a gate is changed over, feeding the sheet onto a bottom plate 35 of an intermediate tray 31 from the arrow direction. Sheets are aligned by a tip regulating plate 34 of this intermediate plate 31 and each fixed regulating plate 33 at both sides and a movable regulating plate 38. The skewed sheet is corrected of its conveying direction by a skew roller 41. When the sheet is reached to the specified number, a front end of the bottom plate 35 is made to go down, pushing the rear end up, and the sheet is pushed out by a sheet rear end presser plate 37, then it is discharged toward a paper feed roller 7. With this constitution, each individual paper feed roller becomes unnecessary, thus constitution is simplified.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an intermediate tray for double-sided recording used when recording on both sides of a sheet of paper in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.

[Conventional technology]

Generally, when performing double-sided recording in which images are recorded on both sides of paper in an image forming device such as a copying machine or printer,
After the image forming apparatus main body records on one side of the paper that is fed one sheet at a time from the paper feed tray, it also records on the back side. A double-sided recording intermediate for temporarily storing the reversed paper. tray is used.

In such an intermediate tray for double-sided recording, in order to accurately record on the back side, sheets with single-sided recording must be stacked and stored in the tray in an accurate alignment, so the side edges and leading edges of the stored sheets must be A reference wall is provided for alignment, and sheets are brought into contact with the reference wall surface using oblique rollers to be stored in alignment.

However, when a reference wall is provided, there is a conveyance shift in the ejected paper, so there is a risk that the paper may collide with the tip of the reference wall. Conventionally, in order to improve this drawback, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1983-
In Japanese Patent No. 31844, means is provided for carrying the paper into the intermediate tray in a state where the paper is separated from the reference wall to prevent the paper from colliding with the tip of the reference wall when being ejected to the tray,
A device has been disclosed in which sheets are brought into contact with a reference wall and aligned using a diagonal roller within an intermediate tray.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, conventional intermediate trays for double-sided recording, including those disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, are installed separately from the paper feed device that stores the unrecorded moonshine. However, there was a problem in that the paper feeding mechanism also required a dedicated one for the intermediate tray.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the conventional intermediate tray for double-sided recording, and provides an intermediate tray for double-sided recording that does not require a separate paper feeding mechanism for the intermediate tray. The purpose is to

(Means and effects for solving the problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a leading edge regulating plate and a side edge regulating plate for regulating and aligning the leading edge and side edges of ejected paper, and at least a leading edge regulating plate and a side edge regulating plate. An intermediate tray for double-sided recording is composed of a paper loading tray bottom plate that is supported so that it can be lowered, and a paper trailing edge pressing plate that pushes out the loaded paper toward a shared paper feed roller in conjunction with the lowering movement of the tray bottom plate. It is something to do.

With this configuration, in conjunction with the lowering movement of the tray bottom plate, the paper trailing end press plate pushes out the stacked storage paper toward the common paper feed roller, and the paper can be fed by the common paper feed roller. , it becomes possible to omit a separate paper feeding mechanism.

〔Example〕

Examples will be described below. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus to which an embodiment of the intermediate tray for double-sided recording according to the present invention is applied, and this configuration example is configured as a printer using an ion flow one-type recording head. It shows what was done.

In the figure, 1 is a dielectric drum, 2 is the dielectric drum 1
a recording head for forming an electrostatic charge image on the dielectric drum 1 by emitting an ion flow modulated in a dot shape according to an image signal to be recorded; 3 for developing the electrostatic charge image on the dielectric drum 1 with toner; A developing device 4 is a transfer roller for transferring the toner image on the drum 1 onto a sheet of paper, and is in pressure contact with the dielectric drum 1 and driven by it. Reference numeral 5 denotes an elevator paper feeding unit disposed below the main body 6 of the apparatus, and 7.8 separates and feeds the sheets 9 stacked and stored in the elevator paper feeding unit 5 toward the transfer section. 10 is a normal paper feed tray placed on the side of the apparatus main body 6; 11.12 is a paper feed roller and retard for separating and feeding the paper from the paper feed tray 10; , 13
．． 14.15.16.17.18 are paper guides, 19.
20, 21, and 22 are a pair of conveyance rollers, respectively.

Reference numeral 23 denotes a gate plate disposed between the conveyance rollers 21 and 22, which can be switched depending on the single-sided or double-sided recording mode. Reference numeral 24 indicates a reversing guide portion for reversing the paper in the double-sided recording mode, 25 indicates a curl forming member for curling the rear end of the paper inserted into the reversing roller interior 24 into an upward mountain shape, and 26 indicates a reversing guide portion for reversing the paper in the double-sided recording mode. A pressing sheet 27 made of mylar or the like for pressing the curled portion is arranged so as to intersect at a slight angle (approximately 1 degree) with the support shaft 2B of the lower conveyance roller 21a of the conveyance roller z1 immediately before the gate plate 23. A cross conveyance roller 31 is attached to the support shaft 29 and is in pressure contact with the lower conveyance roller 21a, and 31 is a double-sided recording roller according to the present invention disposed between the lower surface of the apparatus main body 6 and the upper surface of the elevator paper feed unit 5. This is an intermediate tray.

As shown in the top view of FIG. 2, the intermediate tray 31 for double-sided recording includes both side plates 32.33 and a tip regulation mechanism for aligning the leading ends of the storage sheets attached between the front ends of the both side plates 32.33. It includes a plate 34 and a tiltable intermediate tray bottom plate 35 having a rear end inclined portion 35a rotatably pivoted about a shaft 36 between the side plates 32 and 33.

At the rear end inclined portion 35a of the intermediate tray bottom plate 35,
As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 3, a paper trailing edge pressing plate for pushing out the stacked and stored paper toward the paper feed roller 7 and retard 8 of the elevator paper feed unit 5 when the tip of the bottom plate 35 is lowered. 37 is attached movably along the elongated hole 35b.

Further, a side edge regulating plate 38 for aligning and regulating the side edges of the stored sheets is attached to the inside of one side plate 32 of the intermediate tray 31 with support members 39a and 39b. The upper end is bent so as to face the bottom plate 35 of the intermediate tray 31, and includes a skew roller 41 for skewing the ejected paper toward the side edge regulating plate 38.
A holding plate 40 is formed to hold a supporting plate 43 supporting the.

In addition to the oblique roller 41, an aligner motor 42 for driving the roller 41 is attached to the support plate 43, and the aligner motor 42 is slightly inclined toward the side edge regulation plate 38 so that its central rotation center 43a is connected to the holding plate 43. It is rotatably attached to the plate 40. The skew roller 41 driven by the motor 42 is configured to press and contact the surface of the discharged sheet with a predetermined pressure, and convey the discharged sheet toward the side edge regulating plate 38 . Note that the skew roller 41 is brought into contact with the paper with a predetermined pressure to cause the paper to skew, and the paper is stored at a predetermined position in the intermediate tray 31, that is, at a position where the leading edge and side edges of the paper are in contact with the regulating plates 34 and 38. After that,
In order to allow the paper to slide on the paper surface without buckling, the material of the roller 41 and the moment about the rotational center 438 of the support plate 43 are designed to optimal values. The rear end portion 43b of the support plate 43 serves both as a paper guide and a balancer.

Further, a push-up branch 43c of the roller support Fj, 43 is formed near the support portion of the oblique roller 42 of the roller support plate 43, and the support member 39a of the side edge regulation plate 38 is connected to the push-up branch 43c of the roller support Fj. One end of a push-up lever 44 held movably is engaged with the push-up lever 4.
The other end of 4 is connected to the intermediate tray bottom plate 35 via a spring 45, as shown in FIG.

When the intermediate tray bottom plate 35 is lowered, the push-up support piece 43C is pushed up via the push-up lever 44, and the diagonal roller 41 is separated from the upper surface of the sheets stacked and stored on the intermediate tray bottom plate 35. . Note that when the tray bottom plate 35 is not lowered, the lever 44 is in a position where it does not touch the push-up support piece 43c.

On the other hand, a stopper bin 46 is integrally protruded from the center of one side of the intermediate tray bottom plate 35. A partially cutout groove 47 engages with the stopper bin 46 and holds the intermediate tray bottom plate 35 in a predetermined position.
A lock plate 47 having a diameter of 1.a is movably supported by one side plate 32, and one end of the lock plate 47 is biased to one side by a spring 48, and the other end is biased to one side by a solenoid 49.
As shown in the side view of FIG. 4, the lock plate 47 is driven against the spring 48 by the urging of the solenoid 49, and the notch of the lock plate 47 is connected to the plunger of the lock plate 47. a
47a, the stopper bin 46 is dropped, and the intermediate tray bottom plate 35 is lowered. In FIG. 4, 50 is a reed switch for detecting movement of the lock plate 47.

Further, on the back surface of the inclined portion 35a of the intermediate tray bottom plate 35, as shown in FIG. The drive bin 52 is supported in the center of the drive bin 52.
is planted, and its leading end retaining portion 51a engages with the protruding portion 37a of the sheet rear end pressing plate 37. Further, the operating ring 51 is normally biased in the direction of the dashed line by the action of a spring 530, and the biasing force of the spring 53 causes the paper trailing edge pressing plate 37 to press the paper.

The drive bin 52 has a lock bin 55 on one arm 54a, and a shaft 56 provided on the side plate 32.
The distal end notch 54C of the other arm 54b of the U-shaped drive lever 54, which is swingably supported by the U-shaped drive lever 54, is engaged.

The lock bin 55 of the U-shaped drive lever 54 is the sixth
As shown in Figures ^ and (B), it is arranged so that it can be engaged with the tip of a lock lever 58 that is swingably provided on the pivot shaft 36 of the intermediate tray bottom plate 35 and is biased by a spring 57. has been done. Figure 6 (as shown in 0, the lock lever 5
A protrusion 58a is provided on the inner side surface of the tray bottom plate 35, and the protrusion 58a loosely fits into a notch 35c formed on the side of the rear end inclined portion 35a of the tray bottom plate 35, and is rotated clockwise by the spring 57. is energized by The drive lever 54 is biased counterclockwise in FIG. 6 in conjunction with the biasing of the operating ring 51 by the spring 53 shown in FIG. Therefore, in the state shown in FIG. 6, the drive lever 54 is locked and does not move at the position where the lock pin 55 comes into contact with the tip of the lock lever 58. The operating ring 51 is positioned against the biasing force of the spring 53 as shown by the solid line in FIG.

Further, one arm 54a of the drive lever 54 is further formed with an arm branch piece 54d.
A roller 59 is provided at the tip of d and is driven by contacting the upper surface of the stacked paper 9 of the elevator paper feeding unit 5 only when the elevator paper feeding unit 5 rises higher than the normal paper feeding position. .

In addition, 60 in FIG. 3 is a paper passage sensor that detects that the transferred paper has been conveyed to the double-sided recording conveyance path where the cross conveyance roller 27 is arranged and that a jam occurs in the conveyance path. 61 in the figure is a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of paper stored in the intermediate tray 31, and 62 in FIG. 1 is a paper discharge tray provided on the side of the main body of the image forming apparatus.

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 0 equipped with the double-sided recording intermediate tray configured as described above will be described. First, a case will be described in which paper is fed from the elevator paper feeding unit 5 and double-sided recording is performed.

By inputting the double-sided recording mode signal, the switching gate plate 23 is switched downward as shown by the solid line in FIGS. 1 and 3, and the transferred paper is transferred to the reversing guide section 24.
cents to be transported to.

At this time, the stopper pin 46 is held by the upper edge of the lock plate 47, and the intermediate tray bottom plate 35 is in the state where the paper ejection receiver is placed.

In this state, paper is fed from the elevator paper feed unit 5, but when the elevator mechanism first rises and a paper surface height sensor (not shown) turns on, the elevator lifting operation stops. Thereafter, the elevator paper feed roller 7 rotates to separate the sheets 9 one by one and transport them toward the transfer section.

A toner image is transferred from the dielectric drum 1 to the paper 9 transported by the paper feed roller ruff in the transfer section, passes through transport rollers 20 and 21, and is further transported toward the reversing guide section 24 through the gate plate 23. When the leading edge of the transferred paper 9a hits the leading edge of the 0 reversing guide 24, the trailing edge of the paper 9a is curled upward by the curl forming member 25 provided on the gate plate 23, as shown in FIG. The curled portion is pressed downward by the pressing sheet 26. As a result, the trailing edge 9b of the paper 9a is conveyed along with the lower conveyance roller 21a toward the contact portion with the cross conveyance roller 27.

Next, the reversed paper 9a starts to be transported toward the intermediate tray 31 by the lower transport roller 21a and the cross transport roller 27. At this time, the lower conveyance roller 21a and the cross conveyance roller 27 convey the paper 9a slightly outwardly and diagonally in a direction away from the side edge regulating plate 38 of the intermediate tray 31 until it reaches the pair of conveyance rollers 21a and 27. Even if there is a conveyance shift etc., the paper 9 to be ejected will not reach the intermediate tray 31.
It is designed so that it does not come into contact with the entrance corners, etc.

When the reversed paper 9a begins to be transported by the cross transport rollers 27, it is detected by the paper passing sensor 60, and the aligner motor 42 in the intermediate tray 31 starts rotating after a certain period of time and continues to rotate for a certain period of time.

The paper 9a conveyed by the cross conveyance rollers 27 and discharged onto the intermediate tray 31 is then transported to the bottom plate 35 of the intermediate tray.
At the top, the sheet 9a is conveyed obliquely toward the side edge regulating plate 3 by the diagonal roller 41 driven by the aligner motor 42 in the opposite direction to the conveyance direction by the cross conveyance roller 27. The side edge of is the side edge regulation plate 38
The leading edge of the paper is regulated by contacting with the leading edge regulating plate 34.
It is regulated and stored in contact with the

Thereafter, in the same manner, the sheets 9a having the toner images transferred to their surfaces are sequentially stacked and stored in the intermediate tray 31 in an orderly manner, with their side edges and leading edges being regulated by the side edge regulating plate 38 and the leading edge regulating plate 34, respectively. Note that the paper 9 to this intermediate tray 31
When the paper 9a is stored, the trailing edge of the paper 9a almost comes into contact with the paper trailing edge pressing plate 37 which is in the retracted position.

A set number of sheets of paper 9 are transferred to the intermediate tray 31.
When the paper a is stored, the paper feeding from the elevator paper feeding unit 5 is stopped and the paper ejection to the intermediate tray 31 is stopped, and the gate plate 23 is moved as shown by the dashed line in FIGS. 1 and 3. Can be switched upwards.

Next, the elevator mechanism is raised, and the solenoid 49 is turned on after a certain period of time after the paper surface height sensor of the elevator paper feeding unit 5 is turned on. At this time, since the load of the stored paper is applied to the stopper pin 46 of the tray bottom plate 35, the lock plate 47 cannot be moved immediately even if the solenoid 49 is energized. Then, when the elevator mechanism continues to rise and begins to push up the contact portion 35d of the bottom plate 35 of the intermediate tray 31 with the upper surface of the paper 9, the load on the stopper pin 46 decreases and the lock plate 47 moves, thereby causing The reed switch 50 is turned OFF, stopping the elevator mechanism from ascending and immediately starting its descending operation.

As the elevator mechanism moves downward, the stopper pin 46 can enter the notched groove 47a of the lock plate 47.
The tray bottom plate 35 also rotates under its own weight while being supported by the paper 9 on the elevator with the shaft 36 as a fulcrum, and the tip of the bottom plate 35 begins to descend. The state is shown in FIG. When the stopper pin 46 reaches the bottom of the notched groove 47a, the lowering movement of the intermediate tray bottom plate 35 is stopped. Also,
In conjunction with this lowering movement of the intermediate tray bottom plate 35, the spring 45
The end of the push-up lever 44 is pulled through the push-up lever 44, and the lever 44 rotates, thereby pushing up the roller support plate 43 via the push-up support piece 43c and moving the oblique roller 41 to the intermediate tray 31 for loading and storing sheets. It is spaced apart from the upper surface of 9a.

On the other hand, as the tip of the intermediate tray bottom plate 35 descends, the lock lever 58 also rotates via the protrusion 58a, and before the intermediate tray bottom plate 35 stops lowering, the top tip of the stacked sheets 9a of the tray 31 is fully moved. At the position where the paper leading end regulating plate 34 is lowered, the lock bin 55 is disengaged, the drive lever 54 becomes free, and the actuating ring 51 is moved by the biasing force of the spring 53 as shown in FIG. 5 (dotted chain line 81). position, and press the paper trailing edge pressing plate 3 along the long hole 35b on the bottom plate inclined portion 35a.
7 is driven forward. Due to this forward movement of the pressing plate 37, the sheet 9a whose leading end is separated from the leading end regulating plate 34 is pressed and moved toward the sheet feeding roller 8.

This state is shown in Figure 7).

Next, the elevator mechanism of the elevator paper feed unit 5 is raised again, and the tray bottom plate 35 is pressed with the top surface of the paper 9 until the paper surface height sensor (not shown) is turned on to lift the tray bottom vi35, and one side on the tray bottom plate 35 is lifted. The transferred paper 9a is pressed into contact with the paper feed roller 7. This state is shown in FIG. 7 (C1).

Next, the paper feed roller 7 is rotated to convey the sheets of paper in the intermediate tray 31 one by one again to the transfer section, and the toner image is transferred to the other untransferred surface. 16, 17, and 18, and is discharged to the discharge paper storage tray 62.

When the paper feeding from the intermediate tray 31 is completed, the elevator mechanism of the elevator paper feeding unit 5 rises, and the contact portion 35d of the bottom plate 35 of the intermediate tray 31 and the drive lever 54
The roller 59 pushes up the paper 9 stacked and stored in the elevator paper feed unit 5 with the upper surface.

When the intermediate tray bottom plate 35 is pushed up, the stopper pin 46 is pulled out from the notch i1!47a of the lock plate 47, the lock plate 47 returns to the locked state by the biasing force of the spring 48, and the stopper pin 46 is pulled out of the lock plate 47. It is held by the upper edge, whereby the intermediate tray bottom plate 35 is again held in the retracted position. FIGS. 1 to 3 show this state. At the same time, the return operation of the lock plate 47 causes the reed switch 50 to operate, stopping the elevator mechanism from rising, and lowering the elevator after a certain period of time.

Further, when the roller 59 of the drive lever 54 is pushed up by the paper 9 of the elevator paper feed unit 5, the drive lever 54 is rotated, thereby retracting the paper trailing edge pressing plate 37 via the operating ring 51 (Fig. 5).口) Reference].

The lock pin 55 of the drive lever 54 is a lock pin 55 of the drive lever 54.
58 is rotated clockwise while pushing up against the spring 57, and engages with the tip of the lock lever 58 at the position shown in FIG. 6, so that the drive lever 54 is held at that position.

FIG. 6(9) shows this state. Therefore, the sheet trailing edge pressing plate 37 is also held in the retreated position.

In this way, the double-sided copying operation is completed.

As described above, since the intermediate tray 31 is arranged using the gap between the apparatus main body 6 and the elevator paper feeding unit 5, no space is required for arranging the intermediate tray, and the bottom plate 35 of the intermediate tray The driving control of the raising and lowering operations can be easily performed by operating the elevator mechanism of the elevator paper feeding unit 5. and bottom plate 3
5, the paper trailing end press plate 37 is moved forward, and the paper stored on the bottom plate 35 is pushed out toward the paper feed roller rough of the elevator paper feed unit 5, and the paper feed roller 7 is used to move the paper rear end press plate 37 forward. Paper can be fed from the tray 31. Furthermore, when feeding paper from the intermediate tray 31, the diagonal roller 41 is moved away from the surface of the stored paper in conjunction with the lowering movement of the bottom plate 35, so that no load is applied to the paper, and the paper feeding operation by the paper feeding roller is improved. It will be done.

The duplex recording operation by feeding paper from the elevator paper feed unit 5 has been described above, but the duplex recording operation is performed by feeding paper from a simple paper feed tray 10 that is not an elevator system and is placed on the side of the main body of the apparatus. In this case, the same operation steps are used.

In other words, when the paper feed roller 11 starts rotating, the paper feed tray 1
Paper is fed from 0, and after the toner image is transferred in the transfer section, it passes through the reversing guide section 24 and enters the intermediate tray 31.
It will be stored soon. The operation after the paper is stored in the intermediate tray is driven and controlled by the operation of the elevator mechanism of the elevator paper feed unit 5, just as in the case of paper feeding from the elevator paper feed unit 5 described above. A transfer operation is performed, and the paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 62.

Further, in the illustrated configuration example, by keeping the gate plate 23 switched upward, the transfer paper 9a
directly to the paper output tray 6 without discharging to the intermediate tray 31.
Of course, it is possible to perform a single-sided recording operation by discharging the paper to the second side.

In the above embodiment, when lowering the intermediate tray bottom plate,
- The solenoid is energized before the bottom plate of the intermediate tray is pushed up by the paper in the elevator paper feed unit, but after the bottom plate of the middle tray is pushed up, the solenoid is energized to move the lock plate. It may be configured as follows.

Further, in the above embodiment, the tray bottom plate is pivoted at one end and is tiltable so that the tip can be lowered, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to configure the paper trailing end pressing plate to push out the loaded paper toward the common paper feed roller in conjunction with the lowering operation.

Further, in the above embodiment, an application is shown to an image forming apparatus using an ion flow recording head, but the intermediate tray for double-sided recording according to the present invention is of course applicable not only to this but also to other image forming apparatuses. It is something.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above based on the embodiments, according to the present invention, the paper rear end pressing plate is configured to push out the stacked storage paper toward the shared paper feed roller in conjunction with the lowering movement of the tray bottom plate. Therefore, paper can be fed by the shared paper feed roller, and there is an advantage that a separate paper feed mechanism is not required.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a circular route diagram showing an image forming apparatus to which an embodiment of the intermediate tray for double-sided recording according to the present invention is applied, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial view of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a partially omitted side view of the intermediate tray shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged top view of the intermediate tray for double-sided recording. are a side view and a back view of the inclined bottom plate of the intermediate tray, FIG.
Figure C) is an exploded perspective view of a portion of the long lever, Figure 7^,
(Old) is a diagram showing the operation mode of the bottom plate of the intermediate tray, and FIG. 7 FC+ is a diagram showing the paper feeding mode from the intermediate tray. In the figure, 1 is a dielectric drum, 2 is a recording head, 3 is a developing device, 4 is a transfer roller, 5 is an elevator paper feed unit, 6 is an apparatus main body, 7 is a paper feed roller, 10 is a paper feed tray, and 11 is a Paper feed roller, 19.20° 21, 22 are conveyance rollers, 23 is a gate plate, 24 is a reversing guide, 25 is a curl forming member, 26 is a pressing sheet, 27 is a cross conveyance roller, 31 is an intermediate tray, 32. 33 is a side plate, 34 is a leading edge regulating plate, 35 is an intermediate tray bottom plate, 36 is a shaft, 37 is a sheet trailing edge pressing plate, 38 is a side edge regulating plate, 40 is a holding plate, 41 is a diagonal roller, 42 is a motor, 43 is a support plate, 44 is a push-up lever, 45 is a spring, 46 is a stopper pin, 47 is a lock plate, 48 is a spring, 49 is a solenoid, 50 is a reed switch, 51 is an operating rod, 53 is a spring, 54 is a drive lever , 55 is a lock pin, 57 is a spring, 58 is a lock lever, 259 is a roller, 60 is a paper passage sensor, 61 is a storage paper sensor, and 62 is a paper discharge tray. Patent applicant: Olympus Optical Industry Co., Ltd. Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] A leading edge regulating plate and a side edge regulating plate for regulating and aligning the leading edge and side edges of the ejected paper, a paper loading tray bottom plate supported so that at least the leading edge portion can be lowered, and a paper loading tray bottom plate that is interlocked with the lowering movement of the tray bottom plate. An intermediate tray for double-sided recording, characterized in that it is equipped with a sheet trailing edge pressing plate that pushes out the stacked sheets toward a shared paper feed roller.