US20120025449A1 - Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus Download PDF

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Publication number
US20120025449A1
US20120025449A1 US13/182,553 US201113182553A US2012025449A1 US 20120025449 A1 US20120025449 A1 US 20120025449A1 US 201113182553 A US201113182553 A US 201113182553A US 2012025449 A1 US2012025449 A1 US 2012025449A1
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
sheet
side edge
sheet feeding
portions
image forming
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US13/182,553
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English (en)
Inventor
Yuya Yanagi
Yuichiro Osawa
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Canon Inc
Original Assignee
Canon Inc
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Canon Inc filed Critical Canon Inc
Assigned to CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA reassignment CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: OSAWA, YUICHIRO, YANAGI, YUYA
Publication of US20120025449A1 publication Critical patent/US20120025449A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H1/00—Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated
    • B65H1/04—Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated adapted to support articles substantially horizontally, e.g. for separation from top of pile
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2405/00—Parts for holding the handled material
    • B65H2405/10—Cassettes, holders, bins, decks, trays, supports or magazines for sheets stacked substantially horizontally
    • B65H2405/11—Parts and details thereof
    • B65H2405/114—Side, i.e. portion parallel to the feeding / delivering direction
    • B65H2405/1142—Projections or the like in surface contact with handled material
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2511/00—Dimensions; Position; Numbers; Identification; Occurrences
    • B65H2511/10—Size; Dimensions
    • B65H2511/12—Width
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2511/00—Dimensions; Position; Numbers; Identification; Occurrences
    • B65H2511/20—Location in space
    • B65H2511/22—Distance
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2801/00—Application field
    • B65H2801/03—Image reproduction devices
    • B65H2801/06—Office-type machines, e.g. photocopiers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus and an image forming apparatus, particularly to a configuration of a side edge regulating portion that regulates a side edge position of a sheet stored in a sheet storage portion detachably attached to an apparatus main body.
  • an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine
  • a sheet feeding apparatus In the sheet feeding apparatus, generally a sheet cassette which is the sheet storage portion is detachably attached to an apparatus main body, and the sheet stored in the sheet cassette is automatically fed to the image forming portion.
  • a sheet stacking portion which is pressed against a sheet feeding roller while stacking the sheet thereon is provided in a lifting and lowering manner.
  • a tailing end regulating member is slidably provided in the sheet cassette provided with the sheet stacking portion.
  • the tailing end regulating member regulates a position of a tailing end in a sheet feeding direction (hereinafter referred to as a tailing end) of the sheet which is stacked on and stored in the sheet stacking portion such that sheets having different sizes can be stored in the sheet cassette.
  • a pair of side edge regulating portions is slidably provided to regulate a side edge position in a direction (hereinafter referred to as a width direction) orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction in delivering the sheet.
  • the tailing end of the sheet is regulated by the tailing end regulating member while the side edges of the sheet is regulated by the pair of side edge regulating portions, whereby a leading end position of the sheet is always regulated in a predetermined position. Therefore, when the sheet cassette is accommodated in the apparatus main body, the sheet can stably be fed irrespective of the sheet size.
  • the side edge regulating portion is configured to be slid according to the sheet size, an attachment allowance exists due to the configuration, and the side edge regulating portion may be inclined with respect to the sheet feeding direction. Even if the side edge regulating portion is not inclined, slight irregularity may exist in the side edge regulating portion due to a manufacturing tolerance.
  • the sheet When the side edge regulating portion is inclined, or when the slight irregularity exists in the side edge regulating portion, the sheet may be inclined with respect to the sheet feeding direction when the side edge regulating portion abuts on the side edge of the sheet after the sheet is stored in the sheet cassette.
  • Side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l which are the side edge regulating portions has the attachment allowances because the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l are configured to be able to be moved in the width direction.
  • the slight irregularity exists on a regulating surface facing a sheet S when viewed in the whole area in the sheet feeding direction.
  • the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l have the same inclination of an angle ⁇ with respect to the sheet feeding direction.
  • the lengths X in the sheet feeding direction of the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l is increased as much as possible (for example, 60 mm or more) because the sheet S is regulated in a distance as long as possible.
  • the sheet S may be inclined by an attaching state or component accuracy if regulated in the long distance.
  • a distance connecting the abutting points R 1 and L 1 between the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l and the sheet S by a straight line can be expressed by ⁇ (X2+Y2).
  • the sheet S is subjected to forces F 1 at the abutting points R 1 and L 1 between the sheet S and the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l , when the sheet S is positioned such that the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l are moved to abut on the sheet S.
  • the abutting points R 1 and L 1 become power points and also become fulcrums about which the sheet is rotated. Therefore, rotation moment is generated clockwise in the sheet S as illustrated in FIG. 12B , magnitude of the rotation moment is proportional to X cos ⁇ and the forces F 1 acting on the abutting points.
  • the sheet when the side edge regulating portion having the inclination abuts on the sheet, the sheet may not be aligned with the side edge regulating portion. In such cases, a gap is generated between the side edge regulating portion and the side edge of the sheet.
  • a force rotating the sheet acts on the sheet due to an unbalance between right and left pressures of the sheet feeding roller, because the sheet is rotated until the side edge abuts on the side edge regulating portion, possibly the skew feeding is generated depending on the position of the gap.
  • FIG. 13 illustrates a state immediately after the leading end of the sheet S is fed by the sheet feeding roller 3 c .
  • the sheet S is regulated at the two abutting points R 1 and L 1 of the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l .
  • the sheet S may be subjected to a force F 2 illustrated in FIG.
  • the clockwise (CW) rotation moment is generated in the sheet S by the force F 2 , and the sheet S is rotated until the gaps between the side edges and the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l are filled.
  • a sheet feeding apparatus including an angle adjusting portion that adjusts an angle of the side edge regulating portion with respect to the sheet feeding direction (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-263458).
  • the sheet feeding apparatus includes the angle adjusting portion, a service engineer or a user can simply adjust the sheet feeding apparatus to the desired skew feeding accuracy according to a variation in manufacturing tolerance of the sheet feeding apparatus.
  • the laser beam printer and the copying machine is widely used in not only offices but also home with low cost and miniaturization, and a demand for improvement of usability is increased.
  • the conventional sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus in which the angle of the side edge regulating portion is adjusted, it takes a significantly long time for not the service person but the individual user to see a sample to adjust the angle of the side edge regulating portion.
  • productivity of the sheet feeding apparatus is degraded to decrease the usability. That is, it takes a long time to adjust the angle of the side edge regulating portion in order to prevent the skew feeding in positioning or feeding the sheet.
  • An angle adjusting mechanism is also required to complicate a structure.
  • the present invention provides a sheet feeding apparatus and an image forming apparatus which can suppress the generation of the sheet skew feeding by a simple configuration.
  • a sheet feeding apparatus comprising: a sheet storage portion which stores sheets; a sheet feeding roller which feeds the sheet stored in the sheet storage portion; a pair of side edge regulating portions which is provided opposite each other in the sheet storage portion so as to regulate positions of side edges in a width direction orthogonal to a sheet feeding direction of the stored sheet, and at least one of the pair of side edge regulating portions can be moved in the width direction; and projection portions provided opposite each other on inner wall surfaces of the side edge regulating portions so as to abut on the side edges of the sheet, respectively.
  • the projection portion which abuts on each side edge of the sheet is provided on the inner wall surface of the pair of side edge regulating portions, which allows the generation of the sheet skew feeding to be suppressed by the simple configuration.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic configuration of a printer which is an example of an image forming apparatus provided with a sheet feeding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding apparatus
  • FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a movable portion of a side regulating plate provided in the sheet feeding apparatus
  • FIG. 4A illustrates a configuration of the side regulating plate (left member);
  • FIG. 4B illustrates a configuration of the side regulating plate (right member);
  • FIG. 4C is a plan view illustrating the configurations of the side regulating plates;
  • FIG. 5A illustrates a sheet positioning operation performed by the side regulating plates
  • FIG. 5B illustrates the sheet positioning operation performed by the side regulating plates
  • FIG. 6 illustrates a state immediately after a sheet positioned by the side regulating plates is fed by a sheet feeding roller
  • FIG. 7 is a table illustrating a determination result of a length of an abutting portion of the side regulating plate to a tolerance of a skew feeding amount
  • FIG. 8A illustrates a side regulating plate (right member) provided in a sheet tray of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 8B illustrates a side regulating plate (left member) provided in the sheet tray of the sheet feeding apparatus of the second embodiment
  • FIG. 8C is a plan view illustrating the side regulating plates provided in the sheet tray of the sheet feeding apparatus of the second embodiment
  • FIG. 9A illustrates a sheet positioning operation performed by the side regulating plates
  • FIG. 9B illustrates the sheet positioning operation performed by the side regulating plates
  • FIG. 10A illustrates a configuration of a movable portion of a side regulating plate provided in a sheet tray of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention
  • FIG. 10B is an enlarged view illustrating the configuration of the movable portion of the side regulating plate provided in the sheet tray of the sheet feeding apparatus of the third embodiment
  • FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the side regulating plate
  • FIG. 12A illustrates a sheet positioning operation performed by conventional side regulating plates
  • FIG. 12B illustrates the sheet positioning operation performed by conventional side regulating plates
  • FIG. 13 illustrates a state immediately after a sheet positioned by the conventional side regulating plates is fed by a sheet feeding roller.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic configuration of a printer which is an example of an image forming apparatus provided with a sheet feeding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention.
  • a printer 50 of FIG. 1 an image forming portion 52 is provided in a printer main body 51 which is an apparatus main body, the image forming portion 52 performs image formation by an electrophotographic system, and a sheet feeding apparatus 3 feeds a sheet S to the image forming portion 52 .
  • the image forming portion 52 includes a laser exposure device 1 , a photosensitive drum 207 which forms a toner image, and a transfer roller 4 which transfers the toner image formed in the photosensitive drum 207 to the sheet S.
  • a process cartridge B includes the photosensitive drum 207 , a charging roller (not illustrated), and a development portion (not illustrated). The process cartridge B is detachably attached to the printer main body 51 .
  • the sheet feeding apparatus 3 includes a sheet feeding roller 3 c , a sheet tray 3 a which is a sheet storage portion, and a lift-up plate 3 b .
  • the lift-up plate 3 b is provided in the sheet tray 3 a in a lifting and lowering manner, and presses the sheet S stored in the sheet tray 3 a against the sheet feeding roller 3 c .
  • a separation pad 3 d which presses the sheet feeding roller 3 c is provided on a downstream side in a sheet feeding direction of the sheet tray 3 a .
  • the sheet S is delivered from the sheet tray 3 a by the sheet feeding roller 3 c , and the sheet S is separated one by one by the separation pad 3 d which presses the sheet feeding roller 3 c.
  • the photosensitive drum 207 which is rotated in an arrow direction while a charging treatment is performed to a surface of the photosensitive drum 207 , is irradiated with a laser beam L emitted from the laser exposure device 1 according to an image signal.
  • a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 207 by the laser irradiation according to the image signal.
  • the latent image on the photosensitive drum 207 is developed and visualized as a toner imager by toner supplied by the development portion.
  • the lift-up plate 3 b is lifted in parallel with the toner image forming operation, the sheet S set in the sheet tray 2 a is delivered by friction with the sheet feeding roller 3 c , and the sheet S is separated one by one and substantially vertically fed by the separation pad 3 d . Then the sheet S is conveyed to a transfer portion by a pair of conveying rollers 3 e.
  • a voltage having an opposite polarity to the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 207 is applied to the transfer roller 4 , thereby transferring the visualized toner image on the photosensitive drum 207 to the sheet S.
  • the sheet S to which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to a fixing unit 5 , which is disposed in an upper portion of the printer main body, by a conveyance guide 3 f .
  • the fixing unit 5 includes a driving roller 5 a and a heater unit 5 c in which a heater 5 b is incorporated.
  • the transferred toner image is fixed by applying heat and pressure to the passing sheet S.
  • the sheet S to which the toner image is fixed is conveyed by a pair of discharge rollers 3 g and discharged to a discharge portion 6 provided on an upper surface of the printer main body 51 .
  • a tailing end regulating plate 31 is provided in the sheet tray 3 a to regulate a tailing end which is an upstream side edge in the sheet feeding direction on the lift-up plate 3 b .
  • the tailing end regulating plate 31 can slidably be moved along the sheet feeding direction and disposed at a position corresponding to a sheet size.
  • the tailing end regulating plate 31 is pressed against the tailing end of the sheet S, and a leading end of the sheet S abuts on an abutting surface 3 f , thereby determining the position of the sheet S in the sheet feeding direction based on the leading end of the sheet S.
  • the sheet tray 3 a includes a pair of side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l .
  • the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l abut on both side edges in a width direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction of the sheet S stacked on the lift-up plate 3 b and regulate side edge positions of the sheet S.
  • the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l are supported by a side regulating plate guide 32 while being slidable in the width direction.
  • the side edge positions of the sheet S can be aligned by the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l which are a side edge regulating portion.
  • the sheet feeding apparatus of the first embodiment performs a center registration type sheet feed. Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 3 , the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l include rack members 7 r and 7 l which are slid in conjunction with each other, and the rack members 7 r and 7 l engage with a pinion 8 which is journaled at a bottom of the side regulating plate guide 32 .
  • the rack members 7 r and 7 l are guided by a lateral guide groove 32 a formed in the width direction of the side regulating plate guide 32 , thereby also moving the other side regulating plate in conjunction with one of the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l .
  • the rack members 7 r and 7 l are retained at the moved positions by a frictional force with the side regulating plate guide 32 .
  • FIG. 4 illustrates configurations of the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l of the first embodiment.
  • the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l include abutting portions 301 r and 301 l on inner wall surfaces thereof, respectively.
  • the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l are projection portions whose lengths X′ in the sheet feeding direction are short (for example, 5 mm or less).
  • the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l are provided one by one, the side edge of the sheet S and each of the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l become a state of a substantial point contact.
  • the rotation moment applied to the sheet S is proportional to the length X in the sheet feeding direction of each of the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l . Therefore, when the side edge of the sheet S and each of the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l become the state of the substantial point contact like the first embodiment, because the rotation moment applied to the sheet S is decreased even if the side regulating plates 31 r and 31 l are inclined, the sheet S is hardly influenced by the inclinations of the side regulating plates 30 r and 30 l.
  • the pair of abutting portions 301 r and 301 l is provided across the sheet S from each other.
  • the lengths X′ in the sheet feeding direction of the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l are short (for example, 5 mm or less)
  • directions of forces acting on the sheet S by the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l become the substantially same straight line orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction.
  • FIG. 5A illustrates a state before the sheet S is positioned
  • FIG. 5B illustrates a state after the sheet S is positioned.
  • the side edges of the sheet S and the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l become the state of the substantial point contact as illustrated in FIG. 5A .
  • the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l abut on the sheet S at the substantially same position in the sheet feeding direction, namely, with no deviation in the sheet feeding direction.
  • the sheet S does not rotate, because the rotation moment is not generated in the sheet S even if the sheet S is subjected to forces F 4 from the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l . Therefore, the sheet S is hardly inclined when the sheet S is positioned.
  • FIG. 6 illustrates a state immediately after the leading end of the sheet S is fed by the sheet feeding roller 3 c .
  • the sheet S is subjected to forces F 5 at the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l depending on a difference between right and left diameters of the sheet feeding roller 3 c , a pressure balance between the right and left diameters, and alignment of the sheet feeding roller 3 c with respect to the sheet feeding direction.
  • the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l of the side regulating plates 31 r and 31 l abut on the side edges of the sheet S at the same position in the sheet feeding direction to regulate an attitude of the sheet S. Therefore, a gap is eliminated unlike the conventional art, but the sheet S does not rotate. Consequently, in the first embodiment, the skew feeding of the sheet S is not generated during the sheet feed.
  • the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l of the side regulating plates 31 r and 31 l are set to positions at which the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l can abut on the side edges of the sheet S.
  • Plural pairs of conveying rollers 3 e constituting the sheet conveying portion are provided in the width direction.
  • two pairs of conveying rollers 3 e are provided, and the two pairs of conveying rollers 3 e convey the sheet S while nipping the sheet S, thereby stabilizing the attitude of the sheet S.
  • the sheet S is regulated by the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l such that the attitude of the sheet S does not change until the leading end of the sheet S reaches the pairs of conveying rollers 3 e , so that the skew feeding of the sheet S can be prevented from the feed to the conveyance.
  • the lengths X′ in the sheet feeding direction of the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l of the side regulating plates 31 r and 31 l are set to 5 mm or less.
  • the lengths X′ in the sheet feeding direction of the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l are set to 5 mm or less.
  • FIG. 7 illustrates a determination result of the lengths X′ of the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l of the side regulating plates 31 r and 31 l to a tolerance of a skew feeding amount.
  • the tolerance of the skew feeding amount is set to 0.5% of a long side (sheet feeding direction) of the sheet S, and 150 letter-size (215.9 mm ⁇ 279.4 mm) sheets Shaving a basis weight of 75 g/m 2 are stacked.
  • the skew feeding amount is determined when the 150 sheets S are positioned.
  • the skew feeding amount falls within the tolerance in a range of X′ (lengths of the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l of the side regulating plates 31 r and 31 l ) 30 (mm). Therefore, the effect of the first embodiment is exerted when the length X′ of each of the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l of the side regulating plates 31 r and 31 l is set to the range of X′ ⁇ 30 (mm).
  • the side regulating plates 31 r and 31 l are molded by a synthetic resin. In the side regulating plates 31 r and 31 l , a thickness of at least 0.5 mm is required to cause the synthetic resin to flow to details of a mold. Accordingly, the length X′ of each of the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l of the side regulating plates 31 r and 31 l is set to the range of 0.5 (mm) ⁇ X′ ⁇ 30 (mm).
  • the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l of the side regulating plates 31 r and 31 l abut on the side edges of the sheet S in the state of the substantial point contact and the state in which the deviation in the sheet feeding direction is eliminated. Therefore, when the lengths X′ in the sheet feeding direction of the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l are short (for example, 5 mm or less), directions of forces acting on the sheet S by the abutting portions 301 r and 301 l become the substantially same straight line orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction. As a result, the generation of the sheet skew feeding can be suppressed by the simple configuration.
  • FIGS. 8A to 8C illustrate a side regulating plate provided in a sheet tray of a sheet feeding apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention.
  • the same or equivalent component is designated by the same numeral as that of FIGS. 4A to 4C .
  • the numerals 32 r and 32 l designate side regulating plates.
  • the side regulating plates 32 r and 32 l include abutting portions 302 r and 302 l having lengths ⁇ ( ⁇ 30 mm) in the sheet feeding direction, respectively.
  • the side regulating plates 32 r and 32 l include regulating portions 322 r and 322 l , respectively.
  • the regulating portions 322 r and 322 l are continuously provided from the abutting portions 302 r and 302 l while recessed by t in the width direction from the abutting portions 302 r and 302 l.
  • the regulating portions 322 r and 322 l are continuously provided for the purpose of backup in the case of the thin sheet having the basis weight of about 50 g.
  • the recess width t of each of the regulating portions 322 r and 322 l is set such that the abutting portions are in contact with the sheet S even if the side regulating plates 32 r and 32 l are most inclined on a manufacturing tolerance.
  • projection amounts of the abutting portions 302 r and 302 l are set such that the abutting portions 302 r and 302 l abut on the side edges of the sheet S even if the regulating portions 322 r and 322 l are most inclined with respect to the sheet feeding direction.
  • the recess width t is set to 5 mm.
  • the abutting portions 302 r and 302 l are provided opposite each other as illustrated in FIG. 8C .
  • FIG. 9A illustrates a state in which a thin sheet S′ is positioned by the side regulating plates 32 r and 32 l having maximum inclinations ⁇ 1 on the manufacturing tolerance.
  • FIG. 9B illustrates a state immediately after the thin sheet S′ is fed by the sheet feeding roller 3 c while the difference between the right and left diameters of the thin sheet S′, the balance between the right and left diameters, and the alignment with respect to the sheet feeding direction are not adjusted.
  • the lengths ⁇ and the widths t of the abutting portions 302 r and 302 l are set to the above-described values in positioning the thin sheet S′, whereby the abutting portions 302 r and 302 l abut on the side edges of the thin sheet S′ at the substantially same position as illustrated in FIG. 9A similarly to the first embodiment. Part of the regulating portion 322 r also abuts on the thin sheet S′.
  • a force F 7 is applied to the thin sheet S′ during a process in which the thin sheet S′ is fed by the sheet feeding roller 3 c .
  • the side edges of the thin sheet S′ are regulated by the abutting portions 302 r and 302 l having the lengths ⁇ , the force acting on the side edge per unit length of the thin sheet S′ is increased with decreasing length ⁇ .
  • the side edges of the thin sheet S abutting on the abutting portions 302 r and 302 l are deformed to hardly regulate the rotation of the thin sheet S′ depending on the settings of the lengths 6 of the abutting portions 302 r and 302 l or a kind of the thin sheet S′. In such cases, the thin sheet S′ rotates.
  • the side edges of the thin sheet S′ are regulated by the backup regulating portions 322 r and 322 l provided on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction of the abutting portions 302 r and 302 l as illustrated in FIG. 9B , so that the excess skew feeding can be prevented.
  • the excess skew feeding can be prevented by providing the backup regulating portions 322 r and 322 l even if the thin sheet S′ is fed.
  • FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate a configuration of a movable portion of the side regulating plates provided in the sheet tray 3 a of a sheet feeding apparatus of the third embodiment.
  • the same or equivalent component is designated by the same numeral as that of FIG. 3 .
  • a fixing portion 11 r is provided on the side regulating plate guide 32 (see FIG. 3 ) to fix side regulating plates 33 r and 33 l , and a rack-shaped tooth is provided in the fixing portion 11 r .
  • a latching portion 10 r is provided in a rack member 7 r of the side regulating plate 33 r , and a projection which elastically engages with the fixing portion 11 r is provided in the latching portion 10 r.
  • the latching portion 10 r of the side regulating plate 33 r is pressed against the rack-shaped tooth of the fixing portion 11 r , and the latching portion 10 r is subjected to a force in a bending direction by the rack-shaped tooth, whereby the latching portion 10 r is moved beyond the rack-shaped tooth. Therefore, the side regulating plates 33 r and 33 l can be moved in the direction in which the side regulating plates 33 r and 33 l come close to each other.
  • the positioning is strengthened in the direction in which the side regulating plates 33 r and 33 l are opened, namely, the direction in which the side regulating plates 33 r and 33 l are separated from each other.
  • the movement in the direction in which the side regulating plates 33 r and 33 l are closed, namely, the direction in which the side regulating plates 33 r and 33 l come close to each other can be performed on a pitch p of the rack-shaped tooth of the fixing portion 11 r.
  • one of the sheet regulating portions 303 r and 303 l is elastically formed so as to abut on the side edge of the sheet S even if the side regulating plates 33 r and 33 l are opened by the pitch p.
  • the sheet regulating portion 303 r is elastically formed.
  • the sheet regulating portion 303 l is provided across the sheet S from the elastically-formed sheet regulating portion 303 r.
  • the sheet regulating portions 303 r and 303 l abut on the side edges of the sheet S even if the side regulating plates 33 r and 33 l are opened by the pitch p of the rack-shaped tooth, the effect similar to that of the second embodiment can be obtained.
  • the inexpensive sheet feeding apparatus advantageous to the skew feeding can be provided by the simple configuration.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
US13/182,553 2010-08-02 2011-07-14 Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus Abandoned US20120025449A1 (en)

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JP2010173729A JP2012030960A (ja) 2010-08-02 2010-08-02 シート給送装置及び画像形成装置
JP2010-173729 2010-08-02

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JP7636548B2 (ja) 2021-07-19 2025-02-26 株式会社Pfu 媒体搬送装置

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