US20200148492A1 - Sheet holding device, image forming apparatus, and image reading device - Google Patents
Sheet holding device, image forming apparatus, and image reading device Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20200148492A1 US20200148492A1 US16/677,952 US201916677952A US2020148492A1 US 20200148492 A1 US20200148492 A1 US 20200148492A1 US 201916677952 A US201916677952 A US 201916677952A US 2020148492 A1 US2020148492 A1 US 2020148492A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- sheet
- grip portion
- holding device
- placement surface
- regulating member
- 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
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Classifications
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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
- B65H5/00—Feeding articles separated from piles; Feeding articles to machines
- B65H5/36—Article guides or smoothers, e.g. movable in operation
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
- B65H3/02—Separating articles from piles using friction forces between articles and separator
- B65H3/06—Rollers or like rotary separators
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2402/00—Constructional details of the handling apparatus
- B65H2402/60—Coupling, adapter or locking means
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2407/00—Means not provided for in groups B65H2220/00 – B65H2406/00 specially adapted for particular purposes
- B65H2407/20—Means not provided for in groups B65H2220/00 – B65H2406/00 specially adapted for particular purposes for manual intervention of operator
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2407/00—Means not provided for in groups B65H2220/00 – B65H2406/00 specially adapted for particular purposes
- B65H2407/20—Means not provided for in groups B65H2220/00 – B65H2406/00 specially adapted for particular purposes for manual intervention of operator
- B65H2407/21—Manual feeding
-
- 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
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
- B65H2701/10—Handled articles or webs
- B65H2701/13—Parts concerned of the handled material
- B65H2701/131—Edges
- B65H2701/1315—Edges side edges, i.e. regarded in context of transport
Definitions
- aspects of the present disclosure relate to a sheet holding device, an image forming apparatus, and an image reading device.
- a user grips an operation section (grip portion) provided on a side fence (sheet regulating member) and manually moves the side fence.
- a sheet holding device that includes a sheet placement surface and a sheet regulating member.
- a sheet is to be placed on the sheet placement surface.
- the sheet regulating member is movable in a contacting direction to contact and a separating direction to separate from an edge of the sheet placed on the sheet placement surface.
- the sheet regulating member includes a grip portion and a non-grip portion.
- the grip portion is configured to be gripped by a user to move the sheet regulating member.
- the non-grip portion is lower in height from the sheet placement surface than the grip portion.
- the non-grip portion has, on at least one end face in the contacting direction, a slope whose height from the sheet placement surface increases toward a center of the non-grip portion in the contacting direction or the separating direction.
- an image forming apparatus that includes the sheet holding device.
- an image reading device that includes the sheet holding device.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a copier according to an embodiment
- FIG. 2 is an external perspective view illustrating a manual sheet feeder of the copier
- FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the copier when a sheet feeding tray is in a closed state in an upright posture
- FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the copier when the sheet feeding tray is in an open state in an inclined posture
- FIG. 5 is a plan view of the sheet feeding tray
- FIG. 6 is a plan view of the sheet feeding tray on which a sheet is placed
- FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view illustrating a guide pin of a side fence fitted into a guide rail
- FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a moving mechanism of the side fence in the sheet feeding tray
- FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the moving mechanism
- FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a grip portion provided on one side fence as viewed from the outside in the sheet width direction;
- FIGS. 11A and 11B are plan views illustrating how a user holds the grip portion with his/her fingers and moves the side fence along the sheet width direction;
- FIGS. 12A and 12B are plan views illustrating how the user holds a portion other than the grip portion on the side fence with his/her fingers and moves the side fence along the sheet width direction;
- FIG. 13A is a perspective view of the side fence including the grip portion as viewed from the outside in the sheet width direction;
- FIG. 13B is a perspective view of the side fence as viewed from the inside in the sheet width direction;
- FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the grip portion cut by a plane orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction
- FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a non-grip portion adjacent to the downstream side of the grip portion in the sheet feeding direction, which is cut by a plane orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction;
- FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a non-grip portion adjacent to the upstream side of the grip portion in the sheet feeding direction, which is cut by a plane orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction;
- FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a variation in which the inner end face of the non-grip portion is also formed so that the entire end face is a slope as well as the outer end face.
- a sheet feeding tray of a copier as an image forming apparatus will be described as a sheet holding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a copier 1 as the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.
- the copier 1 includes an image forming apparatus main body 2 , an image reading device 3 disposed on the image forming apparatus main body 2 , a table-shaped sheet feeder 4 disposed below the image forming apparatus main body 2 , and an automatic document carrier 5 disposed on the image reading device 3 to be openable and closable.
- the copier 1 further includes a switchback device 42 , and a manual sheet feeder 70 .
- the image forming apparatus main body 2 internally includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 10 as an image bearer.
- a charging device 11 is disposed on the left side in the drawing around the photoconductor 10 , and a developing device 12 , a transfer device 13 , and a cleaning device 14 are disposed along the rotational direction (counterclockwise direction: arrow A in the drawing) of the photoconductor 10 .
- the transfer device 13 includes a transfer belt 17 wound between upper and lower rollers 15 and 16 , and the transfer belt 17 is pressed against the circumferential surface of the photoconductor 10 at a transfer position T.
- a toner supply device 20 for supplying new toner to the developing device 12 is disposed on the left side of the charging device 11 and the cleaning device 14 .
- the image forming apparatus main body 2 internally includes a sheet conveyer D 1 that feeds a sheet, such as a paper sheet and an overhead projector (OHP) sheet, from a supply position to be described later and conveys the sheet to a stack position through a transfer position T.
- the sheet conveyer D 1 includes a supply path R 1 , a manual supply path R 2 , and a sheet conveying path R to be described later.
- the sheet conveying path R has a substantially L shape extending upward from the bottom of the drawing between the photoconductor 10 and the transfer device 13 and then turning to the left.
- the sheet conveying path R has a registration roller 21 disposed at an upstream position of the photoconductor 10 in the sheet conveyance direction. Further, a fixing device 22 is disposed at a downstream position of the photoconductor 10 in the sheet conveyance direction.
- the fixing device 22 includes a pair of fixing rollers (fixing rotating bodies) 31 and 32 .
- One of the fixing rollers 31 internally includes a fixing heater, and a pressure spring and a pressure arm are disposed around the other fixing roller 32 . The pressure spring and the pressure arm cause one of the fixing rollers 31 to be pressed by the other fixing roller 32 .
- One of the fixing rollers 31 further includes a thermistor and a thermostat.
- the fixing heater turns on or off the fixing heater using the thermostat while measuring a temperature of the fixing roller 31 using the thermistor, thereby keeping one of the fixing rollers 31 at a predetermined temperature.
- an ejection bifurcating claw 34 At further downstream of the fixing device 22 in the sheet conveyance direction, there are disposed an ejection bifurcating claw 34 , an ejection roller 35 , a first pressure roller 36 , a second pressure roller 37 , and a stiffening roller 38 , and further ahead of those components, there is disposed an ejection stack section (ejection position) 39 for stacking sheets having been subject to image formation.
- a laser writing device 47 is disposed on the left side of the developing device 12 in the drawing.
- the laser writing device 47 includes a laser light source, a rotary polygon mirror 48 for scanning, a polygon motor 49 , a scanning optical system 50 , such as an fO lens, and the like.
- the image reading device 3 includes a light source 53 , a plurality of mirrors 54 , an imaging optical lens 55 , an image sensor 56 , such as a charge-coupled device (CCD), and the like, and a contact glass 57 is disposed on the upper surface.
- a light source 53 a plurality of mirrors 54 , an imaging optical lens 55 , an image sensor 56 , such as a charge-coupled device (CCD), and the like, and a contact glass 57 is disposed on the upper surface.
- CCD charge-coupled device
- One end of the automatic document carrier 5 is connected to one end of the upper surface of the image reading device 3 by a connector having a hinge structure.
- the automatic document carrier 5 is provided in such a manner that the lower surface is openable and closable in a state where the inclination angle with the upper surface of the contact glass 57 is, for example, 90 degrees at the maximum from the horizontal state of pressing a document sheet placed on the upper surface of the contact glass 57 from above.
- the automatic document carrier 5 includes, in addition to a placing table 5 A at the document placing position and an ejection table 5 B at the ejecting position, a sheet conveyer including a document conveying path for conveying a sheet, such as a document sheet, from the placing table 5 A to the ejection table 5 B through the reading position on the contact glass 57 of the image reading device 3 .
- the sheet conveyer includes a plurality of sheet conveying rollers (sheet conveyance rotating body) for conveying a sheet, such as a document sheet.
- the sheet feeder 4 internally includes sheet separating devices 61 , which are supply positions of a sheet S, in multiple stages.
- Each of the sheet separating devices 61 includes a corresponding pickup roller (feeding roller) 62 , a feed roller (feeding roller) 63 , and a reverse roller (separating roller) 64 .
- the supply path R 1 communicating with the sheet conveying path R of the image forming apparatus main body 2 is formed on the right side of the sheet separating devices 61 disposed in multiple stages in the drawing.
- the supply path R 1 includes a number of sheet conveying rollers (sheet conveyance rotating bodies) 66 for conveying a sheet.
- the switchback device 42 is disposed on the right side of the image forming apparatus main body 2 in the drawing.
- the switchback device 42 includes a sheet conveyer D 2 that branches from the position of the ejection bifurcating claw 34 of the sheet conveying path R.
- the sheet conveyer D 2 includes a reverse path R 3 leading to a switchback position 44 at which a pair of switchback rollers 43 is disposed, and a re-conveying path R 4 leading to, from the switchback position 44 , the registration roller 21 of the sheet conveying path R again.
- the sheet conveyer D 2 further includes the plurality of sheet conveying rollers (sheet conveyance rotating bodies) 66 for conveying a sheet.
- the switchback device 42 is attached to an opening and closing member 71 to be described later.
- the manual sheet feeder 70 is disposed on the right side of the image forming apparatus main body 2 in the drawing.
- the manual sheet feeder 70 includes a pickup roller (feeding roller) 67 A, a feed roller (feeding roller) 67 B, and a reverse roller (separating roller) 67 C, and supplies the sheet S stacked on the sheet feeding tray 72 to the sheet conveying path R of the image forming apparatus main body 2 .
- a main switch is turned on and a document is set in the automatic document carrier 5 .
- the automatic document carrier 5 is opened, a document is directly set on the contact glass 57 of the image reading device 3 , and then the automatic document carrier 5 is closed to press the document.
- the image reading device 3 is driven, the content of the document is read, and then the document is ejected onto the ejection table.
- the image reading device 3 is driven immediately.
- the light source 53 moves along the contact glass 57 while emitting light, and irradiates the document surface on the contact glass 57 with light.
- the plurality of mirrors 54 receives light reflected from the document surface, and reflects the light toward the imaging optical lens 55 .
- the imaging optical lens 55 forms an image of the reflected light on the image sensor 56 .
- the image sensor 56 reads the content of the document, accordingly.
- the photoconductor 10 is rotated by a photoconductor drive motor, and along with this, the surface of the photoconductor is uniformly charged by the charging device 11 using a charging roller, and then the laser writing device 47 irradiates the surface of the photoconductor with laser light according to the content of the document read by the image reading device 3 described above so that writing is performed on the surface of the photoconductor, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 10 . Subsequently, toner is attracted to the surface of the photoconductor when the portion of the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor faces the developing device 12 , whereby the electrostatic latent image is made into a visible image.
- a corresponding sheet separating device 61 is selected on the basis of sheet size selecting signals. Then, a pickup roller 62 corresponding to the sheet separating device 61 feeds one sheet S in the sheet separating device 61 .
- the reverse roller 64 separates the uppermost sheet S when attempting to feed a plurality of sheets S, and blocks the conveyance of the remaining sheets S.
- the feed roller 63 inserts the sheet S into the supply path R 1 while conveying the sheet S
- the sheet conveying roller 66 successively conveys the sheet S and guides it to the sheet conveying path R
- the registration roller 21 abuts on the sheet S to stop the conveyance of the sheet S.
- the registration roller 21 rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the photoconductor 10 described above, and feeds the sheet S to the right side of the photoconductor 10 .
- the sheet feeding tray 72 of the manual sheet feeder 70 is sifted from the closed state in the upright posture to the open state in the inclined posture as illustrated in FIG. 1 , and a sheet is set on a sheet placement surface 72 B of the sheet feeding tray 72 .
- the pickup roller 67 A feeds one sheet, and then the feed roller 67 B successively feeds the sheet.
- the reverse roller 67 C separates the uppermost sheet when attempting to feed a plurality of sheets, and blocks the conveyance of the remaining sheets.
- the sheet conveying roller 66 continues to convey the sheet supplied to the manual supply path R 2 , and guides it to the sheet conveying path R. Thereafter, in a similar manner to the sheet feeder 4 described above, the registration roller 21 feeds the sheet to the right side of the photoconductor 10 in synchronization with the rotation of the photoconductor 10 .
- the transfer device 13 transfers the toner image on the photoconductor 10 onto the sheet S to form an image when the sheet S fed to the right side of the photoconductor 10 comes to the transfer position T.
- the cleaning device 14 removes and cleans the residual toner on the photoconductor 10 after the image transfer, and then a static eliminator removes the residual potential on the photoconductor 10 to prepare for the next image formation starting from the charging device 11 .
- the fixing device 22 conveys the sheet S bearing the above-described transferred toner image with the transfer belt 17 through the space between the pair of fixing rollers 31 and 32 , and applies heat and pressure at the fixing position to fix the transferred image.
- the sheet S having been subject to the fixing is made into a flat surface and is stiffened in the process of passing through the first pressure roller 36 , the ejection roller 35 , the second pressure roller 37 , and the stiffening roller 38 , ejected onto the ejection stack section 39 , and is stacked.
- the ejection bifurcating claw 34 is switched in the case of transferring the image onto both sides of the sheet S. Then, the sheet S bearing the image transferred to its surface is inserted from the sheet conveying path R to the reverse path R 3 , conveyed by the sheet conveying roller 66 to be inserted to the switchback position 44 , and then switchback is carried out at the switchback position 44 . Thereafter, the sheet is put into the re-conveying path R 4 and is reversed, conveyed by the sheet conveying roller 66 , guided to the sheet conveying path R again, and an image is transferred onto the back side of the sheet as well in a similar manner to the descriptions above.
- FIG. 2 is an external perspective view illustrating the manual sheet feeder 70 .
- the manual sheet feeder 70 includes the opening and closing member 71 whose upper portion is opened and closed with a pivot fulcrum 71 A being held at a lower part with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 2 , and the sheet feeding tray 72 whose upper portion is opened and closed with a pivot fulcrum 72 A being held at a lower part with respect to the opening and closing member 71 .
- the manual sheet feeder 70 further includes a link member 73 that connects the opening and closing member 71 to the image forming apparatus main body 2 in an openable/closable manner.
- the opening and closing member 71 is made into the open state in the inclined posture, and the sheet conveying path R or the re-conveying path R 4 is opened. That is, the manual sheet feeder 70 shifts the opening and closing member 71 from the closed state in the upright posture to the open state in the inclined posture, and opens the sheet conveying path R or the re-conveying path R 4 , whereby the removal of the paper jam sheets, the maintenance, and the like can be easily performed.
- the manual sheet feeder 70 shifts the sheet feeding tray 72 from the closed state in the upright posture as illustrated in FIG. 3 to the open state in the inclined posture as illustrated in FIG. 4 , and stacks sheets on the sheet placement surface 72 B of the sheet feeding tray 72 , whereby sheets for manual feeding can be supplied to the sheet conveying path R.
- FIG. 5 is a plan view of the sheet feeding tray 72 according to the present embodiment.
- FIG. 6 is a plan view of the sheet feeding tray 72 on which the sheet S is placed.
- the sheet feeding tray 72 which is a sheet holding device, includes side fences 74 A and 74 B, and a guide rail 75 .
- Two side fences 74 A and 74 B are installed in the sheet width direction (Y direction) in the space above the sheet placement surface 72 B (loading space of the sheet S).
- the sheet feeding tray 72 includes the guide rail 75 as a guide member extending in the sheet width direction (Y direction).
- the pair of side fences 74 A and 74 B installed at both ends in the sheet width direction to sandwich the sheet S includes a guide pin 74 b to be fitted in the guide rail 75 .
- the side fences 74 A and 74 B can be manually moved in the contacting/separating direction (sheet width direction) contacting or separated from the edge of the sheet S in the width direction along the guide rail 75 , and are positioned corresponding to the size of the sheet S in the width direction. That is, the side fences 74 A and 74 B function as a sheet regulating member that regulates the position of the sheet S in the width direction.
- the sheet feeding tray 72 includes a guide rail as a guide member extending in the sheet feeding direction (X direction), and an end fence is installed along the guide rail to be movable in the sheet feeding direction, for example.
- the end fence is positioned corresponding to the size of the sheet S placed on the sheet placement surface 72 B in the feeding direction. That is, the end fence functions as a sheet regulating member that regulates the position of the edge of sheet S in the feeding direction.
- the pair of side fences 74 A and 74 B interlocks to increase or decrease the interval in the width direction. That is, when one of the side fences 74 A and 74 B is manually moved in the +Y direction, in conjunction with that, the other one of the side fences 74 B and 74 A moves in the ⁇ Y direction. When one of the side fences 74 A and 74 B is manually moved in the ⁇ Y direction, in conjunction with that, the other one of the side fences 74 B and 74 A moves in the +Y direction.
- the feeding direction (sheet conveyance direction) of the sheet S is X direction and the sheet feeding tray 72 can be inserted/removed in the Y direction in FIGS. 5 and 6 , embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to those directional relationships.
- FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a moving mechanism of the side fences 74 A and 74 B in the sheet feeding tray 72 according to the present embodiment.
- FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the moving mechanism of the side fences 74 A and 74 B in the sheet feeding tray 72 according to the present embodiment. Note that FIG. 9 illustrates a state in which the side fences 74 A and 74 B are removed.
- the pair of side fences 74 A and 74 B moves in conjunction with each other so that the center of the sheet S in the width direction matches the center of the sheet placement surface 72 B in the width direction even if the size of the sheet S in the width direction changes.
- a pinion rack mechanism is used as the moving mechanism of the side fences 74 A and 74 B.
- each of the side fences 74 A and 74 B includes racks 81 A and 81 B.
- Each of the racks 81 A and 81 B is engaged with the pinion to sandwich the pinion 82 disposed at the approximate center in the sheet width direction from both sides. Accordingly, when one of the side fences 74 A and 74 B moves in the sheet width direction, the racks 81 A and 81 B of the side fences 74 A and 74 B interlock to move in the sheet width direction, thereby rotating the pinion 82 .
- the rotation of the pinion 82 causes the other racks 81 B and 81 A to move in the passing direction along the sheet width direction, and in conjunction with that, the other one of the side fences 74 B and 74 A moves in the sheet width direction.
- one of the racks 81 A is engaged with a gear (rotating member) 84 .
- the gear 84 has a rotation shaft 84 a , which is fitted into an engagement hole 83 b on a rotor (detected member) 83 a of a rotary sensor 83 and connected.
- the rack 81 A of the side fence 74 A interlocks to move in the sheet width direction, thereby rotating the gear 84 engaged with the rack 81 A.
- the rotor 83 a of the rotary sensor 83 connected to the gear 84 rotates integrally with the gear 84 , and the rotation amount of the rotor 83 a is detected by the rotary sensor 83 .
- the detection result (rotation amount of the rotor 83 a ) of the rotary sensor 83 is transmitted to a control unit of the image forming apparatus, and is used to determine, for example, the size of the sheet S set on the sheet feeding tray 72 in the width direction.
- FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the grip portion 74 a provided on one of the side fences 74 B as viewed from the outside in the sheet width direction.
- the sheet feeding tray 72 is configured such that the user grips the grip portion 74 a provided on one of the side fences 74 B and moves the side fences 74 A and 74 B along a sheet width direction Y.
- the user grips the grip portion 74 a provided on one of the side fences 74 B with his/her fingers in the sheet width direction Y, and moves the side fences 74 A and 74 B along the sheet width direction Y, for example.
- the user may push the outer surface of the grip portion 74 a in the sheet width direction with his/her finger, thereby moving the side fences 74 A and 74 B in the sheet width direction Y, for example.
- the sheet feeding tray 72 has a configuration in which the side fences 74 A and 74 B are guided by a single guide rail 75 , and as illustrated in FIG. 10 and the like, the grip portion 74 a is disposed at a position overlapping the guide rail 75 . Accordingly, when the user grips the grip portion 74 a and moves one of the side fences 74 B in the sheet width direction Y, a rotational moment centered on a guide pin 74 b of one of the side fences 74 B does not occur, or its magnitude is small even if the rotational moment occurs.
- the contact pressure between the guide pin 74 b provided on one of the side fences 74 B and the guide rail 75 is relatively small, and the frictional force at the time of sliding of both components is small.
- the rack 81 B provided on one of the side fences 74 B moves approximately straight along its longitudinal direction, a proper engagement state between the rack 81 B and the pinion 82 is maintained, the pinion 82 can rotate smoothly, and the moving load received from the pinion 82 is also small. Therefore, one of the side fences 74 B and the other one of the side fences 74 A moving in conjunction with the side fence 74 B can move smoothly.
- the user grips a portion other than the grip portion 74 a on one of the side fences 74 B, or as illustrated in FIG. 12B , the user pushes a portion other than the grip portion 74 a with his/her finger to attempt to move the side fence 74 B.
- the portion gripped or pushed by the user with his/her fingers is largely shifted in the sheet feeding direction from the guide pin 74 b of one of the side fences 74 B fitted into the guide rail 75 , whereby a large rotational moment centered on the guide pin 74 b occurs.
- the frictional force between the guide pin 74 b and the guide rail 75 increases similarly, whereby one of the side fences 74 B and the other one of the side fences 74 A that moves in conjunction with the side fence 74 B cannot move smoothly.
- one of the side fences 74 B tends to rotate in the direction in which the rack 81 B is away from the pinion 82 so that the engagement between the rack 81 B and the pinion 82 may be disengaged, and in such a case, the sheet S cannot match the center of the sheet placement surface 72 B in the width direction.
- the size of the sheet S set on the sheet feeding tray 72 in the width direction cannot be properly determined from the detection result of the rotary sensor 83 .
- the configuration of the side fence 74 B is devised in such a manner that the user does not grips a portion other than the grip portion 74 a of the side fence 74 B to move the side fence 74 B.
- FIG. 13A is a perspective view of the side fence 74 B including the grip portion 74 a as viewed from the outside in the sheet width direction.
- FIG. 13B is a perspective view of the side fence 74 B including the grip portion 74 a as viewed from the inside in the sheet width direction.
- FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the grip portion 74 a cut by a plane orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction.
- the side fence 74 B includes the grip portion 74 a near the center of a sheet feeding direction X.
- an end face 74 al (hereinafter referred to as an “inner end face”) on the side in contact with the edge of the sheet S is a sheet regulating surface extending in the normal direction of the sheet placement surface 72 B, and the edge of the sheet stacked on the sheet placement surface 72 B abuts on the inner end face 74 al of the grip portion 74 a , thereby regulating the position of a bundle of the sheets S in the width direction.
- an end face 74 a 2 (hereinafter referred to as an “outer end face”) opposite to the inner end face 74 al of the grip portion 74 a is an uneven surface in which unevenness is continuous in the vertical direction so that the user's finger does not slip in the vertical direction.
- the outer end face 74 a 2 of the grip portion 74 a is in a recessed shape as viewed in the normal direction of the sheet placement surface 72 B. This makes it difficult for the user's finger to slip in the horizontal direction as well.
- the user can easily recognize that the grip portion 74 a is a portion to be gripped, and it is suppressed that the user grips a portion other than the grip portion 74 a of the side fence 74 B and moves the side fence 74 B.
- a mark 74 e is silk-printed on the upper surface of the grip portion 74 a to highlight the position of the grip portion, which serves as assistance for the user to easily recognize the position of the grip portion 74 a when the user looks at the side fence 74 B from above.
- the grip portion 74 a is formed to be higher in height from the sheet placement surface 72 B than non-grip portions 74 c and 74 d adjacent to the upstream side and the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction. Therefore, the grip portion 74 a is easier to grip with the user's finger than the non-grip portions 74 c and 74 d . Conversely, since the non-grip portions 74 c and 74 d are lower in height from the sheet placement surface 72 B than the grip portion 74 a , it is more difficult for the user to grip than the grip portion 74 a . Therefore, it is suppressed that the user grips the non-grip portions 74 c and 74 d , which are other than the grip portion 74 a of the side fence 74 B, and moves the side fence 74 B.
- the non-grip portions 74 c and 74 d has a slope where a height from the sheet placement surface 72 B increases as it goes inward from the outside in the sheet width direction Y.
- the non-grip portion 74 c adjacent to the downstream side of the grip portion 74 a in the sheet feeding direction has a slope 74 c 2 on the end face outside in the sheet width direction
- the non-grip portion 74 d adjacent to the upstream side of the grip portion 74 a in the sheet feeding direction has slopes 74 d 1 and 74 d 2 on both end faces in the sheet width direction Y.
- the slopes 74 c 2 , 74 d 1 , and 74 d 2 are planes orthogonal to the sheet placement surface 72 B like an inner end face (sheet regulating surface) 74 c 1 of the non-grip portion 74 c in the sheet width direction as illustrated in FIG. 15 .
- the user can push the planes straight in the normal direction with his/her finger to move the side fence 74 B. Accordingly, a situation in which the user's finger slips on the planes is unlikely to occur, whereby the user can easily grip the non-grip portions 74 c and 74 d and move the side fence 74 B.
- the direction pushed by the user's finger (direction parallel to the sheet width direction) is inclined relative to the normal direction of the slopes 74 c 2 , 74 d 1 , and 74 d 2 .
- force is generated in the direction in which the user's finger slides on the slope, whereby the user's finger is likely to slip on the slope.
- the entire outer end faces of the non-grip portions 74 c and 74 d according to the present embodiment are the slopes 74 c 2 and 74 d 2 , whereby there is substantially no portion at which the user's finger can push the end face straight in the normal direction. Therefore, it is more reliably suppressed that the user grips the non-grip portions 74 c and 74 d and moves the side fence 74 B.
- the slope 74 c 2 is a curved surface in which the angle between tangent lines L 1 and L 2 and the sheet placement surface 72 B decreases as it goes inward from the outside in the sheet width direction Y.
- the contact area with the user's finger is made small, and the finger is further slippery, whereby it is suppressed that the user grips the non-grip portion 74 c and moves the side fence 74 B.
- the inner end faces of the non-grip portions 74 c and 74 d have sheet regulating surfaces 74 c 1 and 74 d 3 extending in the normal direction of the sheet placement surface 72 B. Accordingly, the edge of the sheet S placed on the sheet placement surface 72 B abuts on the sheet regulating surfaces 74 c 1 and 74 d 3 on the inner end faces of the non-grip portions 74 c and 74 d , whereby the position of the bundle of the sheets S in the width direction can be regulated.
- the entire inner end face of the non-grip portion 74 c adjacent to the grip portion 74 a on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction is the sheet regulating surface 74 c 1 , and the inner end face has no slope, as illustrated in FIG. 15 .
- the user grips the non-grip portion 74 c
- the user can push the sheet regulating surface 74 c 1 straight in the normal direction with his/her finger, whereby the effect of suppressing the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion 74 c and moves the side fence 74 B is reduced.
- the non-grip portion 74 c adjacent to the grip portion 74 a on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction is at a position near the image forming apparatus main body 2 on the sheet feeding tray 72 , which is at a position difficult to be operated by the user within the side fence 74 B. Therefore, it can be said that, even if the suppression effect is reduced, the non-grip portion 74 c has less influence on the overall suppression effect.
- the non-grip portion 74 c adjacent to the grip portion 74 a on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction prioritizes the positional regulation even if the suppression effect is reduced, and the entire inner end face of the non-grip portion 74 c serves as the sheet regulating surface 74 c 1 and has no slope.
- the non-grip portion 74 d adjacent to the grip portion 74 a on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction is at a position far from the image forming apparatus main body 2 on the sheet feeding tray 72 , which is at a position easily operated by the user. Therefore, the entire inner end face of the non-grip portion 74 d does not serve as the sheet regulating surface 74 d 3 so that the suppression effect is not reduced, and has the slope 74 d 1 .
- half or more of the inner end face of the non-grip portion 74 d in the height direction is preferably the slope 74 d 1 .
- the inner end face of the non-grip portion 74 d may be formed so that the entire end face is a slope in the same manner as the outer end face.
- the sheet holding device is not limited to the sheet feeding tray 72 but may be, for example, a sheet container in the sheet separating device 61 of the sheet feeder 4 , a placing table of the automatic document carrier 5 in the image reading device, or the like as long as sheets are held.
- a sheet holding device e.g., sheet feeding tray 72 in which the user grips a grip portion (e.g., grip portion 74 a ) of a sheet regulating member (e.g., side fences 74 A and 74 B) movable in a contacting direction (e.g., sheet width direction Y) to contact and a separating direction to separate from an edge of a sheet (e.g., sheet S) placed on a sheet placement surface (e.g., sheet placement surface 72 B) and moves the sheet regulating member, in which a non-grip portion (e.g., non-grip portions 74 c and 74 d ) of the sheet regulating member lower in height from the sheet placement surface than the grip portion has, on at least one end face in the contacting direction, a slope (e.g., slopes 74 c 2 , 74 d 1 , and 74 d 2 ) whose height from the sheet placement
- the non-grip portion of the sheet regulating member is lower in height from the sheet placement surface than the grip portion, it is more difficult for the user to grip than the grip portion. Accordingly, the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion, which is a portion other than the grip portion of the sheet regulating member, and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- the non-grip portion has, on at least one end face in the contacting/separating direction, a slope in which the height from the sheet placement surface increases as it goes inward from the outside in the contacting/separating direction, whereby the user's finger is less likely to be caught than in the case where the end face is a plane orthogonal to the sheet placement surface.
- the slope is a plane orthogonal to the sheet placement surface
- the user can push the plane straight in the normal direction with his/her finger and move the sheet regulating member. Accordingly, a situation in which the user's finger slips on the plane is unlikely to occur, whereby the user can easily grip the non-grip portion and move the sheet regulating member.
- the direction pushed by the user's finger (direction parallel to the contacting/separating direction) is inclined relative to the normal direction of the slope. In that case, force is generated in the direction in which the user's finger slides on the slope, whereby the user's finger is likely to slip on the slope.
- the finger slips and cannot successfully move the sheet regulating member.
- the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- the whole of the at least one end face is the slope in the first aspect.
- the present aspect there is substantially no portion at which the user's finger can push the end face of the non-grip portion straight in the normal direction, whereby the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member can be more reliably suppressed.
- the slope is a curved surface in which the angle between the tangent line and the sheet placement surface decreases inward in the contacting/separating direction in the first or second aspect.
- the contact area between the end face of the non-grip portion and the user's finger is smaller than in the case of a flat surface so that the finger is further slippery, whereby the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- the non-grip portion has slopes on both end faces in the contacting/separating direction in any one of the first to third aspects.
- any finger of the user gripping the non-grip portion from both sides is slippery, whereby the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- the contacting/separating direction of the sheet regulating member is a direction (e.g., sheet width direction Y) orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction (e.g., sheet feeding direction X), at least two of the non-grip portions exist to sandwich the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction, and the non-grip portion 74 d positioned on the upstream side of the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction has the slopes 74 d 1 and 74 d 2 on both of the end faces.
- the non-grip portion adjacent to the grip portion on the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction is easier for the user to operate than the non-grip portion adjacent to the grip portion on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction.
- the non-grip portion has slopes on both of the end faces so that the non-grip portion, which tends to be operated by the user, is less likely to be gripped, whereby the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member can be effectively suppressed.
- the non-grip portion has the sheet regulating surfaces 74 c 1 and 74 d 3 extending in the normal direction of the sheet placement surface on the end face on the side in contact with the edge of the sheet.
- the contacting/separating direction of the sheet regulating member is the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction, at least two of non-grip portions exist to sandwich the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction, and the non-grip portion 74 c positioned on the downstream side of the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction has the sheet regulating surface 74 c 1 .
- positional regulation on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction is of higher level of importance than positional regulation on the upstream side. According to the present aspect, it is possible to perform the positional regulation in the sheet width direction with the non-grip portion adjacent to the grip portion on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction.
- the sheet regulating member moves while being guided by a single guide member (e.g., guide rail 75 ) extending in the contacting/separating direction, and the grip portion is disposed at a position overlapping the single guide member.
- a single guide member e.g., guide rail 75
- the present aspect when the user grips the grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member in the contacting/separating direction, no rotational moment is generated centered on the portion (guide pin 74 b ) on the sheet regulating member guided by the single guide member, or its magnitude is small even if the rotational moment is generated. Accordingly, the contact pressure between the sheet regulating member and the guide member is relatively small, and frictional force at the time of sliding between the two components can be made small. Therefore, when the user grips the grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member, the sheet regulating member can be moved smoothly.
- two of the sheet regulating members are provided to regulate both edges of the sheet placed on the sheet placement surface, the sheet holding device including a moving mechanism (e.g., pinion rack mechanism) for moving, in conjunction with movement of one of the two sheet regulating members, the other one of the sheet regulating members.
- a moving mechanism e.g., pinion rack mechanism
- the user can move the other one of the sheet regulating members together by moving one of the sheet regulating members.
- At least one end face of the grip portion in the contacting/separating direction has a recessed shape as viewed in the normal direction of the sheet placement surface.
- the grip portion when the user grips the grip portion, the user's finger is less likely to slip in the direction parallel to the sheet placement surface.
- the user can easily see and recognize that the grip portion is a portion to be gripped, whereby the situation in which the user grips a portion other than the grip portion of the sheet regulating member and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- the sheet holding device is a sheet feeding tray.
- an image forming apparatus e.g., copier 1
- a sheet holding device e.g., sheet feeding tray 72
- a sheet holding device in any one of the first to eleventh aspects is used as the sheet holding device.
- an image reading device 3 including a sheet holding device (e.g., placing table 5 A) in which a sheet holding device in any one of the first to eleventh aspects is used as the sheet holding device.
- a sheet holding device e.g., placing table 5 A
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
- Electrophotography Configuration And Component (AREA)
- Manual Feeding Of Sheets (AREA)
- Facsimiles In General (AREA)
- Paper Feeding For Electrophotography (AREA)
Abstract
A sheet holding device includes a sheet placement surface and a sheet regulating member. A sheet is to be placed on the sheet placement surface. The sheet regulating member is movable in a contacting direction to contact and a separating direction to separate from an edge of the sheet placed on the sheet placement surface. The sheet regulating member includes a grip portion and a non-grip portion. The grip portion is configured to be gripped by a user to move the sheet regulating member. The non-grip portion is lower in height from the sheet placement surface than the grip portion. The non-grip portion has, on at least one end face in the contacting direction, a slope whose height from the sheet placement surface increases toward a center of the non-grip portion in the contacting direction or the separating direction.
Description
- This patent application is based on and claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-212701, filed on Nov. 13, 2018, in the Japan Patent Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
- Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a sheet holding device, an image forming apparatus, and an image reading device.
- There has been known a sheet holding device in which a grip portion of a sheet regulating member movable in a contacting/separating direction toward and away from an edge of a sheet placed on a sheet placement surface is gripped by a user so that the sheet regulating member is moved.
- For example, for a manual sheet feeding tray (sheet holding device), a user grips an operation section (grip portion) provided on a side fence (sheet regulating member) and manually moves the side fence.
- In an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a sheet holding device that includes a sheet placement surface and a sheet regulating member. A sheet is to be placed on the sheet placement surface. The sheet regulating member is movable in a contacting direction to contact and a separating direction to separate from an edge of the sheet placed on the sheet placement surface. The sheet regulating member includes a grip portion and a non-grip portion. The grip portion is configured to be gripped by a user to move the sheet regulating member. The non-grip portion is lower in height from the sheet placement surface than the grip portion. The non-grip portion has, on at least one end face in the contacting direction, a slope whose height from the sheet placement surface increases toward a center of the non-grip portion in the contacting direction or the separating direction.
- In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image forming apparatus that includes the sheet holding device.
- In still another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image reading device that includes the sheet holding device.
- The aforementioned and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure would be better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a copier according to an embodiment; -
FIG. 2 is an external perspective view illustrating a manual sheet feeder of the copier; -
FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the copier when a sheet feeding tray is in a closed state in an upright posture; -
FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of the copier when the sheet feeding tray is in an open state in an inclined posture; -
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the sheet feeding tray; -
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the sheet feeding tray on which a sheet is placed; -
FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view illustrating a guide pin of a side fence fitted into a guide rail; -
FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a moving mechanism of the side fence in the sheet feeding tray; -
FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the moving mechanism; -
FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a grip portion provided on one side fence as viewed from the outside in the sheet width direction; -
FIGS. 11A and 11B are plan views illustrating how a user holds the grip portion with his/her fingers and moves the side fence along the sheet width direction; -
FIGS. 12A and 12B are plan views illustrating how the user holds a portion other than the grip portion on the side fence with his/her fingers and moves the side fence along the sheet width direction; -
FIG. 13A is a perspective view of the side fence including the grip portion as viewed from the outside in the sheet width direction;FIG. 13B is a perspective view of the side fence as viewed from the inside in the sheet width direction; -
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the grip portion cut by a plane orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction; -
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a non-grip portion adjacent to the downstream side of the grip portion in the sheet feeding direction, which is cut by a plane orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction; -
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of a non-grip portion adjacent to the upstream side of the grip portion in the sheet feeding direction, which is cut by a plane orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction; and -
FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a variation in which the inner end face of the non-grip portion is also formed so that the entire end face is a slope as well as the outer end face. - The accompanying drawings are intended to depict embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be interpreted to limit the scope thereof. The accompanying drawings are not to be considered as drawn to scale unless explicitly noted.
- In describing embodiments illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure of this patent specification is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that operate in a similar manner and achieve similar results.
- Although the embodiments are described with technical limitations with reference to the attached drawings, such description is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure and all of the components or elements described in the embodiments of this disclosure are not necessarily indispensable.
- Referring now to the drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. In the drawings for explaining the following embodiments, the same reference codes are allocated to elements (members or components) having the same function or shape and redundant descriptions thereof are omitted below.
- Hereinafter, a sheet feeding tray of a copier as an image forming apparatus will be described as a sheet holding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating acopier 1 as the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. - The
copier 1 according to the present embodiment includes an image forming apparatusmain body 2, animage reading device 3 disposed on the image forming apparatusmain body 2, a table-shaped sheet feeder 4 disposed below the image forming apparatusmain body 2, and anautomatic document carrier 5 disposed on theimage reading device 3 to be openable and closable. Thecopier 1 further includes aswitchback device 42, and amanual sheet feeder 70. - The image forming apparatus
main body 2 internally includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 10 as an image bearer. Acharging device 11 is disposed on the left side in the drawing around thephotoconductor 10, and a developingdevice 12, atransfer device 13, and acleaning device 14 are disposed along the rotational direction (counterclockwise direction: arrow A in the drawing) of thephotoconductor 10. Thetransfer device 13 includes a transfer belt 17 wound between upper andlower rollers photoconductor 10 at a transfer position T. - A
toner supply device 20 for supplying new toner to the developingdevice 12 is disposed on the left side of thecharging device 11 and thecleaning device 14. Further, the image forming apparatusmain body 2 internally includes a sheet conveyer D1 that feeds a sheet, such as a paper sheet and an overhead projector (OHP) sheet, from a supply position to be described later and conveys the sheet to a stack position through a transfer position T. The sheet conveyer D1 includes a supply path R1, a manual supply path R2, and a sheet conveying path R to be described later. The sheet conveying path R has a substantially L shape extending upward from the bottom of the drawing between thephotoconductor 10 and thetransfer device 13 and then turning to the left. - The sheet conveying path R has a
registration roller 21 disposed at an upstream position of thephotoconductor 10 in the sheet conveyance direction. Further, afixing device 22 is disposed at a downstream position of thephotoconductor 10 in the sheet conveyance direction. Thefixing device 22 includes a pair of fixing rollers (fixing rotating bodies) 31 and 32. One of thefixing rollers 31 internally includes a fixing heater, and a pressure spring and a pressure arm are disposed around theother fixing roller 32. The pressure spring and the pressure arm cause one of thefixing rollers 31 to be pressed by theother fixing roller 32. One of thefixing rollers 31 further includes a thermistor and a thermostat. - The fixing heater turns on or off the fixing heater using the thermostat while measuring a temperature of the fixing
roller 31 using the thermistor, thereby keeping one of the fixingrollers 31 at a predetermined temperature. - At further downstream of the fixing
device 22 in the sheet conveyance direction, there are disposed anejection bifurcating claw 34, anejection roller 35, afirst pressure roller 36, asecond pressure roller 37, and a stiffeningroller 38, and further ahead of those components, there is disposed an ejection stack section (ejection position) 39 for stacking sheets having been subject to image formation. - A
laser writing device 47 is disposed on the left side of the developingdevice 12 in the drawing. Thelaser writing device 47 includes a laser light source, arotary polygon mirror 48 for scanning, apolygon motor 49, a scanningoptical system 50, such as an fO lens, and the like. - The
image reading device 3 includes alight source 53, a plurality ofmirrors 54, an imagingoptical lens 55, animage sensor 56, such as a charge-coupled device (CCD), and the like, and acontact glass 57 is disposed on the upper surface. - One end of the
automatic document carrier 5 is connected to one end of the upper surface of theimage reading device 3 by a connector having a hinge structure. Theautomatic document carrier 5 is provided in such a manner that the lower surface is openable and closable in a state where the inclination angle with the upper surface of thecontact glass 57 is, for example, 90 degrees at the maximum from the horizontal state of pressing a document sheet placed on the upper surface of thecontact glass 57 from above. Theautomatic document carrier 5 includes, in addition to a placing table 5A at the document placing position and an ejection table 5B at the ejecting position, a sheet conveyer including a document conveying path for conveying a sheet, such as a document sheet, from the placing table 5A to the ejection table 5B through the reading position on thecontact glass 57 of theimage reading device 3. The sheet conveyer includes a plurality of sheet conveying rollers (sheet conveyance rotating body) for conveying a sheet, such as a document sheet. - The
sheet feeder 4 internally includessheet separating devices 61, which are supply positions of a sheet S, in multiple stages. Each of thesheet separating devices 61 includes a corresponding pickup roller (feeding roller) 62, a feed roller (feeding roller) 63, and a reverse roller (separating roller) 64. The supply path R1 communicating with the sheet conveying path R of the image forming apparatusmain body 2 is formed on the right side of thesheet separating devices 61 disposed in multiple stages in the drawing. The supply path R1 includes a number of sheet conveying rollers (sheet conveyance rotating bodies) 66 for conveying a sheet. - The
switchback device 42 is disposed on the right side of the image forming apparatusmain body 2 in the drawing. Theswitchback device 42 includes a sheet conveyer D2 that branches from the position of theejection bifurcating claw 34 of the sheet conveying path R. The sheet conveyer D2 includes a reverse path R3 leading to aswitchback position 44 at which a pair ofswitchback rollers 43 is disposed, and a re-conveying path R4 leading to, from theswitchback position 44, theregistration roller 21 of the sheet conveying path R again. The sheet conveyer D2 further includes the plurality of sheet conveying rollers (sheet conveyance rotating bodies) 66 for conveying a sheet. In the present embodiment, theswitchback device 42 is attached to an opening and closingmember 71 to be described later. - The
manual sheet feeder 70 is disposed on the right side of the image forming apparatusmain body 2 in the drawing. Themanual sheet feeder 70 includes a pickup roller (feeding roller) 67A, a feed roller (feeding roller) 67B, and a reverse roller (separating roller) 67C, and supplies the sheet S stacked on thesheet feeding tray 72 to the sheet conveying path R of the image forming apparatusmain body 2. - Next, operation of the
copier 1 will be described. - First, to generate a copy using the
copier 1, a main switch is turned on and a document is set in theautomatic document carrier 5. Alternatively, theautomatic document carrier 5 is opened, a document is directly set on thecontact glass 57 of theimage reading device 3, and then theautomatic document carrier 5 is closed to press the document. - Then, when a start switch is pressed, in the case where the document is set in the
automatic document carrier 5, the document is moved through the document conveying path onto thecontact glass 57 by the sheet conveying roller, theimage reading device 3 is driven, the content of the document is read, and then the document is ejected onto the ejection table. On the other hand, in the case where the document is directly set on thecontact glass 57, theimage reading device 3 is driven immediately. - When the
image reading device 3 starts driving, thelight source 53 moves along thecontact glass 57 while emitting light, and irradiates the document surface on thecontact glass 57 with light. The plurality ofmirrors 54 receives light reflected from the document surface, and reflects the light toward the imagingoptical lens 55. The imagingoptical lens 55 forms an image of the reflected light on theimage sensor 56. Theimage sensor 56 reads the content of the document, accordingly. - At the same time, the
photoconductor 10 is rotated by a photoconductor drive motor, and along with this, the surface of the photoconductor is uniformly charged by the chargingdevice 11 using a charging roller, and then thelaser writing device 47 irradiates the surface of the photoconductor with laser light according to the content of the document read by theimage reading device 3 described above so that writing is performed on the surface of the photoconductor, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of thephotoconductor 10. Subsequently, toner is attracted to the surface of the photoconductor when the portion of the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor faces the developingdevice 12, whereby the electrostatic latent image is made into a visible image. - Further, when the start switch is pressed, among the plurality of
sheet separating devices 61 provided in multiple stages in thesheet feeder 4, a correspondingsheet separating device 61 is selected on the basis of sheet size selecting signals. Then, apickup roller 62 corresponding to thesheet separating device 61 feeds one sheet S in thesheet separating device 61. Thereverse roller 64 separates the uppermost sheet S when attempting to feed a plurality of sheets S, and blocks the conveyance of the remaining sheets S. Subsequently, thefeed roller 63 inserts the sheet S into the supply path R1 while conveying the sheet S, thesheet conveying roller 66 successively conveys the sheet S and guides it to the sheet conveying path R, and theregistration roller 21 abuts on the sheet S to stop the conveyance of the sheet S. Then, theregistration roller 21 rotates in synchronization with the rotation of thephotoconductor 10 described above, and feeds the sheet S to the right side of thephotoconductor 10. - In the case of performing the manual sheet feeding, the
sheet feeding tray 72 of themanual sheet feeder 70 is sifted from the closed state in the upright posture to the open state in the inclined posture as illustrated inFIG. 1 , and a sheet is set on asheet placement surface 72B of thesheet feeding tray 72. When the start switch is pressed, thepickup roller 67A feeds one sheet, and then thefeed roller 67B successively feeds the sheet. Thereverse roller 67C separates the uppermost sheet when attempting to feed a plurality of sheets, and blocks the conveyance of the remaining sheets. Thesheet conveying roller 66 continues to convey the sheet supplied to the manual supply path R2, and guides it to the sheet conveying path R. Thereafter, in a similar manner to thesheet feeder 4 described above, theregistration roller 21 feeds the sheet to the right side of thephotoconductor 10 in synchronization with the rotation of thephotoconductor 10. - Subsequently, the
transfer device 13 transfers the toner image on thephotoconductor 10 onto the sheet S to form an image when the sheet S fed to the right side of thephotoconductor 10 comes to the transfer position T. Thecleaning device 14 removes and cleans the residual toner on thephotoconductor 10 after the image transfer, and then a static eliminator removes the residual potential on thephotoconductor 10 to prepare for the next image formation starting from the chargingdevice 11. - Next, the fixing
device 22 conveys the sheet S bearing the above-described transferred toner image with the transfer belt 17 through the space between the pair of fixingrollers first pressure roller 36, theejection roller 35, thesecond pressure roller 37, and the stiffeningroller 38, ejected onto theejection stack section 39, and is stacked. - Note that the
ejection bifurcating claw 34 is switched in the case of transferring the image onto both sides of the sheet S. Then, the sheet S bearing the image transferred to its surface is inserted from the sheet conveying path R to the reverse path R3, conveyed by thesheet conveying roller 66 to be inserted to theswitchback position 44, and then switchback is carried out at theswitchback position 44. Thereafter, the sheet is put into the re-conveying path R4 and is reversed, conveyed by thesheet conveying roller 66, guided to the sheet conveying path R again, and an image is transferred onto the back side of the sheet as well in a similar manner to the descriptions above. -
FIG. 2 is an external perspective view illustrating themanual sheet feeder 70. - As illustrated in
FIG. 1 , themanual sheet feeder 70 according to the present embodiment includes the opening and closingmember 71 whose upper portion is opened and closed with apivot fulcrum 71A being held at a lower part with respect to the image forming apparatusmain body 2, and thesheet feeding tray 72 whose upper portion is opened and closed with apivot fulcrum 72A being held at a lower part with respect to the opening and closingmember 71. As illustrated inFIG. 2 , themanual sheet feeder 70 further includes alink member 73 that connects the opening and closingmember 71 to the image forming apparatusmain body 2 in an openable/closable manner. - In order to easily remove paper jam sheets clogged in the sheet conveying path R or the re-conveying path R4, perform maintenance on the inside of the image forming apparatus
main body 2, and the like, the opening and closingmember 71 is made into the open state in the inclined posture, and the sheet conveying path R or the re-conveying path R4 is opened. That is, themanual sheet feeder 70 shifts the opening and closingmember 71 from the closed state in the upright posture to the open state in the inclined posture, and opens the sheet conveying path R or the re-conveying path R4, whereby the removal of the paper jam sheets, the maintenance, and the like can be easily performed. - Furthermore, the
manual sheet feeder 70 shifts thesheet feeding tray 72 from the closed state in the upright posture as illustrated inFIG. 3 to the open state in the inclined posture as illustrated inFIG. 4 , and stacks sheets on thesheet placement surface 72B of thesheet feeding tray 72, whereby sheets for manual feeding can be supplied to the sheet conveying path R. -
FIG. 5 is a plan view of thesheet feeding tray 72 according to the present embodiment. -
FIG. 6 is a plan view of thesheet feeding tray 72 on which the sheet S is placed. - The
sheet feeding tray 72, which is a sheet holding device, includesside fences guide rail 75. Twoside fences sheet placement surface 72B (loading space of the sheet S). - The
sheet feeding tray 72 according to the present embodiment includes theguide rail 75 as a guide member extending in the sheet width direction (Y direction). As illustrated inFIG. 7 , the pair ofside fences guide pin 74 b to be fitted in theguide rail 75. With theguide pin 74 b being guided to theguide rail 75, theside fences guide rail 75, and are positioned corresponding to the size of the sheet S in the width direction. That is, theside fences - In the sheet feeding tray according to the present embodiment, there may be provided an end fence on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction (X direction) in the space above the
sheet placement surface 72B (loading space of the sheet S). Specifically, thesheet feeding tray 72 includes a guide rail as a guide member extending in the sheet feeding direction (X direction), and an end fence is installed along the guide rail to be movable in the sheet feeding direction, for example. The end fence is positioned corresponding to the size of the sheet S placed on thesheet placement surface 72B in the feeding direction. That is, the end fence functions as a sheet regulating member that regulates the position of the edge of sheet S in the feeding direction. - In the present embodiment, the pair of
side fences side fences side fences side fences side fences - Note that, although the feeding direction (sheet conveyance direction) of the sheet S is X direction and the
sheet feeding tray 72 can be inserted/removed in the Y direction inFIGS. 5 and 6 , embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to those directional relationships. -
FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a moving mechanism of theside fences sheet feeding tray 72 according to the present embodiment.FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the moving mechanism of theside fences sheet feeding tray 72 according to the present embodiment. Note thatFIG. 9 illustrates a state in which theside fences - In the moving mechanism of the
side fences side fences sheet placement surface 72B in the width direction even if the size of the sheet S in the width direction changes. In the present embodiment, a pinion rack mechanism is used as the moving mechanism of theside fences - Specifically, as illustrated in
FIG. 8 , each of theside fences racks racks pinion 82 disposed at the approximate center in the sheet width direction from both sides. Accordingly, when one of theside fences racks side fences pinion 82. The rotation of thepinion 82 causes theother racks side fences - In the present embodiment, one of the
racks 81A is engaged with a gear (rotating member) 84. Thegear 84 has a rotation shaft 84 a, which is fitted into an engagement hole 83 b on a rotor (detected member) 83 a of arotary sensor 83 and connected. For example, when a user moves theside fence 74A in the sheet width direction, therack 81A of theside fence 74A interlocks to move in the sheet width direction, thereby rotating thegear 84 engaged with therack 81A. As a result, the rotor 83 a of therotary sensor 83 connected to thegear 84 rotates integrally with thegear 84, and the rotation amount of the rotor 83 a is detected by therotary sensor 83. The detection result (rotation amount of the rotor 83 a) of therotary sensor 83 is transmitted to a control unit of the image forming apparatus, and is used to determine, for example, the size of the sheet S set on thesheet feeding tray 72 in the width direction. -
FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of thegrip portion 74 a provided on one of theside fences 74B as viewed from the outside in the sheet width direction. - The
sheet feeding tray 72 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the user grips thegrip portion 74 a provided on one of theside fences 74B and moves theside fences FIG. 11A , the user grips thegrip portion 74 a provided on one of theside fences 74B with his/her fingers in the sheet width direction Y, and moves theside fences FIG. 11B , the user may push the outer surface of thegrip portion 74 a in the sheet width direction with his/her finger, thereby moving theside fences - The
sheet feeding tray 72 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which theside fences single guide rail 75, and as illustrated inFIG. 10 and the like, thegrip portion 74 a is disposed at a position overlapping theguide rail 75. Accordingly, when the user grips thegrip portion 74 a and moves one of theside fences 74B in the sheet width direction Y, a rotational moment centered on aguide pin 74 b of one of theside fences 74B does not occur, or its magnitude is small even if the rotational moment occurs. Therefore, the contact pressure between theguide pin 74 b provided on one of theside fences 74B and theguide rail 75 is relatively small, and the frictional force at the time of sliding of both components is small. In addition, therack 81B provided on one of theside fences 74B moves approximately straight along its longitudinal direction, a proper engagement state between therack 81B and thepinion 82 is maintained, thepinion 82 can rotate smoothly, and the moving load received from thepinion 82 is also small. Therefore, one of theside fences 74B and the other one of theside fences 74A moving in conjunction with theside fence 74B can move smoothly. - However, there may be a case where, as illustrated in
FIG. 12A , the user grips a portion other than thegrip portion 74 a on one of theside fences 74B, or as illustrated inFIG. 12B , the user pushes a portion other than thegrip portion 74 a with his/her finger to attempt to move theside fence 74B. In that case, the portion gripped or pushed by the user with his/her fingers is largely shifted in the sheet feeding direction from theguide pin 74 b of one of theside fences 74B fitted into theguide rail 75, whereby a large rotational moment centered on theguide pin 74 b occurs. Therefore, force to rotate around theguide pin 74 b acts on one of theside fences 74B, and therack 81B of one of theside fences 74B is pressed against thepinion 82 accordingly, whereby the contact pressure between theguide pin 74 b of one of theside fences 74B and theguide rail 75 increases by receiving the reaction force. As a result, the frictional force between theguide pin 74 b and theguide rail 75 increases, and one of theside fences 74B and the other one of theside fences 74A that moves in conjunction with theside fence 74B cannot move smoothly. - Also in a case where the user grips or pushes a portion where a rotational moment in the reverse direction occurs with his/her fingers, the frictional force between the
guide pin 74 b and theguide rail 75 increases similarly, whereby one of theside fences 74B and the other one of theside fences 74A that moves in conjunction with theside fence 74B cannot move smoothly. In addition, one of theside fences 74B tends to rotate in the direction in which therack 81B is away from thepinion 82 so that the engagement between therack 81B and thepinion 82 may be disengaged, and in such a case, the sheet S cannot match the center of thesheet placement surface 72B in the width direction. Furthermore, the size of the sheet S set on thesheet feeding tray 72 in the width direction cannot be properly determined from the detection result of therotary sensor 83. - In view of the above, in the present embodiment, the configuration of the
side fence 74B is devised in such a manner that the user does not grips a portion other than thegrip portion 74 a of theside fence 74B to move theside fence 74B. -
FIG. 13A is a perspective view of theside fence 74B including thegrip portion 74 a as viewed from the outside in the sheet width direction. -
FIG. 13B is a perspective view of theside fence 74B including thegrip portion 74 a as viewed from the inside in the sheet width direction. -
FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of thegrip portion 74 a cut by a plane orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction. - The
side fence 74B according to the present embodiment includes thegrip portion 74 a near the center of a sheet feeding direction X. As illustrated inFIG. 14 , in thegrip portion 74 a, an end face 74 al (hereinafter referred to as an “inner end face”) on the side in contact with the edge of the sheet S is a sheet regulating surface extending in the normal direction of thesheet placement surface 72B, and the edge of the sheet stacked on thesheet placement surface 72B abuts on the inner end face 74 al of thegrip portion 74 a, thereby regulating the position of a bundle of the sheets S in the width direction. - On the other hand, an
end face 74 a 2 (hereinafter referred to as an “outer end face”) opposite to the inner end face 74 al of thegrip portion 74 a is an uneven surface in which unevenness is continuous in the vertical direction so that the user's finger does not slip in the vertical direction. As illustrated inFIGS. 7, 13A, and 13B , the outer end face 74 a 2 of thegrip portion 74 a is in a recessed shape as viewed in the normal direction of thesheet placement surface 72B. This makes it difficult for the user's finger to slip in the horizontal direction as well. Moreover, with such an uneven surface and a recessed shape, the user can easily recognize that thegrip portion 74 a is a portion to be gripped, and it is suppressed that the user grips a portion other than thegrip portion 74 a of theside fence 74B and moves theside fence 74B. In particular, as illustrated inFIG. 8 , amark 74 e is silk-printed on the upper surface of thegrip portion 74 a to highlight the position of the grip portion, which serves as assistance for the user to easily recognize the position of thegrip portion 74 a when the user looks at theside fence 74B from above. - The
grip portion 74 a is formed to be higher in height from thesheet placement surface 72B thannon-grip portions grip portion 74 a is easier to grip with the user's finger than thenon-grip portions non-grip portions sheet placement surface 72B than thegrip portion 74 a, it is more difficult for the user to grip than thegrip portion 74 a. Therefore, it is suppressed that the user grips thenon-grip portions grip portion 74 a of theside fence 74B, and moves theside fence 74B. - Moreover, in the
non-grip portions sheet placement surface 72B increases as it goes inward from the outside in the sheet width direction Y. Specifically, as illustrated inFIG. 15 , thenon-grip portion 74 c adjacent to the downstream side of thegrip portion 74 a in the sheet feeding direction has aslope 74c 2 on the end face outside in the sheet width direction, and as illustrated inFIG. 16 , thenon-grip portion 74 d adjacent to the upstream side of thegrip portion 74 a in the sheet feeding direction hasslopes 74d d 2 on both end faces in the sheet width direction Y. As a result, the user's finger is less likely to be caught on the end face than in the case where the slope is a plane orthogonal to thesheet placement surface 72B. - In a case where the
slopes 74c d d 2 are planes orthogonal to thesheet placement surface 72B like an inner end face (sheet regulating surface) 74c 1 of thenon-grip portion 74 c in the sheet width direction as illustrated inFIG. 15 , the user can push the planes straight in the normal direction with his/her finger to move theside fence 74B. Accordingly, a situation in which the user's finger slips on the planes is unlikely to occur, whereby the user can easily grip thenon-grip portions side fence 74B. - Meanwhile, in the case of the
slopes 74c d d 2 as in the present embodiment, the direction pushed by the user's finger (direction parallel to the sheet width direction) is inclined relative to the normal direction of theslopes 74c d d 2. In that case, force is generated in the direction in which the user's finger slides on the slope, whereby the user's finger is likely to slip on the slope. Accordingly, even if the user attempts to grip thenon-grip portions grip portion 74 a of theside fence 74B, to move theside fence 74B, the finger slips and cannot successfully move theside fence 74B. As a result, it is suppressed that the user grips thenon-grip portions side fence 74B. - In particular, the entire outer end faces of the
non-grip portions slopes 74 c 2 and 74d 2, whereby there is substantially no portion at which the user's finger can push the end face straight in the normal direction. Therefore, it is more reliably suppressed that the user grips thenon-grip portions side fence 74B. - As illustrated in
FIG. 15 , theslope 74c 2 according to the present embodiment is a curved surface in which the angle between tangent lines L1 and L2 and thesheet placement surface 72B decreases as it goes inward from the outside in the sheet width direction Y. With such a curved surface, the contact area with the user's finger is made small, and the finger is further slippery, whereby it is suppressed that the user grips thenon-grip portion 74 c and moves theside fence 74B. The same applies to theslopes 74d d 2 of thenon-grip portion 74 d. - Meanwhile, as illustrated in
FIGS. 15 and 16 , the inner end faces of thenon-grip portions d 3 extending in the normal direction of thesheet placement surface 72B. Accordingly, the edge of the sheet S placed on thesheet placement surface 72B abuts on the sheet regulating surfaces 74 c 1 and 74d 3 on the inner end faces of thenon-grip portions - In particular, in the present embodiment, the entire inner end face of the
non-grip portion 74 c adjacent to thegrip portion 74 a on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction is thesheet regulating surface 74c 1, and the inner end face has no slope, as illustrated inFIG. 15 . In that case, when the user grips thenon-grip portion 74 c, the user can push thesheet regulating surface 74c 1 straight in the normal direction with his/her finger, whereby the effect of suppressing the situation in which the user grips thenon-grip portion 74 c and moves theside fence 74B is reduced. - However, for the user, it is generally easier to operate at a position far from the outer wall surface of the image forming apparatus
main body 2 with respect to theside fence 74B on thesheet feeding tray 72 protruding from the outer wall surface of the image forming apparatusmain body 2. In view of the above, thenon-grip portion 74 c adjacent to thegrip portion 74 a on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction is at a position near the image forming apparatusmain body 2 on thesheet feeding tray 72, which is at a position difficult to be operated by the user within theside fence 74B. Therefore, it can be said that, even if the suppression effect is reduced, thenon-grip portion 74 c has less influence on the overall suppression effect. - Meanwhile, when the position of the sheet S placed on the
sheet placement surface 72B of thesheet feeding tray 72 in the width direction is regulated, from the viewpoint of preventing skew of the sheet S, for example, positional regulation of the sheet S on the downstream side in the feeding direction is of higher level of importance than positional regulation on the upstream side. Therefore, in the present embodiment, thenon-grip portion 74 c adjacent to thegrip portion 74 a on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction prioritizes the positional regulation even if the suppression effect is reduced, and the entire inner end face of thenon-grip portion 74 c serves as thesheet regulating surface 74 c 1 and has no slope. - In addition, the
non-grip portion 74 d adjacent to thegrip portion 74 a on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction is at a position far from the image forming apparatusmain body 2 on thesheet feeding tray 72, which is at a position easily operated by the user. Therefore, the entire inner end face of thenon-grip portion 74 d does not serve as thesheet regulating surface 74d 3 so that the suppression effect is not reduced, and has theslope 74d 1. In that case as well, in consideration of the effect of suppressing the situation in which the user grips thenon-grip portion 74 d and moves theside fence 74B, half or more of the inner end face of thenon-grip portion 74 d in the height direction is preferably theslope 74d 1. Note that, as illustrated inFIG. 17 , the inner end face of thenon-grip portion 74 d may be formed so that the entire end face is a slope in the same manner as the outer end face. - Note that, although the
sheet feeding tray 72 has been described in the present embodiment, the sheet holding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is not limited to thesheet feeding tray 72 but may be, for example, a sheet container in thesheet separating device 61 of thesheet feeder 4, a placing table of theautomatic document carrier 5 in the image reading device, or the like as long as sheets are held. - The descriptions above represent merely an example, and specific effects can be exerted in the following aspects.
- First Aspect According to a first aspect, there is provided a sheet holding device (e.g., sheet feeding tray 72) in which the user grips a grip portion (e.g.,
grip portion 74 a) of a sheet regulating member (e.g.,side fences sheet placement surface 72B) and moves the sheet regulating member, in which a non-grip portion (e.g.,non-grip portions c d - In the present aspect, since the non-grip portion of the sheet regulating member is lower in height from the sheet placement surface than the grip portion, it is more difficult for the user to grip than the grip portion. Accordingly, the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion, which is a portion other than the grip portion of the sheet regulating member, and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- Furthermore, the non-grip portion has, on at least one end face in the contacting/separating direction, a slope in which the height from the sheet placement surface increases as it goes inward from the outside in the contacting/separating direction, whereby the user's finger is less likely to be caught than in the case where the end face is a plane orthogonal to the sheet placement surface.
- If the slope is a plane orthogonal to the sheet placement surface, the user can push the plane straight in the normal direction with his/her finger and move the sheet regulating member. Accordingly, a situation in which the user's finger slips on the plane is unlikely to occur, whereby the user can easily grip the non-grip portion and move the sheet regulating member. Meanwhile, in the case where at least one end face in the contacting/separating direction is a slope as in the present aspect, the direction pushed by the user's finger (direction parallel to the contacting/separating direction) is inclined relative to the normal direction of the slope. In that case, force is generated in the direction in which the user's finger slides on the slope, whereby the user's finger is likely to slip on the slope. Accordingly, even if the user attempts to grip the non-grip portion, which is a portion other than the grip portion of the sheet regulating member, to move the sheet regulating member, the finger slips and cannot successfully move the sheet regulating member. As a result, the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- Second Aspect
- According to a second aspect, the whole of the at least one end face is the slope in the first aspect.
- According to the present aspect, there is substantially no portion at which the user's finger can push the end face of the non-grip portion straight in the normal direction, whereby the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member can be more reliably suppressed.
- Third Aspect
- According to a third aspect, the slope is a curved surface in which the angle between the tangent line and the sheet placement surface decreases inward in the contacting/separating direction in the first or second aspect.
- According to the present aspect, the contact area between the end face of the non-grip portion and the user's finger is smaller than in the case of a flat surface so that the finger is further slippery, whereby the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- Fourth Aspect
- According to a fourth aspect, the non-grip portion has slopes on both end faces in the contacting/separating direction in any one of the first to third aspects.
- According to the present aspect, any finger of the user gripping the non-grip portion from both sides is slippery, whereby the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- Fifth Aspect
- According to a fifth aspect, in the fourth aspect, the contacting/separating direction of the sheet regulating member is a direction (e.g., sheet width direction Y) orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction (e.g., sheet feeding direction X), at least two of the non-grip portions exist to sandwich the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction, and the
non-grip portion 74 d positioned on the upstream side of the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction has theslopes 74d d 2 on both of the end faces. - In general, the non-grip portion adjacent to the grip portion on the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction is easier for the user to operate than the non-grip portion adjacent to the grip portion on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction. According to the present aspect, the non-grip portion has slopes on both of the end faces so that the non-grip portion, which tends to be operated by the user, is less likely to be gripped, whereby the situation in which the user grips the non-grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member can be effectively suppressed.
- Sixth Aspect
- According to a sixth aspect, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, the non-grip portion has the sheet regulating surfaces 74 c 1 and 74
d 3 extending in the normal direction of the sheet placement surface on the end face on the side in contact with the edge of the sheet. - With this arrangement, positional regulation of the sheet edge is made possible even at the portion of the non-grip portion on the sheet regulating member.
- Seventh Aspect
- According to a seventh aspect, in the sixth aspect, the contacting/separating direction of the sheet regulating member is the direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction, at least two of non-grip portions exist to sandwich the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction, and the
non-grip portion 74 c positioned on the downstream side of the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction has thesheet regulating surface 74c 1. - As described above, when the position of the sheet placed on the sheet placement surface in the width direction is regulated, from the viewpoint of preventing skew of the sheet, for example, positional regulation on the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction is of higher level of importance than positional regulation on the upstream side. According to the present aspect, it is possible to perform the positional regulation in the sheet width direction with the non-grip portion adjacent to the grip portion on the downstream side in the sheet feeding direction.
- Eighth Aspect
- According to an eight aspect, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, the sheet regulating member moves while being guided by a single guide member (e.g., guide rail 75) extending in the contacting/separating direction, and the grip portion is disposed at a position overlapping the single guide member.
- According to the present aspect, as described above, when the user grips the grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member in the contacting/separating direction, no rotational moment is generated centered on the portion (guide
pin 74 b) on the sheet regulating member guided by the single guide member, or its magnitude is small even if the rotational moment is generated. Accordingly, the contact pressure between the sheet regulating member and the guide member is relatively small, and frictional force at the time of sliding between the two components can be made small. Therefore, when the user grips the grip portion and moves the sheet regulating member, the sheet regulating member can be moved smoothly. - Ninth Aspect
- According to a ninth aspect, in any one of the first to eight aspects, two of the sheet regulating members are provided to regulate both edges of the sheet placed on the sheet placement surface, the sheet holding device including a moving mechanism (e.g., pinion rack mechanism) for moving, in conjunction with movement of one of the two sheet regulating members, the other one of the sheet regulating members.
- According to the present aspect, the user can move the other one of the sheet regulating members together by moving one of the sheet regulating members.
- Tenth Aspect
- According to a tenth aspect, in any one of the first to ninth aspects, at least one end face of the grip portion in the contacting/separating direction has a recessed shape as viewed in the normal direction of the sheet placement surface.
- With this arrangement, when the user grips the grip portion, the user's finger is less likely to slip in the direction parallel to the sheet placement surface. The user can easily see and recognize that the grip portion is a portion to be gripped, whereby the situation in which the user grips a portion other than the grip portion of the sheet regulating member and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- Eleventh Aspect
- According to an eleventh aspect, in any one of the first to tenth aspects, the sheet holding device is a sheet feeding tray.
- In the sheet feeding tray, sheets of various sizes tend to be placed in turn, and the frequency with which the user moves the sheet regulating member is high, whereby the situation in which the user grips a portion other than the grip portion of the sheet regulating member and moves the sheet regulating member occurs frequently. According to the present aspect, the situation in which the user grips a portion other than the grip portion of the sheet regulating member on such a sheet feeding tray and moves the sheet regulating member can be suppressed.
- Twelfth Aspect
- According to a twelfth aspect, there is provided an image forming apparatus (e.g., copier 1) including a sheet holding device (e.g., sheet feeding tray 72) in which a sheet holding device in any one of the first to eleventh aspects is used as the sheet holding device.
- According to the present aspect, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which the situation where the user grips a portion other than the grip portion of the sheet regulating member and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- Thirteenth Aspect
- According to a thirteenth aspect, there is provided an
image reading device 3 including a sheet holding device (e.g., placing table 5A) in which a sheet holding device in any one of the first to eleventh aspects is used as the sheet holding device. - According to the present aspect, it is possible to provide an image reading device in which the situation where the user grips a portion other than the grip portion of the sheet regulating member and moves the sheet regulating member is suppressed.
- Numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that, within the scope of the above teachings, the present disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. With some embodiments having thus been described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the scope of the present disclosure and appended claims, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present disclosure and appended claims.
Claims (13)
1. A sheet holding device comprising:
a sheet placement surface on which a sheet is to be placed; and
a sheet regulating member movable in a contacting direction to contact and a separating direction to separate from an edge of the sheet placed on the sheet placement surface,
the sheet regulating member including:
a grip portion configured to be gripped by a user to move the sheet regulating member; and
a non-grip portion lower in height from the sheet placement surface than the grip portion,
the non-grip portion having, on at least one end face in the contacting direction, a slope whose height from the sheet placement surface increases toward a center of the non-grip portion in the contacting direction or the separating direction.
2. The sheet holding device according to claim 1 ,
wherein a whole of the at least one end face of the non-grip portion is the slope.
3. The sheet holding device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the slope is a curved surface whose angle between the sheet placement surface and a tangent line to the slope decreases toward the center of the non-grip portion in the contacting direction or the separating direction.
4. The sheet holding device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the non-grip portion has slopes on both end faces in the contacting direction.
5. The sheet holding device according to claim 4 ,
wherein the contacting direction and the separating direction of the sheet regulating member are orthogonal to a sheet conveyance direction in which the sheet is conveyed from the sheet placement surface,
wherein the sheet regulating member includes at least two of non-grip portions, including the non-grip portion, across the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction, and
wherein a non-grip portion of the at least two non-grip portions upstream of the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction has the slopes on both end faces in the contacting direction.
6. The sheet holding device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the non-grip portion has a sheet regulating surface extending in a normal direction of the sheet placement surface on an end face on a side to contact the edge of the sheet.
7. The sheet holding device according to claim 6 ,
wherein the contacting direction and the separating direction of the sheet regulating member are orthogonal to a sheet conveyance direction in which the sheet is conveyed from the sheet placement surface,
wherein the sheet regulating member includes at least two non-grip portions, including the non-grip portion, across the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction, and
wherein a non-grip portion of the at least two non-grip portions downstream of the grip portion in the sheet conveyance direction has the sheet regulating surface.
8. The sheet holding device according to claim 1 , further comprising a single guide member extending in the contacting direction and configured to guide and move the sheet regulating member, and
wherein the grip portion is disposed at a position overlapping with the single guide member.
9. The sheet holding device according to claim 1 , further comprising: two sheet regulating members, including the sheet regulating member, configured to regulate both edges of the sheet placed on the sheet placement surface; and
a moving mechanism configured to move, in conjunction with movement of one of the two sheet regulating members, another one of the sheet regulating members.
10. The sheet holding device according to claim 1 ,
wherein at least one end face of the grip portion in the contacting direction has a recessed shape as viewed in a normal direction of the sheet placement surface.
11. The sheet holding device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the sheet holding device is a sheet feeding tray.
12. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet holding device according to claim 1 .
13. An image reading device comprising the sheet holding device according to claim 1 .
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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JP2018-212701 | 2018-11-13 | ||
JP2018212701A JP7112674B2 (en) | 2018-11-13 | 2018-11-13 | Sheet holding device, image forming device and image reading device |
Publications (1)
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US20200148492A1 true US20200148492A1 (en) | 2020-05-14 |
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ID=70551800
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US16/677,952 Abandoned US20200148492A1 (en) | 2018-11-13 | 2019-11-08 | Sheet holding device, image forming apparatus, and image reading device |
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US (1) | US20200148492A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP7112674B2 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20220089388A1 (en) * | 2020-09-23 | 2022-03-24 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Document feed device, and image forming device including the same |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP2002265068A (en) | 2001-03-06 | 2002-09-18 | Murata Mach Ltd | Paper sheet guide |
JP3159623U (en) | 2010-03-09 | 2010-05-27 | ▲うぇい▼強科技股▲ふん▼有限公司 | Paper guide mechanism |
JP6048021B2 (en) | 2012-09-13 | 2016-12-21 | 株式会社リコー | Paper feeding device and image forming apparatus |
JP6585533B2 (en) | 2016-03-24 | 2019-10-02 | 株式会社沖データ | Medium transport device |
-
2018
- 2018-11-13 JP JP2018212701A patent/JP7112674B2/en active Active
-
2019
- 2019-11-08 US US16/677,952 patent/US20200148492A1/en not_active Abandoned
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20220089388A1 (en) * | 2020-09-23 | 2022-03-24 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Document feed device, and image forming device including the same |
US11878884B2 (en) * | 2020-09-23 | 2024-01-23 | Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha | Document feed device, and image forming device including the same |
Also Published As
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JP7112674B2 (en) | 2022-08-04 |
JP2020079137A (en) | 2020-05-28 |
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