Patent Grant
9725260
Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus for feeding sheets, and an image forming apparatus equipped with the same.
Description of the Related Art
In the prior art, there are some image forming apparatuses such as printers and copying machines equipped with a manual sheet-feeding apparatus for conveying irregular sized sheets or special material sheets, in addition to a sheet feeding apparatus for feeding regular sized sheets stored in a sheet feed cassette. According to such manual sheet feeding apparatus, for example, a sheet is stacked on a manual sheet-feeding tray disposed so that it can be opened and closed on a side surface of an image forming apparatus body, and the sheet is fed via a feeding roller.
When feeding a sheet through the manual sheet feeding apparatus, an user opens a cover having the manual sheet-feeding tray disposed on an inner surface and release the manual sheet-feeding tray stored in the image forming apparatus body (hereinafter referred to as apparatus body). When the manual sheet feeding apparatus is not used, the cover is closed, and the manual sheet-feeding tray is stored in the apparatus body. If the feed roller is arranged near the manual sheet-feeding tray with the aim to downsize the image forming apparatus, there is a possibility that the manual sheet-feeding tray and the feed roller may interfere with one another when storing the manual sheet-feeding tray.
Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-255316 provides a configuration where a link arm is provided between an apparatus body and a manual sheet-feeding tray. The manual sheet-feeding tray is moved above a feed roller via the link arm when the manual sheet-feeding tray is closed, so as to prevent increase in size of the image forming apparatus.
Recently, there are demands for an image forming apparatus that can be downsized without having the apparatus body and the manual sheet-feeding tray connected via a link arm.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet feeding apparatus including an apparatus body, a cover openably/closably supported on the apparatus body a sheet stacking portion disposed on an apparatus body-side of the cover and stacking sheets, a guide portion guiding the sheet stacking portion along the cover between a first position and a second position, a sheet feeding portion disposed on the apparatus body and feeding sheets stacked on the sheet stacking portion at the first position, and a moving portion moving the sheet stacking portion, in conjunction with a closing operation of the cover, from the first position to the second position where the sheet stacking portion does not interfere with the sheet feeding portion.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Now, the embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The image forming portion 1B is equipped with a process cartridge 7 including a photosensitive drum 8 and a process unit (charging unit, developing section and cleaning section) acting on the drum, formed integrally and attached in a detachable manner to the printer body 1A, and a transfer roller 9, and so on. Further, the manual sheet-feeding apparatus 15 is equipped with a manual sheet-feeding tray 22 as sheet stacking portion, and a feed roller 2 as sheet feeding portion for feeding a sheet P stacked in the manual sheet-feeding tray 22.
Next, we will describe an image forming operation of the laser beam printer 1 having the above-described configuration. When an image information is transmitted from a personal computer and the like not shown, and a control unit not shown having carried out an image forming process to the image information outputs a print command, sheets P stacked in the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is fed one at a time via the feed roller 2 of the manual sheet-feeding apparatus 15. Then, the sheet P fed from the manual sheet-feeding apparatus 15 is separated into single sheet via a separation unit composed of the feed roller 2 and a separating pad 26 and conveyed to a conveyance roller 3, and thereafter, further conveyed to a transfer nip N composed of the photosensitive drum 8 and the transfer roller 9.
On the other hand, based on the print command and the image information, a laser beam based on the image information is irradiated on the photosensitive drum 8 from a laser scanner unit 5, and a latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 8. Further, by developing the latent image, a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 8.
The toner image on the photosensitive drum 8 is transferred to the sheet P conveyed by the transfer nip N. The sheet P to which the toner image has been transferred is sent to a fixing device 11, where the toner image is fixed semi-permanently to the sheet by heating and pressing via the fixing device 11. Thereafter, the sheet P is sent to a discharge roller pair 12 and discharged onto a discharged sheet stacking plate 14. The sheet fed to the laser beam printer 1 on which an image is formed is not restricted to regular paper, and it can be a postcard, a label paper, an OHP sheet, and so on.
As shown in
A manual sheet-feeding tray 22 as sheet stacking portion is turnably attached in the vertical direction around a shaft 22a as fulcrum, and also slidably in directions of arrows L1 and L2, on an inner wall surface on the side of the manual feed frame 16 of the manual feed cover 27. The manual feed cover 27 is retained in an opened state as shown in
Cams 6 are attached to a roller shaft 4 (rotation shaft) on which the feed roller 2 is mounted. Contact portions 22e capable of being in contact with the cams 6 are disposed on a turning end (moving end) side of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22. Pressurizing springs 17 (biasing members) composed of tension springs are mounted between spring hook portions 22b disposed on the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 and spring hook portions 18c disposed on the arm members 18. The sheet on the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 contacts the feed roller 2 via a given sheet feeding pressure for feeding sheets by an elastic force provided by the pressurizing springs 17.
The contact portion 22e is pressed against the cam 6 by the pressurizing springs 17. Before the sheet feeding operation is started, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is pressed downward via the contact portion 22e by the cam 6 resisting against the pressurizing spring 17, and thereby, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is maintained in a separated state from the feed roller 2. Thus, by having the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 separated from the feed roller 2 during standby, the supplementation or replacement of sheets can be performed easily.
As shown in
On one end side 18d (first end side) of the pair of arm members 18 is provided a shaft 18a projected in a direction of width orthogonal to the direction in which the sheets are fed, as shown in
Side regulating plates 23 and 24 as regulating members for regulating the position of the sheet in the width direction are supported movably in the width direction on both width-direction ends of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22. A rack portion not shown extending in the width direction is disposed on the bottom portion of the side regulating plates 23 and 24, and pinions not shown that engage with respective racks of the side regulating plates 23 and 24 are provided on a rear surface of the side on which the sheets are stacked in the manual sheet-feeding tray 22. When a user moves the side regulating plate 23 disposed on one side, the side regulating plate 24 disposed on the opposite side is moved in conjunction with through the rack and pinion mechanism, so that the side regulating plates 23 and 24 either move closer to or away from each other.
Next, we will describe the sheet feeding operation using the manual sheet-feeding apparatus 15 having the above-described configuration. When performing manual sheet feeding operation, at first, the user opens the manual feed cover 27 in direction R2 shown in
When the slide arms 20 move in the direction of L1 for a given amount, the arms are abutted against the abutment members 27c, by which the movement of the slide arms 20 is regulated. As a result, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is retained at the first position when the turning end (side opposite from the shaft 22a) reaches an area beneath the feed roller 2.
Further, when the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is in a state retained at the first position, the contact portion 22e is pressed by the cam 6 and the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is in a state separated from the feed roller 2. Therefore, it becomes possible to set sheets on the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 and enable sheets to be fed to the device. In the present embodiment, abutment members 27c being in contact with the slide arms 20 are provided to the manual feed cover 27 to retain the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 at the first position when the manual feed cover 27 is opened, but other configurations can also be adopted. For example, a configuration can be adopted where abutment portions for positioning the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 at the first position are provided between the arm members 18 and the manual feed cover 27, between the manual feed cover 27 and the manual feed frame 16, or between the arm members 18 and the manual feed frame 16.
Thereafter, when the sheet feeding operation is started and the feed roller 2 is driven to rotate in a clockwise direction, the cam 6 having been pressing down the contact portion 22e of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is rotated and separated from the contact portion 22e of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22. Thereby, as shown in
When the sheet feeding operation is completed, the user closes the manual feed cover 27, and stores the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 in the storage portion S formed in the manual feed frame 16. The feed roller 2 is disposed at the lower section of the storage portion S. When storing the manual sheet-feeding tray 22, the user rotates the manual feed cover 27 in the direction of R1 shown in
Here, the arm members 18 are designed to have a length so that the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is stored above the feed roller 2 when the manual feed cover 27 is closed, as shown in
In the present embodiment, as described, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is disposed rotatably and slidably to the manual feed cover 27 via the slide arms 20, and at the same time, the shafts 18b of the arm members 18 are attached rotatably to the feed roller 2-side of the slide arms 20. When storing the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 in the storage portion S, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is moved to the second position above the feed roller 2 by the arm members 18 pushing up the slide arms 20.
Further, when the manual feed cover 27 is opened and the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is moved to the first position, the other end side 18e of the arm members 18 is moved to a position close to the feed roller 2. Thereby, the side regulating plates 23 and 24 can be manipulated without being interrupted by the arm members 18.
In the present embodiment, the height of the upper surface of the slide arms 20 is set to a position either equivalent to or lower than the upper surface of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 so that it will not project from the upper surface of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 at least when the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is at a first position. Thereby, it becomes possible to prevent components from being arranged in a space surrounding the side regulating plates 23 and 24, and to ensure enough space to allow the hand of a user to enter when manipulating the side regulating plates 23 and 24 without increasing the size of the printer body 1A.
As described, according to the present embodiment, the slide arms 20 that move in conjunction with the rotation of the arm members 18 are made to support the manual sheet-feeding tray 22. Then, when storing the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 in the storage portion S, by having the slide arms 20 slide in conjunction with the rotation of the arm members 18, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is made to move to a storage position (second position) above the feed roller 2 within the storage portion S.
Thereby, the printer body 1A can be prevented from being increased in size. Further, when using the manual sheet-feeding apparatus 15, the arm members 18 can be disposed close to the feed roller 2, so that the operability of the side regulating plates 23 and 24 can be improved. In other words, according to the present embodiment, it becomes possible to realize both good operability of the side regulating plates 23 and 24 and downsizing of the laser beam printer 1.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
As shown in
In the present embodiment, a slit 18d is formed between the shafts 18a and 18d of each arm member 18, and a shaft (pin) 22f is formed on a side wall of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22. The shaft 22f is engaged with the slit 18d of the arm member 18, and formed at a position closer to the feed roller 2 than the shaft 22a.
Further, the slit 18d of the arm member 18 is formed in an arc shape having its center of rotation set at the shaft 22a of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22, which differs from the arc shape having its center set at the shaft 18a being the center of rotation of the arm member 18. Thus, when the arm members 18 are rotated, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 can be rotated around the shaft 22a within a range where the shaft 22f and the slit 18d are engaged.
Next, we will describe the sheet feeding operation using the manual sheet-feeding apparatus 15 having the above-described configuration. When performing a manual sheet feeding operation, at first, the user opens the manual feed cover 27 in a direction of arrow R2 shown in
When the arm members 18 are rotated in this manner, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is moved in the direction of L1 along the groove section 37b, since the shafts 22f are engaged with the slits 18d of the arm members 18 and the shafts 22a are engaged with the groove sections 37b of the manual feed cover 27. In other words, in the present embodiment, the groove section 37b and the shaft 22a constitute a guide portion 50 for guiding the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 between the first position and the second position.
Thereafter, when the manual feed cover 27 and the arm members 18 rotate for a given amount, the shafts 38b are abutted against an end portion in the L1 side of the other groove sections 27d of the manual feed cover 27 and stopped, by which the rotation of the arm members 18 is regulated. Thereby, when the manual feed cover 27 is opened, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is retained at the first position.
Thereafter, when the sheet feeding operation is started and the feed roller 2 is rotated, the cam 6 is moved away from the contact portion 22e of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 along with the rotation of the feed roller 2. Thereby, as shown in
When the sheet feeding operation is completed, the user closes the manual feed cover 27 and stores the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 in the storage portion S. When storing the manual sheet-feeding tray 22, the user rotates the manual feed cover 27 in the direction of R1 shown in
Then, along with this rotation of the arm members 18 in the direction of arrow 5, the shafts 38b of the arm members 18 move in the direction of L2 along the other groove section 27d of the manual feed cover 27. Then, since the shafts 22f of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 are engaged with the slits 18d of the arm members, the shafts 22a of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 are guided by the groove section 37b and moved in the direction of L2, along with the movement of the shafts 18d in the direction of L2. In other words, when the arm members 18 are rotated in the direction of R5, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is moved in the direction of L2.
In the present embodiment, the arm members 18 are designed to have a length so that the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is stored above the feed roller 2 when the manual feed cover 27 is closed, as shown in
When the manual feed cover 27 is opened and the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is moved to the first position, the other end side 18e of the arm members 18 is moved to a position close to the feed roller 2. Thereby, it becomes possible to manipulate the side regulating plates 23 and 24 without being interrupted by the arm members 18. According further to the present embodiment, since the other end sides 18e of the arm members 18 are connected directly to the manual sheet-feeding tray 22, the number of components can be reduced and costs can be cut down. Then, by the shafts 38b formed on the other end sides 18e of the arm members 18 abutting against the other groove sections 27d, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 can be retained stably at the first position while maintaining the manual feed cover 27 in the opened state.
As described, according to the present embodiment, the arm members 18 and the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 are connected by the shafts 22f and the slits 18d, and the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is stored in the storage portion S above the feed roller 2 in conjunction with the operation of closing the manual feed cover 27. Thus, it becomes possible to prevent the increase in size of the printer body 1A. Further, when the manual feed cover 27 is opened, the arm members 18 will be arranged near the feed roller 2, and the operability of the side regulating plates 23 and 24 can be improved. As described, according to the present embodiment, it becomes possible to realize both good operability of the side regulating plates 23 and 24 and downsizing of the laser beam printer 1.
Next, we will describe a third embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in
Next, we will describe the sheet feeding operation using the manual sheet-feeding apparatus 15 having the above-described configuration. When performing manual sheet feeding operation, at first, the user opens the manual feed cover 27 toward the direction of R2 shown in
At this time, since the distance between the shafts 16a of the manual feed frame 16 and the shafts 27e of the manual feed cover 27 is widened, the retention wires 19 having been slackened as shown in
Thereafter, when the sheet feeding operation is started and the feed roller 2 is rotated, the cams 6 are separated from the contact portions 22e of the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 along with the rotation of the feed roller 2. Thereby, as shown in
When the sheet feeding operation is completed, the user rotates the manual feed cover 27 in the direction of R1 shown in
In the present embodiment, the arm members 18 are designed to have a length so that the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is stored above the feed roller 2 when the manual feed cover 27 is closed, as shown in
Now, in the state where the manual sheet-feeding tray is opened with respect to the manual feed frame 16, the arm members 18 and the retention wires 19 are arranged close to the feed roller 4 and the arm members 18 so as not to get in the way when the side regulating plates 23 and 24 are manipulated, as shown in
As described, according to the present embodiment, similar to the second embodiment described earlier, the manual sheet-feeding tray 22 is stored in the storage position (second position) above the feed roller 2 in conjunction with the operation for closing the manual feed cover 27 when storing the manual sheet-feeding tray 22. Therefore, it becomes possible to prevent the increase in size of the printer body 1A. Since the arm members 18 and the retention wires 19 can be arranged close to the feed roller 2, the operability of the side regulating plates 23 and 24 can be improved. Further, by using the retention wires 19, it becomes possible to improve the retention strength of the manual feed cover 27 when opening the manual feed cover 27 by a simple configuration.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-219967, filed Oct. 29, 2014, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
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