JP2020070140A - Sheet storage device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet storage device and an image forming apparatus capable of maintaining a fixed state of a regulating means.
A moving mechanism 20 includes rack portions 52a and 52b, and the rack portions 52a and 52b are movable by rotation of a pinion gear 4 in contact with the rack portions 52a and 52b. When the rack portions 52a and 52b are attached to the fixing member 45, their movement is restricted by contacting the fixing member 45.
[Selection diagram]

Description

  The present invention relates to a sheet storage device and an image forming apparatus.

  The sheet accommodating device used in the main body of the image forming apparatus is capable of accommodating sheets of various sizes, and can regulate the position of the sheets stacked on the stacking means included in the sheet accommodating device.

  As an example of the sheet storage device, a cassette unit configured to be attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus main body is known. The cassette unit includes a regulation unit that regulates the position of the sheets stacked on the stacking unit in the conveying direction or the width direction. The role of the regulation unit is to properly regulate the position of the sheets stacked on the stacking unit and realize proper sheet conveyance. There are various sizes of sheets stacked on the stacking unit, and it is necessary to move the restricting unit according to the sheet size.

  The restricting means includes an operation lever for a user or a service person to operate, and by operating the operating lever, the fixed state of the restricting means is released and the restricting means can be moved. Further, when the operation of the operation lever is stopped, the regulating means is fixed at the position where the operation of the operation lever is stopped.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which an operation lever is provided above the restriction means so that the user can easily recognize and operate the operation lever.

JP, 2016-113300, A

  The restriction means disclosed in Patent Document 1 is configured to be movable by operating the operation lever. Depending on the user, since only a standard size sheet is used, it may be desired to fix the regulating means. In addition, when transporting the image forming apparatus, the regulation means may be fixed in order to avoid the movement of the regulation means. In both cases, as a method of fixing the regulating means, there is known a method of directly fixing the regulating means to the sheet accommodation device using a screw.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet storage device and an image forming apparatus that can maintain a fixed state of a restriction unit without using screws or screw holes.

  According to the invention described in claim 1, in a sheet accommodating device capable of accommodating a sheet, a support portion that supports the accommodated sheet and a movable portion with respect to the support portion are provided to regulate the position of the end portion of the sheet. A moving member configured to move in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the restricting means, and the moving member. A rotary member that is in contact with and is rotatable with respect to the support portion, and the movable member is movable in the parallel direction by rotating the rotary member, and the support portion is the movable member. An engageable fixed member can be attached, and when the fixed member is attached to the support portion, the movable member and the fixed member engage with each other to move the movable member in the parallel direction. Is regulated That.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a sheet storage device and an image forming apparatus that can maintain the fixing state of the regulation unit at any position without using screws or screw holes.

Sectional view showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus (A) Top view when the cassette is removed from the apparatus main body, (b) Top view with the middle plate removed from (a) 2A is an enlarged view around the rotary member in FIG. 2B, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged view showing a state in which the first fixing member is mounted in the cassette instead of the rotary member in FIG. Enlarged view for explaining another fixing member (A) Schematic diagram of the second fixing member (b) Schematic diagram showing the back surface side of the second fixing member (A) A top view when the support part is removed from the apparatus body and the middle plate is removed, and (b) a partially enlarged view of the peripheral region of the opening of the support part in (a). FIG. 6A is a partially enlarged view showing a state in which the second fixing member is attached to the support portion, and FIG. 7B is a perspective view of a partially enlarged view showing a state in which the second fixing member is attached to the support portion. (A) The perspective view which looked at the support part from the back side, (b) The partially expanded view of (a). 8A is an enlarged view showing a state where the second fixing member is mounted and fixed in FIG. 8A, and FIG. 8B is a sectional view showing a state where the second fixing member is mounted and fixed. (A) An enlarged view for explaining the other second fixing member, and (b) An enlarged view for explaining the other second fixing member. (A) An enlarged view for explaining an engaging claw provided in the second fixing member, (b) A second fixing member that engages with the moving member in the hole 1d of the supporting portion different from the hole 1c of the supporting portion will be described. Enlarged view An enlarged view for explaining another second fixing member.

(Example 1)
Example 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in this embodiment should be appropriately changed depending on the configuration of the apparatus to which the invention is applied and various conditions. That is, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the following examples.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus 100 adopting the electrophotographic process, and may be an image forming apparatus of another system, for example, a printer adopting an inkjet image forming process.

  In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an apparatus main body 2, an image forming unit 102 that forms an image by an electrophotographic method, and a sheet feeding device 103 that feeds a sheet S to the image forming unit 102. ..

  Here, the image forming unit 102 includes a photosensitive drum 107 that forms a toner image, a charging roller 109 that uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum, and a developing device 110 that supplies toner to the photosensitive drum 107.

  The sheet feeding device 103 is a sheet feeding device that can store a plurality of sheets S, and a feeding member that is provided above the cassette 1 and feeds the sheets S accommodated in the cassette 1. A certain feeding roller 103A is provided.

  The cassette 1 includes a cassette body 1A that stores the sheets S and a stacking member. The stacking member is a stacking member that stacks the sheets S, is rotatably held in the up-down direction about a shaft 50a of the cassette body 1A as a fulcrum, and is urged by the coil spring 51 toward the feeding roller 103A. The plate 6. That is, the intermediate plate 6 can stack a plurality of sheets S.

  Here, the cassette body 1A constitutes a supporting portion for supporting the sheet S, and is provided with a bottom surface portion constituting an exterior surface of the cassette body 1A. Then, the intermediate plate 6 which is the stacking member is pushed up in the direction of the feeding roller 103A by the coil spring 51, so that the sheets S stacked on the intermediate plate 6 are pressed against the feeding roller 103A. Further, the cassette 1 is provided with a separating means 101 for separating the sheets S sent by the feeding roller 103A one by one.

  Next, an image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 100 configured as above will be described. First, based on an image signal from a host computer (not shown), the laser scanner 122, which is an exposure unit, irradiates the photosensitive drum 107 with laser light. The surface is uniformly charged in advance by the charging roller 109 and is rotating clockwise. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 107. Next, the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 107 is developed by the toner on the developing device 110, and a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 107.

  On the other hand, the feeding roller 103A starts rotating at a predetermined timing, and in conjunction with this, the intermediate plate 6 biased toward the feeding roller by the force of the coil spring 51 rotates upward, and as a result, the intermediate plate The leading end portion of the sheets S stacked on the sheet 6 is pressed against the feeding roller 103A with a predetermined force. Here, the feeding roller 103A is controlled so as to rotate counterclockwise only during feeding, and feeds the pressed sheet S by friction force. When a plurality of sheets S on the intermediate plate 6 are sent out at the same time, only the uppermost sheet S is separated by the action of the separating means 101 and conveyed downstream.

  Next, the uppermost sheet S separated by the separating means 101 in this way is sent to the skew feeding correcting means 105 and skew feeding is corrected, and thereafter, the skew feeding correcting means 105 causes the photosensitive drum 107 and the transfer roller 106. And is conveyed to the transfer unit 108 configured by. In the transfer unit 108, as described above, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 107 is electrically attracted by the transfer roller 106 and transferred to the sheet S.

  The sheet S on which the toner image has been transferred is then conveyed by the conveyance belt 104 to a fixing unit 115 including a heating unit 113 and a pressure roller 114, and the fixing unit 115 heats and pressurizes the toner S. The image is fixed. Further thereafter, the sheet is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 121 on the upper surface of the apparatus main body by the pair of intermediate sheet discharge rollers 118 and the pair of sheet discharge rollers 119.

  Next, the configuration of the cassette 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A is a top view when the cassette 1 is removed from the apparatus main body 2, and FIG. 2B is a top view in which the intermediate plate 6 is removed from FIG. 2A. The configuration of the cassette body will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a view showing the inside of the cassette 1. When the cassette 1 is attached to the apparatus main body 2, the arrow A direction of the cassette 1 is the sheet conveying direction.

  The cassette 1 includes a cassette body 1A for accommodating sheets of various sizes, regulation means (5a, 5b, 3) for regulating the position of the end portion of the sheet supported by the cassette body 1A, and an intermediate plate 6. .. Here, the regulating means includes a trailing edge regulating member 3 that abuts on the trailing edge of the sheet in the sheet conveying direction and regulates the position of the trailing edge, and a width that regulates the position of the sheet in the width direction that intersects the sheet conveying direction. The regulation members 5a and 5b are provided. The width regulating members 5a and 5b and the rear end regulating member 3 are arranged so as not to affect the rotational movement of the middle plate 6 (shown in FIG. 1).

  In this embodiment, since the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus are integrally configured as the image forming apparatus 100, the cassette 1 can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus 100. However, in the configuration in which the sheet feeding device is provided independently of the image forming apparatus, the cassette 1 can be attached to and detached from the sheet feeding device. As an example of the sheet feeding apparatus, an option feeder that can be attached to the image forming apparatus 100 is conventionally known.

  When accommodating a plurality of sheets in the cassette 1, after the sheets are placed on the intermediate plate 6, the width regulating members 5a and 5b are brought into contact with the side edges of the sheets to define the side edge positions of the sheets. At the same time, the trailing edge regulating member 3 is brought into contact with the trailing edge of the sheet to define the trailing edge position of the sheet. As a result, the sheet can be accommodated while being positioned. After that, the cassette 1 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 100, and the sheet is fed by the feeding roller 103A.

  Here, when the cassette 1 is mounted, the intermediate plate 6 (shown in FIG. 1) is pushed upward by the coil spring 51 (shown in FIG. 1) about the shaft 50a. As a result, the sheet positioned by the width regulating members 5a and 5b and the trailing edge regulating member 3 is pressed against the feeding roller 103A (shown in FIG. 1). The sheets thus pressed against the feeding roller 103A are fed one by one by the feeding action of the feeding roller 103A and fed to the image forming unit 102 (shown in FIG. 1).

  The moving mechanism 20 for moving the width regulating members 5a and 5b in the width direction is a moving member that is provided in the cassette body 1A and is movable in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the width regulating members 5a and 5b. The rack parts 52a and 52b and the pinion gear 4 which is a rotating member are provided. Specifically, the pair of width regulating members 5a and 5b are provided at their lower portions with rack portions 52a and 52b extending in the same direction (arrow B direction) as the width direction which is the moving direction of the width regulating members 5a and 5b. There is. (See FIG. 2B.) The rack portions 52a and 52b are guided by a guide groove (not shown) provided in the bottom plate of the cassette body 1A in the direction of arrow B to be movable in the width direction. , And a rack gear that engages with the rotatable pinion gear 4.

  At the center of the bottom surface of the cassette body 1A, there is provided a pinion gear 4 which is a rotatable member rotatably provided around a shaft. The pinion gear 4 is detachable from the cassette body 1A and has a gear shape. The pinion gear 4 is meshed with the teeth formed on the rack portions 52a and 52b. Accordingly, when one of the width regulating members 5a and 5b is moved in the width direction (first direction), the action of the pinion gear 4 and the rack portions 52a and 52b causes the other width regulating members 5a and 5b to move. It moves in the opposite direction (second direction) to one of the width regulating members 5a and 5b in conjunction with each other. By moving one of the width regulating members 5a and 5b in this manner, both width regulating members 5a and 5b are simultaneously moved in the width direction and brought into contact with the side edge of the sheet stacked on the middle plate 6. It is possible to easily position the sheet in the width direction.

  The rear end regulating member 3 is guided in a guide groove (not shown) provided in the bottom plate of the cassette body 1A in the direction of arrow C so as to be movable in the feeding direction. In this way, the width regulating members 5a and 5b can be freely moved according to the size of the sheets to be stacked.

  As described above, depending on the user, the width regulating members 5a and 5b may be fixed because only sheets of a predetermined standard size are used. In addition, the width regulating members 5a and 5b may be fixed when the image forming apparatus 100 is transported. In this embodiment, the fixing of the width regulating members 5a and 5b can be realized with a simple structure by using the moving mechanism 20.

  FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of the periphery of the pinion gear 4 of FIG. 2B. 3B is an enlarged view showing a state in which the first fixing member 41 is mounted on the cassette body 1A instead of the pinion gear 4 of FIG. 3A. The mounting method of the first fixing member 41 is as follows. First, the middle plate 6 shown in FIG. 1 is removed from the cassette 1. Next, the width regulating members 5a and 5b are moved to desired positions. The pinion gear 4 is removed with the width regulating members 5a and 5b positioned. The width regulating members 5a and 5b may be positioned before the intermediate plate 6 is removed. In that case, a standard size sheet may be set in the cassette 1, and the width regulating members 5a and 5b may be abutted against the sheet in that state to position the width regulating members 5a and 5b.

  Next, the stopper 41, which is the first fixing member shown in FIG. 3B, is attached to the place where the pinion gear 4 was attached. Finally, the middle plate 6 is attached. In this way, the teeth 41a of the stopper 41 and the rack portion 52a engage with each other, and the teeth 41b of the stopper 41 and the rack portion 52b similarly engage with each other on the opposite side. The outer edge portion 41c of the non-engaging portion of the stopper 41 contacts the rack portion 52a, and the rack portion 52a that faces the outer edge portion 41d of the non-engaging portion of the stopper 41 also contacts on the opposite side. As a result, the movement of the rack portions 52a and 52b is regulated, and the movement of the width regulating members 5a and 5b is fixed.

  As described above, the stopper 41 includes the arc-shaped outer edge portion 41d as the non-engaging portion, but the stopper 41 may have another shape. For example, the first fixing member having the shape described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C may be used. FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view illustrating the stopper 42 and the linear shapes 42c and 42d of the stopper 42. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view illustrating the stopper 43 and the linear shapes 43c and 43d included in the stopper 43. The teeth 42a, 42b of the engaging portion of the stopper 42 are linearly arranged, and the non-engaging portion has a toothless linear shape 42c, 42d. Similarly, the teeth 43a and 43b of the engaging portion of the fixing member 43 are linearly arranged, and the non-engaging portion has a toothless linear shape 43c and 43d. Since the teeth of the engaging portion are linearly arranged, the backlash of the width regulating members 5a and 5b after fixing is smaller than that of the arc shape. On the other hand, when the rack portions 52a and 52b have different phases for the LTR and the A4, for example, stoppers matching the respective phases are required as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4 (c), the teeth 44a, 44b of the engaging portion of the stopper 44 have the same linear arrangement as in FIG. 4 (b), but the teeth 44c, 44d are also provided in the non-engaging portion. is there. For example, by using the teeth 44a and 44b as engaging portions dedicated to the LTR size and the teeth 44c and 44d as engaging portions dedicated to the A4 size, and shifting the phase of the teeth between the LTR side and the A4 side, the rack portions 52a and 52b are Even if the phase of LTR is different from that of A4, one stopper can be used.

  Further, the front surface of the stopper may have the shape of the pinion gear 4 described in FIG. 3A, and the back surface may have the shape described in FIG. 3B. By doing so, the pinion gear 4 and the stoppers 41, 42, 43 can be formed by the same component, and the fixing and non-fixing of the width regulating members 5a, 5b can be performed by reversing the same component and replacing it. it can.

  Further, the cassette body 1A may be provided with a storage portion for storing the stopper 41 (or the stopper 42, the stopper 43) exclusively. In that case, the pinion gear 4 is in a state where the cassette body 1A is mounted, and when fixing the width regulating members 5a and 5b, it is possible to use by removing the stopper 41 from the storage portion.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the width regulating members 5a and 5b can be fixed by utilizing the configuration of the moving mechanism 20. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated screw hole in the cassette body 1A for fixing the width regulating members 5a and 5b. Further, since the stopper 41 (or the stopper 42, the stopper 43) is completely covered by the intermediate plate 6, it is difficult to easily remove it.

(Example 2)
In the first embodiment, instead of the pinion gear 4, the stopper 41 as the first fixing member is attached to the central portion of the bottom surface of the cassette body 1A, and the width regulating members 5a and 5b are fixed. In the second embodiment, a configuration in which the width regulating members 5a and 5b can be fixed without removing the pinion gear 4 from the cassette body 1A will be described. The same components as those of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment.

  5A and 5B are schematic diagrams of the stopper 45 that is the second fixing member. Further, FIG. 6A shows a top view when the cassette main body 1A is removed from the apparatus main body and the intermediate plate 6 is removed. 6B is a partially enlarged view of the peripheral region 1b of the hole 1c of the cassette of FIG. 6A. The hole 1c of the cassette will be described later.

  Further, FIG. 7A is a partially enlarged view showing a state in which the stopper 45 is attached to the hole 1c of the cassette. FIG. 7B is a perspective view of a partially enlarged view showing a state where the stopper 45 is attached to the hole 1c of the cassette. FIG. 8A is a perspective view of the cassette body 1A as viewed from the back side. FIG. 8B is a partially enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 9A is an enlarged view showing a state in which the second fixing member 45 is mounted and fixed in FIG. 8A. FIG. 9B is a sectional view showing a state in which the second fixing member 45 is mounted and fixed.

  The stopper 45 of this embodiment will be described. The stopper 45 is a stopper 45 made of resin, and is configured to have the same color as the back surface of the cassette body 1A in this embodiment. By using the same color, it is possible to reduce the visibility of the stopper 45 and prevent the user from removing the stopper 45.

  Depending on the application, the color of the stopper 45 may be different from that of the cassette body 1A in order to improve visibility. FIG. 5A shows the mounting surface side of the stopper 45, and the stopper 45 includes a claw 45a which is an engaging claw. FIG. 5B shows the back surface side of the stopper 45, and the stopper 45 is provided with a disengagement preventing claw 45b which is a locking portion.

  In this embodiment, it is not necessary to remove the intermediate plate 6 shown in FIG. 1 from the cassette 1 when mounting the stopper 45. As shown in FIG. 8A, it is possible to mount the stopper 45 directly from the back side of the cassette body 1A into the hole 1c that is an opening provided in the cassette body 1A. The hole 1c is provided so as to penetrate the cassette body 1A. When the cassette 1 is attached to the apparatus main body 2, the bottom surface side of the main body is the back surface side of the cassette 1, and the opposite direction is the front surface side.

  As a method of mounting the stopper 45, first, the width regulating members 5a and 5b are moved to desired positions. Next, the stopper 45 is attached to the cassette body 1A from the back side of the cassette 1 through the hole 1c. In this state, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the claw 45a of the stopper 45 and the rack portion 52a are engaged with each other, and the movement of the rack portion 52a is fixed by the stopper 45. When the cassette body 1A is viewed from the back side with the stopper 45 attached, the disengagement prevention pawl 45b provided on the stopper 45 is inserted into the cassette body 1A as shown in FIG. 9A.

  As described above, the movement of the rack portion 52a engaged with the claw 45a of the stopper 45 is restricted, and at the same time, the movement of the pinion gear 4 and the rack 52b interlocking with the rack portion 52a is restricted, and the width restricting members 5a, 5b are moved. Fixed. The direction in which the stopper 45 is inserted is not limited to the back side of the cassette 1 and may be the front side. In that case, a method of removing the intermediate plate 6 and then mounting the same can be considered as in the first embodiment. Further, in order to insert the stopper 45 into the cassette 1 without removing the intermediate plate 6, a hole having an arbitrary shape and size may be formed in the intermediate plate 6. When a hole is made in the middle plate 6, the position of the middle plate 6 can be fixed by the stopper 45.

  The stopper 45 and the rack portion 52a are not limited to be engaged. The stopper 45 and the rack 52b may be used as long as the rack portion 52a and the rack 52b work together. However, in the cassette body 1A accommodating the sheets S, a more desirable position of the hole 1c is determined depending on whether the standard for aligning the sheets S is the left end (rack portion 52a side) or the right end (rack 52b side). The shorter the distance between the reference of the sheet S and the fixed position of the width regulating member, the more difficult the tolerance becomes. Therefore, it is desirable to provide the hole 1c so that the stopper 45 is engaged with the rack portion 52a if the sheet S is the left end reference, and the rack 52b if the sheet S is the right end reference.

  In the case where the rack portion 52a and the rack 52b are not interlocked with each other, the movement of the width regulating members 5a and 5b can be fixed by engaging the stoppers 45 with both the rack portion 52a and the rack 52b. is there. In that case, two holes 1c that are openings may be provided at corresponding positions.

  FIG. 9B is a sectional view showing a state in which the stopper 45 is attached to the cassette body 1. The stopper 45 can be locked inside the hole 1c of the cassette 1 by the disengagement preventing claw 45b which is the locking portion of the stopper 45. The detachment prevention claw 45b of the stopper 45 is locked to the locked portion 1f provided in the hole 1c of the cassette body 1, so that the stopper 45 is kept attached to the cassette body 1. As a result, since the rack portion 52a is fixed, the width regulating members 5a and 5b cannot be moved even if they are moved. Although the stopper 45 is attached to the cassette 1 by the detachment preventing claw 45b in this embodiment, the attaching method is not limited to this. Other mounting methods such as press-fitting and adhesion may be considered.

  In this embodiment, a grip portion is not provided on the back side of the stopper 45 so that the stopper 45 cannot be easily removed from the cassette body 1. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the user from easily removing the stopper 45. However, it is desirable that the stopper 45 be easy to remove for a user who desires to fix the width regulating members 5a and 5b only during transportation of the image forming apparatus. In that case, for example, a grip portion protruding from the hole 1c may be provided on the back surface of the stopper 45, and the stopper 45 may be easily detachable from the cassette body 1 by using the grip portion.

  The shape of the stopper 45 may be other shapes. For example, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, a plurality of engaging claws serving as fixing portions may be provided on the stopper 46 and the stopper 47 which are the second fixing members. The stopper 46 described in FIG. 10A has two engaging claws 46a. The stopper 46 described in FIG. 10B has three engagement claws 47a. As described above, at least one engaging claw of the second fixing member that engages with the rack portion 52a may be provided, but a plurality of engaging claws may be provided. Further, as the number of engaging claws increases, the strength of the engaging portion with the rack portion 52a becomes more advantageous, and the fixing holding force of the width regulating members 5a and 5b can be increased.

  When the width regulating members 5a and 5b are fixed and used, and the size of the paper regulated by the width regulating members 5a and 5b is determined, the lateral width of the engaging claw may be regulated. FIG. 11A is an enlarged view for explaining the stopper 48 that is the second fixing member and the engaging claw 48a that the stopper 48 includes. The stopper 48 defines the size of the width b of the engaging claw 48a. Specifically, the width b is specified by a numerical value that can divide 6 mm, for example, 3 mm, 2 mm, 1 mm, 0.5 mm or the like.

  6 mm is the difference between the lateral width of 216 mm of the LTR size paper and the lateral width of 210 mm of the A4 size paper. By specifying the size of the width b of the engaging claws 48a at intervals that can divide 6 mm, the gap between the LTR size paper and the A4 size paper can be minimized when fixing the respective paper types, and the stopper 48 Can fix the width regulating members 5a and 5b.

  The width b is set to a value divisible by 6 mm because the target is a member that regulates the lateral width of the vertically-fed LTR size paper and the vertically-fed A4 size paper. However, when fixing other paper types having different widths as the target, it is necessary to define the width b with a numerical value that can divide the difference between all the target paper types. By satisfying this condition, the stopper 48 can support fixing of more paper types. Further, the claw width of the rack portion 52a also needs to be specified in a corresponding manner to the size of the width b.

  FIG. 11B is an enlarged view for explaining the stopper 48 that engages with the rack portion 52a in the cassette hole 1d different from the cassette hole 1c. In the cassette body 1A, the stopper 48 can be inserted at two places, the hole 1c and the hole 1d. As a result, the degree of freedom for fixing the width regulating members 5a and 5b can be improved. By shifting the phase of the position of the hole with respect to the rack portion 52a between the hole 1c of the cassette and the hole 1d of the cassette, a fixing means that can be engaged with either the hole 1c of the cassette or the hole 1d of the cassette can be provided. Especially, by shifting the phase of the hole position of the cassette hole 1c and the hole position of the cassette hole 1d by half the claw pitch with respect to the rack portion 52a, the degree of freedom can be effectively improved, and it is possible to cope with a wider variety of paper types having different widths. It will be possible. Further, in the case of the LTR size, the stopper 48 is inserted into the hole 1c of the cassette, and in the case of the A4 size, the fixing member 48 is inserted into the hole 1d of the cassette. In this way, the usability can be improved by dividing the insertion points. Further, the partner with which the hole 1d of the cassette engages the stopper 48 is not limited to the rack portion 52a, but may be engaged with the rack 52b.

  FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged view illustrating, as the second fixing member, a stopper 49 in which the width of the engaging claw is shorter than the width (pitch distance) of the rack gear of the rack portion 52a that is the engaging partner. The width c of the stopper 49 is smaller than the width d of the claw of the rack portion 52a and is a value that can divide the width d. This is because the second fixing member 49 fixes the rack portion 52a while minimizing the gap at the time of engagement. However, if the width c of the claw 49a of the second fixing member 49 is made too small, the engagement amount of the claw becomes small, and the engagement may be easily disengaged. Therefore, the width c of the claw 49a of the second fixing member 49 is suitable to be half the width d of the claw of the rack portion 52a which is the engagement partner.

  Further, by making the number of the claws 49a of the second fixing member 49 plural, the decrease in strength due to the size reduction of the claws 49a is compensated. Further, the relationship between the claw 49a of the second fixing member 49 and the claw of the rack portion 52a may be opposite. That is, the width d of the claw of the rack portion 52a may be specified as a value that divides the width c of the claw 49a of the second fixing member 49.

  Further, the cassette body 1A may be provided with a storage section for storing the stopper 45 (or the fixing member 46, the fixing member 47, the fixing member 48, the fixing member 49) exclusively. In that case, the stopper 45 is not attached to the cassette body 1A, and when fixing the width regulating members 5a and 5b, it can be used by taking out the stopper 45 from the storage portion.

  Further, although the method of fixing the width regulating members 5a and 5b has been described in the present embodiment, the same configuration can be used not only for the width regulating member but also for the rear end regulating member.

  Moreover, you may use together the 1st fixing member 41 of Example 1, and each 2nd fixing member of this Example. In the configuration of the first embodiment, since the first fixing member 41 is not exposed to the outside, it is necessary for the user to remove the middle plate 6 in order to confirm whether the first fixing member 41 is used. It was When used in combination, the user can visually recognize the stopper 45 by providing the hole 1c on the back surface side of the cassette body 1. By visually recognizing the stopper 45, it is recognized that the width regulating members 5a and 5b are fixed, and it is not necessary to remove the intermediate plate 6 for confirmation.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the width regulating members 5a and 5b can be fixed by utilizing the configuration of the moving mechanism 20. Therefore, as in Patent Document 1, the width regulating members 5a and 5b can be fixed without using screws and screw holes, and the width regulating members 5a and 5b can be fixed at arbitrary positions. .. The arbitrary position is, for example, a position matched with the custom paper.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by mounting the stopper 45 in the hole 1c provided in the cassette body 1A, it is possible to provide a sheet storage device that can fix the width regulating members 5a and 5b more easily than the conventional configuration. Is.

1 Cassette 1A Cassette body 1b Area around hole of cassette (front side)
1c, 1d Hole 1e Area around the cassette hole (back side)
4 Pinion gear (rotating member)
5a, 5b Width regulating member 6 Middle plate 41, 42, 43, 44 First fixing member 45, 46, 47, 48, 49 Second fixing member 45a, 46a, 47a, 48a, 49a Of the second fixing member Claw 45b Claw for preventing disengagement of the second fixing member

Claims (13)

In a sheet storage device capable of storing a sheet,
A support portion for supporting the accommodated seat,
Restricting means for restricting the position of the end portion of the sheet, which is provided so as to be movable with respect to the supporting portion,
A moving mechanism for moving the regulating means,
The moving mechanism includes a moving member configured to move in a direction parallel to the moving direction of the restricting unit, and a rotating member that is in contact with the moving member and is rotatable with respect to the support portion. The moving member is movable in the parallel direction by rotating the member,
The support portion can be fitted with a fixed member engageable with the moving member,
When the fixed member is mounted on the support portion, the moving member and the fixed member are engaged with each other, whereby movement of the moving member in the parallel direction is restricted. .   The sheet storage device according to claim 1, wherein the support portion is attachable to and detachable from the sheet storage device. The support portion includes a bottom surface portion that constitutes a bottom surface,
The bottom portion has an opening therethrough,
The sheet storage device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fixing member is mounted on the support portion while being engaged with the moving member through the opening.   The sheet storage device according to claim 3, wherein the fixing member includes a locking portion that can be locked with respect to a locked portion provided on the bottom surface portion.   The sheet storage device according to claim 4, wherein the locking portion is not exposed to the outside when the fixing member is inserted into the opening.   The sheet storage device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the rotating member is a pinion gear that rotates about an axis portion provided on the bottom surface portion and has a gear shape.   The sheet storage device according to claim 6, wherein the moving member includes a rack gear that engages with the pinion gear, and is a first moving member that moves in a first direction by rotation of the pinion gear. ..   A rack gear that engages with the pinion gear, a second moving member that moves in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction, and the fixing member is attached to the support portion. The sheet storage device according to claim 7, wherein the second moving member is restricted from moving in the parallel direction by the engagement of the first moving member and the fixed member.   9. The sheet storage device according to claim 7, wherein the fixing member includes an engaging claw that is inserted between the claws of the rack gear and that engages with the rack gear.   The sheet storage device according to claim 9, wherein a width of the engagement claw is shorter than a width of the rack gear.   The stopper which does not rotate instead of the pinion gear is attached to the support portion, and the movement of the moving member is restricted by the engagement of the stopper and the moving member. The sheet storage device according to any one of 1.   The sheet accommodating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an accommodating portion that accommodates the fixing member when the fixing member is not attached to the sheet accommodating apparatus. An image forming apparatus having an image forming unit for forming a toner image, a feeding member for feeding a sheet to the image forming unit, and a sheet containing device for containing the sheet fed by the feeding member. At
An image forming apparatus, wherein the sheet storage device is the sheet storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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