Image reading device and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To prevent skew occurring during feeding of a document in an image reading device in which a second support face of a document tray is provided movably in a width direction with respect to a first support face.SOLUTION: An image reading device 1 comprises: a document tray 4; and an ejection tray 5 that is provided below the document tray 4 and to which a sheet whose image is read is ejected. The document tray 4 has a support face 4a that supports one end of the sheet in a width direction, a withdrawal support face 4b that is provided to move in the width direction with respect to the support face 4a to be able to withdraw from a predetermined area 4d above the ejection tray 5, and a first regulation part 41 and a second regulation part 42 that are provided movably in the width direction. The second regulation part 42 is provided extending from on the withdrawal support face 4b to on a downstream-side support part 4c of the support face 4a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image reading device that reads an image on a sheet and an image forming apparatus including the same. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, facsimile machines, and digital multifunction machines are known that are equipped with an image reading device that optically reads an image on a sheet. Some image reading devices of this type transport documents loaded on a document tray one by one, read the image of the transported document by a reading unit, and discharge the document from which the image has been read to a discharge section provided below the document tray. In such image reading devices, the discharge section is provided below the document tray, so the document on the discharge section is hidden by the document tray. Therefore, when a small-sized document is discharged, the document on the discharge section is poorly visible, and the operability when a user removes the document from the discharge section is reduced.

[0003] Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes an image reading device that improves the visibility of the document on the discharge section. In the image reading device described in Patent Document 1, the document tray has a first support surface and a second support surface that support the document, and the second support surface is provided so as to be movable in the width direction relative to the first support surface. Then, the second support surface moves in the width direction and retreats from a predetermined area above the discharge section, so that the user can visually check the document on the discharge section through the predetermined area to which the second support surface has retreated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-210611 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The documents loaded on the document tray are set by abutting both ends in the width direction against a pair of regulating parts that are movable in the width direction. This prevents the documents from skewing when fed. However, in the image reading device described in Patent Document 1, the regulating parts provided on the second support surface are only present on the second support surface. In other words, there are no regulating parts in the area downstream of the second support surface of the document tray. Therefore, the ends of the documents are not regulated in the area downstream of the second support surface of the document tray, and skewing may occur when the documents are fed, leading to poor reading.

[0006] The present invention has an object to suppress skew that occurs when a document is fed in an image reading device in which a second support surface is provided so as to be movable in the width direction relative to a first support surface of a document tray. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a sheet transport device comprising: a loading section on which sheets are loaded; a feeding means for feeding the sheets loaded on the loading section in a feeding direction; a reading means for reading an image of the sheet fed by the feeding means; and a discharge section provided below the loading section and from which the sheet whose image has been read by the reading means is discharged, the loading section having a first support surface for supporting the sheet, a second support surface for supporting the sheet together with the first support surface, the second support surface being provided so as to be movable in a width direction perpendicular to the feeding direction relative to the first support surface and being able to move in the width direction relative to the first support surface and to be able to retreat from a predetermined area above the discharge section; and a first regulating surface against which one end of the sheet in the width direction is abutted, The image reading device has a first regulating portion that is movable in the width direction on a first support surface and regulates the position of a sheet loaded on the stacking portion in the width direction, and a second regulating portion that is provided on the second support surface and movable in the width direction together with the second support surface and regulates the position of the sheet in the width direction, against which the other end of the sheet opposite to the one end in the width direction is abutted, wherein the first support surface includes a downstream support portion that supports the sheet downstream of the specified area in the feed direction, and the second regulating portion is arranged so that at least a portion of the second regulating surface is positioned on the downstream support portion in the feed direction. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, in an image reading device in which a second support surface is provided so as to be movable in the width direction relative to a first support surface of a document tray, skew that occurs when a document is fed can be suppressed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image reading apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image reading device in a state where the document tray is rotated upward. [Diagram 5] 1A is a perspective view of the image reading device when a large-sized original is set, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the image reading device when the large-sized original is discharged. [Figure 6] 1A is a perspective view of the image reading device when a small-sized original is set, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the image reading device when the small-sized original is discharged. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the first side regulation guide as viewed obliquely from below. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the second side regulation guide as viewed obliquely from below. [Figure 10] FIG. [Figure 11] (a) is a bottom view of the document tray when a large size document is set, and (b) is a bottom view of the document tray when a small size document is set. [Figure 12] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image reading apparatus according to a comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following embodiment is an example of the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

[0011] <Schematic Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus 101> First, a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 101 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of image forming apparatus 101. In the following, the position where a user faces an operation unit (not shown) where various inputs / settings are made to image forming apparatus 101 is referred to as the "front side" of image forming apparatus 101, and the rear side is referred to as the "rear side." In other words, Fig. 1 shows the internal configuration of image forming apparatus 101 as seen from the front side. Here, image forming apparatus 101 is merely one example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and facsimile machines, inkjet printers, and multifunction machines equipped with an image reading device also fall under the image forming apparatus 101 according to the present invention.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the image forming apparatus 101 includes an image reading device 1 above an image forming apparatus main body 101A. The image reading device 1 includes an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) 2 and a reader 3, and optically scans an original D to read image information. The original D may be paper such as paper or an envelope, a plastic film such as an overhead projector sheet, or a sheet of cloth. The image information converted into an electrical signal by the image reading device 1 is transferred to a control unit 132 provided in the image forming apparatus main body 101A.

[0013] The image forming apparatus main body 101A has an image forming unit 133 as an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet P, which is a recording medium, and a sheet feeding section 134 for feeding the sheet P to the image forming unit 133. The sheet feeding section 134 has sheet storage sections 137a, 137b, 137c, and 137d capable of storing sheets P of different sizes. The sheets P stored in each sheet storage section are fed out by a pickup roller 112, separated one by one by a feed roller 113a and a retard roller 113b, and delivered to a corresponding conveying roller pair 131. The sheets P are then delivered in order to a plurality of conveying roller pairs 131 arranged along the sheet conveying path, and conveyed to a registration roller pair 136.

[0014] The sheet P placed on the manual feed tray 137e by the user is fed into the image forming apparatus main body 101A by a feed roller 138 and conveyed to the registration roller pair 136. The registration roller pair 136 stops the leading edge of the sheet P to correct skew. Furthermore, the registration roller pair 136 resumes conveyance of the sheet P in accordance with the progress of the image forming operation, which is the toner image forming process by the image forming unit 133.

[0015] The image forming unit 133 that forms an image on the sheet P is an electrophotographic image forming unit equipped with a photosensitive drum 121 that is a photosensitive body. The photosensitive drum 121 can rotate along the conveying direction of the sheet P, and a charger 118, an exposure device 123, a developing device 124, a transfer charger 125, a separation charger 126, and a cleaner 127 are arranged around the photosensitive drum 121. The charger 118 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 121. The exposure device 123 exposes the photosensitive drum 121 based on image information input from the image reading device 1 or the like, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 121. The developing device 124 contains a developer containing toner, and develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image by supplying charged toner to the photosensitive drum 121. The toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 121 is transferred to the sheet P conveyed from the registration roller pair 136 by a bias electric field formed by the transfer charger 125. The sheet P onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 121 by a bias electric field formed by a separation charger 126, and is transported by a pre-fixing transport section 128 toward a fixing section 129. Note that any deposits such as residual toner that have not been transferred to the sheet P and remain on the photosensitive drum 121 are removed by a cleaner 127, and the photosensitive drum 121 prepares for the next image forming operation.

[0016] The sheet P conveyed to the fixing section 129 is subjected to a fixing process including pressurization and heating of the toner image while being conveyed while being sandwiched between the roller pair. This causes the toner to melt and then solidify, thereby fixing the image on the sheet P. When the image output is completed, the sheet P on which the fixed image has been obtained is discharged to a discharge tray 130 protruding outward from the image forming apparatus main body 101A via a discharge roller pair 116. When an image is formed on the back side of the sheet P in double-sided printing, the sheet P that has passed through the fixing section 129 has the front and back sides swapped by a reversing section 139, and is conveyed to a registration roller pair 136 by a double-sided conveying section 140. Then, the sheet P on which the image has been formed again by the image forming unit 133 is discharged to the discharge tray 130.

[0017] <Schematic configuration of image reading device 1> Next, a schematic configuration of the image reading device 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image reading device 1. As described above, the image reading device 1 includes the reader 3 and the ADF 2. The ADF 2 transports the document D loaded on the document tray 4, which is a loading section, and discharges the document D read by the reader 3 to the discharge tray 5, which is a discharge section.

[0018] The reader 3 has a first reading unit 312 that reads an image on the front side of the document D. Further, on the upper surface of the reader 3, a first flow reading glass 314 and a document table glass 315, which are transparent members that transmit visible light, are provided. The document table glass 315 is arranged side by side with the first flow reading glass 314 in the sub-scanning direction (the direction of the arrow 316 in FIG. 3). The first reading unit 312 can move in the sub-scanning direction by being driven by a driving means such as a driving belt (not shown). The reader 3 reads an image of the document D placed on the document table glass 315 by moving the first reading unit 312 in the sub-scanning direction. Furthermore, the first reading unit 312 reads an image of the surface of the document D transported by the ADF 2 at the first reading position F1. Here, the sub-scanning direction in this embodiment is a direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction in which a plurality of light receiving elements provided in the first reading unit 312 are arranged.

[0019] The ADF2 has a second reading unit 313 that reads an image of the back side of the document D. The second reading unit 313 reads an image of the back side of the document D transported by the ADF2 at a second reading position F2 downstream of the first reading position F1 in the transport direction of the document D. The ADF2 is supported rotatably with respect to the reader 3 by a hinge portion (not shown) disposed at the rear side of the device in FIG. 2 so that the document table glass 315 can be opened. That is, when the ADF2 is rotated upward and opened, the user can place or remove the document D on the document table glass 315. Furthermore, the ADF2 is configured to be able to press the document D by a resin plate (not shown) so that the document D placed on the document table glass 315 does not move when the ADF2 is closed.

[0020] The ADF 2 includes an original tray 4 on which the original D is stacked, and a discharge tray 5 on which the original D is discharged. The ADF 2 also includes a feed roller 301 as a feeding means for feeding the original D stacked on the original tray 4, a separation roller pair 302 for separating the original D one by one, and a first conveying roller pair 303 for pulling out the separated original D. The feed roller 301 feeds the original in a feeding direction (a direction indicated by an arrow 318). The original D separated from other originals by the separation roller pair 302 is conveyed in this order by the first conveying roller pair 303, the second conveying roller pair 304, the third conveying roller pair 305, the fourth conveying roller pair 306, the fifth conveying roller pair 308, and the sixth conveying roller pair 310. A discharge roller pair 311 for discharging the original D, whose image has been read, to the discharge tray 5 is disposed downstream of the sixth conveying roller pair 310 in the conveying direction.

[0021] The ADF 2 includes a first platen roller 307 located between the fourth conveyor roller pair 306 and the fifth conveyor roller pair 308 and facing the first running reading glass 314. The first platen roller 307 is a roller member that can prevent the document D from lifting up from the first running reading glass 314 by rotating while coming into contact with the back surface of the document D. The ADF 2 also includes a second platen roller 309 located between the fifth conveyor roller pair 308 and the sixth conveyor roller pair 310 and facing the second running reading glass 317. The second platen roller 309 is a roller member that can prevent the document D from lifting up from the second running reading glass 317 by rotating while coming into contact with the front surface of the document D.

[0022] Next, an image reading operation by the image reading device 1 will be described. The image reading device 1 can perform an image reading operation in either a flow reading mode or a fixed reading mode based on an explicit operation by a user. The flow reading mode is a mode in which the image of the original is read by conveying the original D by the ADF 2 and passing it through the reading positions F1 and F2 of the first reading unit 312 and the second reading unit 313. The fixed reading mode is a mode in which the image of the original placed on the original platen glass 315 by the user is read by moving the first reading unit 312 in the sub-scanning direction.

[0023] In the flow reading mode, the first reading unit 312 reads the image of the document while being fixed at position P1 in accordance with the first reading position F1. The document D placed on the document tray 4 is fed by the feeding roller 301 and separated one by one at the separation nip portion of the separation roller pair 302. The separated document D is pulled out by the first conveying roller pair 303, and then passes through the second conveying roller pair 304, the third conveying roller pair 305, and the fourth conveying roller pair 306 to reach the first reading position F1. Then, at the first reading position F1, the surface of the document D is optically scanned by the first reading unit 312 to read the image.

[0024] The document D that has passed the first reading position F1 reaches the second reading position F2 via the fifth conveying roller pair 308. Then, at the second reading position F2, the second reading unit 313 optically scans the back side of the document D to read the image. The document D that has passed the second reading position F2 passes through the sixth conveying roller pair 310 and is discharged to the discharge tray 5 by the discharge roller pair 311. Such a reading operation is repeatedly performed until it is confirmed that all documents have been fed by a sensor (not shown) provided in the document tray 4. In this embodiment, the ADF 2 has the second reading unit 313, and the second reading unit can read the back side of the document D, but the ADF 2 may not have the second reading unit 313. When the ADF 2 does not have the second reading unit, the ADF 2 reads the image of the back side of the document D by inverting the document D whose front side image has been read at the first reading position F1 and transporting it again to the first reading position F1.

[0025] On the other hand, in the fixed reading mode, the first reading unit 312 scans the original placed on the platen glass 315 while moving back and forth between positions P1 and P2 in the sub-scanning direction, thereby reading the original image. The control unit 132 of the image forming apparatus main body 101A grasps the position of the first reading unit 312 from a position sensor (not shown) and the number of rotation pulses of the motor. In the fixed reading mode and the flow reading mode, the image information acquired by the first reading unit 312 and the second reading unit 313 is transferred sequentially to the control unit 132 of the image forming apparatus main body 101A.

[0026] <Document Tray 4 Configuration> Next, the configuration of the document tray 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image reading device 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the document tray 4 has a support surface 4a as a first support surface that supports the document from below, and a retraction support surface 4b as a second support surface. The retraction support surface 4b is provided so as to be movable in the width direction relative to the support surface 4a, and can be retracted from a predetermined area 4d (see FIG. 6(a) described later) above the discharge tray 5. FIG. 3 shows the document tray 4 in a state in which the retraction support surface 4b is not retracted from the predetermined area 4d. That is, in FIG. 3, the predetermined area 4d is an area in which the retraction support surface 4b exists. When the retraction support surface 4b moves in the width direction relative to the support surface 4a, the retraction support surface 4b moves so as to slip under the support surface 4a. Here, the width direction is a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction (the direction indicated by the arrow 318 in FIG. 2) and along the loading surface 4a. 3. The support surface 4a also includes a downstream support portion 4c that supports the document downstream in the feeding direction from the retraction support surface 4b in FIG. The downstream support portion 4c is an area of ​​the support surface 4a surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 3, and is a portion located downstream of the predetermined area 4d in the feeding direction.

[0027] The document tray 4 has a first restricting portion 41 and a second restricting portion 42 that restrict the position of the loaded document D in the width direction. The first restricting portion 41 and the second restricting portion 42 are provided so as to be movable in the width direction relative to the support surface 4a, and move in opposite directions in the width direction in conjunction with each other by an interlocking mechanism described later. The second restricting portion 42 is fixed to the retraction support surface 4b, and the second restricting guide 42 moves in the width direction together with the retraction support surface 4b.

[0028] The first regulating portion 41 has a supporting surface 41a as a third supporting surface that supports the document together with the supporting surface 4a and the retracting supporting surface 4b, and a regulating surface 41b as a first regulating surface against which one end of the document on the rear side in the width direction is abutted. The supporting surface 41a is a surface along the supporting surface 4a, and the regulating surface 41b is a surface perpendicular to the supporting surface 41a. The second regulating portion 42 has a supporting surface 42a as a fourth supporting surface that supports the document together with the supporting surface 4a and the retracting supporting surface 4b, and a regulating surface 42b as a second regulating surface against which one end of the document on the front side in the width direction is abutted. That is, one end of the document in the width direction is abutted against the regulating surface 41b of the first regulating portion 41, and the other end on the opposite side in the width direction of the document is abutted against the regulating surface 42b of the second regulating portion 42. The supporting surface 42a is a surface along the supporting surface 4a, and the regulating surface 42b is a surface perpendicular to the supporting surface 42a. The support surface 41a and the support surface 42a are disposed so as to overlap the support surface 4a, and the support surfaces 41a and 42a are at the same height.

[0029] Also, the front end of the support surface 41a is inclined so that it becomes lower as it approaches the center of the transport path. Similarly, the rear end of the support surface 42a is inclined so that it becomes lower as it approaches the center of the transport path. Since the ends of the support surface 41a and the support surface 42a are inclined, when the user moves the first regulating portion 41 and the second regulating portion 42 inward after placing the document on the document tray 4, the support surface 41a and the support surface 42a can scoop up both ends of the document. This makes it possible to prevent the document from getting caught on the ends of the support surface 41a and the support surface 42a and causing wrinkles in the document.

[0030] The second restricting portion 42 is provided such that the restricting surface 42b is located from the upstream end of the retraction support surface 4b to the downstream end of the downstream support portion 4c of the support surface 4a. Therefore, when the second support portion 42 moves in the width direction, a part of the restricting surface 42b moves on the downstream support portion 4c. The restricting surface 41b of the first support portion 41 is located so as to overlap with the second support surface 42b when viewed from the front side of the device.

[0031] 4 is a perspective view of the image reading device 1 with the document tray 4 rotated upward. The document tray 4 is provided so as to be rotatable upward about rotation shafts 10a and 10b (see FIG. 11 described later) extending in the width direction as the rotation center. The rotation shafts 10a and 10b are provided on the rear and front sides of the document tray 4, respectively, and are inserted into circular holes (not shown) of the ADF 2. After completing the reading of the document, the user can easily remove the document discharged to the discharge tray 5 by rotating the document tray 4 upward as shown in FIG. 4.

[0032] When a user sets a document on the document tray 4, the user moves the first restricting portion 41 and the second restricting portion 42 according to the width of the document, and abuts both ends of the document in the width direction against the restricting surfaces 41b and 42b. This restricts the position of the document in the width direction loaded on the document tray 4, and suppresses skewing that occurs when the document is fed.

[0033] Fig. 5(a) is a perspective view of the image reading device 1 when a large-sized original D1 is set in the original tray 4, and Fig. 5(b) is a perspective view of the image reading device 1 when the large-sized original D1 is discharged to the discharge tray 5. In this embodiment, the large-sized original D1 is an A4-sized original (210 [mm] × 297 [mm]), and a small-sized original D2, which will be described later, is a business card-sized original (55 [mm] × 91 [mm]).

[0034] As shown in FIG. 5(a), when a user places a large-sized document D1 on the document tray 4, the user moves the first restricting portion 41 and the second restricting portion 42 in accordance with the width of the document D1. At this time, the document D1 is supported at its rear side by the support surface 4a and the support surface 41a, and at its front side by the downstream support portion 4c of the support surface 4a, the retreat support surface 4b, and the support surface 42a. In this state, when the user instructs the image reading device 1 to start reading, the document D1 placed on the document tray 4 is fed by the feed roller 301, and is discharged to the discharge tray 5 after the image is read. As shown in FIG. 5(b), when the large-sized document D1 is discharged to the discharge tray 5, the user can visually recognize the document D1 through a cutout portion (an area where the support surface 4a does not exist) upstream of the retreat support surface 4b of the document tray 4 in the feeding direction.

[0035] FIG. 6(a) is a perspective view of the image reading device 1 when a small-sized original D2 is set in the original tray 4, and FIG. 6(b) is a perspective view of the image reading device 1 when the small-sized original D2 is discharged to the discharge tray 5. As shown in FIG. 6(a), when a user sets a small-sized original D2 in the original tray 4, the first restricting portion 41 and the second restricting portion 42 are moved in the width direction in accordance with the width of the original D2. At this time, the small-sized original D2 is supported by the support surface 41a and the support surface 42a. As shown in FIG. 6(a), when a small-sized original D2 is set in the original tray 4, the first restricting portion 41 and the second restricting portion 42 are moved inward in the width direction compared to when a large-sized original D1 is set in the original tray 4. Then, with the movement of the second restricting portion 42, the retraction support surface 4b also moves so as to slip under the support surface 4a. As a result, the retraction support surface 4b retracts from a predetermined area 4d above the discharge tray 5. Here, the predetermined area 4d is the area surrounded by a dotted line in FIG.

[0036] When a user issues a scanning start command to the image reading device 1 with small-sized original D2 set in the original tray 4, the original D2 set in the original tray 4 is fed by the feeding roller 301, and after the image is read, the original D2 is discharged to the discharge tray 5. As shown in Fig. 6(b) , when the small-sized original D2 is discharged to the discharge tray 5, the user can visually confirm the original D1 through the predetermined area 4d. This allows the user to confirm the small-sized original D2 on the discharge tray 5 even when viewed diagonally from above the image reading device 1, and makes it possible to easily remove the small-sized original D2.

[0037] <Configuration of the first restricting portion 41 and the second restricting portion 42> Next, the configurations of the first regulating portion 41 and the second regulating portion 42 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 11. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the first regulating portion 41 seen from an obliquely lower side. FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view of the document tray 4 seen from the front side of the device. As shown in FIG. 7, the first interlocking member 411 is attached to the lower side of the support surface 41a of the first regulating portion 41 by a fixing member 412. The first interlocking member 411 is formed with a rack portion 411a in which a plurality of teeth are arranged in a straight line. As a method of fixing the first regulating portion 41 and the first interlocking member 411, they may be fixed by providing an engagement shape to each other without using the fixing member 412. Also, the first regulating portion 41 and the first interlocking member 411 may be formed integrally.

[0038] A hook portion 413 is formed at the downstream end of the support surface 41a of the first regulating portion 41 in the feeding direction to prevent the first regulating portion from floating up from the support surface 4a. The hook portion 413 is a hook-shaped portion that protrudes downward from the downstream end of the support surface 41a in the feeding direction and further has a tip that is bent toward the upstream side. As shown in FIG. 8, the first regulating portion 41 and the first interlocking member 411 are attached so as to sandwich the support surface 4a. The hook portion 413 formed on the first regulating portion 41 protrudes downstream from the downstream end of the support surface 4a (downstream support portion 4c) in the feeding direction, and the hook-shaped tip of the hook portion 413 is positioned so as to enter the lower side of the support surface 4a. This makes it possible to prevent the downstream end of the first regulating portion 41 in the feeding direction from floating up from the support surface 4a. The lower side of the document tray 4 is covered by a cover 6.

[0039] FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the second regulating portion 42 seen from an obliquely lower side. FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view of the document tray 4 seen from the rear side of the device. As shown in FIG. 9, a second interlocking member 421 having a retraction support surface 4b is attached to the lower side of the support surface 42a of the second regulating portion 42 by two fixing members 422. The upper surface of the second interlocking member 421 is the retraction support surface 4b. A rack portion 421a having a plurality of teeth arranged in a straight line is formed on the back side of the retraction support surface 4b of the second interlocking member 421. Note that the second regulating portion 42 and the second interlocking member 421 may be fixed to each other by providing an engagement shape without using the fixing member 422. Also, the second regulating portion 42 and the second interlocking member 421 may be formed integrally.

[0040] A hook portion 423 is formed at the downstream end of the support surface 42a of the second regulating portion 42 in the feeding direction to prevent the second regulating portion 42 from floating up from the support surface 4a. The hook portion 423 protrudes downward from the downstream end of the support surface 42a in the feeding direction, and its tip is bent toward the upstream side, and has a hook shape similar to that of the hook portion 413. As shown in FIG. 10, the second regulating portion 42 and the second interlocking member 421 are attached so as to sandwich the support surface 4a. In addition, the hook portion 423 formed on the second regulating portion 42 protrudes downstream from the downstream end of the support surface 4a in the feeding direction, and the hook-shaped tip of the hook portion 423 is positioned so as to enter the lower side of the support surface 4a. This makes it possible to prevent the second regulating portion 42 from floating up from the support surface 4a at the downstream end in the feeding direction.

[0041] FIG. 11(a) is a bottom view of the document tray 4 when a large-sized document D1 is set in the document tray 4, and FIG. 11(b) is a bottom view of the document tray 4 when a small-sized document D2 is set in the document tray 4. Note that the cover 6 of the document tray 4 is omitted in FIG. 11. When the document tray 4 in the state shown in FIG. 11(a) is viewed from above, the retraction support surface 4b is exposed at the top as shown in FIG. 5(b). When the document tray 4 in the state shown in FIG. 11(b) is viewed from above, the retraction support surface 4b is recessed under the support surface 4a as shown in FIG. 6(b). That is, in FIG. 11(b), the retraction support surface 4b is retracted from a predetermined area 4d above the discharge tray 5.

[0042] The document tray 4 is provided with a gear 7 so as to mesh with both the rack portion 411a and the rack portion 421a. When the first regulating portion 41 moves closer to the second regulating portion 42, the first interlocking member 411 attached to the first regulating portion 41 also moves in the same direction. At this time, the gear 7 meshing with the rack portion 411a of the first interlocking member 411 rotates. Since the rack portion 421a of the second interlocking member 421 meshes with the gear 7, the gear 7 rotates, so that the second interlocking member 421 and the second regulating portion 42 move in the opposite direction to the first regulating portion 41. Also, when the second regulating portion 42 moves closer to the first regulating portion 41, the first regulating portion 41 moves in the opposite direction to the second regulating portion 42. In this way, when one of the first regulating portion 41 and the second regulating portion 42 is moved in the width direction, the other moves in the opposite direction in association with the first regulating portion 41. This allows the user to move both the first regulating portion 41 and the second regulating portion 42 to match the document width simply by grasping and moving one of the first regulating portion 41 and the second regulating portion 42.

[0043] Moreover, the gear 7 and the first interlocking member 411 are disposed below the downstream side support portion 4c. As a result, regardless of the positions of the first regulating portion 41 and the second regulating portion 42, the gear 7 and the first interlocking member 411 are made invisible from above the document tray 4.

[0044] Next, an image reading device 1B as a comparative example will be described with reference to Fig. 12. Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the image reading device 1B when a large-sized original D1 is discharged onto the discharge tray 5. The image reading device 1B in Fig. 12 according to the comparative example differs from the image reading device 1 described above only in the configurations of the first regulating portion 41B and the second regulating portion 42B, and the configurations other than the first regulating portion 41B and the second regulating portion 42B are the same. The second regulating portion 42B of the image reading device 1B is provided only on the retraction support surface 4b. In other words, the second regulating portion 42B of the image reading device 1B does not exist on the downstream support portion 4c of the support surface 4a. In the case of such a configuration, the position of the document is not regulated on the downstream support portion 4c, so that the document is largely skewed when it is fed.

[0045] On the other hand, as described in the present embodiment, the second regulating portion 42 of the image reading device 1 is provided such that the regulating surface 42b is located on the downstream support portion 4c of the support surface 4a. Therefore, unlike the image reading device 1B which is a comparative example, the second regulating portion 42 of the image reading device 1 can regulate the position of the document even on the downstream side in the feeding direction of the document tray 4. This makes it possible to suppress skewing that occurs when the document is fed, and to reduce the occurrence of reading errors.

[0046] In this embodiment, the second restricting portion 42 is provided such that the restricting surface 42b is located from the upstream end of the retraction support surface 4b to the downstream end of the downstream support portion 4c in the feeding direction. However, the second restricting portion 42 may be provided such that at least a part of the restricting surface 42b is located on the downstream support portion 4c of the support surface 4a. [Explanation of symbols]

[0047] 101 Image forming device 1 Image reader 2 ADF 3. Leader 4 Document Tray 5 Output Tray 41 First Regulatory Department 42 Second Regulatory Department

Claims

1. a loading section on which sheets are loaded; A feeding means for feeding the sheets stacked in the stacking section in a feeding direction; a reading means for reading an image on the sheet fed by the feeding means; a discharge section provided below the stacking section, to which the sheet having the image read by the reading means is discharged; Equipped with The loading section is A first support surface that supports the seat; a second support surface that supports the sheet together with the first support surface, is provided to be movable in a width direction perpendicular to the feeding direction relative to the first support surface, and is retractable from a predetermined area above the discharge section by moving in the width direction relative to the first support surface; a first regulating portion having a first regulating surface against which one end of the sheet in the width direction is abutted, the first regulating portion being provided on the first support surface so as to be movable in the width direction, and regulating a position in the width direction of the sheet loaded on the stacking portion; a second regulating surface against which an end of the sheet opposite to the one end in the width direction is abutted, the second regulating surface being provided on the second support surface and movable in the width direction together with the second support surface; a second regulating portion that regulates a position of the sheet in the width direction; having the first support surface includes a downstream support portion that supports the sheet downstream of the predetermined area in the feeding direction, The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the second regulating portion is provided such that at least a portion of the second regulating surface is positioned above the downstream support portion in the feeding direction.

2. 2. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the second regulating portion is provided so that the second regulating surface is located from the upstream end of the second support surface to the downstream end of the downstream support portion in the feeding direction.

3. 3 . The image reading apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein at least a part of the second regulating surface of the second regulating portion moves in the width direction on the downstream support portion.

4. 4. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the loading section is provided so as to be rotatable upward.

5. the first regulating portion has a third support surface that is a surface along the first support surface and supports the seat together with the first support surface and the second support surface, 5. An image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the second regulating portion has a fourth support surface that is a surface along the first support surface and supports the sheet together with the first support surface and the second support surface.

6. the third support surface is disposed so as to overlap the first support surface; 6. The image reading device according to claim 5, wherein the fourth support surface is disposed so as to overlap the downstream support portion.

7. 7. The image reading device according to claim 5, wherein the third support surface and the fourth support surface are equal in height.

8. 8. The image reading device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second restricting portions move in opposite directions in a coordinated manner.

9. The first regulating portion has a first rack portion having teeth arranged linearly, The second regulating portion has a second rack portion having teeth arranged linearly, the loading section has a gear arranged to mesh with the first rack section and the second rack section, 9. The image reading apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first and second restricting portions are moved in opposite directions in association with each other as the gear rotates.

10. 10. The image reading device according to claim 9, wherein the first rack portion and the gear are provided below the downstream support portion.

11. An image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 10; an image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium; An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images