Sheet feeding device and image forming device including the same

Abstract

To provide a sheet feeding device and an image forming device capable of reliably positioning a sheet storage cassette with respect to a cassette storage part by increasing strength of a side surface of a cassette.SOLUTION: A sheet feeding device includes a cassette storage part, a sheet storage cassette, and a sheet feeding part. The sheet storage cassette has a cassette base that stores sheet-shaped recording medium, and is insertable into and removable from the cassette storage part. The sheet feeding part is provided in the cassette storage part, and feeds the recording medium stored in the sheet storage cassette. A pair of fixed metal rails are attached to the cassette storage part. The cassette base is made of resin, and a pair of inner rails are integrally formed on the side surfaces of the cassette base, the pair of inner rails slidably connected to the pair of fixed rails.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device including a sheet storage cassette that stores sheet-shaped recording media stacked in a cassette base, and an image forming apparatus including the same. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art In image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, and facsimiles, a sheet storage cassette capable of appropriately loading sheets (paper) of various sizes is provided removably insertable into the image forming apparatus main body.

[0003] The sheet storage cassette is mounted so as to be insertable into and removable from a cassette storage section of the image forming apparatus main body by a slide rail having an outer rail provided on the image forming apparatus main body side and an inner rail provided on the sheet storage cassette side.

[0004] Since sheet storage cassettes are often made of resin, the weight of the paper on the bottom of the cassette causes the bottom of the cassette to bend, causing the side of the cassette to collapse inward. If the side of the cassette collapses inward, the positional accuracy between the sheet storage cassette and the slide rail decreases, and the sheet storage cassette inserted into the image forming apparatus body cannot be reliably positioned, which may result in paper feed problems such as skewed paper or non-feeding. In recent years, sheet storage cassettes themselves have become larger in size to accommodate larger paper sizes than A3 size. As a result, the weight of paper that can be stored in the sheet storage cassette has also increased, making the collapse of the side of the cassette more noticeable.

[0005] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a sheet storage cassette including a cassette base and a pair of inner rails. Each inner rail has a pair of positioning bosses protruding toward the cassette base at two positions in the longitudinal direction, and one or more hook portions protruding toward the cassette base with an L-shaped cross section and formed between the positioning bosses. The cassette base is formed on a side surface parallel to the insertion / removal direction of the sheet storage cassette, and has a mounting hole into which the positioning boss is fitted, a positioning surface that abuts against two positions in the longitudinal direction of the inner rail when the mounting hole and the positioning boss are fitted, and a fitted portion that fits into the hook portion in a direction perpendicular to the insertion / removal direction when the mounting hole and the positioning boss are fitted.

[0006] According to the configuration of Patent Document 1, a fitting shape that positions the side surface and the inner rail in the planar direction by fitting the hook portion of the inner rail with the fitting portion of the side surface of the cassette base is provided in another position in addition to the two positioning surfaces. And, since the side surface of the cassette base is pulled outward by the hook portion of the inner rail, the side surface is prevented from falling inward. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-131359 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] The configuration of Patent Document 1 requires a fitting shape for positioning the side surface of the cassette base and the inner rail in the planar direction, which causes a problem that the configurations of the sheet storage cassette and the inner rail become complicated.

[0009] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus that can reliably position a sheet storage cassette relative to a cassette storage section by increasing the strength of the cassette side surface with a simple structure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a sheet feeding device including a cassette storage section, a sheet storage cassette, and a sheet feeding section. The sheet storage cassette includes a cassette base that stores sheet-shaped recording media, and is insertable into and removable from the cassette storage section. The sheet feeding section is provided in the cassette storage section, and feeds the recording media stored in the sheet storage cassette. A pair of fixed rails made of metal are attached to the cassette storage section. The cassette base is made of resin, and a pair of inner rails slidably connected to the pair of fixed rails are integrally formed on the side surfaces of the cassette base. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the first configuration of the present invention, the strength of the side surface is improved by integrally forming the inner rail on the side surface of the cassette base, and the side surface is prevented from falling inward. Therefore, the strength of the side surface can be ensured without using auxiliary members, and the positioning accuracy of the side surface is improved. Furthermore, the positional relationship between the recording medium stored in the cassette base and the sheet feeding unit on the cassette storage unit side is stabilized, and the occurrence of recording medium feeding failure can be suppressed. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of an image forming apparatus 100 including a sheet feeding device 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of the paper feed cassette 1a as viewed from above; [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of an inner surface of the cassette storage unit 101 on the downstream side in the paper feed direction, as viewed from the cassette insertion direction. [Figure 4]1 is a perspective view of the vicinity of an end 41d on the downstream side in the insertion direction of the inner rail 41, as viewed from the upstream side in the insertion direction. [Diagram 5] 1 is a perspective view of the vicinity of an end 41d on the downstream side in the insertion direction of the inner rail 41, as viewed from the downstream side in the insertion direction. [Figure 6] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the inner rail 41 of the paper feed cassette 1a is engaged with the outer rail 42 and the middle rail 43 of the cassette storage unit 101. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of an image forming apparatus 100 equipped with a sheet feeding device 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Note that the solid arrows in the figure indicate the transport path and transport direction of paper P.

[0014] 1, a cassette storage section 101 is disposed at the bottom of the image forming apparatus 100. The cassette storage section 101 is provided with two paper feed cassettes 1a and 1b. A stack of paper P, such as cut paper before printing, is loaded and stored inside the paper feed cassettes 1a and 1b, and paper feed units 117a and 117b provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 separate and feed the paper P one by one from the stack of paper P. The cassette storage section 101, the paper feed cassettes 1a and 1b, and the paper feed units 117a and 117b constitute a sheet feeding device 120.

[0015] The paper feed unit 117a has a pickup roller 29a provided in correspondence with the paper feed cassette 1a, a feed roller 30a, and a retard roller 31a pressed against the feed roller 30a. The paper feed unit 117b has a pickup roller 29b provided in correspondence with the paper feed cassette 1b, a feed roller 30b, and a retard roller 31b pressed against the feed roller 30b.

[0016] Manual paper feed unit 102 is provided outside on the upper right side of image forming apparatus 100. Manual paper feed unit 102 holds paper of a different size or thickness than that in cassette storage unit 101, as well as items that are fed one sheet at a time, such as overhead projector sheets, envelopes, postcards, and shipping labels.

[0017] A paper transport section 103 is disposed within image forming apparatus 100. Paper transport section 103 is located on the downstream side in the paper feed direction of cassette storage section 101 to the right, and on the downstream side in the paper feed direction of manual paper feed section 102. Paper P sent out from cassette storage section 101 is transported vertically upward along the side of the main body of image forming apparatus 100 by paper transport section 103, and paper P sent out from manual paper feed section 102 is transported horizontally.

[0018] An original transport device 104 is disposed on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus 100, and an image reading unit 105 is disposed below the original transport device 104. When copying an original, multiple originals are loaded on the original transport device 104. The originals are separated and sent out one by one by the original transport device 104, and the image data thereof are read by the image reading unit 105.

[0019] An image forming unit 106 and a transfer unit 107 are disposed downstream of the paper transport unit 103 in the paper transport direction and below the image reading unit 105. In the image forming unit 106, an electrostatic latent image of the original image is formed based on the image data read by the image reading unit 105, and this electrostatic latent image is developed to form a toner image. Meanwhile, in synchronization with the formation of the toner image in the image forming unit 106, a paper sheet P is transported from the cassette storage unit 101 to the transfer unit 107 via the paper transport unit 103. The toner image formed in the image forming unit 106 is transferred onto the paper sheet P in the transfer unit 107.

[0020] A fixing unit 108 is disposed downstream of the transfer unit 107. The paper P onto which the toner image has been transferred in the transfer unit 107 is transported to the fixing unit 108, where the toner image on the paper P is fixed to a permanent image by passing through a nip portion of a fixing roller pair consisting of a heating roller and a pressure roller. The paper P discharged from the fixing unit 108 is discharged to a paper discharge tray 111 provided on the outside of the left side surface of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0021] Next, a detailed configuration of the sheet feed cassette 1a that is detachable from the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. Fig. 2 is an external perspective view of the sheet feed cassette 1a as viewed from above the front side. Note that although the configuration of the sheet feed cassette 1a will be described here, the sheet feed cassette 1b has an identical configuration. In Fig. 2, the insertion direction of the sheet feed cassette 1a into the cassette storage section 101 is indicated by arrow A, the pull-out direction is indicated by arrow A', and the sheet feed direction from the sheet feed cassette 1a is indicated by arrow B.

[0022] The paper feed cassette 1a is stored in a cassette storage section 101 of the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1. The cassette base 10, which is the main body of the paper feed cassette 1a, is a flat box made of resin with an open top, and stores the paper P stacked from the top. In the cassette storage section 101 inside the image forming apparatus 100, a paper feed unit 117a (see FIG. 1) is provided above the paper feed cassette 1a, and the paper P (see FIG. 1) is supplied in the direction of the arrow B shown in FIG. 2. A cassette cover 3 is attached to a side surface 10a on the front side of the cassette base 10. The front surface side (the left front side in FIG. 2) of the cassette cover 3 is exposed to the outside and forms a part of the exterior surface of the image forming apparatus 100 main body. The cassette cover 3 is provided with a gripping portion 3a that is gripped when inserting or removing the paper feed cassette 1a into or from the cassette storage section 101.

[0023] An inner rail 41 is provided on the outside of a pair of side surfaces 10b parallel to the insertion / removal direction (arrow AA' direction) of the cassette base 10. The inner rail 41 is made of resin and is formed integrally with the cassette base 10. The inner rail 41 is formed at a position closer to the lower end of the side surface 10b (the bottom surface of the cassette base 10) than to the upper end of the side surface 10b (the opening of the cassette base 10) in the up-down direction of the side surface 10b.

[0024] The inner rail 41 is engaged with a middle rail 43 (see FIG. 6) provided in the cassette storage section 101, and the sheet feed cassette 1a is inserted into the cassette storage section 101 by sliding it horizontally in the direction of the arrow A shown in FIG.

[0025] Inside the cassette base 10, there are provided a paper loading plate (not shown) on which paper P is loaded, a pair of width control cursors 11a which position the paper P loaded on the paper loading plate in the width direction, and a rear end cursor 11b which aligns the rear end of the paper P loaded on the paper loading plate by being positioned in accordance with the size of the paper P.

[0026] Since the paper P is sent in the direction of arrow B toward the paper transport section 103 (see FIG. 1), a pair of width restriction cursors 11a that position the paper P in the width direction are provided so as to be movable back and forth in a direction (arrow AA' direction) perpendicular to the paper feed direction along a cursor guide groove 12a formed in the cassette base 10. In addition, a rear end cursor 11b that aligns the rear end of the paper P is provided so as to be movable back and forth parallel to the paper feed direction (arrow B direction) along a cursor guide groove 12b formed in the cassette base 10.

[0027] Fig. 3 is a partial perspective view of the inner surface of the cassette storage section 101 downstream in the paper feed direction as viewed from the cassette insertion direction. As shown in Fig. 3, paper feed units 117a, 117b are detachably supported by cassette storage section 101 formed between a pair of side frames 100a, 100b (front side frame 100b is not shown in Fig. 3) arranged opposite each other on the rear and front sides of image forming apparatus 100.

[0028] A retard contact / separation lever 60 is provided below the pickup rollers 29a, 29b. When the paper feed cassettes 1a, 1b are attached to the cassette storage unit 101, the retard contact / separation lever 60 is pressed, allowing the retard rollers 31a, 31b (see FIG. 1) to move toward the feed rollers 30a, 30b, and the feed roller 30a comes into contact with the retard roller 31a, and the feed roller 30b comes into contact with the retard roller 31b, respectively, to form a paper feed roller pair.

[0029] An outer rail 42 is fixed to the side frame 100a. The outer rail 42 has an elongated flat body portion 42a and a pair of folded edges 42b formed by folding both longitudinal ends of the body portion 42a, and has a substantially C-shaped cross section in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. A middle rail 43 (see FIG. 6) is slidably inserted into the outer rail 42. An inner rail 41 (see FIG. 2) formed on the side surface 10b of the cassette base 10 is slidably inserted into the middle rail 43.

[0030] 4 and 5 are perspective views respectively seen from the upstream and downstream sides in the insertion direction of the vicinity of end portion 41d on the downstream side in the insertion direction of inner rail 41. Figures 4 and 5 show inner rail 41 formed on side surface 10b on one side (the front side of the paper in Figure 2) of cassette base 10, but inner rail 41 formed on side surface 10b on the other side (the rear side of the paper in Figure 2) of cassette base 10 has exactly the same configuration.

[0031] The inner rail 41 has an elongated, flat body 41a extending in the insertion / removal direction of the sheet cassette 1a, and a pair of guide ribs 41b protruding outward along both longitudinal ends of the body 41a. The cross-sectional shape of the inner rail 41 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is substantially C-shaped, which is opposite to the outer rail 42 and the middle rail 43 (see FIG. 6).

[0032] In addition, a retaining member 50 (see FIG. 2) is attached to the inner rail 41. The retaining member 50 prevents the inner rail 41 from coming off from the middle rail 43. The retaining member 50 is attached to the inner rail 41 downstream of the longitudinal center thereof in the insertion direction.

[0033] A plurality of (six in this example) reinforcing ribs 41c extending vertically between the guide ribs 41b are formed downstream in the insertion direction (right side in FIG. 4) of the retaining member 50. The reinforcing ribs 41c are formed to increase the strength of the inner rail 41.

[0034] An end 41d on the downstream side in the insertion direction of the inner rail 41 protrudes further downstream in the insertion direction than a downstream side surface 10c of the cassette base 10. This makes it easier to align the end 41d of the inner rail 41 with the middle rail 43 (see FIG. 6) on the cassette storage unit 101 side when inserting the paper feed cassette 1a into the cassette storage unit 101.

[0035] As shown in Fig. 5, a pair of inclined portions 45 are formed on the end portion 41d on the downstream side in the insertion direction of the inner rail 41. The pair of inclined portions 45 are formed on the pair of guide ribs 41b of the inner rail 41, respectively. More specifically, of the pair of guide ribs 41b, the upper guide rib 41b is formed with an inclined portion 45 that inclines downward in the insertion direction. The lower guide rib 41b is formed with an inclined portion 45 that inclines upward in the insertion direction. That is, the pair of inclined portions 45 are each inclined inward in the width direction of the inner rail 41 as they move toward the downstream side in the insertion direction.

[0036] 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the inner rail 41 of the paper feed cassette 1a is engaged with the outer rail 42 and middle rail 43 of the cassette storage unit 101. A pair of outer rails 42 and middle rail 43 are attached to the cassette storage unit 101 at positions facing the pair of inner rails 41 formed on the paper feed cassette 1a. The middle rail 43 is made of metal, and has the same shape as the outer rail 41, with a main body portion 43a and a pair of folded edges 43b formed by folding both longitudinal end edges of the main body portion 43a.

[0037] A first ball bearing 51 in which a plurality of balls are rotatably held at a predetermined interval along the longitudinal direction is disposed inside the pair of bent edges 42b of the outer rail 42. The first ball bearing 51 faces the outer surfaces of the pair of bent edges 43b of the middle rail 43. The balls of the first ball bearing 51 roll between the bent edges 42b and 43b, thereby holding the middle rail 43 slidably relative to the outer rail 42.

[0038] A second ball bearing 52, in which a plurality of balls are rotatably held at a predetermined interval along the longitudinal direction, is disposed inside the pair of bent edges 43b of the middle rail 43. The second ball bearing 52 faces the outer surfaces of the pair of guide ribs 41b of the inner rail 41. The balls of the second ball bearing 52 roll between the bent edges 43b and the guide ribs 41b, thereby holding the inner rail 41 slidably relative to the middle rail 43.

[0039] By inserting the paper feed cassette 1a into the cassette storage unit 101, the inner rail 41 is inserted into the outer rail 42. When the paper feed cassette 1a is inserted to a predetermined position (paper feed position) in the cassette storage unit 101, the inner rail 41 is completely housed in the middle rail 43, and the middle rail 43 is completely housed in the outer rail 42.

[0040] When the paper feed cassette 1a is inserted to the paper feed position, a pressing rib (not shown) provided on the side surface 10b of the cassette base 10 presses the retard contact / separation lever 60 (see FIG. 3) provided in the cassette storage section 101. When the retard contact / separation lever 60 is pressed, the retard contact / separation mechanism (not shown) pushes up the retard roller 31a (see FIG. 1) and makes contact with the feed roller 30a.

[0041] When replenishing paper P in the paper feed cassette 1a, the paper feed cassette 1a is pulled out from the cassette storage unit 101. When the paper feed cassette 1a is pulled out from the cassette storage unit 101 to a predetermined position (paper replenishing position), the inner rail 41 is completely pulled out from the middle rail 43, and the middle rail 43 is completely pulled out from the outer rail 42.

[0042] At this time, a retaining member 50 (see FIG. 2) attached to the inner rail 41 engages with an engaging portion (not shown) of the middle rail 43 to prevent the inner rail 41 from falling off from the middle rail 43. Also, a retaining member attached to the middle rail 43 engages with an engaging portion (not shown) of the outer rail 42 to prevent the middle rail 43 from falling off from the outer rail 42.

[0043] On the other hand, when removing the paper feed unit 117a from the cassette storage section 101 for maintenance or to clear a jam inside the cassette storage section 101, the paper feed cassette 1a is pulled out to its maximum extent, the engagement between the anti-slip member 50 and the middle rail 43 is released, and the inner rail 41 is pulled out from the middle rail 43 to remove the paper feed cassette 1a.

[0044] According to the configuration of this embodiment, the inner rail 41 is integrally formed with the side surface 10b of the cassette base 10, improving the strength of the side surface 10b and preventing the side surface 10b from falling inward. Therefore, the strength of the side surface 10b can be ensured without using auxiliary members, improving the positioning accuracy of the side surface 10b. Furthermore, the positional relationship between the paper P stored in the cassette base 10 and the paper feed unit 117a on the cassette storage section 101 side is stable, preventing the occurrence of paper feed failures.

[0045] Furthermore, the positional accuracy of the pressing rib formed on the side surface 10b is improved, so that when the paper feed cassette 1a is inserted to the paper feed position, the pressing rib can reliably press the retard contact / separation switch 60.

[0046] Additionally, the outer rail 42 and middle rail 43 arranged on the cassette storage unit 101 side are made of metal, and the outer rail 42 and middle rail 43 are provided with a first ball bearing 51 and a second ball bearing 52, respectively. This allows the outer rail 42 and middle rail 43, and the middle rail 43 and inner rail 41 to slide smoothly. Therefore, the sheet cassette 1a can be inserted and pulled out more smoothly than in a configuration in which a resin guide rib formed on the sheet cassette 1a side engages with a resin guide rail formed on the cassette storage unit 101 side to slide.

[0047] Furthermore, by forming reinforcing ribs 41c extending vertically between guide ribs 41b on the downstream side of inner rail 41 in the insertion direction, more specifically on the downstream side of retaining member 50, it is possible to ensure the strength of inner rail 41. This makes it possible to prevent deformation or damage of inner rail 41 when paper P is replenished into cassette base 10 with paper feed cassette 1a pulled out to its full extent.

[0048] In addition, by making the end 41d of the inner rail 41 downstream in the insertion direction protrude further downstream in the insertion direction than the downstream side 10c of the cassette base 10 in the insertion direction, it becomes easier to align the end 41d of the inner rail 41 with the middle rail 43.

[0049] Furthermore, by forming a pair of inclined portions 45 at the end 41d of the inner rail 41 downstream in the insertion direction, the end 41d of the inner rail 41 can be easily inserted between the bent edges 43b of the middle rail 43. Therefore, the sheet feed cassette 1a can be easily attached to the cassette storage section 101.

[0050] In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the inner rail 41 is formed at a position near the bottom surface of the side surface 10b, but the inner rail 41 may be formed at another position on the side surface 10b. Also, the reinforcing rib 41c formed on the inner rail 41 may be formed at one or more locations as long as the strength of the inner rail 41 can be ensured.

[0051] In addition, in the above embodiment, a slide rail is used that is composed of an inner rail 41, an outer rail 42, and a middle rail 43 and can be extended and retracted in three stages, but it may also be composed of only an outer rail 42 and an inner rail 41 and can be extended and retracted in two stages. [Industrial Applicability]

[0052] The present invention can be used for a sheet storage cassette that stores sheet-like recording media stacked in a cassette base. By using the present invention, it is possible to provide a sheet feeding device and an image forming device that can reliably position the sheet storage cassette relative to the cassette storage section by increasing the strength of the cassette side with a simple configuration. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 1a, 1b Paper feed cassette (sheet storage cassette) 10 Cassette-based 10a, 10b, 10c side 30a, 30b Feed rollers 31a, 31b Retard roller 41 Inner rail 41a Main body 41b Guide rib 41c Reinforcement rib 42 Outer rail (fixed side rail) 42b Bent edge (outer rail) 43 Middle rail (fixed side rail) 43b Folded edge (middle rail) 45 Slope 50 Anti-slip member 51 First Ball Bearing 52 No. 2 ball bearing 60 Retard engagement / disengagement lever 100 Image forming device 101 Cassette storage section 106 Image forming section 117a, 117b Paper feed unit (sheet feed unit) 120 Sheet Feeding Device P Paper (recording medium)

Claims

1. A cassette storage section; a sheet storage cassette including a cassette base for storing sheet-shaped recording media, the sheet storage cassette being insertable into and removable from the cassette storage section; a sheet feeding section provided in the cassette storage section and configured to feed the recording medium stored in the sheet storage cassette; In a sheet feeding device comprising: A pair of metal fixed rails are attached to the cassette storage section, a pair of inner rails slidably connected to the pair of fixed rails are integrally formed on the side surfaces of the cassette base, the pair of inner rails being made of resin;

2. The fixed side rail is a pair of outer rails fixed to an inner surface of the cassette storage section; a pair of middle rails slidably connected to the outer rail; It is composed of 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of inner rails are slidably connected to the pair of outer rails via the pair of middle rails.

3. The inner rail is a flat body portion extending in a direction in which the sheet storage cassette is inserted and removed; A pair of guide ribs protruding outwardly along both longitudinal ends of the main body; having 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the main body portion is formed with one or more reinforcing ribs extending vertically between the pair of guide ribs.

4. the inner rail has a retaining member provided on the main body portion to prevent the inner rail from coming off the fixed rail, 4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the reinforcing rib is formed downstream of the retaining member in the inserting direction of the sheet storage cassette.

5. 2. A sheet feeding device as described in claim 1, wherein the downstream end of the inner rail in the insertion direction of the sheet storage cassette protrudes further downstream in the insertion direction than the downstream side of the cassette base in the insertion direction.

6. 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the inner rail is formed at a position closer to a lower end of the side surface than to an upper end of the side surface.

7. The sheet feeding unit includes: a feed roller for feeding the recording medium stored in the sheet storage cassette; a retard roller that can be brought into contact with and separated from the feed roller; a retard contact / separation lever for contacting or separating the retard roller with respect to the feed roller; having 2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the retard contact / separation lever is pressed in a state where the sheet storage cassette is inserted into the cassette storage portion.

8. A sheet feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, an image forming unit that forms an image on the recording medium fed by the sheet feeding device; An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images