Medium feeding device and image forming device

Abstract

To provide a medium feeding device that improves medium feeding performance of a medium feeding cassette.SOLUTION: A medium feeding device according to the present disclosure includes a device body, a medium feeding cassette that is detachably attached to the device body and can store media to be fed to the device body, a feeding part that feeds media to the device body, a frame member that is provided opposite the bottom of the medium feeding cassette attached to the device body, and protruding part that protrudes from at least one of the bottom or the frame member. The protruding part is provided in a storage area in which media are stored in the medium feeding cassette in a width direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the medium feeding cassette, and brings the bottom of the medium feeding cassette and the upper part of the frame member into contact with each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This disclosure relates to a medium feeding device and an image forming device. [Background technology]

[0002] The image forming apparatus includes a medium cassette that holds media and is detachable from the main body of the apparatus (see Patent Document 1). The medium cassette supplies the stored media toward the image forming unit via a transport path. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-155035 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when a large number of media are stored in a media cassette, the weight of the media can cause the media cassette to bend, which can lead to a deterioration in the media supply capability of the media cassette.

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of this disclosure is to provide a media supplying device that improves the supplying performance of media in a media cassette. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve such problems, the first media supply device of the present disclosure comprises a device main body, a media supply cassette that is detachably attached to the device main body and capable of storing media to be supplied to the device main body, a supply section that supplies the media to the device main body, a frame member that is provided opposite the bottom of the media supply cassette attached to the device main body, and a protrusion that protrudes from at least one of the bottom or the frame member, the protrusion being provided in a storage area where the media is stored in the media supply cassette in a width direction perpendicular to the supply direction of the media supply cassette, and causing the bottom of the media supply cassette and an upper part of the frame member to abut against each other.

[0007] The image forming apparatus of the second disclosure is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a surface of a medium, and is characterized in that it includes the medium supply device of the first disclosure, an image forming unit that forms an image on the medium, and a fixing unit that fixes the image formed by the image forming unit to the medium. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to this disclosure, the media supply performance of the media cassette can be improved. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is an internal configuration diagram showing main components of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a paper feed cassette according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a configuration of the upper surface side of the paper feed cassette according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] 3 is a bottom view showing a configuration of the lower side of the sheet feed cassette according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 5] 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a paper feed cassette mounting portion in an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a front view showing a configuration of a paper feed cassette mounting portion according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7]2 is a front cross-sectional view showing a configuration when a paper feed cassette is mounted in a paper feed cassette mounting portion in the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of a paper guide according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] 13 is a front cross-sectional view showing a configuration when a paper feed cassette is mounted in a paper feed cassette mounting portion in a second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 10] 13 is a bottom view showing a configuration of the lower side of a paper feed cassette according to a modified embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] (A) First embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a medium feeding device and an image forming device according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0011] (A-1) Configuration of the First Embodiment (A-1-1) Internal configuration of image forming device FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the main components of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[0012] 1, an image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is a color printer that employs an electrophotographic method and forms a color image on the surface of paper as a medium. The image forming apparatus 1 has various components arranged inside a substantially box-shaped housing.

[0013] In FIG. 1, the positive X-axis direction is the rear direction in the image forming apparatus 1, the negative X-axis direction is the front direction, the positive Y-axis direction is the left direction, the negative Y-axis direction is the right direction, the positive Z-axis direction is the upward direction, and the negative Z-axis direction is the downward direction.

[0014] A transport path along which paper is transported is formed inside the image forming apparatus 1. This transport path is formed in a roughly S-shape, and is a transport path from a paper feed cassette 2 (described later) through an image forming unit to a top cover 14 serving as a stacking unit where paper is discharged.

[0015] In the conveying path, the side of the paper feed cassette 2 is defined as the "upstream side" along the paper conveying direction, and the side of the second discharge roller 15 and second driven roller 16 that discharge the paper is defined as the "downstream side".

[0016] 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is equipped with a medium supplying device 50. The medium supplying device 50 has a paper feed cassette 2 as a medium supply cassette, a medium tray 2a as a medium storage unit that stores media in the paper feed cassette 2, and a separation roller 3 and a paper feed roller 4 as a supply unit.

[0017] The medium tray 2A as a medium storage section is a storage section formed by a paper length guide 201, a paper guide 202, and a paper guide 203 according to the paper size.

[0018] In addition, the image forming apparatus 1 has, on the downstream side of the paper feed cassette 2, registration rollers 6a and 6b for correcting paper skew, pressure rollers 7a and 7b, image forming units 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d as image forming sections that are removable from the main body of the apparatus, a transfer belt 9 that faces each of the image forming units 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d and transfers a toner image onto one side of the paper, and print heads 10a, 10b, 10c, and 10d that form electrostatic latent images based on image data in each of the image forming units 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d.

[0019] Furthermore, downstream of the image forming units 8a, 8b, 8c, and 8d, the image forming apparatus 1 has a fixing device 11 that performs high-temperature, high-pressure fixing processing on the toner image transferred onto the paper. The image forming apparatus 1 has a first discharge roller 12 and a first driven roller 13 for discharging the paper, and a second discharge roller 15 and a second driven roller 16 for discharging the paper onto a top cover 14 provided on the image forming apparatus 1.

[0020] (A-1-2) Detailed configuration of paper feed cassette 2 Next, the configuration of the sheet feed cassette 2 according to the first embodiment and the configuration of a sheet feed cassette mounting portion of the image forming apparatus 1 to which the sheet feed cassette 2 is attached and detached will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0021] Figure 2 is an oblique view showing the configuration of the paper feed cassette 2 of the first embodiment, Figure 3 is a plan view showing the configuration of the upper side of the paper feed cassette 2 of the first embodiment, and Figure 4 is a bottom view showing the configuration of the lower side of the paper feed cassette 2 of the first embodiment.

[0022] Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a paper feed cassette mounting portion in image forming apparatus 1, and Fig. 6 is a front view showing the configuration of the paper feed cassette mounting portion. Fig. 7 is a front cross-sectional view showing the configuration when paper feed cassette 2 is mounted in the paper feed cassette mounting portion in the first embodiment.

[0023] The sheet feed cassette 2 is detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus 1. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a sheet feed cassette mounting section 400 that houses the sheet feed cassette 2, and the sheet feed cassette 2 is detachably attached to the sheet feed cassette mounting section 400.

[0024] 2 and 3, the paper feed cassette 2 includes a cassette frame 204, a paper length guide 201, paper guides 202 and 203 as regulating members, a sheet receiver 205, and a cassette guide 207.

[0025] Of the paper guides 202 and 203 serving as regulating members, paper guide 202 has rack A as a first engagement portion and corresponds to a first regulating member that regulates one end of the paper in the width direction. Paper guide 203 has rack B as a second engagement portion and corresponds to a second regulating member that regulates the other end of the paper in the width direction.

[0026] The cassette frame 204 is a frame (frame body) structure of the paper feed cassette 2. Provided inside the cassette frame 204 are a paper length guide 201 for determining the upstream side of the paper feed direction of the set paper, and paper guides 202 and 203 for determining the position of the set paper in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the paper feed direction). Note that the paper feed direction is the negative direction of the X axis, and the paper width direction is the Y axis direction.

[0027] Racks A and B are provided on parts of paper guides 202 and 203, and a pinion gear (interlocking gear portion) 206 is rotatably fixed to the bottom surface of cassette frame 204.

[0028] As rack A and rack B mesh with pinion gear 206, when one of paper guides 202 and 203 (for example, paper guide 202) moves, power is transmitted to the other paper guide (for example, paper guide 203) through pinion gear 206, and the other paper guide 203 moves in conjunction with the movement of paper guide 202.

[0029] In this manner, the positions of both ends of the width direction of the set paper are determined by paper guide 202 and paper guide 203, which are movable in the width direction. Note that paper guide 202 and paper guide 203 are movable in the horizontal direction (Y-axis direction) along a guide formed on cassette frame 204.

[0030] The sheet receiver 205 is fixed to the bottom of the cassette frame 204. When the paper feed cassette 2 is attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, the separation roller 3 and the paper feed roller 4 are disposed above the sheet receiver 205, and the sheet receiver 205 guides the paper to the separation roller 3 and the paper feed roller 4 to supply the paper.

[0031] The cassette guide 207 is a portion that guides the insertion and removal of the sheet feed cassette 2 into and from the device body when the sheet feed cassette 2 is attached to or detached from the device body. The cassette guide 207 is provided on the outside of both the left and right ends of the cassette frame 204, and is guided by an internal groove 402 that serves as a guided portion on the inside of the sheet feed cassette mounting portion 400.

[0032] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 is provided with a protrusion 301 as a protrusion.

[0033] The protrusion 301 is a correction member that corrects deformation (eg, bending) of the cassette frame 204 caused by the weight of the sheets stored in the sheet cassette 2.

[0034] Conventionally, the weight of the sheets stored in the sheet feed cassette can cause the cassette frame to bend, causing the sheet feed cassette to feed sheets in an incorrect position.

[0035] In addition, bending of the cassette frame can cause the paper guides 202 and 203 on both sides to tilt and fall over. In that case, the width of the paper cannot be regulated at an appropriate position, and the paper feed cassette may supply paper with the paper in an incorrect position.

[0036] Therefore, in the first embodiment, in order to suppress deformation such as bending of the cassette frame as described above, a protrusion 301 is provided as a correction member on the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 of the sheet feed cassette 2. As a result, when the sheet feed cassette 2 is attached, a base frame 401 provided in a sheet feed cassette attachment section 400 (described later) and the protrusion 301 come into contact with each other to support the cassette frame 204, thereby suppressing deformation of the cassette frame 204.

[0037] In other words, in the first embodiment, a protrusion 301 and a base frame 401 are newly provided on the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204, and when the paper feed cassette 2 is installed, the protrusion 301 and the base frame 401 abut against each other, so that the protrusion 301 supports the cassette frame 204 and prevents the cassette frame 204 from bending.

[0038] Here, the installation position of the protrusion 301 on the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 can be in various cases as long as it is a position capable of supporting the heavy cassette frame 204, but it is desirable for it to be located, for example, in the center in the width direction of the cassette frame 204 (center part in the width direction).

[0039] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the protrusion 301 is a rod-shaped or plate-shaped member having a rectangular, circular, or other cross-section, and is positioned in the widthwise center of the cassette frame 204 along the longitudinal direction of the paper (X-axis direction).

[0040] In other words, the widthwise center of cassette frame 204 corresponds to the widthwise center of the paper sheets to be stored. Also, flexure due to the weight of the paper sheets reaches its maximum value at the widthwise center of cassette frame 204. Therefore, by providing protrusion 301 at the widthwise center of cassette frame 204, flexure can be suppressed to the greatest extent possible.

[0041] 3 and 4, the transport length L1 in the paper transport direction in the region where the paper guides 202 and 203 extend is set so as to overlap at least partially with the region where the protrusion 301 extends. Hereinafter, the region of the transport length L1 will also be referred to as "region L1."

[0042] That is, paper guides 202 and 203 are present on the top surface of cassette frame 204, and protrusion 301 is present on the bottom surface. In this case, region L1 may be included within the region in which protrusion 301 exists. In other words, region L1 and the region in which protrusion 301 exists may partially overlap.

[0043] Moreover, it is preferable that the protrusion 301 is provided at a position including the downstream end in the paper feed direction in the center of the width direction of the cassette frame 204. This is because when the paper feed cassette 2 feeds paper, a downward load (load in the negative Z-axis direction) is applied by the separation roller 3 and the paper feed roller 4. It is preferable to provide the protrusion 301 at a position downstream in the paper feed direction so that it can withstand this load.

[0044] Furthermore, the area where the protrusion 301 exists may extend downstream in the paper feed direction. In other words, the protrusion 301 is not limited to being present only on the downstream side in the transport direction, and the protrusion 301 may be present on the upstream side in the transport direction. In order to feed the paper in the appropriate posture, it is desirable for the paper guides 202 and 203 to properly regulate both ends of the paper, and it is desirable for the protrusion 301 to exist within the area L1. If the paper guides 202 and 203 can be moved within the transport length L2 in the transport direction of the area where the distortion is corrected (the area of ​​the length of the transport length L2 is also called "area L2"), the paper guides 202 and 203 can be moved to the appropriate position.

[0045] Furthermore, the protrusion 301 is not provided on the bottom of the cassette frame 204 on which the pinion gear 206 is mounted. For example, if the protrusion 301 exists at a position corresponding to the position of the pinion gear 206, the protrusion 301 will apply a load in the upward direction (positive direction of the Z axis), which may cause the pinion gear 206 and racks A and B to not mesh properly. Therefore, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, 301 may be provided in an area of ​​the region L1 where the pinion gear 206 does not exist. This allows the pinion gear 206 and racks A and B to maintain a proper meshing state without receiving a load from below.

[0046] Furthermore, the corners of the protrusion 301 facing the cassette insertion direction are chamfered to maintain operability. The protrusion 301 may be shaped to have rollers attached. This can further reduce the load when inserting a cassette.

[0047] It should be noted that the protrusion 301 is not limited to a rod-shaped or plate-shaped member. For example, the protrusion 301 may be a protrusion member having a substantially cylindrical shape, a substantially hemispherical shape, a substantially oval spherical shape, a substantially prismatic shape, or the like. In other words, the protrusion 301 may be a member formed as a "point." In that case, the protrusion 301 may be arranged in a central region or at the center of the cassette frame 204 in the width direction in a bottom view of the cassette frame 204.

[0048] The configuration of the paper feed cassette mounting portion 400 of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0049] 5 and 6, for example, a space into which a paper feed cassette 2 can be inserted is formed in the lower portion of the image forming apparatus 1, and a structure serving as a paper feed cassette mounting section 400 is formed in the space. The paper feed cassette mounting section 400 has a base frame 401 and an internal groove section 402.

[0050] The internal groove 402 is a groove formed on each of both walls of the internal space of the device, and is a groove that engages with the cassette guides 207 on both ends of the paper feed cassette 2. As a result, when the paper feed cassette 2 is attached or detached, the internal groove 402 functions as an engaged portion and can guide the insertion and removal of the paper feed cassette 2.

[0051] The base frame 401 is a plate-shaped support member for contacting the protrusions 301 provided on the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 of the paper feed cassette 2. The base frame 401 is a plate-shaped member fixed to each of both walls at the bottom of the paper feed cassette mounting section 400.

[0052] The base frame 401 is disposed below the sheet cassette mounting portion 400 and is positioned so that it can come into contact with the protrusion 301 on the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 when the sheet cassette 2 is mounted.

[0053] 5, for example, a base frame 401 is provided on the front side (i.e., the side from which the paper feed cassette 2 feeds paper) of the image forming apparatus 1. For example, the base frame 401 is provided in an area larger than an area indicated by the conveying length L1 of the paper guides 202 and 203 of the paper feed cassette 2 when the paper feed cassette 2 is installed in the apparatus.

[0054] 5 and 6 show an example in which the base frame 401 is a single plate, but it may be made up of multiple plates. Furthermore, the base frame 401 may be a plate-like member that covers the entire lower part of the paper feed cassette mounting portion 400.

[0055] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, when the sheet cassette 2 is mounted in the sheet cassette mounting portion 400 of the apparatus body, the cassette guides 207 at both left and right ends of the cassette frame 204 are inserted along the grooves 402 inside the apparatus.

[0056] As shown in FIG. 7, when the paper feed cassette 2 is attached, the protrusions 301 provided on the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 come into contact with a base frame 401 provided on the lower part of the paper feed cassette attachment portion 400 .

[0057] As described above, the protrusion 301 is provided at the widthwise center of the cassette frame 204 of the sheet feed cassette 2, and the protrusion 301 supports the widthwise center of the cassette frame 204, thereby making it possible to prevent the cassette frame 204 from bending.

[0058] Furthermore, a protrusion 301 is provided in the widthwise center of cassette frame 204, and protrusion 301 supports cassette frame 204's widthwise center, thereby preventing paper guides 202 and 203 on both sides from collapsing, improving paper feeding performance. In other words, paper guides 202 and 203 can properly regulate the lateral position of the paper, allowing paper to be fed in a proper posture without misalignment.

[0059] Furthermore, the contact position between the protrusion 301 and the base frame 401 is set out of the area where the racks A and B and the pinion gear 206 are present. Therefore, since a load is not applied from below to the racks A and B and the pinion gear 206 and a proper meshing state can be maintained, a plurality of protrusions 301 may be provided at the position of the pinion gear 206 to avoid the protrusion 301.

[0060] (A-2) Effects of the First Embodiment As described above, according to the first embodiment, deformation that may occur in the cassette frame 204 when the paper feed cassette is inside the device is corrected, the paper guides 202 and 203 are prevented from collapsing, and paper supply is improved.

[0061] (B) Second embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the medium feeding device and image forming apparatus of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0062] In the second embodiment, a case will be illustrated in which a new configuration is added to the sheet feed cassette 2 based on the configurations of the sheet feed cassette 2 and the sheet feed cassette mounting unit 400 in the first embodiment. Therefore, the second embodiment will also be described using the components illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7 and the reference numerals assigned to the respective components.

[0063] (B-1) Configuration of the second embodiment Fig. 8 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of a paper guide in the second embodiment Fig. 9 is a front sectional view showing the configuration when a paper feed cassette is mounted in a paper feed cassette mounting portion in the second embodiment.

[0064] FIG. 8 shows an example of the configuration of one of the two paper guides 202 and 203, the paper guide 202, but the other paper guide 203 has a similar configuration.

[0065] In FIG. 8, the paper guide 202 of the second embodiment has a plurality of (four in FIG. 8) protruding members 501 as protrusions on the bottom surface 210 of the paper guide 202.

[0066] The number of protruding members 501 is not particularly limited, and may be one, two, three, five or more.

[0067] The protruding member 501 has legs 510 fixed to the bottom surface 210 of the paper guide 202 , a contact portion 520 provided at the tip of the legs 510 , and a locking portion 525 that locks with the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 .

[0068] 9, protrusion member 501 is a support member provided from the bottom surface of paper guide 202 to the top surface of base frame 401. By providing paper guide 202 with protrusion member 501, protrusion member 501 that abuts against base frame 401 can support paper guide 202, thereby preventing paper guide 202 from falling over.

[0069] One end of the leg 510 is fixed to the bottom surface 210 of the paper guide 202, and the other end has an abutment portion 520. The leg 510 is a rod-shaped member having a predetermined height in the Z-axis direction. For example, in the example of Fig. 8, the leg 510 is a rod-shaped member having a rectangular cross section (i.e., a rectangular prism member), but the shape of the leg 510 is not particularly limited, and may be a cylinder, an elliptical cylinder, a triangular prism, a polygonal prism having a cross section with 5 or more sides, or the like.

[0070] The contact portion 520 is a member that comes into contact with the base frame 401 of the paper feed cassette mounting portion 400. The contact portion 520 is fixed to the other end of the leg portion 510. For example, the contact portion 520 is formed as a quadrangular prism, and one of the faces (for example, the bottom face located below) serves as the contact face that comes into contact with the base frame 401.

[0071] The locking portion 525 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 to support the cassette frame 204. The cassette frame 204 has holes formed at positions corresponding to the positions of the protruding members 501, and the protruding members 501 are inserted into the corresponding holes. At this time, the locking portion 525 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 to stabilize it.

[0072] As illustrated in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, for example, the upper surface of the abutting portion 520 having a rectangular prism shape functions as the locking portion 525, but is not limited thereto.

[0073] The configuration of the protruding member 501 is not limited to the example shown in Figures 8 and 9. For example, the contact portion 520 of the protruding member 501 may have a rotor (e.g., a roller) that can rotate in the width direction on the base frame 401. In this case, the hole to be drilled in the cassette frame 204 is also elongated in the width direction. And, when the paper guides 202 and 203 move in the width direction, the protruding member 501 may also move in the width direction integrally with the paper guides 202 and 203.

[0074] (B-2) Effects of the Second Embodiment As described above, according to the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, bending of the cassette frame 204 can cause the paper guides 202 and 203 to tilt and fall over, but by providing the protruding members 501 on the lower parts of the paper guides 202 and 203, the protruding members 501 can directly support the paper guides 202 and 203. As a result, the paper guides 202 and 203 can be prevented from falling over, and the vertical posture with respect to the installation surface of the cassette frame 204 can be maintained.

[0075] (C) Other embodiments Although various modified examples have been mentioned in the first and second embodiments described above, the present disclosure can also be applied to the following modified embodiments.

[0076] (C-1) In the first and second embodiments described above, an example was given of the medium supply device and image forming device of the present disclosure being applied to a color printer, but this is not limited thereto, and the device can also be applied to facsimile (FAX) devices, copiers, multifunction devices, etc.

[0077] (C-2) In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the protrusion 301 is provided on the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 of the paper feed cassette 2 is exemplified.

[0078] However, if it is possible to support the widthwise center of cassette frame 204 in order to suppress bending of cassette frame 204, a protrusion may be provided on the upper surface of base frame 401, and the upper surface of the protrusion may abut against the bottom surface of cassette frame 204 to support it.

[0079] In this way, by providing a protrusion on the upper surface of the base frame 401, the upper surface (contact surface) of the protrusion that abuts against the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 can support the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 from below, thereby providing stability.

[0080] Moreover, protrusions may be provided on both the bottom surface of cassette frame 204 and the top surface of base frame 401 .

[0081] In other words, the protrusion supporting the center of the cassette frame 204 may be formed on either or both of the bottom surface of the cassette frame 204 and the top surface of the base frame 401 .

[0082] (C-3) In the above-described first and second embodiments, the protrusion 301 is provided in the center of the cassette frame in the width direction, but this is not limiting.

[0083] For example, as shown in FIG. 10, instead of being located at the center in the width direction of the cassette frame, two protrusions 301 may be located at positions equidistant to the left and right of the axis C0 at the center in the width direction.

[0084] (C-4) The protruding portion 301 of the first embodiment and / or the protruding member 501 of the second embodiment may rub against the upper surface of the base frame 402 when the paper feed cassette 2 is attached or detached.

[0085] Therefore, a sliding load reducing means may be provided on the contact surface of both or either one of the protruding portion 301 and the protruding member 501. The sliding load reducing means reduces the sliding against the upper surface of the base frame 402 when the paper feed cassette 2 is attached or detached, and includes, for example, a surface coating, a tapered shape for guidance during attachment, a rotor such as a roller, etc. This allows for smooth attachment and detachment.

[0086] (C-5) When the base frame has a first frame member on the upstream side in the supply direction and a second frame member on the downstream side, in order to prevent the paper feed cassette from becoming pinched between the first frame member and the second frame member, the protrusion is configured to maintain a state of abutment against at least one of the first frame member and the second frame member. [Explanation of symbols]

[0087] 1...image forming apparatus, 2...paper feed cassette, 2a...media tray, 3...separation roller, 4...paper feed roller, 6a...registration roller, 7a...pressure roller, 8 (8a to 8c)...image forming unit, 9...transfer belt, 10 (10a to 10c)...print head, 11...fixing device, 12...first discharge roller, 13...first driven roller, 14...top cover, 15...second discharge roller, 16...second driven roller, 50...media supply device, 201...paper length guide, 202...paper guide, 203...paper guide, 204...cassette frame, 205...sheet receiver, 206...pinion gear, 207...cassette guide, 210...bottom surface, 301...protrusion, 400...paper feed cassette mounting portion, 401...base frame, 402...groove within device, 501...protrusion member, 510...leg, 520...contact portion, 525...locking portion, A and B...racks.

Claims

1. A device body, a medium supply cassette that is detachably provided to the device body and that can accommodate a medium to be supplied to the device body; a supply unit that supplies the medium to the device body; a frame member provided opposite to a bottom of the medium supply cassette attached to the device body; a protruding portion provided protruding from at least one of the bottom portion and the frame member; Equipped with The protrusion is provided in a storage area of ​​the media supply cassette in a width direction perpendicular to the supply direction of the media supply cassette, and causes a bottom of the media supply cassette and an upper portion of the frame member to abut against each other. A medium supplying device comprising:

2. 2. The media supplying device according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion protrudes from either a bottom of the media supplying cassette or an upper portion of the frame member.

3. The contact area between the top of the frame member and the bottom of the media supply cassette by the protrusion is The storage area includes a first area on one end side in the width direction and a second area on the other end side. The medium supply device according to claim 1 .

4. the medium supply cassette has a regulating member that regulates one of the ends of the medium in the width direction, In the feeding direction, the range in which the protrusion brings the top of the frame member into contact with the bottom of the medium feeding cassette has a portion that overlaps with the range in which the regulating member is provided. The medium supply device according to claim 1 .

5. the regulating member has a connection portion that is connected to the medium supply cassette, In the feeding direction, the area in which the protrusion brings the top of the frame member into contact with the bottom of the media feeding cassette has a portion that overlaps with an area in which the connection portion is provided.

5. The medium supply device according to claim 4.

6. the medium supply cassette has a regulating member that regulates one of the ends of the medium in the width direction, The restricting member has a protruding member that abuts against an upper portion of the frame member. The medium supply device according to claim 1 .

7. The media supply cassette comprises: a first regulating member having a first meshing portion and regulating one end of the medium in the width direction; a second regulating member having a second meshing portion and regulating the other end of the medium in the width direction; an interlocking gear portion that is engaged with the first meshing portion and the second meshing portion and interlocks the first regulating member and the second regulating member; having The protrusion is provided in a region different from a region where the interlocking gear portion is present. The medium supply device according to claim 1 .

8. The protrusion is a contact portion that contacts the bottom of the media supply cassette or a contact portion that contacts the upper portion of the frame member; A sliding load reducing means for reducing the sliding load when the medium supply cassette is inserted or removed is provided. The medium supply device according to claim 1 .

9. the protrusion is provided protruding from the bottom of the media supply cassette, The frame member includes a first frame member on an upstream side in the supply direction and a second frame member on a downstream side in the supply direction, When the medium supply cassette is attached, the protrusion maintains a state in which it is in contact with at least one of the first frame member and the second frame member. The medium supply device according to claim 1 .

10. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a surface of a medium, comprising: A medium supplying device according to any one of claims 1 to 9; an image forming unit for forming an image on the medium; a fixing unit that fixes the image formed by the image forming unit onto the medium; An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images