Image formation device

Abstract

To attain quietness by preventing vibration of a manual feed tray with a simple constitution and good space efficiency.SOLUTION: An image formation device comprises: an image formation part for forming an image on a sheet; a tray which is provided so as to be rotatably moved to a close position for closing along a side surface of a device body and an open position for opening at a position where a sheet is placed and has a placement surface on which the sheet is placed; a feeding part for feeding the sheet placed on the tray toward the image formation part; and an extension tray which can be moved to an extension position extended toward upstream in a sheet feeding direction from the tray and a storage position to be stored in the tray and has a placement surface on which the sheet is placed. The device body has a first protruding part protruding from a side surface toward the tray. In a state where the tray is at the close position and the extension tray is at the storage position, an outside wall surface of the tray and the extension tray are pressed toward the open position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, due to customer needs, there has been a strong demand for quiet operation of image forming apparatuses such as copiers and printers. However, in an image forming apparatus, vibration is generated when a motor, a gear, a fan, etc. provided inside the apparatus are driven during operation, and further, the vibration propagates to each part of the image forming apparatus, so that the operating sound is radiated from inside the apparatus to the surrounding space outside the apparatus.

[0003] One of the parts where vibration propagates is the exterior cover. Originally, the exterior cover has a function of soundproofing the sound radiated from the operating sound generated inside the apparatus to the outside. However, the operating sound radiated due to the vibration of the exterior cover itself is directly radiated to the surrounding space without being soundproofed.

[0004] Therefore, in order to quieten the image forming apparatus, it is important to suppress the vibration of the exterior cover, that is, to vibration-proof the exterior cover, so that sound is not radiated from the exterior cover. One of the exterior covers is an openable and closable manual feed tray configured in a manual feed unit. The manual feed tray is closed and stored in the apparatus main body when not in use, and thus becomes a part of the exterior cover. Since the manual feed tray has a relatively large surface area among the exterior covers, when vibration propagates, the radiated sound becomes large. Patent Document 1 discloses that a sound absorbing material is encapsulated inside the manual feed tray to form a soundproofing plate, and the sound inside the apparatus is prevented from passing through the manual feed tray and leaking to the outside.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] However, in Patent Document 1, since a sound-absorbing material is arranged inside the manual tray to create a sound-insulating plate, the size of the main body increases and the configuration becomes complicated, which may lead to an increase in cost, manufacturing load, and a reduction in space efficiency. Furthermore, the surface that serves as the exterior cover of the manual tray is pressed via the sound-absorbing material, and the vibration of the surface of the exterior cover depends on the elastic force of the sound-absorbing material itself, so the soundproofing effect is small.

[0007] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that has a simple configuration, efficiently prevents vibration of the manual tray in terms of space, and improves sound insulation.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0008] One aspect of the invention for solving the above problems is an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, a side surface of a device main body including the image forming unit, a closed position that is closed along the side surface of the device main body, and a tray that is rotatably provided at an open position opened at a position where a sheet is placed, the tray having a placement surface for placing the sheet, a feeding unit that feeds the sheet placed on the tray toward the image forming unit, an extension tray that is movable between an extended position extended upstream in the sheet feeding direction from the tray and a storage position stored in the tray, the extension tray having a placement surface for placing the sheet, the device main body having a first protrusion protruding from the side surface toward the tray, and in a state where the tray is in the closed position and the extension tray is in the storage position, the first protrusion presses the outer wall surface of the tray and the extension tray toward the open position.

Effects of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent vibration of the manual tray with a simple configuration and high space efficiency, and improve sound insulation.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] [Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is an intermediate transfer system in which a toner image is primarily transferred to an intermediate transfer belt and then secondarily transferred to a sheet, such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, and these multifunction devices. In the following embodiments, an intermediate transfer type image forming apparatus in which four-color image forming units are arranged on an intermediate transfer belt will be used for explanation.

[0012] [Image Forming Apparatus] First, the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 is an intermediate transfer tandem type color image forming apparatus in which image forming units PY, PM, PC, and PK of four colors (yellow, cyan, magenta, and black) are arranged to face the lower part of the intermediate transfer belt 8 within the apparatus main body 100. Examples of the sheet P, which is a recording material that can be used in the image forming apparatus 100, include various types of sheet materials such as plain paper, thick paper, rough paper, embossed paper, coated paper, etc., OHP sheets, plastic films, cloth, and the like.

[0013] In the image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, an image forming process for forming an image with a toner image and a conveyance process for conveying a sheet are interlocked to generate a sheet having a toner image as a product.

[0014] First, the sheet conveyance process will be described. Cassette feeding means 800 is provided at the lower part of the image forming apparatus, and the sheet P is loaded and stored in the cassette 72. Then, the sheet P is fed one by one toward the conveyance path 74 in accordance with the image forming timing by the feeding roller 73. Also, a manual feeding unit 200 is provided on the side surface of the image forming apparatus 100. The manual feeding unit 200 is provided with a manual tray 201, and the sheet P placed on the manual tray 201 is separated one by one by the manual feeding roller 79, which is a feeding unit, and fed to the conveyance path 74.

[0015] The sheet P fed from the cassette feeding means 800 or the manual feeding unit 200 is conveyed toward the registration roller 75 disposed in the middle of the conveyance path 74. At the registration roller 75, skew correction of the fed sheet P and timing correction for image formation are performed, and then it is sent to the secondary transfer section T2. The secondary transfer section T2 is a transfer nip section formed by the opposing secondary transfer inner roller 76 and secondary transfer outer roller 77. In the secondary transfer section T2, the toner image is secondarily transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 8 to the sheet P.

[0016] For the sheet P conveyance process up to the secondary transfer section T2 described above, the image formation process of the image sent to the secondary transfer section T2 at the same timing will be described. First, the image forming sections PY to PK will be described. However, the image forming sections PY to PK are configured almost identically except that the colors of the toners used in the developing devices 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K are different, namely yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. Therefore, hereinafter, the yellow image forming section PY will be described as a representative example, and the description of the other image forming sections PM, PC, and PK will be omitted. For convenience of illustration, only the developing container 41Y and the developing roller 42Y described later are labeled with reference numerals for the image forming section PY only.

[0017] The image forming section PY mainly comprises a photosensitive drum 1Y, a charging device 2Y, a developing device 4Y, a photosensitive drum cleaner 6Y, etc. When forming an image, the photosensitive drum 1Y is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow R1 at a predetermined process speed (peripheral speed). A charging voltage is applied to the charging device 2Y by a high-voltage power supply (not shown), and an electric current flows between the charging device 2Y (charging roller) and the photosensitive drum 1Y, so that the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity and potential. After charging, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y by exposure with the exposure device 3 based on the image information. This electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image by attaching toner with the developing device 4Y. The developing device 4Y has a developing container 41Y that houses the developer and a developing roller 42Y (also called a developing sleeve) that carries and rotates the developer. By applying a developing voltage to the developing roller 42Y, the electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image. Thereafter, a predetermined pressure and a primary transfer voltage are applied by the primary transfer roller 5Y disposed opposite the image forming section PY with the intermediate transfer belt 8 interposed therebetween, and the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 8. The transfer residual toner remaining slightly on the photosensitive drum 1Y after primary transfer is removed by the photosensitive drum cleaner 6Y and is prepared for the next image forming process again.

[0018] The intermediate transfer belt 8 is stretched by the tension roller 10, the secondary transfer inner roller 76, and the idler rollers 7a and 7b as stretching rollers, and is driven to move in the direction of arrow R2 in the figure. In the case of this embodiment, the secondary transfer inner roller 76 also serves as a driving roller that drives the intermediate transfer belt 8. The image forming processes for the respective colors processed by the above-described image forming units PY to PK are performed at the timing of sequentially superimposing on the toner image of the color upstream in the moving direction that has been primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 8. As a result, finally, a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 and is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit T2. Note that the remaining toner after passing through the secondary transfer unit T2 is removed from the intermediate transfer belt 8 by the transfer cleaner device 11.

[0019] With the conveyance process and the image forming process described above, the timing of the sheet P and the full-color toner image coincides in the secondary transfer unit T2, and the toner image is secondarily transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 8 to the sheet P. Thereafter, the sheet P is conveyed to the fixing device 103, and the toner image transferred to the sheet is pressurized and heated by the fixing device 103, whereby the toner image is melted and fixed on the sheet P. The sheet P on which the toner image is fixed is discharged onto the discharge tray 601 by the discharge roller 78. Also, these conveyance processes and image forming processes are controlled by the control unit 500 provided in the image forming apparatus 100.

[0020] <Manual Tray> Next, the manual tray 201 of the manual feeding unit 200 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the manual tray 201 for stacking sheets in the manual feeding unit 200.

[0021] The material constituting the manual tray 201 is made of resin ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene). Also, the sheet is placed on the manual tray loading surface 202 of the manual tray 201. On the loading surface 202 which is the placement surface, a pair of side regulating plates 203 for aligning the end positions of the sheet in the width direction of the sheet orthogonal to the feeding direction of the sheet are provided so as to be movable in conjunction with each other in the width direction of the sheet according to the sheet size. Also, a sheet length detection sensor 211 for detecting the length of the sheet on the manual tray loading surface 202 is provided. Latches 204 are provided on the front side and the back side of the manual tray 201 respectively (FIG. 2 shows only the front side of the main body). And when the manual tray 201 is moved to the storage position of the apparatus main body, latch receivers 205 having a hole shape for engaging the latch 204 are provided at the front side and the back side of the apparatus main body facing the latch 204 respectively (FIG. 2 shows only the back side of the main body). The latch 204 is biased outward by a spring member (not shown) and is expandable and contractible with respect to the direction of the latch receiver 205. The latch 204 engages with the hole of the latch receiver 205, so that the manual tray 201 is held at the storage position which is the closed position. When the latch 204 is held by the latch receiver 205, the clearance between the latch 204 and the latch receiver 205 in the opening direction of the manual tray 201 is set to 0.2 mm. Also, when opening the manual tray 201 from the storage position to the feeding position which is the open position, the manual tray 201 can be rotated by placing a finger on the manual tray handle portion 206. At that time, the latch 204 is retracted by the spring member, so that it gets over the edge of the hole shape of the latch receiver 205, the engagement between the latch and the hole is released, and the manual tray 201 is opened. The working force required for opening the manual tray 201 in this embodiment is about 500 gf, and it can be easily opened and closed.

[0022] In addition, the manual feed tray 201 is provided with an extension tray 207 for use when loading a sheet that is longer in the sheet feeding direction than the size of the manual feed tray 201. By pulling it out upstream in the sheet feeding direction from the manual feed tray 201, the loading surface of the sheet at the extended position can be extended. FIG. 2 shows a state where the extension tray 207 is pulled out from the manual feed tray 201. When closing the manual feed tray 201, with the extension tray 207 stored in the manual feed tray 201, the manual feed tray 201 is stored in the apparatus main body.

[0023] <Source of vibration of the manual feed tray> The manual feed tray 201 in the storage position stored in the apparatus main body is one of the main sound radiation sources. Furthermore, the manual feed tray 201 is likely to have its vibration amplified due to rattling caused by the opening and closing mechanism that opens and closes with respect to the apparatus main body.

[0024] FIG. 3 shows the result of measuring the radiated sound from the manual feed tray 201 in a state where the extension tray 207 is stored in the manual feed tray 201 and the manual feed tray 201 is in the closed position with respect to the apparatus main body using an acoustic camera.

[0025] As a result of verification by the inventors, when the motor of the feed drive unit that rotationally drives the feed roller 73 provided in the cassette feed means 800 operates, vibration at a meshing frequency of gears configured in the feed drive unit, for example, 527 Hz, occurs. It has been clarified that the vibration propagates to the manual feed tray 201 through the fastening part between the apparatus main body 100 and the manual feed unit 200, and sound is radiated from the outer wall surface 208 of the manual feed tray, which is the outer surface of the tray, due to the vibration of the manual feed tray 201. Note that the outer wall surface 208 of the manual feed tray is the surface on the opposite side of the placement surface 202. Furthermore, as the location where the sound is emitted, the region A of the outer wall surface 208 of the manual feed tray 201 where the manual feed tray 201 forms a box shape with the loading surface and both side surfaces could be confirmed. In addition, it could also be confirmed in the gap region B for the extension tray 207 and the manual feed tray 201 to slide.

[0026] That is, the sound from the manual tray 201 includes the sound radiated from the outer wall surface 208 of the manual tray, which is amplified by the vibration propagated from the motor of the apparatus main body in the manual tray. In addition, there is the sound generated by the amplification of the vibration due to the rattling of the extension tray 207 caused by the vibration transmitted to the manual tray 201. It has been found that there are these two types of sounds.

[0027] <Vibration damping configuration of the manual tray> Next, a configuration for reducing the radiated sound generated in the region A of the outer wall surface 208 of the manual tray, the gap region B for the extension tray 207 and the manual tray 201 to slide will be described.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration for suppressing the rattling between the outer wall surface 208 of the manual tray 201, the manual tray 201 and the extension tray 207. FIG. 5(a) shows a state in which the manual tray 201 is open with respect to the apparatus main body and the extension tray 207 is pulled out from the manual tray 201. Further, FIG. 5(b) shows a state in which the extension tray 207 is housed in the manual tray 201 and the manual tray 201 is closed with respect to the apparatus main body.

[0029] In the present embodiment, a first pressing shape 220, which is a first protruding portion extending toward the manual tray loading surface 202 of the manual tray 201, is provided on the side wall surface 131 of the apparatus main body. The protrusion length L1 of the first pressing shape 220 is set to be larger than the distance L2 between the side wall surface 131 and the manual tray loading surface 202, i.e., L1>L2, when the manual tray 201 is closed at the storage position stored in the apparatus main body. In the present embodiment, the distance L2 is 11 mm and the length L1 of the first pressing shape 220 is 11.5 mm.

[0030] On the surface 209 on the opposite side of the hand tray loading surface 202 that is pressed by the first pressing shape 220, a second pressing shape 231, which is a second protruding portion, is provided. The second pressing shape 231 is substantially coaxial with the first pressing shape 220 and extends toward the extension tray loading surface 233 of the extension tray 207. Further, on the surface 234 on the opposite side of the extension tray loading surface 233 that is pressed by the second pressing shape 231, a third pressing shape 232, which is a third protruding portion, is provided on the surface 210, which is on the opposite side of the outer wall surface 208 of the hand tray 201 and is substantially coaxial with the second pressing shape 231.

[0031] In this embodiment, the first pressing shape 220, the second pressing shape 231, and the third pressing shape 232 are cylinders with a diameter of φ6 mm. Also, the tip shape thereof is a spherical shape so that pressure can be concentrated on each contact portion. In this embodiment, the material of the storage wall surface 131 is resin PC + ABS, and the first pressing shape 220 is integral with the storage wall surface 131.

[0032] Let the length from the surface 209 on the opposite side of the hand tray loading surface to the tip of the third pressing shape 231 protruding therefrom be L5, and the length L6 from the extension tray loading surface 233 to the tip of the third pressing shape 232. In that case, considering the workability of the drawability of the extension tray 207, the sum L5 + L6 is made smaller than the distance L4 between the surface 209 on the opposite side of the hand tray loading surface and the surface 210 on the opposite side of the outer wall surface of the hand tray. In this embodiment, the dimension of the distance L4 is 16 mm, and the sum of the lengths L5 and L6 is 15.8 mm.

[0033] With the above configuration, in the state where the extension tray 207 is stored in the hand tray 201 and the hand tray 201 is closed with respect to the apparatus main body, the hand tray loading surface 202 is pressed by the first pressing shape 220, and the vibration of the hand tray loading surface 202 is suppressed. Also, since the hand tray loading surface 202 is pressed by the first pressing shape 220, the second pressing shape 231 presses the extension tray loading surface 233, and the third pressing shape 232 presses the surface 210 on the opposite side of the outer wall surface of the hand tray.

[0034] As a result, the rattling of the extension tray 207 with respect to the manual tray 201 can be suppressed, and further, the vibration of the outer wall surface 208 of the manual tray can also be suppressed, so that the vibration of the entire manual tray 201 can be suppressed. When the manual tray 201 is closed with respect to the apparatus main body, even including the rattling of the aforementioned latch 204, the first pressing shape 220 bites into the loading surface 202 of the manual tray to press it, and the vibration of the loading surface 202 of the manual tray is suppressed. In addition, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the pressing forces of the first pressing shape 220 and the second pressing shape 221 are each about 50 gf. Since this pressing force is small compared to the engaging force of the aforementioned latch 204, the closed manual tray 201 will not accidentally open.

[0035] Regarding the first pressing shape 220, the second pressing shape 231, and the third pressing shape 232, they may be located at a plurality of positions on the tray loading surface. Also, the positions where the first pressing shape 220 presses and the second pressing shape 231 and the third pressing shape 232 press do not have to be coaxial with respect to the pressing direction. That is, the pressing shape can be arranged anywhere inside the outer peripheral ridge line of the manual tray 201 as long as there are no components that would interfere with the installation. For example, in the interior of the manual tray 201, the slide region of the side regulating plate 203 and the region where the wire harness of the sheet length detection sensor 211 is arranged cannot be fastened with screws, so the loading surface 202 of the manual tray and the outer wall surface 208 of the manual tray in these regions are likely to have large vibrations. However, by pressing the region of the loading surface 202 of the manual tray with the first pressing shape 220 and pressing the region of the outer wall surface 208 of the manual tray with the second pressing shape 221 in the vicinity thereof, the vibration of the manual tray 201 can be suppressed.

[0036] Also, the first pressing shape 220 may be separate from the storage wall surface 131 or may be made of a different material. For example, it may be made of metal to increase the rigidity of the first pressing shape 220 and fastened to the resin-made storage wall surface 131.

[0037] As a result of the above configuration, the obtained quieting effect will be described. With the manual feed tray unit 201 of this embodiment incorporated into the image forming apparatus 100, the sound pressure level (unit: dB) of the operating noise when the feed drive motor was rotationally driven was measured. For the measurement, a microphone that detects the radiated sound wave and converts it into an electrical signal was used. The microphone is connected to a preamplifier that amplifies the electrical signal and an arithmetic unit that calculates the amplified electrical signal into the sound pressure level and frequency. The detection surface of the microphone was arranged at a position facing the center of the right side where the manual feed tray 201 of the image forming apparatus 100 is provided, at a distance of 1 m from the exterior surface of the image forming apparatus 100 and a height of 1.5 m from the floor surface.

[0038] FIG. 6 is a graph showing the measurement results of the sound pressure level in the manual feed tray 201 having the vibration damping configuration of this embodiment. In the graph, the results with and without the first pressing shape 220, the second pressing shape 221, and the third pressing shape 232 provided are shown together. By providing the first pressing shape 220, the second pressing shape 231, and the third pressing shape 232, the vibration of the manual feed tray by the feed drive unit was reduced, and a reduction effect of about 7 dB was obtained for the meshing frequency of the gears, which is 527 Hz.

[0039] [Embodiment 2] Embodiment 2 is different from Embodiment 1 in the following points. In Embodiment 1, the first pressing shape 220 provided on the side wall surface 131 of the apparatus main body abuts against the tray loading surface 202 of the manual feed tray 201, whereas in Embodiment 2, the first pressing shape 220 provided on the side wall surface 131 of the apparatus main body abuts against the loading surface 233 of the extension tray 207.

[0040] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing Embodiment 2, and is a schematic diagram of a configuration in which the loading surface 233 of the extension tray 207 is pressed by the first pressing shape 220 provided on the side wall surface 131, and the surface 210 on the opposite side of the outer wall surface of the manual feed tray is pressed by the third pressing shape 232 of the pressed extension tray 207.

[0041] Fig. 7(a) shows a state where the manual tray 201 is opened from the apparatus main body and the extension tray 207 is pulled out with respect to the manual tray 201. Further, Fig. 7(b) shows a state where the manual tray 201 is closed to the apparatus main body and the extension tray 207 is stored in the manual tray 201.

[0042] In the present embodiment, when the manual tray 201 is stored, a hole portion 242 is provided in a region of the manual tray loading surface 202 facing the first pressing shape 220 on the manual tray 201. Similar to Embodiment 1, the first pressing shape 220 is a cylinder with a diameter of 6 mm. Further, the tip shape thereof is a spherical shape so that the contact portion with the extension tray loading surface 233 can be concentratedly pressed. The protruding length L9 of the first pressing shape 251 is set to be larger than the distance L10 between the side wall surface 131 and the extension tray loading surface 233 when the manual tray 201 is closed with respect to the apparatus main body, so that L9 > L10. In the present embodiment, the distance L10 is 20 mm, and the length L10 of the sixth pressing shape 251 is 20.5 mm.

[0043] As described above, in a state where the extension tray 207 is stored in the manual tray 201 and the manual tray 201 is closed with respect to the apparatus main body, the following configuration is adopted. The configuration is such that the extension tray loading surface 233 is pressed by the first pressing shape 220, and further, the third pressing shape 232 presses the surface 210 on the side opposite to the outer wall surface of the manual tray. As a result, the looseness of the extension tray 207 is suppressed, and further, the vibration of the outer wall surface 208 of the manual tray is also suppressed, and the vibration of the entire manual tray 201 can be suppressed. The effect is the same as that of Fig. 6 of Embodiment 1, and the vibration of the manual tray by the feeding drive unit is reduced, and a reduction effect of about 7 dB is obtained for the meshing frequency of the gear, which is 527 Hz.

[0044] [Embodiment 3] Embodiment 3 shows a vibration damping configuration of the manual tray 201 when the extension tray 207 is not provided in the manual tray unit in Embodiments 1 and 2.

[0045] FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of the hand insertion unit configuration in Embodiment 3. FIG. 8(a) shows a state in which the hand insertion tray 201 is opened from the apparatus main body when using the hand insertion feeding unit 200, and FIG. 8(b) shows a state in which the hand insertion tray 201 is closed to the apparatus main body.

[0046] Similar to Embodiments 1 and 2, when the hand insertion tray 201 is closed to the apparatus main body, a first pressing shape 220 extending toward the hand insertion tray mounting surface 202 of the hand insertion tray 201 is provided on the side wall surface 131, which is the wall surface of the main body facing the hand insertion tray mounting surface 202. The first pressing shape 220 is a cylinder with a diameter of 6 mm. Also, the tip shape thereof is a spherical shape so that the contact portion with the hand insertion tray mounting surface 202 described later can be pressurized intensively.

[0047] The length L1 by which the first pressing shape 220 protrudes is set to be larger than the distance L2 between the side wall surface 131 of the apparatus main body and the hand insertion tray mounting surface 202 when the hand insertion tray 201 is closed to the storage position, such that L1 > L2. In this embodiment, the distance L2 is 11 mm, and the length L1 of the first pressing shape 220 is 11.5 mm.

[0048] On the surface 209 on the opposite side of the hand insertion tray mounting surface 202 pressed by the first pressing shape 220, a second pressing shape 231 directed toward the surface 210, which is on the opposite side of the outer wall surface 208 of the hand insertion tray 201, is provided substantially coaxially with the first pressing shape 220. The second pressing shape 231 is a cylinder with a diameter of 6 mm. Also, the tip shape thereof is a spherical shape so that the contact portion with the surface 210 on the opposite side of the outer wall surface of the hand insertion tray can be pressurized intensively.

[0049] The protruding length L3 of the second pressing shape 231 is such that when the manual insertion tray 201 is closed with respect to the apparatus main body, the first pressing shape 220 presses the manual insertion tray loading surface 202. Due to this pressing, the manual insertion tray loading surface 202 is deflected, and the second pressing shape 221 is set to contact and press the surface 210 on the opposite side of the manual insertion tray outer wall surface. In the present embodiment, with respect to the dimension of the distance L4 between the surface 209 on the opposite side of the manual insertion tray loading surface and the surface 210 on the opposite side of the manual insertion tray outer wall surface being 16 mm, the length L3 is set to 15.8 mm. Further, in the present embodiment, one first pressing shape 220 and one second pressing shape 231 are respectively provided so as to press the location with the loudest radiated sound in the region A shown in FIG. 3 described above.

[0050] Even when a shape deformation such as warping occurs so that the surface 210 on the opposite side of the manual insertion tray outer wall surface moves away from the second pressing shape 231, the second pressing shape 221 may be configured to stably press the surface 210 on the opposite side of the manual insertion tray outer wall surface. That is, the length L3 of the second pressing shape 221 may be larger than the distance L4 between the surface 209 on the opposite side of the manual insertion tray loading surface and the surface 210 on the opposite side of the manual insertion tray outer wall surface. For example, with respect to the distance L4 being 16 mm, the length L3 may be set to 16.2 mm so that the second pressing shape 231 constantly presses, and by closing the manual insertion tray 201, the entire manual insertion tray 201 may be vibration-proofed. Further, the shape of the contact portion of the surface 210 on the opposite side of the manual insertion tray outer wall surface may be a spherical convex shape 222 directed toward the second pressing shape 221 as shown in FIG. 9. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, an elastic member 223 may be provided at the contact portion of the back surface 210 of the manual insertion tray outer wall surface, and a configuration may be adopted in which the tip of the second pressing shape 221 penetrates into the elastic member during pressing to press the back surface 210 of the manual insertion tray outer wall surface.

[0051] [Embodiment 4] Unlike Embodiment 3, in Embodiment 4, the first pressing shape 220 provided on the side wall surface 131 of the apparatus main body directly presses the surface 210 on the opposite side of the manual insertion tray outer wall surface.

[0052] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of its configuration. FIG. 11(a) shows a state in which the manual feed tray 201 is opened from the apparatus main body when using the manual feed unit 200, and FIG. 11(b) shows a state in which the manual feed tray 201 is closed with respect to the apparatus main body.

[0053] Similar to the second embodiment, when the manual feed tray 201 is closed to the apparatus main body, a hole is provided in the region of the manual feed tray loading surface 202 facing the first pressing shape 220. The first pressing shape 241 is a cylinder with a diameter of φ6 mm. Also, the tip shape is a spherical shape so that the contact portion with the surface 210 on the side opposite to the outer wall surface of the manual feed tray can be concentratedly pressurized. The protruding length L7 of the first pressing shape 220 is set to be larger than the distance L8 between the side wall surface 131 and the surface 210 on the side opposite to the outer wall surface of the manual feed tray when the manual feed tray 201 is closed to the apparatus main body, so that L7 > L8. In this embodiment, the distance L8 is 32 mm, and the length L7 of the first pressing shape 241 is 32.5 mm.

[0054] With the above configuration, by closing the manual feed tray 201, the surface 210 on the side opposite to the outer wall surface of the manual feed tray is pressed by the first pressing shape 220, the vibration of the surface 210 on the side opposite to the outer wall surface of the manual feed tray is suppressed, and the vibration of the manual feed tray 201 can be suppressed.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0055] PY~PK Image forming unit 79 Manual feed roller (feeding unit) 131 Side wall surface 201 Manual feed tray (tray) 202 Loading surface of the manual feed tray (placement surface) 207 Extension tray 208 Outer wall surface of the manual feed tray 209 Surface opposite to the manual feed tray loading surface 210 Surface opposite to the outer wall surface of the manual feed tray 220 First pressing shape (first protruding portion) 223 Elastic member 231 Second pressing shape (second protruding portion) 232 Third pressing shape (third protruding portion) 233 Extended Tray Loading Surface (Placement Surface) 234 Surface Opposite to the Extended Tray Loading Surface 242 Hole Portion

Claims

1. An image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, A side surface of the apparatus main body including the image forming unit, which is rotatably provided between a closed position closed along the side surface of the apparatus main body and an open position opened at a position where a sheet is placed, and has a placement surface for placing the sheet. A tray, A feeding unit that feeds the sheet placed on the tray toward the image forming unit, An extended tray that is movable between an extended position extended upstream in the sheet feeding direction from the tray and a storage position stored in the tray, and has a placement surface for placing the sheet, The apparatus main body has a first protruding portion that protrudes from the side surface toward the tray, In a state where the tray is in the closed position and the extended tray is in the storage position, the outer wall surface of the tray and the extended tray are pressed toward the open position by the first protruding portion, An image forming apparatus characterized by the above.

2. The tray further includes a second protruding portion that protrudes from the surface opposite to the placement surface of the tray toward the outer wall surface of the tray, The extended tray further includes a third protruding portion that protrudes from the surface opposite to the placement surface of the extended tray toward the outer wall surface of the tray, In a state where the tray is in the closed position and the extended tray is in the storage position, the first protruding portion presses the placement surface of the tray, the second protruding portion presses the placement surface of the extended tray, and the third protruding portion presses the surface opposite to the outer wall surface of the tray, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. In a state where the tray is in the closed position, a hole through which the first protruding portion passes is provided in the placement surface of the tray, The extended tray further includes a third protruding portion that protrudes from the surface opposite to the placement surface of the extended tray toward the outer wall surface of the tray, In a state where the tray is in the closed position and the extended tray is in the storage position, the first protruding portion that has passed through the hole presses the placement surface of the extended tray, and the third protruding portion presses the surface opposite to the outer wall surface of the tray, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

4. An image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, A side surface of the apparatus main body including the image forming unit, which is rotatably provided between a closed position closed along the side surface of the apparatus main body and an open position opened at a position where a sheet is placed, and has a placement surface for placing the sheet. A tray, A sheet feeding unit that feeds a sheet placed on the tray toward the image forming unit, The apparatus main body has a first protruding portion that protrudes from the side surface toward the tray, In a state where the tray is in the closed position, the outer wall surface of the tray is pressed toward the open position by the first protruding portion, An image forming apparatus characterized by the above.

5. The tray further includes a second protruding portion that protrudes from a surface of the tray opposite to the placement surface toward the outer wall surface of the tray, In a state where the tray is in the closed position, the first protruding portion presses the placement surface of the tray, and the second protruding portion presses the surface of the tray opposite to the outer wall surface, The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, characterized by the above.

6. In a state where the tray is in the closed position, a hole through which the first protruding portion passes is provided in the placement surface of the tray, and further includes, In a state where the tray is in the closed position, the first protruding portion that has passed through the hole presses the surface of the tray opposite to the outer wall surface, The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, characterized by the above.

Images