Feeding device and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide a feeding device capable of appropriately feeding media having deviation in thickness and capable of coping with various sizes of media.SOLUTION: A feeding device (120) comprises: a storage member (121) for storing a plurality of media; a plurality of support members (123a, 123b) which are arranged in the storage member and support the plurality of stacked media; a feeding mechanism (122) which abuts on the medium supported by the plurality of support members from above to feed the medium to the outside of the storage member; a plurality of energizing members (124a, 124b, 124c, 124d) which abut on different positions of respective lower surfaces of the plurality of support members to energize the support members toward the feeding mechanism; and an upper plate (125) supported by the storage member while slidably in a feeding direction of the medium by the feeding mechanism above the plurality of support members.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a feeding device and an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, image forming devices such as copiers and printers are equipped with a feeding device that uses a feeding roller to feed paper (medium) loaded on a feeding tray that is detachable from the device body. Such a feeding device is suitable for forming images continuously on multiple sheets of paper, since multiple sheets of paper can be set in the feeding tray in a stacked state.

[0003] Here, media with thickness variations may be set in the feeding device. In order to properly feed such media, there is a feeding device that includes a plurality of support members adjacent in the width direction perpendicular to the feeding direction, a plurality of urging members that urge each of the plurality of support members upward at positions spaced apart in the feeding direction, and an upper plate that presses down from above the rear end of the media supported by the support members (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the feeding device having the above configuration, the rear end of the medium supported by the support member must reach the position of the upper plate, which poses a problem that small-sized media cannot be properly supported.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and aims to provide a feeding device that can properly feed media with thickness variations and can accommodate media of various sizes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, one aspect of the present invention includes a storage member that stores a plurality of media, a plurality of support members that are arranged inside the storage member and support a plurality of stacked media, a feed mechanism that contacts the media supported by the plurality of support members from above and feeds the media out of the storage member, a plurality of biasing members that contact different positions on the underside of each of the plurality of support members and bias the support members toward the feed mechanism, and a storage member that is supported by the storage member above the plurality of support members and is slidable in the direction in which the media are fed by the feed mechanism. and pressing the rear end in the feeding direction of the medium supported by the plurality of support members. Equipped with a top plate The biasing members are in contact with the lower surface of the support member at a position facing the feeding mechanism and a position facing the upper plate in the feeding direction. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, a feeding device can be obtained that can appropriately feed media having deviations in thickness and can accommodate media of various sizes. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] An image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0010] The image forming apparatus 100 includes an image forming unit 110 that forms an image on a medium M by an electrophotographic method. The image forming unit 110 includes, for example, a well-known photosensitive drum made of an organic photosensitive body, a charging charger that performs a charging process on the surface of the photosensitive drum, an exposure device that irradiates image information onto the photosensitive drum with a laser beam to form an electrostatic latent image, a developing device that visualizes the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum, a transfer roller that transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum to a transfer paper, and a cleaning device that removes and collects residual toner on the photosensitive drum. However, the method by which the image forming unit 110 forms an image is not limited to the electrophotographic method, and may be an inkjet method in which an image is formed by ejecting ink onto the medium M.

[0011] The medium M is an object on which an image is formed by the image forming unit 110, and is a sheet-like material such as paper, cloth, or film. The medium M according to this embodiment is available in various sizes (e.g., A4, A5, B4, etc.). Furthermore, the medium M according to this embodiment is not limited to a medium with a uniform thickness, and includes a medium with a deviation in thickness. More specifically, the medium M may be thicker in one of the left-right direction (width direction) or the front-back direction (length direction) than the other. An example of a medium M with a deviation in thickness is an envelope with a gusset.

[0012] The image forming apparatus 100 also includes a feeding device 120 that feeds the medium M to the image forming section 110. The feeding device 120 stores a plurality of media M in a stacked state, and feeds the stored plurality of media M one by one toward the image forming section 110. The feeding device 120 mainly includes, for example, a cassette (storage member) 121 and a feeding mechanism 122. Note that the image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes two cassettes 121, one above the other, but the number of cassettes 121 can be increased or decreased.

[0013] Cassette 121 accommodates a plurality of media M in a stacked state. Cassette 121 is pulled out of image forming apparatus 100 in the direction of arrow A and inserted in the direction of arrow B. Feeding mechanism 122 feeds media M accommodated in cassette 121 in the direction of arrow C (feeding direction). Medium M fed by feeding mechanism 122 is supplied to image forming section 110. A specific configuration of feeding device 120 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

[0014] The image forming apparatus 100 also includes an original reading unit 130 that reads an image recorded on an original and generates image information. The original reading unit 130 moves a reading travelling body made up of an original illumination light source and a mirror to read and scan an original placed on a contact glass 131. The image information scanned by the reading travelling body is read as an image signal by an image reading device provided behind a lens. The read image signal is digitized and subjected to image processing.

[0015] Then, based on the image-processed signal, the image forming unit 110 drives a laser diode (LD, not shown) of an exposure device, and after reflecting the laser light from the LD on a polygon mirror, it irradiates the laser light onto a photosensitive drum via a reflecting mirror, forming an electrostatic latent image on the drum.

[0016] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 100, an internal space 140 is formed between the image forming unit 110 and the document reading unit 130. Inside the internal space 140, there is provided an output tray 141 onto which the medium M on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit 110 is output. Furthermore, the internal space 140 is open to the outside at the front and side of the image forming apparatus 100. That is, an operator of the image forming apparatus 100 can reach into the internal space 140 and remove the medium M on which an image has been formed from the output tray 141.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a central processing unit (CPU) 10, a random access memory (RAM) 20, a read only memory (ROM) 30, a hard disk drive (HDD) 40, and an I / F 50, all of which are connected via a common bus 90.

[0018] The CPU 10 is a computing means and controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 100. The RAM 20 is a volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information at high speed, and is used as a working area when the CPU 10 processes information. The ROM 30 is a read-only non-volatile storage medium in which programs such as firmware are stored. The HDD 40 is a non-volatile storage medium capable of reading and writing information and has a large storage capacity, and stores an OS (Operating System), various control programs, application programs, etc.

[0019] The image forming apparatus 100 processes a control program stored in the ROM 30, an information processing program (application program) loaded from a storage medium such as the HDD 40 to the RAM 20, and the like, by using an arithmetic function provided in the CPU 10. This processing constitutes a software control unit including various functional modules of the image forming apparatus 100. The combination of the software control unit thus constituted and the hardware resources mounted on the image forming apparatus 100 constitutes a functional block that realizes the functions of the image forming apparatus 100. That is, the CPU 10, the RAM 20, the ROM 30, and the HDD 40 constitute a controller 101 that controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0020] The I / F 50 is an interface that connects the LCD 60, the operation unit 70, the image forming unit 110, the feeding mechanism 122, and the document reading unit 130 to the common bus 90. The LCD 60 is a display that displays various screens for notifying the user of information. The operation unit 70 is an input interface that accepts input of various information from the user, and includes a touch panel superimposed on the LCD 60, push buttons, etc.

[0021] Next, the feeding device 120 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 3 to 5. Fig. 3 is an upper perspective view of the feeding device 120. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV in Fig. 3. The feeding device 120 mainly includes a cassette 121 (accommodating member), a feeding mechanism 122, support plates (support members) 123a and 123b, coil springs (urging members) 124a, 124b, 124c, and 124d, and an upper plate 125.

[0022] Hereinafter, the feeding direction of the medium M by the feeding mechanism 122 will be referred to as the "front-rear direction", the width direction of the medium M (cassette 121) perpendicular to the feeding direction will be referred to as the "left-right direction", the upstream side of the feeding direction will be referred to as the "rear", and the downstream side of the feeding direction will be referred to as the "front". However, the relationship between the feeding direction and the width direction is relative, and is not limited to the above example.

[0023] The cassette 121 is a box-shaped member with an open top. The cassette 121 includes a bottom plate 121a, a front plate 121b standing on the front end of the bottom plate 121a, a rear plate 121c standing on the rear end of the bottom plate 121a, a right plate 121d standing on the right end of the bottom plate 121a, and a left plate 121e standing on the left end of the bottom plate 121a. The cassette 121 has an internal space defined by the bottom plate 121a, the front plate 121b, the rear plate 121c, the right plate 121d, and the left plate 121e.

[0024] The front plate 121b and the rear plate 121c are erected upward from the bottom plate 121a and extend in the left-right direction. The front plate 121b and the rear plate 121c face each other in the front-rear direction of the cassette 121. The right plate 121d and the left plate 121e are erected upward from the bottom plate 121a and extend in the front-rear direction. The right plate 121d and the left plate 121e face each other in the left-right direction of the cassette 121 (the direction of the arrow AB in FIG. 1).

[0025] Cassette 121 according to this embodiment has a generally rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. Support plates 123a and 123b, coil springs 124a to 124d, and a plurality of stacked media M are accommodated in the internal space of cassette 121 defined by plates 121a to 121d.

[0026] The top plate 125 faces the bottom plate 121a in the up-down direction of the cassette 121. The top plate 125 is connected to the upper ends of the right plate 121d and the left plate 121e. That is, the top plate 125 covers a part of the rear side of the top surface of the cassette 121. The top plate 125 is configured to be slidable in the feeding direction as described later.

[0027] The feeding mechanism 122 feeds the medium M accommodated in the cassette 121 to the outside of the cassette 121 (i.e., to the image forming unit 110). The feeding mechanism 122 is disposed above the cassette 121, facing the internal space of the cassette 121. The feeding mechanism 122 is also disposed forward of the upper plate 125. In other words, the feeding mechanism 122 and the upper plate 125 are spaced apart in the front-rear direction of the cassette 121. The feeding mechanism 122 mainly includes a rotating shaft 122a and feeding rollers 122b and 122c.

[0028] The rotating shaft 122a extends in the left-right direction of the cassette 121. The rotating shaft 122a rotates by the driving force of a motor. The feed rollers 122b and 122c have a roughly half-moon shape. The feed rollers 122b and 122c are spaced apart from each other in the left-right direction of the cassette 121. The feed rollers 122b and 122c are attached to the rotating shaft 122a and rotate together. The height of the lower ends of the feed rollers 122b and 122c is set to be the same as the height of the lower surface of the upper plate 125.

[0029] The support plates 123a, 123b are flat plates with a roughly rectangular outer shape. The size of the support plates 123a, 123b in the front-rear direction roughly matches (slightly smaller than) the size of the cassette 121 in the front-rear direction, and the size of the support plates 123a, 123b in the left-right direction is set to be equal to or less than half the size of the cassette 121 in the front-rear direction. The support plates 123a, 123b are disposed adjacent to each other in the left-right direction of the cassette 121 in the internal space of the cassette 121.

[0030] The upper surfaces of the support plates 123a and 123b function as placement surfaces on which the stacked medium M is placed. That is, the support plates 123a and 123b jointly support the medium M contained in the cassette 121. More specifically, the left half of the medium M is supported by the support plate 123a, and the right half of the medium M is supported by the support plate 123b.

[0031] The coil springs 124a and 124b bias the support plate 123a upward (toward the feeding mechanism 122 and the upper plate 125). More specifically, one end of each of the coil springs 124a and 124b is connected to the upper surface of the bottom plate 121a, and the other end is connected to the lower surface of the support plate 123a.

[0032] Moreover, the coil springs 124a and 124b are arranged to be spaced apart in the front-rear direction of the cassette 121. More specifically, the coil spring 124a is arranged at a position facing the feed roller 122b. Moreover, the coil spring 124b is arranged at a position facing the upper plate 125. Moreover, the distance between the coil springs 124a and 124b is longer than the length of the upper plate 125 in the front-rear direction.

[0033] The coil springs 124c and 124d bias the support plate 123b upward (toward the feeding mechanism 122 and the upper plate 125). More specifically, one end of each of the coil springs 124c and 124d is connected to the upper surface of the bottom plate 121a, and the other end is connected to the lower surface of the support plate 123b.

[0034] Moreover, the coil springs 124c and 124d are arranged to be spaced apart in the front-rear direction of the cassette 121. More specifically, the coil spring 124c is arranged at a position facing the feed roller 122c. Moreover, the coil spring 124d is arranged at a position facing the upper plate 125. Moreover, the distance between the coil springs 124c and 124d is longer than the length of the upper plate 125 in the front-rear direction.

[0035] That is, the coil springs 124a and 124c press the front region of the medium M supported by the support plates 123a and 123b against the feed rollers 122b and 122c. In addition, the coil springs 124b and 124d press the rear region of the medium M supported by the support plates 123a and 123b against the upper plate 125.

[0036] The coil springs 124a to 124d are set to have the same natural length and spring constant. However, the natural length and spring constant may be different for each of the coil springs 124a to 124d. Furthermore, examples of the biasing members are not limited to the coil springs 124a to 124d, and may be leaf springs, elastic rubber, or the like.

[0037] Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the main parts of the left plate 121e and the upper plate 125. As shown in Fig. 6, the inner surface (right side surface) of the left plate 121e is cut out over the entire area in the front-rear direction. More specifically, the left plate 121e has a first upper surface 126a, a second upper surface 126b, a first inner surface 126c, and a second inner surface 126d.

[0038] The first upper surface 126a is located above the second upper surface 126b and on the outer side (left side) of the second upper surface 126b. The second upper surface 126b is located below the first upper surface 126a and on the inner side (right side) of the first upper surface 126a. The first inner surface 126c is located above the second inner surface 126d and on the outer side (left side) of the second inner surface 126d. The second inner surface 126d is located below the first inner surface 126c and on the inner side (right side) of the first inner surface 126c. The upper end of the first inner surface 126c is connected to the right end of the first upper surface 126a, and the lower end of the first inner surface 126c is connected to the left end of the second upper surface 126b. The upper end of the second inner surface 126d is connected to the right end of the second upper surface 126b.

[0039] A guide groove 127 is formed in the second upper surface 126b. The guide groove 127 is recessed downward from the second upper surface 126b and extends in the front-rear direction (feeding direction). Sliders 128a, 128b are attached to the guide groove 127. The sliders 128a, 128b are supported by the second upper surface 126b in a state in which they can slide in the front-rear direction along the guide groove 127.

[0040] The left end of the upper plate 125 is fixed to sliders 128a, 128b of the left plate 121e by a bolt or the like. Although not shown, the inner surface (left surface) of the right plate 121d is also cut out like the left plate 121e. The right end of the upper plate 125 is fixed to the slider of the right plate 121d by a bolt or the like. As a result, the upper plate 125 is configured to be slidable in the feeding direction (front-rear direction) along the guide grooves 127 of the right plate 121d and the left plate 121e.

[0041] Additionally, a rack portion 129 is formed on the first inner side surface 126c. The rack portion 129 is configured by arranging multiple protrusions that protrude inward (right side) from the first inner side surface 126c continuously in the front-rear direction. Meanwhile, protrusions 130a, 130b are formed on the left side surface of the upper plate 125. The protrusions 130a, 130b each protrude leftward at positions spaced apart in the front-rear direction.

[0042] Furthermore, markings 131a and 131b indicating the size of the medium M are provided on the first upper surface 126a. The markings 131a and 131b indicate the position of the upper plate 125 (more specifically, the protrusion 130b) according to the size of the medium M placed on the support plates 123a and 123b. The markings 131a and 131b are formed by, for example, engraving, stickers, printing, or the like.

[0043] When the upper plate 125 is attached to the sliders 128a, 128b, the protrusions 130a, 130b engage with the rack portion 129. Then, the upper plate 125 slides in the front-rear direction while the protrusions 130a, 130b climb over the rack portion 129. In addition, the rear end of the medium M is pressed by the upper plate 125 by aligning the protrusion 130b with the position of the marks 131a, 131b that correspond to the size of the medium M placed on the support plates 132a, 132b.

[0044] Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the stopper 132. As shown in Fig. 7, the cassette 121 includes stoppers 132 corresponding to the support plates 123a and 123b. The stoppers 132 are rotatably supported at the front end of the bottom plate 121a. The stoppers 132 are configured to be able to change (rotate) their positions between a locked position shown in Fig. 7(A) and an unlocked position shown in Fig. 7(B). The configuration of the stopper 132 corresponding to the support plate 123a will be described below, but the stopper corresponding to the support plate 123b has a similar configuration.

[0045] The stopper 132 in the locking position engages with the front end of the support plate 123a and locks the coil spring 124a in a compressed state. This causes the support plate 123a to be held in a state pressed downward. Meanwhile, the stopper 132 in the release position releases the lock on the support plate 123a. This causes the coil springs 124a and 124b to expand and contract depending on the number of media M placed on the support plate 123a, and the support plate 123a takes an appropriate position.

[0046] Stopper 132 changes its posture to the locked posture when cassette 121 is removed from image forming apparatus 100. Stopper 132 changes its posture to the released posture when cassette 121 is set in image forming apparatus 100. The configuration for changing the posture of stopper 132 in this manner is already well known, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0047] Fig. 8 is a plan view of the cassette 121. As shown in Fig. 8, the cassette 121 may include a pair of side fences 133a, 133b. The pair of side fences 133a, 133b are erected on the upper surface of the bottom plate 121a. The pair of side fences 133a, 133b pass through slits provided in the support plates 123a, 123b and reach above the support plates 123a, 123b.

[0048] The pair of side fences 133a, 133b are configured to be slidable in the left-right direction. By adjusting the width of the pair of side fences 133a, 133b according to the size of the medium M to be placed on the support plates 132a, 132b, the widthwise positions of the medium M stacked on the support plates 132a, 132b can be aligned.

[0049] Furthermore, the pair of side fences 133a, 133b are disposed rearward of the feed rollers 122b, 122c and forward of the upper plate 125. More specifically, the pair of side fences 133a, 133b are disposed forward of the front end of the upper plate 125 located at the rearmost position in the sliding range. More preferably, the pair of side fences 133a, 133b are disposed forward of the front end of the upper plate 125 located at the frontmost position in the sliding range.

[0050] The operator presses down the support plates 123a, 123b of the cassette 121 removed from the image forming apparatus 100. This causes the coil springs 124a to 124d to contract, and a space for accommodating the medium M is formed between the support plates 123a, 123b and the feed rollers 122b, 122c and the upper plate 125. Then, when the support plates 123a, 123b are pressed down to a predetermined height, they are held in that position by the stopper 132 in the locked position. This makes it easier to place the medium M on the support plates 123a, 123b.

[0051] Next, the operator places multiple media M in a stacked state on the support plates 123a, 123b. The operator also slides the upper plate 125 in the front-rear direction to match the front-rear size of the media M placed on the support plates 123a, 123b. Furthermore, the operator slides the side fences 133a, 133b in the left-right direction to match the left-right size of the media M placed on the support plates 123a, 123b.

[0052] Then, the operator sets cassette 121 in image forming apparatus 100. This releases the lock by stopper 132, and support plates 123a and 123b move upward due to the biasing forces of coil springs 124a to 124d.

[0053] Here, when the medium M (for example, plain paper) without any thickness deviation is placed on the support plates 123a and 123b, the coil springs 124a to 124d have the same length. That is, the support plates 123a and 123b are supported parallel to the bottom plate 121a at the same height. The medium M supported by the support plates 123a and 123b is pressed against the feed rollers 122b and 122c and the upper plate 125 in a state parallel to the bottom plate 121a.

[0054] 4, when medium M having a thickness deviation in the front-to-rear direction of cassette 121 (thicker at the rear than at the front) is placed on support plates 123a and 123b, coil springs 124a and 124c are longer than coil springs 124b and 124d. As a result, support plates 123a and 123b are inclined downward from the front to the rear.

[0055] That is, the gap between the feed rollers 122b, 122c and the support plates 123a, 123b is larger than the gap between the upper plate 125 and the support plates 123a, 123b. When the stacked media M are accommodated in this gap, the topmost medium M is pressed against the feed rollers 122b, 122c and the upper plate 125 while being parallel to the bottom plate 121a. If the front side of the medium M is thicker than the rear side, the support plates 123a, 123b will be inclined upward from the front side to the rear side.

[0056] 5, when medium M having a thickness deviation in the left-right direction of cassette 121 (the right side is thicker than the left side) is placed on support plates 123a and 123b, the length of coil springs 124a and 124b becomes shorter than that of coil springs 124c and 124d. As a result, support plate 123a is positioned lower than support plate 123b.

[0057] That is, the gap between the support plate 123a and the feed roller 122b and the upper plate 125 is larger than the gap between the support plate 123b and the feed roller 122c and the upper plate 125. When a plurality of stacked media M are accommodated in this gap, the topmost medium M is pressed against the feed rollers 122b and 122c and the upper plate 125 while being parallel to the bottom plate 121a. Note that if the left side of the medium M is thicker than the right side, the support plate 123a will be located higher than the support plate 123b.

[0058] When the cassette 121 containing the medium M as described above is set in the image forming apparatus 100 and an instruction to perform image formation is input, the controller 101 rotates the motor to cause the feeding mechanism 122 to feed the medium M. As a result, when the feeding rollers 122b and 122c rotate, the topmost medium M in contact with the feeding rollers 122b and 122c is fed. In this embodiment, the feeding direction of the arrow C in FIG. 1 corresponds to the direction from the rear side to the front side of the cassette 121.

[0059] According to the above embodiment, for example, the following advantageous effects are achieved.

[0060] According to the above embodiment, each of the support plates 123a, 123b is supported by a plurality of coil springs 124a to 124d, so that the coil springs 124a to 124d expand and contract independently in response to the deviation in thickness of the medium M placed on the support plates 123a, 123b. This allows the weight of the medium M to be distributed and supported by the support plates 123a, 123b, so that deviation in the frictional force between adjacent media M and between the bottommost medium M and the support plates 123a, 123b in the width direction of the medium M can be suppressed.

[0061] As a result, regardless of the deviation in thickness of the medium M, the top medium M is pressed against the feed rollers 122b and 122c in a state parallel to the bottom plate 121a, so that skew and non-feeding of the medium M can be prevented. 2Paper with a smoothness of 30s or less, or paper with a low smoothness (30s or less), is susceptible to the influence of uneven friction in the width direction, and therefore the improvement effect of the present invention is significant.

[0062] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, since upper plate 125 is configured to be slidable in the front-rear direction, the rear end of medium M can be pressed from above regardless of the size of medium M placed on support plates 123a, 123b. Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, by providing marks 131a, 131b on first upper surface 126a, the position of upper plate 125 can be appropriately adjusted.

[0063] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, by arranging the side fences 133a, 133b behind the feed rollers 122b, 122c and in front of the upper plate 125, the task of sliding the side fences 133a, 133b to match the size of the medium M becomes easier.

[0064] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, the coil springs 124a, 124c are disposed in positions facing the feed rollers 122b, 122c, and the coil springs 124a, 124c are disposed in positions facing the upper plate 125, so that the medium M can be appropriately pressed against the feed rollers 122b, 122c and the upper plate 125. As a result, skew and non-feeding of the medium M can be more effectively prevented.

[0065] In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the support plates 123a, 123b are arranged adjacent to each other in the left-right direction of the cassette 121 (the width direction of the medium M), but the arrangement of the support plates 123a, 123b is not limited to the above example. As another example, the support plates 123a, 123b may be arranged adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction of the cassette 121 (the feeding direction of the medium M by the feeding mechanism 122). In addition, the number of support plates is not limited to two, and may be three or more.

[0066] In the above embodiment, the coil springs 124a and 124b that bias the support plate 123a are arranged spaced apart in the front-rear direction of the cassette 121, but the arrangement of the coil springs 124a and 124b is not limited to the above example. As another example, the coil springs 124a and 124b may bias the support plate 123a at positions spaced apart in the left-right direction of the cassette 121. The same applies to the coil springs 124c and 124d that bias the support plate 123b.

[0067] This arrangement of the coil springs 124a to 124d is particularly effective when the support plates 123a and 123b are arranged adjacent to each other in the left-right direction. Furthermore, the number of coil springs biasing one support plate is not limited to two, and may be three or more.

[0068] In the above embodiment, the medium M is fed by two feed rollers 122b, 122c spaced apart in the left-right direction of the cassette 121, but the number of feed rollers 122b, 122c is not limited to the above example. As another example, the medium M may be fed by a single feed roller that is disposed in the center of the cassette 121 in the left-right direction and straddles the support plates 123a, 123b.

[0069] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the technical gist of the present invention. The present invention covers all technical matters included in the technical ideas described in the claims. The above-described embodiment shows a preferred example, but a person skilled in the art can realize various modifications from the disclosed contents. Such modifications are also included in the technical scope described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 10 CPU 20 RAM 30 ROM 40 HDD 50 Interfaces 60 LCD 70 Operation section 90 Common Bus 100 Image forming device 101 Controller 110 Image forming section 120 Feeding device 121 Cassette (storage member) 121a Bottom plate 121b Front panel 121c rear plate 121d left board 121e Right plate 122 Feeding mechanism 122a Rotating shaft 122b,122c Feeding roller 123a, 123b Support plate (support member) 124a, 124b, 124c, 124d Coil springs (biasing members) 125 Upper Board 130 Document reading section 131 Contact Glass 140 Interior space 141 Output Tray 126a 1st top surface 126b 2nd top surface 126c 1st inner surface 126d 2nd inner surface 127 Guide groove 128a,128b Slider 129 Rack section 130a,130b protrusion 131a, 131b Landmark 132 Stopper 133a, 133b Side fence [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0071] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-020748

Claims

1. A storage member for storing a plurality of media; a plurality of support members disposed inside the storage member and supporting a plurality of stacked media; a feeding mechanism that contacts the medium supported by the plurality of support members from above and feeds the medium out of the medium storage member; a plurality of biasing members that come into contact with different positions on the lower surface of each of the plurality of support members and bias the support members toward the feed mechanism; an upper plate that is supported by the storage member above the plurality of support members and is slidable in a feeding direction of the medium by the feeding mechanism, and presses a rear end of the medium supported by the plurality of support members in the feeding direction; The feeding device, wherein the plurality of urging members abut against a lower surface of the support member at a position facing the feeding mechanism and at a position facing the upper plate in the feeding direction.

2. 2. The feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the storage member is provided with a mark that indicates a position of the upper plate according to a size of the medium.

3. 3. The feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising a pair of side fences extending upward from a bottom wall of the storage member to above the support members between the feeding mechanism and the upper plate in the feeding direction, the side fences being slidable in a width direction perpendicular to the feeding direction.

4. 4. The feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of support members are disposed adjacent to each other in a width direction perpendicular to the feeding direction inside the storage member.

5. The feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the downstream end of each of the plurality of support members in the feeding direction is provided with a stopper that can be changed between a locking position in which the biasing member is compressed and a release position in which the lock is released.

6. 6. The feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the biasing member is a spring.

7. 7. The feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the feeding mechanism includes a plurality of feeding rollers that contact a plurality of positions on the medium in a width direction perpendicular to the feeding direction and feed the medium in the feeding direction.

8. A feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 7; an image forming unit that forms an image on the medium fed by the feeding device.

Images