Paper feeding device and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide a sheet feeder for holding parallelism in elevating and lowering an extension bottom plate.SOLUTION: A sheet feeder 200 has a sheet feed tray capable of feeding a sheet material loaded on a bottom plate toward an image formation device 100. In the sheet feeder 200 in which an extension bottom plate 62 projecting to the outside of the sheet feeder 200 is connected to a sheet feeding upstream end of a bottom plate 61 of the sheet feed tray, a casing 300 surrounding the extension bottom plate 62 is mounted on a side surface of the sheet feeder 200, and a support member 90 supporting a load of the extension bottom plate 62 is disposed between an inner wall surface of the casing 300 and the extension bottom plate 62.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

Technical Field

[0006] , , , ,

[0005]

[0001] The present invention relates to a paper feeding device and an image forming device provided with an extension bottom plate that can be raised and lowered outside the device.

Background Art

[0002] Image forming devices such as copiers, facsimiles, and printers are provided with a paper feeding device that houses sheet materials such as recording paper in a laminated state (for example, Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-2372). The paper feeding device usually has a plurality of types of paper feeding trays corresponding to the sizes of the sheet materials.

[0003] On the other hand, in recent years, the need to use long sheets that cannot be accommodated in a normal paper feeding tray has been increasing. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, an extension bottom plate 62 is connected to the bottom plate 61 of the normal paper feeding tray so that long sheets can also be accommodated.

[0004] This extension bottom plate 62 projects outward from the side surface of the main body of the paper feeding device 200. When a sheet material is loaded on the extension bottom plate 62, the bending moment M acting on the extension bottom plate 62 increases due to the load F1, and warping and inclination occur in the extension bottom plate 62. Therefore, conventionally, the extension bottom plate 62 has been supported from below by a support member 90.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, since the exterior of the paper feeding device 200 is generally made of resin or thin sheet metal, it is easily deformed. When guiding the lifting sliding roller R of the support member 90 on the side surface of the paper feeding device 200, the load F2 of the sliding roller R acts intensively on the sliding contact point, and it is easy for a deflection D to occur in the exterior of the paper feeding device 200 due to this concentrated load. When the deflection D occurs, the parallelism in the lifting and lowering of the extension bottom plate 62 cannot be maintained, which causes problems such as paper feeding failures such as paper jams.

[0006] This invention has been made in view of these circumstances, and aims to maintain parallelism during the raising and lowering of the extension base plate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the aforementioned problems, the present invention provides a paper feeding device having a paper feeding tray capable of feeding sheet material stacked on a bottom plate toward an image forming apparatus, wherein an extended bottom plate extending outward from the paper feeding device is connected to the upstream end of the bottom plate of the paper feeding tray, and the paper feeding device is characterized in that a housing surrounding the extended bottom plate is attached to the side of the paper feeding device, and a support member for supporting the load of the extended bottom plate is provided between the inner wall surface of the housing and the extended bottom plate. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the parallelism of the extension base plate can be maintained during its raising and lowering. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic side view of a paper feeding device and an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a schematic side view of the paper feed device. [Figure 3] This is a perspective view of the bottom plate and extension bottom plate of the paper tray of the paper feed device. [Figure 4] This diagram shows the load-bearing structure of a conventional extension base plate. [Figure 5] This figure shows the first embodiment, where (a) is a schematic side view of the paper feed device and the expansion enclosure, and (b) is a schematic perspective view of the expansion enclosure. [Figure 6A] This is a schematic side view of the paper feed device and expansion enclosure showing the second embodiment. [Figure 6B] This is a schematic side view showing the addition of a reinforcing member to the expansion enclosure of the second embodiment. [Figure 7A] This figure shows a third embodiment, where (a) is a schematic side view of the paper feed device and the expansion enclosure, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of the expansion enclosure. [Figure 7B]This figure shows the addition of reinforcing members to the expansion housing of the third embodiment, where (a) is a schematic side view of the paper feed device and the expansion housing, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of the expansion housing. [Figure 8A] This is a schematic side view of the paper feed device and expansion enclosure showing the fourth embodiment. [Figure 8B] This is a schematic side view showing the fourth embodiment with a reinforcing member added to the extended base plate. [Figure 9A] This is a schematic side view of the paper feed device and expansion enclosure showing the fifth embodiment. [Figure 9B] This is a schematic side view showing the addition of a reinforcing member to the expansion enclosure of the fifth embodiment. [Figure 10A] This is a schematic side view of the paper feed device and expansion enclosure showing the sixth embodiment. [Figure 10B] This is a schematic side view showing the sixth embodiment with a reinforcing member added to the extended base plate. [Figure 11] This figure shows (a) a schematic side view of a conventional paper feeder and (b) the deformation state of the side of the device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] (●Image forming apparatus and paper feeding apparatus) The image forming apparatus 100 and paper feeding device 200 of this embodiment will be described below based on the attached drawings. In each drawing, components such as members and parts having the same function or shape are given the same reference numerals to the extent that they can be distinguished, and their description will be omitted after they have been described once.

[0011] Figure 1 is a schematic side view of an image forming apparatus 100 in which two paper feeders 200 (200a, 200b) that sequentially supply sheet material to the image forming apparatus 100 are connected. The appearance of one of the first paper feeders 200a is shown in Figure 2. The housing 203 of the first paper feeder 200a consists of a frame and a plurality of panels 201, 202 etc. that are attached to this frame, and the overall shape is box-shaped.

[0012] The paper feed tray 6 is configured to be pullable forward in the drawing with respect to the housing 203 of the first paper feed device 200a. By the user grasping the handle portion 7 and pulling it forward in the drawing, the paper feed tray 6 can be pulled out from the housing. By pulling out the paper feed tray 6, it becomes possible to stack and remove the paper P. The paper feed tray 6 has a bottom plate 61 for stacking a bundle of the paper P which is a sheet material as shown in FIG. 3.

[0013] The paper feed device 200 is connected to the side surface of the main body of the image forming device 100. This paper feed device 200 has a configuration in which a plurality of units can be connected. In FIG. 1, a second paper feed device 200b is connected upstream of the first paper feed device 200a.

[0014] Panels 201 and 202 are attached vertically to the upstream end in the conveyance direction of the housing of the first paper feed device 200a. Among these, the upper panel 201 is detachably attached to the housing with screws. In the paper feed device 200 connected to the image forming device 100, in the paper feed device connected to the most upstream side, this panel 201 can be removed, and the extension bottom plate 62 shown in FIG. 3 can be connected to the bottom plate 61 in the paper feed device 200.

[0015] Specifically, a groove portion 61a extending in the paper feed direction is formed at the center in the width direction of the bottom plate 61. On the other hand, an insertion protrusion 62d having a U-shaped cross section extending in the paper feed direction is formed at the center in the width direction of the downstream end in the paper feed of the extension bottom plate 62. When extending the bottom plate 61, the insertion protrusion 62d of the extension bottom plate 62 is inserted into the groove portion 61a of the bottom plate 61 as shown by the arrow, and after adjusting the extension length, the extension bottom plate 62 is fixed to the bottom plate 61 with screws.

[0016] (●Paper feed tray) Each of the two paper feeders 200 has upper paper feed trays 6a and 6c and lower paper feed trays 6b and 6d, respectively. Above the paper feed trays 6a to 6d, suction belts 2a to 2d and suction devices 40a to 40d are arranged to separate and feed the paper P loaded in the trays. The first paper feeder 200a sucks up the top sheet of paper in the paper feed trays 6a and 6b, which has been raised by the air blowing from the blowers 1a and 1b, and attaches it to the belts 2a and 2b, then transports it toward the image forming apparatus 100.

[0017] When the second paper feeder 200b is connected to the first paper feeder 200a and paper fed from the second paper feeder 200b is fed to the image forming apparatus 100, the blower 1b is stopped, and the suction device 40b, suction belt 2b, and upstream paper transport roller pair 210a are activated, so that the suction belt 2b forms part of the transport path for the paper fed from the second paper feeder 200b. The paper P in the paper trays 6a to 6d is fed to the next process by the outlet roller pairs 80a and 80b, which are located at the downstream end of the transport path within each paper feeder 200a and 200b.

[0018] (●Means for transporting sheet material) Furthermore, above the paper feed trays 6a to 6d, paper feed units 22a to 22d are arranged, each equipped with suction belts 2a to 2d and a suction device 40. The paper feed units 22a to 22d constitute a sheet material transport means that takes out one sheet of paper P at a time from the top of the stack of paper P placed in the paper feed trays 6a to 6d and feeds it to the image forming apparatus 100, which is the main body of the image forming apparatus. The suction belts 2a to 2d have suction holes that penetrate from the front to the back of the belt along their entire circumference, and the suction devices 40a to 40d generate negative pressure downwards, causing the paper P to adhere to the lower surface of the suction belts 2a to 2d.

[0019] Inside the paper feed trays 6a to 6d, side fences are provided on both sides to guide the sides of the stack of paper P loaded on the bottom plate 61 in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction), and an end fence is provided at the rear of the stack of paper P in the paper feeding direction to hold down the rear end surface. The side fences are provided with side air outlets, which are air outlets from a blowing means for lifting and handling the paper P.

[0020] Furthermore, the paper feed device 200 of this embodiment is center-referenced, with both side fences moving according to the paper size. Therefore, regardless of the paper size, the air discharged from the center air outlet can be blown onto the center of the paper P. Above the paper damming members directly below the paper feed units 22a to 22d, blowers 1a to 1d are arranged to levitate and separate the paper by blowing air from the center air outlet.

[0021] The paper feeder 200 blows air from blowers or other air blowers 1a to 1d toward the front and side edges of multiple sheets of paper P stacked in the paper feed trays 6a to 6d. This blowing of air sends air between the sheets of paper P, causing the top sheet of paper P1 to float to the height of the suction belts 2a to 2d, and the negative pressure generated by the suction devices 40a to 40d causes the top sheet of paper P1 to be attracted to the suction belts 2a to 2d.

[0022] With the top sheet of paper P1 attached to the suction belts 2a-2d, the belt drive motor is driven to move the suction belts 2a-2d endlessly in a clockwise direction as shown in Figure 1. The top sheet of paper P1 is then transported to the image forming apparatus 100 by the transport of the suction belts 2a-2d, after which image formation is performed. The blowers 1a-1d not only blow air between the sheets of paper P to levitate the top sheet of paper P1 to a predetermined height, but also blow air in a predetermined height direction to handle the paper.

[0023] (●First embodiment) Next, the first to sixth embodiments of the paper feeding device including the extension bottom plate of the present invention will be described in order. Conventionally, as shown in Figure 4, a support member 90 was attached to the lower side of the extension bottom plate 62 that protruded from the side opening 220 of the paper feeding device 200, and the lower end of this support member 90 was in sliding contact with the side surface of the paper feeding device 200 via a roller R. Therefore, the lateral load of the roller R acted directly on the side surface of the paper feeding device 200, and this lateral load sometimes caused the device's exterior to flex. When such flexing occurs, the parallelism of the extension bottom plate 62 during its raising and lowering is affected, which may lead to paper feeding problems such as non-feeding or paper jams.

[0024] In the first embodiment, as shown in Figures 5(a) and 5(b), an extension housing 300 is fixed to the side of the paper feed device 200, enclosing the entire extension base plate 62. This extension housing 300 can be made of a resin or metal material having sufficient strength to stably support the load of the roller R, which will be described later. The dimensions of the extension housing 300 (length in the paper feed direction and width) are set to be larger than the size of the long paper used. The height of the extension housing 300 is set to correspond to the maximum number of sheets of material to be loaded onto the extension base plate 62.

[0025] In this embodiment, one end (upper end) of the support member 90 is fixed to the upstream end 62a of the extension base plate 62, while the other end (lower end) of the support member 90 is slidably contacted via a roller R with the inner wall surface of the extension housing 300, which is the front wall surface on the paper feeding device 200 side. The one end (upper end) of the support member 90 does not necessarily have to be fixed to the upstream end 62a of the extension base plate 62. The one end (upper end) of the support member 90 may be fixed to a part of the extension base plate 62 downstream of the upstream end 62a, for example, in the middle of its longitudinal direction.

[0026] A groove 310 is formed in the vertical direction on the front wall surface of the extension housing 300 on the paper feed device 200 side, and a highly rigid reinforcing member 91 made of metal or the like is disposed in the groove 310. The roller R is in contact with the groove 310 via the reinforcing member 91.

[0027] When the extension base plate 62 moves up and down, the roller R moves up and down in the groove 310 in conjunction with the movement. At this time, the roller R moves up and down along the reinforcing member 91, so that no deflection or other deformation occurs in the exterior of the paper feed device 200. Therefore, the parallelism of the extension base plate 62 during its movement is maintained.

[0028] (●Second embodiment) Figures 6A and 6B show a second embodiment, in which one end (upper end) of the support member 90 is rotatably connected to the paper feed upstream end 62a of the extension bottom plate 62 via a pivot shaft 90a, and the roller R at the other end (lower end) of the support member 90 is supported by the bottom surface 320 of the extension housing 300 below the extension bottom plate 62. The bottom surface 320 is horizontal and perpendicular to the vertical direction of the extension bottom plate 62.

[0029] By supporting the roller R on the bottom surface 320, it is possible to prevent unnecessary external force from the support member 90 from being applied to the extension bottom plate 62. In addition, since one end (upper end) of the support member 90 is rotatably connected to the extension bottom plate 62 via a pivot shaft 90a, it is possible to prevent the parallelism of the extension bottom plate 62 from being affected by slight unevenness or inclination of the bottom surface 320.

[0030] The pivot shaft 90a at one end (upper end) of the support member 90 does not necessarily have to be fixed to the upstream end 62a of the extension base plate 62. The pivot shaft 90a may be positioned downstream of the upstream end 62a of the extension base plate 62, for example, in the middle of the extension base plate 62 in the longitudinal direction.

[0031] A torsion spring is wound around the pivot shaft 90a, biasing the support member 90 to rotate counterclockwise as shown in Figures 6A and 6B. Therefore, the load of the extension bottom plate 62 can be supported by the reaction force of the roller R pressing against the bottom surface 320 of the extension housing 300.

[0032] As the extension base plate 62 moves up and down, the support member 90 changes its inclination angle, and the roller R at its lower end slides along the bottom surface 320 of the extension housing 300 in the direction of the horizontal arrow. This allows the parallelism of the extension base plate 62 to be maintained during its up and down movement.

[0033] The additional enclosure 300 has sufficient strength to stably support the roller R on its own, but a reinforcing member 340 may be placed on the bottom surface 320 as shown in Figure 6B. This improves the durability of the bottom surface 320.

[0034] (●Third embodiment) Figures 7A and 7B show a third embodiment, in which support portions 330 are provided projecting inward from the left and right side walls of the inner wall surface of the extension base plate 62, and a roller R is slidably in contact with the upper surface of this support portion 330. By supporting the extension base plate 62 with the left and right side walls, the extension housing 300 can be constructed in a space-saving manner.

[0035] One end (upper end) of the support member 90 is rotatably connected to the paper feed upstream end 62a of the extension bottom plate 62 via a pivot shaft 90a, as in Figures 6A and 6B. A torsion spring is wound around the pivot shaft 90a, which biases the support member 90 to rotate counterclockwise in Figures 7A(a) and 7B(a).

[0036] Therefore, the reaction force exerted by the roller R pressing against the support portion 330 of the extension housing 300 can support the load on the extension base plate 62. As the extension base plate 62 moves up and down, the support member 90 changes its inclination angle, causing the roller R at its lower end to slide horizontally along the support portion 330 of the extension housing 300. This allows the parallelism of the extension base plate 62 to be maintained during its up and down movement.

[0037] The left and right side walls of the extension enclosure 300 have sufficient strength to stably support the roller R on their own, but reinforcing members 350 may be provided on the left and right side walls as shown in Figure 7B(b). This improves the durability of the left and right side walls of the extension enclosure 300.

[0038] (●Fourth embodiment) Figures 8A and 8B show a fourth embodiment, in which the roller R is in sliding contact with the lower surface 62b of the extension base plate 62 to support the load of the extension base plate 62. That is, one end of the support member 90 is in sliding contact with the lower surface 62b of the extension base plate 62 via the roller R, and the other end of the support member 90 is connected via a pivot shaft 90b to the inner wall surface of the extension housing 300, specifically the front wall surface on the paper feed device 200 side, or to the bottom wall surface of the extension housing 300 below the extension base plate 62. A torsion spring is wound around the pivot shaft 90b to bias the support member 90 to rotate counterclockwise in Figures 8A and 8B.

[0039] Therefore, the force exerted by the roller R pressing against the lower surface 62b of the extension base plate 62 can support the load on the extension base plate 62. As the extension base plate 62 moves up and down, the support member 90 changes its inclination angle, causing the roller R at its upper end to slide horizontally along the lower surface 62b of the extension base plate 62. This maintains the parallelism of the extension base plate 62 during its up and down movement. Furthermore, the configurations in Figures 8A and 8B are desirable from the standpoint of user protection because the roller R is positioned on the underside of the extension base plate 62, making it difficult to touch the roller R.

[0040] The lower surface 62b of the extension base plate 62 has sufficient strength to stably support the roller R on its own, but a reinforcing member 62c may be provided on the lower surface 62b of the extension base plate 62 as shown in Figure 8B. This improves the durability of the lower surface 62b of the extension base plate 62.

[0041] (●Fifth embodiment) Figures 9A and 9B show a fifth embodiment, in which a second extension base plate 63 is connected to the upstream end of the extension base plate 62 so as to be extendable and retractable in the paper feeding direction, and the upstream end of the second extension base plate 63 is supported by a support member 90. As a result, even when the extension base plate 62 is further extended with the second extension base plate 63, the support member 90 moves in accordance with the second extension base plate 63, so that the rear end of the second extension base plate 63 can always be supported.

[0042] One end (upper end) of the support member 90 is rotatably connected to the upstream end of the paper feed of the second extension bottom plate 63 via a pivot shaft 90a. The roller R at the other end (lower end) of the support member 90 is supported by the bottom surface 320 of the extension housing 300 located below the extension bottom plate 62.

[0043] A torsion spring is wound around the pivot shaft 90a, biasing the support member 90 to rotate counterclockwise as shown in Figures 9A and 9B. Therefore, the reaction force from the roller R pressing against the bottom surface 320 of the extension housing 300 can support the loads of the extension bottom plate 62 and the second extension bottom plate 63.

[0044] As the extension base plate 62 and the second extension base plate 63 move up and down, the support member 90 changes its inclination angle, and the roller R at its lower end slides along the bottom surface 320 of the extension housing 300 in the direction of the horizontal arrow. This allows the parallelism of the extension base plate 62 to be maintained during its up and down movement.

[0045] The additional enclosure 300 has sufficient strength to stably support the roller R on its own, but a reinforcing member 340 may be placed on the bottom surface 320 as shown in Figure 9B. This improves the durability of the bottom surface 320.

[0046] (●Sixth embodiment) Figures 10A and 10B show a sixth embodiment, in which a third extension bottom plate 64 is connected to the upstream end of the extension bottom plate 62 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. This third extension bottom plate 64 allows the rear end of the sheet material to be angled. By angling the rear end of the sheet material in this way, it is possible to suppress the rearward leakage of the sheet material separation air blown from the side air outlet of the side fence, thereby improving the sheet material separation performance and preventing non-feeding.

[0047] The third extension bottom plate 64 is supported by a reinforcing member 91. Specifically, one end (lower end) of the reinforcing member 91 is connected to the bottom surface 320 of the extension housing 300 via a pivot shaft 91a, and the roller R at the other end (upper end) of the support member 90 is in sliding contact with the lower surface of the third extension bottom plate 64.

[0048] A torsion spring is wound around the pivot shaft 91a, biasing the reinforcing member 91 to rotate counterclockwise in Figures 10A and 10B. Therefore, the rotation angle of the third extension base plate 64 can be maintained by the force with which the roller R presses against the lower surface of the third extension base plate 64.

[0049] As the extension base plate 62 and the third extension base plate 64 move up and down, the support members 90 and 91 change their inclination angle, and the rollers R and R slide along the lower surface 62b of the extension base plate 62 and the lower surface of the third extension base plate 64. This allows the parallelism of the extension base plate 62 to be maintained during its up and down movement.

[0050] The lower surface 62b of the extension base plate 62 has sufficient strength to stably support the roller R on its own, but a reinforcing member 62c may be provided on the lower surface 62b of the extension base plate 62 as shown in Figure 10B. This improves the durability of the lower surface 62b of the extension base plate 62.

[0051] Although the present invention has been specifically described above based on embodiments, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified in various ways within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0052] 1a-1d: Blower device 2a-2d: Suction belt 6: Paper feed tray 7: Handle 22a~22d: Paper feed unit 40a~40d: Suction device 61: Bottom plate 61a: Groove 62: Extension bottom plate 62a: Paper feed upstream end 62b: Bottom surface 62c: Reinforcement member 62d: Insertion projection 63: Second extension base plate 64: Third extension base plate 80a, 80b: Outlet roller pair 90: Support member 90a: Rotating shaft 90b: Rotating shaft 91: Reinforcement member 91a: Rotary shaft 100: Image forming apparatus 200: Paper feed device 200a: First paper feed device 200b: Second paper feeder; 201, 202: Panel 203: Housing 210a: Upstream paper transport roller pair 220: Side opening 300: Expansion enclosure 310: Groove 320: Bottom surface 330: Support part 340, 350: Reinforcement member F1, F2: Load; M: Bending moment P: Paper R: Sliding roller [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0053] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-202372

Claims

1. A paper feeding device having a paper feeding tray capable of feeding sheet material stacked on a bottom plate toward an image forming apparatus, wherein an extended bottom plate extending outward from the paper feeding device is connected to the upstream end of the bottom plate of the paper feeding tray, A paper feeding device characterized in that a housing surrounding the extension bottom plate is attached to the side of the paper feeding device, and a support member is provided between the inner wall surface of the housing and the extension bottom plate to support the extension bottom plate so as to be able to move up and down and to support the load of the extension bottom plate.

2. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that one end of the support member is fixed to the extension bottom plate, and the other end of the support member is slidably brought into contact with the inner wall surface of the housing, which is the front wall surface on the paper feeding device side, via a roller.

3. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that one end of the support member is connected to the extension bottom plate via a pivot shaft, the other end of the support member is brought into sliding contact with the inner wall surface of the housing, which is the bottom wall surface below the extension bottom plate, via a roller, and a spring is attached to the pivot shaft that biases the roller toward the bottom wall surface.

4. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that one end of the support member is connected to the extension bottom plate via a pivot shaft, the other end of the support member is brought into sliding contact with the inner wall surfaces of the housing, which are located on both sides of the extension bottom plate, via rollers, and a spring is attached to the pivot shaft to bias the rollers downward.

5. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that one end of the support member is slidably brought into contact with the lower surface of the extension bottom plate via a roller, and the other end of the support member is connected via a pivot shaft to the inner wall surface of the housing, specifically the front wall surface on the paper feeding device side or the bottom wall surface below the extension bottom plate, and a spring is attached to the pivot shaft to bias the roller toward the lower surface of the extension bottom plate.

6. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that a second extension bottom plate is extended and connected in the paper feeding direction to the upstream end of the extension bottom plate, one end of the support member is connected to the second extension bottom plate via a pivot shaft, the other end of the support member is brought into sliding contact with the inner wall surface of the housing, which is the bottom wall surface below the extension bottom plate, via a roller, and a spring is attached to the pivot shaft to bias the roller toward the bottom wall surface.

7. One end of the support member is brought into sliding contact with the lower surface of the extension bottom plate via a roller, and the other end of the support member is connected via a pivot shaft to the inner wall surface of the housing, specifically the front wall surface on the paper feed device side or the bottom wall surface below the extension bottom plate, and a spring is attached to the pivot shaft to bias the roller toward the lower surface of the extension bottom plate. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, characterized in that a third extension bottom plate is extended and connected to the upstream end of the extension bottom plate so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and a second support member is provided between the third extension bottom plate and the inner wall surface of the housing to support the third extension bottom plate.

8. A paper feeding device according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that a reinforcing member is provided on the sliding surface of the roller.

9. An image forming apparatus characterized by having a paper feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

Images