Document feeding, image reading, and image forming apparatus including slidable document supporting tray that pivots up from a second position and moves obliquely downward

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12149661-B2
Application number	US-202318500277-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 2, 2023
Priority date	May 13, 2022
Publication date	Nov 19, 2024
Grant date	Nov 19, 2024

Abstract

A document supporting portion includes a first supporting portion and a second supporting portion. The first supporting portion has a first supporting surface that supports a document. The second supporting portion has a second supporting surface that supports the document together with the first supporting surface and provided so as to be slidable between a first position at which the second supporting portion located above the first supporting portion and a second position at which the second supporting surface supports the document together with the first supporting surface. In a state where the second supporting portion is located at the first position, the second supporting surface constitutes a portion of an upper surface of the document feeding apparatus.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A document feeding apparatus comprising:
a document supporting tray including a first supporting tray configured to support a document, and a second supporting tray configured to support the document together with the first supporting tray and provided so as to be movable between a first position at which the second supporting tray is located above the first supporting tray and a second position at which the second supporting tray supports the document together with the first supporting tray; and
a document feeding roller configured to feed the document supported by the document supporting tray in a feeding direction,
wherein when the second supporting tray moves from the first position to the second position, the second supporting tray is configured to slide from the first position to an upstream side in the feeding direction, pivot to be more inclined with respect to a horizontal direction than when it is at the first position, and then move obliquely downward.

2. The document feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a document discharge portion configured to discharge the document fed by the document feeding roller; and
a document stacking portion that is provided below the document supporting tray and on which the document discharged from the document discharge portion is stacked,
wherein the document stacking portion includes an extension stacking portion configured to be drawn out from a casing of the document feeding apparatus in a direction in which the second supporting tray moves from the first position to the second position.

3. The document feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
a slide movement supporting portion slidably supporting the second supporting tray, the slide movement supporting portion including a first engagement portion provided at both ends of the second supporting tray with respect to a width direction orthogonal to a direction in which the document feeding roller feeds the document, and a second engagement portion provided in a casing of the document feeding apparatus and engageable with the first engagement portion.

4. The document feeding apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the first engagement portion is a projection protruding toward the second engagement portion, and
the second engagement portion is a recess that is engaged with the projection to slidably guide the second supporting tray.

5. The document feeding apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
the second supporting tray is inclined at the second position in such a manner that the second supporting tray is positioned upward as it goes to the upstream side in the feeding direction in a state where the second supporting tray is positioned, and
the slide movement supporting portion includes a holding portion configured to hold the second supporting tray in an inclined state at the second position.

6. The document feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
an urging portion configured to apply an urging force to the second supporting tray in a direction opposite to a moving direction in a case where the second supporting tray moves from the first position to the second position.

7. The document feeding apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the urging portion includes:
an abutting portion provided on one of a casing of the document feeding apparatus and the second supporting tray; and
an abutted portion provided on the other of the casing of the document feeding apparatus and the second supporting tray, abutting on the abutting portion in a state where the second supporting tray is located at a predetermined position between the first position and the second position, and not abutting on the abutting portion in a state where the second supporting tray is located closer to the second position than the predetermined position.

8. The document feeding apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the abutted portion does not abut on the abutting portion in a state where the second supporting tray is located at the first position.

9. The document feeding apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
an operation panel configured to receive an operation by an operator, wherein
the document feeding roller feeds a document in a direction from an apparatus front side, which is a front side of the document feeding apparatus provided with the operation panel, toward an apparatus rear side, which is a rear side of the document feeding apparatus, and
a direction in which the second supporting tray moves from the first position to the second position is a direction from the apparatus rear side toward the apparatus front side.

10. An image reading apparatus comprising:
a document supporting tray including a first supporting tray configured to support a document, and a second supporting tray configured to support the document together with the first supporting tray and provided so as to be movable between a first position at which the second supporting tray is located above the first supporting portion-tray and a second position at which the second supporting tray supports the document together with the first supporting tray;
a document feeding roller configured to feed a document supported by the document supporting tray in a feeding direction; and
an image reading sensor configured to read an image on a document fed by the document feeding roller,
wherein when the second supporting tray moves from the first position to the second position, the second supporting tray is configured to slide from the first position to an upstream side in the feeding direction, pivot to be more inclined with respect to a horizontal direction than when it is at the first position, and then move obliquely downward.

11. An image forming apparatus comprising:
a document supporting tray including a first supporting tray configured to support a document, and a second supporting tray configured to support the document together with the first supporting tray and provided so as to be movable between a first position at which the second supporting tray located above the first supporting portion-tray and a second position at which the second supporting tray supports the document together with the first supporting tray;
a document feeding roller configured to feed a document supported by the document supporting tray in a feeding direction;
an image reading sensor configured to read an image on a document fed by the document feeding portion roller; and
an image former configured to form an image on a sheet based on the image on the document read by the image reading sensor,
wherein when the second supporting tray moves from the first position to the second position, the second supporting tray is configured to slide from the first position to an upstream side in the feeding direction, pivot to be more inclined with respect to a horizontal direction than when it is at the first position, and then move obliquely downward.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11 , further comprising
a sheet discharge portion configured to discharge a sheet on which an image is formed by the image former in a sheet discharge direction from an apparatus rear side toward an apparatus front side,
wherein a direction in which the second supporting tray moves from the first position to the second position is a direction from the apparatus rear side toward the apparatus front side.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11 , further comprising
a sheet discharge portion configured to discharge a sheet on which an image is formed by the image former in a sheet discharge direction from an apparatus

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Ono Takahiro
• Fukushima Takayuki
• Matsuo Kazuki
• Yasuda Yuya
• Tachibana Takuma
• Mitamura Akiyuki
• Matsumoto Akira
• Urita Akira
• Hishinuma Norikazu
• Nakamura Takatsugu
• Hashimoto Yu

Classifications

• H04N1/00533

  using slidably mounted components, e.g. reader in drawer · CPC title

• H04N1/0053

  Discharge tray in cover · CPC title

• H04N1/00615

  Guiding elements, e.g. plates · CPC title

• H04N1/00525

  Providing a more compact apparatus, e.g. sheet discharge tray in cover · CPC title

• H04N2201/0094

  Multifunctional device, i.e. a device capable of all of reading, reproducing, copying, facsimile transception, file transception · CPC title