Sheet feeding device and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9561917-B2
Application number	US-201615041513-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 11, 2016
Priority date	Feb 19, 2015
Publication date	Feb 7, 2017
Grant date	Feb 7, 2017

Abstract

A sheet feeding device includes a lifting plate, a pickup roller, a lifting and lowering mechanism of the lifting plate and an end cursor. The end cursor has a cursor main body and a turning cursor plate. The turning cursor plate is coupled to the cursor main body turnably around a turning shaft extending in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction and slidably along a lifting and lowering direction of the lifting plate. The turning cursor plate is configured to be turned toward the downstream side in the conveying direction around the turning shaft by being pushed up with the lifting of the lifting plate while the turning shaft is moved upward so that the sheet is shifted toward the downstream side along an upper surface of the lifting plate with respect to the lifting plate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet feeding device comprising:
a lifting plate on which sheets are to be stacked, in a sheet feeding cartridge;
a pickup roller configured to feed the sheets in a conveying direction to a conveying path;
a lifting and lowering mechanism configured to turn the lifting plate with its upstream side end in the conveying direction as a turning point so as to lift and lower its downstream side end in the conveying direction with respect to the pickup roller; and
an end cursor configured to be movable along the conveying direction and to abut against an upstream side edge of the sheets in the conveying direction so as to align the sheets in the conveying direction,
wherein the end cursor includes:
a cursor main body; and
a turning cursor plate coupled to the cursor main body turnably around a turning shaft extending in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction and slidably along a lifting and lowering direction of the lifting plate, and

wherein the turning cursor plate is configured to be turned toward the downstream side end in the conveying direction around the turning shaft by being pushed up with the lifting of the lifting plate while the turning shaft is moved upward so that at least one of the sheets is shifted toward the downstream side end along an upper surface of the lifting plate with respect to the lifting plate,
wherein while the turning cursor plate is turned toward the downstream side end around the turning shaft by being pushed up with the lifting of the lifting plate, a lower end portion of the turning cursor plate moves in a downstream direction along the upper surface of the lifting plate so that the turning cursor plate is always kept in an upright standing posture perpendicular to the upper surface of the lifting plate.

2. The sheet feeding device according to claim 1 , wherein the cursor main body has:
an inclined guiding part provided on a lower portion of its downstream side surface, the inclined guiding part being inclined upward toward a downstream side, and
a pair of engaging grooves provided on both side surfaces in the width direction above the inclined guiding part, the pair of engaging grooves being inclined upward toward an upstream side, and
wherein the turning cursor plate has:
a pair of arm parts extending in a vertical direction and provided with a downstream side surface abutting against the upstream side edge of the sheets;
a connecting part configured to connect lower ends of the pair of arm parts and provided with a downstream side surface abutting against the upstream side edge of the of sheets and an upstream side surface abutting against the inclined guiding part, and
a pair of protrusion parts protruding outward in the width direction from the lower ends of the pair of arm parts, the pair of protrusion parts abutting on the upper surface of the lifting plate,

wherein the turning shaft includes a pair of turning shafts with each of the turning shafts protruding inward in the width direction from an upper end portion of one of the pair of arm parts and slidably engaging with one of the pair of engaging grooves, and
wherein when the lifting plate is lifted, the pair of protrusion parts are pushed up by the lifting plate,
the pair of turning shafts move upward along the engaging grooves while turning,
the connecting part is guided by the inclined guiding part while being turned around the pair of turning shafts, and
the pair of protrusion parts slide toward the downstream side end on the upper surface of the lifting plate so that the turning cursor plate shifts the at least one of the sheets toward the downstream side end with respect to the lifting plate.

3. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the lifting plate has a slit extending from the upstream side end toward the downstream side end, and
the pair of protrusion parts of the turning cursor plate abut on the upper surface of the lifting plate at both side edges in the width direction of the slit.

4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the downstream side surface of the connecting part and a bottom surface of each of the pair of protrusion parts are formed to be perpendicular to each other.

5. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2 ,
wherein an upstream side surface of the connecting part is formed into a sectional convex arc shape.

6. The sheet feeding device according to claim 2 ,
wherein the engaging grooves have a length larger than a maximum moving length of the pair of turning shafts and
wherein when the lifting plate is inclined at a maximum inclinable angle, the pair of turning shafts do not abut against upper end surfaces of the pair of engaging grooves.

7. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet feeding device according to claim 1 .

8. A sheet feeding device comprising:
a lifting plate on which sheets are to be stacked, in a sheet feeding cartridge;
a pickup roller configured to feed the sheets in a conveying direction to a conveying path;
a lifting and lowering mechanism configured to turn the lifting plate with its upstream side end in the conveying direction as a turning point so as to lift and lower its downstream side end in the conveying direction with respect to the pickup roller; and
an end cursor configured to be movable along the conveying direction and to abut against an upstream side edge of the sheets in the conveying direction so as to align the sheets in the conveying direction,
wherein the end cursor includes:
a cursor main body; and
a turning cursor plate coupled to the cursor main body turnably around a turning shaft extending in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction and slidably along a lifting and lowering direction of the lifting plate, and

wherein the turning cursor plate is configured to be turned toward the downstream side end in the conveying direction around the turning shaft by being pushed up with the lifting of the lifting plate while the turning shaft is moved upward so that at least one of the sheets is shifted toward the downstream side end along an upper surface of the lifting plate with respect to the lifting plate,
wherein a downstream side surface of the cursor main body and downstream side surface of the turning cursor plate are configured to be flush with each other and perpendicular to the upper surface of the lifting plate when the lifting plate is turned into a horizontal posture.

9. A sheet feeding device comprising:
a lifting plate on which sheets are to be stacked, in a sheet feeding cartridge;
a pickup rover configured to feed the sheets in a conveying direction to a conveying path;
a lifting and lowering mechanism configured to turn the lifting plate with its upstream side end in the conveying direction as a turning point so as to lift and lower its downstream side end in the conveying direction with respect to the pickup roller; and
an end cursor configured to be movable along the conveying direction and to abut against an upstream side edge of the sheets in the conveying direction so as to align the sheets in the conveying direction,
wherein the end cursor includes:
a cursor main body; and
a turning cursor plate coupled to the cursor main body turnably around a turning shaft extending in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction and slidably along a lifting and lowering direction of the lifting plate, and

wherein the turning cursor plate is configured to be turned toward the downstream side end in the conveying direction around the turning shaft by being pushed up with the lifting of the lifting plate while the turning shaft is moved upward and to abut against the upstream side edge of the sheets in the convey

Assignees

• Kyocera Document Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Morizono Koki
• Kawamoto Masuo

Classifications

• B65H2220/01

  indicating an entity as a function of which control, adjustment or change is performed, i.e. input · CPC title

• B65H2220/08

  for distinguishing changing an entity in function of another entity purely by mechanical means, i.e. no electronics involved · CPC title

• B65H2511/212

  Rotary position · CPC title

• B65H2511/22

  Distance · CPC title

• B65H2511/11

  Length · CPC title