Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Shunsuke Okazaki

Akira Matsushima

Kenji Watanabe

Yohei Suzuki

Yasuhiro Uchida

Motohiro Furusawa

Minoru Kawanishi

Yasuhito Fujinuma

Masato Hisano

Ryuji Hamasaki

Hideto Chino

Masatoshi Yoshida

Yasuaki Matsumoto

Hirofumi Hori

Ichiro Fukada

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet supporting portion movable between a sheet supporting position and a first storage position. A sheet feed unit includes a sheet feed portion to feed the supported sheet, and an abutment member regulates movement of the sheet in a sheet feed direction by abutting against a downstream end of the sheet. An engagement member turns into an engagement state and a release state. The sheet feed unit is positioned in a sheet feed position or a waiting position and is exposed to an outside of the sheet feeding apparatus when the sheet supporting portion is in the sheet supporting position. The sheet supporting portion includes a pressing portion to turn the engagement member from the engagement state to the release state by pressing the engagement member when the sheet supporting portion moves from the sheet supporting position to the first storage position.

Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus

A sheet conveyance apparatus includes an apparatus body including a conveyance assembly to convey a sheet, and a door pivotally supported around a pivot axis disposed in a lower portion of the apparatus body such that the door is opened and closed with respect to the apparatus body. The apparatus body includes a handle assembly including a first holder used to lift the apparatus body and is disposed inside a width of the door in an axis direction of the pivot axis. The handle assembly includes a first engaging section and a second engaging section disposed on the pivot axis, wherein the door includes a first engaged section to engage with the first engaging section and a second engaged section to engage with the second engaging section. The door is pivotably supported around the first engaging section and the second engaging section with respect to the handle assembly.

Sheet conveyance apparatus, sheet support apparatus, and image forming apparatus

A sheet feeding apparatus includes an urging mechanism configured to urge a holding member such that a feeding member is brought into contact with an upper surface of a sheet loaded on a sheet loading member by the holding member. The urging mechanism includes a swinging member, a pressing member, and an urging member. The urging mechanism is configured to urge the holding member such that (i) a force by which the feeding member presses an upper surface of a sheet in a first state in which a distance between a loading surface and the feeding member is a first distance is larger than (ii) a force by which the feeding member presses an upper surface of a sheet in a second state in which the distance between the loading surface and the feeding member is a second distance longer than the first distance.

A driving force transmission device includes a drive gear, a driven gear, which includes a gear portion and a partially toothless gear portion, rotates by the gear portion meshing with the drive gear, stops rotating in response to the partially toothless gear portion facing the drive gear, a first cam member and a second cam member which operate in conjunction with the driven gear, a first elastic member for urging the first cam member, a follower member to which urging force is applied by a second elastic member and which is moved by the second cam member, and a contact portion for coming into contact with the first cam member by urging force of the first elastic member. The first cam member includes a home cam surface for coming into contact with the contact portion so that rotation of the driven gear is limited.

Driving force transmission device and image forming apparatus

A sheet feeding apparatus includes an apparatus body, an opening/closing member supported on the apparatus body, a sheet support supported on the opening/closing member, and a rotary feeding member provided on the apparatus body to feed the sheet supported on the sheet support in a feeding direction. A first engagement member is provided in the apparatus body, and a second engagement member is provided on a downstream end portion of the sheet support in the feeding direction and engages with the first engagement member in a vertical direction that intersects an axial direction of the rotary feeding member when the opening/closing member is positioned at the open position. The rotary feeding member is lowered toward the sheet supported on the sheet support in a case where the opening/closing member is positioned at the open position.

A sheet supporting apparatus includes a positioning device to position a regulating portion to a sheet support. The positioning device includes a first group of teeth provided on the sheet support, a second group of teeth disposed at a position different from the first group of teeth provided on the sheet support, a third group of teeth provided on a regulator and capable of transiting to a first state of engaging with the first group of teeth and to a second state of engaging with less area of the first group of teeth than that in the first state, and a fourth group of teeth provided on the regulator and capable of transiting to a third state of engaging with the second group of teeth and to a fourth state of engaging with less area of the second group of teeth than that in the third state.

Sheet supporting apparatus and image forming apparatus

A sheet conveying apparatus includes a rotation member unit, a supporting shaft and a moving shaft to support the rotation member unit, a locking unit to lock the moving shaft, and an engaged portion. The rotation member unit includes an engaging portion and a sheet conveyance rotation member held by the engaging portion. When the moving shaft is at a first position, the moving shaft and the supporting shaft support the rotation member unit. When the moving shaft is moved away from the supporting shaft to a second position at which the rotation member unit is not supported by the supporting shaft, the moving shaft is locked at the second position by the locking unit after moving from the first position to the second position, and the rotation member unit is held by the engaged portion in a state in which the engaging portion engages with the engaged portion.

Sheet conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus provided with the sheet conveying apparatus

A sheet conveying apparatus includes a rotation member unit, a supporting shaft, and a moving shaft to detach the rotation member unit supported by the supporting shaft and the moving shaft. The rotation member unit includes a conveyance rotation member to convey a sheet, and a holding member including an engaging portion to engage with an engaged portion provided to a sheet conveying apparatus main body in a direction perpendicular to the supporting shaft axial direction. The supporting shaft supports one end side of the rotation member unit in the axial direction and the moving shaft supports another end side of the rotation member unit in the axial direction and moves in the axial direction. When the engaging portion engages with the engaged portion when the rotation member unit is not supported by the supporting shaft and the moving shaft, the rotation member unit is held by the engaged portion.

Sheet conveying apparatus, method for detaching rotation member unit from the sheet conveying apparatus, and image forming apparatus provided with the sheet conveying apparatus

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet presence/absence detection sensor configured to detect presence or absence of a sheet on a stacking device, a sheet surface detection sensor configured to detect that a stacking tray is raised to enable a sheet to be fed, a separation cam, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to determine that the mounting state of a feeding holder to a holder support unit is defective when the sheet surface detection sensor detects that the sheet can be fed when the sheet presence/absence detection sensor detects absence of a sheet before sheet feeding processing by a pickup roller.

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet support portion to support a sheet, an ascending portion to raise the sheet support portion, a feeding portion to feed the sheet, a moving portion to move the feeding portion between a separated position and a feeding position, a holding portion to move between a holding position and an allowing position, a drive source, and a transmission unit including a first transmission portion to transmit the driving force to the ascending portion and a second transmission portion to transmit the driving force to the holding portion.

A sheet supporting apparatus includes a sheet supporting portion, a regulation member, a flag portion, a detection portion, and a holding portion con. At the holding position, the holding portion supports the flag portion at the upper position in a case where the sheet supporting portion is positioned at the first position, and, at the allowing position, the holding portion allows movement of the flag portion to the lower position in a case where the sheet supporting portion is positioned at the second position. A lower end of the flag portion is positioned above the regulation surface in a case where the flag portion is positioned at the upper position, and is positioned below the regulation surface in a case where the flag portion is positioned at the lower position.

A sheet supporting apparatus includes a body, a supporting portion configured to be held in an elevating manner by the body and to support a sheet, a sheet regulation portion regulating a position of the sheet supported on the supporting portion, a movement portion capable of moving between a first position where the sheet regulation portion regulates the position of the sheet supported on the supporting portion, and a second position where the supporting portion is regulated from elevating with respect to the body, and a movement regulation unit regulating the movement portion from moving to the second position.

The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that can facilitate a replacement of a sheet feeding portion. When a detecting portion detects that a sheet feeding cassette is mounted, a controller controls a driving portion in such a manner as to lift a sheet supporting plate for the mounted sheet feeding cassette. When the detecting portion detects that a sheet feeding cassette is mounted, the controller controls a driving portion in such a manner as not to lift a sheet supporting plate for the mounted sheet feeding cassette in the case where it is determined that a sheet feeding cassette nearest a feeding roller of the mounted sheet feeding cassette is drawn or detached.

Growing community of inventors

Mishima, Japan

Shunsuke Okazaki