US-12625455-B2 - Image forming apparatus

US12625455B2US 12625455 B2US12625455 B2US 12625455B2US-12625455-B2

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a device body having an opening, a cover body configured to move between open and closed positions to open and close the opening, a sheet conveyer, a first tray, a second tray disposed opposite to the sheet conveyer across the first tray when the cover body is at the open position, a third tray configured to move between a stowed position between the cover body and the second tray and a pulled-out position pulled away from the first tray, and two guide members configured to guide the first tray. The second tray has two first attachment holes. Each of the guide members has a second attachment hole. The first attachment holes overlap the second attachment holes, respectively. The second tray and each of the guide members are fixed to the cover body with a common fastening member inserted into the first and second attachment holes.

Inventors

Yurimi AMBE

Assignees

BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20250206
Priority Date: 20240326

Claims (10)

1 . An image forming apparatus, comprising: a device body having an opening; a cover body supported by the device body to be rotatable about a rotation axis and configured to move between an open position to open the opening and a closed position to close the opening by rotating about the rotation axis; a sheet conveyer provided in the device body; a first tray configured to support sheets to be fed to the sheet conveyer; a second tray supported by the cover body and disposed opposite to the sheet conveyer across the first tray when the cover body is at the open position; a third tray configured to move between a stowed position between the cover body and the second tray and a pulled-out position pulled away from the first tray relative to the stowed position; and two guide members supported by the cover body and provided on both sides in a direction of the rotation axis of the first tray and configured to guide the first tray, wherein: the second tray has two first attachment holes for fixing the second tray to the cover body at both ends in the direction of the rotation axis, each of the guide members has a second attachment hole for fixing the guide member to the cover body, the first attachment holes overlap the second attachment holes of the guide members, respectively, and the second tray and each of the guide members are fixed to the cover body with a common fastening member inserted into the first attachment hole and the second attachment hole.
2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: the second tray has a sheet guiding surface configured to guide the sheets and projecting pieces that project in the direction of the rotation axis from the sheet guiding surface, and the first attachment holes are formed to the projecting pieces.
3 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: a plurality of projections projecting downstream in a sheet feeding direction are formed at a downstream end of the second tray in the sheet feeding direction, the cover body has insertion holes into which the projections are to be inserted, and the first attachment holes are at an upstream end of the second tray in the sheet feeding direction.
4 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: a pull-out direction of the third tray from the stowed position toward the pulled-out position is inclined so that the third tray moves away from the cover body as the third tray is moved in a direction away from the first tray.
5 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the cover body has reinforcement ribs extending toward the third tray at the stowed position.
6 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the third tray at the stowed position is at a position forming a gap between a tip of the third tray and the device body when the cover body is at the closed position.
7 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: the sheet conveyer includes a sheet feeding roller, a separation roller, and a separation pad, the image forming apparatus comprises an elevating mechanism that moves the first tray between a proximity position close to the sheet feeding roller and a separated position away from the sheet feeding roller than the proximity position, and when the cover body is at the open position and the first tray is at the separated position, at least a portion of a lower end of a second tray side end of the first tray is closer to the cover body than an upper end of a first tray side end of the second tray.
8 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: the sheet conveyer includes a sheet feeding roller, a separation roller, and a separation pad, and the image forming apparatus comprises: an elevating mechanism that moves the first tray between a proximity position close to the sheet feeding roller and a separated position away from the sheet feeding roller than the proximity position; and a restricting mechanism including an engaging part provided to one of the guide members and extending toward the first tray, and an engaged part provided to the first tray in the direction of the rotation axis and extending toward the one of the guide members, the engaging part and the engaged part engaging with each other when the cover body is at the closed position and restricting the first tray from moving to the proximity position.
9 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein: when the cover body is at the open position, the engaging part is disengaged from the engaged part, and the engaging part and the engaged part engage in the process of the cover body moving from the open position to the closed position.
10 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the first tray moves along the sheet feeding direction with respect to the cover body by being guided by the guide members as the cover body moves between the open position and the closed position.

Description

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-050568 filed on Mar. 26, 2024. The entire content of the priority application is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND ART The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus. There is known an image forming apparatus including a sheet tray that supports sheets to be fed to a sheet conveyer and a tray cover that supports the sheet tray. In the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, the tray cover has a cover body, a pair of ribs, a cover plate, and a pair of link rails. The cover body, the pair of ribs, the cover plate, and the link rails are integrally molded. SUMMARY In addition to the above parts, other parts such as ribs for reinforcement are also integrally molded with the tray cover, making the structure of the tray cover complex and making it difficult to mold the tray cover by injection molding. Furthermore, if the cover body and the other parts such as the pair of ribs, the cover plate, and the pair of link rails are formed as separate parts, the number of parts to be assembled to form the tray cover increases, making it difficult to assemble the tray cover. At least one aspect of the present disclosure is advantageous to provide an image forming apparatus that can improve easiness of the assembly of the tray cover. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an image forming apparatus including a device body having an opening, a cover body supported by the device body to be rotatable about a rotation axis and configured to move between an open position to open the opening and a closed position to close the opening by rotating about the rotation axis, a sheet conveyer provided in the device body, a first tray configured to support sheets to be fed to the sheet conveyer, a second tray supported by the cover body and disposed opposite to the sheet conveyer across the first tray when the cover body is at the open position, a third tray configured to move between a stowed position between the cover body and the second tray and a pulled-out position pulled away from the first tray relative to the stowed position, and two guide members supported by the cover body and provided on both sides in a direction of the rotation axis of the first tray and configured to guide the first tray. The second tray has two first attachment holes for fixing the second tray to the cover body at both ends in the direction of the rotation axis. Each of the guide members has a second attachment hole for fixing the guide member to the cover body. The first attachment holes overlap the second attachment holes of the guide members, respectively. The second tray and each of the guide members are fixed to the cover body with a common fastening member inserted into the first attachment hole and the second attachment hole. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a central cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a device body of the image forming apparatus viewed from the front left in a state where an MP tray cover is at an open position. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the device body of the image forming apparatus viewed from the front right in a state where the MP tray cover is at the open position. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the device body of the image forming apparatus in a state where the MP tray cover is at the open position. FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of the device body in a state where the MP tray cover is at the open position. FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a first guide member. FIG. 7B is a plan view of the first guide member. FIG. 8A is a perspective view of a second guide member. FIG. 8B is a plan view of the second guide member. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an extension cover. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the MP tray cover. FIG. 11 is a rear view of the MP tray cover. FIG. 12 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state where the guide member and the extension cover are screwed together and fixed to the MP tray cover with a single screw. FIG. 13 is a side cross-sectional view showing a sheet tray in a state where the MP tray cover is at the open position and the extension tray is at a stowed position. FIG. 14 is a side cross-sectional view showing the sheet tray in a state where the MP tray cover is at the open position and the extension tray is at a pulled-out position. FIG. 15 is a side cross-sectional view showing the sheet tray in a state where the MP tray cover is at the closed position. FIG. 16 is a side cross-sectional view showing the sheet tray in a state where the MP tray cover is at the open position and an MP tray is moved to a proximity position by an elevating mechanism. FIG. 17 is a side cross-sectional view showing the sheet tray in a state where the MP tray cover is at the open position and the MP tray is moved to a se