Patent Publication Number: US-2023141061-A1

Title: Image forming apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     This disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile, or an integrated machine. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     In an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile, or an integrated machine, an operation panel including a touch panel operable by a user at the time of operating the image forming apparatus is disposed. So as to improve the readability of the touch panel, the operation panel is disposed such that the whole of the operation panel is pivotable with respect to the image forming apparatus so as to make it possible to change an angle of the operation panel (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2021-157201). In the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2021-157201, a pivot shaft of the operation panel is disposed at the center with respect to a short direction of the operation panel. 
     Recently, so as to improve the readability and operability of the user, it is requested to increase the size of a display disposed in the operation panel. On the other hand, the whole of the image forming apparatus is requested to be compact. So as to satisfy these requests, it is conceivable that the operation panel is disposed such that a part of the operation panel overlaps a sheet discharge tray in a left-right direction (width direction) of the image forming apparatus. However, in a case of the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2021-157201 described above, it is difficult to apply the above-mentioned configuration where the operating panel overlaps the sheet discharge tray. This is because there is the possibility that, in the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2021-157201, in a case where the operation panel pivots, the part of the operation panel enters into a loading space of a sheet discharged onto the sheet discharge tray and, accordingly, decreases a loading amount of the sheet discharged onto the sheet discharge tray. 
     In view of the above-mentioned problem, the purpose of this disclosure is, in the configuration where the part of the operation panel overlaps the sheet discharge tray in the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus, to provide the image forming apparatus that is capable of suppressing the decrease in the loading capacity of the sheet discharge tray. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to a first aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit configured to form an image on a recording material, a casing accommodating the image forming unit, the casing having a space portion provided at an upper side of the casing and exposing to an outside of the casing, a document reading unit disposed above the space portion in a vertical direction, the document reading unit including a document stand configured to support a document and an image reading unit configured to read an image of the document supported on the document stand, a sheet discharge unit configured to discharge a recording material on which an image is formed by the image forming unit from an inside of the casing to the space portion, a sheet supporting portion disposed at a bottom portion of the space portion and configured to support a recording material discharged by the sheet discharge unit, an operation unit disposed above the casing in the vertical direction and downstream of the document reading unit in a sheet discharge direction of a recording material discharged by the sheet discharge unit, the operation unit including a display surface, and a supporting unit rotatably supporting the operation unit with respect to the casing. If a region which a plurality of the recording material occupies in a case where a maximum number of a maximum size of a recording material supportable on the sheet supporting portion is supported is defined as an occupied region, the operation unit is disposed such that a part of the operation unit in a width direction intersecting with the vertical direction and the sheet discharge direction overlaps the occupied region when viewed in the vertical direction. The supporting unit is configured to rotatably support the operation unit between a first position and a second position, the second position being a position where a tilt angle of the display surface with respect to a horizontal direction is larger than a tilt angle in the first position. A rotational axis around which the supporting unit rotatably supports the operation unit is positioned downstream of a center of the operation unit in the sheet discharge direction and downstream of the document reading unit in the sheet discharge direction. The supporting unit supports the operation unit such that, in a case where the operation unit is positioned in the second position, a lower end of the operation unit is positioned above the occupied region in the vertical direction. 
     Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus of this embodiment. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view showing the image forming apparatus in a state where a document stand is opened. 
         FIG.  3    is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of the image forming apparatus. 
         FIG.  4    is a side view showing the image forming apparatus. 
         FIG.  5    is a front view showing the image forming apparatus. 
         FIG.  6    is a side view showing, in an enlarged manner, an operation unit in an elevated surface position. 
         FIG.  7    is a side view showing, in an enlarged manner, the operation unit in a substantially horizontal position. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     Image Forming Apparatus 
     Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described. First, using  FIGS.  1  and  2   , an overview of an image forming apparatus of this embodiment will be described. As shown in  FIG.  1   , the image forming apparatus  1  of this embodiment is the image forming apparatus of a so-called in-body discharge type, and, when roughly divided, includes a casing  1 A, a document reading unit  200 , and an operation unit  4 . The document reading unit  200  is disposed on the top of the casing  1 A, and a sheet discharge opening portion  5 , serving as a space portion for discharging a recording material from the casing  1 A, is formed between the casing  1 A and the document reading unit  200 . That is, the sheet discharge opening portion  5  is provided at an upper side of the casing  1 A and exposing to an outside of the casing  1 A. Inside of the space of the sheet discharge opening portion  5 , a sheet discharge tray  51 , serving as a sheet supporting portion for loading the recording material discharged from the inside of the casing  1 A is disposed on an upper surface of the casing  1 A. That is, the sheet discharge tray  51  is provided at a bottom portion of the sheet discharge opening portion  5 . In the image forming apparatus  1  of this embodiment, the recording material on which an image has been formed is discharged from the inside of the casing  1 A to the sheet discharge tray  51  in a sheet discharge direction from a back face (back) side toward a front face (front) side. Further, the operation unit  4  is disposed on the front face side of the casing  1 A. 
     To be noted, in this description, a side on which a user stands at the time of operating the operation unit  4  so as to operate the image forming apparatus  1  is referred to as the front face (or front), and the opposite side is referred to as the back face (or back). Further, a right side when viewed from the front face is referred to as right, and a left side when viewed from the front face is referred to as left. Further, an upper side when viewed from the front face is referred to as “upper”, and a lower side when viewed from the front face is referred to as “lower”. Therefore, in a case of the embodiment shown in  FIG.  1   , when viewed from the front face, the operation unit  4  is disposed on the right side from the center in the upper side of the casing  1 A. 
     While illustrations are omitted, the casing  1 A includes, for example, a left side plate and a right side plate disposed on the left and right sides so as to support each unit and a plurality of sheet metals, such as a stay coupling these left and right side plates to each other, and an outer circumference of the casing  1 A is covered by an exterior cover configuring the appearance of the image forming apparatus  1 . The casing  1 A includes a front cover  81  and a cassette cover  84  on the front face side as the exterior cover. As shown in  FIG.  1   , the front cover  81  is disposed on the upper side of the cassette cover  84  in the vertical direction. Further, side face covers  82  are disposed on both sides in a width direction (left-right) as the exterior cover, and a back face cover  83  is disposed on the back face. The front cover  81  is disposed detachably from the casing  1 A, and the cassette cover  84  is provided to a cassette  40  (refer to  FIG.  3   ), described below, and is disposed in a manner withdrawable, integrally with the cassette  40 , from the casing  1 A toward the front face. 
     The document reading unit  200  will be described. As shown in  FIG.  2   , the document reading unit  200  includes a document conveying unit  201  and an image reading unit  202 . By swinging from a swing portion  203 , the front face side of the document conveying unit  201  is openable with respect to the image reading unit  202 . A user can load a document containing the image, which is desired for reading, on the document conveying unit  201 . In a closed state shown in  FIG.  1   , the document conveying unit  201  can automatically convey the document to the image reading unit  202  one sheet at a time. The image reading unit  202  includes a flat document stand  204  and a reading sensor, not shown, and reads the image of the document placed on the document stand  204  one sheet at a time by the reading sensor, not shown. To be noted, the user can place the document on the document stand  204  in a state where the document conveying unit  201  is opened, and, by closing the document conveying unit  201  with the document placed on the document stand  204 , can also allow the reading sensor to read the image of the document. 
     Next, a configuration of the image forming apparatus  1  relating to image formation will be described using  FIG.  3   . As shown in  FIG.  3   , the image forming apparatus  1  of this embodiment is a full color printer of an electrophotographic system including image forming units Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black along an intermediate transfer belt  15 . The image forming apparatus  1  receives image information from the document reading unit  200  described above or an external apparatus, not shown, such as a personal computer, and forms a toner image on a recording material P based on the received image information. The recording material P includes various kinds of sheet materials which includes paper such as standard paper, cardboard, rough paper, uneven paper, and coated paper, a plastic film, cloth, and the like. 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , in this embodiment, an intermediate transfer unit  60  is disposed under the image forming units Pa to Pd. The intermediate transfer unit  60  is configured such that an endless intermediate transfer belt  15  is moved in an arrow R 1  direction by being stretched over a plurality of rollers  31 ,  32 , and  33 . A secondary transfer outer roller  16  is disposed in a position facing the roller  31  stretching the intermediate transfer belt  15  across the intermediate transfer belt  15 , and forms a secondary transfer nip portion N 2  for transferring the toner image borne on the intermediate transfer belt  15  onto the recording material P. The secondary transfer nip portion N 2  is a nip portion formed by the roller  31  and the secondary transfer outer roller  16 , and, for example, the toner image is transferred onto the recording material P in response to the application of a secondary transfer voltage from a power source, not shown, to the secondary transfer outer roller  16 . 
     A process to form, for example, a full color image of four colors by the image forming apparatus  1  will be described. However, the four image forming units Pa to Pd included in the image forming apparatus  1  are substantially the same in a configuration except for differences in developing colors. Therefore, the image forming unit Pd of black will be described as a representative, and descriptions of the other image forming units Pa to Pc will be omitted herein. 
     The image forming unit Pd includes a photosensitive drum  10   d,  serving as a photosensitive member. The photosensitive drum  10   d  is rotatably driven in an arrow R 2  direction by a drum driving motor, not shown. A charge unit  11   d,  a developing unit  12   d,  a primary transfer roller  14   d,  and a cleaning unit  13   d  are disposed around this photosensitive drum  10   d.    
     When an image forming operation has started, at first, a surface of the rotating photosensitive drum  10   d  is uniformly charged by the charge unit  11   d.  Next, the surface of the charged photosensitive drum  10   d  is exposed by a laser beam Ld irradiated from an exposing unit  2  corresponding to an image signal. Thereby, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image signal is formed on the photosensitive drum  10   d.  The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum  10   d  is developed to the toner image with the developer stored inside of the developing unit  12   d.  In a case of this embodiment, one single exposing unit  2  is disposed above the image forming units Pa to Pd, and a plurality of photosensitive drums  10   a  to  10   d  are exposed only by the one single exposing unit  2 . That is, the one single exposing unit  2  is shared by the image forming units Pa to Pd for exposure. 
     The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum  10   d  is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt  15  in a primary transfer nip portion N 1   d  formed with the primary transfer roller  14   d  disposed across the intermediate transfer belt  15 . At this time, a primary transfer voltage is applied from a power source, not shown, to the primary transfer roller  14   d.  The intermediate transfer belt  15  bears and conveys the toner image transferred from the photosensitive drum  10   d.  To be noted, an adhering matter such as a toner remained on the surface of the photosensitive drum  10   d  after the primary transfer is collected by the cleaning unit  13   d.    
     The image forming units Pa to Pd of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black perform these operations in sequence, and superimpose the toner images of the four colors on the intermediate transfer belt  15 . Thereafter, the recording material P stored in the cassette  40  is conveyed to the secondary transfer nip portion N 2  in the timing synchronizing with the formation of the toner image. 
     The cassette  40  is disposed in the lower side of the casing  1 A, and is capable of storing a large number of sheets of the recording material P. A sheet feed roller  901  feeds the recording material P from the cassette  40  toward a registration roller  902  one sheet at a time. The registration roller  902  corrects the skew of the recording material P, and conveys the recording material P to the secondary transfer nip portion N 2  synchronously with the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt  15 . Then, in response to the application of the secondary transfer voltage from a power source, not shown, to the secondary transfer outer roller  16 , the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt  15  is secondarily transferred onto the recording material P. 
     The recording material P onto which the toner image has been secondarily transferred is conveyed to a fixing unit  50 . The fixing unit  50 , while conveying the recording material P, heats and presses the recording material P, and fixes the toner image on the recording material P. The recording material P on which the toner image has been fixed by the fixing unit  50  is conveyed upward (i.e., vertical conveyance), and, by being discharged toward the front face from the inside of the casing  1 A to the outside by a sheet discharge unit  70 , is loaded on the sheet discharge tray  51  (refer to  FIG.  1   ). The sheet discharge unit  70  includes a first roller  71  and a second roller  72 , and the first and second rollers  71  and  72  form a sheet discharge nip portion N 3  capable of nipping and conveying the recording material P by coming into contact with each other. 
     To be noted, in this embodiment, the image forming units Pa to Pd, the intermediate transfer unit  60 , the secondary transfer outer roller  16 , and the like are included in an image formation unit  300  which forms the toner image on the recording material P. Further, the exposing unit  2 , the image formation unit  300 , the fixing unit  50 , the sheet feed roller  901 , the registration roller  902 , the sheet discharge unit  70 , and the cassette  40  described above are housed inside of the casing  1 A (refer to  FIG.  1   ). Operation Unit 
     Next, with reference to  FIG.  1   , the operation unit  4  will be described using  FIGS.  4  to  7   . As understood by referring to  FIG.  1   , the operation unit  4  which the user operates for operating the image forming apparatus  1  is disposed on the casing  1 A in a manner capable of facing the front face. The operation unit  4  includes a large size display  41  (for example, a 3 to 6 inches liquid crystal monitor and the like) and an input unit  42  in which the size of a button, a switch, and the like is enlarged for improving the operability of the user. To be noted, it is acceptable to use a touch panel, which allows an operation similar to the input unit  42 , such as, for example, the input of an image forming job and the selection of the recording material P, in response to a touch operation of the user on a screen, as the display  41 . 
     The operation unit  4  is disposed on the casing  1 A in such a manner that it is possible to variably tilt and adjust an orientation of a display surface of the display  41  vertically around an axis in the left-right direction (a width direction intersecting with the vertical direction and the sheet discharge direction of the recording material P). The operation unit  4  is disposed in a manner pivotable to an arbitrary tilt angle (for example, zero to forty degrees) with respect to the horizontal direction so as to meet a sight line height of a broad range of users, for example, from a tall user to a user sitting in a wheelchair.  FIG.  1    shows a case where the operation unit  4  is in an elevated surface position by being pivoted to a maximum tilt angle, and  FIG.  2    shows a case where the operation unit  4  is a case where the operation unit  4  is in a substantially horizontal position by being pivoted to a minimum tilt angle. To be noted, in this description, using the horizontal direction, which is zero degree, as a reference, the substantially horizontal position of the operation unit  4  includes a state where the operation unit  4  substantially tilts within five degrees from the horizontal direction (that is, −5 degrees to +5 degrees). 
     Supporting Unit 
     In a case where the user adjusts the angle of the operation unit  4  in accordance with the sight line height within a range from the minimum tilt angle of zero degree to the maximum tilt angle of forty degrees, the user can grasp and pivot the operation unit  4 . So as to make it possible to perform such an operation, as shown in  FIG.  4   , the operation unit  4  is supported by a supporting unit  90  whose angle is freely adjustable. The operation unit  4  is pivotably supported by the supporting unit  90  at a position downstream of the center (shown by a dotted line Q in  FIG.  4   ) in the sheet discharge direction with respect to a short direction (front-back direction shown in  FIG.  7   ) of the operation unit  4 . 
     The supporting unit  90  includes a fixing portion  93  fixed to the casing  1 A and a pivot holding portion  92  pivotably holding the operation unit  4 . The pivot holding portion  92  is provided to the fixing portion  93 . The operation unit  4  is rotatably provided to the casing  1 A via the fixing portion  93  and the pivot holding portion  92 . While an illustration is omitted, a free stop hinge holding the pivot holding portion  92  at an arbitrary angle by friction is disposed in the pivot holding portion  92 . While there are several types of the free stop hinges, for example, a pipe type in which a metallic shaft is press fitted into a resin pipe is acceptable. The supporting unit  90  pivotably support the operation unit  4  by changing the angle of the display surface of the display  41  in the vertical direction between a first position (substantially horizontal position), where the angle of the display surface of the display  41  becomes the minimum tilt angle with respect to the horizontal direction, and a second position (elevated surface position), where the angle of the display surface of the display  41  becomes the maximum tilt angle with respect to the horizontal direction. 
     Disposition of Operation Unit 
     Next, a disposition of the operation unit  4  will be described. First, the disposition of the operation unit  4  in the left-right direction will be described using  FIG.  5   .  FIG.  5    is a front view showing the image forming apparatus  1 .  FIG.  5    is for describing the disposition of the operation unit  4  in the left-right direction, and the operation unit  4  is in the substantially horizontal position. 
     As described above, the sheet discharge opening portion  5  is formed on the upper portion of the casing  1 A and opens to the front face of the image forming apparatus  1 , and the sheet discharge tray  51  is disposed in this sheet discharge opening portion  5 . As shown in  FIG.  5   , the user can retrieve the recording material P loaded on the sheet discharge tray  51  from the space of the sheet discharge opening portion  5  surrounded by the document reading unit  200  (in particular, the image reading unit  202 ), the casing  1 A, and the sheet discharge tray  51 . Here, there is a sheet loading space  53  serving as an occupied region in the sheet discharge opening portion  5 . In this description, the sheet loading space  53  is a space which the loaded recording material P occupies in a case where a maximum number of a maximum size of the recording material P loadable on the sheet discharge tray  51  is loaded. Therefore, the space of the sheet loading space  53  occupying the space of sheet discharge opening portion  5  is determined by a maximum width of a conveyable recording material P and a loadable height of the sheet discharge tray  51 . The size of the sheet loading space  53  is, for example, 210 mm in width, 23 mm in height, and a maximum number of sheets loadable in case of A4 size standard paper is 100 sheets. 
     In this embodiment, for achieving the miniaturization of the image forming apparatus  1  in the left-right direction, as shown in  FIG.  5   , the operation unit  4  is disposed so as not to project from a wall surface of the side face cover  82  on the right side. That is, the operation unit  4  is positioned inside of both sides of the casing  1 A in the width direction. However, in such a case, since the operation unit  4  is formed in a large size such that the left-right direction becomes a longitudinal direction, part (called as a projection portion  54 ) of the operation unit  4  overlaps a space H of the sheet loading space  53  in the left-right direction. However, in a case where the projection portion  54  of the operation unit  4  overlaps the space H of the sheet loading space  53  in the left-right direction, it is not desirable that the discharge of the recording material P is prevented by an abutment of the recording material P discharged by the sheet discharge unit  70  onto the projection portion  54 . 
     Therefore, in this embodiment, the disposition of the operation unit  4  in the front-back direction is determined such that the discharged recording material P does not abut onto the projection portion  54 . The supporting unit  90  is disposed so as not to overlap the space H of the sheet loading space  53  in the left-right direction. Descriptions are as follows. 
     The disposition of the operation unit  4  in the front-back direction and the vertical direction will be described using  FIGS.  6  and  7   .  FIGS.  6  and  7    are side views showing, in an enlarged manner, the operation unit  4  for describing the disposition of the operation unit  4  in the front-back direction and the vertical direction.  FIG.  6    shows the case where the operation unit  4  is in the elevated surface position, and  FIG.  7    shows the case where the operation unit  4  is in the substantially horizontal position. 
     As shown in  FIG.  6   , the supporting unit  90  is disposed such that a pivot axis  92   a,  serving as a rotational axis, of the pivot holding portion  92  is positioned downstream (front direction) of the document reading unit  200  with respect to the sheet discharge direction. The pivot axis  92   a  is positioned downstream of a center of the operation unit  4  in the sheet discharge direction. In this embodiment, the supporting unit  90  is disposed such that the pivot axis  92   a  is positioned downstream of the closed front cover  81  with respect to the sheet discharge direction, and supports the operation unit  4 . Also, the closed document conveying unit  201  is disposed upstream of the operation unit  4  in the sheet discharge direction. 
     Then, in the case where the operation unit  4  is in the elevated surface position, the supporting unit  90  supports the operation unit  4  such that a lower end  4   c  of the operation unit  4  is positioned above the sheet loading space  53  in the vertical direction. That is, the pivot axis  92   a  of the pivot holding portion  92  is in a position where a shortest point  55 , at which a distance between the pivot axis  92   a  and the sheet loading space  53  is a shortest distance B, becomes outside of a pivot circle C whose radius is a distance A from the lower end  4   c  of the operation unit  4  to the pivot axis  92   a.  Here, the lower end  4   c  is a portion which is a lowermost end of the operation unit  4  in the vertical direction in the case where the operation unit  4  is in the elevated surface position. To be noted, in the case where the operation unit  4  is in the elevated surface position, an upper end  4   e  of the operation unit  4  is positioned above a placement surface  204   a  serving as a supporting surface of the document stand  204  in the vertical direction. Here, the upper end  4   e  is a portion which is an uppermost end of the operation unit  4  in the vertical direction in the case where the operation unit  4  is in the elevated surface position. Thereby, in the case where the operation unit  4  is in the elevated surface position, since the operation unit  4  is secured by raising the angle sufficiently, even the user, for example, sitting in the wheelchair can obtain high readability and operability. 
     Further, as shown in  FIG.  7   , in the case where the operation unit  4  is in the substantially horizontal position, the supporting unit  90  supports the operation unit  4  such that a lower surface  4   d  of the operation unit  4  is positioned above the sheet loading space  53  in the vertical direction. Further, in the case where the operation unit  4  is in the substantially horizontal position, the supporting unit  90  supports the operation unit  4  such that an upper surface  4   f  (in particular, the display surface of the display  41 ) of the operation unit  4  is positioned at the height equal to or lower than the height of the placement surface  204   a  of the document table  204  in the vertical direction (refer to a dotted line U in  FIG.  7   ). More preferably, in the case where the operation unit  4  is in the substantially horizontal position, the supporting unit  90  supports the operation unit  4  such that the upper surface  4   f  of the operation unit  4  is substantially flushed with the placement surface  204   a  of the document table  204  in the vertical direction. Here, “substantially flushed” means a case where a height difference between the upper surface  4   f  and the placement surface  204   a  is, for example, equal to or less than 2 mm. In this embodiment, the pivot axis  92   a  of the pivot holding portion  92  is in a position where a relationship between a vertical distance X from the display surface (upper surface  4   f ) of the display  41  to the pivot axis  92   a  and a vertical distance Y from the pivot axis  92   a  to the placement surface  204   a  of the document stand  204  becomes such that X is equal to or less than Y. The above-mentioned vertical distances X and Y are respectively, for example, 37 mm and 38 mm. 
     As described above, in this embodiment, the supporting unit  90  pivotably supporting the operation unit  4  in the position downstream of the center with respect to the short direction of the operation unit  4  is disposed such that the pivot axis  92   a  of the pivot holding portion  92  is positioned in the position described above. That is, the pivot axis  92   a  is positioned downstream of the center of the operation unit  4  in the sheet discharge direction. Thereby, even in a case where the operation unit  4  is disposed such that the projection portion  54  of the operation unit  4  overlaps the space H of the sheet loading space  53  in the left-right direction, the discharged recording material P is loaded on the sheet discharge tray  51  without abutting onto the operation unit  4 . Further, in the case where the operation unit  4  is in the substantially horizontal position, since the operation unit  4  is disposed at the height equal to or lower than the height of the placement surface  204   a  of the document table  204  in the vertical direction, the operation unit  4  does not interfere at the time of the placement of the document on the document stand  204  by the user. As described above, in the configuration in which the part of the operation unit  4  overlaps with respect to the sheet discharge tray  51  (more particularly, the sheet loading space  53 ) in the image forming apparatus  1 , it is possible to achieve to suppress the decrease in the capacity loading the recording material P on the sheet discharge tray  51  by a simple configuration. 
     To be noted, the embodiment described above is not limited to the image forming apparatus of the electrophotographic system forming the toner image on the recording material by using the developer containing the toner and a carrier, and it is acceptable to apply the embodiment to an image forming apparatus of the other system. For example, it is possible to apply the embodiment to an image forming apparatus of such as an ink jet system which forms the image by ejecting an ink to the recording material. 
     By this disclosure, in a configuration where a part of the operation panel overlaps with respect to the sheet discharge tray in the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus, it is possible to suppress the decrease in the loading capacity of the sheet discharge tray. 
     Other Embodiments 
     While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions. 
     This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-182380, filed Nov. 9, 2021 which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.