Patent Publication Number: US-11390476-B2

Title: Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus that feeds a sheet and an image forming apparatus including the sheet feeding apparatus. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     In the related art, according to Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-335777, there has been proposed a sheet supplying apparatus which is connected to a lower portion of a laser beam printer and in which two storages for storing sheets are arranged side by side. The sheet fed from the storage on the left side passes through a conveyance path formed by an upper guide and a lower guide disposed above the storage on the right side, and is sent to the laser beam printer. The upper guide is fixed to a frame of the sheet supplying apparatus and the lower guide is supported so as to be lowered by a guide formed in the frame on the far side of the apparatus and a link provided on the near side of the apparatus. 
     The lower guide forms the conveyance path by engaging with a positioning shaft provided on the upper guide, and is lowered while being supported by the link by the weight of the lower guide by operating a lever provided on the lower guide. When the lower guide is lowered, the conveyance path can be opened and thus a sheet jammed in the conveyance path can be removed. 
     The lower guide described in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-335777 is configured not to interfere with the storage on the right side even in a state where the lower guide is lowered. By the way, when the lower guide is configured to be more widely opened downward in order to improve a jam handling capability without increasing the size of the sheet supplying apparatus, the lower guide and the storage may interfere with each other. For example, when the storage is to be mounted in a state where the lower guide is open, since the lower guide and storage may collide and break, it is necessary to mount the storage after closing the lower guide, which leads to complication of the operation. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one aspect of the present invention, a sheet feeding apparatus includes an apparatus body including a conveyance path through which a sheet passes, a drawer portion provided to be mounted on and drawn out from the apparatus body and configured to support the sheet, the drawer portion including a first contact portion, a feeding portion configured to feed the sheet supported on the drawer portion, and a pivot member configured to pivot between a first position and a second position located below the first position around a pivot shaft extending in an axial direction parallel to a mounting direction of the drawer portion, the pivot member constituting a part of the conveyance path at the first position, wherein the pivot member does not overlap a moving path of the drawer portion in a case where the pivot member is located at the first position, and overlaps the moving path in a case where the pivot member is located at the second position, and the pivot member includes a second contact portion that pivots the pivot member from the second position toward the first position while being in sliding contact with the first contact portion in a case where the pivot member is located at the second position and the drawer portion is being inserted into the apparatus body. 
     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 an overall schematic diagram showing a printer according to a first embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a sheet feeding apparatus. 
         FIG. 3  is a section view showing the sheet feeding apparatus. 
         FIG. 4A  is a left side view showing a peripheral configuration of a lower guide. 
         FIG. 4B  is an enlarged view showing a rotation stopper and a guide holding unit. 
         FIG. 5A  is a front view showing a state where the lower guide is located at a guide position. 
         FIG. 5B  is a front view showing a state where the lower guide is located at a lower position. 
         FIG. 6A  is a bottom view showing the lower guide. 
         FIG. 6B  is a left side view showing the lower guide. 
         FIG. 6C  is a perspective view showing the lower guide. 
         FIG. 7A  is a front view showing a state where a first sliding contact surface and a lifting portion are in contact with each other. 
         FIG. 7B  is an enlarged view showing a contact point between the first sliding contact surface and the lifting portion. 
         FIG. 8A  is a front view showing a state where the lifting portion is in sliding contact with the first sliding contact surface. 
         FIG. 8B  is an enlarged view showing a contact point between the first sliding contact surface and the lifting portion. 
         FIG. 9A  is a front view showing a state where the lifting portion is in sliding contact with a second sliding contact surface. 
         FIG. 9B  is a left side view showing a contact point between the second sliding contact surface and the lifting portion. 
         FIG. 10A  is a front view showing a state where the lifting portion reaches an end of the second sliding contact surface. 
         FIG. 10B  is a left side view showing a contact point between the second sliding contact surface and the lifting portion. 
         FIG. 11A  is a left side view showing a peripheral configuration of the lower guide. 
         FIG. 11B  is an enlarged view showing a state where the rotation stopper and a lower cam surface of the guide holding unit are in contact with each other. 
         FIG. 11C  is an enlarged view showing a state where the rotation stopper and an upper cam surface of the guide holding unit are in contact with each other. 
         FIG. 12A  is a front view showing a state where a first sliding contact surface and a lifting portion are in contact with each other, according to a second embodiment. 
         FIG. 12B  is a front view showing a state where a lower guide is lifted by the lifting portion. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     First Embodiment 
     A first embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. It is noted that, in the following description, it is assumed that a positional relationship between the top, bottom, right, left, front, and deep sides is represented with reference to the state where an image forming apparatus is viewed from the front (viewpoint in  FIG. 1 ). The right-left direction of the image forming apparatus is defined as an X direction, the front-rear direction is defined as a Y direction, and the vertical direction is defined as a Z direction. For example, as the right direction is represented as a “+X direction”, the side indicated by the arrow indicating the direction in the drawing is represented as “+” and the opposite side is represented as “−”. 
     Overall Configuration 
     First, the first embodiment will be described. A printer  1  serving as an image forming apparatus is an electrophotographic laser beam printer. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the printer  1  includes a printer body  200  and a sheet feeding apparatus  100  connected to a lower portion of the printer body  200  and on which a sheet is loaded. The sheet feeding apparatus  100  is provided as an option, and the printer body  200  can be used alone. 
     The printer body  200  includes a main body feeding portion  71  that feeds sheets S, an image forming portion  72  that forms images on the sheets S, a fixing portion  73  that fixes the images on the sheets S, and a discharge roller pair  74 . A discharge tray  55  on which the sheets S discharged by the discharge roller pair  74  are loaded is provided on an upper portion of the printer body  200 . 
     The image forming portion  72  serving as an image forming portion includes a laser scanner  4 , four process cartridges  80 Y,  80 M,  80 C, and  80 K, and intermediate transfer belt  8 , and is a so called four-drum full-color image forming portion. The process cartridges  80 Y,  80 M,  80 C, and  80 K form toner images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) colors, respectively, and have the same configuration except for the colors of the toner images. Therefore, only the configuration of the process cartridge  80 Y will be described, and descriptions of the other process cartridges  80 M,  80 C, and  80 K will not be repeated. 
     The process cartridge  80 Y has a photoconductive drum  2 , a charge roller  3 , a development roller  5 , and a cleaning blade  6 . The intermediate transfer belt  8  is wound around a drive roller  9 , a secondary transfer counter roller  10 , and a tension roller  11 , and is disposed above the four process cartridges  80 Y,  80 M,  80 C, and  80 K. The intermediate transfer belt  8  is disposed so as to be in contact with the photoconductive drums of the process cartridges  80 Y,  80 M,  80 C, and  80 K, and is driven to rotate counterclockwise by the drive roller  9 . In addition, four primary transfer rollers  7   a ,  7   b ,  7   c , and  7   d  that are in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt  8  at positions facing the respective photoconductive drums are provided inside the intermediate transfer belt  8 , and a cleaning unit  14  is provided outside the intermediate transfer belt  8 . The image forming portion  72  includes a secondary transfer roller  12  that is in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt  8  at a position facing the secondary transfer counter roller  10 . 
     The main body feeding portion  71  has a cassette  15  on which the sheets S are loaded, a feed roller  16  that feeds the sheets S loaded on the cassette  15 , and a separating roller  17  that forms a nip together with the feed roller  16  and that separates the sheets one by one. The main body feeding portion  71  has a manual sheet-feeding tray  18  into which the sheets are manually fed, a feed roller  19  that feeds the sheets loaded by the manual sheet-feeding tray  18 , and a separating pad  20  that forms a nip together with the feed roller  19  and that separates sheets one by one. The main body feeding portion  71  feeds the sheets from either the cassette  15  or the manual sheet-feeding tray  18 . 
     The sheet feeding apparatus  100  includes a left tray  103  and a right tray  102  of a right and left two-stage deck type that can load sheets up to a letter horizontal size or A4 horizontal size. As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the left tray  103  and the right tray  102  that are adjacent to each other in the right-left direction are provided so as to be mounted on and drawn out from a casing  101  of the sheet feeding apparatus  100 . 
     In the present embodiment, an insertion direction of the left tray  103  and the right tray  102  is the +Y direction, and a drawing-out direction is the −Y direction. The left tray  103  and the right tray  102  each have a tray roller  110  that can roll on an installation surface, and are stably supported on the installation surface even when the left tray  103  and the right tray  102  are drawn out from the casing  101 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the sheet feeding apparatus  100  includes a pickup roller  104 L that feeds the sheets S supported by the left tray  103 , and a feed roller  105 L and a separating roller  106 L that separate the fed sheets S one by one. Similarly, the sheet feeding apparatus  100  includes a pickup roller  104 R serving as a feeding portion that feeds the sheets S supported by the right tray  102 , and a feed roller  105 R and a separating roller  106 R that separate the fed sheets S one by one. The pickup rollers  104 L and  104 R, the feed rollers  105 L and  105 R, and the separating rollers  106 L and  106 R are supported by the casing  101  via a holder and a shaft (not illustrated). 
     The sheet S fed from the left tray  103  serving as a second drawer portion is conveyed along a conveyance path  108  by a conveyance roller pair  107 . The sheet S fed from the right tray  102  merges with the conveyance path  108  at a merge portion  61  and is conveyed to the printer body  200  by a conveyance roller pair  109 . The sheet S sent from the sheet feeding apparatus  100  to the printer body  200  is conveyed upward through an optional conveyance path  60 . 
     Next, an image forming operation of the printer  1  configured as described above will be described. When image data transmitted from a personal computer (not illustrated) or the like is input to the laser scanner  4 , a laser beam corresponding to the image data is emitted from the laser scanner  4  onto the photoconductive drum  2  of the process cartridge  80 Y. 
     In this case, the surface of the photoconductive drum  2  is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity and potential in advance by the charge roller  3 , and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductive drum  2  by the laser beam emitted from the laser scanner  4 . The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductive drum  2  is developed by the development roller  5 , and a yellow (Y) toner image is formed on the photoconductive drum  2 . 
     Similarly, the photoconductive drums of the process cartridges  80 M,  80 C, and  80 K are irradiated with laser beams emitted from the laser scanner  4 , and magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) toner images are formed on the respective photoconductive drums. The toner images of the respective colors formed on the respective photoconductive drums are transferred to the intermediate transfer belt  8  by the primary transfer rollers  7   a ,  7   b ,  7   c , and  7   d , and are conveyed to the secondary transfer roller  12  by the intermediate transfer belt  8  rotated by the drive roller  9 . An image forming process for each color is performed at the timing of superimposing on the upstream toner image that has been primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt  8 . The toner remaining on the photoconductive drum  2  is collected by the cleaning blade  6 . 
     In parallel with the image forming process, the sheet S is fed from the cassette  15  or the manual sheet-feeding tray  18  of the printer body  200  and the left tray  103  or the right tray  102  of the sheet feeding apparatus  100 . The fed sheet S is conveyed toward a registration roller pair  22  by a conveyance roller pair  21 . The sheet S hits a nip of the registration roller pair  22  in a non-rotated state, such that a loop is formed and skewing is corrected. 
     The registration roller pair  22  is driven in synchronization with the image formation timing, and the sheet S is conveyed to a transfer nip  13  formed by the secondary transfer roller  12  and the secondary transfer counter roller  10 . A full color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt  8  is transferred to the sheet S conveyed to the transfer nip  13  by a secondary transfer bias applied to the secondary transfer roller  12 . The sheet S to which the toner image is transferred is applied with predetermined heat and pressure by the fixing portion  73 , and the toner image is fixed by melting and fixing the toner. The sheet S that has passed through the fixing portion  73  is discharged to the discharge tray  55  by the discharge roller pair  74 . A sheet sensor  23  is disposed between the registration roller pair  22  and the transfer nip  13 , and the sheet sensor  23  detects the position of the sheet to be conveyed. 
     When images are formed on two sides of the sheet S, the sheet S on which an image is formed on a first surface and passes through the fixing portion  73  is guided to a reverse roller pair  56  by a guide member  52 . When a trailing end of the sheet S passes through the guide member  52 , the reverse roller pair  56  is reversed and the sheet S is switched back. The sheet S is guided to a duplex conveyance path  57  by the guide member  52  and is conveyed again to registration roller pair  22 . Thereafter, similarly to the above-described process, the sheet S on which an image is formed on a second surface at the transfer nip  13  is discharged onto the discharge tray  55 . 
     Peripheral Configuration of Upper Portion of Right Tray 
     Next, the peripheral configuration of a drawer portion and an upper portion of the right tray  102  serving as a first drawer portion will be described. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the casing  101  that is an apparatus body is provided with a guide rail  111  extending in parallel with the insertion direction of the right tray  102 , and the right tray  102  has a side roller  102 B that rolls on the guide rail  111 . When the side roller  102 B rolls on the guide rail  111 , the right tray  102  is smoothly guided in the mounting direction and the drawing-out direction. The right tray  102  is formed in a box shape with an open top. 
     The conveyance path  108  is disposed above the right tray  102 , and the conveyance path  108  includes an upper guide  112  and a lower guide  113  serving as a pivot member. The upper guide  112  is fixed to the casing  101 , and an upper guide surface  112 A of the conveyance path  108  and a hole  112 B extending in the axial direction parallel to the mounting direction (+Y direction) of the right tray  102  are formed in the upper guide  112 . A lower guide surface  113 A of the conveyance path  108  and a pivot shaft  113 B extending in the axial direction parallel to the mounting direction (+Y direction) of the right tray  102  are formed in the lower guide  113 . 
     The hole  112 B and the pivot shaft  113 B are respectively provided in front of and behind the conveyance path  108 , and the pivot shaft  113 B is rotatably supported by the hole  112 B. As described above, the lower guide  113  is pivotable between a guide position (position shown in  FIG. 5A ) serving as a first position and a lower position (position shown in  FIG. 5B ) located below the guide position, serving as a second position, around the pivot shaft  113 B. The lower guide  113  constitutes a part of the conveyance path  108  at the guide position. In addition, three rotation stoppers  113 C arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval in the mounting direction (+Y direction) are provided at the distal end portion of the lower guide  113  (see  FIG. 4 ). 
     An upper frame  114  and a feeding frame  116  are fixed to the casing  101 , and the upper frame  114  holds a jam handling lever  115  so as to be movable. A hole  114   a  is formed in the upper frame  114  on the near side of the apparatus, that is, on the downstream side in the drawing-out direction (−Y direction), and the user can push a pushing portion  115 B of the jam handling lever  115  in the mounting direction (+Y direction) through the hole  114   a . The jam handling lever  115  is biased in the drawing-out direction by a compression spring (not shown). 
     The feeding frame  116  holds the pickup roller  104 R, the feed roller  105 R, and the separating roller  106 R. The upper frame  114  and the feeding frame  116  respectively constitute a part of the conveyance path through which the sheet is conveyed. A drive unit  117  is provided on the far side of the casing  101  and between the lower guide  113  located at the guide position in the vertical direction and a rear wall  102 A of the right tray  102 . The drive unit  117  has a drive source such as a motor, and drives each roller of the sheet feeding apparatus  100 . 
     Configuration for Opening Lower Guide 
     Next, a configuration for opening the lower guide  113  will be described. The lower guide  113  is opened, for example, in a condition in which a sheet is jammed in the conveyance path  108 . As shown in  FIG. 4A , in the jam handling lever  115 , three guide holding units  115 A arranged in parallel with a predetermined interval in the mounting direction (+Y direction) are provided at positions corresponding to three rotation stoppers  113 C provided in the distal end portion of the lower guide  113 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4B , the guide holding unit  115 A serving as a holding member has a horizontal portion  118   a  extending horizontally and an upper cam surface  118   b  inclined downward from the horizontal portion  118   a  toward the front direction (−Y direction) as viewed from the right direction (+X direction). The guide holding unit  115 A is disposed below the cam surface and the upper cam surface  118   b  that is a first cam surface, and has a lower cam surface  118   d  that is a second cam surface inclined downward in the rear direction (+Y direction). A tip portion  118   c  is formed between the upper cam surface  118   b  and the lower cam surface  118   d.    
     When the lower guide  113  is located at the guide position shown in  FIG. 5A , the rotation stopper  113 C of the lower guide  113  is in contact with the guide holding unit  115 A. More specifically, as shown in  FIG. 4B , the rotation stopper  113 C is in contact with the horizontal portion  118   a  of the guide holding unit  115 A by the weight of the rotation stopper  113 C. 
     For example, when a jam occurs in the conveyance path  108  and the lower guide  113  is moved to the lower position, the user first draws the right tray  102  out of the casing  101 . Then, the user pushes the pushing portion  115 B of the jam handling lever  115  in the mounting direction (+Y direction). As a result, the jam handling lever  115  slidingly moves in the mounting direction, and the guide holding unit  115 A provided on the jam handling lever  115  also slidingly moves in the mounting direction. Then, when the rotation stopper  113 C of the lower guide  113  slides from the horizontal portion  118   a  of the guide holding unit  115 A to the upper cam surface  118   b , and is beyond the tip portion  118   c , the engagement with the guide holding unit  115 A is released. 
     As a result, the lower guide  113  pivots downward by its own weight about the pivot shaft  113 B, and is positioned at the lower position shown in  FIG. 5B  by a stopper (not illustrated). In the present embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 5B , the lower guide  113  can widely open the conveyance path  108 , and the jam handling capability is improved. A pivot angle between the guide position and the lower position of the lower guide  113  is set to about 60 degrees. 
     Therefore, the lower guide  113  is configured to overlap the moving path of the right tray  102  when the lower guide  113  is located at the lower position as shown in  FIG. 7A , and not to overlap the moving path of the right tray  102  when the lower guide  113  is located at the guide position as shown in  FIG. 3 . 
     Configuration for Lifting Lower Guide 
     Next, a configuration for lifting the lower guide  113  will be described.  FIG. 6A  is a bottom view showing the lower guide  113 ,  FIG. 6B  is a left side view showing the lower guide  113 , and  FIG. 6C  is a perspective view showing the lower guide  113 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6A to 6C , the lower guide  113  includes a handle portion  113 F disposed upstream of the lower guide surface  113 A in the mounting direction and a protruding portion  113 E protruding from a surface  113 G opposite to the lower guide surface  113 A. A first sliding contact surface  113 D is formed on an upstream edge surface of the handle portion  113 F in the mounting direction, and a second sliding contact surface  113 Ea and a straight portion  113 Eb are formed on a lower edge surface of the protruding portion  113 E. The first sliding contact surface  113 D and the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea constitute a second contact portion  300 , and are in slidable contact with a lifting portion  120  (see  FIG. 7A ) formed on the rear wall  102 A of the right tray  102 . That is, the first sliding contact surface  113 D and the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea are provided so as to face the rear wall  102 A of the right tray  102  which is to be mounted on the casing  101 . 
     The first sliding contact surface  113 D has an R-shaped portion  113 Da formed so as to extend downstream in the mounting direction (+Y direction) as the first sliding contact surface  113 D goes outward in a radial direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the pivot shaft  113 B. By inserting the right tray  102  when the lower guide  113  is located at the lower position, the lifting portion  120  of the right tray  102  comes into contact with the R-shaped portion  113 Da. 
     The protruding portion  113 E has a rib shape drawing in the mounting direction (+Y direction), and the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea is inclined downward as the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea goes downstream in the mounting direction. The straight portion  113 Eb extends in the mounting direction while maintaining a certain height from the downstream end of the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea in the mounting direction. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7A , the lifting portion  120  serving as the first contact portion is formed at the upper end of the rear wall  102 A provided on the downstream side of the right tray  102  in the mounting direction, and extends in the right-left direction (±X direction) which is horizontal direction orthogonal to the mounting direction. As shown in  FIG. 7B , a tapered surface  120 A is formed at the upper end of the lifting portion  120  and the downstream end in the mounting direction, and the tapered surface  120 A is inclined downward as the tapered surface  120 A goes downstream in the mounting direction. The tapered surface  120 A is formed to be long in the right-left direction at the upper portion of the lifting portion  120 , and smoothly comes into sliding contact with the first sliding contact surface  113 D and the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea of the lower guide  113 . 
     Next, an operation of lifting the lower guide  113  from the lower position toward the guide position when the right tray  102  is mounted on the casing  101  will be described. When the lower guide  113  is located at the lower position, the moving path in the mounting operation of the right tray  102  and the lower guide  113  overlap in the vertical direction (±Z direction). Dot-lines in  FIG. 7A  indicates a portion where the lower guide  113  overlaps the moving path. 
     In a case where the right tray  102  is inserted when the lower guide  113  is located at the lower position, as shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the first sliding contact surface  113 D of the lower guide  113  comes into contact with the lifting portion  120  of the right tray  102 . More specifically, the R-shaped portion  113 Da of the lower guide  113  comes into contact with the tapered surface  120 A of the lifting portion  120 . A contact point P is a position where the first sliding contact surface  113 D and the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea and the lifting portion  120  are in contact. The contact point P moves on the first sliding contact surface  113 D and the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea as the lower guide  113  is lifted. 
     At the contact point P in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , a force Fy downstream in the mounting direction (+Y direction) and a force Fz upward (+Z direction) are exerted on the lower guide  113 , from the lifting portion  120  to be inserted. Since the force Fy is parallel to the axial direction of the pivot shaft  113 B, the force Fy is not involved in the force for pivoting the lower guide  113 . As shown in  FIG. 7A , the force Fz becomes a force R for rotating the lower guide  113 , and the lower guide  113  is pivoted from the lower position toward the guide position by the force R. 
     When the right tray  102  is further inserted in the insertion direction (+Y direction), as shown in  FIG. 8A , the lower guide  113  pivots counterclockwise so as to be lifted. As a result, the amount of overlap between the lower guide  113  and the moving path of the right tray  102  decreases. The contact point P moves from the left direction to the right direction on the tapered surface  120 A of the lifting portion  120 . As shown in  FIG. 8B , the contact point P moves on the first sliding contact surface  113 D outward in the radial direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the pivot shaft  113 B and toward the downstream in the mounting direction (+Y direction). Further, when the right tray  102  is inserted, the sliding contact between the lifting portion  120  and the first sliding contact surface  113 D is completed, and then the lifting portion  120  is continuously in sliding contact with the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea. The first sliding contact surface  113 D has a curved surface shape so that an excessive load is not applied to the lower guide  113  in the process in which the lower guide  113  is lifted. 
     When the right tray  102  is further inserted in the insertion direction (+Y direction), as shown in  FIGS. 9A and 9B , the lifting portion  120  comes into sliding contact with the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea. Since the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea is inclined downward toward the downstream in the mounting direction, the lower guide  113  is lifted toward the guide position as the right tray  102  is inserted. At this time, the contact point P slightly moves from the left direction to the right direction on the tapered surface  120 A of the lifting portion  120 . The contact point P moves on the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea toward the downstream in the mounting direction (+Y direction). 
       FIGS. 10A and 10B  are diagrams showing a state where the contact point P has reached the vicinity of an inflection point between the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea and the straight portion  113 Eb, where  FIG. 10A  is a front view and  FIG. 10B  is a left side view. When the right tray  102  is inserted into the casing  101  and the contact point P between the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea and the lifting portion  120  reaches the vicinity of the inflection point, the rotation stopper  113 C of the lower guide  113  comes into contact with the guide holding unit  115 A. 
     Hereinafter, the contact relationship between the rotation stopper  113 C and the guide holding unit  115 A will be described more specifically. As shown in  FIGS. 11A and 11B , when the contact point P is located immediately before the inflection point between the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea and the straight portion  113 Eb, the rotation stopper  113 C comes into contact with the lower cam surface  118   d  of the guide holding unit  115 A. The jam handling lever  115  having the guide holding unit  115 A is biased by a compression spring  150  in the drawing-out direction (−Y direction) serving as a first movement direction, and is positioned by a stopper (not illustrated). Instead of the compression spring  150 , a tension spring or other biasing members may be provided. 
     When the lower guide  113  is lifted by inserting the right tray  102 , the rotation stopper  113 C presses the jam handling lever  115  in the mounting direction (+Y direction) serving as a second movement direction against the biasing force of the compression spring while being in sliding contact with the lower cam surface  118   d . As a result, the jam handling lever  115  having the guide holding unit  115 A moves in the mounting direction (+Y direction). When the rotation stopper  113 C passes the tip portion  118   c , as shown in  FIG. 11C , the guide holding unit  115 A is moved in the drawing-out direction (−Y direction) by the biasing force of the compression spring, and the rotation stopper  113 C is lifted along the upper cam surface  118   b . That is, when the lower guide  113  that pivots toward the guide position passes through the tip portion  118   c , the jam handling lever  115  switches the movement direction from the mounting direction (+Y direction) to the drawing-out direction (−Y direction). 
     Accordingly, the lower guide  113  having the rotation stopper  113 C is finally lifted up to the horizontal portion  118   a  by the force of the compression spring and reaches the guide position. The lower guide  113  moves away from the lifting portion  120  of the right tray  102  when being pivoted toward the guide position by being pressed by the upper cam surface  118   b . Accordingly, the lower guide  113  has the second contact portion  300  that pivots the lower guide  113  from the lower position toward the guide position while being in sliding contact with the lifting portion  120  when the lower guide  113  is located at the lower position, and when the right tray  102  is being inserted into the casing  101 . 
     When the rotation stopper  113 C is supported by the upper cam surface  118   b  beyond the tip portion  118   c , the position of the inflection point is set so that the contact point P reaches the inflection point between the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea and the straight portion  113 Eb. 
     As described above, since the lower guide  113  is lifted by the compression spring when the rotation stopper  113 C reaches the upper cam surface  118   b , the lifting portion  120  does not come into contact with the straight portion  113 Eb. Then, the straight portion  113 Eb moves away from the lifting portion  120  by the distance that the lower guide  113  is lifted by the compression spring. Therefore, thereafter, until the right tray  102  is inserted to the mounting position where the sheet S can be fed, the straight portion  113 Eb and the lifting portion  120  are separated from each other while maintaining the above-mentioned distance and do not interfere with each other. 
     As described above, in the present embodiment, since the lower guide  113  is configured to be widely opened, the visibility and workability at the time of jam handling are good, and thus the jam handling capability can be improved. Since the lower guide  113  located at the lower position overlaps the moving path of the right tray  102 , the apparatus can be downsized in the height direction. 
     Further, when the right tray  102  is inserted even in the state where the lower guide  113  is located at the lower position, the lifting portion  120  of the right tray  102  is in sliding contact with the first sliding contact surface  113 D and the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea of the lower guide  113 , and can be pivoted toward the guide position. The lower guide  113  returns to the guide position by the action of the guide holding unit  115 A. 
     Therefore, even when the user does not manually pivot the lower guide  113 , the lower guide  113  can be returned to the guide position without breaking the lower guide  113  and the right tray  102 , and usability can be improved. It is noted that the lower guide  113  can also be manually returned to the guide position by lifting the handle portion  113 F. 
     The lifting portion  120  is formed on the rear wall  102 A of the right tray  102 , and is formed thin in the mounting direction (+Y direction). Due to the shape of the first sliding contact surface  113 D, the contact point P moves from the left side to the right side on the lifting portion  120  as the right tray  102  is inserted. Therefore, the apparatus can be downsized without forming the lifting portion  120  to be long in the mounting direction. 
     In addition, since the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea is inclined downward toward the downstream in the mounting direction, it is not necessary to form the lifting portion  120  high in the height direction (+Z direction). When the lifting portion  120  is formed high, the sheet feeding apparatus  100  may be increased in size in the height direction so that the drive unit  117  and the lifting portion  120  disposed on the far side of the casing  101  do not interfere with each other. In the present embodiment, since the protruding portion  113 E having the second sliding contact surface  113 Ea and the straight portion  113 Eb is formed on the distal end side of the lower guide  113  having a sufficient space, the apparatus can be downsized. 
     Second Embodiment 
     Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described; however, the second embodiment is obtained by changing the shape of the lifting portion in the first embodiment. Therefore, about the configuration similar to the first embodiment, the illustration is omitted or the same reference numerals are denoted to the drawings for description. 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , a sheet feeding apparatus  100 B has a right tray  102  that can be mounted on and drawn out from the casing  101  (see  FIG. 2 ) and a lower guide  131  serving as a pivot member that forms the conveyance path  108  (see  FIG. 1 ). The lower guide  131  is pivotable about a pivot shaft  113 B extending in an axial direction parallel to the mounting direction (+Y direction), and has the same configuration as the lower guide  113  of the first embodiment except that there is no protruding portion  113 E. 
     A lifting portion  130  serving as a first contact portion is formed on the upper portion of a rear wall  102 A of the right tray  102 . The lifting portion  130  is formed thin in the mounting direction (+Y direction). The lifting portion  130  is inclined upward from the left side which is one side to the right side which is the other side in the horizontal direction (±X direction) orthogonal to the mounting direction (+Y direction). 
     In a case where the right tray  102  is inserted when the lower guide  131  is located at the lower position, as shown in  FIG. 12A , the lifting portion  130  comes into contact with a first sliding contact surface  113 D serving as a second contact portion. As described in the first embodiment, as the right tray  102  is inserted, the lower guide  131  is lifted toward the guide position by the lifting portion  130 . At this time, a contact point between the lifting portion  130  and the first sliding contact surface  113 D moves from the left side to the right side. 
     As shown in  FIG. 12B , when the lower guide  131  reaches a position where it does not overlap the right tray  102  in the vertical direction, the lower guide  131  is lifted to the guide position by the guide holding unit  115 A (see  FIG. 10A ) as in the first embodiment. A distal end  131   t  of the lower guide  131  in the radial direction is located on the right side in the horizontal direction with respect to the pivot shaft  113 B when the lower guide  131  is located at the guide position. 
     As described above, when the protruding portion  113 E described in the first embodiment cannot be provided on the lower guide  131  side due to the space in the mounting direction (+Y direction), the lower guide  113  can be returned to the guide position by inclining the lifting portion  130 . Thereby, usability can be improved. 
     In any of the above-described embodiments, the pivot angle between the guide position and the lower position of the lower guide  113  is set to about 60 degrees, but is not limited thereto. In the first embodiment, the lifting portion  120  extends in the right-left direction, which is the horizontal direction. However, the lifting portion  120  may extend with an inclination in a range of ±20 degrees with respect to the horizontal direction. 
     In any of the above-described embodiments, the guide holding unit  115 A lifts the lower guide to the guide position by moving in the drawing-out direction, but is not limited thereto. That is, the jam handling lever  115  having the guide holding unit  115 A may be configured to be movable in any direction, and may be configured to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the mounting direction and the vertical direction, for example. In addition, for example, the jam handling lever  115  having the guide holding unit  115 A may be biased by the compression spring  150  in the mounting direction instead of the drawing-out direction. In this case, the guide holding unit  115 A is configured to lift the lower guide to the guide position by moving in the drawing-out direction. The guide holding unit  115 A may be configured such that the engagement with the rotation stopper  113 C can be released by being pushed in either the mounting direction or the drawing-out direction. 
     In any of the above-described embodiments, the present invention is applied to the sheet feeding apparatus having the left tray  103  and the right tray  102 , but is not limited to thereto. For example, sheet feeding apparatuses having only one tray corresponding to the A3 size are arranged side by side below the printer body  200 , and the present invention may be applied to one sheet feeding apparatus. In addition, the present invention may be applied so that, in the printer body  200 , for example, the duplex conveyance path  57  is disposed above the cassette  15  and the duplex conveyance path  57  is returned to the guide position by inserting the cassette  15 . 
     In any of the above-described embodiments, the electrophotographic printer  1  has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the present invention can be applied to an inkjet image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet by ejecting ink liquid from a nozzle. 
     Other Embodiments 
     Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by a computer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computer executable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on a storage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a ‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or that includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by the computer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out and executing the computer executable instructions from the storage medium to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform the functions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). The computer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processing unit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network of separate computers or separate processors to read out and execute the computer executable instructions. The computer executable instructions may be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or the storage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or more of a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as a compact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™), a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like. 
     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. 2018-232988, filed Dec. 12, 2018, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.