Paper feeding cassette for image forming apparatus

Abstract

A paper feeding cassette for an image forming apparatus includes an inclined supporter including an inclined plate fixedly disposed in a cassette body and a support plate for reciprocating, a separation guide including a fixing guide fixedly supported on the inclined plate and a moving guide movably supported on the support plate, and a reciprocating unit reciprocating the support plate. Accordingly, the moving guide selectively comes into contact with a sheet such that a friction resistance generated at a front end of the sheet varies in a degree in accordance with a type of the sheet.

1 - 8 . (cancelled)  
   
   
       9 . A paper feeding cassette for an image forming apparatus, having a pickup roller picking up a sheet, comprising: 
 a cassette body containing a sheet and having a pickup roller picking up the sheet;    an inclined support disposed to be inclined with respect to the sheet contained in the cassette body; and    a separation guide supported by the inclined support to generate a first friction resistance and a second friction resistance to separate the sheet from the cassette body when contacting a front end of the sheet picked up by the pickup roller in response to a type of the sheet.    
   
   
       10 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 9 , wherein the type of the sheet comprises a thickness of the sheet.  
   
   
       11 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 9 , wherein the separation guide generates the first friction resistance when the type of sheet has a first thickness, and generates the second friction resistance when the type of sheet has a second thickness smaller than the first thickness.  
   
   
       12 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 11 , wherein the first friction resistance is smaller than the second friction resistance.  
   
   
       13 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 9 , wherein the separation guide has a first surface roughness and a second surface roughness and uses one of the first surface roughness and the second surface roughness to generate the first friction resistance or both of the first surface roughness and the second surface roughness to generate the second friction resistance in response to the type of the sheet.  
   
   
       14 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 9 , wherein the separation guide comprises a moving guide movably disposed on the inclined support to contact selectively the front end of the sheet, and changes the first friction resistance to the second friction resistance in response to a contact between the moving guide and the front end of the sheet.  
   
   
       15 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 9 , wherein the separation guide comprises a fixed guide having a first surface roughness and a moving guide having a second surface roughness, and the fixed guide contacts the front end of the sheet picked up by the pickup roller to generate the first friction resistance with the first surface roughness while the moving guide selectively contacts the front end of the sheet to generate the second friction resistance.  
   
   
       16 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 15 , wherein both the fixed guide and the moving guide contact the front end of the sheet to generate the second friction resistance with the first surface roughness and the second surface roughness when the moving guide contacts the front end of the sheet.  
   
   
       17 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 16 , wherein the moving guide does not contact the front end of the sheet when the type of the sheet represents a first thickness, and contacts the front end of the sheet when the type of the sheet represents a second thickness smaller than the first thickness.  
   
   
       18 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 9 , wherein the inclined support comprises an inclined plate fixed on the cassette body, an opening formed in the inclined plate, and a support plate movably disposed in the opening, and the separation guide comprises: 
 a fixed guide formed on the inclined plate to contact the front end of the sheet regardless of the type of the sheet; and    a moving guide formed on the support plate to contact selectively the front end of the sheet in response to the type of the sheet.    
   
   
       19 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 18 , wherein the cassette body comprises a sidewall spaced-apart from the inclined plate and a guide portion connected between the sidewall and the inclined plate to guide the moving guide to move toward a plane, on which the inclined plate is disposed, and away from the plane of the inclined plate.  
   
   
       20 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 19 , wherein the cassette body comprises another guide portion connected between the sidewall and the inclined plate, and the moving guide moves in a direction parallel to one of the guide portion and another guide portion.  
   
   
       21 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 19 , wherein a movement of the moving guide forms another plane, and the plane of the inclined plate and another plane of the moving guide are disposed perpendicular to each other.  
   
   
       22 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 19 , wherein the cassette body comprises: 
 a reciprocating unit disposed in the cassette body to control the moving plate to move toward and away from the plane.    
   
   
       23 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 22 , wherein the reciprocating unit comprises a driving unit rotatably mounted in the cassette body to push the moving plate toward the plane.  
   
   
       24 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 23 , wherein the reciprocating unit comprises a resilient member coupled between the moving plate and the cassette body, and the moving plate is biased to move away from the plane in response to the resilient member and toward the plane in response to a movement of the driving unit.  
   
   
       25 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 9 , wherein the inclined support comprises a plurality of inclined plates fixed on the cassette body, openings formed between the inclined plates, and support plates movably disposed in respective ones of the openings, and the separation guide comprises: 
 fixed guides formed on respective ones of the inclined plates to contact the front end of the sheet; and    moving guides formed on respective ones of the support plate to contact selectively the front end of the sheet in response to the type of the sheet.    
   
   
       26 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 25 , wherein the cassette body comprises a sidewall spaced-apart from the inclined plate and a guide portion connected between the sidewall and respective ones of the inclined plates to guide respective ones of the moving guide to move along the guide portion forward to a plane, on which a major plane of one of the inclined plates is disposed, and back toward the sidewall from the plane.  
   
   
       27 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 26 , wherein the cassette body comprises another guide portion connected between the sidewall and respective ones of the inclined plates, and the moving guide moves in a direction parallel to one of the guide portion and another guide portion.  
   
   
       28 . The paper feeding cassette of  claim 26 , wherein the cassette body comprises: 
 a reciprocating unit disposed in the cassette body to control respective ones of the moving plates to move toward and away from the plane.    
   
   
       29 . (cancelled)  
   
   
       30 . (cancelled)