Paper feed device and image forming apparatus provided with the same

A paper feed device, comprising:

• a first cassette and a second cassette that each house a plurality of sheets in a stacked state and are arranged side by side in a cassette width direction;
• a casing that includes:
• an opening portion through which the first cassette and the second cassette are inserted/drawn out;
• a cassette housing portion in which the first cassette and the second cassette are housed;
• a support member that is disposed at a center portion of the opening portion in the cassette width direction and is capable of supporting the first cassette and the second cassette;
• and
• a biasing member that biases the support member upward,
• wherein
• the casing has a stay that is disposed in a lower portion of the opening portion and extends in the cassette width direction,
• each of the first cassette and the second cassette is provided with a pressing portion that presses the support member downward, and
• the support member is movable in an up-down direction, and in a state where the first cassette and the second cassette are housed in the cassette housing portion, the support member is disposed at a first position retracted upward, while in a state where at least one of the first cassette and the second cassette is pulled out from the cassette housing portion, the support member is pressed downward by the pressing portion so as to be disposed at a second position where the support member is contactable with an installation surface on which the casing is installed.

A paper feed device, comprising:

• a first cassette and a second cassette that each house a plurality of sheets in a stacked state and are arranged side by side in a cassette width direction;
• a casing that includes:
• an opening portion through which the first cassette and the second cassette are inserted/drawn out;
• and
• a cassette housing portion in which the first cassette and the second cassette are housed;
• and
• a support member that is disposed at a center portion of the opening portion in the cassette width direction and is capable of supporting the first cassette and the second cassette,
• wherein
• the casing has a stay that is disposed in a lower portion of the opening portion and extends in the cassette width direction,
• each of the first cassette and the second cassette is provided with a pressing portion that presses the support member downward,
• the support member is movable in an up-down direction, and in a state where the first cassette and the second cassette are housed in the cassette housing portion, the support member is disposed at a first position retracted upward, while in a state where at least one of the first cassette and the second cassette is pulled out from the cassette housing portion, the support member is pressed downward by the pressing portion so as to be disposed at a second position where the support member is contactable with an installation surface on which the casing is installed, and
• the support member includes:
• an inclined surface that comes into contact with the pressing portion and is inclined upward toward a downstream side in a pull-out direction of each of the first cassette and the second cassette;
• and
• a substantially horizontal pressed surface that is provided continuously with a downstream end of the inclined surface in the pull-out direction and is pressed downward by the pressing portion.