Image-forming machine equipped with a cassette for feeding sheet materials

Claim 1

An image-forming machine comprising a housing and a cassette for feeding sheet materials which is loaded in said housing so as to move in the back-and-forth direction between an acting position and a drawn position that is forwardly drawn from said acting position in said housing, wherein said cassette for feeding sheet materials includes a container body, a front width restriction means and a rear width restriction means which are so disposed in said container body as to move in the back-and-forth direction, said front width restriction means has a bottom wall with a rearwardly extended portion and an upright restriction wall that upwardly extends from the bottom wall, said rear width restriction means has a bottom wall with a forwardly extended portion and an upright restriction wall that upwardly extends from the bottom wall, said container body has a rotary pinion gear that is disposed between said extended portion of said front width restriction means and said extended portion of said rear width restriction means that extend in parallel with each other, and racks that are brought into engagement with said pinion gear are engraved in said extended portion of said front width restriction means and in said extended portion of said rear width restriction means, characterized in that said image-forming machine further comprises a locking mechanism which includes a locking member and a first resilient urging means that are disposed in said container body of said cassette for feeding sheet materials and a forcing means disposed in said housing, and in that said locking member is disposed to move between a locking position at which it is brought into engagement with either said extended portion of said front width restriction means or said extended portion of said rear width restriction means and a release position at which it is liberated from both said extended portion of said front width restriction means and said extended portion of said rear width restriction means, said first resilient urging means resiliently urges said locking member to the release position, and when said cassette for feeding sheet materials is rearwardly moved from said drawn position toward said acting position beyond a predetermined position, said forcing means acts upon said locking member to force said locking member to said locking position, overcoming said first resilient urging means.