JP2568692B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having a manual paper feeder such as a copying machine, a printer, and a printing machine.

(B) Prior art As shown in FIG. 7, a conventional electronic copying apparatus 50 has a manual paper feed tray 51 on the right side of the apparatus 50. The manual transfer material P manually fed from the tray 51 is conveyed by a pair of paper feed rollers 52 and a pair of registration rollers 53, passes through a transfer guide 55, and is conveyed to a photosensitive drum 56. In this case, the transfer direction of the transfer material P is one direction from the right side to the left side of the apparatus 50.

Recently, a front loading type in which a cassette (storage box P for transfer material P) 57 is put in and taken out from the front as shown in FIG. 8 has begun to spread. Operability has been improved.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention Even in the above-mentioned front-loading type, since the manual paper feed port is located on the side of the apparatus, the installation space efficiency of the apparatus is reduced accordingly.

The present applicant has proposed a method in which a manual feed tray is installed on the front of the apparatus, and the manual sheet material is carried into the re-conveying path from a direction orthogonal to the re-conveying path (not disclosed at the time of the present application;
In the manual sheet feeding from the front side, as shown in FIG. 9, when the operator 59 inserts the transfer material P in the direction of arrow A into the manual tray 60 from the front side, The image is formed on the transfer paper P by being transported in the direction of arrow B perpendicular to the direction of arrow A. When the transfer material P is manually inserted in the direction of arrow A, the transfer material P that is too long in the direction A is fed. If so, a problem such as a jam may occur when the sheet is conveyed in the direction of arrow B.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that detects a manual sheet material and prevents occurrence of a jam.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has a main body conveyance path provided in an apparatus main body and configured to convey a sheet material to image forming means of the apparatus main body. An image forming apparatus comprising: a manual feed path for conveying a manual sheet material inserted from a manual feed port provided on a front surface of the apparatus from a direction orthogonal to the main body transport path; Detecting means for detecting that the length of the manual feeding sheet in the feeding direction of the manual feeding path is longer than the maximum sheet material width that can be conveyed in the main body feeding path, and the length of the manual feeding sheet is long by the detecting means. A control unit for controlling the sheet material not to be conveyed in the main body conveyance path when the sheet material is detected.

Preferably, a means is provided for returning the sheet material to the manual feed slot side when the detection means detects that the manual sheet material is long.

(E) Action Based on the above configuration, when the operator inserts the manual sheet material from the manual feed slot on the front of the apparatus, the manual sheet material is
When the detecting unit detects that the width is longer than the maximum width of the sheet material that can be conveyed in the main body conveyance path, the conveyance of the manual sheet material in the main body conveyance path is stopped.

(F) Embodiment The embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a front-side manual sheet feeder, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of its operation, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an electronic copying apparatus embodying the present invention.

The electronic copying apparatus 1 is provided with a manual feed opening 2, and a manual feed tray 3 that projects forward from the opening 2 and can be opened. Reference numeral 5 denotes a cassette containing a transfer material P used for general image formation. Further, inside the apparatus 1, transport paths 6 and 7 for double-sided / multiple image formation are provided slightly lower than the upper surface of the manual feed tray 3 and orthogonal to the manual feed tray 3.

In a horizontal position, a guide plate 9 for supplementing a missing portion of the transport paths 6 and 7 is pivotally supported by a pin 10 fixed to the apparatus 1 via a bracket 10a, and a predetermined position is provided above the guide plate 9. A guide plate 11 is integrally attached to the guide plate 9 in parallel with an interval, and a front end of the guide plate 11 is bent upward at a right angle to form a shutter 11a. Also, so as to be horizontal to the apparatus 1 and orthogonal to the transport paths 6 and 7,
A plurality of transport driving rollers 12 are rotatably mounted on the apparatus 1, are connected to each other by a shaft 12 a, are driven by a motor 13 via the shaft 12 a, and have an upper part of the roller 12 for the roller 12 of the guide plate 9. It projects from the hole to the upper surface of the guide plate 9. A pressing roller 15 is provided on the upper surface of the guide plate 11 so as to face the drive roller 12, and projects from the hole for the roller 15 of the guide plate 11 to the lower surface of the guide plate 11, and comes into pressure contact with the drive roller 12. ing. When the guide plates 9 and 11 are tilted about the pins 10, the drive roller 12 is located below the upper surface of the guide plate 9, and the pressing roller 15 is slightly viewed from the lower surface of the guide plate 11. In addition, a gap is provided between the lower end of the holding roller 15 and the upper surface of the guide plate 9 between the lower end of the holding roller 15 and the upper surface of the guide plate 9 so that the transfer material P can move without hindrance. It is supposed to be. (The retraction method of the holding roller 15 as described above is the simplest method. However, other methods such as lifting the shaft 15a of the roller 15 with respect to the guide plate 11 by using a solenoid or the like, There are various methods such as a method in which the shaft 15a is lifted by the end of the lever when the intermediate portion is lifted by the rising portion of the guide plate 11.)
In addition, the reflection type photo sensors 16, 1 are provided on the left side of the guide plates 9, 11.
7,18,19,20 are postcards from the reference transport line C, B5, B5-R, A4 (A
3-R) and A4-R.

Also, an arm 22 pivotally supported by a pin 21 fixed to the device.
A manual paper feed drive roller 23 is rotatably mounted at a position deeper than the reference transport line C, and is driven by a motor 25. A pressing roller is placed on the manual feed tray 3 opposed to the roller 23. 26 are installed. Further, an eccentric cam 27 for driving the arm 22 to rotate about the shaft 21 is
It is rotatably supported by 29 and is driven to rotate by a drive source (not shown).

Reference numeral 30 denotes a guide for guiding the right end of the manual transfer material P. Detection sensors 31 are provided on both sides of the tip of the manual feed tray 3.
, A detection sensor 32 is provided in front of the manual paper feed rollers 23 and 26, and reflection photo sensors 33 a and 33 b are provided on the manual feed tray 3. The detection sensor 32
Is also provided at a position close to the guide 30 in FIG.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

First, the operator is inserted along the manual feeding the transfer material P to the guide 30, abuts against the leading edge of the transfer material P to the shutter 11a (Step S _1).

Almost simultaneously, when the transfer material P is detected by the sensor 31, a signal (not shown) causes a motor (not shown) to rotate the eccentric cam 27 by 180 degrees and stop, and the arm 27 is rotated counterclockwise around the pin 21 by the cam 27 (first rotation). (In FIG. 2), the end 22a of the arm 22 engages with the end 9a of the guide plate 9, and the guide plates 9, 11
To the upper surface of the manual feed tray 3 and transport rollers 1
2 and 15 are retracted so that the transfer material P can move to the upper surface of the guide plate 9. At the same time, the manual feed rollers 23 and 26 are pressed against each other. That is, the state shown in FIG. 2A is changed from the state shown in FIG.
(Step S ₂ ).

When the motor driving the eccentric cam 29 stops, the stepping motor 25 is started by the signal, the manual paper feed rollers 23 and 26 rotate, and the transfer material P is conveyed (Step S).
₃ ).

Next, when the detection sensor 32 detects the rear end of the transfer material P, the stepping motor 25 then transmits a predetermined pulse to cause the rear end of the transfer material P to reach the reference line C and stop. That is, the state shown in FIG.
S ₄ ).

When the sensor 32 detects the rear end of the transfer material P, the signal causes the eccentric cam 27 to rotate 180 degrees, the arm 22 descends, and the guide plates 9 and 11 descend (FIG. 2 (a)). Posture), the transport rollers 12, 15 are pressurized, and the pressurization of the manual paper feed rollers 23, 26 is released. Thereafter the rollers 12 and 15 is conveyed transfer material P to the duplex-multiplexed transport path 7, the image forming operation is started (Step S _5). Further, when there is the next manual sheet feeding, the operation is repeated from step S1.

 The above is the normal transfer state of the transfer material P.

In the above description, the number of pulses of the stepping motor 25 has been counted by the counter 42 since the start thereof, and the transport amount of the transfer material P of the motor 25 is measured. The comparison circuit 43 compares the timing at which the transfer material P is detected by the sensors 16 to 20 with the determination circuit 44 to determine whether or not normal conveyance is being performed. If the transport amount of the stepping motor 25 and the timing of the detection signals from the sensors 16 to 20 do not match, the control unit 41 displays the JAM on the display unit 45 and stops all operations.

Even if the transfer amount of the transfer material P by the stepping motor 25 reaches the maximum size (A3-R), if the rear end of the transfer material P is not detected by the sensor 32, the comparison is performed by the comparison circuit 43, and the control unit 41 determining that an abnormal size, at which time, to reverse the stepping motor 25 (step S _7).

The motor 25 rotates in the reverse direction to feed back the transfer material P. At this time, the conveyance amount of the motor 25 and the sensor 33 (for small size paper,
33a, when a large-size sheet matches the detection timing 33b), then the end of the transfer material P (the rear end) sensor 31 detects (step S _8), the motor 25 is stopped, the transfer material P withdrawal of completes (step S _9). However, since this case is that the manual paper feed the transfer material P abnormal size, an error display on the display unit 45 (step S _10).

When the detection timing of the sensor 33 does not match the operation amount of the motor 25 (when the leading end of the transfer material P does not reach the sensor 33 even if the motor 25 is rotated for a predetermined time), the transfer material is being pulled back. Then, it is determined that a jam has occurred, and immediately, the motor 25 is stopped and all operations are stopped, and an error message is displayed on the display unit 45 (it is an abnormal size and a jam occurs during the return). (step S _10).

Then, in the case of the above jam display (Step S _6), and error display (step S _10), when the need is remove the transfer material P jammed, the status of all devices FIG. 2 (a) return, and repeat the operation from the step S _1.

FIG. 2C is a side view showing a state in which the transfer material P is being inserted, and FIG. 2E is a side view showing a state in which the transfer material P having a size larger than the maximum size is being fed back. is there.

Further, the sensor 33a is located at a position where the rear end of the small-sized paper to be inserted can be completely pulled out and can always pass through the rear end when returning. The same applies to the large size sensor 33b.

 Next, another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

In the above embodiment, postcards, B5, B5-R, A4 (A3
-R) and A4 are applied to the standard paper, but in this embodiment, even if the non-standard paper is manually inserted, the abnormal state is detected. The same reference numerals are given to the members having the same functions as those of the above-described embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

A rail 35 is provided on the right end of the manual feed tray 3 in the manual feed direction, and a rack 36 is slidably mounted on the rail 35. Then, the shaft 26 of the feed holding roller 26
a, a pinion 37 having a pitch circle of the same diameter as the roller 26 is integrally attached to a position corresponding to the rack 36,
The pinion 37 is engaged with the rack 36. Further, a photo interrupter 39 is attached to the tip of the rack 36 and moves together with the rack 36.
A sensor 40 for detecting the leading end of the transfer material P is
Installed on a.

Therefore, when the transfer material P is manually inserted into the manual feed tray 3 so as to contact the shutter 11a, the sensor 40 is turned on and the photo interrupter 39 is turned off. When the sensor 40 is turned on, the manual feed drive roller 23 starts, and the press roller 26 also moves, so that the transfer material P and the rack 36 move at the same pace.

At this time, if an abnormality occurs in the movement of the transfer material P, the transfer material P
Is shifted toward the front side of the rack 36. Then, the photo interrupter 39 is turned on.

When this signal is input to the control unit 41, it is determined as JAM, and the stepping motor 25 stops and rotates in the reverse direction. Therefore, the manual feed roller 23, and therefore, also stops, and immediately starts reverse rotation. Subsequent operations are the same as in the previous embodiment.

(G) Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the manual feed port is disposed on the front surface of the apparatus to improve the installation space efficiency of the image forming apparatus, and the manual feed of the manual sheet material is performed. If the length of the path in the conveyance direction is longer than the maximum sheet material width that can be conveyed in the main body conveyance path, it is detected by the detection unit,
Since the sheet material is not conveyed in the main body conveyance path, jam can be prevented before it occurs.

When the sheet material is returned to the manual feed slot side by the detection of the detecting means, the sheet material is automatically taken out.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a front-side manual paper feeder, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of its operation, FIG. 3 is a flowchart, FIG. 4 is a control block diagram, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment, FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a conventional electronic copying apparatus, FIG. 8 is a perspective external view thereof, and FIG. . DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus (electronic copying apparatus), 3 ... Manual feed path, 6, 7 ... Main body feed path, 23, 25, 26 ... Manual feed means, discharge means (Manual feed drive roller, stepping motor,
Manual feed presser roller), 32 ... Detection means (sensor),
P: sheet material (transfer material).

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Agency reference number FI Technical display location G03G 15/00 514 G03G 15/00 514

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] A main body conveying path provided in the apparatus main body for conveying a sheet material to image forming means of the apparatus main body; and a manual sheet material inserted from a manual insertion slot provided on a front surface of the apparatus. A manual feeding path for conveying the sheet from a direction orthogonal to the conveying path, the image forming apparatus comprising: Detecting means for detecting that the manual sheet is longer than the maximum sheet material width that can be conveyed on the path, and controlling the sheet material not to be conveyed on the main body conveying path when the detecting means detects that the manual sheet material is longer. An image forming apparatus, comprising: 2. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for returning said sheet material to said manual feed opening side when said detecting means detects that said manual sheet material is long. .