JP2001042588A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an image forming device from getting larger and to prevent failure that the outside appearance of the device from getting worse even when a printer controller is mounted by forming a printer controller housing space inside a read part supporting base. SOLUTION: The printer controller housing space is formed inside the read part supporting base 3 and the printer controller 35 is housed in the space. As for the base 3, the printer controller housing space is sectioned inside and an aperture 36 for inserting the controller 35 is formed on the peripheral wall of the rear part side thereof. In the case of mounting the controller 35, the controller 35 is housed in the space inside the base 3 through the aperture 36 from the inner side of the image forming device. The controller 35 and a component mounted unit 37 attached to the inside of an image-forming part housing 6 are electrically connected through a cable 38.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading section for reading an original image, an image forming section disposed below the image reading section for forming an image on a recording medium, and supporting the image reading section. And a reading unit support table supported by the image forming unit, and between the reading unit support table and the image forming unit.
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a recording medium discharge space for discharging a recording medium on which an image is formed is formed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus of the above-mentioned type configured as a copying machine, a facsimile, a multifunction machine having both of these functions, or a printing machine has been conventionally known (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-339105). . According to this type of image forming apparatus, the recording medium on which the image is formed in the image forming unit is discharged to the recording medium discharge space between the reading unit support that supports the image reading unit and the image forming unit below the recording unit. Accordingly, the installation area of the image forming apparatus can be reduced, and the image forming apparatus can be arranged in a narrow place. Also, since the image reading unit is supported by the reading unit support table, the image reading unit is largely bent or deformed due to its own weight or the like,
It is possible to prevent a problem that the reading accuracy of the document image is reduced.

By the way, it has been widely practiced to provide a function of a printer to this kind of image forming apparatus or to add a function of the printer to an image forming apparatus already used by a user. In such a case, it is necessary to mount a printer controller on the image forming apparatus. Such a printer controller may be installed at the time of manufacturing the image forming apparatus, or may be added later to the image forming apparatus used by the user at the request of the user.

Conventionally, the above-mentioned printer controller is
For example, the controller is mounted on the back of the housing of the image forming unit. However, when the printer controller is mounted as described above, the image forming apparatus becomes bulky due to the controller, and it is not possible to reduce the size of the image forming apparatus. Further, since the printer controller is exposed to the outside, the external appearance of the image forming apparatus is reduced. The disadvantages of decline are inevitable.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made on the basis of the above-described recognition, and has as its object to increase the size of an image forming apparatus and the external appearance even when a printer controller is mounted. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus of the type described at the beginning, which can prevent the problem that image quality is reduced.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus of the type described at the beginning, wherein a printer controller storage space is formed inside the reading section support base. Is proposed (claim 1).

At this time, it is advantageous to form a storage space for storing objects other than the printer controller inside the reading section support base.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, it is advantageous that the image forming apparatus further comprises a drawer / drawer inserted in the drawer space of the reading unit support so as to be able to be pulled out (claim 3).

Further, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the reading section support base is formed in a box shape by using a conductive material, and is electrically connected to the image forming section. Advantageously (claim 4).

Further, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, it is advantageous that the reading unit support is electrically connected to the image reading unit.

Further, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth or fifth aspect, it is advantageous that the reading unit support is made of metal (claim 6).

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment as viewed obliquely from the front, and FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus shown here supports an image reading unit 1 for reading a document image, an image forming unit 2 disposed below the image reading unit 1, and the image reading unit 1. And a reading unit support table 3 supported by the
A recording medium discharge space 4 is formed between the reading unit support 3 and the image forming unit 2. The image forming unit 2 serves to form an image on a recording medium as described later, and the recording medium on which the image is formed is discharged to the recording medium discharge space 4. In the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, an automatic document feeder 5 is optionally mounted above the image reading section 1.

The image forming section 2 has a main body, that is, an image forming section housing 6, in which an image forming element described later is arranged. Similarly, the image reading section 1 also has a main body, that is, an image reading section housing 7 and a reading device 8 disposed therein, and a contact glass 14 is fixed on an upper portion of the image reading section housing 7. I have. The imaging unit housing 6 and the image reading unit housing 7
For example, it is composed of a metal frame and a resin cover that covers the frame.

The image reading section housing 7 is mounted on the reading section support 3 and is fixed to the reading section support 3 by fixing means such as screws (not shown). The reading unit support 3 includes a projection 6 </ b> A on the upper part of the imaging unit housing 6 and the imaging unit housing 6.
Is mounted on a column 6B constituted by a part of the projection 6B, and the projection 6 is fixed by a fixing means such as a screw (not shown).
A and is fixed to the upper part of the column 6B. In this manner, a recording medium discharge space 4 is formed between the reading unit support 3 and the image reading unit 1.

The main body 9 of the automatic document feeder 5 has an arrow A with respect to an image reading unit housing via a hinge 10 (FIG. 1).
1 shows a state in which the automatic document feeder 5 is opened, and FIG. 2 shows a state in which the automatic document feeder 5 is closed. The reading operation of the original image and the image forming operation are performed in the state shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, when a document D is set on a document table 11 fixedly supported on a main body 9 of the automatic document feeder 5 and a print key (not shown) is pressed,
The top document D is sent out in the direction of arrow B1 by the rotation of the pickup roller 12 supported by the main body 9, and is fixed to the upper portion of the image reading unit housing 7 by the rotation of the document conveyance belt 13 also supported by the main body 9. It is fed onto the provided contact glass 14 and stops here.

The image of the original placed on the contact glass 14 is read by the reading device 8 in the image reading section housing 7. The reading device 8 has a light source 15 for illuminating a document on a contact glass 14, an optical system 16 for forming a document image, and a photoelectric conversion element including a CCD 17 for forming a document image.

After the reading of the original image is completed, the original is conveyed in the direction of arrow B2 by the rotation of the original conveying belt 13, and is discharged onto a discharge tray 18 fixed to the image reading section housing 7. In this way, the originals D are automatically fed one by one onto the contact glass 14, and the original image is read by the image reading unit 1.

On the other hand, a photosensitive member 19, which is an example of an image carrier, is disposed inside the image forming section housing 6, and the photosensitive member 19 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. By 20, the surface of the photoconductor is charged to a predetermined polarity. The optical writing unit 21 emits a laser beam L light-modulated in accordance with the image information read by the reading device 8, and exposes the charged surface of the photoconductor with the laser beam L. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface. This electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image by the toner when passing through the developing device 22. The toner image is transferred to a recording medium fed between the photoconductor 19 and the transfer device 23 by a transfer device 23 facing the photoconductor 19 as described later. The surface of the photoconductor after the transfer of the toner image is cleaned by the cleaning device 24.

A plurality of paper feed cassettes 25, 26, 27, and 28 each containing a recording medium P made of transfer paper or a resin sheet are arranged below the image forming unit housing 6, and any one of them is supplied. The recording medium P is sent from the paper cassette in the direction of arrow B3, and the toner image formed on the surface of the photoconductor is transferred onto the surface of the recording medium P as described above. Next, the recording medium P passes through a fixing device 29 in the image forming unit housing 6 as indicated by an arrow B4, and at this time, the toner image transferred to the surface of the recording medium is fixed on the surface by the action of heat and pressure. Is done.

The recording medium P that has passed through the fixing device 29 is conveyed by a discharge roller pair 30 and discharged to the recording medium discharge space 4 as indicated by an arrow B5, and is constituted by the upper wall of the image forming unit housing 6. The recording medium is stacked on the recording medium discharge unit 31. In this manner, the image forming unit 2 forms an image on the recording medium P, and the recording medium P on which the image is formed is a recording medium discharge space 4 formed between the reading unit support 3 and the image forming unit 2. Is discharged.

A part of the paper feed cassettes 25 to 28, for example, the lower two paper feed cassettes 27 and 28 are mounted in a paper feed unit case separate from the image forming unit housing 6 to constitute a paper feed unit. Alternatively, the image forming unit 2 may be arranged on the paper feed unit.

In the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, the image forming unit housing 6 is formed so that a toner image can be formed on the back surface of the recording medium.
Is provided with a re-feeding unit 32 which is detachably set to the re-feeding unit. When the double-sided mode in which an image is also formed on the back side of the recording medium is selected, the recording medium that has exited the fixing device 29 as described above is guided by the switching claw 33 whose position has been switched, and is indicated by an arrow B6. The recording medium is conveyed into the re-feed unit 32 as described above, and then the recording medium is reversely fed in the direction of the arrow B7 opposite to the arrow B6, so that the recording medium is reversed. Next, the recording medium is again transferred to the photosensitive member 1 by the conveying roller pair 34.
9 is transferred between the transfer device 9 and the transfer device 23, and the toner image formed on the surface of the photoconductor is transferred to the back surface of the recording medium in the same manner as described above. When the recording medium passes through the fixing device 29, the toner image transferred to the back surface is fixed on the recording medium by the action of heat and pressure. Subsequently, the recording medium is supplied to the recording medium ejection unit 3 as indicated by an arrow B5.
It is discharged on 1.

According to the image forming apparatus described above, the recording medium P is discharged to the recording medium discharge space 4 between the reading section support base 3 for supporting the image reading section 1 and the image forming section 2 therebelow. Therefore, the entire image forming apparatus is not bulky in the horizontal direction, and the image forming apparatus can be installed in a narrow place. Further, since the image reading section 1 is supported on the reading section support table 3, the image reading section 1 is largely bent or greatly deformed by the weight of the image reading section 1 and the automatic document feeder 5. There is no.

Here, as described above, a printer controller must be mounted on the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 so as to have a function as a printer. At that time, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, a printer controller 35A is mounted on the back of the imaging unit housing 6. For this reason, not only the external appearance of the entire image forming apparatus is deteriorated, but also the disadvantage that the printer controller 35A protrudes outward in the horizontal direction of the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus is enlarged accordingly.

Therefore, in the image forming apparatus of this embodiment,
Focusing on the point that a reading unit support 3 that supports the image reading unit 1 is provided, a printer controller storage space is formed inside the reading unit support 3, and the printer controller can be stored in this space. It is configured.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the external appearance of the image forming apparatus viewed obliquely from the rear, and FIG. 4 is a view showing a state where the automatic document feeder 5 and the image reading section 1 shown in FIGS. 3 is a perspective view showing the reading unit 3 detached from the image forming unit 2. As can be seen from these drawings, the reading unit support base 3 is formed in a hollow box-like shape, and the printer controller storage space S1 is formed therein. An opening 36 for inserting the printer controller 35 is formed on the peripheral wall on the back side of the reading unit support 3. When the printer controller 35 is mounted, as shown by an arrow C in FIG.
And is stored in the space S1 inside the reading unit support 3.
Then, the printer controller 35 and the electrical unit 37 mounted inside the imaging unit housing 6 are connected to the cable 3.
8 for electrical connection.

The printer controller 35 is a controller required when the image forming apparatus is used as a printer. For example, code data transmitted from a host computer such as a personal computer or a host system such as a word processor to the image forming apparatus is used. Is converted into image data. By mounting the printer controller 35, an image corresponding to the data sent from the host system can be formed on the recording medium P by the image forming unit 2 of the image forming apparatus as described above.

As described above, the inside of the reading section support table, which has conventionally been a dead space, is actively used as the printer controller storage space S1 so that the printer controller 35 can be stored in the reading section support table 3. Therefore, despite the increase in the functions of the image forming apparatus due to the addition of the controller 35, the image forming apparatus does not become large or its appearance does not deteriorate. The reading unit support 3 has a rigidity and strength enough to withstand the weight of the image reading unit 1 and the automatic document feeder 5 and a height H (FIG. 4). The printer controller 35 can be reliably protected by storing the printer controller 35 in the space.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a storage space S 2 for storing objects other than the printer controller 35 is formed inside the reading section support table 3, and the reading section support table 3 is provided.
An opening 39 is formed in the peripheral wall on the front side of the. Through this opening 39, the storage space S2 inside the reading section support table 3
For example, an instruction manual (not shown) for the image forming apparatus can be stored therein.

At this time, the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment has a bin drawer 40 which is inserted into the bin space S2 of the reading unit support table 3 so as to be able to be pulled out.
Is formed in a box shape with an open top. As shown in FIG. 1, the drawer 40 is pulled out to the front side of the image forming apparatus, and for example, an instruction manual for the image forming apparatus is inserted therein. Then, the drawer 40 is pushed inward, and is shown in FIG. As described above, the instruction manual can be stored in the storage space S2 of the reading unit support base 3 together with the storage container drawer 40. By providing the storage container pull-out body 40 in this manner, an appropriate product such as an instruction manual can be easily stored in the reading unit support base 3 or can be easily removed.

By forming the storage space S2 in the inside of the reading unit support 3, the instruction manual of the image forming apparatus can be stored here, so that the instruction manual can be prevented from being lost and the instruction manual can be stored. A dedicated pocket or the like is not required, and the cost of the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

The reading unit support 3 can be made of a suitable material such as a hard resin or a metal plate. The reading unit support 3 is formed in a box shape from a conductive material, and is formed on the image forming unit 2. When electrically connected, the reading unit support 3 can be grounded. As a result, electromagnetic waves can be shielded by the reading unit support 3, and a shield case of the printer controller 35 is not required, and the cost of the image forming apparatus can be reduced. More specifically, the reading unit support 3 made of a conductive material is electrically connected to a grounded conductive frame of the imaging unit housing 6.

In addition to the above configuration, it is particularly advantageous to electrically connect the reading unit support 3 made of a conductive material to the image reading unit 1. That is, the reading unit support 3 is electrically connected to the conductive frame of the image reading unit housing 7 through the conductive member such as the above-described screw or leaf spring. With this configuration, since the image reading unit 1, the reading unit support 3 and the image forming unit 2 are all electrically connected, it is possible to suppress electromagnetic waves generated from the image reading unit 1.

When a metal plate is used as the conductive material of the reading unit support 3, the rigidity and strength of the reading unit support 3 can be increased. As described above, by forming the reading unit support 3 from metal, the reading unit support 3
Accordingly, the image reading section 1 and the automatic document feeder 5 can be reliably held in a stable state.

The present invention can be variously modified without being limited to the embodiments described above.

[0038]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the inside of the reading section support base can be effectively used as a printer controller storage space, and even when a printer function is added to the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus is large. Or a problem that the appearance thereof is deteriorated can be prevented.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, things other than the printer controller can be stored inside the reading section support, and the inside of the reading section support can be used more effectively.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, an object can be stored in the storage and drawer, and the storage and drawer can be stored in the reading unit support base, so that the object can be easily taken in and out.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the electromagnetic wave can be blocked by the reading unit support, the shield case of the printer controller is not required, and the cost of the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, it is possible to suppress the electromagnetic waves generated from the image reading unit.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the rigidity and strength of the reading unit support can be increased, and the image reading unit can be reliably supported by the reading unit support.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus viewed obliquely from the front.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the image forming apparatus as viewed obliquely from behind.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a reading unit support stand separated from an image forming unit.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an attached state of a conventional printer controller.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image reading part 2 Image formation part 3 Reading part support stand 4 Recording medium discharge space 35 Printer controller 40 Storage drawer P Recording medium S1 Printer controller storage space S2 Storage space

Claims (6)

[Claims] An image reading unit configured to read an original image; an image forming unit disposed below the image reading unit for forming an image on a recording medium; supporting the image reading unit; Forming a recording medium discharge space for discharging a recording medium on which an image is formed between the reading unit support and the image forming unit. An image forming apparatus, wherein a printer controller storage space is formed inside the reading unit support base. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a storage space for storing objects other than a printer controller is formed inside the reading unit support base. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a container drawer that is removably inserted into a container space of the reading unit support base. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reading unit support base is formed in a box shape from a conductive material, and is electrically connected to the image forming unit. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reading unit support is electrically connected to an image reading unit. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reading unit support is made of metal.