JP2001226019A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve problems caused when a recording paper cassette is removed from a device body of an image forming device. SOLUTION: The device body has an image recording mechanism 2 for recording an image while feeding recording paper, an image reading mechanism 3 located at the upper side of the image recording mechanism for reading an image put on a document while feeding the document, and a recording paper cassette 5 arranged corresponding to the image recording mechanism at the outside of the device body for placing the recording paper. A document tray 8 is arranged corresponding to the image reading mechanism on the outside of the device body and supported on the device body for rotational movement between a tilting position A of receiving the document discharged from the image reading mechanism and a rising position B of preventing the discharge of the document from the image reading mechanism. The document tray is stopped and held at the tilting position by a stopper member 11 and stopped and held at the rising position by a stopper member 12, preventing the discharge of the document from the image reading mechanism.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided with a recording paper table and a document tray.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus used in a copying machine or the like is provided with an image recording mechanism for recording an image by electrophotography while transporting a recording sheet at a lower portion of the apparatus main body, and transporting a document to an upper portion thereof. Is provided so that a user using the image forming apparatus can easily handle an original and perform an image reading operation in a reasonable posture. In this image forming apparatus, a recording paper cassette on which the recording paper to be fed to the image recording mechanism is stacked and placed is provided corresponding to the image recording mechanism, and the image is read by the image reading mechanism. A configuration is provided corresponding to a document tray for receiving the discharged document, so that the recording paper and the document can be easily handled outside the apparatus main body. For example, a configuration in which a document tray is provided on the upper side of a recording paper cassette and both are provided in a vertically stacked manner so that a user can handle both the recording paper and the document from the same surface side of the apparatus main body. Has been adopted.

Conventionally, in this image forming apparatus, the recording paper cassette is detachable from the main body of the apparatus in a case where it is necessary to replenish the recording paper and in a case where the recording paper cassette is replaced with a recording paper cassette in which recording papers of different sizes are placed. It is attached to and provided.

[0004]

However, such a conventional image forming apparatus has the following problems. First, when removing and attaching the recording paper cassette to the apparatus main body, the original tray is generally attached to the apparatus main body so that the work can be performed without being restricted to the original tray located directly above. It is attached detachably. For this reason, when removing the recording paper cassette from the apparatus main body, it is necessary to remove the document tray from the apparatus main body each time, and the operation is troublesome.

[0005] The copying operation in the image forming apparatus is as follows.
After reading the image described in the original while transporting the original by the image reading mechanism, because the operation of recording the image on the recording paper based on the image information while transporting the recording paper by the image recording mechanism, If recording paper is not supplied to the image recording mechanism, the image recording operation will be hindered. However, if the recording paper cassette is removed from the main unit,
Recording paper is not supplied from the recording paper cassette to the image recording mechanism. For this reason, if an image reading mechanism is used to convey a document and read an image in a state where the recording paper cassette is removed from the apparatus main body, the image recording operation is hindered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which solves a problem that occurs in removing a recording paper cassette from an apparatus main body.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, comprising: an apparatus main body; an image recording mechanism provided in the apparatus main body for recording an image while conveying recording paper;
An image reading mechanism that is provided above the image recording mechanism and is provided in the apparatus main body and that reads an image written on the original while conveying the original; and a position corresponding to the image recording mechanism outside the apparatus main body. A recording paper placing table for placing the recording paper fixed to the apparatus main body, and a document discharged from the image reading mechanism disposed outside the apparatus main body at a position corresponding to the image reading mechanism. A document tray supported by the apparatus main body so as to rotate between a tilted position for receiving the document and an upright position for preventing discharge of a document from the image reading mechanism; and a stop for stopping and holding the document tray at the tilted position. And a stopping means for stopping and holding the document tray at the upright position.

According to the structure of the present invention, by rotating the original tray to the upright position, the recording paper cassette can be easily removed from the apparatus main body by utilizing the opened upper space, and the stopping means is provided. The document tray is prevented from being discharged from the image reading mechanism by stopping and holding the document tray in the upright position, so that the document is transported by the image reading mechanism with the recording paper cassette removed from the apparatus main body, and the image is transferred to the image reading mechanism. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which reading is hindered.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the means for stopping and holding the original tray at the upright position includes a first member provided on the original tray, and the apparatus. A second member provided on the main body and engaged with the first member when the document tray is at the upright position; at least one of the first member and the second member has elasticity; The elastic member is elastically deformed and is disengaged from the other member.

According to the configuration of the present invention, it is possible to configure a stopping means capable of automatically stopping and releasing with a simple configuration.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the recording paper mounting table is configured to stack recording papers to be sent to the image recording mechanism and mount the recording papers. .

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

1 and 2 are front views showing a copying machine according to this embodiment, and FIG. 1 shows a state in which a document tray is in an inclined position. FIG. 2 shows a state where the document tray is in the upright position. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the copying machine. 4 and 5 schematically show the configuration of the support portion of the document tray. FIG. 4 shows a state where the document tray is at the tilt position and the intermediate position, and FIG. 5 shows a state where the document tray is at the upright position. Is shown.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an apparatus main body, in which an image recording mechanism 2 is mounted. The image recording mechanism 2 employs an electrophotographic system, and includes a photoreceptor drum, a charging unit, an exposing unit, a developing unit, and the like (not shown), and records an image on a recording sheet while conveying the recording sheet. . In this embodiment, the image recording mechanism 2 is provided on the other side inside the apparatus main body 1 so as to perform image recording while conveying the recording paper from the lower side to the upper side. Therefore, the recording paper is fed into the apparatus main body 1 from one side and is conveyed substantially horizontally toward the other side, then is raised almost vertically on the other side and conveyed from the top. A path is formed, and a transport roller for transporting the recording paper is provided in the transport path.

An image reading mechanism 3 is provided on an upper portion of the apparatus main body 1. The image reading mechanism 3 reads an image described on the document by a sensor while transporting the document, and includes a sensor, a transport roller, and a guide (not shown). In this embodiment, the image reading mechanism 3
An original is fed from the other side of the apparatus main body 1, conveyed toward one side, reads an image, and is then discharged from the other side. For this reason, the image reading mechanism 3 includes the apparatus main body 1.
Is inclined so as to decrease from the other side toward one side. An operation panel 4 is provided on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 1 so as to cover the image reading mechanism 3, and the operation panel 4 is provided with keys for performing a copying operation.

A recording paper cassette 5 is disposed at a position corresponding to a recording paper conveyance path provided inside the apparatus main body 1 at a position below the outside of one side of the apparatus main body 1. The recording paper cassette 5, which is an example of a recording paper mounting table, is provided inside the apparatus main body 1 through a recording paper inlet 21 a provided at a lower portion of one side of the apparatus main body 1 by stacking and mounting cut-shaped recording papers P. The recording paper P is supplied to the image recording mechanism 2. The recording paper P is supplied horizontally, and a base end thereof is inserted into a recording paper entrance 21 a provided in the apparatus main body 1 and detachably attached. As a result, the recording paper cassette 5 is stopped at a horizontal position on the apparatus main body 1 and attached to the apparatus main body 1.

A recording paper tray 6 is arranged on the upper side of the outside of the other side of the apparatus main body 1 at a position corresponding to a recording paper conveyance path provided inside the apparatus main body 1. The recording paper tray 6 receives recording paper after image recording discharged from a recording paper outlet 21b provided on the other upper portion of the apparatus main body 1 and has a base end provided at the recording paper outlet 21b provided in the apparatus main body 1. It is removably inserted into and attached to.

An original placing table 7 is arranged at a position corresponding to the image reading mechanism 3 provided on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 1 on the upper outside of the other side of the apparatus main body 1. The original placing table 7 is for placing originals to be sequentially fed from an original entrance 21c provided on the other upper side of the apparatus main body 1 to the image reading mechanism 3 provided inside the apparatus main body 1, and has a base end on a lower side. The base end is detachably inserted and attached to a recording paper inlet provided in the apparatus main body 1 as described above. The document table 7 is disposed above the recording paper tray 6, and further on the outside upper side of one side of the apparatus main body 1, at a position corresponding to the image reading mechanism 3 provided above the apparatus main body 1. A document tray 8 is provided. The original tray 8 receives images placed by an image reading mechanism 3 provided inside the apparatus main body 1 and sequentially discharges the originals from an original exit 21d provided at an upper side of the apparatus main body 1. The end is the device body 1
And is rotatably supported in a vertical direction by being pivotally supported at a position below the original outlet 21d provided in the printer. That is, the document tray 8 is arranged at a position corresponding to the image reading mechanism 3 outside the apparatus main body 1, and the tilting position A for receiving the document discharged from the image reading mechanism 3 and the discharging of the document from the image reading mechanism 3. It is supported by the apparatus main body 1 so as to rotate between a standing position B for blocking. The upright position B is a position where the document exit 21e provided at one upper portion of the apparatus main body 1 is closed from the outside. The document tray 8 is a stop member 11 which is an example of a stop means for stopping and holding the document tray 8 at the tilt position A.
As a result, the stop means 12 is an example of the stop means 12 for stopping and holding at the upright position B, and is stopped and held at the upright position B.

The structure for pivotally supporting the document tray 8, the stop member 11 and the stop means 12 will be described.

The document tray 8 is formed of a synthetic resin, and is curved so that the central portion is lowered so that the document can be easily received from the apparatus main body 1 to the outside and stopped there. It has an outwardly projecting piece 8a, both pieces 8a having arms 13 standing at right angles, the upper ends of both arms 13 being horizontal pivots 1
4 supports the apparatus main body 1 so as to be vertically rotatable.
Both arms 13 have dimensions that allow them to stop at the tilting position A by contacting a stop member 11 serving as a stopping means, and to stop at the standing position B by the stopping means 12 as described later. I have. These two arms 13 have, for example, long holes 14 along their lengths in order to have the required elasticity.
Are formed. At the upper ends of both arms 13, a triangular pressing and locking projection 15 is formed, and the pressing and locking projection 15 rotates the document tray 8 upward from the tilt position A to the upright position B. The elastic locking member 16 formed on the apparatus main body 1 to be described later is sometimes pressed and locked. That is, when the document tray 8 rotates from the tilt position A to the upright position B about the pivot 14, the distal end portion 15 a of the triangular top of the pressing and locking projection 15 presses the elastic locking member 16 outward. When the document tray 8 is rotated from the tilt position A to the upright position B about the pivot 14, the distal end 15 a is an elastic locking member. After pressing the document tray 16 outward, the document tray 8 is stopped and held at the standing position B by being locked from the inside by the elastic locking member 16.

The apparatus main body 1 is provided with a stop member 11 at a position facing the arms 13 provided on both sides of the base end of the document tray 8 when the document tray 8 is at the tilting position A. . When the document tray 8 is at the tilting position A, the stop member 11 comes into contact with the inside of each arm 13 of the document tray 8 to stop and hold the document tray 8 at that position. These stop members 8 are formed integrally with the apparatus main body 1, or a separate member is attached to the apparatus main body 1 by means such as screwing.

In the apparatus body 1, both sides of a document outlet 21d for discharging the document W from the image reading mechanism 3 are provided.
Elastic locking members 16 that can be elastically deformed are provided at positions facing the pressing locking projections 15 formed on the arms 13 on both sides of the base end of the document tray 8. This elastic locking member 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes a member which is pressed by the pressing and locking projection 15 to be elastically deformed and locked therewith when the document tray 8 rotates upward from the tilt position A to the standing position B. It has a dimensional shape that can be pressed and locked.

The stopping means 12 is formed by a pressing and locking projection 15 and an elastic locking member 16. That is, the document tray 8
Is stopped and held at the standing position B.
And a second member provided on the apparatus main body 1 and engaged with the first member when the document tray 8 is at the upright position B. The first member and the second member At least one of the two members has elasticity, and the elastic member is elastically deformed and disengages from the other member. In this embodiment, the first member is a pressing and locking projection 15, the second member is an elastic locking member 16,
Both of the members 15, 16 have elasticity.

In the image forming apparatus constructed as described above, the recording papers P stacked and mounted on the recording paper cassette 5 are sequentially fed out by a feeding roller from a recording paper inlet 21a, and are conveyed to the apparatus main body 1 by conveying rollers. On the road,
The image is recorded by the image recording mechanism 2 and the recording paper exit 21
b to the recording paper tray 6. The original W placed on the original placing table 7 is moved from the original entrance 21c to the main body 1 of the apparatus.
The document is conveyed by the document reading mechanism 3 provided in the printer and the described image is read and discharged from the document exit 21d to the document tray 8. In this case, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 (two-dot chain line), the document tray 6 is at the tilting position A, and the arms 13 of the document tray 8 come into contact with the stop members 11 provided on the apparatus main body 1 to be lowered. It is pressed so as not to tilt to the side and stopped and held at the tilting position A. Here, since the recording paper cassette 5 and the document tray 8 are provided on one side of the apparatus main body 1, the operation of replenishing the recording paper cassette 5 with the recording paper and the operation of receiving the document after the image reading has been completed are performed. The operation can be performed on the same surface side of the main body 1 and the operation is convenient.

When all of the recording paper P placed in the recording paper cassette 5 is fed out and it becomes necessary to replenish the recording paper,
The recording paper cassette 5 is removed from the recording paper inlet 21a of the apparatus main body 1, and the recording paper P is refilled and placed on the recording paper cassette 5. In this case, the original tray 8 becomes a hindrance when removing the recording paper cassette 5, and the work is difficult.

Then, the document tray 8 at the tilt position A is rotated upward about the pivot 14 to be positioned at the upright position B as shown in FIG. With the rotation of the document tray 8, the arms 13 provided at the base end rotate integrally upward and separate from the stop member 11 provided on the apparatus main body 1. When the document tray 8 rotates close to the standing position B, as shown in FIG. 4, the distal end portions 15a of the pressing / locking projections 15 provided on the respective arms 13 engage with the respective elastic locking members 16 provided on the apparatus main body 1. The elastic locking members 16 are elastically deformed by being pressed outward. Further, when the document tray 8 is rotated to the standing position B, the distal end 15a of the pressing / locking projection 15 provided on each arm 13 as shown in FIG. From the outside, it goes over the side edge of each elastic locking member 16 and enters inside. At this time, since the pressing / locking projection 15 is formed with the elongated hole 14 and can be elastically deformed, it can elastically deform itself when crossing the elastic locking member 16 so that the pressing / locking projection 15 can be crossed. Further, the elastic locking member 16 is pushed by the distal end portion 15a of the pressing and locking projection 15 and is elastically deformed outward, so that the distal end portion 15a of the pressing and locking projection 15 can be moved over.

The distal end 15a of the press-locking projection 15 formed on each arm 13 of the document tray 8 is
When the pressure-locking projection 16 and the elastic locking member 16 are moved over the elastic locking member 16 provided at the position shown in FIG. Edge 1
5b is locked to the elastic locking member 16. As a result, the pressing and locking projection 15 is locked by the elastic locking member 16 and
Is stopped so as not to incline downward, and is stopped and held at a standing position B for closing the document exit 21d provided in the apparatus main body 1 from the outside.

In this way, the space above the recording paper cassette 5 can be opened by rotating the document tray 8 located above the recording paper cassette 5 to the upright position B. For this reason, the recording paper cassette 5 can be easily removed from the apparatus main body 1 using the opened upper space.

Further, when the recording paper cassette 5 is removed from the apparatus main body 1, the recording paper P is not supplied from the recording paper cassette 5 to the image recording mechanism 2 of the apparatus main body 1.
Therefore, when the document W is conveyed in a state where the recording paper cassette 5 is detached from the apparatus main body 1, an image is read by the image reading mechanism 3, and an operation of recording the read image by the image recording mechanism 2 is attempted. In addition, since the recording paper P is not supplied to the image recording mechanism 2, the image recording operation cannot be performed by the image recording mechanism 2. Therefore, the document tray 8 is stopped and held at the upright position B where the document outlet 21d is closed from the outside. This allows the operator to set the document exit 21
It is possible to easily determine that the apparatus does not operate (that is, there is no recording paper) due to the blockade of d, so that unnecessary operation is not required.

Further, the stopping means 12 for stopping and holding the original tray 8 at the upright position B includes a means for stopping and holding the original tray 8 at the upright position A, the first member provided on the original tray 8 and the apparatus main body 1. The document tray 8 is provided at the upright position B
A first member and a second member to be locked when in
At least one of the first member and the second member has elasticity, and the elastic member is elastically deformed and is disengaged from the other member. The combination of the elastically deformable locking member 16 and the pressing locking projection 15 makes it possible to easily stop and hold the document tray 8 at the standing position B and release it with a simple configuration. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented with various modifications. For example, the recording paper mounting table is not limited to the recording paper cassette that supplies the recording paper to the image recording mechanism, but may be a recording paper tray (a paper discharge tray) that receives the recording paper on which the image is recorded by the image recording mechanism. Can also. When the document tray 8 is stopped and held at the standing position B, a sensor for detecting the position of the document tray is provided when it is desired to surely prohibit the operation of the operator. You should do it.

[0031]

According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, by rotating the document tray to the upright position,
The recording paper cassette can be easily removed from the apparatus main body using the opened upper space, and the original tray is ejected from the image reading mechanism by stopping and holding the original tray in the upright position by the stopping means. Since the discharge of the document is prevented, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the document is conveyed by the image reading mechanism to read the image while the recording paper cassette is removed from the apparatus main body, and the image recording operation is not hindered.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the operation of stopping and holding the document tray at the upright position and releasing the original tray can be easily performed with a simple configuration.
The recording paper mounting table is used to stack the recording paper to be sent to the image recording mechanism and to place it on the recording paper cassette. It can be performed and the operation is convenient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary front view showing the copying machine according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the copying machine according to the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a document tray support provided in the copying machine according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a document tray support provided in the copying machine according to the embodiment;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body of apparatus, 2 ... Image recording mechanism, 3 ... Image reading mechanism, 5 ... Recording paper cassette, 6 ... Recording paper tray, 7 ... Original mounting table, 8 ... Original tray, 11 ... Stopping member, 12 ... Stopping means, 13: arm, 14: pressing and locking portion, 15: elastic locking member, A: tilting position, B: standing position.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus main body, an image recording mechanism provided in the apparatus main body for recording an image while conveying a recording sheet, and a document provided in the apparatus main body and located above the image recording mechanism. An image reading mechanism for reading an image described on a document while being conveyed, and a recording paper loading unit for placing a recording paper fixed to the apparatus main body, which is disposed at a position corresponding to the image recording mechanism outside the apparatus main body. A table, a tilted position for receiving a document discharged from the image reading mechanism disposed at a position corresponding to the image reading mechanism outside the apparatus main body, and an upright position for preventing discharge of the document from the image reading mechanism. A document tray supported by the apparatus main body so as to rotate between the document tray, means for stopping and holding the document tray at the tilt position, and holding and holding the document tray at the upright position An image forming apparatus comprising: And means for stopping and holding the document tray at the upright position, wherein the first member is provided on the document tray, and the first member is provided on the apparatus main body when the document tray is at the upright position. And a second member to be locked. At least one of the first member and the second member has elasticity, and the member having elasticity is elastically deformed and becomes the other member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is disengaged from the image forming apparatus. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording paper mounting table is configured to stack and mount recording papers to be sent to the image recording mechanism.