JP2002060119A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily take out sheets stacked on a discharge sheet stacking means to which image-formed sheets are discharged. SOLUTION: This image forming device 1 is provided with a body 2 having an image forming means 40 for forming an image on the sheet; an image reading means 30 disposed almost vertically above the image forming means to read the image information of a document; a sheet discharge space part 449 formed between the body and the image reading means, for discharging the sheet with the image formed by the image forming means, therein; and a discharge sheet stacking means 405 provided in the sheet discharge space to stack the sheets with the images formed by the image forming means and movable from the sheet discharge space part.

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 such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, and a composite machine for forming an image on a sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus has, as shown in FIG. 7, an image copying function for copying an image of a document onto a sheet in an image forming section 40 based on image information read by an image reading section 30. Some have a facsimile function of transmitting image information read by the image reading unit 30 to the outside or forming an image on a sheet by the image forming unit 40 based on an image information signal from the outside.

This image forming apparatus 1000 has an image reading section 30 and an image forming section 40 arranged side by side in a vertical (vertical) direction, and the image forming section 40 is provided between the image reading section 30 and the image forming section 40. There is a configuration in which a sheet discharge space portion 80 that is a space from which a sheet on which an image is formed is discharged is provided. In the sheet discharge space 80, a sheet discharge tray 100 on which an image-formed sheet is stacked by separating the inside of the sheet discharge space 80 into upper and lower two stages.
1 is provided. An operation unit 70 for operating the image forming apparatus 1000 by an operator is provided at a front edge of the image forming unit 30 in the operation direction.

When the image forming apparatus 1000 is viewed from directly above, the sheet discharge tray 1001 is large enough to fit within the external projection area of the main body 1002 of the image forming apparatus 1000. The sheet discharge tray 100
Reference numeral 1 denotes a part of an exterior cover that covers at least a part of the image forming unit 40 from the outside of the apparatus, or is fixed to the apparatus main body or easily removed or moved even when independent of the exterior cover. It was attached so as not to do it.

On the other hand, the original placing plate 3 of the image reading section 30
1, and the height of the operation panel surface 70a of the operation unit 70 is set to about 100 cm from the floor surface as a height at which a general adult can easily handle a document based on ergonomics. For this reason, the height of the sheet discharge tray 1001 on which the sheets are necessarily stacked is about 70 cm to 90 cm from the floor surface.

[0006]

However, according to the conventional image forming apparatus, a general adult operator can take out the discharged sheet from the sheet discharge tray 1001 at a distance within reach of the sheet. When standing in front of the apparatus, the sheet placed on the sheet discharge tray 1001 is shaded by the image reading unit 30 and the operation unit 70, and it is difficult to visually recognize the sheet. For this reason, the operator had to groping to grasp the sheet, making it difficult to retrieve the sheet. Further, when a hand is inserted into the sheet discharge space portion 80 to pick up a sheet, the hand or finger may hit the image forming apparatus and cause an injury.

[0007] Such a problem is caused only by the copying function.
Alternatively, this also occurs in an image forming apparatus having only a facsimile function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an image forming apparatus which facilitates taking out a sheet stacked on a discharge sheet stacking means for discharging an image-formed sheet. And

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a main body having an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet, and a main body having an image forming means substantially vertically above the image forming means. Image reading means for reading image information of a document, a sheet discharge space formed between the main body and the image reading means, and discharging the sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming means, And a discharge sheet stacking means provided in the discharge space and movable from the sheet discharge space on which the sheets on which images are formed by the image forming means are stacked.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, there are a plurality of sheet discharge units for discharging sheets to the sheet discharge space, and the discharged sheet stacking means is arranged corresponding to at least one sheet discharge unit.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention further comprises a positioning means for positioning the discharged sheet stacking means with respect to the main body when the discharged sheet stacking means is stored in the sheet discharge space. .

The discharged sheet stacking means of the image forming apparatus of the present invention has a handle.

[0013] The discharged sheet stacking means of the image forming apparatus of the present invention has a cut-out portion for gripping the stacked sheet.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention is provided with a driving unit for moving the discharged sheet stacking unit into and out of the sheet discharge space.

The discharge sheet stacking means of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is provided so as to be rotatable in a substantially horizontal direction.

The center of rotation of the discharged sheet stacking means of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is located at one end of the discharged sheet stacking means.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the discharged sheet stacking means is rotated from an initial position positioned in the sheet discharge space to a position protruding from a projection area range from above the image reading means. It is configured to be possible.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described.
A facsimile machine will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are external perspective views of the entire facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 3 and 4 are external perspective views of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 when the reading unit and the operation unit are removed from the main body. FIG. 5 is a schematic front sectional view of the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the facsimile apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The shapes and relative arrangements of the components described in the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to them unless otherwise specified.

The overall system configuration of the facsimile apparatus (image forming apparatus) 1 will be schematically described with reference to FIG.

The power supply unit 10 supplies power necessary for operating each unit of the facsimile machine 1. The control section 20 electrically controls each section of the facsimile machine 1. The control unit 20 includes means for performing image processing on the image information converted into the electric signal by the image reading unit 30, storing the image information, and the like. The image reading unit 30 irradiates a reading object such as a document with light, converts reflected light into an electric signal, and reads the image as image information. The image forming section 40 mainly forms and reproduces image information on a sheet.

The telephone line communication unit 50 transmits the read image information to another facsimile device or the like via a telephone line or the like, or receives image information or the like sent from another facsimile device or the like. It has become. The network communication unit 60 connects to a computer network, transmits and receives image information via the network,
The facsimile machine 1 is remotely controlled. The operation unit 70 displays the status of the facsimile machine 1 and allows an operator to input information for operating the facsimile machine.

Since the facsimile apparatus 1 has such a configuration, the image forming section 40 forms an image on a sheet based on the image information of the document read by the image reading section 30; A facsimile function of transmitting image information of a document read by the unit 30 to the outside or forming an image on a sheet by the image forming unit 40 based on an image information signal from the outside, and a scanner function of a computer or the like via a computer network , And a composite device having a printer function.

The configuration of the present invention is applicable to a copier having only a copying function, a facsimile apparatus having only a facsimile function, a printer having only a printer function, and a composite apparatus having two or more of these functions. Can be applied. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is not limited to only the facsimile apparatus of the present embodiment.

Next, the configuration of the facsimile machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIG. 5, an image reading section 30 is adapted to optically read an image of a document D as an object to be read placed on a document table glass 301,
Illuminating means for illuminating the reading surface of the document D; a line sensor 302 formed by linearly arranging a plurality of light receiving elements for photoelectrically converting reflected light from the reading surface of the document D illuminated by the illuminating means; A plurality of return mirrors for guiding the reflected light from the reading surface of the document D illuminated by the illumination means to the line sensor 302 are incorporated.

The above-mentioned illuminating means and one of the plurality of return mirrors are guided in the guide surface 303 and are in the sub-scanning direction along the surface of the platen glass 301 facing the original placing surface. The reflected light is guided to the line sensor while moving in the direction of arrow A. At the same time, the light receiving elements of the line sensors arranged in a line in the main scanning direction, which is parallel to the surface of the platen glass 301 and perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction A, continuously repeat photoelectric conversion. ing. As a result, the image reading unit 30
Is configured to two-dimensionally scan a surface to be read of a document D placed on a document table glass 301 and convert optical image information into an electric image signal.

The pressure plate 320 is adapted to bring the original D placed on the original table glass 301 into close contact with the original table glass surface. The pressure plate 320 is opened and closed with respect to the reading unit 30 around a hinge serving as an opening / closing fulcrum (not shown), so that the original D is set on the original platen glass 301 in an open state, or the original is closed in a closed state. D to platen glass 301
It can be held down.
The pressure plate 320 has a function of a document feeder that separates / conveys a plurality of stacked sheet-shaped documents S one by one.

The document table 321 holds the document S up to 100
About one sheet can be placed. The preliminary transport roller 322 feeds the document S to the separation unit. The separation roller 324 is connected to the preliminary conveyance roller 322.
When a plurality of originals S are sent by the
The document S is conveyed while being separated one by one by the cooperation of a reversing roller 325 that rotates such that the original S is conveyed in a direction opposite to the original conveying direction. The feed roller 326 conveys the document S separated one by one toward the reading position. White plate 32
Reference numeral 7 denotes a platen glass 30 for the original S at the reading position.
It is designed to adhere to 1. Discharge roller pair 328
Is configured to discharge the document S that has passed through the reading unit. The document discharge tray 329 includes a discharge roller pair 328.
The originals S discharged by the printer can be stacked. The arrow R in the figure indicates the direction in which the document S is transported.

The image forming section 40 is disposed directly below the image reading section 30 via a sheet discharge space section 449 which is an external space section, and uses a laser beam scanner 420 and a drum-integrated toner cartridge 410 to form an electronic image. This is a so-called laser beam printer of the photographic system. The sheet discharge space 449 is formed between the image reading unit 30 and the upper part of the main body 2. The cassette sheet feeding section 440 is configured to separate and convey a maximum of about several hundred sheets P1 stacked and stored in the box-shaped sheet feeding cassette 441 one by one. The fixing device 430 fixes the toner transferred to the sheet P to the sheet P.

The cassette sheet feeding section 440 includes a box-shaped sheet feeding cassette 441, a cassette middle plate 442 on which the sheet P1 is placed in the sheet feeding cassette 441, and a sheet P1 placed on the cassette middle plate 442. A middle leaf spring 443 that pushes up together with 442, a trailing end regulating plate 444 that regulates the position of the sheet P1 on the rear end side in the transport direction, a width regulating plate (not shown) that regulates the position of the sheet P1 in the width direction, and a cassette middle plate 44.
A sheet feeding unit (not shown) for detecting that the sheet P1 is placed on the sheet P2;
The facsimile machine has a sheet size setting means for detecting the size of the sheet in the cassette sheet feeding section. The paper feed cassette 441 can be pulled out of the facsimile machine when replenishing the sheets P1. Further, a width regulating plate (not shown) and a rear end regulating plate 444 can be moved according to the size of the sheet P1.

The cassette feeding roller 445 is connected to the sheet P1.
The conveyance force is applied to the uppermost sheet P, and only the uppermost sheet P is separated / conveyed by the cooperation of the separation pad 446 having a high friction coefficient.
The transport roller pair 447 includes the paper feed roller 445 and the separation pad 4.
The sheet P separated / conveyed by the cooperative operation with the sheet 46 is conveyed toward the image forming section.
The sheet leading edge detection sensor 401 is connected to the cassette sheet feeding unit 440.
The front end and the rear end of the sheet P separated / conveyed one by one are detected. The registration roller pair 402 conveys the sheet P to the image forming unit 40 in accordance with the detection timing of the sheet front end detection sensor 401 after aligning the front end of the sheet P in the width direction.

The image forming section 40 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 411 as an electrostatic latent image carrier by the charging member 412, scans the surface with a laser beam scanner 420, and exposes the surface according to image information. . As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 411, and when a toner as a developer is attached to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 411 by a developing sleeve 413 as a developing carrier, the electrostatic latent image is formed.
11, a toner image is formed. The sheet P is sent between the photosensitive drum 411 on which the toner image is formed and the transfer roller 403. Photosensitive drum 411 and transfer roller 40
3 transfers the toner image to the surface of the sheet P that is in contact with the photosensitive drum 411 while conveying the sheet P while sandwiching the sheet P, and conveys the sheet to the fixing device 430. In the fixing device 430, the sheet P
The toner transferred above is conveyed while being fixed by applying heat and pressure between a fixing roller 431 having a built-in heater and a pressure roller 432.

The sheet P on which the toner image has been fixed is guided by a branch flapper 433 on the downstream side of the fixing device 430.
The sheet is selectively fed to a path for discharging to the lower sheet discharge tray 404 and a path for discharging to the upper sheet discharge tray 405. The sheet that has been fed into the path to be discharged to the lower sheet discharge tray 404 is sent to the lower sheet discharge tray 404 by the lower discharge roller 434 and the lower discharge roller 435 that is pressed against the lower discharge roller 434 and is driven to rotate.
Is discharged to On the other hand, when the sheet is sent to the path for discharging to the upper sheet discharge tray, the sheet is transferred to the upper discharge roller 4.
The sheet is discharged to the upper sheet discharge tray 405 by the upper sheet discharge tray 405 and the upper sheet discharge roller 437 which is pressed against the upper sheet discharge roller 436 and is driven to rotate. The lower discharge roller pair including the lower discharge roller 434 and the lower discharge roller 435 forms a lower sheet discharge unit 451, and the upper discharge roller pair including the upper discharge roller 436 and the upper discharge roller 437 includes: The upper sheet discharging section 452 is configured. The number of sheet discharge units is not limited to two, but may be three or more.

The arrow W indicates the direction in which the sheet P is conveyed when the sheet is supplied from the cassette sheet feeding unit 440 and discharged to the upper sheet discharge tray 405.

Although not shown, a fixing device 430 including a fixing roller 431 and a pressure roller 432, and a lower sheet discharging unit including a lower sheet discharging roller 434 and a lower sheet discharging roller 435 in the sheet P conveying path. Between the roller pair and between the fixing device and an upper discharge roller pair including an upper discharge roller 436 and an upper discharge roller 437.
A paper discharge sensor (not shown) is provided for detecting whether the leading end and the trailing end have been sent from the fixing device within a predetermined time.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the upper sheet discharge tray (discharge sheet stacking means) 405 is turned around the main body 2 of the facsimile apparatus (image forming apparatus) 1 so that it can be pulled out from the front side to the front side. It is movably provided. The center of rotation of the upper sheet discharge tray 405 is the left end on the drawer side (the left side in FIG. 5). The upper sheet discharge tray 405 usually includes an image reading unit (reading unit) 3.
0 and an image forming unit (image forming unit) 40, which is housed in a sheet discharging space 449 in an external space, and includes an upper discharging roller pair 436 and an upper discharging roller 437 (sheet discharging unit). ) To receive the sheet ejected from it. The upper sheet discharge tray 405 is rotated with respect to the rotation center axis (rotation center) 448 of the main body 2 so that the upper sheet discharge tray 405 is within a projection area range from above the image reading unit 30 (just below the image reading unit 30). It can be pulled out to the front side of the facsimile machine 1 or returned to the original position where the sheet P is discharged.

3 and 4, a sheet discharge tray handle (handle) 406 is formed on the upper sheet discharge tray 405, and the operator manually rotates the upper sheet discharge tray 405 to operate the facsimile apparatus 1. This portion is gripped when pulled out to the front side or returned to the original position for receiving the discharged sheet P.

The cutout portion (cutout portion) 407 of the sheet discharge tray is formed in a part of the upper sheet discharge tray 405. When the upper sheet discharge tray 405 is rotated and pulled out to the front side of the facsimile machine 1, the stacked sheets can be easily grasped and taken out from the thickness direction.

The positioning pin 408 is also formed integrally with the upper sheet discharge tray 405. The positioning pin 408 fits into a positioning hole 438 formed on the main body 2 side of the facsimile machine 1 to position the upper sheet discharge tray 405 at a predetermined position with respect to the main body 2 of the facsimile machine 1. I have. Therefore, the positioning pin 408 and the positioning hole 438 constitute a positioning means. Although not shown, the upper sheet discharge tray 405 is located at a position where the positioning pins 408 provided on the upper sheet discharge tray 405 are fitted into the positioning holes 438 provided on the main body 2 side of the facsimile machine 1. Reference numeral 405 has fixing means fixed to the main body 2.

Further, a sheet discharge tray rotation motor (drive means) 409 is configured to automatically rotate the upper sheet discharge tray 405 according to a control signal from the control unit 20. The upper sheet discharge tray 40 can be pulled out by an operator without using the sheet discharge tray rotation motor 409. Therefore,
The sheet discharge tray rotation motor 409 is not always required.

The upper sheet discharge tray 405 may be configured to be able to be drawn straight out toward the user in the operation direction. In this case, the upper sheet discharge tray also has a sheet discharge tray grip, a sheet discharge tray notch, a positioning pin, and the like.

[0044]

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the discharged sheet stacking means can be moved out of the main body from the position for receiving the sheet discharged from the main body. The user of the image forming apparatus can easily check or easily take out the sheet discharged above, and the convenience of the user can be improved. Further, it is not necessary to take out the sheet by groping, so that the operator does not hit his hand or finger against the image forming apparatus and is not injured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an entire facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the entire facsimile apparatus in which the upper sheet discharge tray is pulled out of the main body in the facsimile apparatus of FIG.

3 is an external perspective view of the facsimile apparatus of FIG. 1 when a reading unit and an operation unit are removed from a main body.

4 is an external perspective view of the facsimile apparatus when the upper sheet discharge tray is pulled out of the main body in the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic front sectional view of the facsimile machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the facsimile machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of a conventional facsimile machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

A Sub-scanning direction D Document P Sheet R Document transport direction S Document (object to be read) W Sheet paper transport direction 1 Facsimile device (image forming device) 2 Body of facsimile device 10 Power supply unit 20 Control unit 30 Image reading unit (Image reading) Means) 31 original placing plate 40 image forming unit (image forming unit) 50 telephone line communication unit 60 network communication unit 70 operation unit 70a operation panel surface 80 sheet discharge space unit 405 upper sheet discharge tray (discharge sheet stacking unit) 406 sheet Discharge tray handle (handle) 407 Sheet discharge tray notch (notch) 408 Positioning pin (positioning means) 409 Sheet discharge tray rotation motor (drive means) 411 Photosensitive drum 430 Fixing device 438 Positioning hole (positioning means) 448 Rotation center axis (rotation center) 44 Sheet discharge space portion 451 the lower part of the sheet discharge unit 452 upper sheet discharge unit

Claims (9)

[Claims] A main body having an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet; an image reading means arranged substantially vertically above the image forming means to read image information of a document; and the main body and the image reading means. And a sheet discharge space where the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit is discharged, and the sheet provided in the sheet discharge space and on which the image is formed by the image forming unit. And a discharge sheet stacking means movable from the sheet discharge space where the sheet is stacked. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of sheet discharge units for discharging sheets to said sheet discharge space, and said discharge sheet stacking means is arranged corresponding to at least one sheet discharge unit. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising positioning means for positioning said discharge sheet stacking means with respect to said main body when said discharge sheet stacking means is stored in said sheet discharge space. 3. The image forming apparatus according to 2. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said discharge sheet stacking means has a handle.
Item 10. The image forming apparatus according to item 1. 5. The discharge sheet stacking means according to claim 1, wherein the discharge sheet stacking means has a cut-out portion for gripping the stacked sheets. Image forming apparatus. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a driving unit that puts and ejects the discharged sheet into and out of the sheet discharge space. 7. The discharge sheet stacking means is provided so as to be rotatable in a substantially horizontal direction.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. A rotation center of the discharge sheet stacking means,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image forming apparatus is provided at one end of the discharge sheet stacking unit. 9. The discharge sheet stacking means is configured to be rotatable from an initial position positioned in the sheet discharge space portion to a position protruding from within a projection area range from above the image reading means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: