JP2002068567A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of easily taking out a normally discharged paper sheet and postprocessed paper sheet even when providing a postprocessing part and a paper discharge tray in a body inside paper discharge space of an image forming device body. SOLUTION: In this image forming device 1 having the body inside paper discharge space 12, a paper discharge tray 13 is arranged in a bottom part of the body inside paper discharge part space 12, a postprocessing tray 14 for performing postprocessing is arranged above the body inside paper discharge space part 12, respectively, the paper sheet finishing the postprocessing by being discharged on the postprocessing tray 14 is refed inside the body from the postprocessing tray, and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 13.

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 copying machine, a facsimile, and the like. More particularly, the present invention provides a paper discharge space between an image forming section and an image reading section of an image forming apparatus main body. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus of an internal paper discharge type.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus typified by a copying machine, a facsimile, and the like, a paper discharge unit space is arranged inside an image forming apparatus main body in order to eliminate a protrusion as much as possible and to have a compact structure. A device employing a so-called internal discharge mechanism has been proposed.

More specifically, a document reading section (scanner section) is provided above an image forming section for forming a toner image on the surface of a photoreceptor drum by an electrophotographic method, while a sheet is supplied to the image forming section. The paper is provided at a position below the production unit, and a paper discharge unit for storing the discharged paper on which the toner image is fixed between the image formation unit and the document reading unit is formed as an internal discharge paper discharge space. Things. In an image forming apparatus having such an in-body paper discharge space, a paper discharge tray is usually provided at the bottom of the in-body paper discharge space.

On the other hand, even in such an image forming apparatus,
It has also been proposed to incorporate a post-processing mechanism typified by stapling means with the aim of improving work efficiency. in this case,
It is necessary to provide a post-processing tray as a work area for performing stapling. In order to design such a post-processing tray to be compact, the post-processing tray is provided in the paper discharge space in the cylinder.

[0005]

However, in the image forming apparatus of the internal discharge type, the internal discharge space has a sufficient size in order to form the internal discharge space in the apparatus main body of a limited size. I haven't. In addition, in the case where a post-processing tray for performing post-processing together with the paper discharge tray is provided in the paper discharge unit space, the paper discharged onto the paper discharge tray or the paper discharged onto the post-processing tray is further increased. However, there was a problem that it was difficult to take out.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problem that the paper is difficult to be taken out in the image forming apparatus of the internal discharge type.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus of an in-body discharge type capable of easily taking out a sheet discharged onto a sheet discharge tray or a sheet discharged onto a post-processing tray.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises an image forming section, an image reading section disposed above the image forming section, and a portion below the image forming section. The toner image formed by the image forming unit is transferred to the sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit between the sheet feeding unit disposed in the image forming unit and the image reading unit, and then the sheet is fixed on the sheet by the fixing unit. In the image forming apparatus, an internal discharge unit space for storing an output sheet on which a toner image is fixed is disposed, a discharge tray is provided at the bottom of the internal discharge unit space, and the internal discharge unit is provided at the bottom of the internal discharge unit space. A post-processing tray for performing post-processing is provided at the upper part of the paper space portion, and the paper discharged onto the post-processing tray and the post-processed paper is
The paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the paper discharged onto the post-processing tray is discharged to the comfort tray after the post-processing is completed. Therefore, even when the post-processing tray is provided, the space of the post-processing tray is compared. All the sheets can be taken out from the discharge tray.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the post-processing is a stapling process, and the set of sheets discharged to the post-processing tray is stapled. The paper is sent out into the main body by a feed roller, and is discharged onto a paper discharge tray through a branch path provided in the main body. This claim 2
According to the invention, the bundle of sheets that has been stapled on the post-processing tray is discharged to the discharge tray via the branch path inside the main body, so that the transport path can be simply configured. It becomes possible.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the discharge tray is slidable so that at least a part thereof projects from the internal discharge space. It is characterized by being constituted. According to the third aspect of the present invention, even when the post-processing tray is provided in the in-body discharge space of a limited size, the discharge tray positioned below the post-processing tray is the main body of the image forming apparatus. Is formed so as to be slidable forward, so that the paper discharged to the paper discharge tray can be easily taken out.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a copying machine showing one embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration. First, referring to FIG. 1, a copying machine 1 is a digital copying machine, which is a type that digitally processes a read document image and prints out the image.

The copying machine 1 is mainly constituted by a main body housing 11, an image reading section having a document placing surface at an upper portion thereof, and a paper feeding portion 20 for feeding a sheet at a lower portion thereof. In the middle part in the up-down direction, an in-body paper discharge unit space 12 that enters inside from the outer surface is formed. The image reading unit is provided with a document processing device (DF) that can be opened and closed with respect to the document placing surface, automatically supplies a document to the document placing surface, and includes an exposure lamp provided in the image reading unit. An original image is taken into the main body memory by an optical system means such as a mirror, a lens system and a CCD.

The housing 11 has an image forming unit (I) provided with its own known electrophotographic process.
U) and a laser exposure unit (LSU) utilizing a light source such as a semiconductor laser, for forming a toner image on a sheet supplied from a sheet feeding unit, and fixing a paper discharge space 1 in the body after fixing.
It is discharged to 2. A discharge tray 13 on which normal discharged sheets (sheets not subjected to post-processing) are stacked is provided on a bottom portion of the in-body discharge section space 12, and a post-processing tray 14 on which an after-mentioned processing is performed is provided above. Is provided. Then, in the post-processing tray 14, after the discharged sheets are aligned, staple processing is performed as post-processing.
The sheet is fed again, and is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 13 located below the post-processing tray 14. In this specific example, a stapling process is taken as an example of the post-processing, but a punching process and the like can be performed in addition to the stapling process.

With reference to FIG. 2, the paper transport will be described in more detail. Now, one copy (one set) is copied for a plurality of documents supplied by the document processing unit DF, and post-processing is not performed. In this case, first, the document processing unit DF
Documents are sequentially supplied from a document feeding section 90 of the document, and a document image is guided to a CCD from a sheet-through type document reading section 100, and stored in a memory in a main body (not shown) as document image information.
All are temporarily stored in the order of the read originals. Then, after one set of document image information is subjected to data processing, it is sequentially output from the first sheet, and is radiated from the LSU to the photoconductor in the image forming unit as light information by turning on / off the laser light. Since the surface of the photoreceptor is uniformly charged in advance with an electrostatic charge, the portion irradiated with the laser beam loses the charge, and an electrostatic charge latent image corresponding to image information is formed. This electrostatic latent image is reversely developed to form a toner image.

On the other hand, the paper fed from the paper feed unit 20 is
Transfer unit 21 corresponding to the image forming unit (IU) in the transport path
Then, the toner image is transferred to the sheet, and then fixed by the fixing unit 22, and then discharged to the discharge tray 13 via the first discharge roller pair 23. At this time, copying operations corresponding to the number of documents are sequentially performed, and one copy corresponding to the documents is sequentially discharged onto the discharge tray 13.

Next, three copies of a plurality of originals are made.
Staple processing is performed as post-processing. As in the previous case, the originals are sequentially supplied from the original feeding unit 90 of the original processing unit DF, and the sheet reading type original reading unit 10 is used.
From 0, the original image is guided to the CCD, and is stored as original image information in the order of the originals read in a memory in the main body (not shown). After data processing is performed on the set of original image information, first, the original image information of the first copy is sequentially output from the first sheet, and is converted into a toner image by an image forming unit (IU). The toner image is transferred by the transfer unit 21 and the fixing unit 2
2, the sheet is guided to the second discharge roller pair 24 without going to the first discharge roller pair 23, and
A copy of a copy corresponding to the document is ejected onto the document 4.

After a copy of one copy discharged on the post-processing tray 14 is prepared by a width adjusting means 54 described later, a stapling process is performed as post-processing. One copy of the stapled copy is re-fed into the main body of the copier by the re-feed roller pair 25 and discharged to the discharge tray 13. This operation is repeated for the required number of copies (three times in this example), and the three copies subjected to the stapling process are discharged onto the discharge tray 13.

Next, a case where the post-processing is not performed and a case where the post-processing is performed will be described in detail with reference to FIG.
That is, the paper transport path is branched from the fixing section 22 into a first discharge path 151 toward the discharge tray 13 and a second discharge path 152 toward the post-processing tray 14 at the branch section 150. A first discharge roller pair 23 is provided at an outlet of the first discharge path 151, and a second discharge roller pair 24 is provided at an outlet of the second discharge path 152. The lower roller 27 of the second discharge roller pair 24 functions as a lower roller of the second discharge roller pair 24, and together with the pressure roller 28a,
A re-feed roller pair 25 for feeding the post-processed sheet bundle into the copying machine again is configured. With such a configuration, two rollers 24, three rollers,
25 can be configured and one roller can be eliminated, so that effects such as miniaturization of the apparatus and cost reduction can be achieved.

The post-processing tray 1 is controlled by the re-feed roller pair 25.
In re-feeding the sheet bundle on the sheet 4, the second discharge path 1
The lower transport guide 52 also rotates downward on the right side in the figure about the shaft 201 as a rotation center, and also serves as a lower transport guide for the sheet bundle re-fed from the re-feed roller pair 25. When the re-feeding is completed, the lower conveyance guide 200 returns to the original position (the position indicated by the solid line in the drawing). Thus, the re-feed roller pair 2
The sheet bundle re-fed in step 5 is conveyed to the branch unit 150 described above.

In the branching section 150, the paper sent from the fixing section 22 is fed to the first discharge path 151 and the second discharge path 1.
52, and a branch claw 153 for guiding the sheet bundle re-fed by the re-feed roller 25 to the first discharge path 151 is provided. The broken line in the figure indicates the first discharge path 151.
The solid line indicates the state of guidance to the second discharge path 152, and the dashed line indicates the state of the sheet bundle that has been re-fed.
The state of guidance from the discharge path 152 to the first discharge path 151 is shown. The switching of the branch claw 153 is performed by the controller of the copying machine main body to the first discharge path (solid line position) 151 when the post-processing function is not selected, or before the post-processing when the post-processing function is selected. To the second discharge path (broken line position) 152, after the post-processing, the second discharge path 152
Control is performed so as to automatically select and switch the one-dot chain line positions leading to the discharge path 151, respectively.

Next, a supplementary description will be given of the re-feed roller pair 25 and the first discharge roller pair 23. First, the re-feeding roller pair 25 does not have a separation mechanism unlike a normal feeding means so that a stapled sheet bundle can be transported. For this reason, the sheet bundle is
5, the stapled sheet bundle can be fed as it is. In the case of performing stapling processing as post-processing, stapling processing is not performed for only one discharged sheet.
A plurality of sheets, such as sheets, are stapled to form a single sheet bundle. In this case, since the thickness of the sheet bundle increases according to the number of sheets to be bundled, the driving side rollers 27 and 29 are fixed so that the distance between the rollers at the nip position of the roller pair can be changed. The driven-side rollers (pressing-side rollers) 28a and 28b are configured to be movable with respect to the driving-side rollers 27 and 29. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the shaft ends 300a, 300b of the driven-side rollers (pressure rollers) 28a, 28b are turned by the turning arms 301a, 301b.
A and 301b are swingably attached by shafts 302a and 302b provided at the ends. The pressure rollers 28a and 28b are urged toward the driving rollers 27 and 29. By adopting such a configuration, the pressure rollers 28a and 28b form a pair of rollers so as to be movable toward the driving rollers 27 and 29, so that a relatively thick stapled sheet bundle is formed. Even if there is, it is possible to carry without trouble. By employing the above configuration, the sheet bundle stapled in the post-processing tray 14 is re-fed by the re-feed roller pair 25,
Is guided from the discharge path 152 to the first discharge path 151 via the branching section 150, and is discharged from the first discharge path 151 to the sheet discharge tray 13.

Next, a specific structure of the post-processing tray 14 which can be suitably used in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the configuration of the post-processing tray employed in this embodiment. The post-processing tray 14 includes a tray unit 50 for stacking sheets and a staple unit 30 for stapling a sheet bundle stacked on the tray unit 50. The tray unit 50 includes a fixed tray 51 having a narrow width on the right side in FIG. 3, a movable tray 52 stored in the fixed tray 51, and a movable tray 52, which is perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction with respect to the fixed tray (arrow in FIG. 3). A
Tray moving means 53 for moving in the first direction, which is the direction B and the direction of arrow B), and the fixed tray 51 is a width adjusting section 54 for adjusting the width of the stacked sheet bundle.
have. Since the shape of the fixed tray 51 is narrow on the right side in FIG. 3 as described above, when the movable tray 52 is stored, the sheet discharged to the first discharge unit is easily seen by the operator. It has become. The stapling section 30 stores a staple (not shown).

The width matching portion 54 includes a first side fence 61, a second side fence 63, and a rear end side fence 6.
5, and a driving unit (not shown) for moving these three side fences along moving openings 62, 64, 66 provided in the fixed tray 51, respectively.
The width of the stack of sheets stacked at 0 can be adjusted. Also, the rear end side fence 65
Also has a function of sending out a sheet bundle to a pair of re-feed rollers when re-feeding a sheet bundle that has been stapled in the post-processing tray. Specifically, when the stapling process is completed, the rear end side fence 65 pushes the rear end of the sheet bundle so that the leading end of the sheet bundle reaches the nip position of the pair of re-feed rollers.

FIG. 4 is a view showing the structure of the movable tray moving means in the post-processing tray, and FIG. 5 is a view showing an engagement state between the fixed tray and the movable tray. FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. Referring to FIG. 4, movable tray moving means 53 includes a motor (not shown), a pinion gear 71 drivingly connected to the motor, and a rack gear 72 provided on the bottom surface of movable tray 52, and the motor rotates. Thereby, the movable tray 52 can be moved in the first direction with respect to the fixed tray 51 via the pinion gear 71 and the rack gear 72, and the movable tray 52 can be protruded or stored with respect to the fixed tray 51. ing. Note that this motor is a motor that can rotate forward and backward, and is adapted to move the movable tray 52 in a direction to protrude from the fixed tray 51 and to move the movable tray 52 in a direction to be stored in the fixed tray 51.

Referring to FIG. 5, the fixed tray 51 is provided with grooves 73 at two bottoms in the first direction, and two projections 74 engaging with the two grooves 73 are provided on the movable tray 52. , Whereby the movable tray 52 can move in the first direction with respect to the fixed tray 51. In FIG. 5, only the fixed tray 51 is a sectional perspective view in order to illustrate the groove 73 provided in the fixed tray 51.

The above-described driving means for the width adjusting unit 54 and the motor for moving the movable tray 52 are connected to control means (not shown), and control these drives. The control means is also connected to the above-described paper detection means. That is, the motor is rotated via the control unit in accordance with the detection result of the sheet detection unit.

The operation of the post-processing tray having the movable tray will be described. For example, 5
One copy of the A3-size original is copied at 1: 1 and stapling is set, and the copy key is turned on. Then
A detection signal indicating that the sheet is in the A3 vertical size by the sheet detecting unit in the sheet feeding unit 20 is sent to the control unit. The control unit that has received the detection signal determines that the movable tray 52 is to be protruded from the fixed tray 51, and sends the signal to the motor. As a result, the motor of the movable tray moving means 53 rotates, and the movable tray 52 moves through the pinion gear 71 and the rack gear 72.
Moves in the direction of arrow A (see FIG. 3) with respect to the fixed tray 51, and the movable tray 52 stored in the fixed tray 51 is moved.
Project from the fixed tray 51 and correspond to the A3 width,
Stock becomes possible. On the other hand, in the paper supply unit 20, the A3 paper is selected and paper supply is started. The fed sheet is discharged to the post-processing tray 14 via the image forming unit 21, the fixing unit 22, and the second discharge roller pair 24, and the first sheet is stocked. Similarly, the second to fifth sheets are also stored in the post-processing tray 14. The bundle of five sheets thus stocked is width-matched by width-matching means 54. Specifically, the first and second side fences 61 and 63 reciprocate several times along the moving openings 62 and 64 in the first direction by driving means (not shown). Similarly, the rear end fence 65 also has a moving opening 66 in a direction perpendicular to the first direction.
Reciprocate several times along the route. These reciprocating movement amounts may be about several cm. This completes the width adjustment of the sheet bundle. Then, the first and second side fences 61,
63 is the direction of arrow A while holding the sheet bundle (see FIG. 3)
When the end of the sheet bundle reaches the staple unit 30, the movement stops. The moving amount may be calculated by calculating a driving amount of the driving unit from the sheet size information, and driving the driving unit by the calculated amount, or a position that is turned on when the sheet bundle reaches the staple unit. May be provided, and the drive transmission from the driving means may be canceled immediately after the switch is turned on by the sheet bundle.

The sheet bundle reaching the staple unit 30 is stapled, and then the first and second side fences 61 and 63 hold the sheet bundle in the direction of arrow B (FIG. 3).
See) and return to the original position. Thereafter, the rear end fence 65 moves along the moving opening 66 to push the sheet bundle toward the re-feed roller pair 25. As a result, the leading end of the sheet bundle is engaged with the pair of re-feed rollers 25, and the re-feed roller pair 25 performs the above-described transport control and discharges the sheet to the discharge tray 13. Thus, a series of copying operations is completed.

Here, with the movement of the rear end fence 66, the motor starts rotating so that the movable tray 52 is also stored in the fixed tray 51, the movable tray 52 moves in the direction of arrow B, and copying is completed. Sometimes, the movable tray 52
Is returned to the state stored in the fixed tray 51.

Also, for example, in the case where copying is performed by stapling through the A4 length, copying and stapling are performed in the same procedure as described above.
2 can be stapled even when stored in the fixed tray 51, so that the movable tray 52 is stapled without protruding from the fixed tray 51 as described above.
Also, in the case where the first direction has a size of A4 length or less, stapling is performed without protruding the movable tray 52 with respect to the fixed tray 51 in the same manner as described above.

As described above, since the movable tray 52 protrudes from the fixed tray 51 only when necessary and is stored in the fixed tray 51 at other times, the post-processing device is provided above the sheet discharge space 12. Also, the sheet discharged to the bottom portion of the sheet discharge space, that is, the sheet discharged to the first discharge unit is not difficult to be seen by the operator.

Next, a preferred sheet discharge tray 13 applicable to the present invention will be described. The discharge tray 13 is provided at the bottom of the in-body discharge section space 12 and is a tray for stacking discharged sheets. For this reason, in general, it is necessary to use a material common to the housing material of the copying machine main body and fixedly attach it. However,
In this embodiment, since the post-processing tray 14 is provided in the in-body discharge space 12 together with the discharge tray, the space occupied by the discharge tray 13 is small. for that reason,
To make it easier to take out the paper on the paper discharge tray 13, a drawer-type paper discharge tray is employed.

More specifically, referring again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the guide means 1 provided on the left side edge of the paper discharge tray 13 in the drawing.
20 and a slide means 130 also provided on the right side edge of the paper discharge tray 13 in the drawing. And the guide means 1
Reference numeral 20 is engaged with a groove for sliding the guide means 120 so as to be able to be pulled out at the lower left side edge of the in-body paper discharge space portion 12. Further, the sliding means 130 is, for example, a slider made by Arcuride Co., Ltd., and one side of the pair of sliding means 130 slidably incorporated via bearings is disposed on the paper discharge tray 13 and the other side is discharged into the body. It is attached to the lower right side edge of the paper space 12 in the drawing. With such a configuration, the paper discharge tray 13 can be used as the paper discharge unit space 12 in the cylinder.
It can be freely drawn from. The rear side edge of the paper discharge tray 13 has a side fence 14 projecting upward.
0 so that the copy is not left in the inner discharge space 12 when the discharge tray 13 is pulled out. By adopting such a drawer-type discharge tray, it is extremely easy to take out a copy on the discharge tray 13.

[0033]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the post-processing unit is incorporated in the main body housing of the image forming apparatus, the installation space of the entire apparatus can be reduced as compared with the conventional case where the post-processing apparatus is externally attached. Further, since it is not necessary to secure a space around the image forming apparatus main body for jam clearance, it is possible to substantially reduce the installation space.

[0034]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an internal configuration according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a configuration of a post-processing unit according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a movable tray moving means according to the present invention (a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 3).

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an engagement state between a fixed tray and a movable tray according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conveyance path for discharging a sheet in the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus 11 ... Main body housing 12 ... Paper discharge space part 13 ... Discharge tray 14 ... Post-processing tray 20 ... Paper supply part 21 ... Transfer part 22 ... Fixing part 23 ... First discharge roller pair 24 ... Second discharge Roller pair 25: Conveying roller pair 26: Re-feeding roller pair 27, 29 ... Driving roller 28a, 28b ... Pressing side roller 51 ... Fixed tray 52 ... Movable tray 53 ... Movable tray moving means 54 ... Width matching part 61 ... 1 side fence 62, 64, 66 moving opening 63 second side fence 65 rear end side fence 71 pinion gear 72 rack gear 73 groove 74 protrusion 150 branch part 151 first discharge path 152 first Discharge path 2 153: Branch claw

Claims (3)

[Claims] An image forming unit, an image reading unit disposed above the image forming unit, a sheet feeding unit disposed below the image forming unit, and a sheet feeding unit between the image forming unit and the image reading unit. The toner image formed by the image forming unit is transferred to the paper fed from the paper feeding unit, and then an inner paper discharge unit space for accommodating the output paper having the toner image fixed on the paper by the fixing unit is arranged. Image forming apparatus,
A discharge tray is provided at the bottom of the internal discharge space, and a post-processing tray for performing post-processing is provided at an upper portion of the internal discharge space, and the discharge tray is disposed on the post-processing tray. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the post-processed sheet is discharged to the discharge tray. 2. The post-processing is a stapling process. After a set of sheets discharged to the post-processing tray is completed, the set of sheets is sent out to the inside of the main body by a feed roller. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image is ejected onto a sheet ejection tray through the sheet ejection tray. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge tray is slidably formed so that at least a part thereof protrudes from the internal discharge space.