JP2002128355A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an internal delivery type image forming device in which problems in installing a processing device in a delivery space are eliminated for achieving space saving effect and usability. SOLUTION: In this image forming device having a space part C to which sheets are delivered between an image reading part A and an image forming part B, the processing device D for processing the sheets as specified is provided in the space part C, and a rotatable sheet carrying guide 20 and a sheet guide member 22 are provided. By rotating the sheet guide member 22, an inversion path for the sheets to be inverted can be formed above the processing device D.

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 and a printer, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a sheet discharge space between an image reading section and an image forming section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the digitization of copiers, as shown in FIG. 8A, a discharge space 102 for discharging sheets has been installed between an image reading unit 100 and an image forming unit 101.
A so-called in-machine discharge type copying machine has been invented. Conventionally,
The ejection tray that protrudes to the side of the device
By arranging between the image forming unit 101 and the image forming unit 101, the area occupied by the copying machine can be significantly reduced.

When images are formed on both sides of a sheet, the direction of the sheet can be reversed using the discharge space 102. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8B, the sheet on which an image is formed on one side by the image forming unit 103 is temporarily discharged by the discharge roller 104 to the discharge space 1.
Start discharging at 02. Subsequently, the discharge roller 10 is
4 is reversed and the sheet is drawn into the device again. Then, the sheet is again conveyed to the image forming unit 103 via the re-feeding path 105 to form an image on the opposite surface, and is again discharged by the discharge roller 104 so as to be stacked on the discharge space 102. That is.

[0004] By adopting the above configuration, it is possible to omit the configuration of the reversing section and the like which have been required conventionally, and it has been possible to further reduce the size and cost.

[0005]

However, recently, in order to achieve both space saving and high productivity, as shown in FIG. 9, a processing device 106 for performing staple processing, sorting processing and the like is disposed in the discharge space 102. It has been figured out. When the processing device 106 is provided in the in-machine discharge space portion 102 of the reversible copying machine described in the related art, a conveying roller that receives the sheet discharged from the main body side discharge roller 104 and conveys the sheet to a processing portion 106a such as a staple. 106b, a guide 106c, and the like are required.

In a copier equipped with the processing device 106, if the sheet is to be reversed by reversing the discharge roller 104 as in the past, as described above, the conventional image forming apparatus has a single-sided surface when reversing during double-sided recording. In order for the rear end of the recorded sheet to protrude from the discharge port and to be conveyed again into the image forming apparatus, the sheet on which the sheet has already been stacked with the stacking height limit value inverted on both sides is already set. The loading height must be set low with a margin so as not to push out. Further, there is a drawback that the state in which the sheet once comes out again enters the main body gives a sense of incongruity to the user.

Further, in the conventional example, in the reversing operation at the time of double-sided recording with the processing device 106 installed, the end of the long sheet enters the receiving portion of the processing device 106, and consequently the transport roller of the processing device. After passing through the nip of 106b, it becomes inverted.

Therefore, when a stepping motor is used to control the transport roller 106b, proper synchronization cannot be achieved due to the difference between the controller and the discharge roller 104 of the image forming apparatus main body. May occur. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to newly add a mechanism for releasing the nip of the transport roller 106b of the processing device 106.

In order to prevent these problems, the distance between the discharge roller 104 on the main body side and the transport roller 106b of the processing device is increased, in other words, the discharge roller 104 in the discharge space 102 is increased.
It is necessary to increase the distance between the device and the processing device 106. However, if the processing device 106 is moved away from the discharge roller 104, the processing device 106 protrudes from the copier main body, and the object of space saving cannot be achieved.

[0010] Further, the addition of a mechanism for releasing the nip of the transport roller 106b and the like also causes problems such as an increase in size and cost of the apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to solve the problem in the case of installing a processing device in a discharge space in an in-machine discharge type image forming apparatus, and to save space. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which achieves image processing and usability.

[0012]

A typical configuration according to the present invention for achieving the above object is an image forming apparatus having a space for discharging a sheet between an image reading section and an image forming section. Wherein a processing device for performing a predetermined process on a sheet is provided in the space, and a reversing path for reversing the sheet is provided above the processing device.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment An image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are cross-sectional views illustrating the main parts of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a state in which the sheet processing apparatus is mounted, and FIG. 4 is a view illustrating the configuration of the sheet processing apparatus.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state where the side cover is opened.

{Overall Configuration} First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, in this image forming apparatus, a space C for discharging a sheet is formed between an image reading unit A and an image forming unit B.

The image reading section A has a document feeding means 2 mounted above the document reading means 1.
Documents supplied one by one are read optically by the document reading means 1, photoelectrically converted and sent to the image forming section B as digital signals.

The image forming section B is loaded with a sheet cassette 3 in which a sheet bundle for image formation is set at the lower portion of the apparatus. The uppermost sheet in the sheet cassette 3 is fed by a pickup roller 4 and , Separation roller pair 5
The sheet is separated and fed one by one, and is conveyed to the image forming unit 7 by the conveying roller 6.

In this embodiment, an electrophotographic recording method is used in which a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 7a by a developing device (not shown) on the photosensitive drum 7a, and the toner image is transferred and recorded on a conveyed sheet. At this time, the image transferred to the sheet is determined by the image signal digitally processed after being read by the image reading unit A or the image signal sent from an external personal computer or the like, and the light emission timing of the laser beam is determined. A latent image formed by irradiating a laser beam from a laser scanner unit (not shown) on the surface of the body drum is reversely developed by a developing device.

The sheet on which the image has been formed is conveyed to the fixing unit 8 where heat and pressure are applied to fix the image. Then, the sheet is guided upward by the switching flapper 9, and is discharged from the discharge port 12 to the discharge tray section 13 formed in the space C by the transport roller 10 and the discharge roller 11.
Incidentally, the discharge tray section 13 also serves as an upper cover of the image forming section B.

The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is capable of recording on both sides of a sheet. When performing double-sided recording, the sheet on which single-sided recording is performed as described above is switched back and conveyed during discharge to perform double-sided recording. The sheet is conveyed to the conveying section 14 and conveyed again to the image forming means 7 in the same manner as in the case of single-sided recording.
Then, the image is recorded on the second surface (the surface on which the single-side recorded sheet is not recorded), and is discharged to the discharge tray unit 13. For this reason, the transport roller 10 and the discharge roller 11 can be switched between forward and reverse rotation.

{Sheet Processing Apparatus} In the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, a processing apparatus D for performing staple processing or the like on a discharged sheet bundle is provided in the space C. As shown in FIG. 3, the processing device D is installed in the direction of the arrow from the front of the device (the side operated by the user).

As shown in FIG. 1, the processing apparatus D is provided with a front cover 15 at the front of the processing apparatus, and covers a stapling needle replacement port (not shown). In the post-processing, the discharging unit 16 including the discharging roller 11 of the image forming unit B is used.
The sheet ejected from the sheet receiving unit 17 is received by the sheet receiving unit 17 including the transport roller 31, and is subjected to post-processing such as stapling in the post-processing unit 18.
Discharge to Note that S in FIG. 1 represents a sheet bundle during post-processing.

The structure of the processing apparatus D will be described more specifically. As shown in FIG.
17 is provided with a sheet conveyance guide 20 for guiding the sheet discharged to the conveyance roller 31. The lower surface of the sheet conveyance guide 20 is an upper guide portion 20a for guiding the upper surface side of the discharged sheet. I have. A support member 21 is provided below the sheet transport guide 20 to form a lower guide portion 21a for guiding the lower surface side of the discharged sheet. A discharge path is formed by the upper guide portion 20a and the lower guide portion 21a. ing. The sheet transport guide 20 is rotatable in a direction indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 4 for jam (sheet jam) processing. At this time, a handle portion 20b for a user to lift the sheet transport guide 20 is provided. ing.

FIG. 5 shows a state of the jam processing.
It can be seen that the user can easily access the handle 20b for opening the sheet transport guide 20 of the processing apparatus receiving section by opening the side door 27 (see FIG. 3) provided on the left side of the apparatus.

The sheet discharged onto the bundle pushing belt portion 25 by the conveying roller 31 is pressed against a stopper portion (not shown) by a return member 23 which rotates as shown by a dashed line in FIG. The transport direction is aligned. On the other hand, the alignment of the sheet bundle in the width direction (the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction) is performed by the side guide 24.
That is, a pair of side guides 24 are arranged on both sides in the sheet width direction so as to sandwich the discharge sheet. One of the side guides 24 is moved in the sheet width direction by a drive mechanism (not shown), and the discharged sheet is sandwiched between the other side guides, whereby the sheet bundle is aligned in the width direction.

The aligned sheet bundle is subjected to post-processing such as shifting and stapling in a post-processing unit 18, and is sequentially sent to a stacking tray 19 by a bundle pushing belt unit 25. The bundle pushing belt portion 25 is provided with pushing claws 26 for pushing the sheet bundle onto the stacking tray 19.

Here, the driving control of the sheet processing apparatus D is as follows.
Due to the degree of freedom of design, cost, versatility, etc., it carries out by incorporating its own controller CPU. Therefore, the relationship is such that only a signal output for setting a timing is received from the apparatus main body side.

{Reverse Pass} Next, a reverse pass when performing double-sided printing on a sheet will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. FIG.

A sheet guide member 22 for guiding the conveyed sheet is provided upstream of the sheet conveyance guide 20 of the processing apparatus D in the sheet conveyance direction. The sheet guide member 22 also functions as a flapper for switching the sheet conveyance direction between sheet discharge and reverse conveyance.
It is rotatable around a shaft 28 by a drive mechanism such as a solenoid (not shown).

In the case of single-sided recording, as shown in FIG.
The lower surface of the sheet guide member 22 becomes an upper guide portion 22a that guides the upper surface side of the sheet to be discharged, and a discharge path is formed by the support member 21 that guides the lower surface side of the sheet. The sheet that has passed through this discharge path is
The sheet is guided by the transfer member 31 while being guided by the support member 20 and the support member 21.

On the other hand, when performing double-sided recording, as shown in FIG. 2, the sheet guide member 22 is rotated counterclockwise by a predetermined amount. At this time, the upper surface of the sheet guide member 22 becomes the lower guide portion 22b that guides the lower surface side of the sheet, and the sheet guide member 22 and the upper guide member 29 form an inversion path. In this state, when the sheet on which single-sided recording has been performed is conveyed by the conveying roller 10 and the discharge roller 11, the sheet is guided by the lower guide portion 22b of the sheet guide member 22 while the upper surface of the sheet is guided by the upper guide member 29. The sheet is guided into the reversing path, and the lower surface of the sheet is guided by the grip portion 20b of the sheet transport guide 20, and is guided above the processing apparatus D. Therefore, the handle portion 20b also serves as a lower guide portion of the sheet in the reverse pass.

The reversing path is formed above the processing apparatus D by the rotation of the sheet guide member 22. Since this portion is covered by the front cover 15, the sheet is
Even if they protrude from the apparatus by a predetermined amount, they are not exposed to the outside of the apparatus.

The sheet conveyed by a predetermined amount (until the trailing edge of the sheet passes through the switching flapper 9) in the reversing path is reversed and conveyed to the double-sided conveying unit 14.

As described above, by forming the reversing path above the processing apparatus D, specifically, above the transport roller 31, a mechanism for driving the transport roller 31 in the reverse direction or releasing the sheet nip by the transport roller 31 is provided. There ’s no need to
It is not necessary to increase the distance between the discharge roller 11 and the transport roller 31 of the processing device. Therefore, space saving and usability of the device are achieved.

In addition, since the sheet to be reversed when the sheet is reversed and conveyed is guided so as not to come out of the apparatus, it is possible to avoid problems such as a user touching or pulling the sheet by mistake.

[Second Embodiment] In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus in which the sheet processing apparatus D is provided in the space C is illustrated. However, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, an image without the sheet processing apparatus is provided. The same applies to a forming apparatus.
In FIGS. 6 and 7, members having the same functions as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the sheet conveying guide 20 is rotated counterclockwise to form a reversing path, and when the sheet is fed into the reversing path, the sheet is fed. An exterior 30 is provided above the space C so that the leading end of the sheet is not exposed outside the apparatus.

In this image forming apparatus, similarly to the above-described embodiment, it is not necessary to reversely drive the transport roller 31, and the sheet does not come out of the apparatus when performing reverse transport, thereby giving a sense of discomfort. There is no.

In the image forming apparatuses of the first and second embodiments described above, the image reading section is provided at the top of the apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and there is no image reading section. Even for a printer type image forming apparatus,
It is obvious that the same effect as that of the image forming apparatus according to the above-described embodiment can be obtained by adopting a configuration in which the sheet is reversed above the processing apparatus. At this time, a configuration may be employed in which the sheet to be inverted is not exposed to the outside. Further, the present invention is also effective in a printer provided with a table-shaped plate member (top plate) instead of the image reading section.

[0039]

According to the present invention, as described above, the sheet can be inverted and conveyed without increasing the size and complexity of the apparatus, and the leading end of the sheet does not protrude outside the apparatus when the sheet is inverted. It does not give the user a sense of discomfort.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory sectional view of a main part of an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a main part of an image forming apparatus that performs reverse conveyance.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a sheet processing apparatus is mounted.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a side cover is opened.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a main part of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment without a sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a main part of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment without a sheet processing apparatus, in a state where the sheet is reversely conveyed;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the related art.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the related art provided with a sheet processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A: Image reading unit B: Image forming unit C: Spatial part D: Processing device S: Sheet bundle 1: Document reading unit 2: Document feeding unit 3: Sheet cassette 4: Pickup roller 5: Separation roller pair 6: Conveying roller 7 image forming means 7a photosensitive drum 8 fixing unit 9 switching flapper 10 transport roller 11 discharge roller 12 discharge port 13 discharge tray unit 14 double-sided transport unit 15 front cover 16 discharge unit 17 Sheet receiving section 18 Post-processing section 19 Loading tray 20 Sheet transport guide 20a Upper guide section 20b Handle section 21 Support member 21a Lower guide section 22 Sheet guide member 22a Upper guide section 22b Lower guide section 23… Return member 24… Side guide 25… Bundle pushing belt part 26… Extrusion claw 27… Side door 28… Axis 29… Upper guide member 30… Exterior 31… Transport roller

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G03G 15/00 550 G03G 15/00 550 5C062 H04N 1/00 H04N 1/00 D 108 108Q F term (Reference) 2H028 BA06 BA09 BB04 2H071 BA03 BA12 BA20 BA24 DA21 DA24 EA04 2H072 AA32 AB07 BA03 BA12 CA01 CA02 FA01 FB01 3F053 BA03 BA12 BA13 EA02 EA05 EB04 EC02 ED03 LA02 LA07 LB03 3F101 FB11 AC03 AB03 AC03 LA05 BA01

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having a space for discharging a sheet between an image reading unit and an image forming unit, wherein a processing device for performing a predetermined process on the sheet is provided in the space. An image forming apparatus, wherein a reversing path for reversing a sheet is provided above the image forming apparatus. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reverse path includes a guide provided on a sheet conveyance guide of the processing apparatus. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide unit is displaced so that the sheet conveyance guide can be released. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide part also serves as a handle for displacing the sheet conveyance guide. 5. An image forming apparatus having a space portion for discharging a sheet between an image reading portion and an image forming portion, comprising: an upper guide portion for forming a discharge path for discharging a sheet to the space portion; An image forming apparatus, comprising: a sheet guide member having a sheet lower guide portion that forms a reversing path for reversing the sheet. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said sheet guide member is a flapper for switching sheet conveyance. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reversing path is reversible without exposing the sheet to the outside of the apparatus. 8. An image forming apparatus provided with a space for discharging a sheet above the image forming unit, wherein a processing device for performing a predetermined process on the sheet is provided in the space, and the sheet is turned over above the processing device. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an inversion path for causing the image forming apparatus to rotate. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a plate-like member that covers the processing device is provided above the reversing path.