JP2002179256A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device with a good appearance capable of preventing degradation of positioning accuracy of a paper feeding tray. SOLUTION: A copying machine 1 comprises the paper feeding tray 33 for holding paper in a laminating state and positioning pins 63 for positioning the paper feeding tray 33 to a copying machine body 2, and at least one positioning pin is disposed in the copying machine body 2. The positioning pin 63 is covered with a resin layer 73.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been a demand for space saving in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and facsimile machines.
A so-called front-loading type image forming apparatus in which a paper feed tray that can be pulled out in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction is mounted at a lower portion of the apparatus main body is mainly used. In addition, many paper feed trays are adapted to support different paper sizes, and generally, before and after regulating both sides of the paper in the width direction (direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction) (in front of the image forming apparatus). A pair of side fences (side and back) and an end fence that regulates the position of the rear end of the sheet (the rear end in the transport direction) are configured to be movable.

Various paper feed trays having movable side fences and end fences have been proposed. However, in an image forming apparatus that conveys paper on the basis of a center, a rack is provided on each of the side fences on the front and rear sides of the apparatus. By providing a horizontal extension member having a pair of side fences and engaging the racks of both side fences with the pinion gear, a pair of side fences can be moved at an equal distance from the center reference, thereby improving operability. Widely used from the point.

In such a sheet feeding tray, gear backlash of a rack and a pinion gear for moving the side fence and rattling due to play of the moving guide portion cannot be avoided, causing a skew of the sheet. To alleviate this, it is important to improve the positioning accuracy of the paper feed tray itself. In recent years, the sheet feeding tray of an image forming apparatus is of the above-described front loading type, so that it is easier to determine the position of the sheet feeding tray itself by determining the position on the front side and the back side of the image forming apparatus. .

In addition, with the recent increase in the number of sheets stacked, the positioning portion of the sheet feed tray must be robust. Since the front loading type image forming apparatus has a large front opening, the mainstream positioning pins are caulked with metal pins on the structure of the image forming apparatus main body due to layout restrictions.

[0006]

However, most of the paper feed trays are made of resin, and the metal pin receiving portion of the image forming apparatus main body wears with time, so that the positioning accuracy of the paper feed tray is deteriorated, There is a problem in that shavings (abrasion powder) on the tray are scattered near the metal pins, which impairs the appearance.

On the other hand, it is conceivable to apply grease to the metal pins in order to reduce the abrasion of the sheet feeding tray. In addition, grease may adhere to hands and clothes, causing discomfort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which can prevent deterioration of positioning accuracy of a sheet feed tray and has a good appearance.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed tray for holding sheets in a stacked state, and a positioning pin for positioning the paper feed tray in the image forming apparatus main body, wherein the positioning pin is used for the image forming apparatus. In the image forming apparatus on the front surface of the main body of the forming apparatus, the positioning pins are covered with a covering member made of a resin material.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the positioning pin is covered with the covering member, so that the abrasion of the positioning pin and the pin receiving portion can be reduced as compared with the case where the positioning pin is composed of only the metal pins. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the positioning accuracy of the sheet feeding tray from deteriorating, and to prevent the abrasion powder from being scattered near the positioning pins, so that the appearance is good. In particular, when a resin material having good slidability is used,
Wear can be further reduced. In addition, since it is not necessary to use grease or the like in order to reduce wear, it is possible to prevent grease from adhering to a hand or a coating.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, when the sheet feeding tray is detached from the image forming apparatus main body, the positioning pin projects from the image forming apparatus main body. I do.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
In addition to the same effect as the invention described in the above, the surface of the covering member can be made smooth by using the covering member as a resin material, and when the sheet feeding tray is detached from the image forming apparatus main body, other objects may be imaged. Even if it comes into contact with the positioning pins protruding from the forming apparatus main body, other objects can be prevented from being damaged.

[0013] The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the invention described in (1), the covering member of the positioning pin is detachable from the positioning pin.

[0014] According to the third aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
Or the same effect as the invention described in 2 above, and by making the covering member detachable, even if the positioning accuracy of the paper feed tray is deteriorated due to wear of the covering member over time, the covering member can be removed. By exchanging, the positioning accuracy of the sheet feeding tray can be easily duplicated.
By selecting the material on the paper tray side and adding sheet metal members,
If the wear on the paper feed tray side is reduced, the positioning accuracy can be further improved.

The invention described in claim 4 is the first to third aspects of the present invention.
In the invention described in any one of the above, the coating member of the positioning pin is colored.

[0016] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
In addition to providing the same function and effect as the invention described in any one of (3) to (3), by coloring the covering member of the positioning pin, the positioning pin becomes conspicuous, so that the presence of the positioning pin can be easily recognized. In addition, if the covering member is colored up to the thickness of the wear limit of the covering member which can guarantee the positioning accuracy of the sheet feeding tray, it can be used as a guide for replacing the positioning pin and the covering member, and the replacement timing can be easily made. You can figure out.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a copying machine to which the present invention is applied. Copier 1
Includes a reading unit 3 for reading a document image, an image forming unit 5 for forming an image, and a paper feeding unit 7 for feeding paper (recording material) in order from the top of the copying machine 1. ing.

The reading section 3 is provided on a top surface of a cover 9 covering the periphery, a contact glass 11 for setting an original image (copy original), and an openable / closable with respect to the contact glass 11. Document holder 13 for holding the set copy document, and contact glass 1
And an optical device 15 for reading the copy original set in the image forming unit 1 and forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 17.

The image forming section 5 has a photosensitive drum 17 which rotates in the clockwise direction (see the arrow) in the figure. Around the photosensitive drum 17, the photosensitive drum 17 is brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 17. A charging device 19 for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 17; a developing device 22 for visualizing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 17 as a toner image by a developing sleeve 20;
A transfer device (transfer means) 24 for transferring the toner image (visible image) of No. 7 onto the paper P, and a cleaning device 28 for cleaning the photosensitive drum 17 by removing toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 17 after transfer. Is arranged.

The fixing device 30 includes a fixing roller 30 for applying heat and a pressing roller 34 for pressing (pressing) the sheet P toward the fixing roller 30. A fixing device 32 for thermally fixing the toner image transferred to the toner image is provided. This fixing device 3
The paper P on which the toner image has been fixed by the paper tray 2
5 and is stacked.

The paper feeding section 7 is located at the lower part of the copying machine 1 and has a paper feeding tray 33 for storing the paper P in a stacked state, and one end side of the paper feeding tray 33 in the paper feeding direction (in FIG. 1). Upper right)
A paper feed roller 35 for feeding the paper P in the paper feed tray 33 and a paper P fed by the paper feed roller 35
First and second intermediate roller pairs 41a, 41 arranged on a paper transport path 40 formed by a plurality of guide plates 39
b, a paper transport device 37 that transports the photosensitive drum 17 and the transfer device 24 via the registration roller pair 43
And

As shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed tray 33 has a box shape with an open top, and a drawer 47 is formed on one side on the front side. This paper feed tray 33
The handle 47 can be pulled out to the copier body 2 with the handle 47 facing the front (arrow A).
See). Inside the paper feed tray 33, a bottom plate 49 that supports the paper P fed in the paper feed direction (rightward in FIG. 1) in a stacked state is provided so as to be able to move up and down around a support shaft 51.

Further, a sheet P
An end fence 53 that regulates the position of the rear end is slidably supported along the guide groove 55 and freely fixed at an arbitrary position. Further, side fences 57 and 59 are provided on the near side and the far side in the drawing direction of the sheet feeding tray 33 so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the sheet feeding direction.

These opposed side fences 57, 5
9 includes racks 6 projecting in parallel with each other in opposite directions.
1, 61 are integrally formed, and these racks 61, 61
Is rotatably supported on the bottom of the paper feed tray 33. That is, the side fence 57,
59 are connected so as to move in conjunction with each other.

The paper feed tray 33 is positioned by positioning pins 63 provided on the front surface of the copying machine main body 2 and a back guide 65 provided on the back side of the copying machine main body 2. At a position corresponding to the positioning pin 63 and the back guide 65, a hole 67 for receiving the positioning pin 63 and a projection 69 fitted to the back guide 14 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the metal core 71 of the positioning pin 63 is caulked to the structure 2a of the copying machine main body 2, and the surface of the core 71 of the positioning pin 63 is formed smoothly. Resin layer (covering member) 73. The resin layer 73 is preferably made of a material having good slidability.

When the paper tray 33 is detached, the resin layer 7 of the positioning pin 63 is inserted into the hole 67 of the resin paper tray 33.
Only 3 touches. The coating of the core layer 71 with the resin layer 73 has a certain degree of pull-out strength by press-fitting or the like so that the coating member 73 does not fall off when the paper feed tray 33 is detached.

In the present embodiment, the resin layer 73 has
For example, it is colored with a color that calls attention, such as red or yellow. That is, even if the positioning pins 63 are covered with the smooth resin layer 73, when the paper feed tray 3 is pulled out from the copying machine main body 2, the positioning pins 63 protrude from the copying machine main body 2, and other If the resin layer 73 is hit, there is a possibility that other objects may be damaged. Therefore, by coloring the resin layer 73 to make it stand out, it is possible to easily recognize the presence of the convex positioning pin 63, and the copier body 2 It can be prevented that another object accidentally hits the positioning pin 63 protruding from the other.

The core material 71 of the positioning pin 63 is
In this case, the wear of the positioning pins 63 and the holes 67 can be reduced as compared with the case where only metal pins are used. The appearance can be improved because it is possible to prevent the wear powder from spreading around the positioning pins 63.

Further, since it is not necessary to use grease or the like in order to reduce abrasion, it is possible to prevent grease from adhering to a hand or a coating. Further, in the present embodiment, the resin layer 73
Is smooth, even when another object comes into contact with the positioning pin 63 protruding from the copier body 2 when the paper feed tray 33 is removed from the copier body 2, The object can be prevented from being damaged.

Next, another embodiment will be described. In the description, the same parts as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a positioning pin according to the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (a) to (c), a groove 75 is provided in the metal core 71 of the positioning pin 63, and a claw which is caught in the groove 75 of the core 71 of the positioning pin 63 when mounted on the resin layer 73 side. The resin layer 73 is provided with the positioning pin 6.
The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the third core 71 is detachable.

The resin layer 73 is used as the core material 71 of the positioning pin 63.
5 is performed by pushing the resin layer 73 in the direction of arrow B, as shown in FIG. 5, and the claw portions 77 of the resin layer 73 escape by their elasticity during mounting. As shown in FIG. 4 (a), the positioning pin 63 is engaged with a groove 75 formed in the core 71 of the positioning pin 63,
It serves as a stopper for removal. Even after the resin layer 73 is mounted, the resin layer 77 can be removed from the core 71 of the positioning pin 63 by releasing the locked state between the claw portion 77 of the resin layer 73 and the groove 75. Although not shown, the positioning pins 6
The rotation of the resin layer 73 may be stopped by separately providing a milling surface on the third core material 71 and building up the surface at a position facing the resin layer 73 side.

Also in this embodiment, the resin layer 7
3 is colored by a predetermined color. If the surface portion of the resin layer 73 is colored to the thickness of the wear limit of the resin layer 73 that can guarantee the positioning accuracy of the paper feed tray 33, the positioning pin 63 and the resin layer 73 can be replaced. And the timing of replacement can be easily grasped.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, a plurality of positioning pins 63 may be provided, or the positioning pins 63 may be provided on the paper feed tray 33.

Further, the present invention is applied to the paper feed unit 7 of the copying machine 1, but is not limited to this, and is applicable to the paper feed unit of an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile, or a multifunction peripheral thereof. Has the same effect.

[0037]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the positioning pins are covered with the covering member made of a resin material, so that the abrasion of the positioning pins and the pin receiving portions is reduced as compared with the case where only the metal pins are used. As a result, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the positioning accuracy of the sheet feeding tray and prevent the abrasion powder from being scattered in the vicinity of the positioning pins, so that the appearance is good. In addition, since it is not necessary to use grease or the like in order to reduce wear, it is possible to prevent grease from adhering to a hand or a coating.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the same effects as those of the first aspect of the invention can be obtained, and the surface of the covering member can be made smooth by using a covering material made of a resin material. Even when another object comes into contact with the positioning pin protruding from the image forming apparatus main body when detached from the forming apparatus main body, it is possible to prevent the other object from being damaged.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the same effects as those of the first or second aspect of the present invention are provided, and the covering member is made detachable. Even when the positioning accuracy is deteriorated, the positioning accuracy of the sheet feeding tray can be easily duplicated by replacing the covering member.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the same effects as those of the first to third aspects can be obtained, and by coloring the covering member of the positioning pin, the positioning pin becomes conspicuous. The presence of the positioning pin can be easily recognized. In addition, if the covering member is colored up to the thickness of the wear limit of the covering member which can guarantee the positioning accuracy of the sheet feeding tray, it can be used as a guide for replacing the positioning pin and the covering member, and the replacement timing can be easily made. You can figure out.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a copying machine to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the sheet feeding tray of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a positioning pin according to the first embodiment.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views illustrating a positioning pin according to a second embodiment, in which FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a groove of the positioning pin is caught by a resin layer, and FIG. It is sectional drawing which looked at a) from the left, and (c) is a top view of (a).

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a claw is removed from a groove of a positioning pin according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Copying Machine (Image Forming Apparatus) 33 Paper Tray 63 Positioning Pin 73 Resin Layer (Coating Member)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a sheet feeding tray for holding sheets in a stacked state; and a positioning pin for positioning the sheet feeding tray in the image forming apparatus main body, wherein at least one positioning pin is provided in the image forming apparatus main body. An image forming apparatus, wherein a positioning pin is covered with a covering member made of a resin material. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioning pin projects from the image forming apparatus main body when the sheet feeding tray is detached from the image forming apparatus main body. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the covering member of the positioning pin is detachable from the positioning pin. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the covering member of the positioning pin is colored.