JP2003054778A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image recording device capable of preventing a recording material from being damaged when a recording material carrying passage unit is drawn out to dispose of a jam in paper feeding from a manual paper feeder, and simultaneously preventing the secondary trouble caused by a residual piece of the jammed recording paper in the device. SOLUTION: A manual paper feeding-out member, or the manual paper feeding-out member and a manual paper feeding and separating member for feeding the recording material from the manual paper feeder to the recording material carrying passage unit, are integrated with the recording material carrying passage unit, and a means for displaying the order for clearing the jamming of the recording material in feeding the recording material from the manual paper feeder to the recording material carrying passage unit, is mounted on a device body, so that the recording material carrying passage unit can be drawn out from the device body on the basis of the jam disposing order displayed on the display means when the recording material from the manual paper feeding device is jammed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus for improving the processability of feeding jam of a recording material from a manual paper feeding device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an image recording apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer has a plurality of paper feed cassettes containing recording papers of different sizes, which are supplied in accordance with a document size, a magnification or a size designation included in an image forming request. The recording paper in the paper cassette is selected, fed and recorded. In many cases, the recording paper stored in the paper feed cassette is a standard size recording paper and has a specified paper quality. Therefore, many image recording apparatuses are equipped with a manual paper feeding device for using recording paper whose size or paper quality is out of the specified range.

On the other hand, in the image recording apparatus, in order to improve the jam processing property, a recording material conveying path for conveying recording paper from a paper feeding cassette or a manual paper feeding apparatus to fixing after image formation, and further, both sides. Generally, for convenience, an ADU mechanism or the like having a re-feeding path for printing is used as a recording material conveyance path unit and the recording material conveyance path unit can be pulled out to the outside of the apparatus main body. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-19797 discloses a device having an ADU mechanism that can be pulled out, and control of jamming of a recording material conveying path unit that can be pulled out is disclosed in JP-A-7-72683. It is proposed by Japanese Patent Publication No. Further, the inventors of the present application have disclosed the feeding of the recording material from the manual paper feeding device to the recording material conveying path unit in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-125440.

[0004]

However, in the image recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-125440, when a jam occurs when a manual paper feeding device is used, the jammed recording paper (recording material) is used. However, it is often sandwiched between the roller of the recording material conveying path of the recording material conveying path unit and the manual feeding roller fixed to the apparatus main body. This is especially true for recording paper with a large width in the feed direction.In this state, when attempting to process the jammed recording paper by pulling out the recording material transport path unit, the rollers of the recording material transport path and the manual feed roller are used. Alternatively, the recording paper sandwiched between the manual feeding rollers and the like is torn, and the fragments fall into the inside of the main body of the image recording apparatus, causing various troubles.

The present invention solves the above problems and prevents the recording material from being damaged when the recording material conveying path unit is pulled out at the time of jam processing at the time of paper feeding from the manual paper feeding device, and at the same time, at the time of processing. An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus capable of preventing a secondary trouble due to a piece of recording paper left inside.

[0006]

An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus having a recording material conveying path unit that can be pulled out from the apparatus main body and a manual sheet feeding device for feeding the recording material to the recording material conveying path unit. A manual sheet feeding / feeding member, or a manual sheet feeding / feeding member and a manual sheet feeding / separating member, for feeding the recording material from the manual sheet feeding device to the recording material feeding path unit, In addition to being integrally provided, a display means for displaying a recording material jam processing procedure when the recording material is fed from the manual paper feeding device to the recording material conveying path unit is provided in the main body of the device. When the recording material is jammed, the recording material conveying path unit can be pulled out from the apparatus main body according to the jam processing procedure of the display means. It is achieved by that the image recording apparatus.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Note that the description in this section does not limit the technical scope of the claims or the meaning of terms. Further, the following affirmative description in the embodiments of the present invention shows the best mode, and does not limit the meaning or technical scope of the terms of the present invention. In the following description of the embodiments, recording paper, OHT (Overhead Transparency), labels, etc. are used as the recording material, but the recording paper mainly used will be described as an example. The recording material transport path unit is also referred to as a transport rack.

An image forming process and each mechanism of an embodiment of an image recording apparatus having a recording material conveying path unit and a manual sheet feeding device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a digital multi-function peripheral using an electrophotographic method showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus having a recording material conveying path unit and a manual sheet feeding device according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the apparatus main body of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the manual paper feeding device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a jam of recording material from the manual paper feeding device to a recording material conveying path. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a jam processing procedure at the time, and FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing a drawing-out mechanism of the recording material conveyance path unit. In the following description, each roller that conveys a recording sheet, which is a recording material, is composed of a pair of a driving roller and a driven roller, and each of them is driven based on a driving signal by a control means (not shown). It is rotated and driven by means (not shown). Further, the image recording apparatus of this embodiment can record images on both sides of the recording material, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.

The image recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is an image recording apparatus having a composite function using a digital system. An automatic document feeder ADF is provided on the upper part of the apparatus main body, and an image reading unit A, An image processing unit B (not shown), an image forming unit C, and a recording material feeding unit D are included.

The automatic document feeder ADF is a device which is provided in the upper part of the apparatus main body, sends out the originals one by one, conveys them to the image reading position of the originals, and discharges the originals after the image reading. A plurality of originals placed on the original placing table 111 are separated by the original separating roller 112 and are conveyed one by one. Separated by the document separation roller 112
The conveyed original is conveyed by the original conveying roller 113, and the image of the original is read by the image reading unit A provided below through the slit 211. The document from which the image has been read is discharged onto the document discharge tray 115 by the document discharge rollers 114. By the way, when the images on both sides of the original are read, the original on which the image is read is inverted by the original inverting unit 116 and is conveyed again by the original conveying rollers 113.
The image reading unit A reads the image on the back surface of the document through the slit 21. Then, the document from which the image on the back side is read is discharged onto the document discharge tray 115 by the document discharge rollers 114. Such a process
The image of the original is read by repeating the operation for the number of originals placed on the original placing table 111.

Further, the automatic document feeder ADF is constructed so as to be integrally foldable.
The original can be placed directly on the platen glass 212 by raising and opening the platen glass 212. In the present embodiment, while the document is conveyed by the document conveying roller 113, the image of the document is read, but the document conveyed by the document conveying roller 113 is kept stationary on the platen glass 212. It may be configured to read the image above.

The image reading section A is means for reading an image of a document to obtain image data, and is provided in the upper part of the apparatus main body. The image reading unit A directly mounts (stands) a slit 211, which is a slit-shaped opening for reading an image of a document conveyed by the document conveying roller 113 of the automatic document feeder ADF, and the document. A platen glass 212 which is a document table for the document, a lamp which is a light source for illuminating the document, and a first mirror unit 213 which is integrated with a first mirror which reflects the reflected light from the document.
And a second mirror and a third mirror that reflect the light from the first mirror.
A V-mirror unit 214 in which a mirror is integrated, an image forming lens 215 which is an image forming means for forming an image of reflected light from a document on the slit 211 or the platen glass 212 on the CCD image sensor 216, and an image forming lens 215. The linear CCD image sensor 21 which is an image reading means for photoelectrically converting the optical image formed by
6 and 6.

When a document sent by the automatic document feeder ADF is read by the image reading section A, the first mirror unit 213 and the V mirror unit 214 are set to the positions shown in FIG.
In, the first mirror unit 213 is located below the slit 211. Then, the document transported on the slit 211 by the document transport roller 113 is irradiated with light from a lamp, and the light reflected from the document is
The first mirror unit 213, the V mirror unit 214,
CCD image sensor 21 via imaging lens 215
It is incident on 6. The CCD image sensor 216 photoelectrically converts the incident light to read the image of the document in the main scanning direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1), while the document is moved in the sub-scanning direction by the document feeding roller 113. Therefore, the image on the entire surface of the original can be read. CCD
The image information read by the image sensor 216 is sequentially photoelectrically converted into an electric signal (luminance signal), subjected to A / D conversion, and subjected to processing such as density conversion and filter processing in the image processing unit B, and then image data. After being stored in the memory, it is provided to the exposure optical system 12 which is an image writing means using a laser writing system.

When the original is placed directly on the platen glass 212, the original is moved while moving the first mirror unit 213 and the V mirror unit 214 to the right in FIG. 1 along the platen glass. The image of can be read.

The image forming section C forms an image on a recording material being conveyed at a predetermined process speed based on the image data obtained by the image reading section A. The image forming unit C of the present embodiment forms an image using an electrophotographic process.

In the image forming section C, a charger 11 as a charging unit, a developing unit 13 as a developing unit, a transfer unit 14a as a transferring unit are provided around the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 10 as an image carrier as an image forming unit. A separator 14b which is a separating means,
A cleaning device 18, which is a cleaning unit, is arranged in the order of operation. The photoconductor drum 10 is formed by coating a photoconductive compound on a drum substrate. For example, an organic photoconductor (OPC) is used, and the photoconductor drum 10 is driven and rotated clockwise in the drawing.

A charger 11 is attached to the rotating photosensitive drum 10.
After the uniform charging is performed by, the exposure optical system 12 performs image exposure (image writing) based on the image signal called from the memory of the image processing unit B. The exposure optical system 12, which is an image writing means, uses a laser diode (not shown) as a light emitting source, and the laser beam light is modulated based on image information and rotates to rotate a polygon mirror 12a, an fθ lens (no reference sign), and a cylindrical lens (no reference sign). After that, the optical path is bent by the reflection mirror 12b and main scanning is performed. Image exposure (image writing) is performed at a predetermined position on the photoconductor drum 10, and the latent image is generated by rotation (subscanning) of the photoconductor drum 10. An image is formed. In this embodiment, the character portion is exposed to form a reverse latent image.

The reverse latent image on the photosensitive drum 10 is the developing device 1.
Reversal development is carried out by 3 to form a visible image by a toner image on the photosensitive layer surface of the photosensitive drum 10.

In the recording material feeding section D, a paper feeding unit 4A having paper feeding cassettes 41a to 41c which are recording material storing means for storing recording papers P which are recording materials of different sizes under the image forming unit. 4B and 4C are provided, and the recording paper P is fed from any one of the paper feed cassettes 41a to 41c to the delivery rollers 42a to 42c and the separation roller 43a.
To 43c, the intermediate conveying rollers 44a to 4c.
4c and the guide roller 45, and is conveyed to the registration roller 46 on the entrance side of the conveying section 40.

A manual paper feeding device 60 for manually feeding paper is provided on the side of the image forming section C, positioned by side plates 62 and 63, and stacked on a manual paper feeding table 61. If manual feeding is selected for the recording paper P,
The push-up plate 64 presses the manual feed roller 65, and the manual feed roller 65 and the manual feed roller 66 feed the sheets one by one from the manual feed tray 61 and convey them to the registration rollers 46.

The recording paper P fed by each of the above methods is corrected by the registration roller 46 to correct the inclination and deviation of the recording material, and is temporarily stopped. Then, the recording paper P is synchronized with the toner image on the photosensitive drum 10. The sheet is re-fed from the registration roller 46, and is conveyed to the transfer area of the transfer device 14a via the pre-transfer roller 47.

The toner image on the photosensitive drum 10 is transferred onto the recording paper P by the transfer device 14a in the transfer area.
Next, the photoconductor drum 1 is destaticized by the separator 14b.
The fixing device 1 is separated from the 0 surface and is fixed by the conveyor belt 14c.
It is transported to 7.

The fixing device 17 has a fixing roller 17a and a pressure roller 17b, and fixes the recording paper P to the fixing roller 17a.
By passing between a and the pressure roller 17b,
The toner image is melted and fixed on the recording paper P by heating and pressing.

The transfer residual toner remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 10 after the transfer is cleaned by a cleaning device 18 which is a cleaning means.

The recording paper P on which the toner image on one side is fixed is subjected to double-sided image formation in which a toner image is formed on the other side according to the mode described below, or is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 19 in a single-sided image state. To be done.

The display panel 221 shown in FIG. 2 also serves as an operating unit and displays various mode selections from a control means (not shown), operating methods, processing procedures, and the like. Display panel 2
When the double-sided image forming mode is selected in 21,
The recording paper P, on which the image fixing on the surface is finished, is along the reverse conveyance path 50 of the ADU mechanism including the reverse conveyance path 50 having the reverse switching member 52, the switchback path 50a, and the second reverse conveyance path 50b. And then is carried out to the switchback path 50a and then carried out to invert the front surface and the back surface. Then, the sheet is re-fed along the transport section 40 by the above-mentioned guide roller 45 through the second reverse transport path 50b. The recording paper P is paper-made, and the recording paper P is temporarily re-fed after being temporarily stopped by the registration roller 46 that corrects the inclination and deviation of the recording material, and the toner image of the rear surface image re-formed on the photosensitive drum 10 is formed. After being transferred onto the back surface of the recording paper P in the transfer area of the transfer device 14a, the recording paper P is separated and conveyed, fixed, and discharged onto the paper discharge tray 19.

When the single-sided image forming mode is selected on the display panel 221, the recording paper P on which the surface image has been fixed goes straight on and is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 19 or by the reversal switching member 52. After the upper and lower surfaces are reversed, the sheet is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 19.

In the image forming section C, a conveying section 40, which is shown by a chain line in FIG. 1, and which has an entrance side registration roller 46 and an exit side pre-transfer roller 47, and a reversal switching member 5.
Inversion conveyance path 50 having 2 and switchback path 50
a, the recording material conveyance path unit THA that integrates the ADU mechanism composed of the second reversal conveyance path 50b and the fixing device 17 is arranged parallel to the lower end of the image forming section C as shown in FIG. The guide rails GLa and GLb provided can be pulled out from the image forming unit C.

When a jam of the recording paper P occurs in the image recording apparatus during the above-mentioned one-sided or double-sided image formation, the front doors 1a and 1b of the image forming section C are opened and the front panel 2 is opened, as shown in FIG. The recording material conveyance path unit THA is pulled out from the main body of the image forming section C to the front side through the opening hole 2a, and jam processing is performed.

In the conventionally used recording material conveying path unit THA, the manual feed roller 65 and the manual feed roller 66 shown in the hatched portion in FIG.
As shown by the dotted line, it is fixed to the main body of the image forming unit C,
Recording material transport path unit THA left inside the main body
When a jam occurs when the manual paper feeding by the manual paper feeding device 60 is used, the jammed recording paper P is fed to the manual paper feeding roller 65 or the manual paper feeding roller 66 and the recording material closest thereto. In many cases, the recording material conveyance path unit THA is sandwiched between the conveyance roller member (the registration roller 46 of the conveyance section 40 of the recording material conveyance path unit THA in this embodiment). When attempting to process the recording paper P that has been pulled out and jammed, in the present embodiment, the recording paper P sandwiched between the registration roller 46 and the manual feed roller 65 or the manual separation roller 66 is torn, and the fragments are broken. This has been a cause of various troubles such as getting inside the apparatus of the image forming section C. In particular,
This tendency was large in the recording material having a long width in the feeding direction.

In order to solve this problem, the present invention uses, for example, a connecting member (not shown) such as a stay, an L-shaped plate member, and an angle to manually feed the sheet by a hatching portion shown in FIG. The roller 65 and the manual sheet feeding and separating roller 66, which is a manual sheet feeding and separating member, are integrally attached to the recording material conveying path unit THA, as indicated by a chain line, and the manual sheet feeding roller 65 and the manual sheet feeding and separating roller 66 are provided. And (in the case where there is no manual feeding roller 66, only the manual feeding roller 65) is integrated with the recording material conveying path unit THA, and when the recording material is jammed from the manual feeding device 60 (manual feeding jam), Two
As shown in FIG. 5, the recording material conveyance path unit THA can be pulled out from the inside of the main body of the image forming section C through the opening hole 2a of the front panel 2.

Regarding the jam processing of the recording paper P, the processing procedure is displayed on the display panel 221 which is a display means provided on the upper surface of the image forming section C described above with reference to FIG. In case of manual paper feed jam, for example, as shown in Fig.4, "Please pull out the jammed paper from the manual paper feed base", "Please pull out the carriage and remove the jammed paper" is displayed. It

In accordance with these displays, usually, the user first performs the processing procedure. If the processing procedure is not performed, the display of the processing procedure is not erased on the display panel 221. The user confirms that the display of the processing procedure is erased, and then, using the drawer mechanism provided in the recording material transport path unit THA, for example, the processing of the jammed recording paper P is performed according to the processing procedure. .

As shown in FIG. 5, the drawer mechanism has a receiving portion GBa fixed to the recording material conveying path unit THA, a support shaft J1 provided on the recording material conveying path unit THA, and a support shaft J1 as the center. As a lock lever LVa, a receiving portion GBa and a pressing spring SPa that is stretched over one end of the lock lever LVa to press the lock lever LVa, a locking member KSa that locks the lock lever LVa, and a lock. The other end of the lever LVa (pressing spring SPa
The recording material conveyance path unit TH
A handle LVb provided in A and guide rails GLa and GLb provided mutually between the main body of the image forming unit C and the recording material transport path unit THA.

When the recording material transport path unit THA is pulled out from the main body of the image forming section C, the handgrip LVb and the lock lever LVa are sandwiched by hand, and the lock lever LVa is held against the pressing force of the pressing spring SPa. After pushing down in the LVb direction to release the locking with the locking member KSa, the recording material transport path unit THA is held in front of the main body of the image forming section C by holding a handle (not shown) attached to the recording material transport path unit THA. Through the opening 2a of the panel 2, the guide rails GLa and GLb are used as guides to pull out from the main body of the image forming section C (the main body of the image recording apparatus) to the front side to perform jam processing.

At this time, if the processing procedure is not performed, for example, it is preferable to further provide a lock mechanism in addition to the pull-out mechanism so that the recording material transport path unit THA cannot be pulled out from the main body of the image forming section C. A detection mechanism controlled by a control unit (not shown), for example, a detection sensor (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of jammed recording paper P on the manual paper feed tray 61, or a manual paper feed tray 61 according to a command from the detection sensor. A lock lever LVa such as a solenoid that operates when the recording paper P that has been jammed in is not processed
It is preferable that a lock mechanism including a member that holds the lock of 1 is provided to automatically lock the lock lever LVa.

In the above description, the pressing by the push-up plate 64 (pressing the recording material) on the manual feed roller 65 described with reference to FIG. 3 is performed by the lever and spring (not shown) when the manual paper feed is selected. Is performed by the pressing / releasing mechanism using the above, and the processing procedure is performed, whereby the pressing / releasing mechanism releases the pressing. Further, when the manual feeding is not selected, the pressing of the push-up plate 64 to the manual feeding roller 65 is kept released by the pressing / releasing mechanism.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the manual sheet feeding roller 65 (manual sheet feeding sheet feeding member), or the manual sheet feeding roller 65 and the manual sheet feeding roller 66 (manual sheet feeding sheet feeding member) are connected to the recording material conveying path unit THA. The recording material conveying path unit THA can be pulled out from the apparatus main body of the image recording apparatus, and when the recording material is jammed from the manual paper feeding device 60, the recording material conveying path unit THA is in accordance with the jam processing procedure of the display means. When the recording material transport path unit THA is pulled out from the apparatus main body so that the recording material transport path unit THA can be pulled out to process the jammed recording paper P when manually feeding, the registration roller 46 (manual feed Sending roller 65
Alternatively, the recording paper P that is sandwiched between the recording material conveying roller member closest to the manual feeding roller 66 and the manual feeding roller 65 or the manual feeding roller 66.
(In particular, this tendency tends to occur in a recording material having a long width in the feeding direction), it is prevented from being broken. In the case where a recording material having a short width in the feeding direction is used, the recording paper P is fed by the manual feed roller 65 and the manual feed roller 66, and then the recording paper P is fed.
Even when the leading edge of the recording sheet P does not reach the registration roller 46 and the trailing edge of the recording sheet P remains on the manual feeding tray 61, the manual feeding roller 6
5 or the recording paper P nipped by the manual feeding roller 66 is prevented from being torn.

Regarding the display of the processing procedure for the above-mentioned manual feeding jam of the recording paper P, instead of the display on the display panel 221, for example, as shown in FIG. 222 is attached to the display label 222, and the same procedure as described above for the manual feed jam is described in the display label 222. In the manual feed jam, the manual feed jam is processed according to the procedure. Then, the recording material conveyance path unit THA may be pulled out from the apparatus main body to process the jammed recording paper P.

[0040]

According to the present invention, the recording material is prevented from being damaged due to the withdrawal of the recording material conveying path unit at the time of jam processing at the time of paper feeding from the manual paper feeding device, and the fragments of the recording material are image-recorded. It is possible to provide an image recording apparatus in which various troubles are prevented from occurring without remaining inside the apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a digital multi-function peripheral using an electrophotographic method showing an embodiment of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the apparatus body of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the manual paper feeding device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a jam processing procedure when a recording material is jammed from a manual sheet feeding device to a recording material conveyance path.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a drawing mechanism of a recording material conveyance path unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

1a, 1b front door 2 front panel 2a Open hole 10 Photosensitive drum 11 charger 12 Exposure optical system 13 Developer 14a transfer device 40 transport section 46 Registration roller 50 Reverse transport path 60 Manual feeder 65 Manual feed roller 66 Manual Roller 221 display panel 222 display label A image reading section ADF automatic document feeder B Image processing unit (not shown) C Image forming section D Recording material feeding section P recording paper THA recording material transport path unit

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hideo Isohara             2970 Ishikawa-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica stock             In the company F-term (reference) 2H027 DC15 FA15 GB06 GB09                 2H071 AA35 AA48 BA14 DA22 DA23                       EA04                 3F048 AA01 BA14 BB02 BC01 DA04                       DA06 EB37                 3F063 BA02 CA01 CA08 CB08 CC00                       CD08                 3F343 FA01 FB01 FC30 GA01 GB01                       GC01 GD02 HC25 HC28 KB03                       KB20 MA03 MA56 MB05 MC28

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image recording apparatus having a recording material conveying path unit that can be pulled out from a main body of the apparatus and a manual sheet feeding apparatus that feeds the recording material to the recording material conveying path unit, wherein recording is performed from the manual sheet feeding apparatus. A manual paper feeding / feeding member, or a manual paper feeding / feeding member and a manual paper feeding / separating member for feeding the material to the recording material feeding path unit are provided integrally with the recording material feeding path unit, and When the recording material is jammed from the manual paper feeding device, a display means for displaying a processing procedure for jamming the recording material when the recording material is fed from the paper feeding device to the recording material conveying path unit is provided. ,
An image recording apparatus, wherein the recording material conveying path unit can be pulled out from the apparatus main body according to a jam processing procedure of the display means. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the manual paper feeding / feeding member is a manual paper feeding roller. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the manual paper feeding and separating member is a manual paper feeding and separating roller. 4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is a display panel provided in the apparatus main body. 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display unit is a display label provided on the apparatus main body.