JP2003072978A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device having a mechanism capable of removing paper jam with a simple structure, without requiring a large space or complicating user's operation. SOLUTION: This image forming device 1 comprises a pair of carrying rollers 4a, 4b for carrying a paper sheet; and a carrying path opening member 8 for opening a carrying path so as to remove the paper jam generated during carrying of the paper sheet. The pair of carrying rollers 4a, 4b rotate while interlocking opening and closing operations of the carrying path opening member 8.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet removing mechanism when a sheet jam occurs in a sheet conveying path in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a fax machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a fax machine, etc., a paper is taken out at a paper feeding / separating section and conveyed to a resist section, an image forming section, a fixing section, a sheet discharging section or a post-processing section. , Forming an image. A pair of transport rollers is generally used to transport the paper. In addition to the transport rollers that transport the paper, rollers that have various functions such as transfer rollers and fixing rollers are installed. The distance between adjacent roller pairs is the transportable paper size of the image forming device. It is necessary to be shorter than the length in the direction, and if the transport path is long or the transportable paper size is small, the number of transport roller pairs naturally increases.

By the way, the sheet may be stopped or jammed in the conveying path. Therefore, in order to remove those sheets, an opening / closing door serving as a conveyance path opening member that opens the conveyance path is often provided in the image forming apparatus main body. The transport path opening member can be roughly classified into the following two types. One is that the pair of transport rollers remains the same,
The conveyance path of the guide member between adjacent pairs of conveyance rollers is opened, and the other is to open the conveyance roller pair itself and open the conveyance path. Further, depending on the stop position of the sheet, it may not be immediately removed even from the opened transport path. Therefore, a knob is provided on the transport roller, etc., and the transport roller etc. is rotated to move it to a position where it is easy to remove, and the position of the paper is grasped by a sensor etc. There is a configuration in which the paper is controlled so as not to be stopped at a position where it cannot be removed.

[0004]

However, in recent image forming apparatuses, a tight design is inevitable in order to save space. Therefore, in order to remove the paper, it is difficult to open the transport path and secure a sufficient place for providing a transport path opening member such as an opening / closing door that enables the removal of the paper. Also, regarding the above-described transport path opening member, in the case of the transport path opening member that opens the transport path of the guide member between the adjacent transport roller pairs while leaving the transport roller pair as it is, the paper sandwiched between the roller pairs. Is forced to pull, and the operability and reliability are inferior such as the risk of damaging the roller and the damage of the paper. On the other hand, in the case of the transport path opening member that also opens the transport roller pair itself and opens the transport path, the above problem can be solved and the paper removability can be improved. However, together with the transport path opening member, the support of the roller away from the main body becomes complicated and it is difficult to position the roller. In particular, in the case of a driving roller, a roller having a function other than conveyance, etc., it is difficult to move and position the moving mechanism.

Further, for a sheet at a stop position where it cannot be immediately removed from the opened transport path, a knob is provided on the transport roller or the like to rotate the transport roller or the like,
In addition to complicating the user's operation, the paper may be moved in a direction in which it is more difficult to remove depending on the rotation direction. Furthermore, the installation of sensors and the like complicates control in a configuration that limits the stop position of the paper when a paper jam occurs. Alternatively, this is not suitable when it is desired to immediately stop the sheet conveyance due to a jam or the like. Further, there is a problem that it does not function when the power is cut off due to the interlock SW operation.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus having a simple structure, a space saving, and a mechanism capable of removing a paper jam without complicating a user's operation. This is an issue.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention described in claim 1 has a pair of conveying rollers for conveying a sheet and a sheet conveying path, and is generated during the conveying of the sheet. An image forming apparatus including a conveyance path opening member that opens a conveyance path to remove a paper jam, wherein the conveyance roller pair rotates in association with opening / closing operation of the conveyance path opening member. . According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the pair of conveyance rollers is an image forming apparatus that rotates in one direction when the conveyance path opening member is opened. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the conveyance roller pair rotates in one direction during both opening and closing operations of the conveyance path opening member. The device.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a paper feed separation unit 3, a registration unit 4, an image formation unit 2, a fixing unit 5, a paper discharge unit 6, and a conveyance path opening member 8. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration around the member for opening the transport path. The conveying path opening member 8 includes a sheet feeding / separating unit 3 → a guide member to the registration unit 4, a registration unit 4 → a guide member to the image forming unit 2, and an image forming unit 2 →
The transfer unit 7 includes a guide member to the fixing unit 5 and a transfer roller 7 paired with the image forming unit 2, and is rotated around a fulcrum 9 located at a lower portion to convey the toner from the registration unit 4 to below the fixing unit 5. It is configured to open the route. The pair of registration rollers 4a and 4b are not included in the transport path opening member 8.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the pair of registration rollers 4a and 4b are configured to rotate in association with the opening / closing operation of the conveying path opening member 8. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a rack 10 is provided on the conveying path opening member 8 and gears are provided on the registration rollers 4a so that they can mesh with each other. FIG. 3 shows the rack 10 and the registration roller pair 4.
It is a figure which shows the structure of a, 4b. The rack 10 and the registration roller 4a mesh with each other, and the registration roller 4a is rotated by the opening / closing operation of the transport path opening member 8. The other registration roller 4b rotates following the registration roller 4a. The rotation direction of the registration roller 4a is clockwise in the drawing when the transport path opening member 8 is opened, and is reverse when the transport path opening member 8 is closed. By this operation, it becomes possible to carry and remove the paper stopped at the registration unit 4 together with the opening operation of the carrying path opening member 8.

Here, it is assumed that the sheet conveyance is stopped with the leading edge of the sheet being sandwiched by the registration section 4. At this time, since the paper needs to be taken out above the registration roller pair 4a, 4b, the rotation of the registration roller pair 4a, 4b due to the opening / closing operation of the conveyance path opening member 8 is set to one direction in which the paper is conveyed upward. Preferably. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first configuration of the rack 10 and the registration roller pairs 4a and 4b that make the rotation of the registration roller pairs 4a and 4b one direction. Latches are provided on the rack 10 of the transport path opening member 8 and the registration rollers 4a. The shape of this latch is such that it is caught when the registration roller 4a is rotated in the direction of arrow A, and slips when it is rotated in the opposite direction. A clearance is provided at the root of the rack 10 so as not to interfere with the latch provided on the registration roller 4a when the transport path opening member 8 is closed. With the above configuration, when the transport path opening member 8 is opened, the rack 10 and the registration roller 4a are engaged with each other, and the registration roller 4a rotates in the direction of arrow A. The registration roller 4b also rotates following the registration roller 4a, and the sheet whose leading edge is sandwiched between the pair of registration rollers 4a and 4b can be conveyed to the upper portion and made easy to remove. Further, when the conveyance path opening member 8 is closed, both latches do not engage with each other and the registration roller 4a does not rotate. Even if it is not performed, the sheet can be continuously conveyed by closing and reopening the conveying path opening member 8.

Further, in order to rotate the registration roller pairs 4a and 4b in one direction during both the opening operation and the closing operation of the conveying path opening member 8, the following constitution can be adopted. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second configuration of the rack 10 and the registration roller pairs 4a and 4b that make the rotation of the registration roller pairs 4a and 4b one direction. The rack 10 is provided on both upper and lower sides so as to sandwich the registration roller 4a, and a latch similar to the first configuration is provided on the upper and lower racks 10 and the registration roller 4a. Further, the front end of the rack 10 is provided with elasticity so that the distance between the upper and lower racks can be widened in order to secure a clearance when the latch slides. With the above configuration, the latch of the rack 10 and the registration roller 4a are engaged with each other and the registration roller 4a rotates in the direction of the arrow A when the transport path opening member 8 is opened or closed. The registration roller 4b also rotates following the registration roller 4a, and the sheet whose leading edge is sandwiched between the pair of registration rollers 4a and 4b can be conveyed to the upper portion and further easily removed.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a paper jam occurs, the pair of conveying rollers rotates in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the member for opening the conveying path. It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which the formed sheet can be easily conveyed by a conveying roller and removed. Further, by making the rotation direction of the pair of transport rollers which is interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the transport path opening member to be one direction, the removal work can be further facilitated, and the simple configuration does not take up space. It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus including a mechanism capable of removing a paper jam without complicating the operation of the user.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration around a transport path opening member.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a rack and a registration roller pair.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first configuration of a rack and a pair of registration rollers that rotate the pair of registration rollers in one direction.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second configuration of a rack and a pair of registration rollers that make the rotation of the pair of registration rollers one direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Image forming device 2 Image forming section 3 Paper separation section 4 Registration section 4a, 4b Registration roller 5 fixing section 6 Paper output section 7 Transfer roller 8 Transport path opening member 9 fulcrums 10 racks

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image comprising: a pair of conveying rollers for conveying a sheet; and a conveying path opening member having a conveying path for the sheet and opening the conveying path for removing a paper jam generated during the conveying of the sheet. In the forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus is characterized in that the conveying roller pair rotates in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the conveying path opening member. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveying roller pair rotates in one direction when the conveying path opening member is opened. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pair of conveying rollers rotates in one direction during both opening and closing operations of the member for opening the conveying path. Forming equipment.