JP2003241454A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which makes it easy to find a recording material and ensures removal of a jam when a jammed recording material is taken away from a transport path unit. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus has a first paper feed part, a second paper feed part, an image forming part, and an inverting transport part. The image forming apparatus sequentially forms images on the first surface of a recording material by the image forming part, then inverts and transports the recording material in the inverting transport part, thereby circulating and transporting the recording material to the second paper feed part, and sequentially forms images on the second surface of the recording material with the images formed on its first surface. In the image forming device, at least the second paper feed part and the inverting transport part are structured so as to be drawable as an integrally structured transport path unit. In addition, the lower transport portion composing the inverting transport part is structured so as to be freely opened/closed with the inverting transport part drawn out, and has a mirror face formed on part of it. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

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 or a printer, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a pullout conveyance path unit having a reversing conveyance section for performing double-sided printing. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A reversing conveyance unit (hereinafter also referred to as an ADU) for reversing conveyance of a recording material having an image formed on one side so as to form an image on both sides of a recording material such as plain paper, and circulate the same. An image forming apparatus including the above is known.

Further, in image formation, for example, five recording materials are continuously fed from a paper feeding tray, and the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum is continuously applied to the first surface (front surface) of the recording material. After being transferred to the recording medium and subjected to a fixing process, the recording material is circulated by the ADU in order to circulate the recording material, and the recording material is continuously conveyed without stopping, and is circulated and conveyed again to the transfer area. A plurality of sheets are temporarily stacked on the intermediate tray so that another toner image formed on the photoconductor drum is transferred to the second surface (rear surface) of the recording material and discharged to the paper discharge tray after the fixing process. There is also known a so-called non-stack circulatory transfer system that does not stack.

From the sixth sheet to the tenth sheet following the above five sheets of recording material
The image formation on the fifth recording material is processed as the second group, and the image formation on the next further five recording materials is processed as the third group.

When using such a non-stack circulatory conveying system, the above-mentioned five recording materials are circulated and conveyed in a circulation conveying path (generally referred to as a second paper feeding section, a registration roller, a transfer area, and a fixing area). ~ Inversion area ~ Registration roller)
Substantially at all times, it is in the transport state.

On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus, in order to improve the jam handling property, a recording material conveying path from the paper feeding cassette or the manual paper feeding apparatus to the fixing after the image formation and further double-sided printing are performed. AD with reverse transport unit
It is generally used for convenience that an even U mechanism is used as a transport path unit and the transport path unit can be pulled out to the outside of the apparatus main body. For example, one having an ADU mechanism that can be pulled out is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.
No. 0-19797, and control of jamming of a transportable path unit that can be pulled out is proposed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-72683.

However, the transport path unit that can be pulled out is often disposed below the image forming portion including the photosensitive drum, and the recording material transport path is also formed on the lower surface of the transport path unit. Therefore, when a recording material jam occurs in the recording material conveyance path, it is necessary to check the presence or absence of the recording material at a low position such as looking down from below. It was Further, in a color electrophotographic copying machine or the like, since the area occupied by the image forming section becomes large, the transport path unit tends to be arranged further downward.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and at the time of jam processing, it is easy to find the recording material in the drawn transport path unit, and the jam processing operation is surely performed visually. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing the above.

[0009]

The object of the present invention can be achieved by the following constitution.

(1) A first paper feeding section for feeding the recording materials one by one, and a second paper feeding section for receiving the recording material from the first paper feeding section and conveying the recording material to the image forming section. Of the recording material having been conveyed from the second paper feeding section and having the image formed on the first surface by the image forming section, the recording material is reversed and conveyed again to form an image on the second surface, and the recording material is again conveyed to the first side. In an image forming apparatus having a reversing conveyance section that circulates and conveys to two sheet feeding sections, at least the second sheet feeding section and the reversing conveyance section are integrally configured as a conveyance path unit, and the conveyance path unit is The lower transport unit that is configured to be drawn out from the image forming apparatus and that constitutes the transport route unit is configured to be openable and closable downward from the pulled-out transport route unit, and a mirror surface is provided on a part of the lower transport unit. Characterized by being formed Image forming apparatus.

(2) A first paper feeding section for feeding the recording material one by one, and a second paper feeding section for receiving the recording material from the first paper feeding section and conveying the recording material to the image forming section. Of the recording material having been conveyed from the second paper feeding section and having the image formed on the first surface by the image forming section, the recording material is reversed and conveyed again to form an image on the second surface, and the recording material is again conveyed to the first side. In an image forming apparatus having a reversing conveyance section that circulates and conveys to two sheet feeding sections, at least the second sheet feeding section and the reversing conveyance section are integrally configured as a conveyance path unit, and the conveyance path unit is The lower transporting unit that is configured to be pulled out from the image forming apparatus and that constitutes the transporting path unit is configured to be openable and closable downward from the pulled out transporting path unit, and when the transporting path unit is pulled out, or , The carrying Upon opening the lower transport unit is pulled out path unit, an image forming apparatus, characterized in that the lamp for illuminating an opening of the transport path unit is configured to light up.

(3) The image forming apparatus according to (1), characterized in that a mirror surface is formed on a part of the lower conveying section.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image forming process and each mechanism of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus having a conveyance path unit according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Figure 1
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a digital multi-function peripheral using an electrophotographic method showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus having a conveyance path unit according to the present invention.

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

The automatic document feeder ADF is a device which is provided in the upper part of the main body of the apparatus, 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 211. Then, the original from which the image on the back side is read is fed by the original discharge roller 114.
The document is discharged onto the document discharge tray 115. Such steps are repeated for the number of originals placed on the original placing table 111, and the image of the original is read.

Further, the automatic document feeder ADF is constructed so as to be integrally foldable, and this automatic document feeder ADF is used.
The original can be placed directly on the platen glass 212 by raising and opening the platen glass 212.

The image reading section A is a means for reading an image on a document to obtain image data, and is provided in the upper part of the apparatus main body. The image reading unit A includes 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 conveying device ADF, and a document table for directly placing the document. The first mirror unit 213 that integrates the platen glass 212, which is a light source, a document irradiation lamp that is a light source that illuminates the document, and a first mirror that 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 illuminated with a document illumination lamp, and the light reflected from the document passes through the first mirror unit 213, the V mirror unit 214, and the imaging lens 215. And enters the CCD image sensor 216. In the CCD image sensor 216, the incident light is photoelectrically converted to read the image of the original in the main scanning direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1), while the original is moved in the sub scanning direction by the original conveying roller 113. , The image on the entire surface of the original can be read. C
The image information read by the CD image sensor 216 is sequentially photoelectrically converted into an electric signal (luminance signal) and then A / D-converted, and is subjected to processing such as density conversion and filter processing in the image processing unit B, and then the image. The data is temporarily stored in the memory and then 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 on the outer circumference of a 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, a reverse latent image is formed on the exposed image portion.

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, recording materials of different sizes (hereinafter also referred to as recording paper) are provided below the image forming unit.
Paper feed cassette 41 that is a recording material storage means in which P is stored
Paper feeding units 4A, 4B, and 4C having a to 41c are provided, and the recording paper P is in any one of the paper feeding cassettes 41a.
.About.41c are sent out by the sending rollers 42a to 42c and the separating rollers 43a to 43c, and are conveyed to the registration rollers 46 on the inlet side of the conveying section 40 via the intermediate conveying rollers 44a to 44c and the guide rollers 45.

Further, a manual paper feeding device 60 for manually feeding paper is provided on the side of the image forming section C, and the recording paper P stacked on the manual paper feeding tray 61 is not manually fed. When selected, 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 paper feed tray 61 and convey them to the registration rollers 46. .

The recording paper P fed by each of the above-described methods is corrected by the registration roller 46 to correct the inclination and deviation of the recording paper, 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.
The toner image is melted and fixed on the recording paper P by being inserted between a and the pressure roller 17b and being heated and pressed.

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 has been 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 image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment includes
There are selectable modes such as a double-sided image forming mode, a single-sided image forming mode, a reverse sheet discharging mode, a normal sheet discharging mode, etc., which are configured to be selectable by an operation panel (not shown).

When the double-sided image forming mode is selected by the operation panel, the reversal switching member 52 is in the state shown by the solid line in the figure, so that the recording paper P on which the above-described image fixing on the front surface is completed is reversal conveyance section. Enter 50.

The reversal conveyance section 50 is composed of a reversal conveyance path 50a having a reversal switching member 52, a switchback path 50b, and a second reversal conveyance path 50c.

The recording paper P, which has entered the reversing conveyance section 50, descends along the reversing conveyance path 50a, and the switchback path 50
After being carried in once to b, it is carried out, the front side and the back side are reversed, and is re-fed along the conveyance section 40 by the guide roller 45 described above through the second reversing conveyance path 50c, and the recording sheet is inclined. The recording sheet P is re-fed after being temporarily stopped by the registration roller 46 that corrects the deviation.
The toner image of the rear surface image re-formed on the photosensitive drum 10 is transferred to the rear surface of the recording paper P in the transfer area of the transfer device 14a, then separated and conveyed, fixed, and discharged onto the paper discharge tray 19. .

When the single-sided image forming mode and the normal paper discharge mode are selected on the operation panel,
Since the reversal switching member 52 is in the state shown by the broken line in the figure, the recording paper P on which the front surface image has been fixed goes straight on and is ejected onto the ejection tray 19 to select the single-sided image forming mode or the reversal ejection mode. When the reversal is performed, the reversal switching member 52 is in the state shown by the solid line in the figure, so that the reversal switching member 52 is conveyed to the reversal conveyance path 50a, the upper and lower surfaces are reversed, and then the sheet is ejected onto the sheet ejection tray 19.

FIG. 1 shows the range of the transport path unit THA integrally drawn out from the image forming section C by a one-dot chain line.

The transport path unit THA has a transport section 40 having a registration roller 46 on the entrance side and a pre-transfer roller 47 on the exit side, a reverse transport path 50a having a reverse switching member 52, a switchback path 50b, and a first transport path 40b. 2 the reversing conveyance section 50 including the reversing conveyance path 50c, and the transfer device 14
a and a separator 14b, a conveyor belt 14c, and a fixing device 17. Further, the transport path unit THA can be pulled out from the image forming section C by guide rails GLa and GLb provided in parallel to the lower end of the image forming section C. The lower transport unit 510 is a unit that constitutes the lower portion of the second reverse transport path 50c, and is configured to be openable / closable with the transport path unit pulled out.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a state where the transport path unit is pulled out. In the figure, 1a and 1b are front doors of the image forming section C, and 501 is a transport path unit THA.
For pulling out in the A direction, 511 is a base plate made of metal or resin, 512 is a mirror surface portion formed on a part of the lower transfer unit 510, and 513 is the lower transfer unit 510 opened in the B direction from the transfer path unit THA. It is an opening and closing lever for doing.

A transport driven roller (not shown) is disposed in the lower transport unit 510, and when the lower transport unit 510 is housed in the transport path unit THA, the transport driven roller is transported by the reverse transport unit 50. It is configured to be pressed against the drive roller.

The lower transfer section 510 is connected to the transfer path unit TH
When the paper is stored in A, the lower transfer section 510 is configured not to come off from the transfer path unit THA by a known means such as a magnet or a latch mechanism (not shown).

In the mirror surface portion 512, the base plate 511 is plated with luster, or the surface of the base material is finished with luster, or the metal plate or mirror itself is used as the base plate 5.
11 by attaching the base plate 511
It is formed in a state of being fixed to.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG. 2, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining a method of using the mirror surface portion formed on a part of the lower conveyance unit according to the present invention, and FIG.
FIG.

In the figure, LA is a lamp arranged in the lower transfer section 510, and when the lower transfer section 510 is opened from the transfer path unit THA, a sensor (not shown) detects the opening and lights up. . P indicates a recording sheet that has become a jam in the second reversal conveyance path 50c.

The jam processing method will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. When forming images on one side or both sides,
When the recording paper P is jammed in the image forming apparatus, as shown in the figure, the front doors 1a and 1b of the image forming unit C are opened, the handle 501 is pulled, and the transport path unit THA is attached to the main body of the image forming unit C. Pull out from the front side and perform jam processing.

A recording material detection sensor (not shown) is arranged in the main transport path, and when a jam occurs, the procedure for determining which transport path the jam occurred on the display section of the operation panel Is configured to display what to do.

When a jam occurs in the second reverse transport path 50c, with the transport path unit THA pulled out,
Treat according to the procedure displayed on the display. When the opening / closing lever 513 is pushed down to open the lower conveyance unit 510 downward, a sensor (not shown) detects the movement of the lower conveyance unit 510, lights the lamp LA, and illuminates the opening SP of the second reverse conveyance path 50c. Through the unit 512, it is possible to confirm whether there is a jammed recording paper in the open portion SP of the second reverse conveyance path 50c, and if there is the recording paper, the procedure is to remove it.

In the present embodiment, the lower transfer section 51
The configuration in which the lamp LA disposed in the lower transport unit 510 is turned on when 0 is opened downward has been described.
The present invention can be applied to a configuration in which the lamp LA is fixed to the transport path unit THA and the lamp LA is turned on by detecting an operation of pulling out the transport path unit THA with a sensor (not shown).

Further, in the present embodiment, the transport path unit is arranged below the image forming section, and the lower transport section of the reversing transport section arranged below the transport path unit is opened and closed. The configuration of the present invention can be applied even when the transport path unit is disposed above the image forming unit. That is, in this case, the lower conveyance unit described in the present embodiment is arranged above the reversal conveyance unit, and the second sheet feeding unit and the like are arranged below the reversal conveyance unit. The lower transport unit is configured to open upward, and the transport member having a driven-side roller such as a second sheet feeding unit disposed below is configured to be openable / closable and opened downward, and the transport member is provided with a mirror surface portion. It may be configured to be formed.

[0049]

According to the present invention, the recording material jammed by the mirror surface portion and the lamp when the jamming process is carried out in the reversing conveying part of the recording material and the jamming condition is confirmed by pulling out the conveying path unit and opening the lower conveying part. Therefore, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of surely and quickly performing jam processing.

[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 forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a transport path unit is pulled out.

FIG. 3 is a side view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols] 1a, 1b front door 50 Reversed transport section 50a Reversed transport path 50b switchback route 50c Second reverse conveyance path 510 Lower transport section 512 mirror surface C Image forming section LA lamp P recording paper SP open part THA transport path unit

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Hideo Isohara             2970 Ishikawa-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica stock             In the company F term (reference) 2H072 AA32 AB07 BA03 BA12 CA01                       CA02 CB01 CB03 CB09 EA02                       EA03 EA19

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A first paper feeding unit for feeding recording materials one by one, and a second paper feeding unit for receiving the recording material from the first paper feeding unit and conveying the recording material to an image forming unit, Of the recording material which is conveyed from the second paper feeding unit and has the image formed on the first surface by the image forming unit, the recording material is reversely conveyed to form an image on the second surface, and the second recording medium is again conveyed. In an image forming apparatus having a reversing conveyance section that circulates and conveys the sheet to a sheet feeding section, at least the second sheet feeding section and the reversing conveyance section are integrally configured as a conveyance path unit, and the conveyance path unit is The lower transporting unit, which is configured so that it can be pulled out from the image forming apparatus, and which constitutes the transporting path unit,
An image forming apparatus, characterized in that it can be opened and closed downward from the pulled-out conveyance path unit, and a mirror surface is formed on a part of the lower conveyance section. 2. A first paper feeding unit for feeding the recording materials one by one, and a second paper feeding unit for receiving the recording materials from the first paper feeding unit and conveying the recording materials to the image forming unit. Of the recording material which is conveyed from the second paper feeding unit and has the image formed on the first surface by the image forming unit, the recording material is reversely conveyed to form an image on the second surface, and the second recording medium is again conveyed. In an image forming apparatus having a reversing conveyance section that circulates and conveys the sheet to a sheet feeding section, at least the second sheet feeding section and the reversing conveyance section are integrally configured as a conveyance path unit, and the conveyance path unit is The lower transporting unit, which is configured so that it can be pulled out from the image forming apparatus, and which constitutes the transporting path unit,
When the transport route unit is pulled out, the transport route unit can be opened and closed downward from the pulled-out transport route unit.
Alternatively, the image forming apparatus is configured such that when the transport path unit is pulled out and the lower transport section is opened, a lamp that illuminates an open portion of the transport path unit is turned on. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a mirror surface is formed on a part of the lower transport unit.