JP2003263091A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tray which can have a side cover opened even in a storage place without spoiling the operability and is reducible in installation space and overall size. <P>SOLUTION: In an image forming device 1 equipped with a tray provided with a side cover 60, which is provided on one surface of the device 1 and equipped with a sheet feed opening 62 and a sheet conveyance path connecting with the sheet feed opening 62, has a rotary shaft 66 nearby an end part of the surface, and can freely be opened and closed into a closed state wherein the cover is along the surface and an open state wherein the sheet conveyance path is open to the surface, and the tray, which has a support shaft 64 pivoted on a connection part 65 provided to the surface and can freely be opened almost at right angles to the surface and closed along the flank, the side cover 60 is equipped with a recessed part 63 in which the tray is stored when closed and also equipped with restricting means 67 and 68 which restrict the opening/ closing operation of the side cover 60 as the tray 61 is opened and closed around the support shaft 64 as a fulcrum of rotation. <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 a storage mechanism for a sheet feeding device provided in a copying machine, a printer, an image reader, etc., and more particularly to an image forming apparatus equipped with a tray device for feeding and discharging recording sheets. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer or an image reading apparatus, a sheet-like original document or recording paper (hereinafter referred to as a sheet or recording paper) is supplied into the apparatus for copying or printing. There is at least one paper feed unit consisting of a storage unit such as a paper feed cassette for reading an image, and at least one original document placement unit for placing an original document. Then, if you change the paper feed cassette according to the size of the sheet to be placed or if the paper feed cassette can be used for multiple paper sizes, adjust the guide plate or change the settings to obtain the specified paper size. It was very troublesome to do.
Therefore, in addition to the above-mentioned paper feeding section, there are many cases where a manual feed tray for performing copying, printing, and reading processing by interruption by sheets of different sizes is provided.

However, when the manual feed tray is provided in the main body apparatus, the installation space of the main body apparatus becomes large. Therefore, it is possible to change the length of the manual feed tray apparatus, particularly in the paper feeding direction, according to the paper size. Or, when not using the manual feed tray device, it can be stored by rotating it on the side exterior part of the device body, reducing the installation space of the device and making the overall size of the device itself compact. Techniques are known, for example, JP-A-5-278868 and JP-A-7-971.
No. 02 publication discloses the disclosure.

First, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-278868, it is not necessary to secure a storage place for the auxiliary tray in the tray of the tray device as in the conventional case, and the trouble of attaching and detaching the auxiliary tray is eliminated and the sheet receiving surface is eliminated. For the purpose of expanding the sheet feeding tray according to the sheet size, the sheet supply tray is composed of a base mounting table and a tip mounting table, and the tip mounting table is rotatably connected to the base mounting table. When not in use, the tip-side mounting table is rotated and stored, and the tip-side mounting table is provided with a lever accommodating concave portion at its tip edge, and a pivot fulcrum pin is provided in the center thereof to pivot the receiving lever. There is disclosed a tray which can be freely accommodated in a lever accommodating concave portion, and when a large-sized sheet is used, a receiving lever is rotated to a position corresponding to each sheet size to expand a sheet receiving surface.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-97102 discloses that
In an openable-close tray device provided in a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc., a tray support portion is provided in a side surface concave portion of the main body, and a convex portion provided in a manual feed tray is rotatably supported in the tray support portion. By providing a guide groove for guiding in the vertical direction and providing a link mechanism for displacing the lower end of the manual feed tray by raising it from the lower side to the upper side when displacing the manual feed tray from the lower side to the upper side, the manual feed tray is closed. There is disclosed a technique in which the tray can be accommodated in the side surface recessed portion regardless of the sheet feeding position even in the state, and the apparatus can be downsized.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As described above, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
In the tray of the tray device described in Japanese Patent No. 278868, it is not necessary to secure a storage place for the auxiliary tray as in the conventional case, the trouble of attaching and detaching the auxiliary tray is eliminated, and the sheet receiving surface is expanded according to the sheet size. It is effective in that it can be done.

However, according to the technical contents described in the publication, the space for installing the apparatus is reduced by rotating the tip side mounting base from the base side mounting base of the tray main body or storing it in the base side mounting base. It is possible to make it smaller or make the overall size of the device compact, but since the tray base mounting table itself is provided so as to project from the side surface of the device body, sufficient compactness is achieved. There was a problem that it could not be planned.

If the dimension of the base plate on the base end side is reduced in order to make it compact, the dimension of the base plate on the tip side is increased from the maximum size of the sheets that can be fed and transported. This means that it becomes impossible to rotate the tip-side mounting table to the base-side mounting table, or when the tip-side mounting table is stored, it is necessary to insert it into the inside of the main body of the device, and the degree of freedom in design is significantly impaired. There was a problem.

Further, as described above, in the tray device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-97102, even if the manual feed tray is closed, the tray can be accommodated in the side surface recessed portion without being caught at the paper feeding position. It is effective in that it can be downsized.

However, in general, in a tray device for feeding a sheet to the inside of the apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile and conveying the sheet, the sheet may be jammed in the inside of the apparatus. There may be a case where a side panel for opening and closing the side surface of the apparatus on the side where the manual feed tray is provided and for removing the sheet in which the paper jam has occurred is provided.

That is, according to the technique described in the publication,
Even if the side panel is opened while the tray is accommodated, it may interfere with the link mechanism and the tray may have to be opened every time, which causes a problem that the operability is significantly impaired. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to prevent the operability from being hindered even when the tray is stored. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus provided with a tray device that can open the cover, can reduce the installation space of the apparatus body, and can reduce the overall size of the apparatus body.

[0013]

According to the present invention, there is provided a scanner section having an optical system for reciprocally scanning a placed document, which is provided on an upper section of the apparatus main body, a sheet feeding section provided on a lower section of the apparatus main body, and an apparatus. A side cover is provided on the side surface of the main body so as to be openable and closable, and a supporting shaft is provided below the side portion of the scanner unit having an optical system for reciprocally scanning the placed document. A tray, and an image forming unit provided on a side portion between the scanner unit and the paper feeding unit and capable of being opened and closed by the side cover,
It is a side of the image forming section in the apparatus main body, and is provided between the scanner section and the paper feeding section, and the front side of the apparatus main body is composed of a discharge section which is in an open state, and is rotated downward. The sheet placed on the tray in the opened state is fed into the apparatus main body, and an image is formed by the image forming unit based on the image data of the document image read by the scanner unit. The image forming apparatus discharges a sheet from a sheet discharge unit.

Further, according to the present invention, the drive mechanism may be housed on the back side of the apparatus body. Furthermore, the present invention may be configured so that the substrate is housed on the back side of the apparatus body. Still further, according to the present invention, a drive mechanism may be housed on the back side of the apparatus body of the paper discharge unit and the image forming unit. Furthermore, a substrate may be housed on the back side of the apparatus body of the paper discharge unit and the image forming unit.

Further, according to the present invention, the side cover is provided with a recess for accommodating the tray in the closed state, or the side cover can be opened in a state in which the tray is accommodated in the side cover. May be. Further, in the present invention, the side cover may be provided so as to be openable in the same direction as the tray, or may be pivotally supported at the rear end side of the apparatus main body side and opened from the front side of the apparatus main body. Still further, the present invention further comprises a regulation means for regulating the opening / closing operation of the side cover in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the tray, or the regulation means cooperates with the side cover and the side cover in association with the opening / closing operation of the tray. The tray may be configured by an engaging portion that engages with the tray, or the engaging member may regulate the opening / closing operation of the side cover when the tray is not in the closed state. .

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a copying machine is described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a printer that feeds and conveys a sheet,
It goes without saying that it can also be used in facsimiles, image reading devices, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged perspective view of an image forming apparatus provided with a manual feed tray according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 shows an image forming apparatus provided with the tray device according to the present invention. As the image forming apparatus, an analog / digital type electronic copying machine, a printer, a plain paper facsimile or the like which adopts an electrophotographic method, an ink jet recording method, a thermal transfer recording method, a thermal recording method or the like can be adopted. Since the apparatus itself is not directly related to the present application, only the electrophotographic image forming apparatus will be mainly described in the embodiments.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a document reading unit (scanner) for reading an image of a document, and when an electrophotographic analog copying machine is adopted as an image forming apparatus, a light irradiation unit such as a copy lamp or a fluorescent lamp. And a mirror base composed of a plurality of mirrors, a lens, and the like. When a digital copying machine is adopted, a light irradiation unit composed of a fluorescent lamp, a photoelectric conversion element (CCD), a lens, etc. To be done.

Next, 3 stores a sheet (recording paper),
A paper feed unit for feeding recording paper at the time of image formation, and preferably a paper feed unit set in a predetermined paper size in a cassette format is used. A so-called universal cassette adapted to various paper sizes by moving a paper guide or the like may be used as the paper feed cassette.

Reference numeral 4 denotes an image forming unit for printing the read document information on a recording sheet. When the electrophotographic system is adopted, an endless photoconductor such as a belt, a cylindrical photoconductor drum, and a charger are provided. , An optical writing system, a developing device, a transfer device, a cleaning device, a static eliminator, a fixing device and the like.

That is, the photoconductor is uniformly charged to a predetermined potential by a charger, and the uniformly charged photoconductor irradiates the photoconductor in accordance with the read original image by an optical writing system to thereby obtain an original image. Electrostatic latent image is formed according to
The electrostatic latent image is attached by the developing device with a developer corresponding to the electrostatic latent image, and the visualized developer image on the photoconductor is conveyed by the transfer device and synchronized with the movement of the photoconductor. Is transferred onto the recording paper.

The recording paper is fixed under heat and pressure by a fixing device to form a permanent visible image, and the developing agent remaining on the photoconductor after transfer is cleaned by a cleaning device.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a paper discharge unit for discharging the recording paper recorded by the image forming unit, and the recording paper conveyed through the image forming unit is stacked on the paper discharging unit.

Next, regarding the case where the image forming apparatus 1 is a digital copying machine, the detailed configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described.
A description will be given with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2A, which is a schematic front view of the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus 1 has a scanner unit 2 at an upper portion and a paper feeding unit 3 at a lower portion. An image forming section 4 and a sheet discharging section 5 (sheet discharging section) are provided between the section 2 and the sheet feeding section 3.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the image forming unit 4 is provided on one side between the scanner unit 2 and the paper feeding unit 3, and the paper discharge unit 5 is provided in the image forming unit 4. It is provided in the space opposite to. The back side of the paper discharge section 5 and the image forming section 4 is a rear wall section, and this rear wall section is a storage section 6 for the drive mechanism, the substrate, and the like. Therefore, in this image forming apparatus, the front surface side of the paper discharge unit 5 and the side surface side of the paper discharge unit 5 opposite to the image forming unit 4 are open. That is, in this image forming apparatus, the central space in the substantially U-shaped structure formed by the scanner unit 2, the image forming unit 4, and the paper feeding unit 3 is set as the paper discharging unit 5.

The scanner unit 2 reads an original image,
The image data is converted into image data, and the paper feeding unit 3 supplies the transfer paper to the image forming unit 4. The image forming unit 4 forms an image on the transfer paper (recording paper) supplied from the paper supply unit 3 based on the image data obtained from the scanner unit 2. The paper discharge unit 5 includes a paper discharge tray 7, and the image-formed transfer paper discharged from the image forming unit 4 is stacked on the paper discharge tray 7.

Further, FIG. 2B shows a plan view as described above, in which the drive mechanism, the substrate and the like storage section 6 is arranged on the back side of the apparatus 1, and the image forming section 4 is arranged on the right side in the figure. The recording paper, which is installed and discharged in the direction of arrow A to the discharge tray 7 of the discharge unit 5 via the image forming unit 4, is taken out by the operator on the front side from the direction of arrow B.

As shown in FIG. 3, the scanner section 2 has an original table 8 made of transparent glass or the like on the upper surface. A scanner optical system 9 is arranged below the document table 8. The scanner optical system 9 illuminates a document placed on the document table 8 with an exposure light source 10 and a reflection from the document. A plurality of reflecting mirrors 11 to 1 for guiding light to a photoelectric conversion element (hereinafter referred to as CCD) 15 as indicated by a chain line in the figure.
Imaging lens 1 arranged in the optical path between the CCD 3 and the CCD 15.
4 and.

As shown in FIG. 4, the image forming section 4 has a photoconductor 16, and the photoconductor 16 has a drum shape that is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Around the photoconductor 16, from the laser irradiation point A toward the rotation direction of the photoconductor 16, a developing device 17, a transfer charger 18, a cleaning device 19, a main charger 20, a laser scanning unit (hereinafter, referred to as LSU). 21 and the like are sequentially provided. The image forming unit 4 can be opened and closed by a side cover as shown in FIG. 7 described later, and when a paper jam occurs, the jammed paper can be taken out. There is.

The original image data read by the CCD 15 is subjected to image processing by the image processing circuit 59 shown in FIG. 5, and then sent to the LSU 21. LSU2
1 is a photoconductor 16 which emits laser light according to the image data.
Irradiate the laser irradiation point A on the surface of. As a result, the surface of the photoconductor 16 is exposed and an electrostatic latent image is formed.

The developing device 17 develops the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 16 into a visible image with toner. The transfer charger 21 transfers the toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 16 to a transfer paper. The cleaning device 19 removes residual toner on the surface of the photoconductor 16. The main charger 20 charges the photoconductor 16 to a predetermined potential. The LSU 21 irradiates a laser toward the laser irradiation point A on the photoconductor 16.

As shown in FIG. 3, the paper feeding unit 3 has a paper feeding cassette 22, and the paper feeding cassette 22 accommodates the transfer paper P (sheet). As shown in FIG. 3, a half-moon roller 23 for ejecting the transfer paper P is arranged at the front end of the paper feed cassette 22 on the paper feed side. On the downstream side of the flow of the transfer paper P from the half-moon roller 23, a pre-registration passage sensor 24 including a detection switch, a registration roller 25, the photoconductor 16 and the transfer charger 1 are provided.
8, a pair of fixing rollers 26 and 27, a post-fixing passage sensor 28 including a detection switch, a paper discharge passage sensor 29 including a detection switch, and a paper discharge roller 30 are arranged in this order.

The pre-registration passage sensor 24 is a transfer paper P.
Detect the passage of. The registration roller 25 is controlled based on the detection signal from the pre-registration passage sensor 24, and aligns the toner image on the photoconductor 16 with the transfer paper P.
The fixing rollers 26 and 27 heat the toner image on the transfer paper P,
Fix by pressure. The post-fixing passage sensor 28 detects that the transfer paper P has passed the fixing rollers 26 and 27. The paper discharge passage sensor 29 detects that the transfer paper P has passed in front of the paper discharge roller 30. That is, the paper discharge passage sensor 29 detects the completion of paper discharge from the image forming unit 4 to the paper discharge unit 5. The paper discharge roller 30 discharges the transfer paper P from the image forming unit 4 to the paper discharge unit 5.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a control section for controlling each section. This control unit includes a CPU (control means) 51, a ROM 52, and an RA.
An M53 and an EEPROM 54 are provided.

A program for controlling the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is written in the ROM 52, and the CPU 5
1 reads the program and executes control. RA
M53 is a memory for temporarily storing numerical data and the like necessary for the CPU 51 to execute the program. The data is read by the CPU 51 at any time and the program is executed. The EEPROM 54 is a nonvolatile memory that can be electrically written and read, and can retain written data even when the power is turned off. The EEPROM 54 is appropriately executed as a memory utilizing the non-volatile characteristic.

A stepping motor driver 55 for driving the stepping motor 44 is connected to the CPU 51. The CPU 51 operates the stepping motor 44 based on the program. Further CPU51
In addition, if necessary, through the expansion I / O or the like, various other sensors 56 such as the paper discharge passage sensor 29, the tray paper discharge sensor 50, and other motor solenoid clutches of the image forming apparatus. Other drivers 58 for driving the etc. 57, an image processing circuit 59 and the CCD 15 are connected.

The above-described tray discharge sensor 50 is provided in the discharge unit 5
Is for detecting the presence / absence of the transfer paper P discharged to the tray section, and the on-sheet discharge sensor 50 is composed of, for example, a switch type or photoelectric type sensor and is provided in the tray section.

Since the image forming apparatus 1 functions as a digital copying machine, the image processing circuit 59 processes the image signal input from the CCD 15 such as multi-value binary conversion, resolution conversion, zoom conversion and the like. I do. The image data processed by the image processing circuit 59 is output as an optical signal by the LSU 24. Of course, in the image processing circuit 59, the CPU 51
Various timings, zoom magnifications, etc. are set by the control of.

An operation panel 49 is provided on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus 1, and the operation panel 49 has an input key for an operator to make various settings and inputs to the image forming apparatus 1. Etc. are provided. This input key has
A print switch for instructing the start of printing operation is included. Further, the operation panel 49 is provided with a display unit including an LCD (liquid crystal) and an LED (light emitting diode) for performing various displays. The number of copies and the like are displayed on this display section.

Next, the structure of the tray device according to the present invention will be described below. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 62 is a paper feed port for manually feeding and conveying the recording paper into the main body of the apparatus, and 61 is a manual feed tray forming a tray device according to the present invention. The manual feed tray 61 is formed integrally with the side cover 60 provided on the side of the apparatus main body,
By rotating it upward in the direction of arrow A in the figure, it is accommodated in a recess 63 larger than the manual feed tray 61 by a predetermined dimension, as shown in FIG. On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 1, the manual feed tray 7 accommodated in the recess 63 is rotated downward so that the manual feed tray 7 can be set and manually fed as shown in FIG.

The manual feed tray 61 has a support shaft 64 extending in the width direction of the manual feed tray (direction orthogonal to the paper feed direction).
Also, the support shaft 64 is supported by the connection portion 65 of the image forming apparatus 1 via the side cover 60 so that the supporting shaft 64 can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus 1 according to the usage status of the manual feed tray 61. ing.

That is, when the side cover 60 is closed and the manual feed tray 61 is used, the support shaft 64 of the manual feed tray 61 corresponds to the side portion of the apparatus body 1 as shown in FIG. The manual feed tray 61 is fitted to the provided connecting portion 65, and the manual feed tray 61 is pivotally supported.

Next, when the manual feed tray 61 is not used, the manual feed tray 61 is rotated upward as shown in FIG.
It is stored in the concave portion 63 of. With this configuration, when the manual feed tray 61 is not used, the side cover 6
The main body of the apparatus can be made compact by storing the apparatus in 0.

When the recording paper is jammed inside the apparatus main body 1 and the jammed recording paper is taken out of the machine, the side cover 60 is shown by arrow B in the figure as shown in FIG.
By rotating in the direction, the inside of the apparatus main body can be accessed, and the recording paper having the paper jam can be easily taken out.

Here, the side cover 60 is supported by a rotary shaft 66 penetrating in the vertical direction of the apparatus main body so that one upper and lower sides of the apparatus main body can be rotated in the direction of arrow B in the figure, and is manually inserted. The side cover 60 can be rotated with the tray 61 housed in the recess of the side cover 60.

Although FIG. 7 illustrates that the rotary shaft 66 is provided on the rear end side of the side cover 60, the rotary shaft 14 may be provided on the front end side. However, since access to the inside of the apparatus is performed from the front in most cases, it is preferable to provide the rotary shaft 66 on the rear end side.

In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the manual feed tray 61 is rotatably supported in the direction A of FIG. 6 and the side cover is rotatably supported in the direction B of FIG. The invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and for example, the side cover 60 may be provided with the rotating shaft 66 so as to be rotatable in the A direction, and the same effect as that of the embodiment of FIG. 7 is obtained. Of course, in this case, it is possible to obtain a new effect that it is possible to prevent the taken-out toner-unfixed paper (paper jammed paper) from falling onto the floor.

Next, the detailed structure in the vicinity of the support shaft 64 of the manual feed tray 61 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a structural cross-sectional view showing a state in which the convex portion 67 of the manual feed tray support shaft 64 and the concave portion 68 of the device connection portion 65 are disengaged without meshing, and FIG. 9 is a manual feed tray support shaft. FIG. 6 is a structural cross-sectional view showing a state in which a convex portion 67 of 64 and a concave portion 68 of a device connecting portion are engaged and fixed in position.

In FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, two concave portions 68 and two convex portions 67 are formed at the diagonal positions of the connecting portion 65 and the support shaft 64, and are formed on the support shaft 64. The convex portion 67 is provided so as to be freely fitted into the concave portion 68 formed in the connecting portion 65 of the device 1. In this embodiment, two concave portions and two convex portions are provided, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, if the cost is to be reduced, the cost is increased by one, but the cost is increased. Applications such as three or more locations are possible to improve reliability.

That is, in FIG. 8, when the support shaft 64 rotates in the direction of arrow C in the figure, the convex portion 67 of the support shaft 64 rotates accordingly, and as shown in FIG. The part 67 meshes. On the other hand, in FIG. 9, when the support shaft 64 rotates in the direction of arrow D in the figure, the convex portion 67 of the support shaft 64 rotates accordingly, and the meshing state of the convex portion 67 with the concave portion 68 is released. 64 and the connecting portion 65 are configured to be separable.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, when the convex portion 67 of the support shaft 64 for the manual feed tray 61 meshes with the concave portion 68 of the connecting portion 65, the manual feed tray 61 is in a substantially horizontal direction. This is the state, that is, the state of FIG. 6 in which the manual feed tray 61 is used in the opened state. As described above, in this state, the convex portion 67 of the manual feeding tray 61 and the concave portion 68 of the connecting portion 65 are in mesh with each other and cannot be separated, and the manual feeding tray 61 is in use and is in a horizontal position as shown in FIG. When it is, the side cover 60 cannot rotate in the B direction with the rotation shaft 66 as the rotation shaft as shown in FIG. 7.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, the convex portion 67 of the support shaft 64 for the manual feed tray 61 is replaced by the concave portion 6 of the connecting portion 65.
In the state where the manual feed tray 61 is not meshed, as shown in FIG. 1, the manual feed tray 61 is in a vertically vertical state, and the manual feed tray 61 is stored in the recess 63 of the side cover 60. Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, it is rotatable about the rotary shaft 66 in the direction of arrow B.

Therefore, in the structure of this embodiment, when the manual feed tray 61 is housed in the recess 63 of the side cover 60 as shown in FIG.
6 is rotatable in the direction of arrow B, and when the manual feed tray 61 is used and the manual feed tray 61 is positioned in a substantially horizontal direction as shown in FIG. The concave portion 68 is meshed with the side cover 60 so that the side cover 60 cannot be rotated in the direction of the arrow B. With a simple structure, the side cover is rotated during use of the manual feed tray, so that the manual feed tray cannot be rotated. It can prevent damage.

That is, the convex portion 67 corresponds to the manual feed tray 61.
When the manual feed tray 61 attached to the apparatus 1 via the side cover 60 is used, the convex portion 67 fitted in the concave portion 68 is formed so that the convex portion 67 of the side cover 60 is engaged with the concave portion 68 when the manual cover tray is used. It can also function as a safety device that prevents the opening.

Here, it is desirable to use, as the material for forming the concave portion and the convex portion, a material that produces an appropriate sliding friction so as not to apply an extra load to the device 1,
It is preferable to use a resin material that is lightweight, relatively easy to process, and low-priced, but it is also possible to use a metal material that has been surface-treated so as to generate appropriate sliding friction. By using a metal material, it is possible to improve durability as compared with a resin material.

In this way, by interlocking with the opening operation of the manual feed tray 61 to switch the engagement of the concave portion 68 and the convex portion 67, when the manual feed tray 61 is used, as shown in FIG. When 61 is opened and used, as shown in FIG. 9, the convex portion 68 of the support shaft 64 is
The manual feed tray 61 is fitted in the concave portion 68 of the connection portion 65 of the device 1, and the manual feed tray 61 is securely fixed in position, so that the manual feed tray 61 can be used.

Further, the manual feed tray 61 is attached to the side cover 6
The side cover 60 is stored in the recess 63 of 0.
8 is opened, the convex portion 67 of the support shaft 64 of the manual feed tray 61 is not fitted into the concave portion 68 as shown in FIG. 8, so that the manual feed tray 61 is attached to the side cover 60 as shown in FIG. In the housed state, the side cover 60 can be opened to cope with a paper jam or the like inside the apparatus.

When the manual feed tray 61 is used again, the side cover 60 is closed and the manual feed tray 61 is opened.
Then, the manual feed tray 61 is fixed in position again, and the manual feed tray 61 becomes usable.

In the present embodiment, the image forming unit 4 of the image forming apparatus 1 is on the right side of the apparatus 1 and the manual feed tray is provided on the right side. In some cases, maintenance of the image forming unit,
It is possible to expect synergistic effects that cleaning, parts replacement, parts inspection, etc. can be easily performed and further the device can be made compact, and this is the most preferable embodiment, but it is not necessary to use the above-mentioned U-shaped image forming device. Of course, it may be a tray device.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the side cover and the manual feed tray are on the right side with the paper feed port 62 of the main body is exemplified, but as described above, the side cover and the manual feed tray are not provided on the discharge port side. A paper discharge tray may be provided for implementation, or may be provided on both the paper feed side and the paper discharge side in some cases. Further, in the transport path of the present embodiment, the discharge side is the left side of the main body 1 having the discharge section 5, and the paper feed side is the right side with the manual feed tray. If a paper feed port and a paper discharge port are provided in the front of the apparatus, the side cover and the manual feed tray may be provided in the front.

Further, in the present embodiment, an example of the U-shaped image forming apparatus is described. However, the configuration of the image forming apparatus is such that the scanner unit 2 and the image forming apparatus are arranged in this order from the upper side as shown in FIG. 11, the paper feed unit 3, the paper discharge tray 7 and the manual feed tray 61 are arranged on the side surface, or the scanner unit 2, the paper discharge tray unit 7, the image forming unit 4, and the paper feed unit from above as shown in FIG. Even the configuration in which the manual feed tray 61 is arranged on the paper portion 3 and the side surface can be applied to the paper discharge side and the paper feed side,
It goes without saying that the same effect is achieved.

The above is a description of the embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0062]

According to the present invention, since the tray is housed in the side cover, there is an effect that the installation space of the apparatus body can be reduced and the overall size of the apparatus body can be made compact. That is, when the manual feed tray is not used, the device main body can be made compact by storing it in the side cover 60. Further, with the tray accommodated in the side cover, the side cover can be opened to access the inside of the apparatus main body, and the jammed paper can be taken out when a paper jam occurs inside the apparatus. If the side cover can be opened in the same direction as the tray, it is possible to obtain a new effect that it is possible to prevent the taken-out toner-unfixed paper (paper jammed paper) from falling onto the floor.

Further, according to the present invention, when the tray such as the manual feed tray or the paper discharge tray is in the open state, the side cover is opened carelessly, and the tray comes into contact with other equipment and the tray is damaged. It is also possible to save troubles such as the need for an extra open space for the size of the tray, and the troublesome work that has to be done every time the side cover is opened.

Further, since the number of parts is small, the reliability can be secured only by the parts accuracy of the small parts, and the rotation regulation of the side cover can be easily and surely performed. That is, the rotation of the side cover can be restricted with a simple structure, and the reversible operation can be easily and reliably performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view showing an image forming apparatus and a manual feed tray according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration near an image forming unit of the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for explaining control contents of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a usage state of the manual feed tray in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing the state of the side cover opened with the manual feed tray attached.

FIG. 8 is a structural cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a state in which a convex portion of a manual feed tray support shaft and a concave portion of a device connecting portion are disengaged without engaging with each other according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a main-part structural cross-sectional view showing a state in which the convex portion of the manual feed tray support shaft and the device connection portion are engaged and positionally fixed according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram for explaining an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Image forming device 2 Document reading section (scanner section) 3 paper feeder 4 Image forming section 5 Paper output section 6 storage 7 Output tray 8 manuscript table 9 Scanner optical system 10 Light source for exposure 11, 12, 13 Reflector 14 Imaging lens 15 Photoelectric conversion element (CCD) 16 photoconductor 17 Developing device 18 Transcription Charger 19 Cleaning device 20 Main charger 21 LSU 22 Paper feed cassette 23 Half Moon Roller 24 Pre-registration passage sensor 25 Registration roller 26, 27 fixing roller 28 Post-fixing passage sensor 29 Paper ejection passage sensor 30 paper ejection roller 44 stepping motor 49 Operation panel 50 Paper ejection sensor on tray 51 CPU 52 ROM 53 RAM 54 EEPROM 55 Stepping Motor Driver 56 Various sensors 57 Motors, solenoids, clutches, etc. 58 Other drivers 60 side cover 61 Bypass tray 62 paper feed port 63 recess 64 support shaft 65 Connection 66 rotation axis 67 convex 68 recess

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Yosuke Kashu             22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka             Inside the company (72) Inventor Hiroaki Nakamura             22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka             Inside the company (72) Inventor Kiyoji Funada             22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka             Inside the company (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Shiraishi             22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka             Inside the company F-term (reference) 2H072 EA16                 2H171 FA01 FA02 FA04 FA22 GA03                       GA06 GA11 GA12 HA09 HA13                       HA19 HA23 JA17 JA18 JA19                       JA20 JA22 KA02 KA05 KA26                       KA27 KA30 LA01 SA11 SA14                       SA18 SA19 SA22 SA26 SA28                       SA31                 5C062 AA05 AB08 AB17 AB30 AB32                       AB35 AD02 BA01

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A scanner unit provided on an upper part of the apparatus main body, the scanner section having an optical system for reciprocally scanning a placed original, a paper feeding section provided on a lower part of the apparatus main body, and a freely openable / closable side surface of the apparatus main body. A side cover, a tray pivotally supported below the side of the scanner section having an optical system for reciprocally scanning the placed document, and a tray openably and closably mounted on the side cover; the scanner section and the feeding unit. An image forming unit provided on a side portion between the paper unit and capable of being opened and closed by the side cover; and a side of the image forming unit in the apparatus main body and the scanner unit and the paper feeding unit. And a sheet discharge section provided on the front side of the apparatus main body in an open state and rotated downward to feed the sheet placed on the tray in the open state into the apparatus main body, Read by the scanner section Based on the image data of the taken original image performs image formation by the image forming unit, an image forming apparatus, characterized by discharge from the discharge unit. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a drive mechanism is housed on the back side of the apparatus main body. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is housed on the back side of the apparatus main body. 4. A drive mechanism is housed on the back side of the apparatus main body of the paper discharge unit and the image forming unit.
The image forming apparatus according to item 1. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a substrate is housed on the back side of the sheet discharging section and the image forming section in the main body of the apparatus. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the side cover further includes a recess for accommodating the tray in the closed state. . 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the side cover can be opened while the tray is accommodated in the side cover. 8. The side cover is provided so as to be openable in the same direction as the tray.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 5. 9. The at least one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the side cover is pivotally supported on a rear end side of the apparatus main body and is opened from the front side of the apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus described. 10. The control device according to claim 1, further comprising: a restricting unit that restricts an opening / closing operation of the side cover in association with an opening / closing operation of the tray. Image forming apparatus. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the restricting unit includes an engaging portion that engages with the side cover and the tray in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the tray. apparatus. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the engagement member restricts the opening / closing operation of the side cover when the tray is not in the closed state. .