JP2004246376A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which ejects copy papers between an imaging section and a scanner section on the upper side without external mounting of a paper ejection tray on the side of apparatus casing and being arranged tightly in contact with the office wall surface. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus is provided with the imaging section forming image information on the paper, the scanner section which reads the image information, transforms the information to an electric signal and supplies the electric signal to the imaging section, a support body which has a wall surface surrounding the paper ejection section space on the imaging section and supports the scanner section across the paper ejection section space on the upper side of the apparatus casing and a cord for electrically connecting the scanner section and the imaging section. A level difference is disposed over the side surface from the back surface of the apparatus casing and the code is stored therein. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and is capable of performing a copy process without extending a paper discharge tray on a side surface of the apparatus main body.

JP-A-5-207210

  In a conventional copying machine, an original is read by a scanner unit provided at an upper portion of the apparatus main body, and the read image information is transferred to a sheet and fixed. The paper is discharged onto an attached paper discharge tray).

  However, such a so-called wing type copying machine has a problem that, depending on the installation location, a person hits the external paper output tray and breaks the tray, and the installation space is smaller than the projection area of the apparatus main body. It needs to be fairly wide and is a major bottleneck for miniaturization of the device.

  2. Description of the Related Art In a device such as a laser printer which does not need to read an original image independently, a sheet on which image information is formed is discharged to an upper surface region of the device housing. If the upper surface of the housing can be used as a paper output tray in this way, the installation space becomes equal to the projection area of the apparatus main body and space saving can be realized, but it is necessary to read an original image like a copier or facsimile. In the apparatus, a scanner section is provided at the upper portion of the apparatus main body in order to read a document as an original image, so that a paper discharge location has to be located at a side of the apparatus main body.

  In order to reduce the space occupied by the image forming apparatus and increase the degree of freedom of installation thereof, the applicant of the present invention discloses an image forming engine for forming an image on a sheet and an image forming engine for forming an image on the sheet. A sheet discharging means for discharging the discharged sheet, an image forming engine housing for forming a sheet stacking section for stacking the sheets discharged by the sheet discharging means above the image forming engine, and a space above the sheet stacking section. Scanner means for converting the document image information into an electric signal and supplying it to the image forming engine, and supporting means for supporting the scanner means with a space above the sheet stacking section; Has been proposed.

  As described above, in a so-called wingless type device that discharges a sheet between the image forming unit and the scanner unit, it is not necessary to extend the discharge tray to the side of the device housing. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the limitation of the installation space of the device.

  The image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 forms a paper stacking unit above an image forming unit, and arranges a scanner unit above the image stacking unit with a space therebetween to avoid problems of the wing type device and save space. However, there are still problems or restrictions in terms of the installation location. That is, codes such as a connector for electrically connecting the scanner unit and the image forming unit are outside the apparatus housing, and a considerable dead space is generated even when the code is installed close to the office wall surface. In addition, since a device serving as a heat source and a charger serving as an ozone generation source such as a fixing device are contained in the device housing, air circulation is performed to cool the inside of the housing or to exhaust ozone. However, in the case of the conventional device housing, it is impossible to arrange the housing in contact with the wall surface of the office due to the necessity of air circulation.

  Therefore, the present invention is an apparatus for discharging copy paper between an image forming section and a scanner section above the image forming section without externally attaching a paper discharge tray to a side of the apparatus housing, and is arranged in close contact with an office wall surface. It is an object to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing the following.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, an image forming unit that forms image information on paper, a scanner unit that reads image information, converts the information into an electric signal, and supplies the information to the image forming unit, A support for supporting the scanner unit above the apparatus housing with the paper discharge unit space interposed between the image forming unit and a wall surrounding the discharge unit space on the image forming unit; and electrically connecting the scanner unit and the image forming unit. And a step is provided on the support from the back surface to the side surface of the device housing, and accommodates the cord. Not only wingless type devices but also wing type devices, if a recess for accommodating cords is formed on the back of the device housing, the device can be in close contact with the wall and the dead space at the installation place is reduced. be able to.

  According to the present invention, a code can be accommodated by providing a step from the back surface to the side surface on the support that supports the scanner unit with the paper discharge space separated, and the rear wall can be attached to the building wall exactly. And dead space can be eliminated. Further, by providing a step from the back surface to the side surface, the so-called in-body paper discharge unit space is not narrowed, and the maximum paper discharge unit space can be secured.

The details of the present invention will be described based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 schematically shows a typical so-called internal discharge type image forming apparatus according to the present invention. An image forming unit 1 is disposed substantially at the center of the apparatus, and a sheet feeding unit 2 is located immediately below the image forming unit 1. Although the paper feed unit 2 is shown as being composed of two paper feed cassettes, the number of cassettes can be freely increased or decreased as necessary. A scanner unit 3 for reading a document is provided above the image forming unit 1 with a space portion therebetween. A space between the image forming unit 1 and the scanner unit 3 is formed as a paper discharge unit 4 to discharge the paper on which the image has been copied.

  In the image forming section 1, for example, around a photoreceptor drum 5 made of an organic photoreceptor, a charging charger 6 for performing charging processing on the drum surface, an exposure device 7 for irradiating image information on the drum with laser light, A developing device 8 for visualizing the electrostatic latent image, a transfer roller 9 for transferring a toner image on the drum to a sheet, a cleaning device 10 for removing and collecting residual toner on the drum, and the like are arranged. Further, a fixing device 11 for performing a fixing process on the sheet after the image transfer is provided downstream of the electrophotographic process means in the sheet conveyance.

  The paper feed unit 2 composed of a two-stage paper feed cassette accommodates paper of different sizes or different mounting directions in each paper feed cassette 21. Inside the paper feed cassette 21, a bottom plate 22 for lifting the leading end of the paper to a call roller 23 is attached. The sheet pulled out of the cassette by the calling roller 23 is delivered to the registration roller 14 via the feed roller 24. In some cases, the sheet is fed to the registration roller 14 from a manual feed tray 16 that is hinged to the side of the device housing 15 of the image forming unit 1 and that can be freely opened and closed.

  In the scanner section 3, a reading traveling body 31 including a light source for document illumination and a mirror is moved in order to scan a document (not shown) placed on a contact glass 32. Image information scanned by the reading traveling body 31 is read as an image signal by an image reading device 33 provided behind the lens. The read image signal is digitized and processed. A laser diode (LD, not shown) of the exposure device 7 is driven based on the image-processed signal, and a laser beam from the LD is reflected by a polygon mirror. To form an electrostatic latent image on the drum.

  The paper discharge unit 4 on the image forming unit 1 is configured so that the three sides except the front surface as viewed in FIG. 1 are surrounded by a wall forming a part of the apparatus housing 15, and lift the scanner unit 3 upward to support it. It is in a state to do. As a result, the sheet on which the image is formed is ejected into the body of the image forming apparatus, and even if the copy target is, for example, a confidential document, the contents are hard to be seen by a nearby person. In the present embodiment, since the paper is discharged on the back side due to the direction of paper conveyance in the image forming unit 1, it is particularly excellent in keeping confidentiality.

  The paper discharge unit 4 includes a paper discharge tray 41 formed on the upper surface of the apparatus housing 15 and a one-bin tray 42 with a paper discharge jogger. It is also possible to increase the number of bin trays to a plurality according to the degree of the paper discharge unit space. As shown in FIG. 2, the paper ejection tray 41 has a front cover portion of the apparatus housing 15 gently swelling forward, and a central front side is recessed so that the ejected paper can be easily taken out from the front of the apparatus. A step is formed. Further, in order to align the trailing edge of the discharged paper, the left side of the paper discharge tray 41 in FIG. 1 is inclined and falls to the left end. The 1 bin tray 42 is disposed in a hollow portion of the space of the paper discharge unit 4 and has a large cut-out on the front side in the center so that the paper can be easily taken out. Because of the notch, it is easy for the operator to check the paper discharged to the paper discharge tray 41. As shown in FIG. 3, the sheet discharged to the one-bin tray 42 is sent out to the front side of the apparatus by the jogger 43, so that the sheet is easily taken out. The jogger 43 is configured to receive a driving force from, for example, a driving device (not shown) of a discharge roller described below. The jogger 43 may feed out sheets one by one, or may load the sheets for each job. The paper may be sent out.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of transport rollers 51, 52, and 53 are provided in a left side wall of FIG. 1, which is one of the wall surfaces that define the paper discharge unit 4 and support the scanner unit 3. The paper transport path is disposed so that the paper that has passed through the fixing device 11 can be discharged to the discharge tray 41 or the one-bin tray 42. In order to lift the sheet to the one bin tray 42, the discharge roller 54 is configured as a driving roller, and is driven by a driving device (not shown). The discharge switching between the discharge tray 41 and the one-bin tray 42 is performed by a first switching claw 55 disposed in the paper transport path. The outer cover of the housing 15 that covers the transport rollers 51, 52, and 53 and forms a wall has a double structure, and the outermost cover 17 is hinged and is configured to open and close around a pivot point 18. ing. When opened, the outermost cover 17 functions as a third discharge tray different from the discharge tray 41 and the one-bin tray 42. As shown in FIG. 5, the outermost cover 17 is formed of a main cover plate 17a and an extension plate 17b, as shown in FIG. 5, and is formed as a telescopic type from which the extension plate 17b can be pulled out as necessary. Have been. The switching between the transport path to the discharge tray 41 and the bin tray 42 and the transport direction to the outermost cover 17 for straight discharge is performed by the second switching claw 56 (FIG. 4).

  The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment has the advantage of saving installation space by closing the manual feed tray 16 and the outermost cover 17 and using it in a so-called wingless state. This device can be used by pushing it into a narrow space surrounded by walls on three sides. However, when the misfeed processing needs to be performed from the side of the machine when the apparatus is used in such an installed state, the machine must be pulled out. In order to improve the mechanical mobility, handles 45 are formed on the front side of the paper discharge unit side wall of the apparatus housing 15 that lifts and supports the scanner unit 3, as shown in FIG. Further, a power switch 60 is disposed on the front surface of the scanner unit 3. The groping operation which has been caused by arranging the power switch on the side surface or the back surface of the apparatus as in the related art is eliminated. In particular, when the apparatus is pushed into a narrow space surrounded by a wall on three sides and used, the operability of such a front arrangement is felt to be improved. The power switch may be arranged on the upper surface of the device, similarly to the operation panel 61.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a concave portion 34 is formed on the rear surface of the housing 15, and a cord such as a harness or a connector is accommodated in the concave portion 34. As a result of forming the recesses 34 for accommodating cords and providing a step on the back surface, the cords do not protrude on the rear and side surfaces of the housing as shown in FIG. It becomes possible.

  When used in a narrow space surrounded by walls on three sides as shown in FIG. 6 or in a state where two sides are in contact with a wall at a corner of a room, a louver is provided on the rear surface of a flat housing like a conventional device. If provided, the back of the apparatus must be installed at a position away from the office wall in order to ensure air circulation. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9A, a concave passage 61 extending upward is formed on the back surface of the device housing 15, and a louver 62 is provided below and on the closed end thereof. I have. The air flowing into and out of the housing 15 through the louver 62 flows along the concave passage 61 serving as a draft. With such a configuration, the device can be brought into close contact with the office wall surface. As shown in FIG. 9B, a tunnel passage 63 may be formed on the rear surface of the housing to exhaust air upward from the main body. The recess passage 61 may be formed to extend downward (FIG. 9C), or the recess passage 61 may extend in both the up and down directions (FIG. 9D). )). In the example of FIG. 9, a recessed passage or a tunnel passage is formed on the rear surface of the housing. However, these recessed passages and a tunnel passage are formed on the side surface of the device housing so as not to impair the arrangement of the image forming unit. Is also good.

  The copying process in the image forming apparatus having the above-described configuration is the same as the conventionally known procedure. In FIG. 1, the surface of the photosensitive drum 5 is uniformly charged by the charging charger 6 and the image read by the scanner unit 3 is read. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface by irradiating the exposure device 7 with light based on the processed signal. Next, when the electrostatic latent image passes the position facing the developing device 8, the latent image is visualized by toner adhesion. The visible image is superimposed on a sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding unit 2 or the manual feed tray 16 at a proper timing, and the image is transferred onto the sheet using the transfer roller 9. The transferred toner image is fixed on the sheet by passing through the fixing device 11. On the other hand, the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 5 after the transfer process is removed by the cleaning device 10, and the residual charge on the photosensitive drum is removed by the charge removing device. The sheet on which the toner image has been fixed is discharged to one of the sheet discharge tray 41, the bin bin 42, and the open outermost cover 17 according to the switching position of the first switching claw 55 and the second switching claw 56.

  Since there are three paper discharge positions, it is possible to control each of the functions of the copier, the facsimile, and the printer so that the paper is discharged to each position. By dividing the paper discharge location for each function, recording paper will not be mixed even if a plurality of functions are operated simultaneously. Further, by switching the first switching claw 55 during one copy process, the sorting / stacking process can be performed using the sheet discharge tray 41 and the one-bin tray 42, and when the number of copies is considerably large, For example, if sheets are first stacked on the paper discharge tray 41 and the first switching claw 55 is switched to discharge the paper to the one bin tray 42 when a certain number of sheets are reached, one copy Can be greatly increased.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an in-body paper ejection type image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a conceptual diagram explaining the jogger operation of the bin tray. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a paper conveyance path region of an in-body discharge type image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a third paper discharge tray. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state where the device is pushed into a narrow space surrounded by walls on three sides. It is the schematic explaining the accommodation processing of the codes on the back of a device housing. It is a figure showing a neat design of the back of a device case. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the air discharge processing according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 4A is a configuration for removing air above a housing, and FIG. 5B is a configuration for removing air above a housing using a tunnel passage. (C) is a diagram showing a configuration for directing the wind downward from the housing, and (d) is a diagram showing how the wind is vented in both the up and down directions.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming part 2 Paper supply part 3 Scanner part 4 Paper discharge part 5 Photoconductor drum 7 Exposure device 11 Fixing device 15 Device housing 34 Housing recess 41 Paper discharge tray 42 Bin tray

Claims (1)

An image forming unit for forming image information on paper;
A scanner unit that reads image information, converts the information into an electric signal, and supplies the electric signal to the image forming unit;
A support body having a wall surface surrounding a paper discharge unit space on the image forming unit, and supporting the scanner unit above the apparatus housing with the paper discharge unit space interposed therebetween;
A cord for electrically connecting the scanner unit and the image forming unit, wherein a step is provided on the support body from the back surface to the side surface of the device housing to accommodate the code. Image forming device.

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