JP2004287452A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus constituted so that the existence of paper ejected to a paper ejection part provided in an image forming apparatus main body can be easily visually confirmed. <P>SOLUTION: The paper ejection part 15 is provided in the image forming apparatus body 1 and opens to a front X1. An aperture part 17 functioning as a window part for introducing light to the paper ejection part 15 is provided on the side surface 1c of the body 1. Since the light enters the paper ejection part 15 through the aperture part 17 and the paper ejection part 15 becomes light, whether or not the paper P exists in the paper ejection part 15 is easily visually conformed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that can perform multiple functions such as a copy function and a facsimile function by itself.

  In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for an image forming apparatus that performs multiple functions by itself. For example, those provided with a copy function, a FAX function, a printer function, a PC-FAX function, a scanner function, and the like are provided. With such a multi-function image forming apparatus, the space can be significantly reduced as compared with a case where a plurality of apparatuses are arranged corresponding to each function, so that it can be used in a small office.

On the other hand, if a paper feed cassette for supplying paper for image recording and a paper discharge tray for discharging paper on which an image is recorded protrude from both sides of the image forming apparatus main body, the installation space is correspondingly increased. Is widely needed. In view of this, there is provided an image forming apparatus in which a sheet feeding cassette can be loaded into the image forming apparatus main body, and a paper discharge space is provided in the image forming apparatus main body.
In general, the space on the front side of the image forming apparatus main body is an empty space for operation of the image forming apparatus, and the above-mentioned sheet cassette can be taken out to the front side. The paper discharge space is open to the front side of the image forming apparatus main body, and the paper discharged to the paper discharge space is taken out to the front side.

However, since the discharge space is installed in the image forming apparatus main body, the inside tends to be dark, and it is difficult to confirm whether or not there is a sheet in the discharge space. For this reason, the operator checks his or her presence by flicking his hand into the paper discharge space to check for the presence or absence of a sheet. However, such an operation is very troublesome for the operator.
By the way, in general, in a multifunctional image forming apparatus, an optical system is arranged above a paper discharge space, and an upper portion including the optical system is assembled so as to be mounted on a lower portion below the optical system. In some cases. In this case, while placing the lower part on both sides while holding and supporting the lower part on both sides of the upper part, it is necessary to remove the hand so that the hand is not pinched between the two parts. For this reason, it was difficult to place the upper part at a position with high accuracy.

On the other hand, in an image forming apparatus, a sheet is passed between a heat roller and a pressure roller as a fixing roller, and a toner image formed on the sheet is heated and fixed.
If the temperature of the fixing roller is too high, a so-called high-temperature offset occurs, and if the temperature is too low, there is a problem that a fixing failure occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to keep the temperature of the fixing roller constant. Therefore, conventionally, cooling air is flowed along the axial direction of the fixing roller from one end to the other end in the axial direction of the fixing roller.

However, in the conventional cooling method, the downstream portion of the fixing roller in the blowing direction is cooled by high-temperature air heated on the upstream side in the blowing direction, so that the cooling efficiency is deteriorated. As a temperature distribution of the fixing roller, there is a problem that the temperature at the downstream side in the air blowing direction becomes extremely high.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily visually checking the presence or absence of a sheet discharged to a sheet discharge unit. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which is easy to assemble during manufacturing. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of making the temperature of a fixing roller uniform in the axial direction.

  According to the present invention, at least one of a paper discharge unit formed inside an image forming apparatus main body so as to be opened forward through an open portion for taking out a sheet and discharging a sheet on which an image is recorded, and an image forming apparatus main body A window formed on the side surface of the paper discharge unit so as to be separated from an open portion for taking out the paper, and for lighting the paper discharge unit, and illuminating the document placed on the document placing surface to correspond to the document surface. An optical system for obtaining an image, an image forming unit for recording an image obtained by the optical system on a sheet, and a sheet conveying unit for discharging a sheet to the sheet discharging unit via a sheet conveying path passing through the image forming unit The image forming apparatus main body includes a first portion that houses an optical system, and a second portion that houses an image forming unit and a sheet transport unit in combination therewith, and the window unit includes: The opening is formed at the joint between the side surfaces of the first and second portions. An image forming apparatus characterized by being set in the introduction can size and position the hand substantially supported the central portion of each side of the first part during assembly.

In this configuration, light enters the paper discharge unit through the window for daylighting, so that it is possible to easily visually check whether there is any paper in the paper discharge unit. Note that the window may be open or closed by a transparent plate or the like as long as it can take in light.
When assembling the image forming apparatus main body, the first portion is placed on the second portion while supporting substantially the center portions on both sides of the first portion with both hands. At this time, the hands are inserted into the openings, respectively, so that the hands can not be pinched and the assembly can be performed with high positional accuracy. The substantially central portion of each side surface of the first portion is such that a line connecting both hands supporting this portion passes near the center of gravity of the first portion, that is, the first portion can be supported in a well-balanced manner. It is a part that can be done.

  The present invention also provides a paper discharge unit formed inside the image forming apparatus main body so as to be opened forward through an open portion for taking out a sheet, and for discharging a sheet on which an image is recorded, A window formed on at least one side surface of the paper discharge unit so as to be separated from an open portion for taking out the paper, and configured to receive light in the paper discharge unit; An adjacent fixing roller, and a blower that is disposed at one end of the fixing roller in the axial direction and sends air along the axial direction of the fixing roller, wherein the window portion is formed from an opening through which cooling air is introduced by the blower. That is, it mainly corresponds to the downstream portion of the fixing roller in the blowing direction.

  In this configuration, the following operation is achieved. That is, in the related art, in which the fixed air flows in the entire axial direction of the fixing roller in the related art, the temperature of the downstream side of the fixing roller in the blowing direction tends to be high. As a result of mainly cooling the downstream portion of the fixing roller in the air flow direction, the temperature of the fixing roller can be made uniform in the axial direction. In addition, the opening serves as both lighting and taking in cooling air, so that the structure can be simplified as compared with a case where these are separately formed. Here, the expression that the opening mainly corresponds to the downstream side of the fixing roller in the air blowing direction means that cooling air introduced from the opening can make the temperature distribution of the fixing roller uniform in the axial direction. This means that a proper arrangement is sufficient, and the portion corresponding to the opening may or may not include the central portion in the axial direction of the fixing roller.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus includes an automatic document feeder 10 (hereinafter, simply referred to as an ADF 10) on an upper surface of an image forming apparatus main body 1, and an upper part on the front X1 side of the image forming apparatus main body 1. Is provided with an operation panel 13 having various operation keys 11 and a display unit 12. By arranging the operation panel 13 in the upper part on the front X1 side of the image forming apparatus main body 1, the upper surface of the image forming apparatus main body 1 is effectively used for arranging the ADF 10.

Further, the image forming apparatus main body 1 has a paper discharge unit 15 that opens to the front X1 below the operation panel 13. At the lower portion of the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus, a paper feed cassette 14 that can be pulled out to the front X1 of the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus is mounted.
On the other hand, the present image forming apparatus performs a copying function and, although not shown, modulates image data to be transmitted or demodulates received image data to perform a facsimile function. An NCU (Network Control Unit) for connecting to an external communication line is provided.

  Referring to FIG. 2, which is a schematic front view showing the internal cross section of the image forming apparatus, in the present image forming apparatus, when the ADF 10 is used, the original is transported to the ADF reading area 2a by the ADF 10, The original surface is illuminated and scanned by the fixed optical system, and an image is formed based on the illuminated scan. On the other hand, when a book original or the like is placed on the original placing surface 2 for copying, the original surface is illuminated and scanned by a moving optical system, and an image is formed based on the illumination scan.

In the ADF 10, when a plurality of originals with their front sides facing upward are set in the original setting unit 10a, these originals are turned over through the original transport path 10b, and the reading area set at the end of the original mounting surface 2 is set. After passing through 2a, the originals are sequentially discharged to the document discharge table 10c in a reversed state from the first sheet.
Inside the image forming apparatus main body 1, an original placed on the original placing plate 2 or an original conveyed to the ADF reading area 2a by the ADF 10 is illuminated and scanned, and reflected light from the original is exposed to the photosensitive drum 42. , An image forming unit 4 that visualizes the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 42 by the developing device 41 and then transfers the image to a sheet, and opens the sheet cassette 61 or when necessary. A paper transport unit 5 and the like are provided to draw out paper from the manual paper feed tray 62 to be discharged and discharge the paper to the paper discharge unit 15 in the image forming apparatus main body 1 through the image forming unit 4.

  The optical system 3 illuminates the original with a fluorescent lamp (not shown) with a reflector fixed to the first moving frame 3A, and reflects the reflected light from the original on the first moving frame 3A. The laser light is taken into the line sensor 37 via the first mirror 33, the second mirror 34 and the third mirror 35 fixed to the second moving frame 3B, and the lens 36 in order, and the laser beam corresponding to the input to the line sensor 37. Is irradiated on the photosensitive drum 42 by the laser optical system 38. Although not shown in detail, the laser optical system 38 is a known one including a laser oscillator, a modulator, a lens, a rotating polygon mirror (polygon mirror), and the like.

  As the image forming unit 4, a charging charger 43, a developing device 41, a transfer roller 44, and a cleaning roller 45 are arranged around a photosensitive drum 42 in this order. The image forming unit 4 forms an electrostatic latent image by forming a document image on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 42 uniformly charged by the charging charger 43, and thereafter, the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 41. The toner image is developed into a toner image, the toner image is transferred to a sheet by a transfer roller 44, and the residual toner is collected by a cleaning roller 45. The main image forming unit 4 is unitized as a whole, and can be integrally pulled out to the front X1 side.

  The paper transport unit 5 is transported by the paper feed rollers 51 that pull out the paper P one by one from the paper feed cassette 61, the paper feed roller 52 that pulls out the paper from the manual paper feed tray 62, and the paper feed rollers 51 and 52. A pair of registration rollers 53, 53 for abutting the leading end of the sheet P to temporarily wait for the sheet P, a heat roller 54b and a pressure roller constituting a fixing roller 54 for fixing the toner image transferred to the sheet P 54a and a pair of discharge rollers 55, 55 are provided in this order. These discharge rollers 55 discharge the sheet P along the transport direction K which is the left side Y1 in the drawing.

  Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 which is an enlarged schematic perspective view of the paper discharge unit 15, the paper is discharged to the paper discharge unit 15 in the transport direction K which is the left side Y1. The paper discharging unit 15 is inclined (so as to become lower toward the right Y2 in the figure) so that a portion corresponding to the rear end Pa in the transport direction of the discharged paper P is the lowest. have. By the function of the inclined portion 15c, the rear end Pa of the paper P discharged to the paper discharge section 15 in the transport direction is aligned with the rear end 15a of the paper discharge section 15 in the transport direction. Further, even if a large number of sheets P are discharged to the sheet discharge section 15 and are stacked, the rear end Pa in the transport direction of the stacked sheets P does not prevent the next sheet P to be discharged. It has become.

  As described above, the optical system 3, the image forming unit 4, the paper transporting unit 5, and the like are housed in the image forming apparatus main body 1. Referring to FIG. Is separated from the second portion 1b for accommodating the image forming unit 4 and the sheet transporting unit 5 below the portion 1a. When the image forming apparatus is assembled, as shown in FIG. The first portion 1a is placed on the second portion 1b and combined with each other. The paper discharge unit 15 is provided above the second portion 1b and is interposed between the second portion 1b and the first portion 1a.

On the other hand, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, on both sides of the image forming apparatus main body 1, an opening 17 (only one is shown in FIG. 1) as a lighting window for connecting the paper discharge unit 15 to the outside is shown. ) Are formed respectively, whereby light is introduced into the paper discharge unit 15 so that the space of the paper discharge unit 15 is not darkened, and the paper P discharged to the paper discharge unit 15 is easily recognized. I have.
Further, each opening 17 is provided at a joint portion of each side surface of the first and second portions 1a and 1b. As shown in FIG. 5, each of the openings 17 is set to a size and a position where a hand supporting a lower edge of a substantially central position of each side surface of the first portion 1a can be introduced when assembling the image forming apparatus. I have. Thereby, when assembling the image forming apparatus main body 1, it is possible to prevent a hand from being pinched between the first portion 1a and the second portion 1b, and to combine the two portions 1a and 1b with high positional accuracy. It has become. In the present embodiment, the opening 17 is arranged in the second portion 1b, but may be arranged in the first portion 1a, or may extend over both portions 1a and 1b. It may be one that is arranged in a bent manner.

  A plurality of main ventilation ports 18 are provided in a portion 19 which continuously partitions the upper right surface of the second portion 1b into the paper discharge portion 15 and faces the opening 17 of the right side surface 1c of the image forming apparatus main body 1. . On the other hand, on the upper part of the front surface 1d of the second portion 1b, a sub-ventilation opening 20 having an opening area much smaller than the opening area of the plurality of main ventilation openings 18 is formed. Cooling air is supplied to the fixing roller 54 through the ventilation holes 20 and 18.

Referring to FIG. 4 which is a partially cutaway right side view of the image forming apparatus main body 1 (FIG. 4 shows a state in which the surface cover on the right side of the image forming apparatus main body 1 has been removed and the plate-shaped frame is exposed). The fixing roller 54 is disposed along the front and rear directions X1 and X2 of the image forming apparatus, and is close to the main ventilation port 18.
A fan 21 for blowing air is disposed near the rear end of the fixing roller 54 in the axial direction. The fan 21 sucks air from the ventilation holes 20 and 18 to rearward the fixing roller 54 in the axial direction. (That is, the wind is sent toward the rear X2). The periphery of the fixing roller 54 is partitioned so that almost no air flows toward the fixing roller 54 from the portions other than the ventilation holes 20 and 18, and the amount of air introduced from the sub ventilation hole 20 is determined by the main ventilation passage. It is set to be much smaller than the amount of air introduced from the whole 20.

  On the other hand, the main ventilation port 18 mainly corresponds to a downstream portion of the fixing roller 54 in the blowing direction, and mainly cools the downstream portion in the blowing direction. Thus, the temperature distribution in the axial direction of the fixing roller 54 is made uniform. The height of the lower end of the rear frame 1e is set so that the rear frame 1e does not block the airflow exhausted by the fan 21.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the first portion 1a is arranged in a state shifted by a predetermined amount to the rear X2 from the second portion 1b (in the figure, C1 indicates a central portion of the optical system 3 in the front-rear direction). And C2 is a line indicating the center of the image forming unit in the front-rear direction.) Thus, an empty space is formed on the front X1 side of the first portion 1a, but the operation panel 13 is arranged so as to occupy a part of this empty space (see FIG. 1), and the remaining empty space is formed. The space forms a side space 16 on the right side Y2 of the operation panel 13, and through this side space 16, as shown in FIG. 4, the operator determines whether or not the sheet P discharged to the sheet discharge unit 15 exists. , Can be visually checked from above. As shown in FIG. 1, the side space 16 is located above the rear end Pa of the discharged sheet P in the transport direction, so that the sheet P is present in the sheet discharge section 15 regardless of the sheet size. Whether it is or not can be easily visually recognized.

Further, referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 showing the rear frame of the first portion 1a, the optical system 3 accommodated in the first portion 1a is driven on the rear frame 1e of the first portion 1a. Driving member 22 is supported.
The driving member 22 includes a motor 23, a driving pulley 24 fixed to a rotating shaft of the motor 23, a driven pulley 26 driven by the driving pulley 24 via a belt 25, and an integral rotation with the driven pulley 26. And a second gear 28 that meshes with the first gear 27.

Of the members 23 to 27 included in the driving member 22, the motor 23 and the driving pulley 24 are arranged at the rear X2 of the second portion 1b. In particular, the motor 23 is disposed in an empty space formed behind the second portion 1b by shifting the first portion 1a backward.
If the first portion 1a is simply shifted rearward while the motor 23 is disposed on the rear surface of the first portion 1a, the plane space occupied by the entire image forming apparatus becomes large. Since the motor 23 is disposed behind the second portion 1b, the plane space occupied by the image forming apparatus does not increase.

  Since the motor 23 is mounted on the inner surface of the rear frame 1e, the motor 23 is spaced apart from the rear cover of the image forming apparatus main body 1 as compared with the conventional case mounted on the outer surface of the rear frame 1e. (That is, more deeply inside the image forming apparatus main body 1), and is arranged in a state of being shielded by the rear frame 1e. As a result, the motor noise during the operation of the apparatus can be made hard to leak out of the apparatus, so that a reduction in noise is expected.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the leading edge Pb, which is the take-out side of the sheet P discharged to the sheet discharging unit 15, is separated from the leading edge Pb of the sheet discharging unit 15 by a predetermined distance d (for example, 20 mm). The paper transport path is set such that the paper P is discharged in a state along the line. That is, the paper transport path is a so-called machine front side reference. Since the front side reference is used in this manner, the front edge Pb of the sheet P discharged to the sheet discharge unit 15 is at a certain close distance (for example, 20 mm) from the front edge 15b of the sheet discharge unit 15 regardless of the sheet size. As a result, regardless of the sheet size, the sheet P can be easily taken out from the sheet discharge unit 15 forward.

According to the present embodiment, since light enters the paper discharge unit 15 through the lighting opening 17, it is easy to visually recognize whether or not the paper P is present in the paper discharge unit 15.
Also, when assembling the image forming apparatus, when the first portion 1a is placed on the second portion 1b while the substantially central portions of both side surfaces of the first portion 1a are supported by both hands, both hands respectively Since it enters the opening 17, it is possible to assemble with high positional accuracy without pinching the hand.

Further, the wind sucked from the outside through the opening 17 and the main ventilation port 18 mainly cools the downstream portion of the fixing roller 54 in the blowing direction, where the cooling efficiency tends to be deteriorated. The distribution can be uniform in the axial direction. As a result, it is possible to eliminate a fixing defect caused by uneven temperature.
In the present embodiment, the opening 17 for daylighting also serves to take in cooling air in the above embodiment. However, when the opening 17 is used only for daylighting, the opening is closed with a transparent plate and the window is closed. It is good.

  Further, the cooling air may cool only the heat roller 54b, may cool only the pressure roller 54a, or may cool both the rollers 54a and 54b. In addition, various changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view illustrating an internal configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic perspective view of a paper discharge unit. FIG. 3 is a schematic right side view of the image forming apparatus main body, partially broken away. FIG. 7 is a schematic side view illustrating one process when assembling the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a rear frame of a first portion.

Explanation of reference numerals

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus main body 1a 1st part 1b 2nd part 1c Right side surface 2 Original mounting surface 3 Optical system 4 Image forming unit 5 Paper transport unit 15 Discharge unit 16 Side space 17 Opening 18 Main ventilation port 20 Sub-air vent 21 fan (blower means)
X1 Front X2 Back Y1 Left Y2 Right K Transport direction 54 Fixing roller 54a Pressure roller 54b Heat roller

Claims (2)

A paper discharge unit that is formed in the image forming apparatus main body so as to be opened forward through an open portion for taking out a paper, and discharges a paper on which an image is recorded;
A window formed on at least one side surface of the image forming apparatus main body so as to be separated from an open portion for taking out the paper of the paper discharge unit and lighting the paper discharge unit;
An optical system that illuminates the original placed on the original placing surface to obtain an image corresponding to the original surface;
An image forming unit that records an image obtained by the optical system on paper;
A paper transport unit that discharges paper to the paper discharge unit via a paper transport path that passes through the image forming unit;
The image forming apparatus main body includes a first portion that houses the optical system, and a second portion that houses an image forming unit and a sheet conveyance unit in combination therewith,
The window portion has an opening formed at a joint portion of each side surface of the first and second portions, and a hand supporting a substantially central portion of each side surface of the first portion can be introduced during assembly. An image forming apparatus, wherein the size and the position are set. A paper discharge unit that is formed in the image forming apparatus main body so as to be opened forward through an open portion for taking out a paper, and discharges a paper on which an image is recorded;
A window formed on at least one side surface of the image forming apparatus main body so as to be separated from an open portion for taking out the paper of the paper discharge unit and lighting the paper discharge unit;
A fixing roller disposed along the front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus main body and close to the window; and a blowing unit disposed at one end side of the fixing roller in the axial direction to send air along the axial direction of the fixing roller. ,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the window portion includes an opening through which cooling air is introduced by a blowing unit, and mainly corresponds to a downstream portion of the fixing roller in the blowing direction.

Images