JP2005035797A - Post-treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily cope with a jam with simple operation without pulling an internal structure out. <P>SOLUTION: An inner space S is formed between this post-treatment device and an image forming device, and an opening/closing cover 46 is provided to turn inside the inner space S. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a post-processing apparatus such as a finisher mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

  A finisher 100 as an example of a post-processing apparatus is mounted in a standing state on one side surface of the image forming apparatus 102 as shown in FIG. In the binding mode, a sheet on which a target image is formed and discharged by the image forming apparatus 102 is introduced into the finisher 100, and after a predetermined number of sheets are stacked and aligned, the stapler (not shown) incorporated in the finisher 100 It is bound. The bound sheet bundle is pushed up by a discharge means (not shown) built in the finisher 100 and discharged to the discharge tray 104.

  As indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5, the internal structure 105 of the finisher 100 such as a paper transport mechanism or a stapler can be pulled out integrally with the side plate 106, Work such as staple supply was performed.

As described above, in the conventional post-processing apparatus, the internal structure integrated with the side plate is pulled out so as to protrude outward, and operations such as jam processing and staple supply are performed in this state. The above pull-out operation is unavoidable in the case of staple supply and complicated jam processing, but in the case of simple jam processing, the work of pulling out the internal configuration of the post-processing device each time is troublesome and requires unnecessary labor on the operator. become.
Further, when other articles are temporarily placed in the drawer-side space, the internal structure of the finisher 100 must be pulled out after the articles are moved even in the case of relatively simple jam processing. It was extremely troublesome.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a post-processing apparatus that can easily perform a processing operation without requiring extra labor in the case of relatively simple jam processing.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the post-processing apparatus attached to the image forming apparatus, an opening / closing cover that can be opened and closed in an inner space formed between the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus. It has the structure of having.
Here, the inner space refers to a space in an area defined by the outer shape of the apparatus including the image forming apparatus or an extension line thereof (hereinafter the same).

  The invention described in claim 2 adopts the configuration described in claim 1, which has an outer shape that forms the inner space.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first or second aspect, the opening / closing cover is pivotally supported at the lower end in the height direction of the image forming apparatus and is rotatable. A configuration is adopted in which the upper surface side of the sheet transfer portion between the apparatus and the apparatus is provided so as to be widely opened.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the first, second, or third aspect, the opening / closing cover abuts against a fixed member of the image forming apparatus when opened, thereby hindering an operation of a movable member of the image forming apparatus. It has the structure of having the positioning convex part which hold | maintains in the position which does not come.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the configuration according to the fourth aspect, the positioning convex portion is formed when the outer surface of the opening / closing cover is used as a part of a discharge tray for paper discharged from the image forming apparatus. It is configured such that it is formed at a position that does not hinder paper discharge.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the opening / closing cover that can be opened and closed in the inner space formed between the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus is provided, it is not necessary to draw out the internal structure of the post-processing apparatus. Jam processing can be easily performed. Since the opening / closing operation is performed in the inner space, it is not affected by the space condition around the image forming apparatus.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the post-processing device has a shape that forms the inner space, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the opening / closing cover can be provided without changing the shape of the image forming device. Can be opened and closed. Further, the outer surface of the opening / closing cover can be used as a part of the paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the open / close cover is provided so as to widely open the upper surface side of the sheet delivery portion with the image forming apparatus, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect, the jam It is possible to make a large jam processing space at a site where the jam occurs easily, and it is possible to further facilitate the jam processing operation.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the positioning projection is provided on the opening / closing cover, in addition to the effect of the first, second, or third aspect, the interference with the movable member on the image forming apparatus side is concerned. Therefore, the usability can be improved.

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, since the positioning convex portion is provided at a position that does not hinder the discharge of the sheet, in addition to the effect of the fourth aspect, the outer surface of the opening / closing cover is used as a part of the discharge tray. Paper discharge troubles can be avoided.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
First, an image forming apparatus to which a post-processing apparatus according to the present invention is attached will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an image forming apparatus main body 2 having a finisher 4 as an example of a post-processing device mounted on the left side surface, and sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 2. Relay conveying means 6 for conveying to the image forming apparatus, a reading scanner 8 as an example of a fixed member installed on the uppermost surface of the image forming apparatus body 2, and an ADF (automatic function) as an example of a movable member installed on the upper surface of the reading scanner 8. A document feeder 10 and an automatic duplex unit 12 provided on the side opposite to the finisher 4 are mainly configured. In addition, a manual feed tray 14 and a large-capacity paper feed tray 16 are provided. The ADF 10 is supported at the back end by a hinge (not shown) and is pivotable in the vertical direction.
Since both the reading scanner 8 and the ADF 10 have a well-known configuration, description of the configuration and functions thereof is omitted. In FIG. 1, a large number of black triangles indicate paper detection sensors.

The image forming apparatus main body 2 has a so-called substantially vertical conveyance path system configuration in which the image forming unit 18 is located in the center, the paper feeding unit 20 is positioned below, and the paper discharge unit 22 is positioned above. In the vicinity of one side surface of the image forming apparatus main body 2 provided with the unit 12, a target image is formed while being conveyed substantially vertically from below to be discharged.
In the image forming unit 18, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 26 by the writing unit 24 based on image data transmitted from the reading scanner 8 or a personal computer (not shown). Is visualized. Reference numeral 29 denotes a developer replenishing device that replenishes the developing unit 28 with a developer.

  When a sheet is selected by an operator or a sheet is automatically selected, a sheet selected from a corresponding one of the plurality of sheet feeding cassettes 20a, 20b, 20c, and 20d of the sheet feeding unit 20 is fed. The The sheet is transported to the transfer unit by adjusting the timing of the image of the visible toner image on the photosensitive drum 26 with the registration roller 30, and the toner image is transferred to the sheet by the transfer unit 32. The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 34 and fixed, and then sent to the paper discharge unit 22.

The paper discharge unit 22 is a solid line display discharge route R1 that enters the automatic duplex unit 12 and discharges a dotted line display that is discharged onto the inner tray 36 formed above the relay conveyance means 6 above the image forming apparatus main body 2. A paper route R2 and a paper discharge route R3 indicated by a solid line entering the relay conveyance means 6 are provided.
The paper discharge route R1 and the paper discharge route R2 are selectively switched by the branch claw 40 and the branch claw 42, and the paper discharge route R3 is selectively switched by the branch claw 40.

The sheet discharged to the automatic duplex unit 12 by the sheet discharge route R1 is switched back in the automatic duplex unit 12 and conveyed from the front of the registration roller 30 into a substantially vertical conveyance path. When paper is fed via the manual feed tray 14 or the large-capacity paper feed tray 16, the paper is transported in a substantially vertical transport path as indicated by an arrow.
The paper discharge route R3 that enters the relay conveyance means 6 is a finisher that passes through a paper discharge route R4 indicated by a dotted line that is discharged to a paper discharge tray 38 on the upper surface of the relay conveyance means 6 and a conveyance path in the relay conveyance means 6. 4 is branched to a paper discharge route R5 indicated by a solid line and is selectively switched by a branching claw 44 provided in the relay conveying means 6.

  Above the sheet transfer portion N between the image forming apparatus main body 2 and the finisher 4, an inner space S is formed that is partitioned on the left and right sides in the drawing by the outer shape of the image forming apparatus 1 and the outer shape of the finisher 4. The outer shape of the finisher 4 is formed in a shape obtained by removing the waste portion along the internal configuration from the original rectangular shape, and the inner space S is formed by the outer shape of the finisher 4.

The finisher 4 has an open / close cover 46 that functions as a part of the paper discharge tray 38 that is the upper surface of the relay conveying means 6 when the length of the paper on which the target image is formed in the image forming apparatus 1 is longer than a predetermined length. And a paper discharge tray 48 for stacking the bundle of sheets after the binding process. The finisher 4 includes a stapler 50 that binds a bundle of sheets, a discharge unit 52 that pushes up the bundle of sheets bound by the stapler 50 and discharges the bundle to the discharge tray 48.
The paper discharge route R5 that enters the finisher 4 includes a solid line display paper discharge route R6 that is directly discharged to the paper discharge tray 48 without performing binding processing, and a dotted line display paper discharge that is output to the paper discharge tray 48 after binding processing. It is branched to a route R7, which is selectively switched by a branching claw 54.

As shown in FIG. 2, the outer surface of the finisher 4 mainly includes the opening / closing cover 46 and side covers 56 and 57. The opening / closing cover 46 is pivotally supported by a configuration (not shown) at the lower end in the height direction of the image forming apparatus 1, that is, the sheet delivery portion N side, and is provided so as to be rotatable in the arrow direction shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing cover 46 is performed by a handle 60. In FIG. 2, the reading scanner 8, the ADF 10, and the like are omitted.
A handle 58 is formed on the side cover 56, and as shown in FIG. 3, the internal configuration of the finisher 4, such as the stapler 50, can be pulled out integrally with the side cover 56 in the direction of the arrow. Operations such as staple supply are performed with the internal configuration pulled out. 3, reference numerals 76 and 78 denote an upper guide plate and a lower guide plate, respectively, for smoothly guiding the paper to the finisher 4 at the paper delivery portion N. Reference numeral 80 denotes a sponge that closes a rotation allowance gap that allows the rotation of a rotation member such as the opening / closing cover 46 on the upper surface of the sheet delivery portion N.

As shown in FIG. 2, the opening / closing cover 46 is formed in a curved surface so as to smoothly guide the leading edge of the paper. However, in order to prevent a decrease in transportability due to the surface contact of the paper, Are formed with narrow conveying ribs 64 that float the paper in a partial contact state along the paper discharge direction. In the present embodiment, from the viewpoint of preventing the folding in the width direction of the paper (direction orthogonal to the discharge direction), the transport rib 64 is located at a central portion 64a of the paper in the discharge direction, and 64b and 64c located on both sides thereof. It consists of three.
In addition, the end of the open / close cover 46 on the depth side in the drawing is in contact with the side surface of the reading scanner 8 serving as a fixing member on the image forming apparatus 1 side when the jam cover is opened. Positioning convex portions 47 to be limited are formed. The positioning convex portion 47 is formed at a position that does not hinder the discharge of the paper in the opening / closing cover 46.

The upper surface of the relay conveyance means 6 that is the paper discharge tray 38 is covered with covers 66, 68, 70, and the front and rear covers 66, 70 have one end so that jamming that occurs in the relay conveyance means 6 can be easily performed. The side is pivotally supported so that it can rotate upward. The cover 66 on the upstream side in the paper discharge direction has an inclined surface that descends toward the upstream side so as to obtain a return function due to the weight of the paper.
From the viewpoint of reducing the contact resistance of the sheet with respect to the paper discharge tray 38 as in the case of the transport rib 64, raised portions 66 a, 68 a, and 70 a are integrally formed at the center of the covers 66, 68, and 70, In the section 70a, an auxiliary tray 72 for improving the paper alignment function is rotatably provided with a shaft 75 supported on the downstream side. The auxiliary tray 72 has an inclined surface 72a that pushes back the stacked sheets upstream in the discharge direction. The raised portion 70a is formed in an L-shaped side surface so that the upstream side end portion of the auxiliary tray 72 can be accommodated in a flush state with the conveying surface, and the height of the downstream side is such that the auxiliary tray 72 can be rotated without hindrance. Is set to

  As shown in FIG. 1, a conveyance path 73 and a plurality of conveyance rollers 74 are provided inside the relay conveyance means 6, so that paper discharged from the apparatus main body 2 can be received and conveyed to the finisher 4. It has become.

Next, a jam processing operation when a jam occurs in the finisher 4 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in the figure, when a jam occurs, the opening / closing cover 46 is rotated to the image forming apparatus 1 side by the operator, and the upper portion of the sheet delivery portion N is opened.
Since the upper part of the paper delivery portion N where jamming is likely to occur is widely opened, the operator can easily perform the jam processing without pulling out the internal configuration of the finisher 4. Further, when the jamming process is performed by pulling out the internal configuration of the finisher 4, the pulling direction is limited, and accordingly, the position of the jamming operator is also limited, but the configuration of this embodiment Then, the opening / closing cover 46 can be opened from any position around the finisher 4 to perform jam processing.
In this embodiment, since the positioning convex portion 47 is formed on the opening / closing cover 46, when the opening / closing cover 46 is opened, the positioning convex portion 47 contacts the side surface of the reading scanner 8 as a fixing member, and the opening / closing cover 46. Is restricted from further tilting toward the image forming apparatus 1 side. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the ADF 10 is raised upward in order to place a document on the contact glass which is the upper surface of the reading scanner 8.

If the positioning convex portion 47 is not provided, the upper end portion of the opening / closing cover 46 enters the rotation operation region W of the ADF 10 as indicated by a two-dot chain line when the ADF 10 is rotated upward. Therefore, if the jam processing is performed with the ADF 10 raised, and the ADF 10 is lowered without the opening / closing cover 46 being returned to the original position, the ADF 10 and the opening / closing cover 46 may collide and cause damage.
However, if the positioning convex portion 47 is provided as in the present embodiment, the opening / closing cover 46 can be positioned so as not to enter the rotation operation area W of the ADF 10, so the operator pays attention to the risk of collision. Therefore, the turning operation of the ADF 10 and the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing cover 46 can be easily performed.
The protruding height of the positioning convex portion 47 is set to a size that allows the upper surface of the paper delivery portion N to be opened as wide as possible and does not allow the opening / closing cover 46 to enter the rotation operation area W of the ADF 10.

  In the above embodiment, the inner space S is formed by the shape of the finisher 4. However, even if the inner space S is formed on the image forming apparatus 1 side, the same jam processing is facilitated. be able to.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a state where the post-processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted on an image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a general | schematic perspective view of the state which pulled out the internal structure. It is a principal part front view which shows the state which opened the opening / closing cover. It is a general | schematic perspective view which shows the mounting state in the past, and the drawer | drawing-out state of an internal structure.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus S Inner space 46 Opening and closing cover 47 Positioning convex part N Paper delivery site | part 8 Reading scanner as a fixed member 10 ADF as a movable member

Claims (5)

In a post-processing apparatus attached to an image forming apparatus,
A post-processing apparatus having an opening / closing cover that can be opened and closed in an inner space formed between the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
A post-processing apparatus having an outer shape forming the inner space. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The open / close cover is pivotally supported at the lower end in the height direction of the image forming apparatus, and is provided so as to widely open the upper surface side of the sheet delivery portion between the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus. And a post-processing device. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3,
The opening / closing cover has a positioning projection that contacts the fixed member of the image forming apparatus when opened and holds it at a position that does not hinder the operation of the movable member of the image forming apparatus. Post-processing device to do. The post-processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein
The positioning convex portion is formed at a position that does not hinder the discharge of the paper when the outer surface of the opening / closing cover is used as a part of a discharge tray of the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus. Post-processing device to do.

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