JP2005208359A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dispose another paper emergent tray in a space inside an image forming apparatus without spoiling easy take-out of delivered paper while suppressing the cost increase even after reducing the installation space of the apparatus by making its main compact. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus has a paper ejection space 60 between the main part 11 having an image forming section 20 and a scanner section case 12 housing a scanner section 40 and disposed on the main part 11 to read the original for the purpose of delivering the developed and fixed paper P from the image forming section 20 through a pair of rollers 54. Inside this image forming device a turn plate is supported free to turn round a predetermined axis in a cutout 141 of the bottom plate 14 of the scanner section case 12, and the paper P is delivered from the image forming section 20 to the space 60 which is formed by this turn plate when it moves from its original horizontal position and extending to the inside of the scanner section case 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, various printers, and a multifunction machine of these.

  Conventionally, an image forming apparatus as described in Patent Document 1 is known. This image forming apparatus is of a so-called in-body discharge type that discharges the paper after the toner image has been subjected to fixing processing into a discharge space in the center of the apparatus main body. It is useful because it can reduce the installation space compared to the so-called wing type with a paper discharge tray protruding.

  By the way, in such an in-body discharge type image forming apparatus, a scanner unit and an operation panel provided with an optical system for reading a document image are provided in the upper part of the discharge space in the apparatus main body, and in the lower part thereof. The image forming unit is provided with a photosensitive drum, developing device, etc., and the paper supply unit is provided with a paper cassette for storing paper at the lower part of the image forming unit. (Vertical dimension) tends to be high. However, as the height increases, the operability of the image forming operation performed mainly at the top of the device main body deteriorates. Therefore, the vertical dimension of the paper discharge space is shortened in order to suppress the overall height dimension. It is common.

  However, when the vertical dimension of the paper discharge space is shortened, it becomes difficult to take out the discharged paper, and the image forming apparatus becomes very difficult to use. In particular, the paper discharge space is provided with a plurality of paper discharge trays according to the application (for example, when the image forming apparatus is used as a copying machine, when used as a facsimile machine, or when used as a printer). Therefore, the narrow paper discharge space is further divided in the vertical direction, which further deteriorates the operability of taking out the paper.

In view of this, the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 allows the scanner unit to be opened and closed with respect to the apparatus main body by a turning operation, and the angles of a plurality of paper discharge trays provided in the paper discharge space are opened and closed. It is configured to be able to change in conjunction with the operation, and when the scanner unit is opened, the multiple output trays are steeply stepped so that the tip of the output tray is directed to the upper opening of the device body formed thereby. It has become so. By doing so, the distance between the leading edge portions of the respective paper discharge trays is increased, so that the paper can be easily taken out from each paper discharge tray.
JP-A-14-207332

  However, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is easy to take out the paper from the paper discharge tray, but it is difficult to open the heavy-duty scanner unit. On the other hand, there is a problem that the operability is lowered.

  In addition, the structure for interlocking the opening / closing operation of the scanner unit with the change of the angle of the plurality of paper discharge trays is very complicated, and the manufacturing cost of the image forming apparatus increases due to the increase in the component cost due to the increase in the number of components. The relative position of optical systems such as mirror units and lens units, which are precision parts, may be distorted due to the opening / closing operation of this, and this may cause a problem that normal reading of the original image cannot be performed (that is, the image accuracy decreases). Exists.

  Furthermore, when the scanner, which is a heavy object, is opened, the center of gravity of the device main body moves from the center to the side, which makes the installation state of the image forming apparatus unstable. There is also a problem that can roll over.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and on the premise of the in-body discharge method, the installation space is reduced by downsizing the apparatus main body, and the discharge is performed while suppressing an increase in apparatus cost. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of adding a paper discharge tray to a paper discharge space in a cylinder without impairing the ease of taking out a sheet.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming unit between an apparatus main body having an image forming unit and a scanner unit housing having a scanner unit disposed so as to face the upper side of the apparatus main body so as to read a document image. In an image forming apparatus having an in-cylinder paper discharge space for discharging a transfer image fixing processed paper through a paper discharge port, a paper discharge space for forming a paper discharge space in the scanner unit housing The open / close unit is provided on the bottom plate of the scanner unit housing.

  By adopting such a configuration, the space in the scanner unit casing is not used as the optical path of the optical system (that is, the scanner unit casing reads the original image when the paper on which the image transfer process is completed is discharged). The paper discharged from the image forming unit to the in-body discharge space is opened by an opening / closing unit provided on the bottom plate of the scanner unit housing. The paper is discharged to a paper discharge space in the scanner unit housing. In this way, the space inside the scanner unit housing that is not used as the optical path of the optical system is used as the paper discharge space, so that the internal discharge space is narrowed to reduce the capacity of the image forming apparatus. If the capacity of the in-cylinder output space remains unchanged, the number of output trays can be increased by the amount of the rotating plate. This increases the number of destinations according to the destination, making the image forming apparatus easier to use.

  In addition, the scanner housing itself can be opened and closed with respect to the main body of the device, and it can be rotated to the bottom plate compared to the conventional large-scale one configured to discharge paper into the space formed by the opening operation. Since only the plate is provided, reducing the number of parts contributes to a significant reduction in apparatus cost and assembly cost.

  Further, the gravity center position of the image forming apparatus does not move as compared with the case where the scanner unit housing which is a heavy object is rotated. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that the image forming apparatus rolls over. .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the opening / closing portion includes a rotating plate that is pivotally supported around a predetermined axis in a notch opening provided in the bottom plate, The paper discharge space is formed by rotating the rotating plate in a predetermined direction starting from a horizontal state.

  By adopting such a configuration, in a state where the space in the scanner unit housing is not used as the optical path of the optical system, the paper ejected from the image forming unit to the in-cylinder sheet ejection space has a rotating plate as the scanner unit housing. The sheet is discharged from a state in which the notch opening of the bottom plate is closed to a sheet discharge space formed by rotating around the axis in a predetermined direction. In this way, by adopting the rotating plate as the opening / closing part, the structure of the opening / closing part becomes simple, which contributes to the reduction of the component cost.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the rotating plate plays a role of a paper discharge tray by rotating downward toward the paper discharge port. It is what.

  By adopting such a configuration, a rotating plate inclined downward is used as a paper discharge tray, so that it is not particularly necessary to provide a special paper discharge tray, which contributes to a reduction in component costs.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, there is provided an inclined tray that faces the notch opening from the paper discharge port toward the bottom plate of the scanner unit housing, and the rotating plate is It is characterized by being rotated toward the inside of the scanner unit casing so as to be substantially parallel to the inclined tray.

  By adopting such a configuration, the space above the narrow tilt tray ejects paper by rotating the rotating plate toward the inside of the scanner unit housing so as to be substantially parallel to the tilt tray. Therefore, the sheet is discharged to the inclined tray in this state.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, there is a space between the edge of the notch opening in the bottom plate of the scanner unit casing and the rotating plate, in the scanner unit casing and in the barrel. A blocking member for blocking communication with the sheet discharge space is provided.

  By adopting such a configuration, the inside of the scanner unit housing and the in-body discharge space are blocked by a blocking member provided between the rotating plate and the notch opening edge of the bottom plate of the scanner unit. Therefore, even if the rotating plate is opened, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that dust in the in-body discharge space moves and contaminates the scanner unit housing.

  According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the fifth aspect of the invention, the blocking member is formed in a bellows shape.

  By adopting such a configuration, the bellows-shaped blocking member expands and contracts according to the opening / closing operation of the rotating plate, and thus does not get in the way.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the space inside the scanner unit housing that is not used as the optical path of the optical system is used as a paper discharge space for paper to be discharged. As a result, the capacity of the image forming apparatus can be reduced, and the number of discharge trays can be increased by the amount of the rotating plate when the capacity of the in-cylinder discharge space remains unchanged. Thus, the image forming apparatus can be made easier to use.

  In addition, the scanner housing itself can be opened and closed with respect to the main body of the device, and it can be rotated to the bottom plate compared to the conventional large-scale one configured to discharge paper into the space formed by the opening operation. Since only the plate is provided, it is possible to contribute to reduction of the apparatus cost and the assembly cost by reducing the number of parts.

  Furthermore, the center of gravity of the image forming apparatus does not move compared to a heavy object that rotates the scanner unit housing, and therefore it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of inconvenience such as the image forming apparatus overturning. Can do.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the rotation plate is employed as the opening / closing part, the structure of the opening / closing part becomes simple, which can contribute to the reduction of the component cost.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the rotating plate is configured to play the role of the discharge tray by rotating downward toward the discharge outlet, the rotation plate is inclined to be inclined downward. The plate can be used as a paper discharge tray, and there is no need to provide a special paper discharge tray, which can contribute to a reduction in component costs.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, since the rotating plate is rotated toward the inside of the scanner unit housing so as to be substantially parallel to the inclined tray, the rotating plate is substantially parallel to the inclined tray. Rotate toward the scanner housing so that the space above the narrow inclined tray opens and paper can be discharged, and the paper is discharged to the inclined tray in this state. can do.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the inside of the scanner unit housing and the in-body discharge space are blocked by the blocking member provided between the rotating plate and the notch opening edge of the bottom plate of the scanner unit. Therefore, even if the rotating plate is opened, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that dust in the in-body discharge space moves and contaminates the scanner unit housing.

  According to invention of Claim 6, since the interruption | blocking member is formed in the bellows shape, it expands / contracts according to the opening / closing operation | movement of a rotation board, and it does not become obstructive by rotation operation | movement of a rotation board. Can do.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross section of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to which the auxiliary paper discharge structure of the first embodiment is applied. FIG. 1 and 2, the XX direction is referred to as the width direction, and the YY direction is referred to as the front-rear direction. In particular, the -X direction is leftward, the + X direction is rightward, the -Y direction is forward, and the + Y direction is forward. It is called the back.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 according to the present invention is a so-called in-body discharge type, and is a rectangular parallelepiped in which an image forming unit 20 and a sheet storage unit 30 (FIG. 2) are internally provided. A device body 11 having a shape, a scanner unit housing 12 on which the scanner unit 40 is mounted, which is disposed opposite to the device body 11 above the device body 11, and the scanner unit housing 12 and A communication housing 13 is provided between the device main bodies 11 and includes a paper discharge passage portion 50 therein. An in-body discharge space 60 is formed between the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 and the lower surface of the scanner unit housing 12 to temporarily store the paper P discharged from the image forming unit 20 via the discharge passage unit 50. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming unit 20 is provided with an image forming unit conveyance path 21 for conveying the paper P from the paper storage unit 30 from the rear to the front. A photosensitive drum 22 is arranged at the upper center position in the front-rear direction of the forming unit conveyance path 21 so that the axis extends in the width direction. A cleaning device 23, a charger 24, and a developing device 25 face the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 22 and extend from the front to the rear so as to follow the rotational direction (rotate clockwise). In addition, an exposure device 26 is provided above the cleaning device 23 and the charger 24, and a laser beam from the exposure device 26 emits a peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 22 between the charger 24 and the developing device 25. It comes to be irradiated.

  Then, as the photosensitive drum 22 rotates around the axis, the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 22 is first cleaned by the cleaning device 23, and then the peripheral surface is uniformly charged by the charger 24. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the same peripheral surface by irradiation of laser light from the exposure device 26, and toner from the developing device 25 is subsequently supplied to the electrostatic latent image, whereby a toner image is formed on the peripheral surface. In synchronization with the formation of the toner image, the toner image is transferred to the paper P supplied from the paper storage unit 30 to the image forming unit conveyance path 21.

  In addition, a paper discharge path conveyance path 51 for conveying the paper P from the downstream end of the image forming section conveyance path 21 so as to pass through the paper discharge path section 50 is set. A fixing roller pair 27 is provided. The fixing roller pair 27 includes a heat roller having an energization heating element therein and a pressure roller facing the heat roller, and the sheet P on which the toner image is transferred passes between the fixing roller pair 27. The toner image is fixed on the paper P by the heat treatment.

  In the present embodiment, in the present embodiment, a sheet cassette 32 that stores sheets P is detachably mounted in two upper and lower stages on the front side of a sheet storing section conveyance path 31 that extends in the vertical direction at the rear side. Is formed by. Each paper cassette 32 is in contact with the lift plate 33 urged upward by an urging means (not shown) and the leading edge of the paper P urged upward by the lift plate 33 so as to be at the topmost position. A sheet feeding roller 34 that sequentially feeds the sheet P is provided, and the sheet P is conveyed one by one from the bundle of sheets P placed on the lift plate 33 by driving the sheet feeding roller 34. It is fed toward the road 31.

  Then, the sheet P fed to the sheet storage unit conveyance path 31 by the feeding roller 34 is stored by a pair of feed rollers 35 disposed opposite to the feeding roller 34 provided in the sheet storage unit conveyance path 31. The sheet is drawn out to the sheet conveyance path 31 and ascends along the sheet storage section conveyance path 31 toward the image forming section conveyance path 21.

  The scanner unit 40 includes an optical system 41 that reads a document image built in the scanner unit housing 12 and a document presser 49 that is connected to the upper portion of the scanner unit housing 12 so as to be openable and closable. A bottom plate 14 is provided at the bottom of the scanner unit housing 12, and a cutout opening 141 that opens into the scanner unit housing 12 opened at a rear position of the communication housing 13 is formed on the bottom plate 14. Is formed. An operation panel 15 is provided on the left side of the scanner unit housing 12, and a tray selection button 83 (FIG. 1) for selecting a later-described paper discharge tray is provided on the operation panel 15. .

  The optical system 41 automatically reads an image of a document placed on a contact glass 42 disposed on the upper surface of the scanner unit housing 12 with the document surface facing down, or an original document mounted on the upper surface of the document retainer 49. A document image supplied from the apparatus 491 to the automatic reading contact glass 421 is read.

  The optical system 41 includes a first mirror base 43 that irradiates light toward the document surface, and a second mirror base 44 that further reflects the reflected light of the light emitted from the first mirror base 43 and moves it backward. And a lens unit 45 for converging the light from the second mirror base 44 and a CCD (charge coupled device) 46 for receiving the light from the lens unit 45 and converting it into an electrical signal. .

  The first mirror base 43 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction along the lower surface of the contact glass 42 and moves light from a light source (not shown) through the contact glass 42 while moving rearward from the home position H at the left end. The reflected light is reflected forward by a first mirror 431 inclined at 45 ° with respect to a horizontal line extending in the front-rear direction.

  The second mirror base 44 further reflects the reflected light from the first mirror 431 to be directed downward, and reflects the light from the second mirror 441 so as to be directed to the lens unit 45. And a third mirror 442. The second mirror table 44 is configured to move back and forth at a speed of 1/2 in synchronization with the back and forth movement of the first mirror table 43, and thereby the home position of the first mirror table 43 and the second mirror table 44. Regardless of the moving distance from H, the optical path length of the reflected light reaching the lens unit 45 via the first mirror 431, the second mirror 441, and the third mirror 442 is always constant.

  Incidentally, when the document is supplied from the automatic document reading device 491, the first mirror table 43 and the second mirror table 44 are contact glass for automatic reading of the image of the document that moves while stopped at the home position H. 421 is read through.

  The document image information converted into an electrical signal by the CCD 46 is temporarily stored in a storage device (not shown), and is output to the exposure device 26 in synchronization with the paper P sent from the paper storage unit 30. The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 22 is transferred to the paper P.

  The paper discharge path 50 is provided with a sorting member (flapper) for sorting the destination of the paper P after the fixing process by the fixing roller pair 27 along the paper discharge path transport path 51. In the present embodiment, a first flapper 52 is provided as a flapper on the downstream side (upper side) of the fixing roller pair 27, and a second flapper 53 is further provided on the further downstream side of the first flapper 52. . The first and second flappers 52 and 53 rotate forward and backward around a support shaft 55 extending in the width direction (a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 2), thereby causing the paper P to enter the paper discharge path conveyance path 51. The posture can be changed between a straight traveling posture in which the paper P travels straight along and a switching posture in which the path of the paper P is switched to go to the in-body discharge space 60.

  The in-body discharge space 60 is provided with a plurality of discharge trays. In the present embodiment, as a paper discharge tray, a lower tray 61 that also serves as a bottom plate of the in-body paper discharge space 60, an intermediate tray 62 provided above the lower tray 61, and further this intermediate tray 62 An auxiliary tray (rotating plate) 63 provided at the upper position is used.

  The lower tray 61 is formed to face the first flapper 52, and the sheet P from the fixing roller pair 27 is discharged to the discharge roller pair (discharge port) in a state where the first flapper 52 is set to the switching posture. ) 54 to be discharged.

  The intermediate tray 62 is formed so as to face the second flapper 53, and is fixed in a state where the first flapper 52 is set in a straight running posture and the second flapper 53 is set in a switching posture. The paper P from the roller pair 27 is discharged through the paper discharge roller pair 54. At the front left end of the intermediate tray 62, a stapler 16 (FIG. 1) for performing a stapling process on a bundle of discharged sheets P is provided. When stapling is performed on the bundle of sheets P, the bundle of sheets P discharged to the intermediate tray 62 is moved toward the left stapler 16 by driving a predetermined sheet moving mechanism. Thus, the stapling process is performed on the bundle of sheets P.

  The auxiliary tray 63 discharges the sheet P from the fixing roller pair 27 through the uppermost discharge roller pair 54 in a state where both the first and second flappers 52 and 53 are set to the straight movement posture. It is supposed to be paper.

  Hereinafter, details of the auxiliary tray 63 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. 3 and 4 are perspective views showing the scanner unit frame for explaining the auxiliary tray 63. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the auxiliary tray 63 is set to the closed posture, and FIG. Each of the states set to the open posture is shown. 3 and 4, the direction display by X and Y is the same as that in FIG. 1 (however, the actual left and right in the state of viewing FIGS. 3 and 4 and the right and left of the direction display by X and Y) Note that this is the opposite of this).

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the scanner unit housing 12 has a scanner unit frame 70 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The scanner unit frame 70 includes a pair of horizontal frames 71 extending in the front-rear direction and a pair of vertical frames 72 extending between the ends of the pair of horizontal frames 71 extending in the width direction. The lower surface of the scanner unit frame 70 is covered with the bottom plate 14, and the notch 141 having a rectangular shape is formed at a position slightly rearward of the front vertical frame 72 on the bottom plate 14. Yes. A protective case 142 for protecting the internal lens unit 45 and the CCD 46 (FIG. 2) is provided at a position on the bottom plate 14 on the rear side of the notch opening 141.

  The auxiliary tray 63 is dimensioned so as to close the notch opening 141. At the rear end position of each edge in the width direction of the auxiliary tray 63, a pair of width direction tray side brackets 631 projecting upward (in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the left side tray side bracket 631 is a lateral side). On the other hand, the bottom plate 14 is provided with bottom plate side brackets 143 at positions facing the respective tray side brackets 631, and the tray side bracket 631 and the bottom plate side facing each other are provided. By inserting a shaft between the brackets 143, the auxiliary tray 63 is rotatable around the shaft.

  On the other hand, on the bottom plate 14 at a further right position of the bottom plate side bracket 143 on the right side (+ X direction), an actuator 73 provided with, for example, a solenoid for rotating the auxiliary tray 63 is provided. The shaft 74 (the right shaft of the pair of shafts that pivotally support each tray side bracket 631) is integrally fixed to the right tray side bracket 631 while penetrating the horizontal frame 71, whereby the auxiliary tray 63 is The posture can be changed between a horizontal posture in which the notch opening 141 shown in FIG. 3 is closed by forward / reverse driving of the actuator 73 and an inclined posture shown in FIG. 4 in which the auxiliary tray 63 is inclined downward. Yes.

  Then, with the first mirror base 43 and the second mirror base 44 (FIG. 2) positioned at the home position H, the uppermost position from the paper discharge path conveyance path 51 with the auxiliary tray 63 set to the inclined position. The paper P discharged through the pair of paper discharge rollers 54 is on the auxiliary tray 63 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Are discharged into a sheet discharge space V formed so as to extend over the range.

  Incidentally, in the present invention, a document image read by the optical system 41 is converted into a digital electric signal via the CCD 46, temporarily stored as image information in a storage device, and then output to the exposure device 26. Therefore, in the state where the first and second mirror bases 43 and 44 are located at the home position H, even if the paper P enters the scanner unit housing 12, the electrostatic latent There is no inconvenience in forming an image.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to which the auxiliary paper discharge structure of the second embodiment is applied. 6 and 7 are perspective views showing the scanner unit frame for explaining the rotating plate 64. FIG. 6 shows a state in which the rotating plate 64 is set in a closed posture, and FIG. The state where the rotation plate 64 is set to the open posture is shown. 6 and 7, the direction display by X and Y is the same as that in FIG. 1 (however, the actual left and right in the state of viewing FIGS. 6 and 7 and the right and left of the direction display by X and Y). Note that this is the opposite of this).

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, an upper tray (inclined) is used instead of the auxiliary tray 63 of the first embodiment in which the posture is set in an inclined position above the intermediate tray 62 in the in-body discharge space 60. While the tray 64 is fixed, a rotating plate 65 that rotates around the front edge of the notch opening 141 of the bottom plate 14 of the scanner unit housing 12 to open and close the notch opening 141 is provided. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the rotating plate 65 includes a pair of width direction rotating plate side brackets 651 projecting upward on both sides in the width direction of the front end portion. A bottom plate side bracket 144 is provided at a position facing the rotating plate side bracket 651, and the shaft passes through the bottom plate side bracket 144 and the rotating plate side bracket 651 so that the rotating plate 65 rotates around the axis. It is pivotally supported.

  The actuator 73 is provided on the front end side of the bottom plate 14 so as to face the bottom plate side bracket 144, and the drive shaft 74 as the shaft penetrating the bottom plate side bracket 144 and the rotation plate side bracket 651 is a rotation plate side bracket. It is fixed to 651. The rotating plate 65 is integrally rotated by a predetermined angle in the counterclockwise direction around the drive shaft 74 from the horizontal posture by driving the actuator 73 and the horizontal posture shown in FIG. 6 with the notch opening 141 closed. The posture can be changed between the inclined posture shown.

  In the second embodiment, the paper discharge space V is an upper position of the upper tray 64 in a state where the rotation plate 65 is set to the projection posture, and the rotation plate 65, the bellows member 66, and the like. It is formed in the space surrounded by.

  In addition, a telescopic bellows member (blocking member) 66 is interposed between the left and right edge portions and the rear edge portion of the rotating plate 65 and the left and right edge portions and the rear edge portion of the notch opening 141. The bellows member 66 blocks the in-body discharge space 60 and the scanner unit housing 12 from each other. Therefore, even if the auxiliary tray 63 is set to the inclined posture, the in-body discharge space 60 It is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that dust enters the scanner unit housing 12 and contaminates the scanner unit housing 12.

  According to the auxiliary paper discharge structure of the second embodiment, when the paper P is discharged to the upper tray 64, the rotary plate 65 is set in an inclined posture, and the scanner unit housing 12 of the rotary plate 65 thereby is set. Since the paper discharge space capable of receiving the paper P is formed on the upper tray 64 by intrusion into the upper tray 64, the paper P sent from the paper discharge passage conveyance path 51 toward the upper tray 64 can be easily prevented from being affected by the upper tray 64. Paper is discharged to the top. Further, since the rotating plate 65 is provided with the bellows member 66, it is possible to reliably prevent the dust in the in-body discharge space 60 from entering the scanner unit housing 12.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment of the discharge tray selection control. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a control device 80 that controls selection of a paper discharge tray. The control device 80 includes a tray selection unit 81 that determines and selects which of the lower tray 61, the intermediate tray 62, and the auxiliary tray 63 (or the upper tray 64) to use, and the tray selection unit 81. Is provided with a signal output unit 82 for outputting a control signal for changing the posture to the first and second flappers 52 and 53 so that the paper P is fed to the selected tray. Yes.

  The tray selection unit 81 includes a push button signal of a tray selection button 83 provided on the operation panel 15 (FIG. 1) formed on the upper surface of the scanner unit housing 12, and the position of the second mirror base 44 from the position sensor 86. A detection signal, an output signal from the facsimile apparatus 84, and an output signal from the printer 85 are input. The tray selection unit 81 to which any one of these signals is input determines which signal is from which the signal is output, and outputs the determination result to the signal output unit 82.

  In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 is used as a so-called multi-function machine that can cope with image output by output signals from the facsimile apparatus 84 and the printer 85 in addition to the function as a copying machine. The tray selecting unit 81 outputs a signal for discharging the paper P to the paper discharge tray selected based on the image output signal from the facsimile apparatus 84 or the printer 85 and the paper discharge tray selection signal. The data is output to a predetermined device via the unit 82.

  Hereinafter, discharge control to the auxiliary tray 63 by the control device 80 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an embodiment of discharge control to the auxiliary tray 63 by the control device 80. In this flowchart, the auxiliary tray 63 according to the first embodiment is described as an example. However, the same applies to the rotating plate 65 according to the second embodiment. Description of is omitted.

  First, in step S1, whether or not the auxiliary tray 63 has been selected by the tray selection button 83 is determined by the tray selection unit 81, and if the auxiliary tray 63 has not been selected by the tray selection button 83 (NO in S1). Then, it is determined whether or not the auxiliary tray 63 is designated by the facsimile apparatus 84 or the printer 85 (S2). If the auxiliary tray 63 is not designated by the facsimile apparatus 84 or the printer 85 (NO in S2), step S3 is executed to determine whether or not the auxiliary tray 63 needs to be used by the sort designation. Here again, when the auxiliary tray 63 is not designated (NO in S3), the closed state of the notch opening 141 of the bottom plate 14 by the auxiliary tray 63 is maintained (S4).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that the auxiliary tray 63 has been selected by the tray selection button 83 (YES in S1), or if the auxiliary tray 63 is designated in either step S2 or step S3 (S2 or In YES at S3, it is determined whether or not the auxiliary tray 63 may be opened in step S5.

  In this determination, a signal from the position sensor 86 is used. That is, when the tray selection unit 81 determines that the second mirror base 44 is not located at the home position H based on a signal from the position sensor 86, the tray selection unit 81 should set the auxiliary tray 63 (the rotation plate 65) to the inclined posture. It is discriminated that it is not, and this discrimination result is outputted to the signal output unit 82. This is because the first and second mirror bases 43 and 44 are moving in the scanner unit housing 12 when the first and second mirror bases 43 and 44 are not located at the home position H. This is because the sheet P (the upper tray 64 itself in the case of the upper tray 64) discharged to the auxiliary tray 63 (upper tray 64) interferes with the first and second mirror bases 43 and 44.

  Then, the signal output unit 82 to which the determination result from the tray selection unit 81 is input is based on the determination result of the tray selection unit 81 in a state where the first and second mirror bases 43 and 44 are not located at the home position H. A predetermined waiting time is set (S6), and the posture change of the auxiliary tray 63 is waited until the first and second mirror bases 43 and 44 return to the home position H.

  On the other hand, the signal output unit 82 outputs control signals to the first and second flappers 52 and 53 and the actuator 73 in a state where the first and second mirror bases 43 and 44 are located at the home position H. As a result, the first and second flappers 52 and 53 are set to the straight running posture, and the auxiliary tray 63 is set to the inclined posture by the output of the drive signal from the signal output unit 82 to the actuator 73 so that the bottom plate 14 is cut. The notch opening 141 is opened (S7), whereby the paper P after the fixing process by the fixing roller pair 27 is discharged to the auxiliary tray 63 (S8).

  Incidentally, when the lower tray 61 is selected by the tray selection button 83, the first and second mirror bases 43 and 44 are connected from the signal output unit 82 to the first regardless of whether or not the first and second mirror bases 43 and 44 are located at the home position H. Since the control signal is output to the flapper 52 and the first flapper 52 is set to the switching posture inclined toward the lower tray 61, the sheet P after the fixing process by the fixing roller pair 27 is the first flapper in the inclined posture. The paper is guided to 52 and discharged to the lower tray 61 via the pair of paper discharge rollers 54. Incidentally, in this embodiment, since the lower tray 61 is always set, the lower tray 61 is automatically selected unless the intermediate tray 62 or the auxiliary tray 63 is selected by the push button operation of the tray selection button 83. It has become.

  Further, when the intermediate tray 62 is selected by the tray selection button 83, the first flapper 52 is set to the straight running posture, while the second flapper 53 is set to the switching posture, and thereby the paper P after the fixing process is set. Is discharged to the intermediate tray 62.

  As described in detail above, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present invention includes a device main body 11 having the image forming unit 20 and a scanner unit having the scanner unit 40 disposed above the device main body 11 so as to read a document image. An in-body paper discharge space 60 is provided between the housing 12 and the paper P on which the transfer image fixing process from the image forming unit 20 has been performed through the paper discharge roller pair 54. A rotating plate is pivotally supported in a notch opening 141 provided in the bottom plate 14 of the scanner unit housing 12 so as to be rotatable around a predetermined axis, and the rotating plate is rotated from a horizontal state as a starting point. Since the paper P from the image forming unit 20 is discharged into a space extending between the in-body discharge space 60 and the scanner unit housing 12, the space in the scanner unit housing 12 is not limited. State not used as optical path of optical system 41 In this case, the paper P discharged from the image forming unit 20 to the in-body discharge space 60 is pivoted in a predetermined direction from a state in which the rotation plate closes the notch 141 of the bottom plate 14 of the scanner unit housing 12. By rotating around, the sheet is discharged along the rotating plate into a space extending between the in-body discharge space 60 and the scanner unit housing 12.

  As described above, since the space in the scanner unit housing 12 that is not used as the optical path of the optical system 41 is used as the paper discharge space for the paper P to be discharged, the internal paper discharge space 60 is narrowed accordingly. As a result, the capacity of the image forming apparatus can be reduced, and when the capacity of the in-body discharge space 60 is left as it is, the number of discharge trays can be increased by the amount of the rotating plate. It becomes possible to make the image forming apparatus easy to use by increasing the number of destinations of the fixing-processed paper P from the fixing roller pair 27.

  Further, the scanner unit housing 12 itself, which is a heavy object, is configured to be openable and closable with respect to the device main body 11, and is a conventional large-scale one configured to discharge the paper P into the space formed by the opening operation. In comparison, since only the rotating plate is provided on the bottom plate 14, it is possible to contribute to the reduction of the apparatus cost and the assembling cost by reducing the number of parts.

  Further, the center of gravity of the image forming apparatus does not move compared to the case where the scanner unit housing 12 that is a heavy object is rotated, and therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that the image forming apparatus rolls over. be able to.

  Then, the auxiliary tray 63 (first embodiment) that rotates downward toward the paper discharge roller pair 54 is adopted as the rotating plate, so that the auxiliary tray 63 is moved to the lower tray 61 and the intermediate tray 62. Further, since it can be used as an additional paper discharge tray, it is not necessary to provide a special additional paper discharge tray separately, which can contribute to a reduction in parts cost.

  On the other hand, a non-rotating upper tray 64 facing the notch opening 141 from the paper discharge port is provided, and the rotating plate is rotated toward the inside of the scanner unit housing 12 so as to be substantially parallel to the upper tray 64. In the method (second embodiment) in which a movable member (rotating plate 65) is provided, the rotating plate 65 is rotated toward the scanner unit housing 12 so as to be substantially parallel to the upper tray 64. As a result, the narrow space above the upper tray 64 can be opened and the paper P can be discharged.

  In the second embodiment, between the edge of the notch opening 141 in the bottom plate 14 of the scanner unit casing 12 and the rotation plate 65, the scanner unit casing 12 and the in-body discharge space 60 are separated. Since the bellows member 66 is provided as a blocking member for blocking communication, the inside of the scanner unit housing 12 and the in-body discharge space 60 are blocked by the bellows member 66. Even if the plate 65 is opened, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of inconvenience such as the dust in the in-body discharge space 60 moving and contaminating the scanner housing 12. Further, since the bellows member 66 expands and contracts according to the rotation operation of the rotation plate 65, it does not get in the way.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes the following contents.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the control device 80 configured to output these images in response to signals from the facsimile device 84 and the printer 85 has been described. It is not limited to being able to output images from the facsimile apparatus 84 and the printer 85, and may be used only as a copying machine.

  (2) In the second embodiment, the bellows member 66 is employed as the blocking member according to the present invention, but the blocking member need not be provided. Further, when the blocking member is adopted, the blocking member is not limited to the bellows member 66, and other blocking methods such as providing a surrounding plate at the edge of the rotating plate 65 are adopted. May be.

  (3) In the second embodiment, the paper discharge space V is formed from the upper surface of the upper tray 64 to the scanner housing 12 by the rotation of the rotation plate 65 around the drive shaft 74. However, the present invention is not limited to the formation of the paper discharge space V by the rotation of the rotation plate 65, but is a slide operation along the bottom plate 14 of a predetermined slide plate. The cutout opening 141 may be opened and closed, and the paper discharge space V may be formed by opening the slide plate.

1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 to which the auxiliary paper discharge structure of the first embodiment is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the scanner part frame for demonstrating an auxiliary | assistant tray, and has shown the state by which the auxiliary | assistant tray was set to the closed attitude | position. It is a perspective view which shows the scanner part frame for demonstrating an auxiliary | assistant tray, and has shown the state by which the auxiliary | assistant tray was set to the open attitude | position. It is explanatory drawing of the cross sectional view of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to which the auxiliary paper discharge structure of the second embodiment is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the scanner part frame for demonstrating a rotation board, and has shown the state by which the rotation board was set to the closed attitude | position. It is a perspective view which shows the scanner part frame for demonstrating a rotation board, and has shown the state by which the rotation board was set to the open attitude | position. FIG. 6 is a block diagram for explaining an embodiment of discharge tray selection control. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an embodiment of discharge control to an auxiliary tray by a control device.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Apparatus main body 12 Scanner part housing | casing 13 Communication housing | casing 14 Bottom plate 141 Notch opening 142 Protective case 143,144 Bottom plate side bracket 15 Operation panel 16 Stapler 20 Image forming part 21 Image forming part conveyance path 22 Photosensitive drum 23 Cleaning device 24 Charger 25 Developing device 26 Exposure device 27 Fixing roller pair 30 Paper storage unit 31 Paper storage unit transport path 32 Paper cassette 33 Lift plate 34 Feed roller 35 Sending roller pair 40 Scanner unit 42 Contact glass 421 Automatic reading Contact Glass 43 First Mirror Stand 431 First Mirror 44 Second Mirror Stand 441 Second Mirror 442 Third Mirror 45 Lens Unit 46 CCD 49 Document Presser 491 Document Automatic Reading Device 50 Paper Discharge Passage Portion 51 Paper Discharge Passage Portion Conveyance Route 52 No. 1 Trumpet 53 Second flapper 54 Discharge roller pair 55 Support shaft 60 In-body discharge space 61 Lower tray 62 Intermediate tray 63 Auxiliary tray 631 Tray side bracket 64 Upper tray 65 Rotating plate 651 Rotating plate side bracket 66 Bellows member 70 Scanner Section frame 71 Horizontal frame 72 Vertical frame 73 Actuator 74 Drive shaft 80 Controller 81 Tray selection section 82 Signal output section 83 Tray selection button 84 Facsimile apparatus 85 Printer 86 Position sensor P Paper V Paper discharge space section

Claims (6)

Between the device main body having the image forming unit and the scanner unit housing having the scanner unit arranged to face the upper side of the device main body so as to read the original image, a sheet on which the transfer image fixing process from the image forming unit has been performed is performed. In an image forming apparatus provided with an in-cylinder discharge space for discharging through a discharge port,
An image forming apparatus, wherein an opening / closing portion for forming a paper discharge space portion in the scanner unit housing is provided on a bottom plate of the scanner unit housing.   The opening / closing portion includes a rotation plate that is pivotally supported around a predetermined axis in a notch opening provided in the bottom plate, and the sheet discharge space starts from the horizontal state of the rotation plate. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is formed by being rotated in a predetermined direction.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the rotating plate plays a role of a paper discharge tray by rotating downward toward the paper discharge port.   An inclined tray facing the notch opening from the paper discharge port toward the bottom plate of the scanner unit housing is provided, and the rotating plate is directed into the scanner unit housing so as to be substantially parallel to the inclined tray. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus rotates.   A blocking member is provided between the edge of the notch opening in the bottom plate of the scanner unit casing and the rotating plate to block communication between the scanner unit casing and the in-body discharge space. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4.   6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the blocking member is formed in a bellows shape.

Images