JP2006235039A - Displacement load unit and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a displacement load unit securing stable paper feeding performance by preventing the load of a driving means for driving a pair of grip rollers from fluctuating between the state where a function adding unit for adding a specific function to an image forming device body is attached and the state where the unit is not attached. <P>SOLUTION: A copier body (an image forming device body) comprises: a pair of resist rollers 37 for sending forth a paper (a recording paper) at an appropriate timing; a pair of grip rollers 36 for transporting the paper to the pair of resist rollers; a driving motor (a driving means) 58 for driving the pair of grip rollers; and a manual paper feed unit (a function adding unit) which is disposed in a freely removable manner and is operated by the driving force of a driving motor. The displacement load unit 80 that displaces the manual paper feed unit for adding a manual paper feed function is disposed to the copier body. With the driving force from the driving motor, the displacement load unit gives a load to the driving motor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a complex machine thereof. Among them, in particular, a registration roller pair for feeding a recording medium such as paper / OHP film toward the transfer position, a grip roller pair for conveying the recording medium to the registration roller pair, and a driving means for driving the grip roller pair, and attachment / detachment The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a function addition unit such as a manual sheet feeding unit that is freely provided and operates by receiving a driving force of a driving unit. Further, in such an image forming apparatus, the present invention relates to a replacement load unit that is mounted in place of the function addition unit and receives a driving force of the driving unit and applies a load to the driving unit.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a toner image is formed by charging, exposing, and developing on the surface of a photoconductor along with the rotation of a drum-like or endless belt-like photoconductor. The recording medium is fed to the transfer position with timing by a pair of registration rollers. Then, the toner image on the photosensitive member is transferred at the transfer position to fix the transferred image, and the recording medium after image fixing is discharged out of the main body of the image forming apparatus, the surface of the photosensitive member is cleaned, and static elimination is performed. And initialized.

  Further, in such an image forming apparatus, generally, the feed roller is rotated by one driving unit and the grip roller pair is rotated, and the recording medium in the paper feed cassette is fed out by the feed roller and the grip roller. It was conveyed in pairs and conveyed toward the pair of registration rollers. An electromagnetic clutch is provided on the grip roller pair. Then, the recording medium is deflected by a certain amount by pressing the tip of the recording medium against the stopped pair of registration rollers, and then the electromagnetic clutch is turned off to temporarily stop the conveyance of the recording medium by the grip roller to correct the skew. After that, the recording medium was fed out at the timing with the registration roller pair while the electromagnetic clutch was turned on again and the grip roller pair was rotated in synchronization.

  By the way, in this type of image forming apparatus, a manual paper feeding unit is detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the driving force of the driving means for driving the grip roller pair is transmitted from the cost relationship and the manual feeding unit is transmitted. The paper feed unit is operated, the manual recording medium set in the manual paper feed unit is fed out and sent to the image forming apparatus main body, conveyed by the grip roller pair in the image forming apparatus main body, and directed toward the registration roller pair. There is a type in which the toner image on the photosensitive member is transferred by feeding and timed by a pair of registration rollers, and the transferred image is fixed and discharged out of the image forming apparatus main body.

JP-A-8-106186 JP-A-8-81076

  However, in this type of conventional image forming apparatus, the load of the driving means varies depending on whether the manual paper feed unit is attached or not, causing a difference in the response time of the grip roller pair. The amount of deflection of the recording medium that stops when it hits the head changes, and skew correction cannot be performed sufficiently, or skew and wrinkle are generated due to excessive deflection of the recording medium, so that stable paper feeding performance is demonstrated. There was a problem that could not be.

  In particular, the manual paper feed unit has a separation function for separating the recording media one by one. Therefore, when operating the manual paper feed unit, a large load is applied that cannot be compared to driving a normal pair of grip rollers, and the drive means depends on whether the manual paper feed unit is installed or not. A large load fluctuation was caused, which caused a considerable difference in the response time of the grip roller pair.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to drive a grip roller pair when a function addition unit for adding a specific function to the image forming apparatus main body, such as a manual paper feed unit, is attached or not. It is an object of the present invention to provide a replacement load unit that can prevent fluctuations in the load of the means and ensure stable paper feeding performance.

  The second object of the present invention is to change the load of the driving means when a manual sheet feeding unit that may cause a particularly large load fluctuation is used as a function addition unit when it is attached and when it is not attached. It is an object of the present invention to provide a replacement load unit that can prevent this and secure stable paper feeding performance.

  A third object of the present invention is to provide a replacement load unit that can be easily manufactured with a simple configuration, can effectively prevent the load of the driving means from fluctuating, and can ensure stable paper feeding performance. .

  A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a replacement load unit that can reliably perform skew correction of a recording medium, effectively prevent fluctuations in the load of the driving means, and ensure stable paper feeding performance. There is.

  A fifth object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus provided with a replacement load unit which can prevent fluctuations in the load of the driving means for driving the grip roller pair and can ensure stable paper feeding performance. is there.

  A sixth object of the present invention is to provide a detachable operability for a main body of an image forming apparatus of a replacement load unit capable of preventing fluctuations in the load of a driving means for driving a grip roller pair and ensuring stable paper feeding performance. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved image forming apparatus.

  Among image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, and facsimiles, a registration roller pair that feeds a recording medium such as paper or an OHP film to a main body of an image forming apparatus such as a copier main body, and the registration roller pair. A grip roller pair that conveys the recording medium toward the head, a drive means such as a drive motor that drives the grip roller pair, and a function addition unit that is detachably provided and operates by receiving the drive force of the drive means, Some of the image forming apparatus main body is provided with a function addition unit for adding a specific function. The invention described in claim 1 is directed to such a function in order to achieve the first object. It is a replacement load unit that is installed in place of the additional unit, and receives a driving force of the driving means and applies a load to the driving means.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the second object described above, in the replacement load unit according to the first aspect, the function adding unit adds a manual sheet feeding function to the image forming apparatus main body. This is a manual paper feed unit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the third object described above, in the replacement load unit according to the first or second aspect, the driving force of the driving means is, for example, from its output gear via a gear train. A rotating body such as an input gear to be received and a damper that applies a constant load to the rotation of the rotating body.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the fourth object described above, the replacement load unit according to the third aspect includes means such as a one-way clutch for restricting the reverse rotation of the rotating body. .

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the fifth object described above, a copying machine, wherein the replacement load unit according to any one of the first to fourth aspects can be replaced with a function addition unit. An image forming apparatus such as a printer or a facsimile.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the sixth object described above, the image forming apparatus main body when the function adding unit such as a manual sheet feeding unit is not attached in the image forming apparatus according to the fifth aspect. The replacement load unit is attached to the exterior cover that closes the place where the function addition unit is attached and attached to the image forming apparatus main body together with the exterior cover.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, when the function addition unit is not attached, a replacement load unit is attached instead of the function addition unit, and the replacement load unit receives the driving force of the drive means to apply a load to the drive means. Therefore, the load of the driving means for driving the grip roller pair is prevented from fluctuating between when the function addition unit is attached to the image forming apparatus main body and when it is not attached, and a difference occurs in the response time of the grip roller pair. The amount of deflection of the recording medium that stops when it hits the pair of registration rollers changes, and skew correction cannot be performed sufficiently, or conversely, skew or wrinkle occurs due to excessive deflection of the recording medium. It is possible to provide a replacement load unit that can eliminate the problem and secure stable paper feeding performance.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the function addition unit is a manual paper feed unit that adds a manual paper feed function to the image forming apparatus main body, it is not attached as a function addition unit. To provide a replacement load unit that prevents fluctuations in the load of the driving means and ensures stable paper feeding performance when using a manual paper feeding unit that may cause a particularly large load fluctuation. Can do.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the rotating body such as the input gear that receives the driving force of the driving means and the damper that applies a constant load to the rotation of the rotating body, it is easy to manufacture with a simple structure. Thus, it is possible to provide a replacement load unit that can effectively prevent fluctuations in the load of the driving means and ensure stable paper feeding performance.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since there is provided a means such as a one-way clutch that restricts the reverse rotation of the rotating body, when the leading edge of the recording medium abuts against the registration roller pair, the rotating body To provide a replacement load unit capable of reliably correcting skew of a recording medium by preventing reverse rotation, effectively preventing fluctuations in driving means load, and ensuring stable paper feeding performance. Can do.

  According to the fifth aspect of the invention, since the image forming apparatus includes the replacement load unit according to any one of the first to fourth aspects so as to be replaceable with the function addition unit, the function addition unit is not attached. In some cases, an image is provided with a replacement load unit that prevents the load of the driving means for driving the grip roller pair from fluctuating by attaching a replacement load unit in place of the function addition unit, and ensures stable paper feeding performance. A forming apparatus can be provided.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the function addition unit is not attached, the replacement load unit is attached to the exterior cover that is attached to the image forming apparatus main body and closes the place where the function addition unit is attached. Since it is detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus, when the function addition unit is not attached, a replacement load unit is attached together with the outer cover, and the load of the driving means for driving the grip roller pair is prevented from fluctuating and stable. An image forming apparatus including a replacement load unit that can ensure sheet feeding performance can be provided. By attaching and detaching the replacement load unit together with the outer cover, the detachability of the replacement load unit with respect to the image forming apparatus main body can be improved, and replacement at the time of failure can be simplified.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an overall schematic configuration of an internal mechanism of a color copying machine.
Reference numeral 100 in the drawing denotes a copying machine main body which is an image forming apparatus main body, and includes an image forming unit A on a paper storage unit B. The image reading apparatus 200 is assembled on the copying machine main body 100 with the in-cylinder sheet discharge portion C provided on the top surface thereof sandwiched, and the duplex unit 300 is mounted on the side surface.

  The image forming unit A of the copying machine main body 100 is provided with a photoconductor unit 10 substantially at the center. The photoreceptor unit 10 is provided with an endless belt-like photoreceptor 14 by being wound around one drive roller 11 and two driven rollers 12 and 13. An organic photosensitive layer is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 14.

  Around the photosensitive unit 10, a charging device 16, an exposure device 17, a developing device 18, an intermediate transfer unit 20, a cleaning device 21, and the like are provided. The charging device 16 uniformly charges the surface of the photoreceptor 14 by applying a high voltage.

  The exposure device 17 emits laser light from a laser diode (not shown) based on, for example, a color image reading signal from the image reading device 200, and emits the laser light through a polygon mirror, an f / θ lens, a plurality of reflection mirrors, and the like. Then, writing corresponding to the image reading signals of magenta, cyan, yellow, and black is performed to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 14.

  The developing device 18 includes developing devices 24M, 24C, 24Y, and 24K that store magenta, cyan, yellow, and black developers in order from the bottom in a detachable manner. Then, each developing device 24 is selectively brought close to the photosensitive member 14, and the roller-like developer carrying members 25M, 25C, 25Y, and 25K provided in each developing device 24 are brought into contact with or close to the photosensitive member 14. .

  The intermediate transfer unit 20 has an intermediate transfer belt 28 that is wound around a plurality of rollers 27. A primary transfer roller 29 is provided in the intermediate transfer belt 28 in the vicinity of the position where the intermediate transfer belt 28 contacts the photoconductor 14. In addition, a secondary transfer roller 31 is provided around the paper conveyance path 30 and a cleaning device 32 for the intermediate transfer belt 28 is provided.

  The cleaning device 21 for the photoconductor 14 is in contact with the photoconductor 14 with a cleaning member. The cleaning device 32 for the intermediate transfer belt 28 is also formed by contacting the cleaning member with the intermediate transfer belt 28 in the same manner.

  The paper storage unit B of the copying machine main body 100 is provided with two stages of paper feed cassettes 33 at the bottom of the copying machine main body 100 so as to be freely inserted and removed. The paper as a recording medium stored in the paper feed cassette 33 is fed out by the rotation of the paper feed roller 34 and fed into the paper transport path 30, transported by the grip roller pairs 35 and 36, and the timing is set by the registration roller pair 37. Then, the sheet is fed toward the intermediate transfer belt 28 and the secondary transfer roller 31.

  A discharge roller pair 39 is provided downstream of the sheet conveyance path 30, following a fixing device 38 that fixes the transfer image on the sheet, and discharges the sheet after the transfer image is fixed to the discharge stack unit 40 of the in-body discharge unit C. Provide two pairs. The in-body discharge unit C includes two discharge stack units 40 corresponding to the two discharge roller pairs 39.

  In the duplex unit 300, a switchback roller 42 provided in a reversible manner, a switchback conveyance path 43 that feeds one-side recorded paper by the switchback roller 42, and a reverse conveyance path that puts the paper that is switched back by the switchback conveyance path 43. 44, a plurality of pairs of conveying rollers 45 for conveying the sheet through the reverse conveying path 44, and the like.

  When recording is performed using this color copying machine, the driving roller 11 is rotated and one of the plurality of rollers 27 is rotated so that the photosensitive member 14 and the intermediate transfer belt 28 are indicated by arrows in the drawing. Rotate and transport in the direction. Further, the sheet feeding roller 34 is rotated to feed out the sheet from the sheet feeding cassette 33, and the sheet is conveyed toward the registration roller pair 37 through the sheet conveyance path 30 by the grip roller pair 35 and 36, and is intermediated by the registration roller pair 37. It is sent out in time with the rotation of the transfer belt 28 and sent between the intermediate transfer belt 28 and the secondary transfer roller 31.

  On the other hand, as the photoconductor 14 rotates, the charging device 16 charges the surface of the photoconductor 14 and the exposure device 17 first writes the first color to form an electrostatic latent image of the first color on the photoconductor 14. Next, the developing device 18 electrostatically attaches toner charged to a charge opposite to that of the electrostatic latent image to form a visible image. The first color image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 28 by the primary transfer roller 29 by applying a charge opposite to that of the toner. Subsequently, similarly, second to fourth color images are formed on the photoconductor 14 and transferred to form a color image in which the four colors are combined on the intermediate transfer belt 28.

  The color image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 28 is batch-transferred onto the paper fed between the intermediate transfer belt 28 as described above by applying a charge opposite to that of the toner by the secondary transfer roller 31. The paper after the image transfer is fixed on the corresponding paper discharge stack section 40 by one appropriately selected discharge roller pair 39 after the transfer image is fixed by the fixing device 38 and stacked there.

  When recording an image on the back side of the sheet, the sheet after fixing by the fixing device 38 is switched by the switching member 46 and guided into the duplex unit 300, and sent to the switchback conveyance path 43 by the switchback roller 42. When the rear end of the sheet reaches the position of the switchback roller 42, the switchback roller 42 is reversely rotated to switch back the sheet. The sheet is switched by the switching member 48 and is put into the reverse conveyance path 44.

  The sheet put in the reverse conveying path 44 is conveyed by a plurality of pairs of conveying rollers 45 and returned to the image forming section A of the copying machine main body 100, and again between the intermediate transfer belt 28 and the secondary transfer roller 31 through the sheet conveying path 30. Then, an image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 28 is separately transferred to the back side of the sheet by the secondary transfer roller 31 in the same manner. Then, after the image has been transferred, the transfer image is fixed again by the fixing device 38 and then switched by the switching member 46 to be led to the selected discharge roller pair 39. The paper is discharged onto the paper stack unit 40 and stacked there.

  After the image transfer, the photosensitive member 14 is prepared for the next image formation by removing the transfer residual toner by the cleaning member of the cleaning device 21. The intermediate transfer belt 28 after image transfer is also prepared for the next image transfer by removing the transfer residual toner by the cleaning member of the cleaning device 32.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the paper feeding unit shown in FIG.
As described above, the paper feed roller 34 is rotated to feed the paper from the paper feed cassette 33, and the paper is conveyed toward the registration roller pair 37 through the paper conveyance path 30 by the grip roller pairs 35 and 36. At this time, the registration roller pair 37 has stopped rotating.

  Then, the leading edge of the sheet is detected by the registration sensor 49, and when a predetermined time has elapsed after the leading edge of the sheet is abutted against the stopped registration roller pair 37, the rotation of the grip roller pair 35 and 36 is stopped. As a result, a predetermined amount of deflection is generated on the sheet, and the skew of the sheet is corrected. Thereafter, the registration roller pair 37 starts to rotate in synchronization with the image on the intermediate transfer belt 28, and the grip roller pairs 35 and 36 also rotate in synchronization with the sheet while maintaining the deflection of the sheet. 28 and the secondary transfer roller 31.

  By the way, in the illustrated color copying machine, a manual paper feed unit 50 to which a manual paper feed function is added is detachable. The manual paper feed unit 50 is provided with a manual paper feed path 51 that joins the paper conveyance path 30 upstream of the grip roller pair 36 on the downstream side, and along the manual paper feed path 51, a pickup roller 52 and a feed roller 53 are provided. And an FRR separation mechanism 55 composed of a reverse roller 54 and a conveyance roller pair 56 for conveying the manual sheet separated by the FRR separation mechanism 55 to the sheet conveyance path 30 through the manual sheet feed path 51.

FIG. 3 shows a drive system of the paper feed unit. FIG. 4 shows the drive system as viewed from the side.
Reference numeral 58 in the figure denotes a drive motor as drive means. A drive gear 60 is attached to the drive shaft 59 of the drive motor 58. A first gear 61 is engaged with the drive gear 60. A second gear 62 that is coaxially integrated with the first gear 61 meshes with the third gear 63. A fourth gear 64 that is coaxially integrated with the third gear 63 meshes with a fifth gear 65 that is coaxially fixed to the paper feed roller 34. The third gear 63 also meshes with a sixth gear 66 fixed coaxially with one grip roller 36 a of the grip roller pair 36.

  When the manual paper feed unit 50 is attached, the eighth gear 68 on the manual paper feed unit 50 side meshes with the seventh gear 67 coaxially integrated with the sixth gear 66 on the copier body 100 side. The eighth gear 68 meshes with the ninth gear 70. The ninth gear 70 meshes with a tenth gear 71 fixed coaxially with one conveyance roller 56 a of the conveyance roller pair 56. The tenth gear 71 meshes with the twelfth gear 72. The eleventh gear 72 meshes with a twelfth gear 73 fixed coaxially with the feed roller 53. The twelfth gear 73 meshes with the fourteenth gear 75 fixed coaxially with the reverse roller 54 via the fourteenth gear 73.

  The paper feeding roller 34 is rotated by receiving the driving force of the driving motor 58, and the grip roller pair 36 including the grip rollers 36a and 36b is rotated. When the manual sheet feeding unit 50 is attached, the seventh gear 67 that is the output gear on the copying machine main body 100 side and the eighth gear 68 that is the input gear on the manual sheet feeding unit 50 side are meshed to manually feed the sheet. The unit 50 is operated to drive the FRR separation mechanism 55 and to drive a pair of transport rollers 56 including transport rollers 56a and 56b.

  As shown in FIG. 4, an electromagnetic clutch 77 is provided on the roller shaft of the paper feed roller 34, an electromagnetic clutch 78 is provided on the roller shaft of the grip roller 36a, and an electromagnetic clutch 79 is provided on the roller shaft of the feed roller 53. The rotation of the paper feed roller 34, the grip roller pair 36, and the feed roller 53 is controlled.

  In this color copying machine, when the manual paper feeding unit 50 is attached, the seventh gear 67 that is an output gear on the copier body 100 side is always connected to the eighth gear 68 that is an input gear on the manual paper feeding unit 50 side. , The drive load is always received. In particular, since the manual paper feed unit 50 incorporates a torque limiter in the reverse roller 54, a considerable load is applied to the rotation of the grip roller 36a as compared with the case where the manual paper feed unit 50 is not attached. Therefore, when the manual feed unit 50 is attached and when it is not attached, a large load fluctuation occurs, and there is a considerable difference in the response time from when the electromagnetic clutch 79 is turned off until the grip roller pair 36 stops. Will occur.

Therefore, in the illustrated color copying machine, when the manual paper feeding unit 50 is not attached, a replacement load unit 80 is attached instead of the manual paper feeding unit 50, and a load is applied to the driving motor 58 by receiving the driving force of the driving motor 58. give.
FIG. 5A shows the front of the replacement load unit 80, and FIG. 5B shows the side.

  Reference numeral 82 in the figure denotes a bracket bent into an L shape. The tip of the bracket 82 is formed in a triangular shape, and an axis 83 is set up near its apex, and an input gear 84 that is a rotating body is provided on the axis 83 so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow. The input gear 84 is engaged with a damper gear 87 of a damper 86 that incorporates a one-way clutch 85 at the base to restrict reverse rotation and is fixed to the bracket 82 with a mounting screw 81.

  FIG. 6 shows a case where such a replacement load unit 80 is attached before the manual sheet feeding unit 50 is added in FIG. FIG. 7 shows this from the side.

  As illustrated, the replacement load unit 80 is attached to the exterior cover 90 with a fixing screw 88. The exterior cover 90 forms an exterior of the copying machine main body 100. When the manual paper feeding unit 50 is not attached, the outer cover 90 is attached to the copying machine main body 100 so as to block the place where the manual paper feeding unit 50 is attached, and is replaced therewith. The load unit 80 is detachably attached to the copying machine main body 100. Then, the input gear 84 is engaged with a seventh gear 67 that is an output gear on the copying machine main body 100 side.

  As a result, the replacement load unit 80 receives the driving force of the drive motor 58 and applies a load of approximately the same level as when the manual sheet feeding unit 50 is attached by the damper 86 through the engagement of the input gear 84 and the damper gear 87. The driving motor 58 is given. The load of the drive motor 58 that drives the grip roller pair 36 is prevented from fluctuating between when the manual feed unit 50 is attached to the copying machine main body 100 and when the manual feed unit 50 is not attached. There is no difference in time, the amount of deflection of the paper that stops when it hits the registration roller pair 37 changes, and skew correction cannot be performed sufficiently, or conversely, skew or wrinkle occurs due to excessive deflection of the paper. Or the like, and stable paper feeding performance can be secured.

  Further, as shown in the illustrated example, when the replacement load unit 80 is attached / detached together with the outer cover 90, the detachability operability of the replacement load unit 80 with respect to the copying machine main body 100 can be improved, and replacement at the time of failure can be simplified. be able to.

  The input gear 84 of the replacement load unit 80 is as large as possible as the eighth gear 68 that is the input gear of the manual feed unit 50, and is the same as the seventh gear 67 that is the output gear on the copier body 100 side. Arrange them in a positional relationship. In this way, for example, the deflection of the roller shaft of the grip roller 36a becomes the same, and the occurrence of load fluctuation can be reduced.

  In addition, according to the illustrated example, the input gear 84 that receives the driving force of the driving motor 58 and the damper 86 that applies a constant load to the rotation of the input gear 84 are configured. It is possible to effectively prevent the load of the drive motor 58 from fluctuating and to ensure stable paper feeding performance.

  In addition, since the one-way clutch 85 that restricts the reverse rotation of the input gear 84 is provided, it is possible to prevent the input gear 84 from rotating backward due to the paper strain when the leading edge of the paper hits the registration roller pair 36. While skew correction can be performed reliably, it is possible to effectively prevent fluctuations in the load of the drive motor 58 and to ensure stable paper feeding performance.

1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of an internal mechanism of a color copying machine. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged configuration diagram illustrating an enlarged view of a sheet feeding unit in FIG. 1. It is a block diagram of the drive system of the paper feed unit. It is the figure which looked at the drive system from the side. FIG. 4A is a front view of a replacement load unit that is used in place of a manual paper feed unit in the color copying machine, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram when the replacement load unit is attached before adding a manual sheet feeding unit in FIG. 3. It is the side view.

Explanation of symbols

36 Grip roller pair 37 Registration roller pair 50 Manual paper feed unit (function addition unit)
58 Drive motor (drive means)
67 7th gear (output gear)
68 8th gear (input gear)
80 Replacement load unit 84 Input gear (rotating body)
85 One-way clutch (means for regulating reverse rotation of rotating body)
86 Damper 90 Exterior cover 100 Copying machine main body (image forming apparatus main body)

Claims (6)

  A registration unit, a pair of grip rollers for conveying a recording medium to the pair of registration rollers, a drive unit for driving the pair of grip rollers, and a detachable function adding unit that operates by receiving the driving force of the drive unit A replacement load unit comprising: an image forming apparatus main body including: a function-adding unit, wherein the function-adding unit is installed, and a load is applied to the driving unit in response to a driving force of the driving unit.   The replacement load unit according to claim 1, wherein the function addition unit is a manual sheet feeding unit.   The replacement load unit according to claim 1, comprising a rotating body that receives a driving force of the driving unit and a damper that applies a constant load to the rotation of the rotating body.   The replacement load unit according to claim 3, further comprising means for restricting reverse rotation of the rotating body.   An image forming apparatus comprising the replacement load unit according to claim 1, wherein the replacement load unit can be replaced with the function addition unit.   When the function addition unit is not attached, the replacement load unit is attached to an exterior cover that is attached to the image forming apparatus main body and closes the place where the function addition unit is attached, and is attached to the image forming apparatus main body together with the exterior cover. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the image forming apparatus is detachably attached.

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