JP2006301527A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To hide a connector for electrical connection with a paper discharge processing device equipped to the body of an image forming device from the appearance, without having to use extra parts, and to improve the user's operability by lowering the height of the body of the image forming device. <P>SOLUTION: The body of the image forming device to which a paper discharge processing device can be connected is so constituted that a connector for electrical connection with the paper discharge processing device, equipped to the body of the image forming device, is hidden by an auxiliary paper discharge tray equipped to the body of the image forming device for improving paper discharge alignment performance, when the paper discharge processing device is not to be mounted; and when the paper discharge processing device is mounted, the auxiliary paper discharge tray is removed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In particular, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which post-processing means such as a finisher, a mailbox, a sorter, and a sorter taper for performing post-processing on a sheet discharged from the apparatus can be mounted.

  2. Description of the Related Art Some conventional image forming apparatuses have a relay unit or the like that can be mounted in the horizontal direction on the upper surface of the apparatus (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2).

  In general, in a printer or a multi-function printer in which this type of post-discharge processing means or the like can be mounted, a paper discharge unit is provided in the upper part of the apparatus. It is configured to be stacked on the upper surface of the apparatus via a paper discharge unit.

When the relay unit or the like is mounted, according to Patent Document 1, the user inserts the relay unit side harness into the connector means prepared in advance in the apparatus main body, and according to Patent Document 2, By attaching the relay unit to the apparatus main body, the connector of the relay unit is automatically connected.
JP 2001-13750 A JP 2002-247262 A

  However, in the above conventional example, when a relay unit or the like is not attached to the apparatus main body, the connector provided on the apparatus main body side is exposed.

  For this reason, there has been a problem that the main body of the apparatus malfunctions due to static electricity being discharged by a user or the like, or foreign matter such as dust or dust enters the connector.

  In particular, in the case of a multi-function printer, placing a relay unit or the like on the paper discharge unit of the apparatus main body results in a problem that the internal paper discharge space from the relay unit or the like to the upper image reader becomes clogged. there were.

  An object of the invention according to the present application is to cover a connector provided on the apparatus main body without using an extra part when a relay unit or the like is not attached.

  Another object of the present invention is to reduce the installation height of the relay unit or the like as much as possible when the relay unit or the like is mounted.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to the present application provides an image forming apparatus in which a sheet post-processing apparatus that performs post-processing on a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus main body can be mounted on a paper discharge unit of the image forming apparatus main body. A paper discharge tray for stacking paper discharged from the image forming apparatus main body, and connector means for electrically connecting the image forming apparatus main body and the paper post-processing device, It is provided so that a connector means may be covered. Further, when the sheet post-processing apparatus is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the sheet post-processing apparatus is mounted in a state where the sheet discharge tray is removed.

  According to the present invention, a discharge tray for stacking sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus main body is provided so as to cover the connector means provided in the image forming apparatus main body. Without use, it is possible to prevent malfunction of the image forming apparatus main body due to static electricity generated by the user of the connector means or entry of foreign matter such as dust and dirt.

  In addition, when the paper post-processing device is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the installation height of the paper post-processing device can be suppressed to a minimum by adopting a configuration in which the paper discharge tray is removed. .

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to examples.

  The image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus to which a relay unit according to Embodiment 1 is not attached, and FIG. 2 is a main cross-sectional view thereof. 3 to 5 are perspective views illustrating a procedure for mounting the relay unit, and FIG. 6 is a main cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus in a state in which the relay unit is mounted. Further, FIG. 7 shows a perspective view when the relay unit is mounted on the multifunction printer.

  In FIG. 2, in the height direction of the image forming apparatus main body 13, a sheet material conveyance path 23 is provided that has a sheet feeding unit 14 on the lower side and a sheet discharging unit 16 on the upper side and extends substantially in the vertical direction. Is formed.

  The sheet material S fed from the sheet feeding cassette 11 of the sheet feeding unit 14 by the sheet feeding roller 5 is sent to the registration roller pair 8 by the conveying roller pair 7.

  On the other hand, the toner images on the photosensitive drums 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d in the process cartridges 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d that have been exposed by the scanner unit 3 and formed with toner images are secondarily transferred by the intermediate transfer belt unit 4. It is conveyed to the part 15.

  The sheet material S conveyed from the registration roller pair 8 is transferred with a toner image in the secondary transfer unit 15. The sheet material S on which the unfixed toner image is placed is transported to the fixing unit 10, transported to the paper discharge unit 16 after fixing, and sent to the paper discharge processing unit 19 by the transport roller group 18 of the relay unit 17.

  Further, when the paper discharge processing unit 19 is not attached, the relay unit 17 is also not attached, so that the sheet material S after fixing is placed on the paper discharge auxiliary tray 21 provided on the upper surface 20 of the apparatus by the paper discharge roller pair 11. The paper is discharged and stacked.

  Here, the discharge auxiliary tray 21 is provided in order to improve the discharge alignment of the sheet material S discharged from the image forming apparatus main body 13 and the accessibility from the user to the discharged sheet material S. It has been.

  When the relay unit 17 is attached to mount the paper discharge processing unit 19 shown in FIG. 6, first the paper discharge auxiliary tray 21 is removed as shown in FIG. 3, and then the relay unit 17 is moved to the rail as shown in FIG. It is made to slide in the direction of arrow A along the part, and it is set as the state of FIG.

  The relay unit 17 is equipped with a CPU (not shown) and a motor (not shown) for driving the transport roller group 18 of the relay unit 17, and electrically connects the relay unit 17 and the image forming apparatus main body 13. Means for connecting to each other. A drawer connector (not shown) is provided at a position corresponding to the drawer connector 22 of the drawer connector 22 of the image forming apparatus main body 13 and the relay unit 17 shown in FIG. 4, and the relay unit 17 is connected to the image forming apparatus main body. The drawer connectors are coupled to each other by attaching them to 13 while sliding in the direction of arrow A.

  Further, when the relay unit 17 is mounted, the positioning unit 24 of the image forming apparatus body 13 and the positioning unit (not shown) of the relay unit 17 perform alignment before the drawer connectors are fitted to each other. It has become.

  Here, when the relay unit 17 is not attached to the image forming apparatus main body 13, the drawer connector 22 of the image forming apparatus main body 13 is covered with the paper discharge auxiliary tray 21 and is invisible to the user. Yes.

  According to this embodiment, when the paper discharge processing device 19 is not mounted and the relay unit 17 is not present, the paper discharge alignment property and the user's access to the paper discharge are provided on the upper surface 20 of the image forming apparatus main body 13. The drawer connector 22 for electrically connecting the image forming apparatus main body 13 and the relay unit 17 is obscured by the discharge assist tray 21 provided to improve the image quality. Accordingly, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent malfunction of the image forming apparatus main body due to the static electricity being discharged from the user to the drawer connector 22 or entry of foreign matters such as dust and dust.

  Further, when the relay unit 17 is mounted, the relay unit 17 can be disposed at a position lower by the height of the discharge auxiliary tray 21 by mounting the discharge auxiliary tray 21 in a detached state. There is also an effect that the overall height can be kept low.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when this embodiment is applied to a multifunction printer, the position of the relay unit 17 can be arranged low, so that the image scanner installed on the upper part of the apparatus main body also has an in-body discharge space. Since it can be arranged at a low position without sacrificing (arrow dimension A), the operability of the image scanner and the accessibility to the in-body discharge are also improved.

1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus showing a state where a relay unit according to an embodiment of the present invention is not attached. FIG. 1 is a main cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus showing a state in which a relay unit according to an embodiment of the present invention is not mounted. The perspective view which shows the procedure of the mounting method of the relay unit based on the Example of this invention. The perspective view which shows the procedure of the mounting method of the relay unit based on the Example of this invention. The perspective view which shows the mounting state of the relay unit which concerns on the Example of this invention. FIG. 4 is a main cross-sectional view showing a mounting state of the relay unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view which shows the state which applied the Example of this invention to the multifunction printer

Explanation of symbols

13 Image forming apparatus body 17 Relay unit 18 Conveying roller group 19 Paper discharge processing means 21 Paper discharge auxiliary tray 22 Drawer connector 26 Image reader 27 ADF

Claims (3)

In an image forming apparatus capable of mounting a paper post-processing device for performing post-processing on paper discharged from the image forming apparatus main body to a paper discharge unit of the image forming apparatus main body,
A paper discharge tray for stacking paper discharged from the image forming apparatus main body;
Connector means for electrical connection between the image forming apparatus main body and the sheet post-processing apparatus;
With
The image forming apparatus, wherein the discharge tray is provided so as to cover the connector means.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the sheet post-processing apparatus is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the paper discharge tray mounted on the image forming apparatus main body is removed before mounting.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connector means is a drawer connector or a float connector.

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