JP2007328302A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve operability by arranging an extension tray and a lock release lever for an opening/closing cover in a position which can be easily recognized by a user. <P>SOLUTION: A laser beam printer 1 has a paper ejecting tray 17 formed on an upper part of a printer main body 3 stored with an image forming part. The laser beam printer 1 is provided with: the openable and closable opening/closing cover 50 which constitutes a downstream side part 17a of the paper ejection tray 17 and is used for replacing constituent parts of the image forming part; and the locking release lever 53 releasing the locking of an opening/closing mechanism for the opening/closing cover. The extension tray 51 for extending the paper ejecting tray when an upstream side is lifted up and put down on the downstream side. Since the lock release lever 53 and the extension tray 51 are provided in the position composing the downstream side part of the paper ejecting tray of the opening/closing cover, the lock release lever 53 and the extension tray 51 can be easily recognized by the user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided at a position where an extension tray and an unlocking member of an opening / closing cover can be recognized.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventional image forming apparatuses such as printers, facsimiles, and copiers that form images on sheets include a type in which a process cartridge that is a component part of an image forming unit can be replaced by opening an exterior cover (Patent Document 1). ). This image forming apparatus is provided with an extension tray that extends a discharge sheet stacking portion so that it can be pulled out and stored in an exterior cover when an image-formed sheet is long.

  There is also an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge can be taken out and replaced from the front (Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-020445 JP-A-1-213669

  However, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the extension tray is usually housed in the exterior cover, the presence of the extension tray is difficult to understand and may not be noticed by some users. For this reason, the extension tray is not used, and a long sheet may not be reliably stacked on the discharged sheet stacking unit.

  Further, since the outer cover can be opened by pressing the lock mechanism, it may not be possible to determine how the outer cover can be opened at first glance.

  In the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 2, the process cartridge cannot be replaced unless the front opening / closing cover is opened. However, in this type of image forming apparatus, it is difficult to form an opening / closing cover on the opening / closing cover so as not to impair the appearance on the front side. There are many cases. For this reason, it may be impossible to determine how the opening / closing cover can be opened at first glance.

  Therefore, the conventional image forming apparatus has poor operability.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that is provided at a position where an extension tray and an unlocking member of an opening / closing cover can be recognized to improve operability.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, a discharge sheet stacking unit is formed on an upper portion of a housing that houses the image forming unit, and a downstream portion of the discharge sheet stacking unit is configured to constitute a component of the image forming unit. An open / close cover that can be opened and closed to replace the open / close cover, an unlocking member that unlocks the open / close lock mechanism of the open / close cover, and an extension that extends the discharge sheet stacking portion when the upstream side is raised and tilted downstream A tray, and the unlocking member and the extension tray are provided at a position constituting a downstream portion of the discharge sheet stacking portion in the opening / closing cover.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the unlocking member and the extension tray are provided at a position constituting the downstream portion of the discharge sheet stacking portion of the opening / closing cover, so that the unlocking member and the extension tray can be easily provided from the outside. It can be recognized visually, and operability can be improved.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view along the sheet conveying direction of the laser beam printer as the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. Examples of the image forming apparatus include a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and a complex machine of these. Therefore, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the laser beam printer.

  The laser beep printer 1 shown in FIG. 10 forms an image on one side of a sheet and then forms an image on the other side.

  The laser beam printer 1 includes a printer main body 3 including an image forming unit 21 that forms an image on a sheet S, and a sheet reversing device 2 that is detachably attached to the printer main body 3. The laser beam printer 1 includes the sheet reversing device 2 so that an image can be formed on the back side of the sheet that cannot be performed by the printer body 3 alone. If an image is formed only on one side of the sheet, it is not necessary to provide the sheet reversing device 2. The image forming unit 21 includes a laser scanner 5, a process cartridge 6, and the like.

  First, when the laser beam printer 1 receives information from an external information device such as a personal computer or a word processor, the video controller board 4 creates an image signal based on this information. Then, the laser beam printer 1 irradiates the photosensitive drum 6 </ b> A rotating in the clockwise direction with the laser light L from the laser scanner 5 in accordance with the image signal created by the video controller board 4. Then, electrostatic latent images are sequentially formed on the photosensitive drum 6A.

  The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 6A is successively visualized with toner supplied from a developing device (not shown) in the process cartridge 6 to become a toner image. The toner image is conveyed to a transfer portion constituted by a nip portion between the photosensitive drum 6A and the transfer roller 7 by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 6A.

  On the other hand, the sheet S stacked and stored in the sheet feeding cassette 8 in parallel with the toner image forming operation is removed from the uppermost sheet S1 by the half-moon-shaped sheet feeding roller 9 that rotates once counterclockwise. One by one is sequentially sent to the paper feed path 10.

  The fed sheet is conveyed by the conveyance roller pair 11 to the registration roller pair 12 whose rotation is stopped, and the leading end is abutted against the nip of the registration roller pair 12 to form a predetermined loop. Thereby, when the sheet S is skewed by forming a loop, the sheet S is straightened.

  The corrected sheet S is conveyed to the transfer section by a registration roller pair 12 that starts at the timing when the toner image on the photosensitive drum 6A is aligned, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 6A is transferred by the transfer roller 7. The sheet S to which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 14 through the conveyance guide 13, and the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 14.

  The laser beam printer 1 has a single-sided image forming mode and a double-sided image forming mode. When the single-sided image forming mode is selected, the laser beam printer 1 switches the deflector 15 to the broken line position. The deflector 15 located at the position of the broken line guides the sheet to the paper discharge path 16. The sheet is transported through a paper discharge path 16 by a pair of transport rollers 18 and is discharged by a paper discharge roller pair 19 onto a paper discharge tray 17 provided on the upper portion of the printer main body 3.

  The laser beam printer 1 switches the deflector 15 to the solid line position when the double-sided image forming mode is selected. The deflector 15 located at the solid line guides the sheet to the reverse connection path 20.

  The sheet S conveyed to the sheet reversing device 2 through the reversing connection path 20 passes through the conveying path 25 by the conveying roller pair 24 while being corrected by the curl removing roller pair 23 that corrects curling and crimping of the sheet. Then, it is conveyed to the switchback roller pair 41.

  The transport path 25 is provided with a sensor arm 26 that rotates when the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet S pass through. When the sensor arm 26 is rotated by the sheet, the light source of the photo interrupter 27 is blocked by the shielding portion 26A.

  When the sensor arm 26 and the photo interrupter 27 detect that the trailing edge of the sheet S has reached the conveyance path 25B, the control device 22 rotates the switchback roller pair 41 in the reverse direction. As a result, the sheet S has been switched back and is advanced into the transport path 28 with the trailing edge at the top. Thereafter, the sheet S is conveyed to the reference plate path 29 by a conveyance roller pair 42 provided in the conveyance path 28. At this time, the sheet S has the first surface on which the toner image has been transferred facing upward.

  The reference plate path 29 is provided with a pair of inclined feeding rollers 30 and 31 having conveying rollers 30a and 31a and rollers 30b and 31b that are in pressure contact with the conveying rollers 30a and 31a. A reference plate 32 is provided in the reference plate path 29.

  The sheet S conveyed to the reference plate path 29 by the conveying roller pair 42 is obliquely fed toward the reference plate 32 by the skew feeding roller pairs 30 and 31, and then comes into contact with the reference plate 32. Move while touching.

  Therefore, the sheet S is conveyed with its position in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction corrected. The reference plate 32 is moved by a drive source (not shown) to a position corresponding to a sheet size designated in advance, and the position of the reference plate 32 is adjusted to a position in the sheet width direction even for sheets having different widths (horizontal registration). Can be combined).

  Thereafter, the sheet S is sent from the transport path 33 to the transport roller pair 34 of the refeed unit 40. Then, the sheet S passes through the re-feed path 35 and is fed by the re-feed roller pair 36 from the re-feed path 8A in the paper feed cassette 8 with the second side on the back side of the first side up. It is conveyed to the main body 3. Further, the sheet S is conveyed from the conveying roller pair 11 to the resist roller pair 12 whose rotation is stopped, and thereafter, the toner image is transferred to the second surface in the same manner as the image formation on the first surface described above. After the fixing process is performed, the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 17.

  As described above, the laser beam printer 1 according to the present embodiment releases the lock state of the extension tray 51 that extends the discharge tray 17 and the opening / closing cover 50 so that a long sheet can be stacked on the discharge tray 17. The lock release member 53 is provided in a place where it can be easily recognized. Hereinafter, the extension tray 51, the opening / closing cover 50, the lock mechanism 80 of the opening / closing cover 50, the lock release lever 53 for releasing the lock state of the lock mechanism 80, and the like will be mainly described.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the laser beam printer 1 according to the present embodiment, and mainly shows an extension tray 51 and an opening / closing cover 50. FIG. 2 is a diagram in which the extension tray is raised in FIG. FIG. 3 is a view in which the opening / closing cover is opened in FIG.

  The laser beam printer 1 is used by a user standing on the front side in FIG. Therefore, in the following description, “the near side” means the side where the user stands, and “the far side” means the front side away from the user.

  The opening / closing cover 50 is provided on the printer main body 3 as a housing so as to be openable and closable so that a part of the printer main body 3 can be opened and closed by a rotating shaft 43 (see FIG. 10). When the opening / closing cover 50 is opened in the direction of arrow E as shown in FIG. 3, the process cartridge 6 as a component of the image forming unit 21 can be taken out from the printer main body 3 and replaced. The open / close cover 50 is formed in an L-shape and constitutes a downstream portion 17a of the paper discharge tray 17 as a discharge sheet stacking portion. The paper discharge tray 17 includes an inclined upstream portion 17b, a horizontal downstream portion 17a at the top of the opening / closing cover 50, and a horizontal downstream portion 17c of the printer body 3.

  In the opening / closing cover 50, a recess 44 in which the extension tray 51 is accommodated and an intermediate portion of the lock release lever 53 is disposed is formed at the center of the portion constituting the downstream portion 17 a of the discharge tray 17. When the extension tray 51 is not used as the extension tray 51, the extension tray 51 is positioned in the storage position where the extension tray 51 is tilted upstream and stored in the recess 44. At this time, the back surface 51a of the extension tray 51 is formed to be flush with the downstream portion 17a of the paper discharge tray 17, so that the leading edge of the sheet discharged onto the paper discharge tray 17 is not caught. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the extension tray 51 is raised about the rotating shaft 54 provided on the opening and closing cover 50 and is tilted to the downstream side, the sheet stacking surface 51 b faces upward. The sheet discharge tray 17 is extended so that long sheets can be stacked on the sheet discharge tray 17. The position of the extension tray 51 for extending the paper discharge tray 17 shown in FIG. 2 is the extension position of the present invention.

  When the extension tray 51 is tilted to the downstream side, the extension tray 51 is tilted above a lock release lever 53 as a lock release member that unlocks the open / close lock mechanism 80 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) of the open / close cover 50. Yes. For this reason, the unlock lever 53 may not be visible behind the extension tray 51, and the extension tray 51 is formed with a window hole 52 that is a visual recognition part and is a through hole so that the unlock lever 53 can be seen. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the lock release lever 53 is exposed and visible to the user when the extension tray 51 is tilted upstream and closed. In this state, when the lock release lever 53 is pushed in the direction of arrow D, the lock state of the lock mechanism 80 is released, and the opening / closing cover 50 opens in the direction of arrow E as shown in FIG. 6 (see FIG. 10) can be maintained.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the upper part of the opening / closing cover 50, and is a view in which the extension tray is omitted.
FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the upper part of the opening / closing cover 50 provided with an extension tray. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the upper portion of the opening / closing cover 50 when the extension tray is raised.

  In FIG. 4, U grooves 55 a and 55 b are formed downward on both inner wall surfaces of the recess 44 formed in the center of the opening / closing cover 50. On the outside of the U grooves 55a and 55b, a rib 56 (the 55a side is not shown) that is integral with the opening / closing cover 50 is opposed. The U grooves 55a and 55b restrict the upward movement of the rotation shaft 54 of the extension tray 51 and the movement toward the rear side on the near side. Further, the rib 56 restricts the downward movement of the rotation shaft 54 of the extension tray 51. As a result, the extension tray 51 rotates about the rotation shaft 54 only in the directions of arrows F and J as shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the lock mechanism 80 of the opening / closing cover 50, and is a view when the lock mechanism 80 is in a locked state. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a release state in which the lock mechanism 80 of the opening / closing cover 50 is unlocked by the lock release lever 53. Although the back half of FIGS. 7 and 8 is omitted, a similar mechanism is provided on the back side.

  The lock release lever 53 is a long member extending in the front side and back side (front-rear direction) when viewed from the user. A square hole 58 is formed at the end of the lock release lever 53. An open / close cover frame 57 provided on the open / close cover 50 is disposed below the lock release lever 53. The end of the lock release lever 53 has two upper and lower hinges 69. The shaft portion 61 of the lock release link 60 is rotatably held by the two hinges 69.

  A boss 59 of the lock release link 60 is engaged with the square hole 58 of the lock lever. A spring 62 is provided between the unlocking link 60 and the projecting piece 64 extending from the opening / closing cover frame 57. The spring 62 presses the lock release link 60 toward the front side in the drawing. A claw 71 (see FIG. 8) at the distal end portion of the unlocking link 60 is adapted to engage with a square hole portion 70 of a hooking member 63 on the inner side surface of the printer main body 3.

  In FIG. 7, when the access portion 65 of the lock release lever 53 is pushed in the direction of arrow D, the lock release lever 53 moves on the opening / closing cover frame 57 in the same direction. The square hole 58 of the lock release lever 53 also moves in the direction of arrow D. When the square hole 58 moves in the direction of arrow D, the boss 59 of the lock release link 60 is pulled in the direction of arrow D, and the lock release link 60 resists the spring 62 and moves in the direction of arrow G about the shaft 61 (FIG. 8). To turn. As a result, the claw 71 of the lock release link 60 is separated from the square hole portion 70 of the hook member 63, and the lock state of the lock mechanism 80 is released. When the lock state of the lock mechanism 80 is released, the opening / closing cover 50 can be opened.

  As described above, the laser beam printer 1 of the present embodiment has a structure in which the extension tray 51 and the lock release lever 53 are provided in the portion constituting the discharge tray downstream portion 17a of the opening / closing cover 50. It has become.

  For this reason, the extension tray 51 and the lock release lever 53 are arranged together, and the appearance is not impaired. Further, since the extension tray 51 and the lock release lever 53 are disposed in the recess 44, it is possible to prevent the height of the laser beam printer 1 from being increased.

  The discharge tray downstream portion 17 a is at the top of the laser beam printer 1. For this reason, when the user raises the extension tray 51 or opens the opening / closing cover 50, the user can easily connect the extension tray 51 and the opening / closing cover 50 without looking at the front or side of the laser beam printer 1. Can recognize existence.

  Further, it is preferable that the extension tray 51 is provided at a position where the discharge tray 17 can be extended as much as possible when the discharge tray 17 is extended by being raised from the upstream side and tilted to the downstream side. For this reason, in the laser beam printer 1 of the present embodiment, the rotation shaft 54 of the extension tray 51 is disposed on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the opening / closing cover 50. However, in this case, if the extension tray 51 is located above the lock release lever 53 and the lock release lever 53 is hidden behind the extension tray 51 and the extension tray 51 is used for a long time, the user There is a possibility that the presence of the unlocking lever 53 may not be noticed.

  Therefore, in the laser beam printer 1 of the present embodiment, the window hole 52 is formed in the extension tray 51 so that the user can easily notice the presence of the lock release lever 53.

  The presence of the unlocking lever 53 can be recognized in the same manner even when a transparent PC material, an ABS material, an acrylic material, or the like that is a viewing portion and a transparent member is used for the extension tray instead of the window hole 52. Can do.

  Further, by providing the window hole 52, even when the extension tray 51 is opened, the lock release lever 53 can be operated from the window hole 52, and there is no need to tilt the extension tray 51 to the upstream side of the original position. The operability can also be improved.

  In the above description, the rotation shaft 54 of the extension tray 51 is provided on the opening / closing cover 50, but may be provided on the lock release lever 53 as described below.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 9, extension tray attachment portions 68 a and 68 b are provided at both ends of the lock lever access portion 65 of the lock release lever 53. The extension tray mounting portions 68a and 68b restrict the upward movement of the rotation shafts 54a and 54b of the extension tray 51 and the movement toward the rear side on the near side. Further, the ribs 67a and 67b restrict the downward movement of the rotation shafts 54a and 54b of the extension tray 51.

  Thus, when the extension tray 51 is provided on the lock release lever 53, when the finger is put on the window hole 52 of the extension tray 51 and pulled in the direction of arrow H, the lock release lever 53 also moves in the same direction, The lock mechanism can be unlocked to open the open / close cover. Therefore, since the lock release lever 53 can be moved without tilting the extension tray 51 to the upstream side of the original position, the opening / closing operability of the opening / closing cover 50 can be improved.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the laser beam printer of the present embodiment, mainly showing an extension tray and an opening / closing cover. In FIG. 1, it is the figure which raised the extension tray. In FIG. 1, it is the figure which opened the opening-and-closing cover. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper part of an opening-and-closing cover, and is a figure which omitted an extension tray. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper part of the opening-and-closing cover which provided the extension tray. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper part of an opening-and-closing cover when raising an extension tray. It is a perspective view of the locking mechanism of an opening / closing cover, and is a figure of a locked state. It is a perspective view of the lock mechanism of an opening / closing cover, and is a figure of the cancellation | release state in which the lock | rock was cancelled | released by the lock release lever. It is a figure of embodiment at the time of providing the rotating shaft of an extension tray on a lock release lever. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a laser beam printer as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention along a sheet conveying direction.

Explanation of symbols

S sheet 1 Laser beam printer (image forming device)
2 Sheet reversing device 3 Printer body (housing)
6 Process cartridge (component of image forming unit)
6A Photosensitive drum 17 Discharge tray (discharged sheet stacking section)
17a Downstream portion of the discharge tray (discharged sheet stacking portion) 17b Upstream portion of the discharge tray 17c Downstream portion of the discharge tray 21 Image forming portion 22 Controller 44 Recess 50 Opening / closing cover 51 Extension tray 51a Back surface 51b Sheet stacking Surface 52 Window hole (viewing part, through hole)
53 Unlocking lever (unlocking member)
54, 54a, 54b Rotating shaft of extension tray 80 Lock mechanism

Claims (6)

In the image forming apparatus in which the discharge sheet stacking unit is formed on the upper part of the housing that stores the image forming unit,
An openable / closable cover that configures a downstream portion of the discharge sheet stacking unit and that can be opened and closed to replace components of the image forming unit;
An unlocking member for unlocking the open / close lock mechanism of the open / close cover;
An extension tray that extends the discharge sheet stacking portion when the upstream side is raised and is brought down to the downstream side,
The unlocking member and the extension tray are provided at positions constituting a downstream portion of the discharge sheet stacking portion in the opening / closing cover,
An image forming apparatus. The extension tray has a visual recognition portion that is positioned above the unlocking member when the upstream side is raised and tilted to the downstream side, and that the unlocking member can be visually recognized when the extension tray is positioned above.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. In the image forming apparatus in which the discharge sheet stacking unit is formed on the upper part of the housing that stores the image forming unit,
An openable / closable cover that configures a downstream portion of the discharge sheet stacking unit and that can be opened and closed to replace components of the image forming unit;
An unlocking member for unlocking the open / close lock mechanism of the open / close cover;
An extension tray that moves to a storage position and an extension position that extends the discharge sheet stacking section;
The unlocking member and the extension tray are provided at a position constituting a downstream portion of the discharge sheet stacking portion in the opening / closing cover,
The extension position of the extension tray is a position above the unlocking member;
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the extension tray has a visual recognition portion that allows the lock release member to be visually recognized when the extension tray is located at the extended position. The visual recognition part is a through hole;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The visual recognition part is formed of a see-through member;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The extension tray is provided on the unlocking member;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.

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