JP2008292630A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device provided with an auxiliary catch tray turnable from a discharge paper stacking position to a discharge paper taking-out position, and capable of taking out easily image-record-finished recording paper. <P>SOLUTION: A main catch tray 20a is arranged on a bottom face of a space (barrel inside) formed in an inside of a casing of the image forming device 10, and the auxiliary catch tray 20b is attached turnably thereon by a turning shaft 21. A lever 22 on an auxiliary catch tray 20b side face is exposed to an opening part 10C of in-barrel side face. A regulation member 23 for regulating a turning angle θ of the auxiliary catch tray 20b in response to a size of the recording paper is provided on a member 10B constituting the casing of the image forming device to be projected/retracted along an arrow mark d direction. The auxiliary catch tray 20b is set in the discharge paper stacking position (dotted line) when discharging the image-record-finished recording paper, and the auxiliary catch tray 20b is turned by the turning angle θ using the lever 22 when taking out the recording paper, to be moved to the discharge paper taking-out position (solid line). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine, a printer, or a complex machine thereof.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine, a printer, or a complex machine, a paper discharge tray for discharging recording paper on which image recording has been completed is disposed on a side surface of the image forming apparatus. It was overhanging outside. For this reason, an installation area larger than the size of the image forming apparatus itself is required, which is one of the obstacles to downsizing the image forming apparatus.

  Further, in the configuration in which the paper discharge tray is arranged on the body of the image forming apparatus, that is, below the image reading unit that reads the document image, it is difficult to take out the recording paper, it is difficult to visually recognize the recording paper, There was the inconvenience of dropping the paper when it was taken out.

  As one of means for solving such a problem, a paper discharge tray provided with a rotation shaft extending in the vertical direction at one end of the paper discharge tray and a paper pressing member, and provided with a paper pressing member from the front of the image forming apparatus. There has been proposed an image forming apparatus including a rotation type paper discharge tray configured to be rotated around a rotation axis and pulled out (see Patent Document 1).

In addition, the above-described rotation type paper discharge tray is rotated by power based on a movement command, and a power rotation type paper discharge tray configured to change the rotation angle according to the paper size is provided. An image forming apparatus has been proposed (see Patent Document 2).
JP 2001-206609 A JP 2000-44107 A

  However, in the above-described rotating type paper discharge tray, the recording paper cannot be taken out unless the whole paper discharge tray is rotated, the paper pressing member and its retracting mechanism are required, and the number of paper discharge trays is reduced. In order to increase it, it is necessary to make the paper discharge tray itself thinner, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost.

  In addition, the power rotation type discharge tray described above requires a rotation drive mechanism for the discharge tray, and the drive control of the discharge tray becomes complicated, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost as in the previous configuration. Become. The present invention aims to solve the various problems described above.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and the invention according to claim 1 is an image forming apparatus provided with a paper discharge tray for storing image-recorded recording paper in a space formed inside the main body of the image forming apparatus. The paper discharge tray includes a main paper discharge tray and an auxiliary paper discharge tray, and the auxiliary paper discharge tray is disposed on the upper surface of the main paper discharge tray so as to be rotatable from the paper discharge stacking position to the paper discharge position. An image forming apparatus.

  When the auxiliary paper discharge tray rotates from the paper discharge stacking position to the paper discharge position, the paper discharge position is restricted by the restriction member.

  The restricting member that restricts the discharge discharge position of the auxiliary discharge tray is made of an elastic material.

  The restricting member for restricting the paper discharge position of the auxiliary paper discharge tray may be configured such that the rotation angle to the paper discharge position is restricted by the size of the recording paper to be discharged.

  The restricting member that restricts the discharge discharge position of the auxiliary discharge tray is a small protrusion that the auxiliary discharge tray rides when the auxiliary discharge tray rotates to the discharge discharge position and contacts the restriction member. It is good to have.

  According to the present invention, the paper discharge tray is arranged in the space formed inside the main body of the image forming apparatus, the paper discharge tray is composed of the main paper discharge tray and the auxiliary paper discharge tray, and the auxiliary paper discharge tray is On the top surface of the main paper discharge tray, it is arranged so that it can rotate freely from the paper discharge stacking position to the paper discharge position. By rotating the auxiliary paper discharge tray to the paper discharge position, you can easily record images. The recording paper can be taken out.

  According to this configuration, the sheet pressing member and its retraction mechanism are not required, and the simple structure does not require the rotation driving mechanism for the discharge tray, so that the manufacturing cost is not increased.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an outline of the configuration of an image forming apparatus including a paper discharge tray according to an embodiment of the present invention. Since the image forming apparatus itself has a known configuration, detailed description is omitted, but the image forming apparatus 10 has a platen glass 11 disposed on the upper surface of the apparatus, and a scanner 12 disposed on the lower back surface of the platen glass 11. An image forming unit 13 including a photoconductor is disposed below the scanner 12. A paper feed cassette 14 containing recording paper P is disposed at the bottom of the apparatus, and the recording paper P is fed to the image forming unit 13.

  A pair of paper discharge rollers 15 is disposed at the exit of the conveyance path of the recording paper P inside the image forming unit 13, and a paper discharge tray according to the present invention is disposed downstream of the paper discharge roller pair 15 in the recording paper conveyance direction. 20 is disposed in a space (inside the cylinder) formed inside the box of the image forming apparatus 10. The configuration of the paper discharge tray 20 will be described in detail later.

  The operation of the image forming apparatus 10 will be briefly described. A document image placed on the platen glass 11 is read by the scanner 12, and laser light emitted from the laser device is modulated by an image signal output from the scanner 12. The laser light modulated with the image signal is projected onto a photoconductor disposed inside the image forming unit 13 to form an image latent image. The latent image is developed with toner from a developing device disposed inside the image forming unit 13 to form a toner image.

  The recording paper P is conveyed from the paper feed cassette 14 in accordance with the timing at which the toner image on the photoconductor reaches the transfer position by the rotation of the photoconductor, and the toner image is transferred onto the recording paper P. Thereafter, the recording paper P onto which the toner image has been transferred is fixed by the fixing device, and is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 20 through the paper discharge roller pair 15.

  The above-described configuration of the image forming apparatus is an example of the image forming apparatus. The paper discharge tray 20 according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described image forming apparatus, but other image forming apparatuses such as a full-color image forming apparatus. Needless to say, the present invention can also be applied to an apparatus.

  2 and 3 are plan views for explaining the configuration of the paper discharge tray 20 and the vicinity thereof according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a state in which the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b is at the paper discharge stacking position. A dotted line indicates the discharge discharge position of the auxiliary discharge tray 20b. FIG. 3 shows a state where the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b is at the paper discharge position. The dotted line indicates the discharge stacking position of the auxiliary discharge tray 20b.

  2 and 3, reference numerals 10A and 10B denote members constituting a part of the box of the image forming apparatus 10, and the scanner 12 and the platen glass 11 described above are arranged on 10A and 10B. . Reference numeral 10 </ b> C denotes an opening formed on a side surface of a space (inside the cylinder) formed inside the box of the image forming apparatus 10. Reference numeral 10D denotes a cover member disposed on the image forming unit 13, and a pair of paper discharge rollers 15 is disposed below the cover member 10D.

  The paper discharge tray 20 includes a main paper discharge tray 20a and an auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b. The main paper discharge tray 20a is separately provided on the bottom surface of the space (inside the cylinder) formed inside the box of the image forming apparatus 10. Although arranged as a member, it can also be used as a member constituting the bottom surface of the box internal space (inside the cylinder) of the image forming apparatus 10.

  The auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b is rotatably mounted on the main paper discharge tray 20a by a rotation shaft 21 provided at the corner thereof, and the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b is provided with a lever 22 on the side surface thereof. The lever 22 is exposed in the opening 10C described above.

  At the time of discharging the recording sheet on which the image has been fixed, the auxiliary discharge tray 20b is set to the discharge stacking position shown in FIG. When taking out the recording paper on which the image has been recorded, the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b is rotated by a predetermined rotation angle by pulling the lever 22 in the direction of arrow b, and is rotated to the paper discharge position shown in FIG. .

  A regulating member 23 that abuts the side surface of the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b and regulates the rotation angle of the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b protrudes in the direction of the arrow d on the member 10B constituting a part of the box of the image forming apparatus 10. The projection length dimension is changed depending on the size of the recording paper P to be ejected.

  The restricting member 23 is made of rubber or other elastic material, and is configured to relieve an impact applied to the auxiliary discharge tray 20b when the side surface of the auxiliary discharge tray 20b contacts the restriction member 23.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of a portion where the regulating member 23 and the side surface of the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b are in contact with each other. As described above, the regulating member 23 is provided so as to be able to protrude / retreat in the direction of the arrow d. A projecting length dimension corresponding to the size of the recording paper P is set by a driving mechanism (not shown) driven in response to the size of P.

  For large size recording paper P, the protruding length dimension of the restricting member 23 is set long, and the rotation angle θ of the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b is restricted small. Further, for the recording paper P having a small size, the protruding length dimension of the restricting member 23 is set short, and the rotation angle θ of the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b is largely restricted. As a result, a rotation angle suitable for the size of the recording paper P is set, and the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b is regulated so as not to rotate unnecessarily.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a modified example of the configuration of the distal end portion of the regulating member 23. The extending portion 23a is formed at the distal end portion of the regulating member 23, and the small protrusion 23b is provided at the distal end of the extending portion 23a. When the side surface of the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b is in contact with the regulating member 23 and the side surface of the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b is configured to get over the small protrusion 23b, the operator operates the lever 22 to operate the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b. A click feeling is given when the is moved to the drawer position, and it is possible to notify that the rotation angle of the auxiliary paper discharge tray 20b is at the limit position.

  An image forming apparatus having a paper discharge tray for storing recording paper on which an image has been recorded in a space formed inside a main body of the image forming apparatus, and is rotatably arranged from a paper discharge stacking position to a paper discharge taking out position. The image forming apparatus includes an auxiliary paper discharge tray and can easily take out recording paper on which an image has been recorded.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an outline of the configuration of the image forming apparatus including the paper discharge tray according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a configuration of a paper discharge tray and the vicinity thereof (a state where an auxiliary paper discharge tray is at a paper discharge stacking position). FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a configuration of a paper discharge tray and the vicinity thereof (a state where an auxiliary paper discharge tray is at a paper discharge position). The figure explaining the structure by which the length dimension of a control member is changed. The figure explaining the structure of the front-end | tip part of a control member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 10A, 10B Member which comprises a part of box of image forming apparatus 10C Opening part 10D Cover member 11 Platen glass 12 Scanner 13 Image forming part 14 Paper feed cassette 15 Paper discharge roller pair 20 Paper discharge tray 20a Main Paper discharge tray 20b Auxiliary paper discharge tray 21 Rotating shaft 22 Lever 23 Restricting member 23a Extension part 23b Small protrusion

Claims (5)

In an image forming apparatus provided with a paper discharge tray for storing image-recorded recording paper in a space formed inside the main body of the image forming apparatus,
The paper discharge tray includes a main paper discharge tray and an auxiliary paper discharge tray. The auxiliary paper discharge tray is disposed on the upper surface of the main paper discharge tray so as to be rotatable from the paper discharge stacking position to the paper discharge position. An image forming apparatus. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the auxiliary discharge tray rotates from a discharge stacking position to a discharge discharge position, the discharge discharge position is restricted by a restriction member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the restricting member that restricts a discharge discharge position of the auxiliary discharge tray is made of an elastic material. The restricting member for restricting the discharge / removal position of the auxiliary discharge tray has a rotation angle to the discharge / removal position restricted by a size of a recording sheet to be discharged. Image forming apparatus. The restricting member that restricts the discharge discharge position of the auxiliary discharge tray includes a small protrusion on which the auxiliary discharge tray rides when the auxiliary discharge tray rotates to the discharge discharge position and contacts the restriction member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.

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