JP2014167518A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve visibility of light emitting means in an image forming apparatus indicating that a recording medium has been ejected to a bin paper ejection tray inside a body by using the light emitting means.SOLUTION: An in-body paper ejection type image forming apparatus includes a first apparatus body 15, and a second apparatus body 17 across a paper ejection space part 61 including a bin paper ejection tray 81. The image forming apparatus further includes detection means for detecting that a recording medium has been ejected to the bin paper ejection tray and generating a detection signal, and a light emitting unit 83 that is arranged at an end on the front side of the bin paper ejection tray and causes an upper surface part of the end on the front side of the bin paper ejection tray to emit light on the basis of the detection signal. The end on the front side of the bin paper ejection tray is protruded to the outside with respect to an end 17' on the front side of the second apparatus body.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile.

  As an image forming apparatus, there is a so-called in-body discharge type that includes a discharge unit between an image forming unit and an image reading unit. In such a cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus, a bin discharge tray may be installed inside the cylinder, but it is difficult to confirm that a recording medium such as a recording sheet is discharged to the bin discharge tray. There was a problem.

  In order to solve this problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a detection unit that detects that a recording medium has been discharged to the bin discharge tray and generates a detection signal, and a detection signal that is disposed on the front side edge of the bin discharge tray. An image forming apparatus including a light emitting unit that operates based on the above has been proposed. According to this configuration, when the recording medium is discharged to the bin discharge tray, the light emitting unit disposed at the front edge of the bin discharge tray emits light, so that the user can record on the bin discharge tray. It can be recognized that the medium is arranged.

  In the apparatus of Patent Document 1, the front side edge portion of the bin discharge tray in which the light emitting means is arranged on the upper surface portion is located inside the front side end surface of the image reading unit arranged above. For this reason, for an operator who stands in front of the image forming apparatus and operates the operation panel disposed on the front side of the apparatus from above, the light emitting means is hidden behind the image reading unit, and the light emission visibility is poor. was there.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to visually recognize light emitting means in an image forming apparatus that indicates that a recording medium has been discharged to a bin discharge tray inside the cylinder using the light emitting means. An image forming apparatus with improved performance is provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus in which an image reading unit is arranged with a discharge space portion including a bin discharge tray above the image forming unit. Detecting means for detecting that the recording medium has been discharged to the bin discharge tray and generating a detection signal; and disposed on the front side edge of the bin discharge tray, based on the detection signal, In an image forming apparatus comprising: a light emitting unit that emits light from an upper surface portion of a front side edge portion of the bin discharge tray;
The front side edge portion of the bin paper discharge tray projects outward from the front side end surface of the image reading unit.

  In the present invention, the light emitting means that emits light from the upper surface portion of the front side edge portion of the bin discharge tray protrudes outward from the front side end surface of the image reading unit disposed above. Therefore, even for an operator who operates the operation panel disposed on the front side of the apparatus while looking down from above, the light emission of the light emitting means can be easily recognized without being blocked by the upper image reading unit.

  According to the present invention, there is an excellent effect that the visibility of the light emitting means can be improved in the image forming apparatus that indicates that the recording medium has been discharged to the bin discharge tray inside the cylinder using the light emitting means. .

1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a left front end portion of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a top view illustrating a positional relationship between an image reading unit and a light emitting unit according to the present embodiment. The principal part perspective view of the left side surface which shows the positional relationship of the image reading part which concerns on this embodiment, and a light emission part. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a basic configuration example of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. An image forming apparatus 11 shown in FIG. 5 forms a single image from four color toners of yellow (hereinafter referred to as Y), cyan (hereinafter referred to as C), magenta (hereinafter referred to as M), and black (hereinafter referred to as BK). It is.
The image forming apparatus 11 includes an image forming unit 12 that forms a toner image on a recording medium, a fixing device 13 that fixes a toner image on the recording medium formed by the image forming unit 12 to the recording medium, and an image forming unit 12. And a recording medium transport device 14 for feeding the recording medium. Further, the image forming unit 12, the fixing device 13, and the recording medium conveying device 14 are provided with a first device main body 15. Further, the image forming apparatus 11 includes an image reading unit 16 that reads a document image, a second apparatus main body 17 that houses the image reading unit 16, and an automatic document transport device 18 that functions as a pressure plate as an opening / closing member that transports the document. (Referred to as ADF). The automatic document feeder 18 is mounted on the second apparatus body 17 via a hinge mechanism (not shown) so as to be freely opened and closed. The second apparatus body 17 and the automatic document feeder 18 constitute an image reading unit. doing.

  The automatic document feeder 18 is separated from a document placing table 20 on which a document bundle can be placed, a contact position where the document bundle placed on the document placing table 20 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the document bundle, and a document bundle. And a pickup roller 21 that moves between the separated positions. Further, a document conveying means comprising a sheet feeding belt 22, a reverse roller 23, and a conveying roller pair 24 that separates the documents one by one from the bundle of documents sent out by the pickup roller 21 and conveys them toward the slit glass 36 that is a reading position. 25. Further, a document discharge unit 29 including a conveyance roller pair 27 and a discharge roller pair 28 for discharging a document, which has been read at the reading position, to the document discharge table 26 is provided.

  The paper discharge roller pair 28 includes a drive roller 28a, a driven roller 28b and a driven roller 28c that are in sliding contact with the drive roller 28a, and a switching claw 30 is provided in the vicinity of the paper discharge roller pair 28. The switching claw 30 moves between the first switching position and the second switching position. When the switching claw 30 is switched to the first switching position, the driving roller 28a and the driven roller 28b The document is discharged to the document discharge table 26. When the switching claw 30 is switched to the second switching position, the document is conveyed to the switchback passage 31 by the driving roller 28a and the driven roller 28c.

  The switchback passage 31 is provided with a pair of switchback rollers 32 that can rotate forward and backward. The document conveyed to the switchback path 31 is conveyed in the right direction in FIG. 1 by the switchback roller pair 32, and then the switchback roller pair 32 is driven in reverse so that the conveyance roller pair passes through the reconveying path. It is conveyed to 24. For this reason, the document is reversed and conveyed to the reading position.

  As known per se, the image reading unit 16 includes a second apparatus main body 17 that houses the optical system 34, and a contact glass 35 and a slit glass 36 that are fixedly disposed on the upper part of the second apparatus main body 17. ing. The image reading means 16 reads a document by placing a document composed of a closed document or a book on the contact glass 35 and pressing the document by the automatic document feeder 18. be able to. A document automatically conveyed by the automatic document conveying device 18 is read at the reading position of the slit glass 36. That is, the optical system 34 as an image reading unit includes a first traveling body 39 having a light source 37 and a first mirror 38, a second traveling body 42 having a second mirror 40 and a third mirror 41, and an imaging lens. 43 and a CCD image sensor 44. The first traveling body 39 and the second traveling body 42 move to the right from the position shown in FIG. 1, and at this time, the original is illuminated by the light emitted from the light source 37. The reflected light is reflected by the first mirror 38, the second mirror 40, and the third mirror 41 in this order, and then enters the CCD image sensor 44 through the imaging lens 43. In this way, the original image is formed on the CCD image sensor 44, whereby the original image is read.

  When reading the document by the automatic document feeder 18, the document traveling in the above-described procedure is read with the first traveling body 39 and the second traveling body 42 fixed at the position shown on the right side in FIG.

  The image forming unit 12 includes a first image carrier 45Y, a second image carrier 45C, a third image carrier 45M, and a fourth image carrier 45BK made of a drum-shaped photoconductor. An intermediate transfer belt 46 composed of an endless belt wound around a plurality of support rollers is disposed opposite to the first to fourth image carriers 45Y to 45BK. The first to fourth image carriers 45Y to 45BK are each driven to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1, and the intermediate transfer belt 46 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow A in FIG. At this time, the first image carrier 45Y is charged to a predetermined polarity by the charging roller 47.

  The optical writing unit 48 emits a laser beam L that is optically modulated based on the image signal corresponding to the result of reading the document. By irradiating the charged surface of the first image carrier 45Y with the laser beam L, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the first image carrier 45Y. This electrostatic latent image can be converted into a yellow toner image by the developing device 49. Visualized.

  When a transfer voltage is applied to the primary transfer roller 50, the toner image formed on the first image carrier 45Y is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 46 that rotates in the direction of arrow A in FIG. . The transfer residual toner adhering to the first image carrier 45Y after the toner image transfer is removed by the cleaning device 52. In the image forming apparatus 11 of the present embodiment, the first image carrier 45Y, the charging roller 47 disposed around the first image carrier 45Y, the developing device 49, and the cleaning device 52 constitute an integral process cartridge. ing.

  The developing device 49 has a developing container 53 containing powdered toner, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized by the toner. Further, when the toner amount in the developing container 53 decreases, the toner is supplied to the developing container 53 from the toner bottle 54Y.

  On the other hand, the cleaning device 52 includes a cleaning container 55 that receives the toner removed from the first image carrier 45Y. The toner in the cleaning container 55 is transported to a waste toner container (not shown) by the toner transport device. Is done. As described above, the developing container 53, the toner bottle 54Y, the cleaning container 55, and the waste toner container contain toner.

  In the same manner as described above, a cyan toner image, a magenta toner image, and a black toner image are formed on the second image carrier 45C, the third image carrier 45M, and the fourth image carrier 45BK, respectively. These toner images are primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 46 onto which the yellow toner image has been transferred in sequence.

  When the toner amount in the developing container of the developing device for forming the toner image on the second image carrier 45C, the third image carrier 45M, and the fourth image carrier 45BK decreases, the toner bottles 54C, 54M, From 54BK, toner is supplied to each developer container.

  In this manner, the superimposed toner image transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 46 is secondarily transferred onto the recording medium by the action of the secondary transfer roller 56, and the transfer residual toner attached on the intermediate transfer belt 46 after the transfer. Is removed by the belt cleaning device 52. The cleaning container 55 of the cleaning device 52 also stores toner, and the toner is conveyed to a waste toner container (not shown).

  The recording medium transport device 14 is disposed below the intermediate transfer belt 46, and the recording medium transport device 14 includes a paper feed cassette 57 that stores a recording medium S made of recording paper or the like, and a top recording medium S. A sheet feeding roller 58 and a registration roller pair 59 are in contact with each other. The uppermost recording medium S is sent out in the direction of arrow B in FIG. The sent recording medium S is fed between the intermediate transfer belt 46 and the secondary transfer roller 56 disposed opposite to the intermediate transfer belt 46 at a predetermined timing by the rotation of the registration roller pair 59.

  When the recording medium S passes between the intermediate transfer belt 46 and the secondary transfer roller 56, a transfer voltage is applied to the secondary transfer roller 56, so that the superimposed toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 46 is recorded on the recording medium. Secondary transfer. In this way, a toner image is formed on the recording medium S by the image forming means 12.

  Then, the recording medium S on which the toner image is formed passes through the fixing device 13, and at this time, the toner image on the recording medium S formed by the image forming unit 12 is fixed to the recording medium S. The recording medium S on which the image is fixed by the fixing device 13 is discharged into the discharge space 61 by the discharge roller pair 60.

The paper discharge space 61 is formed between the first apparatus main body 15 that houses the image forming unit 12 and the second apparatus main body 17 that stores the image reading unit 16. In this embodiment, the in-body discharge type image forming apparatus 11 in which the space between the first apparatus main body 15 and the second apparatus main body 17 on the downstream side in the discharge direction of the recording medium S by the discharge roller pair 60 is opened. It has become. A bin discharge tray 81 is disposed in the discharge space 61.
Further, a switching lever 62 is provided on the upstream side of the discharge roller pair 60. When the copying on the front surface of the recording medium is completed, the switching lever 62 is used when copying on the back surface of the recording medium S. It can be switched to the reversing passage 63 side.

  That is, when the rear end of the recording medium S is sandwiched between the paper discharge roller pair 60, the paper discharge roller pair 60 is driven in reverse, and the switching lever 62 is switched to a position communicating with the reverse passage 63. It is conveyed toward the reversing passage 63.

A reversing roller pair 64 is provided in the reversing path 63, and the recording medium conveyed through the reversing path 63 by the reversing roller pair 64 is conveyed to the secondary transfer roller 56 side.
On the other hand, a reflective guide plate 65 is provided on the slit glass 36, and the reflective guide plate 65 reflects light from the light source 37.

  Further, a guide member 71 is provided between the contact glass 35 and the slit glass 36 so that the guide member 71 scoops up the document that has passed through the slit glass 36 and guides it toward the conveying roller pair 27. It has become.

Next, features of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the left front end portion of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.
As described above, the image forming apparatus 11 includes a paper discharge space (in-cylinder paper discharge) between the first apparatus main body 15 that accommodates the image forming means 12 and the second apparatus main body 17 that accommodates the image reading means 16. Part) 61 is provided. An operation panel 91 composed of a liquid crystal touch panel is attached to the front side of the second apparatus main body 15.

  A bin discharge tray 81 is disposed in the discharge space 61. The bin discharge tray 81 has a notch 82 for facilitating removal of the discharged recording medium. A light emitting portion 83 having an LED light emitting portion element as a light emitting means is provided at a position (left end portion in the figure) that is a front side edge portion of the bin paper discharge tray 81 and deviated from the arrangement position of the operation panel 91. . The light emitting unit 83 disposed on the front side edge of the bin paper discharge tray 81 is based on detection means (not shown) that detects that the recording medium has been discharged to the bin paper discharge tray 81 and generates a detection signal. Operate.

  In this embodiment, the detection unit that detects that the recording medium S has been discharged to the bin discharge tray 81 and generates a detection signal also serves as a control unit that controls the image forming apparatus 11. A detection signal is generated from the 11 control states. As the detection means, an optical sensor or an ultrasonic sensor for detecting the recording medium S on the bin discharge tray 81, or a contact type or non-contact type sensor provided at another place in the bin discharge tray 81 is used. You can also.

  When the recording medium is discharged to the bin discharge tray 81, a detection unit (not shown) detects this and the light emitting unit 83 emits light. The user can visually recognize the light emitting portion 83 of the bin discharge tray 81 and recognize that the recording medium has been discharged to the bin discharge tray 81.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the light emitting portion 83 disposed at the front side edge portion of the bin discharge tray 81 is configured to emit light at least from the upper surface portion 83a of the bin discharge tray, and further widens the light emission range. From this viewpoint, it is preferable that the side surface portion 83b also emits light.

Further, the image forming apparatus 11 according to the present embodiment includes the second apparatus main body 17 and the automatic document feeder 18 in which the light emitting unit 83 is disposed above the paper discharge space 61 having the bin paper discharge tray 81. It is provided so as to protrude outward from the image reading unit.
FIG. 3 is a top view showing the positional relationship between the image reading unit and the light emitting unit according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the main part of the left side surface showing the positional relationship between the image reading unit and the light emitting unit according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the front side edge portion of the bin paper discharge tray 81 where the light emitting unit 83 is provided is outside the front side end surface 17 ′ of the second apparatus main body 17 constituting the image reading unit. A bin discharge tray 81 is formed so as to protrude to the front.

  As described above, the upper surface portion 83a of the front side of the bin discharge tray 81 emits light at a position protruding outward from the front side end face 17 ′ of the second apparatus main body 17 disposed above, whereby the front side of the apparatus The light emitting unit 83 can also be easily visually recognized by an operator who operates the operation unit looking down from the top side. Moreover, since the light emission part 83 is arrange | positioned in the near side edge part which remove | deviated from the arrangement position of the operation panel 91, the light emission part 83 can be visually recognized easily.

What has been described above is merely an example, and the present invention has specific effects for each of the following modes.
(Aspect A)
An in-cylinder discharge type in which an image reading unit such as the second apparatus main body 17 is arranged with an output space 61 including a bin discharge tray 81 above an image forming unit such as the first apparatus main body 15. An image forming apparatus for detecting that a recording medium has been discharged to a bin discharge tray and generating a detection signal; and a bin disposed on a front edge of the bin discharge tray based on the detection signal. In an image forming apparatus including a light emitting unit such as a light emitting unit 83 that emits light from the upper surface of the front side edge of the paper discharge tray, the front side edge of the bin paper discharge tray is closer to the front side end surface 17 ′ of the image reading unit. Also protrudes outward.
According to this, as described in the above embodiment, light emission can be easily confirmed by an operator who stands on the front side of the image forming apparatus and operates the apparatus looking down from above. Therefore, the visibility of the light emitting means can be improved in the image forming apparatus that indicates that the recording medium has been discharged to the bin paper discharge tray inside the drum using the light emitting means.

(Aspect B)
In (Aspect A), the operation panel 91 is provided on the front side of the bin discharge tray, and the light emitting unit and the operation panel are arranged so as not to overlap each other in the width direction of the image forming apparatus. According to this, since a light emission part is not hidden in an operation panel, visibility can be improved.

(Aspect C)
In (Aspect A) or (Aspect B), an LED element is used as the light emitting means. According to this, it is possible to achieve the long life of the light emitting means and the energy saving of the image forming apparatus.

11 Copier 15 First apparatus main body 16 Image reading means 17 Second apparatus main body 17 ′ Front side edge surface of second apparatus main body 18 Automatic document feeder 61 Paper discharge space part 81 Bin paper discharge tray 82 Notch part 83 Light emitting unit 91 Operation panel

JP 2010-249969 A

Claims (3)

An in-cylinder discharge-type image forming apparatus in which an image reading unit is disposed with a discharge space provided with a bin discharge tray above an image forming unit, and a recording medium is discharged to the bin discharge tray. Detecting means for generating a detection signal, and light is emitted from the upper surface of the front edge of the bin paper discharge tray based on the detection signal disposed on the front edge of the bin paper discharge tray. In an image forming apparatus comprising a light emitting means,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a front side edge portion of the bin discharge tray protrudes outward from a front side end surface of the image reading unit.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an operation panel is provided on the front side of the bin discharge tray, and the light emitting unit and the operation panel are arranged so as not to overlap each other in the width direction of the image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an LED element is used as the light emitting unit.

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