JP2525986B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus including a main body of an image forming apparatus and a base on which the main body is mounted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a paper processing device of a copying machine is
Various proposals and implementations of a multi-stage paper feeding / feeding device that stores various types of transfer papers in a plurality of cassettes, or a double-sided paper feeding device that is used to point the front and back of one transfer paper, etc. .

[0003]

However, if the multi-stage paper feeding device and the double-sided paper feeding device are separately provided in the same copying machine, the copying machine becomes large in size, occupies a large area, and the cost is high. Is not preferable.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine which solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and can be downsized, space-saving and cost-effective.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises an image forming apparatus main body and a base on which the image forming apparatus main body is placed, and stacks sheets of paper to form the image forming apparatus. An inner tray for sequentially feeding sheets to the main body and an inner tray for stacking sheets of paper on which images are formed by the image forming apparatus main body are arranged horizontally in a plurality of stages in the height direction within the base, and one of the bases A common paper feed transport path extending in a substantially vertical direction for transporting a sheet from the inner tray group to the image forming apparatus main body, is formed between the side portion of the inner tray group and the inner tray group, and the opposite side of the base. Between the side portion of the inner tray group and the inner tray group, a common stack conveying path extending in a substantially vertical direction for conveying a sheet from the image forming apparatus main body to the inner tray is formed. At least the innermost tray of the It is characterized in that it is the inner tray use.

[0006]

As described above, according to the present invention, if the inner tray for supplying the sheet to the image forming apparatus main body and the inner tray for stacking the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus main body are provided in the base. The paper can be set and the copied paper can be taken out from the front of the image forming apparatus. By removing the exclusive tray for paper feeding (paper feeding cassette) and the external discharge tray attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus, Can be arranged, for example, between desks or in a corner of a room, and space can be saved. In addition
Rays are in a horizontal state in the base in multiple stages (height)
The trays are placed in a closed state, and each inner tray can be shared.
The paper transport path and the stack transport path are formed almost vertically.
Space utilization efficiency in the pedestal is good, so many
(Multiple types) inner tray can be stored in the base
It Furthermore, by separately providing the paper feed transport path and the stack transport path on both sides of the base, jam paper can be discharged and repaired from the side of the base, making the work easier.
Therefore, the maintainability can be improved. Even more
Also, double-sided copying requires less paper transport than single-sided copying.
The path is inevitably long and therefore the copy cycle time
It tends to be long. Therefore, in the present invention, the image forming apparatus is
Top inner tray of the inner tray group closest to the main unit
By using the as an inner tray for double-sided copying,
-Copy cycle by shortening the paper transport path as much as possible
The time can be shortened.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a copying machine according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view of a sheet feeding means used in the copying machine, FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged front view of the sheet feeding means, and FIG. Is an enlarged perspective view of the inner tray used in the copying machine, FIG. 5 is a side view showing the positional relationship between the inner tray and the paper size detecting sensor, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the inner tray, and FIG. Plan view of the operation panel,
FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the control operation of the copying machine.

As shown in FIG. 1, a lower part of a copying machine main body 1 having a known copying function is detachable from and separate from the copying machine main body 1 and also serves as a base of the copying machine main body 1. A multi-stage sheet feeding device 2 is provided. The lateral width W1 of the copying machine main body 1 and the lateral width W2 of the multi-stage paper feeding device 2 are designed to have substantially the same dimensions so that the external appearance is smooth.

Paper feeding cassettes 3a and 3b are detachably set on the right side of the copying machine main body 1, and the transfer paper 6 is guided to a transfer drum (not shown) by the paper feeding rollers 4a and 4b and the guide plate 5. It is about to do. An intermediate roller 16 is arranged below the guide plate 5, and an intake port 57 is opened below the guide plate 5 toward the multi-stage sheet feeding device 2 side. Further, a paper discharge roller 7 and a guide plate 8 are arranged on the left side of the copying machine body 1, and an external paper discharge tray 9 for discharging the copied transfer paper 6 to the outside of the apparatus is provided.

A switching claw 11 which is rotated by an appropriate means such as a solenoid device is arranged in the middle of the paper discharge passage to the external paper discharge tray 9, and the discharged paper is detected near the external paper discharge tray 9. A paper discharge sensor 12 and a paper discharge roller 13 are provided.

In the central portion of the multi-stage sheet feeding device 2, a tray holder 15 for receiving three inner trays 14 in this embodiment is provided.
Are provided in three stages at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction.
On the right side of the multi-stage sheet feeding device 2, there is provided a sheet feeding means 17 for sequentially transporting the transfer sheets 6 stacked on the inner tray 14 to the inlet 57 of the copying machine body 1.

The paper feeding means 17 comprises a pick-up roller 18, a driving roller 19, a separation roller 20, a conveying roller pair 21, a guide plate 22 and an arm 23. Two
It is moved up and down by a motor 25 via 4. As shown in FIG. 3, the paper feeding means 17 includes two conveyor belts 26, 26.
Between the guide plate 22 and the guide plate 22 as shown in FIG.
And the conveyor belt 26 are on substantially the same vertical plane. In this embodiment, a method of adsorbing the transfer paper 6 from the back surface of the conveyor belt 26 with a vacuum is adopted.

The transfer paper 6 sent out from the selected inner tray 14 in a substantially horizontal direction is turned by the guide plate 22 by about 90 degrees toward the paper feed conveyance path and fed.

A discharge port 58 is formed on the upper surface of the multi-stage paper feeder 2 at a position facing the intake port 57 of the copying machine body 1. The relative positioning and holding of the intake port 57 of the copying machine body 1 and the discharge port 58 of the multi-stage sheet feeding device 2 are performed by the positioning portion 59 of the copying machine body 1 and the positioning portion 60 of the multi-stage sheet feeding device 2. It is made by abutting. Reference numeral 56 in the drawing denotes a home position detection sensor for detecting that the paper feeding means 17 has come to the home position.

On the left side of the multi-stage paper feeder 2, an inclined guide 27 corresponding to each inner tray 14 and a pair of feed rollers 2 are provided.
8 and a switching claw 29 that is rotated by an appropriate means such as a solenoid device.
A drooping guide 30 is arranged between the eight. A guide plate 31 is provided between the uppermost feed roller 28 and the switching claw 11.
Is provided, and a conveyance section sensor 33 that detects passage of the intermediate roller 32 and the copied transfer paper 6 is provided in the middle of the sheet.

An inner tray 14 is provided on the upper left of each tray receiving tray 15.
A rear end detection sensor 34 for detecting the rear end and a stop sensor 35 for stopping the inner tray 14 at the standby position are arranged on the upper right of each tray receiving base 15.

As shown in FIG. 4, the tray pedestal 15 is provided with a pulse motor 36, and a small gear 38 connected to the pulse motor 36 via a gear group 37 is used as the inner tray 14.
It is engaged with the rack 39 provided on the side of the. A pair of side fences 40, 40 and a back fence 41 are erected on the upper surface of the inner tray 14, and a turning fence 42 that is turned by an appropriate means such as a solenoid device at the opening end facing the back fence 41. Are provided in pairs.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a shield plate 43 for shutting off light to the stop sensor 35 is provided at the opening end portion of the inner tray 14, and a back fence 41 is provided for the rear end detection sensor 34. A shielding plate 44 for shielding light is provided respectively. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of paper size detecting sensors 45 are arranged near the inner tray 14.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic plan view of the operation panel 63. In the figure, reference numeral 46 is a key group for the paper feed cassettes 3a and 3b, 46a is a cassette selection key, 46b is a size display portion, and 46c is a display portion for displaying a busy state. Reference numeral 47 is a group of keys for the inner tray 14, 47a is a tray selection key, 47b is a size display section, and 47c is a display section for displaying an in-use state. 48 is a double-sided copy mode selection key, 4
9 is a front side copy display section, 50 is a back side copy display section, 51
Is a display unit without the same size cassette, 52 is a number display unit,
53 is a group of numeral keys and a clear key, 54 is a print switch, and 55 is a main switch.

The double-sided copy mode selection key 48 is used to select and set the double-sided copy mode. When copying the front surface of the double-sided copy mode, the switching claw 11 is rotated counterclockwise to be formed by the guide plate 8b. The external paper discharge passage 61 is cut off, and the stack conveying path 62 formed by the guide plate 31 is opened to guide the transfer paper 6 downward.
Try to lead to the side. Then, the transfer paper 6 whose surface has been copied
Is a transfer sheet 6 of the same size as the inner tray 14 that is not in the sheet feeding state among the inner trays 14 of the multi-stage sheet feeding device 2.
Is guided by the switching claw body 29 and the inclined guide 27 so as to be stacked on the inner tray 14 for storing the. The transfer paper 6 stacked in this way is stored in the side tray 40 and the back fence 4 provided on the inner tray 14.
At 1, the paper edges are aligned and accurately positioned.

Next, at the time of back side copying, the transfer sheet 6 copied on the front side is fed by the paper feeding means 17 and a known copying process is performed to complete the double sided copying. This time,
The switching claw 11 is rotated clockwise to guide the guide plate 8b.
The external paper discharge path 61 formed by the
Are discharged to the external discharge tray 10.

FIGS. 8 (A) and 8 (B) are flow charts showing an example in which the surface-transferred transfer paper is stocked in the second-tier inner tray 14 of the same size.

That is, the double-sided copy mode selection key 48
When is turned on, a check is made as to whether or not there is an inner tray 14 of the same size as the currently designated tray size, and if there is not, the display 51 of the same size without a cassette is displayed.
If there is an inner tray 14 of the same size, the inner tray 14
To the standby position. Then, when the transfer sheet 6 copied in the normal copy mode passes through the conveyance unit sensor 33,
When the timer T ₁ is activated and the time is up, the back side display section 50 for copying lights up and the front side copy display section 49 disappears, indicating that the next back side copying operation is possible.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the inner tray for supplying the sheets to the image forming apparatus main body and the inner tray for stacking the sheets on which the image is formed by the image forming apparatus main body are provided in the base. With this, it is possible to set the paper and take out the copied paper from the front side of the image forming apparatus. By removing the tray for exclusive use of paper feed (paper cassette) and the external discharge tray that are attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus, The forming device can be arranged, for example, between desks or in a corner of a room, and space can be saved.
In addition, the inner tray is horizontal in multiple stages in the base.
Are placed in a stacked state, and each inner tray is shared
The paper feed path and stack path can be formed almost vertically.
Because it is made, the space utilization efficiency in the base is good,
Therefore, it is necessary to store many (many types) inner trays in the base.
Can be. Furthermore, by providing the paper feed transport path and the stack transport path separately on both sides of the base, jam paper can be discharged and repaired from the side of the base, which facilitates the work and thus reduces the maintainability. Can be improved. Further
In addition, two-sided copying requires more paper transport than single-sided copying.
The length of the delivery path is necessarily long, so during the copy cycle
It tends to be long. Therefore, in the present invention, the image type
The top tray in the inner tray group closest to the main unit
By using the ray as the inner tray for double-sided copying, double-sided
When copying, make the paper transport path as short as possible
It is possible to shorten the time for crew.

[0025]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view of a sheet feeding device used in the copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged front view of a sheet feeding device used in the copying machine.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a tray used in the copying machine.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a positional relationship between a tray used in the copying machine and a paper size detection sensor.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a tray used in the copying machine.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of an operation panel used in the copying machine.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the control operation of the copying machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Copying Machine Main Body 2 Multi-Sheet Feeding Device 6 Transfer Paper 8a, 8b Guide Plate 9 Outer Paper Discharge Tray 11 Switching Claw 14 Inner Tray 15 Tray Stand 17 Paper Feeding Means 27 Inclination Guide 22 Guide Plate 29 Switching Claw Body 30 Hanging Guide 31 Guide plate 40 Side fence 41 Back fence 57 Inlet port 58 Ejection port 59, 60 Positioning part 61 External paper ejection path 62 Stack conveyance path W1 Horizontal width of copying machine main body W2 Horizontal width of multi-stage paper feeder

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Katsuhiko Makita 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Ricoh Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-58-22253 (JP, A) JP-A-59-13259 (JP, A) JP 59-15266 (JP, A) JP 59-82247 (JP, A) JP 57-204062 (JP, A) JP 58-100144 (JP, A) Kai 60-112060 (JP, A)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus main body, and a base for placing the image forming apparatus main body, an inner tray for stacking sheets and sequentially supplying the sheets to the image forming apparatus main body, and the image forming apparatus main body An inner tray for stacking sheets of paper on which an image is formed is horizontally arranged in a plurality of stages in the height direction in the base, and the inner tray is provided between one side portion of the base and the inner tray group. A common paper feed / conveyance path that extends in a substantially vertical direction for conveying the paper from the tray group to the main body of the image forming apparatus is formed, and image formation is performed between the side portion on the opposite side of the base and the inner tray group. A common stack transport path extending in a substantially vertical direction for transporting a sheet from the apparatus main body to the inner tray is formed, and at least the uppermost inner tray of the inner tray group is formed.
An image forming apparatus having an inner tray for double-sided copying . 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inner tray is an inner tray that supplies paper to the image forming apparatus main body.
An image forming apparatus, which also serves as an inner tray for stacking image-formed sheets.