JP2568691B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a sheet material conveying device, and more particularly to an image forming device having a function of conveying a sheet material manually.

(B) Conventional technology As shown in FIG.
The transfer material P is conveyed by a registration roller 102 from a manual feed tray 101 provided on the right side of 00, passes through a transfer guide 103, and the image on the drum 105 is transferred and separated by transfer / separation chargers 106 and 107. Conveyed and fixed unit 1
The transfer direction of the transfer material P moves in a fixed direction until the toner image is fixed at 10 and finally discharged to the paper discharge tray 111.

Also, in the double-sided, multiple image formation, the fixing is completed, and the transfer material P that has exited the fixing unit 110 passes through the double-sided, multiple transport path 113 after the double-sided / multiple image formation is selected by the flapper 112,
The sheet is again conveyed to the image forming unit by the conveying rollers 115 and 116 and the registration roller 102. Further, the transfer material P stored in the cassette 117 is supplied by a paper feed roller 119 and transport rollers 120 and 12.
After being conveyed by (1), an image is formed in the same manner as the manual transfer material P described above.

In the above-described electronic copying apparatus 100, since the cassette 117 is attached and detached from the front of the apparatus, a large space for attaching and detaching the cassette is not required on the side of the apparatus.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention Even when the above-mentioned cassette is attached to and detached from the front of the apparatus,
Since there is a manual feed tray 101 on the side of the device,
The installation place of the device is restricted.

The present applicant provides a manual feed port on the front surface of the apparatus, supplies a manual sheet material from the front face to the double-sided / multi-conveying path 114 from the front side, and saves the right space of the apparatus, and shares the double-sided / multi-conveying path. A manual paper feeder that does not increase the height of the device has been proposed (not disclosed at the time of filing; Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-1217).
No. 74).

However, since the conveying path of the manual sheet feeding and the double-sided / multiple conveying path 114 must share the conveying path at a right angle, a complicated separation mechanism that separates and conveys each conveying means, for example, the sheet feeding roller pair, depending on the conveying direction. In addition to the need for providing a contacting means and, if necessary, complicated switching means for switching the shared transport path depending on the transport direction, the manual transfer material P
There is a problem that it is necessary to close the opening for inserting the cover from the viewpoint of safety and appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily and inexpensively solve the above-mentioned problems by using a cover member of a manual feed slot and an opening and closing operation thereof.

(D) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and is provided in an apparatus main body, and is configured to convey a sheet material to an image forming unit of the apparatus main body. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a manual feed path for feeding a manual sheet material inserted from a manual feed port provided on a front surface of the apparatus from a direction orthogonal to the main body feed path. A part of the path is a main body conveying position where the main body conveying path conveys the sheet material to the image forming unit, and a plane different from the main body conveying position and for manually receiving a manual sheet material from the manual conveying path. And a cover member for opening and closing the manual feed slot; and moving the movable guide portion to the manual feed position when the cover member is opened; and And interlocking means for moving the moving guide portion to the main body carrying position when closed over member, characterized in that it comprises.

(E) Operation Based on the above configuration, when forming an image on a normal sheet material fed from a cassette or the like, the manual feed port is closed by the cover member. In this state, the movement guide portion is at the main body transport position in conjunction with the cover member, and the sheet material is transported to the image forming means through the main body transport path to form an image, for example, in the case of double-sided or multiple copying. You.

On the other hand, when attempting to insert a manual sheet material from the manual feed slot on the front of the apparatus, the cover member is opened, the manual feed slot is opened, and the movement guide portion is moved to the manual feed position in conjunction with the cover member. Be moved. In this state,
The manual sheet material is conveyed from the manual conveyance path to the moving guide section, and in this state, by closing the cover member, the moving guide section is moved to the main body conveying position, and at the main body conveying position. Then, the image is conveyed to the image forming means via the main body conveyance path to form an image.

(F) Example Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, referring to FIG. 3, a process of forming an image on the transfer material P stored in the front loading type cassette 2 of the copying apparatus 1 embodying the present invention will be described.

When the transfer material P at the top of the cassette 2 is separated and fed by the pickup roller 3, the transfer material P is transported to the registration roller 6 by the transport rollers 4 and 5. Synchronized and positioned with the image formed on the drum 7 by the registration roller 6,
The transfer material P is transported at a predetermined timing. Then, the image on the drum 7 is transferred to the transfer material P by the transfer charger 9, and the transfer material P is separated from the drum 7 by the separation charger 10 and sent to the transport unit 11. Thereafter, the image on the transfer material P is fixed by the fixing unit 12, and is discharged onto the discharge tray 15 by the discharge roller 13.

When making multiple copies on both sides or one side of the transfer material P, the transfer material P is sent to the two-sided path 19 by the forward / reverse rotation of the flapper 17 and the discharge roller 13, and furthermore, the re-feeding conveyance path (main body) The transfer sheet P is again sent to the registration roller 6 by the re-feed roller 20 via the guide plates 33 and 35 constituting a part of the conveyance path, and a predetermined copying operation is performed.

 Next, details of manual paper feed will be described.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 denotes a manual feed opening, and a manual feed tray 22, which is a cover member for closing the opening 21, is supported by a shaft 23 and is rotatable in the direction of arrow A. A manual feed driven roller 25 is attached to the lower portion of the manual feed tray 22 by being urged inward by a spring 26.
At the lower end of the tray, a side projection 27 is provided.
22 A manual paper feed drive roller 29 is provided in the device 1 at a position where it is pressed against the roller 25 when opened in the horizontal state (the position indicated by the dashed line), and is driven by a drive source (not shown). I have. Further, a detection member 30 for the reference end (front end) of the transfer material P is pivotally supported by the apparatus 1 in front of the drive roller 29, and an interrupter for detecting the reference end of the transfer material P by the movement of the detection member 30. 31 are arranged. Also,
An opening / closing detecting means 32 is attached to the apparatus 1 so as to detect whether the upper end of the manual feed tray 22 is closed or opened.
When the close is detected, a manual paper feed prohibition command is issued and a command to enable paper feed from the cassette 2 is issued.

When held in a horizontal state, the guide plates 33 and 35 of the transfer material P which are located at a position lower than the upper surface of the manual feed tray 22 when the center plane is opened are integrally formed and provided at the rear end. Pin 35 with the bracket 35a fixed to the device 1
It is pivoted to 5. Therefore, the guide plates 33 and 35 forming a part of the main body transport path form a moving guide portion. Then, when the manual feed guide 22 is opened, the protrusion 27 pushes up the front side of the guide plate 35 so that the entrance of the center plane of the guide plates 33, 35 is substantially the same as the guide surface of the opened manual feed guide 22. It is designed to hold at the same height. Therefore, when the cover member is opened, the protrusions 27
Is moved to the manual feed position, and when the cover member is closed, the guide plate is linked to the main body transfer position.

Reference numeral 37 denotes a main body transport drive roller, which is driven by a drive source (not shown), and is rotatably attached to the apparatus 1 in the front-rear direction of the apparatus 1. A pressing roller 39 is mounted on the upper surface of the guide plate 33 so as to be able to retreat above the guide plate 33 when the guide plate 33 is tilted (opposed to the driving roller 37).
A mechanism for retracting the guide plate 39 upward from the guide plate 33 is a mechanism that turns on the guide plate 33 by tilting the guide plate 33 and raises the pressing roller 39 by using a solenoid or the like, or a mechanism that pivots the guide plate 33 to the apparatus 1 when the guide plate 33 tilts. Various mechanisms can be applied, such as a mechanism that lifts the arm thus mounted and attaches the pressing roller 39 to this arm).

Reference numeral 40 denotes a guide provided at the side end of the manual feed tray 22 for guiding the side end of the manual transfer material P.

Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, when the manual feed tray 22 serving as the cover member is opened from the manual feed opening 21, the open / close detecting means 32 is turned off, and the pickup roller 3 of the cassette 2 is stopped. The feeding from the cassette 2 is prohibited, and the integrated guide plates 33 and 35 are tilted by the protrusions 27 so that the center surface thereof faces the upper surface of the entrance manual feed tray 22,
In addition, the main body transport drive roller 37 is retracted outward (downward) from the guide plate 35, and the pressing roller 39 is located at least a little from the lower surface of the guide plate 33, so that the manual transfer material P is smoothly guided by the guide plate 33, While you can move between 35,
The manual feed driven roller 25 is pressed against the drive roller 29.

Next, the manual transfer material P is placed in a manual
When the transfer material P is inserted along the guide 40, the leading end of the transfer material P presses the detecting member 30 to turn on the interrupter 31 to detect that the transfer material P has been inserted, and the sheet feed drive roller 29 Rotates to convey the transfer paper P. Then, when the detection member 30 is lowered at the rear end (reference end) of the transfer paper P, the interrupter 31 is turned off, and the signal from the interrupter 31 is turned off.
Stops at the transport reference line 41 of the main body transfer material P.

Next, when the manual feed tray 22 is closed, the guide plates 33, 35
Is in the horizontal position, the rollers 37 and 39 pinch the transfer paper P, and the manual feed driven roller 25 is retracted from the transport path,
Further, the open / close detecting means 32 is turned on, and the drive roller 37 is rotated by the signal, whereby the manual transfer material P is conveyed for image formation.

As shown in FIG. 4, the manual feed tray 22 is integrated with its support shaft 23, and the shaft 23 is rotated forward and reverse by a motor 42 to open and close, so that manual feed and main body feed are performed. Is also good.

(G) Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the manual insertion tray is provided on the front of the apparatus, so that a manual paper feed tray projecting in the lateral direction of the apparatus is not required, and the installation space efficiency of the image forming apparatus is reduced. Although a part of the main body conveyance path is used as a movement guide part, the movement guide part is moved between the main body conveyance position and the manual feeding position by opening and closing the cover member, so that the apparatus itself is large-sized. Can be prevented.

Further, when the sheet guide is conveyed along the main body conveyance path with the movement guide portion set to the main body conveyance position, the cover member is located at a position where the manual feed slot is closed, thereby preventing danger and improving the appearance. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a copying machine embodying the present invention, FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional front view of FIG. 2, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional front view of a conventional copying apparatus. 2: sheet material storage unit (cassette), 3: paper feeder (pickup roller), 19: main body transport path (double-sided / multi-pass), 21: manual feed port, 22: cover member, manual feed path (manual tray), 25, 29: manual paper feeder (manual paper feed driven roller, manual paper feed drive roller), 27: interlocking member (projection), 32: switching means (open / close detection means), 33, 35: moving guide part (guide) Plate, guide plate), 40: guide member (guide), P: sheet material (transfer material).

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Agency reference number FI Technical display location G03G 15/00 514 G03G 15/00 514

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A main body conveying path provided in the apparatus main body for conveying a sheet material to image forming means of the apparatus main body; and a manual sheet material inserted from a manual insertion slot provided on a front surface of the apparatus. An image forming apparatus comprising: a manual conveyance path for conveying the sheet material from a direction orthogonal to the conveyance path, wherein the main body conveyance path conveys a part of the main body conveyance path to the image forming unit. A transporting position, a moving guide portion that is formed of a plane different from the main body transporting position and is movable to a manual feeding position for receiving a manual sheet material from the manual feeding path, and a cover member that opens and closes the manual feeding opening; A moving unit that moves the movement guide unit to the manual feed position when the cover member is opened, and moves the movement guide unit to the main body transfer position when the cover member is closed. An image forming apparatus comprising: a means.