JP2571696B2 - Electrophotographic equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is configured such that an upper main body and a lower main body can be divided and opened along a recording material conveyance path, for example, in order to facilitate jam processing and other maintenance. The present invention relates to a copier, a printer, a facsimile machine, or an electrophotographic apparatus functioning as a duplicator thereof, particularly in a face-down state while passing a recording material after image fixing through a reversing conveyance path formed downstream of a fixing unit. The present invention relates to an electrophotographic apparatus discharged to an upper surface side of the apparatus.

[Prior art] Conventionally, an upper body and a lower body are configured to be able to be divided and opened substantially along a recording material conveying path from a recording material feeding section to a discharging section, and a jam occurring on the conveying path or an internal 2. Description of the Related Art A split-body type electrophotographic apparatus for facilitating maintenance work of various parts is well known.

On the other hand, in order to automate the page alignment and reduce the installation area of the apparatus, a projection is provided on the downstream side of the fixing means arranged on the lower end side in the apparatus, facing the concave inner wall surface formed on the upright apparatus side wall. A face-down method in which an arc-shaped conveyance guide is arranged and the recording material after image fixing is reversed along a reversal conveyance path formed between the two, and is discharged onto a tray formed on the top side of the apparatus. Is also known.

In order to facilitate connection of the drive system in the main body split type electrophotographic apparatus, a so-called horizontal opening structure having a rotation fulcrum generally on either the paper feed side or the paper discharge side of the recording material transport path is used. In the face-down type electrophotographic apparatus, the reversing conveyance path is formed along the apparatus side wall on the downstream side of the fixing device. Is provided, the reversing conveyance path is located near the rotation fulcrum, so that the conveyance path is not substantially opened. Since the reverse transport path is formed so as to stand substantially vertically along the apparatus side wall, when the entire reverse transport path is to be opened, the reverse transport path is formed on the apparatus side wall on the upper main body side which is divided and opened. Concave arc-shaped inner wall faces convex arc located on the lower body side Collides with feeding guide member, the entire surface opening of the transport path becomes impossible.

For this reason, as shown in, for example, JP-A-62-187866, a device side wall having a concave inner wall surface located on the lower body side is formed rotatably separately from the opened upper body. There has been proposed a technique in which only the transport path is independently divided and opened by the rotation of the roller.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" However, since the reversing runway is formed over substantially the entire side wall from the lower side of the apparatus to the upper surface of the apparatus, the side wall of the apparatus will be opened as described above. Regardless of whether the pivot point is provided at the lower end side of the side wall or at the upper end side, the pivot radius is large in any case, and it must be configured so that the opening direction can be opened outward. Therefore, a considerably large extra space must be set on the side where the partition is opened, and the actual installation area increases.

Now, in an apparatus having a reversing conveyance path, it is necessary to turn the recording material conveyed in the horizontal direction to the fixing position in the vertical direction along the side wall of the apparatus. However, a lot of jams are likely to occur on the downstream side of the fixing unit or on the entrance side of the reversing conveyance path. On the other hand, when the side wall of the apparatus is rotated as in the above-described conventional technique, the lower end of the mounting is operable and safe. It is preferable to provide a rotation fulcrum on the side of the device. However, if the rotation fulcrum is provided at the lower end of the mounting, the jam clearance on the entrance side of the transport path cannot be performed unless the opening angle of the side wall of the apparatus is made considerably large. Yes, and still have problems.

In view of the drawbacks of the related art, the present invention achieves a substantial reduction in the installation area of the electrophotographic apparatus, and in the reversing conveyance path, particularly, the recording material generated near the entrance of the reversing conveyance path from the image fixing position. An object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic apparatus that facilitates jam processing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a configuration in which a pair of fixing rollers can be easily exposed in conjunction with the divisional opening of the reverse conveyance path, thereby facilitating a jam process occurring in the fixing device. Provide photographic equipment.

“Means for Solving the Problems” The present invention provides an electrophotographic apparatus in which an upper main body and a lower main body can be divided and opened around a rotation fulcrum provided on a paper feed side in order to achieve such a technical problem. Wherein a reversing conveyance guide for guiding the recording material after image fixing to the upper surface side while reversing the recording material is disposed on the lower main body facing the apparatus side wall, and after the upper main body is opened, the conveyance guide is provided. The present invention proposes an electrophotographic apparatus in which an essential component is that it can rotate in the same rotation direction as the upper body.

According to such a technical means, for example, since the reverse transport guide body is disposed on the lower main body side, first, the upper main body is opened around the rotation fulcrum provided on the paper feed side. First, an inversion conveyance path on the outlet side formed between the apparatus side wall surface located on the upper main body side and the conveyance guide body is opened, and then the conveyance guide body is rotated toward the paper supply side. The reversal conveyance path on the entrance side formed between the apparatus side wall surface located on the lower main body side and the conveyance guide body is opened, and as a result, the entire area of the reversal conveyance path is opened by the two-stage divisional opening. .

The direction of rotation of the transport guide body is rotatable in the same direction as the upper main body. In other words, the guide is rotated toward the center without rotating toward the apparatus side wall (outward). In addition, there is no need to provide an extra space outside the side wall of the device as in the prior art, and a substantial reduction in installation area is achieved.

Further, since the guide functions as an inner peripheral side guide of the reversing conveyance path, the radius of curvature is smaller than that of the concave guide surface formed on the side wall side, and as a result, the turning radius is also smaller. As a result, it is possible to rotate sufficiently without opening the upper main body greatly, and both safety and operability are improved.

Further, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the conveyance guide body is formed so as to be able to face the fixing roller opposing peripheral surface for performing image fixing, and the confronting portion is formed by the rotation of the conveyance guide body. By being configured to be separable, the transport guide body functions as a cover for the fixing roller pair, and the cover is not required, and the peripheral surface of the fixing roller pair can be easily exposed by rotating the transport guide body. As a result, the jam generated on the exit side of the fixing roller pair can be easily removed.

Further, the present invention is configured such that one roller of a pair of fixing rollers for fixing an image is connected to the conveying guide, and the fixing roller pair can be opened following the rotation of the conveying guide. This also allows the fixing roller pair to be opened in addition to the above-described effects, so that a jam generated on the entrance side of the fixing roller pair can be easily dealt with.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be illustratively described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, unless otherwise specified, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto, but are merely illustrative examples. It's just

First, the schematic configuration of the laser printer according to this embodiment
An upper main body A, a lower main body B, and a lower main body which can be divided and opened substantially along a recording paper conveyance path around a rotation fulcrum C provided on a paper supply side wall portion will be described with reference to the entire cross-sectional view of FIG. B comprises a control unit D disposed in a storage space formed below.

The upper main body A is composed of an upper frame body 1 that fixedly or detachably supports various members to be described later and an upper cover body 2 that substantially conceals an upper space of the frame body 1. Rotating polygon mirror and other optical scanning means 3
On the lower surface side, a developing unit 4 is detachably mounted along a guide groove 1a of the frame body 1, and is disposed facing the developing unit 4, and is detachably mounted along another guide groove 1b of the frame body 1. Having a freely mounted drum unit 5 and the like,
The drum unit 5 houses a photosensitive drum 5a, a cleaning member 5b, a charger 5c, and the like, and the upper drum A is opened when the upper main body A is divided and opened by the urging force of a coil spring 6 fixed to the frame body 1. When the upper main body A is closed and the upper main body A is closed, the drum shaft 5d is fitted to the U-shaped support 31 provided on the lower main body B side, and can be positioned at a predetermined position by the urging force of the coil spring 6. Is configured.

In addition, the upper cover body 2 forms a concave arc-shaped upper discharge guide surface 25 which forms a part of a discharge unit 20 described later on the discharge side wall surface, and has a concave slope on the outlet side of the discharge guide surface 25. A discharge tray section 2a formed in this way is provided.

On the other hand, on the lower body B side, along the recording paper transport path, a recording paper storage table 7, a paper feed roller 8, and a friction plate 9a
A paper feed separator 9 for pressing the friction plate 9a onto the peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 8 by a leaf spring, a registration roller 10 for guiding the recording paper fed by the separator 9 to a transfer position at a predetermined timing, A transfer unit 11 arranged facing the lower peripheral surface of the body drum 5a, a transport guide 12 formed on the upper surface side of the lower frame body 1, and a fixing roller 13a for thermally fixing an unfixed toner image
And a fixing unit 13 including a pressure roller 13b, and a main part of a sheet discharging unit 20 provided downstream of the fixing unit 13.

The discharge unit 20 includes a concave arc-shaped upper discharge guide surface 25 formed on the discharge side wall surface on the upper main body A side and a discharge arc side wall surface of the lower frame body 14 constituting the lower main body B. A lower discharge guide surface 26 formed on the downstream side of the container 13 and an arc-shaped discharge guide body 21 formed to face the guide surfaces 25 and 26 and rotatably supported by the lower main body B side. And a plurality of transport roller pairs 22, 23 comprising drive rollers 22a, 23a and driven rollers 22b, 23b rotatably supported by the guide surfaces 25, 26 and the paper discharge guide body 21, respectively. . In the drawing, reference numerals 18 and 19 denote position detecting means for detecting the transport position of the recording paper, respectively.

With this configuration, the toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 5a by the optical scanning means 3 and the developing unit 4 is transferred while the recording paper deposited on the recording paper storage table 7 is transported along the recording paper transport path. After the image is transferred onto the recording paper by the device 11, the toner image is inserted into the fixing device 13 via the conveyance guide 12, and the unfixed toner image is fixed. Further, the recording paper on which the image is fixed by the fixing device 13 is provided at an arbitrary position thereof while being inserted into a reversing conveyance path formed between the paper ejection guide surfaces 25 and 26 and the paper ejection guide body 21. Transport roller pair 2
While being conveyed following the rotation of 2, 23, the paper is discharged to the mounting upper surface side and discharged to the tray portion 2a formed on the upper cover body 2.

Next, the configuration of the paper discharge guide body 21 as the gist of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

The paper discharge guide body 21 has a bow shape as described above,
Drive rollers 22a and 22b are rotatably supported on the upper end and the lower peripheral surface of the arcuate surface 211 facing the paper ejection guide surfaces 25 and 26, respectively, and the inner fixing on the back side of the arcuate surface 211. The lower portion 212 facing the one peripheral surface of the roller 13a is concavely formed in an L shape so as to function as a part of a cover body of the fixing device 13.

The horizontal portion 212a of the L-shaped portion 212 extends in the horizontal direction on the paper feed side, and the distal end side of the horizontal portion 212a is rotatably supported by the lower body B, and rotates in the same rotation direction as the upper body A. A separation claw 16 is attached to the lower side of the L-shaped portion 212 so as to be in contact with the peripheral surface of the fixing roller 13a.

In the figure, reference numeral 17 denotes a fixing cover fixed to the lower main body B so as to cover the entrance side of the fixing roller 13a.

According to this technical means, for example, since the reverse transport guide body 21 is disposed on the lower main body B side, first, the upper main body A is opened around the rotation fulcrum C provided on the paper feed side. As a result, the reversing conveyance path on the exit side formed between the paper ejection guide surface 25 located on the upper main body A side and the conveyance guide body 21 is opened, and the space above the conveyance guide body 21 is rotated. It is opened to the extent that it can be moved.

In this state, the transport guide body 21 is rotated toward the paper supply side, so that the paper ejection guide surface located on the lower body B side.
The reverse transport path on the entrance side formed between 26 and the transport guide body 21 is opened, and as a result, the entire reverse transport path is opened by the two-stage divisional opening.

Further, the L-shaped portion 212 formed as a cover body of the fixing roller 13a formed on the rear side by the rotation of the transport guide body 21 is also separated from the peripheral surface of the fixing roller 13a, so that the peripheral surface of the fixing roller 13a is The jam that occurs at the exit of the fixing device 13 as a result of the exposure can be easily treated.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the conveying guide body is used.
The fixing roller 13a and the fixing cover 27 are integrally connected to the fixing cover 21 ', and the upper end of the fixing cover 27 further extends in the horizontal direction on the paper feed side.
A pivot point 28 for rotating the shaft is provided. According to this embodiment, by rotating the conveyance guide body 21 ′ about the shaft fulcrum 28, the fixing roller 13 a and the press-contact roller 13 b are opened following the rotation of the guide body 21, Jams generated on the entrance side of the fixing device 13 can be easily processed.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the electrophotographic apparatus can be substantially reduced in installation area, and can be generated in the reverse transport path, especially near the entrance of the reverse transport path from the image fixing position. In addition to the simplification of the jam handling of the recording material,
It is possible to easily expose the fixing roller pair in conjunction with the divisional opening of the reversing conveyance path, thereby facilitating the removal of a jam occurring in the fixing device.
And so on.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 and 2 show a laser printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an overall sectional view of the laser printer, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view showing a configuration of a main part of a sheet discharging unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An electrophotographic apparatus in which an upper main body and a lower main body are configured to be able to be divided and opened around a pivot point provided on a paper feed side, and inverting a recording material after fixing an image to an upper surface side of the apparatus. The transport guide body is disposed on the lower body side facing the apparatus side wall, and after opening the upper body, the transport guide body is configured to be rotatable in the same rotation direction as the upper body. Electrophotographic equipment 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveying guide body is formed so as to be able to face the peripheral surface of the fixing roller for fixing the image, and the facing part is configured to be separated from the peripheral surface of the fixing roller by rotating the conveying guide body. An electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1. 3. A patent wherein one of a pair of fixing rollers for fixing an image is connected to the conveying guide body, and the fixing roller pair can be opened following the rotation of the conveying guide body. The electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1.