JP2896245B2 - Output tray - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper discharge tray of an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 4, an image forming apparatus main body 1 is used as a sheet discharging tray for receiving and storing a large amount of recorded sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a printer or an electrophotographic copying machine. A paper discharge tray 3 is attached below the paper discharge roller 2 and a side wall 4 is provided on both sides of the paper discharge tray 3 from the upper surface of the paper discharge tray to a level slightly higher than the paper discharge roller 2. In some cases, sheets ejected from the sheet ejection roller 2 can be stacked.

[0003] In this case, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-201262 discloses a method for causing the paper discharged from the paper discharge roller 2 to quickly settle on a tray 3 at a substantially predetermined position. As shown, an air suction port 5 is provided in the side wall of the image forming apparatus main body 1 between the lower edge of the paper discharge port of the paper discharge roller 2 and the mounting portion of the paper discharge tray 3, and the duct 6 and the exhaust fan 7 are provided. The apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 10-101130 allows the air to be exhausted to the outside of the apparatus main body via the paper discharge roller 2 so that the air between the sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge roller 2 and the tray 3 or a sheet bundle stacked thereon can be quickly removed. Have been. However, with this device,
An exhaust fan is required, and space for it is required in the device.

Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 61-206551 discloses a vertical air vent hole 8 extending from the tray surface to the vicinity of the upper end of the side wall of the paper discharge tray 3 as shown in FIG.
When the air below the paper discharged from the paper discharge roller 2 is pressed by the weight of the paper, the air is quickly removed from the air vent hole 8 and falls on the paper tray or the bundle of paper stacked thereon. A discharge paper mounting table adapted to arrive is disclosed.

However, in this apparatus, since a plurality of air holes 8 are provided in the side wall in the vertical direction, the corners at the leading end of the paper discharged from the paper discharge roller 2 are easily caught in the air holes 8 and are caught. In order to prevent this, the width of the discharge tray 3 needs to be wider by about 10 mm to 20 mm on one side than the maximum discharge width.

Using a circulating automatic document feeder, a set of copied sheets is repeated a plurality of times, and a discharge roller is moved left and right for each set of sheets to be discharged, so that a sheet bundle is set for each set. In the case of journalizing by discharging to positions shifted from each other, see FIG.
As shown in the figure, the distance between the side walls is 10 mm to 20 mm on each side of the sum of the axial movement amount d of the discharge roller and the maximum paper width B.
It is necessary to have a margin of mm.

[0007] Due to the above margin, there is a problem that the horizontal alignment during stacking is deteriorated.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention addresses the above-mentioned problems of the conventional discharge tray having a considerable distance from the discharge port to the discharge tray mounting portion and having side walls on both sides of the discharge tray. An object of the present invention is to provide a discharge tray in which corners of a sheet are not caught in air holes provided in a side wall and a side wall, and variations in the lateral direction of sheets during stacking are small.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to a paper discharge tray having the above-mentioned structure, wherein the horizontal width of the slope extends in the vertical direction on both side walls on both sides of the paper discharge tray. It is characterized in that it has a surface having saw-tooth irregularities longer than the upstream side or the downstream side in the direction and air holes are provided in the wall surface over substantially the entire height.

[0010]

Since the paper discharge tray of the present invention is constructed as described above, the paper discharged from the paper discharge rollers is guided by the convex portions of the saw-toothed irregularities on the side walls on both sides of the tray, and is conveyed to the tip of the tray. Then, the air under the sheet quickly escapes from the air hole and falls onto the tray or a sheet bundle thereon.

Since the air holes in the side walls are provided on the slopes of the serrated uneven surface, the corners of the sheet are not caught, and the margin between the sheet and the sheet discharge width can be reduced. The alignment becomes better.

Further, the sheet stack is formed by inclining so that the distance between the tips of the projecting portions on both side walls becomes slightly narrower toward the tip than the tray mounting portion, and the difference from the maximum discharge width at the tip is reduced. Are improved in the width direction.

If the air holes are provided on the slope on the upstream side of the serrated uneven surface, the opening area can be increased.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the paper discharge tray described in FIG. Sidewalls 4 provided on both sides of the paper ejection tray 3 inclined forward have a sawtooth horizontal cross section, and an air hole 8 is provided on the slope of each tooth from the upper surface of the tray to approximately near the upper end of the sidewall 4. Have been.

In this embodiment, the shape of the saw-tooth unevenness 10 on the side wall 4 is such that the upstream side in the paper discharging direction indicated by an arrow is inclined with respect to the paper discharging direction, and the downstream side is a shape perpendicular to the paper discharging direction. ing. Teeth height (horizontal projection) 2-6mm
If the width of the air hole 8 in the sheet discharging direction is set to about 1/2 of the width a of the projection, the corner of the leading edge of the sheet guided by the leading end of the sawtooth-shaped projection is caught. It is not. In addition, by providing the air holes 8 on the inclined side of the teeth, a large opening area can be obtained, which is useful for improving air escape. In this embodiment, since there is no possibility that the corner of the leading end of the sheet is caught by the air hole 8 as described above, the margin of the side wall gap with respect to the maximum sheet discharging width may be small, 3 to 5 mm at the inlet side, and the tray leading side. Of 1 to 2 mm is sufficient, and the stackability of the paper is improved.

FIG. 3 shows the size of the tray when the paper discharge roller 2 is discharged by shifting the paper discharge roller 2 to the right and left by a predetermined distance d for each set of papers, as in FIG.
On the side where the tray is attached to the apparatus main body, 3 to 5 mm is added to the sum of the maximum paper discharge width B and the shift amount d of the discharge roller 2 on each side. It is the sum of 1-2 mm on each side.

The discharged sheet is guided and conveyed by the protruding end of the unevenness of the side wall 3, and the air at the lower part of the sheet is removed from the air hole having a sufficient opening area without being caught by the air hole. Settles on the tray or a bundle of sheets placed on the tray. Since the side wall is inclined so that the distance between the side walls becomes smaller toward the tip of the tray, the paper is surely guided along the protruding tip of the unevenness of the side wall, and the horizontal alignment during stacking is excellent. Become.

[0019]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the sheet is discharged, the air under the sheet quickly escapes from the air hole having a sufficient opening area, and the corner of the leading end of the sheet is caught in the air hole. Therefore, the effect of improving the stackability can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a paper discharge tray according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the sawtooth-shaped irregularities on the side wall and good dimensions of air holes.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing good numerical values of the side wall spacing.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing an example of the configuration of a paper discharge tray to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing an example of a conventionally proposed paper discharge tray.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a configuration of another example of a conventionally proposed discharge tray.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a dimensional relationship of a distance between both side walls.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus main body 2 Discharge roller 3 Discharge tray 4 Side wall 8 Air hole 10 Serrated protrusion

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] An image-formed sheet discharged from a sheet discharging means provided in an image forming apparatus main body is attached to a side surface of the image forming apparatus main body so as to be somewhat received below the sheet discharging means so as to receive and store the sheet. And a side wall provided between the upper surface of the tray and slightly above the sheet discharging means over the entire length of both sides of the tray. The side wall extends in the vertical direction, and the slope has a sawtooth-like unevenness in which the horizontal width in the horizontal direction is longer on the upstream side in the sheet discharging direction than on the downstream side, and air holes are provided on the wall surface over substantially the entire height. And the output tray. 2. An interval between the projecting portions of the walls on both sides of the discharge tray is inclined so that the distance from the mounting portion side of the tray becomes slightly smaller toward the front end, and the front end is larger than the maximum discharge width. 2. The discharge tray according to claim 1, wherein the discharge tray is slightly wider. 3. The paper discharge tray according to claim 1, wherein the air holes are provided on an upstream slope of the serrated uneven surface.