JP3273415B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a copying machine, it relates to an image forming equipment such as a facsimile or a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine which has been generally used in the past is always fixed in one direction when viewed from a user, so that the operating direction of the apparatus is limited. In most cases, the installation location was limited to the walls and corners of the room.

[0003] A part of the exterior of the device is openable and closable so that a hand can be inserted into the device if necessary. However, since the opening and closing portion is opened in the operation direction,
When installing these devices, they must always be installed to provide a considerable space in front of the operation.

In recent years, various types of completely new office designs have been proposed that are not restricted to general office layouts. OA equipment such as an image forming apparatus can be operated from anywhere so as to correspond to such a new office design. There is a demand for a new type where the location is not restricted.

[0005] Copiers that do not depend on the operation direction have already been proposed. For example, the copiers described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-74597 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-21946 can rotate the apparatus body freely. The copier is configured to be used by manually rotating the copier in accordance with the operation direction, so that the copier can be operated from anywhere.

[0006]

There are various types of image forming apparatuses such as copiers depending on the frequency and purpose of use, from small to large ones. In order to manually rotate the device (weight: 60 to 90 kg) in the direction in which the user himself / herself wants to operate, a certain amount of force is required, and it takes time and effort to rotate the device. This problem is remarkable in the case of women.

Further, since the image forming apparatus itself has a rectangular parallelepiped or cubic shape, there is a possibility that the corners of the apparatus may inadvertently come into contact with the user, a person near the apparatus, or an object when rotated. However, attention must be paid to the rotation operation, and the smoothness of the rotation operation has been impaired.

Further, since the opening / closing section of the apparatus main body opens in the operation direction, a dead space must be provided on the front side of the apparatus to secure the opening / closing space. When performing internal maintenance work, the opening / closing part opened to the front side hinders the work and impairs the workability.

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of such background, and enables omnidirectional operation, also, Ri FIG improved rotation operability and rotation smoothness of the apparatus main body, and opening and closing of the main body It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of saving space when a part is opened and improving maintenance workability.

[0010]

Above object Means for Solving the Problems The image forming apparatus having a recording means for recording the image information entered as a visible image on a sheet, a body casing which is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, said This is achieved by a first means comprising: a rotation driving means for driving the main body casing to rotate about a central axis of the main casing.

[0011] Further, the object is to provide an image forming apparatus having recording means for recording input image information as a visible image on a sheet, and a first housing for accommodating the recording means and supporting the first housing. A main body housing formed in a substantially cylindrical shape comprising a second housing; and a second housing provided on the second housing.
Rotation driving means for automatically driving the first housing to rotate about the central axis of the main housing on the housing.
This is achieved by two means. Further, the above object is to provide an image forming apparatus having a recording unit for recording input image information as a visible image on a sheet, wherein a main body casing formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and a part of the main body casing outer portion are opened and closed. This is achieved by a third means comprising an opening / closing portion which is freely and formed in a curved surface, and opening / closing means for guiding the opening / closing portion to be able to open and close along the outer surface of the main body housing.

[0012]

[Action] In the first means, the housing of the instrumentation Okimoto body is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, with respect to the operation direction according to the operation direction of the user of the device main body about the central axis of the main housing By automatically rotating, the operability of rotation and the smoothness of rotation are improved.

In the second means, since the rotary drive section is divided from the image recording section main body, simplification of the rotary mechanism in the apparatus main body and adverse effects such as vibrations applied to the image drive section by the rotary drive section are provided. Reduction can be achieved. In the third means, a casing of the apparatus main body is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and an opening / closing part which allows a part of the exterior part of the main body to be freely opened and closed is formed in a curved surface conforming to the substantially cylindrical shape of the main body. Is guided (slidable) in an openable and closable manner along the outer surface of the substantially cylindrical main body housing to save space and improve maintenance workability.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, an apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. An overview of the entire apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. The apparatus mainly includes a document reading unit 1, a rotary discharge tray unit 2, an image forming unit 3, a fixed paper feed unit 4, and a tandem rotary paper feed unit 5.

The document set on the document table 6 is read by the document reading section 1 and converted into a digital signal. A laser beam is emitted from the image writing unit 7 onto the photoconductor 8 of the image forming unit 3 based on the signal. The photoreceptor 8 starts rotating when a copy start signal is input, and the charging charger 9
Is charged to a more uniform potential, is made a latent image by the image writing unit 7, and the image is visualized by the developing device 10. On the other hand, the sheet 12 is conveyed to the registration rollers 15 by the paper feed units 4 and 5, and is fed to the transfer unit at a predetermined timing. Then, the toner is transferred onto the sheet 12 by the transfer charger 11, and thereafter, the photoconductor 8 is cleaned by the cleaning device 13 and is uniformly discharged by the discharge lamp 14, thereby forming one cycle. The sheet 12 is fixed by the fixing device 16 via the transfer device 20 after the transfer, and is discharged to the rotary discharge tray unit 2. This device has a double division structure. That is, the present apparatus includes a base unit 18 to which a caster 17 is added, a document reading unit 1, a rotary discharge tray unit 2, an image forming unit 3, a fixed paper feeding unit 4, and a tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5. And a machine main body 19 having the same. With this configuration, the base section 18 and the machine body section 19
Independent rotation is possible. Further, since the base section 18 and the machine body section 19 can be independently rotated as described above, the apparatus has a cylindrical shape. Of the paper feed unit 21 including the fixed paper feed unit 4 and the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5, the fixed paper feed unit 4
2 and the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 has a rotary tray 23. 24 is a slide rail for sliding each tray, 25 is a drive unit, 26 is a sheet end detection sensor, 27 is a paper feed unit, 29 is a paper feed roller, and 30 is a paper discharge tray.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the image forming apparatus, and FIG.
It is a side view. As mentioned above, the device has a cylindrical shape. This is because the base unit 18 and the machine body unit 19 can rotate independently of each other, as described above. Further, as described later, a rotary paper feed mechanism and a rotary paper discharge mechanism are employed. As shown in the figure, a human body detection switch 31 is attached around the apparatus. This human body detection switch 31 is used for the rotation stop position control of the apparatus body rotation control. By directing the front of the apparatus main body toward the human body detection switch 31 pressed by the operator, the front of the apparatus main body is correctly oriented in the direction of the operator. 4 to 7 are front views showing respective states of the front cover. As shown in FIG. 4, when the front cover 40 is closed, the front cover 40 is flush with the outer peripheral surface of the exterior cover 41. Next, when the front cover 40 is pulled out, the front cover 40 projects from the exterior cover 41 (FIG. 5). Further, the front cover 40 slides along the outer peripheral surface of the exterior (FIG. 6), and an opening 42 is provided after the front cover 40 for removing the user's jam and performing maintenance for a serviceman. (FIG. 7). Since the device has a cylindrical shape, the front cover opening can be configured as a cover slide configuration that opens along the outer peripheral surface of the external cover 41 as the external cover opening / closing configuration as described above. . As a result, this system is more advantageous than the double-opening front cover opening / closing mechanism employed in the conventional box-type copier in terms of space saving, which has been increasingly required in recent years.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are schematic diagrams of the main body rotating mechanism. This apparatus has a double division structure as described above, and has a base section 18 to which a caster 17 is added, a document reading section 1, a rotary discharge tray section 2, an image forming section 3, a fixed sheet feeding section 4, It comprises a machine main body 19 having a tandem rotary paper feeder 5. With this configuration, the base section 18 and the machine body section 19 can be independently rotated. The roller 50 is attached to the machine main body 19 and the base 1
8, the guide groove (not shown) is slid and rotated. The center of rotation is at the center of the machine,
Since the shape of the device is cylindrical, it is the center of the circle when viewed from above. In addition, the drive motor 51 which is the drive source of the rotational motion is:
It is attached to the base portion 18 of the double split structure of the base portion 18 and the machine main body portion 19. The drive transmission from the drive motor 51, which is the drive source of the rotational motion, is performed by the drive spur gear 52 attached to the shaft of the drive motor 51 and the driven spur gear 53 of the machine body 19 outside the drive spur gear 52. I'm sorry. The driving-side spur gear 52 is, for example, a one-piece support in a tighter manner to absorb the eccentricity of the driven inner spur gear 53. Further, the pitch circle diameter of the driven internal spur gear 53 can be made substantially equal to the outer diameter of the main body, so that the use of the reduction gear can be reduced even if the main body rotation torque is large. Further, of the drive spur gear 52 and the driven inner spur gear 53 constituting the drive transmission mechanism from the drive motor 51 which is the drive source of the rotational motion, the drive spur gear 52 is disposed inside. Therefore, the base part 18 is
Since the roller 50 is assembled by aligning the center of rotation of the machine body 19 with a guide groove (not shown) of the base portion 18 when the motor is assembled, the drive transmission is more advantageous than the drive transmission method via a belt.

Next, the outline of the rotary paper feed mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The sheet feeding units 4 and 5 capable of storing one or a plurality of sheet groups 12 are configured such that they can be pulled out of the machine main body 19 by sliding rails 24 on both sides. The rotary tray 23 of the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is configured to be able to be automatically rotated 360 degrees around an arbitrary point of the rotary tray 23 by the driving unit 26, and a lock (not shown) in the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is provided. When the solenoid is turned off, the rotating tray 2
3 can be locked and cannot be rotated. Also,
An arbitrary rotation center axis of the rotation tray 23 corresponds to the machine body 1
9 is perpendicular to the installation surface of the
The rotating tray 23 held horizontally with respect to the installation surface of
Rotational movement can be controlled while maintaining a horizontal state. On the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5, the rotation center of the rotary tray 23 is used as a fulcrum to prevent the sheets 12 from being separated while the rotary tray 23 is rotating and to prevent skew during sheet conveyance. A sheet end surface regulating fence (not shown) and an end fence (not shown) perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction are provided so as to be parallel to the radiation line. The number of sheets that can be stored on the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is determined according to the maximum sheet size that can be stored. For example, two sets can be stored facing each other with the rotation center as a fulcrum, and three sets of small-size paper (A5, B6, HLT, etc.) can be radially stored with the rotation center as a fulcrum. Furthermore, in the case of extremely small size paper, four sets can be stored radially with the rotation center as a fulcrum. Therefore, a plurality of sheet groups can be stored in a single-stage space if small-size paper is used, and one tray can store sheet sizes of 1 to 4 sizes (see FIGS. 12 and 13). In addition, 28a, 28b,
Reference numeral 28c denotes first, second, and third sheet storage units. However, depending on the user, where a medium size sheet is used only or a small size sheet is mainly used, if a single tray can store sheet sizes of 1 to 4 sizes, a sheet separation unit may be used. In addition, the cost is increased by the amount of the fence for regulating the end face of the sheet, and the cost is increased. Therefore, the rotating trays are divided into 1, 2, 3 and 4 sets so that they can be easily removed with screws or retaining rings. The tray can be easily detached so as to be compatible with the type corresponding to. Next, an operation when replenishing the sheet 12 will be described.
The tandem rotary paper supply unit 5 is pulled out from the machine main body unit 19. Since the tandem rotary paper feed section 5 is not connected to the machine main body section 19 by a power cord, a rotary solenoid (not shown) is turned off, and the rotary tray 23 is fixed by a lock lever (not shown). Next, after confirming that the sheet size can be stored in the rotating tray 23, the sheet 12 is replenished after a sheet end surface regulating fence (not shown) is adjusted to the sheet size to be replenished. At this time, the rotating tray 23
For two sets, A3, B4, A4, B5, DLT, R
For G, LT size vertical feed, 1 size, A4, B5, A
5, B6, A6, LT, HLT traverse and A5, B6
A6, HLT size vertical feed is 2 sizes. A5, B6, A6, H for 3 sets, same size and same direction
3 sizes for LT horizontal feed, B6 and A6 vertical feed, A
If one horizontal feed of 4 is used, two sets of A6 regardless of vertical and horizontal feed,
By combining A6 horizontal feed with two sizes for B5 vertical feed, B6 and A6 horizontal feed with B5 horizontal feed and two sizes for A6 vertical feed, one to a plurality of sheets 12 can be mixed and stored. When the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is set in the machine main body 19, the size of a group of sheets stacked on the rotary tray 23 is detected by a size detector (not shown).
The sheet end detection sensor 26 detects whether the sheet 12 is stored in each of the sheet storage units 28a, 28b, and 28c. It should be noted that the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is connected to the machine main body unit 19.
When the paper feed unit 27 is outside the paper feed unit, the paper feed unit 27 and the paper feed roller 29 are kept rotating and retracted. The sheet feeding operation will be described. One tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 in the machine main body 19 is formed as a pair with one paper feed unit 27 (FIG. 1). When the sheet 12 desired by the user is on the tandem rotary paper supply unit 5 but not on the paper supply unit 27 side, a rock solenoid (not shown) of the tandem rotary paper supply unit 5 is turned on, and a rock lever (not shown) is rotated.
The rotating tray 23 is made rotatable. The sheet feeding roller 29 of the sheet feeding unit 27 is released, and the sheet feeding unit 29 is retracted from the tandem rotary sheet feeding unit 5. The rotating tray 23 is rotated by the driving unit 25, and the sheet 12 desired by the user is rotated and moved to the sheet feeding unit 27 side and fixed. Then, the paper supply roller 29 of the paper supply unit 27 is again pressed against the separation unit (not shown) of the tandem rotary paper supply unit 5 to enter the paper supply state.

Next, an outline of the rotary paper discharge mechanism will be described.
FIG. 14 is a plan view of the rotary discharge tray section, and FIG. 15 is a side view of the same. An output tray 30 in a rotary output tray unit 2 provided below the original reading unit 1 in the image forming apparatus
Is completely housed inside the main body, so that there is no portion wider than the main body width on the side of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The paper discharge tray 30 is the first paper discharge tray 30.
The first and second paper discharge trays 302 are divided into two, and each tray can support up to A4 size. In the case of supporting a sheet of a size larger than the A4 size, such as the A3 size, the second discharge tray 302 far from the discharge port is used.
However, it is configured such that it can be raised to a substantially horizontal state by a second paper ejection tray support arm that moves up and down by a drive unit (not shown) (FIG. 15). At this time, the first discharge tray 301 is located on the discharge port 60 side. Also,
A first discharge tray support arm 303 and a second discharge tray support arm 304 that support the two trays 301 and 302 of the discharge tray 30 are attached to a shaft of a drive motor 306 that integrally rotates them. The second paper ejection tray support arm 304 has a divided structure of a fixed portion attached to a motor shaft and a movable portion that performs up and down operations in order to perform up and down operations according to the corresponding sheet size. Further, on the lower surface of the first paper discharge tray 301, a rotation guide rail 31 for guiding the operation when the paper discharge tray unit performs the rotation operation.
0 is provided in a circular shape. Also, the guide rail 310
The mounting motor and the drive motor 306 are all attached to the drawer tray 61. When the paper discharge tray 30 is not operating, the guide members provided on the lower surface thereof are fitted with the guide rails 315 and 316. And can be pulled out smoothly. When a normal copy operation is performed, first, when the first discharge tray 301 is located on the discharge port 60 side, the discharge operation of the rotatable discharge tray 30 is enabled to start the copy operation. At the same time, this position is used as the home position for rotation. If the sheet size is A4 or smaller, the sheets discharged from the paper discharge port 60 of the apparatus main body are sequentially discharged to the first discharge tray 301 as they are. On the other hand, when the size of the sheet to be discharged is A4 size or larger, and the discharge tray 30 is at the home position, the second discharge tray 30 rotatable vertically in the side far from the discharge port 60.
2 is raised to a substantially horizontal position by the support arm 304 and receives the discharged sheet. It is determined that the copying operation for sheets of A4 size or larger has been completed, a sheet presence / absence detection sensor (not shown) provided on the second discharge tray 302 detects that there is no paper, and the drawer tray 61 is at the set home position. Upon detection, the two solenoids (not shown) are turned off, and the second discharge tray support arm 304 is lowered. When the size of the sheet to be discharged is smaller than the A4 size, the discharge tray 30 is rotated to rotate the sheet.
It is possible to sort to the department. Numeral 339 denotes a light at lamp.

Next, an outline of a mechanism related to exhaust heat and ozone removal will be described. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a part around the photoreceptor and the vicinity of the fixing unit, and FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the heat exhaust duct unit. In the image forming process of the electrophotographic apparatus, when charging the photoconductor 8, a voltage is applied to a charging charger 9 provided around the photoconductor 8 to generate corona discharge. At this time, ozone is generated around the charging charger 9. If the ozone generated here stays around the photoreceptor 8 as it is, it adheres to the photoreceptor 8 and eventually deteriorates the photoreceptor surface.
Image quality will be degraded. Therefore, it is desired to remove ozone from around the photoconductor 8. Another problem is the exhaust heat treatment generated by the fixing device 16 for fixing the toner transferred onto the sheet. Fixing device 1
Reference numeral 6 performs a fixing operation by melting the toner on the sheet. At this time, the heater is heated to about 170 to 190 degrees, so that extremely high temperature hot air is generated from around the fixing device 16. Therefore, it is necessary to exhaust the heat to the outside. As shown in the figure, ozone generated from the charging charger 9 is supplied to the common duct 70.
Then, it is sucked by the Shirotsuko fan 71, further sucked by the exhaust heat fan 72, and guided to the common duct 70 by the regulating member together with the exhaust heat from the fixing device 16. In addition, the sucked ozone and exhaust heat are conveyed downward by using a regulating member, and exhaust can be performed from below the apparatus.

Next, the outline of the control mode related technology will be described. First, the main body rotation control will be described. The rotation stop position of the apparatus main body is set so that the front of the apparatus main body is directed toward the human body detection switch 31 pressed by the operator. Thus, the front of the apparatus main body is correctly oriented in the direction of the operator, and the apparatus can be easily accessed from any direction of 360 degrees. In this case, the rotation direction is set to a direction in which the rotation distance is shortened, so that the rotation time can be shortened and the operability is further improved. The control for preventing the power cord from being twisted when the main body is rotated is performed by changing the current home position stored in the non-volatile RAM to the number of rotations of the main body when the front of the main body is rotated to face the operator. According to CP
When the rotation speed is equal to or more than a predetermined number of times by U, the rotation direction is set to a direction in which the power cord is twisted,
This prevents disconnection of the power cord and improves reliability. When the number of rotations is equal to or less than a predetermined number, the operability is improved by setting the rotation distance in a direction of shortening and switching the rotation time so as to shorten the rotation time. Control of rotation prohibition during rotation of the main body will be described.
When the operator requests the rotation of the apparatus main body, the CPU determines whether the state of the apparatus main body is ready or not. When the state is not the ready state, the rotation of the apparatus main body is prohibited, so that the operator can work. This prevents injuries caused by careless rotation when the vehicle is in use and improves safety.

Next, the rotary paper feed control will be described. The selection of a sheet at the time of sheet end and the control of the rotary paper feed unit in the rotary paper feed control will be described. If a sheet of the same size is in another sheet feed stage at the end of the sheet, the sheet feed stage is automatically selected and the copy operation is continued. Furthermore, when sheets of the same size are present in multiple other paper feed stages, the copy operation is not interrupted for sheet supply by automatically selecting the paper feed stage that does not need to be rotated. And improve productivity. When a sheet of the same size is not present in another sheet feeding stage, the rotating sheet feeding section 5 is locked by a locking mechanism, and is rotated when the operator pulls out the sheet, which hinders the sheet replenishing operation. By preventing the paper feed unit 5 from being displaced from the home position when the paper feed unit 5 is returned, the rotary paper feed unit 5 is further rotated by 90 degrees and is directed toward the drawer port, so that the rotary paper feed unit 5 is rotated.
When the user pulls out the sheet, the sheet is turned to the operator, which makes it easier to replenish the sheets. Further, the operability is improved because the amount to be pulled out can be reduced.

Next, the rotation discharge control will be described. A description will be given of the safety control of the rotary discharge unit 2 when the tray is rotated in the rotary discharge control. When the rotation of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 is controlled or the rotation is to be controlled, if a foreign object such as an operator's hand is inserted into the paper discharge port 60, the rotation operation is prohibited to prevent injury. And improve safety. A description will be given of the sorting control of the rotary discharge unit 2 when the tray rotates in the rotary discharge control. When the number of copies is two, the rotation of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 is controlled, and the rotation of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 is alternately stored in the two trays 30a and 30b, thereby realizing a sorting function of two copies. A description will be given of the control of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 after the copy is completed when the tray is rotated in the rotary paper discharge control. After the copy operation is completed, the rotation of the rotary discharge unit 2 is controlled, and the tray 30 of the rotary discharge unit 2 from which the sheet has been discharged is directed to the operator, so that the discharged sheet can be easily taken out. To improve operability. The discharge tray 3 of the rotary discharge unit 2 when changing the sheet size in the rotary discharge control
The control of 0 will be described. By matching the sheet size with the state of the sheet ejection tray 30, the ejected sheets are prevented from scattering, and are easily taken out to improve operability.

Next, the main body rotation mechanism will be described. First, the details of the main body rotation mechanism will be described. 18 is a perspective view of the machine main body and the base, FIG. 19 is a detailed front view of the main body rotating mechanism, FIG. 20 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the base, and FIG. 22 is a plan view of the machine main body. 23 is a front view of the same, FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing the number of teeth and the rotational speed of the meshing gear, and FIG. FIG.
8, as shown in FIG. 19, the rotation center 80 of the machine main body 19 is held so as to be perpendicular to the installation surface 81 of the image forming apparatus, and the machine main body 19 and the base 18 are
Positioning and retaining are performed by a retaining ring 90 at the center of rotation. The machine body 19 can be automatically rotated by a plurality of rollers 50 with respect to the base 82 of the base 18. The electric power required for the image forming process is sent from the outlet in the facility to the image forming apparatus via the power cord 83 and the rotation center 80. Power cord 8
3 is divided into two before passing through the center of the base 82, and one cord 83a is connected to the machine body 19 and the other cord 83b is connected to the base 18 (FIG. 19). A driving mechanism 91 that automatically rotates the machine main body 19 with respect to the base 82 includes:
By holding the noise on the base side, noise that is not directly related to the image forming process is kept away from the user's ears.
The vibration is minimized by its own weight of 9. Also, the machine body 19 is rotated by removing the base 18 having the automatically rotating drive mechanism 91 and attaching the caster 17 to the caster mounting hole 93 and the stand 95 to the stand mounting hole 94 of the apparatus bottom plate 92 instead. It can be changed to a possible type and a fixed (automatic rotation disabled) type (FIGS. 19, 20, and 23). The outer shape of the machine body 19 is a cylindrical shape having a height, so that even when the machine body 19 rotates, it is not necessary to give damage to an adjacent object or a user (by rear-end collision) (FIG. 18). The drive system for automatically rotating the machine main body 19 by a mechanism attached to the base 82 is a drive system using gears. The inner bottom gear 92 is an inner spur gear 53, and the pitch circle diameter 101 is close to the outer shape of the image forming apparatus. By attaching a large object and attaching a small spur gear 52 to the base 82 so as to mesh with the inside of the inner spur gear 53, the heavy machine body 19 can be mounted without installing a speed reducer combining a plurality of gears. The drive motor 51 of the drive source for automatically rotating the drive motor can have a small allowable maximum torque. In addition, the gear driving method can improve the assemblability on the production line. Further, when changing the machine main body portion 19 with respect to the base portion 18 between the auto-rotatable type and the fixed type, the gears are engaged by aligning the axis of the device with the axis of the base, and the retaining ring 90 is merely engaged. Complete with Therefore, the timing belt 96 and the pulley 97
In comparison with a drive system such as a chain and a sprocket, the machine body 19 and the base 18 are combined and the retaining ring 9 is used.
After multiplying zero, the step of stretching the timing belt 96 and the chain within a certain tension can be omitted. In contrast to the gear transmission system, in the case of the chain transmission system using a chain or a timing belt 96, one of the gears cannot be arranged in the other gear, so the upper limit of the reduction ratio is inferior to that of the gear transmission system. If the gear transmission system is used, cost can be reduced while improving productivity (FIGS. 20, 21, 22, and 24). The detection method for automatically rotating the image forming apparatus on the base is such that a filer 98 is disposed on the base 82, and a home position detection sensor 99 is disposed on the machine main body 19 one by one.
The position where 8 is cut is set as the home position, and the amount of rotation of the apparatus therefrom is detected as the number of pulses from the drive motor 51 (FIG. 19). According to a signal from the human body detection switch 31 attached around the apparatus, the apparatus main body rotation control unit
The drive motor 51 is located at the front of the main unit (the position where the operation unit is located).
The number of pulses required to rotate the switch to the position of the human body detection switch 31 that issued the signal is sent, and the rotation of the machine main body 19 is controlled. In addition, 100 is a roller mounting part.

Next, the front cover opening / closing mechanism will be described. 26 is a perspective view of the front cover, FIGS. 27 to 30 are configuration diagrams of each operation state of the front cover locking mechanism, FIG. 31 is a front view showing a sliding mechanism of the front cover, and FIG. 32 is a plan view thereof.
The front cover 40 separates the magnet 110 and the suction plate 111 by the operations of the magnet 110 and the suction plate 111 for holding the cover closed, the cover handle 112 for attaching and detaching the magnet 110, and the cover handle 112. Lever 113, left and right rails 114 and 115 attached to the machine body 19 for guiding the front cover 40 to slide and open, and an arm 1 attached to the front cover 40 for guiding the left and right rails 114 and 115.
16. With the front cover 40 closed, the cover handle 112 is in the state shown in FIG. Front cover 4
When opening 0, if the cover handle 112 is pulled toward the user, the cover handle 112 and the lever 113 rotate around the rotation center 117, and the peeling operation of the magnet 110 and the suction plate 111 is performed (FIGS. 28 to 30). ). Next, the magnet 110 and the suction plate 1 are opened by the opening operation of the cover handle 112.
11 is performed, and the front cover 40 is moved by the arms 116 along the right and left rails 114 and 115 for guiding the same.
And is opened along the outer peripheral surface of the exterior cover 41. As shown in FIG. 32, the left and right rails 114 and 115 include an arc portion along the outer periphery of the machine body 19 and a portion bent slightly inward from the arc portion. As a result, the lever 113 moves the left and right rails 114, 1
When guided by the bent part of the shape of 15,
The front cover 40 is in the closed state, and the left and right rails 114, 11
Since the shape of No. 5 is bent inward, the front cover 40 is flush with the outer peripheral surface of the main body. When the front cover 40 is in the open state, the lever 113 is guided by an arc portion along the outer periphery of the machine main body 19 having the shape of the left and right rails 114 and 115, so that the front cover 40 protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the main body. State. When the front cover 40 is closed, the magnet 1
10 sucks the suction plate 111 and maintains the closed state (FIG. 3).
1, FIG. 32). With this configuration, the front cover 40 can slide along the outer peripheral surface of the outer cover 41. Reference numeral 118 denotes a locus.

Next, the main body rotation stop position control will be described. Control of the stop position during rotation of the machine body 19 will be described. FIG. 33 is a flowchart showing the flow of control of the stop position when the machine body 19 rotates. In step S0, when the human body detection switch 31 arranged on the side of the machine main body 19 is pressed by the operator, S1 is performed.
In the step, there are a plurality of human body detection switches 3 by the CPU.
It detects which switch (point A) of 1 is pressed. In step S2, the volatile RAM is used by the CPU.
From the data stored in the memory, the current human body detection switch 3
It is detected whether the front of the machine body 19 is facing the position (point B) corresponding to 1 and, in step S3, the direction in which the rotation distance becomes clockwise or counterclockwise from the positional relationship between point A and point B. Decide the rotation direction to reduce the rotation time. In step S4, the main body rotation control unit is controlled by the CPU to rotate the machine main body 19 from the point B to the point A in the rotation direction set in step S3, and the operator faces the machine main body 19 toward the operator. Then, in step S5, the volatile RA
The data of M is changed to the data at the current position, and the control ends. By rotating the front of the machine main body 19 to the position of the human body detection switch 31 pressed by the operator, the front of the machine main body 19 is directed toward the operator, so that the apparatus can be easily mounted in any direction from 360 degrees. Can be accessed. In this case, since the rotation direction is set to a direction in which the rotation distance becomes shorter, the rotation time can be reduced, and the operability is further improved.

Next, control for preventing the power cord 83 from kinking when the machine body 19 rotates will be described. FIG. 34 is a flowchart showing a flow of control for preventing the power cord 83 from kinking when the machine main body 19 rotates. In step S10, when the human body detection switch 31 arranged on the side surface of the machine body 19 is pressed by the operator, the process proceeds to step S10.
At step 11, the CPU detects which of the plurality of human body detection switches 31 (point A) has been pressed. Next, in step S12, the volatile R is determined by the CPU.
From the data stored in the AM, it is detected which of the human body detection switches 31 (point B) the front of the machine body 19 is currently facing. In step S13, the CPU detects from the data in the nonvolatile RAM which direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) is currently rotating from the home position of the rotation of the machine main body 19 (n times), and then proceeds to step S14. Then, the CPU determines whether or not the number of rotations is equal to or more than a predetermined number of times (for example, three times). If the number of rotations is equal to or more than the predetermined number of times, the rotation direction is preferentially determined to be opposite to the current rotation direction and the power cord 83 Is prevented from further twisting, and when the number of rotations is less than a predetermined number of times, the rotation direction is determined to be clockwise or counterclockwise from the positional relationship between point A and point B, so that the rotation distance is reduced, thereby shortening the rotation time. I do. S
In step 15, the CPU controls the main body rotation control unit, and from the point B to A in the rotation direction set in step S 14.
The machine body 19 is rotated to a point, and the front of the machine body 19 is turned toward the operator. Then, in step S16, the current rotational speed from the home position is stored in the nonvolatile RAM, and further in step S17, the volatile RAM is used.
Is changed to the data at the current position, and the control ends. As described above, when rotating the front of the machine body 19 to face the operator, the current rotation number of the machine body 19 from the home position is detected from the data stored in the nonvolatile RAM. When the number of rotations is equal to or more than a predetermined number by the CPU according to the number of rotations, the power cord 8
The rotation direction is set to the direction in which the kinks 3 are returned to prevent the power cord 83 from being excessively twisted and disconnected, thereby improving reliability. When the rotation number is equal to or less than a predetermined number, the rotation distance is shortened. The operability is improved by setting the direction and switching so as to shorten the rotation time.

Next, the control of the rotation prohibition during the rotation of the machine body 19 will be described. FIG. 35 is a flowchart showing the flow of control of rotation prohibition when the machine body 19 rotates. In step S20, assuming that the operator presses the human body detection switch 31 arranged on the side surface of the machine main body 19 and a rotation request is issued, in step S21, the CPU determines whether the current state of the apparatus is a ready state in which a copy operation is possible. In step S22, the status of the apparatus is "copying", or the ready state is detected due to a door open detection sensor (not shown) provided at each opening for jam processing or toner supply. If it is determined that the state is not the state, the rotation of the machine main body 19 is prohibited in step S23. Conversely, S22
When the CPU determines that the current state of the apparatus is a ready state in which copying can be performed in step S23, the rotation of the machine main body 19 is permitted in step S23, and the flow chart shown in FIG. 33 or FIG. 34 is followed. Then, the machine main body 19 is rotated and the front of the machine main body 19 is turned toward the operator. As described above, when the operator issues a request to rotate the machine body 19, the CPU determines whether the apparatus is in a ready state in which copying can be performed or is not in the ready state. Rotation is prohibited to prevent injury to the operator due to careless rotation while the operator is working, thereby improving safety.

Next, control of the stop position after the rotation of the machine main body 19 is completed will be described. FIG. 36 is a flowchart showing the flow of control of the stop position after the rotation of the machine body 19 is completed. Assuming that the rotation of the machine main body 19 has been performed in step S30, in step S31, access to some form of device is performed by a timer, for example, input to the key input unit of the operation unit, contact with the human body detection switch 31, and the like. The idle time (T) is detected, and in step S32, it is determined by the CPU whether the inaccessible time (T) has passed for a predetermined time or more, and the inactive time (T) has elapsed for the predetermined time or more. When there is no access, the time without access continues to be detected, but when the time without access (T) has passed a predetermined time or more, the process proceeds to step S33, where the CPU controls the main body rotation control unit to control the machine main body. The part 19 is rotated to return to the home position and the power cord 83 is twisted.

As described above, when there is no access such as an input for a predetermined period of time after rotating the machine main body 19, the power cord 83 is twisted by rotating the machine main body 19 and returning to the home position. To prevent the power cord 83 from being twisted and cut, thereby improving reliability.

Next, the rotary paper feed mechanism will be described in detail.
FIG. 37 is a plan view showing an example of the rotating tray, and FIG.
39 is a front view showing the relationship between the rotating tray and the retaining ring, FIG. 40 is the same plan view, FIG. 41 is a front view showing the relationship between the rotating tray and the screw, and FIG. 42 is the rotating tray. 43 is a block diagram showing a locked state, FIG. 43 is a block diagram showing a rotating tray in a non-locked state, FIG. 44 is an explanatory diagram showing dimensions of sheets, and FIG.
Is an explanatory diagram showing the dimensions of the sheet storage portion, FIG. 46 is a configuration diagram of the rotary solenoid in an off state, FIG. 47 is a configuration diagram in the middle of turning on, FIG. 48 is a configuration diagram of the same after turning on, and FIG. FIG. 50 is a perspective view of the drive mechanism, and FIG. 50 is an explanatory view showing a size that can be stored in the sheet storage unit. Although these drawings partially overlap with those described above with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11 described above, description will be made.
Rotary tray 23 that can store single and multiple sheet groups
In the structure in which the rotating tray 23 can be pulled out of the machine main body 19 to the outside of the main body by the driving unit 25, the rotating tray 23 is moved three times with respect to the paper feeding unit 27 around an arbitrary point in the paper feeding unit.
The spring 121 is automatically rotated by 60 degrees, and when the rotary solenoid 120 in the rotary tray 23 is turned off, the spring 121 is turned off.
Acts to rotate the lock lever 122 so that the rotating tray 23 cannot rotate with respect to the base 123 (FIG. 1).
0, FIG. 11, FIG. 42, FIG. 43). 37 and 38, 130a, 130b, and 130c are the rotating trays 23.
A bottom plate having a rotation center on the rotation center side of the outer shape side of 1
31a, 131b, and 131c are size detecting units for notifying the control unit of the machine body of the size of the stored sheets, and 132a, 132b, and 132c are for feeding the sheets to the image forming unit while separating and feeding the sheets one by one. Separation part of 133
Is a rotating tray H. P is shown. The number of sheet groups that can be stored in the rotating tray 23 is determined according to the maximum sheet size that can be stored. Machines currently on the market are the largest size that can pass paper, and A3
(420 x 297) and double letter size (431.8 x 279.4) in overseas size. Rotating tray 2
Reference numeral 3 also denotes the maximum size that allows the two sizes to pass. This 2
The diagonal length when the size of the sheet center is adjusted is 52
In the case of tandem, the diameter of the rotary tray 23 is about 540 mm in consideration of two sets of end fence widths. One set of large size (A3, DLT, B4, RG, etc.) is set on the rotating tray 23 having a diameter of 540 mm, and two sets of medium size (A4, LT, B5, etc.) are set facing each other with the rotation center as a fulcrum. (A5, B6, HLT, etc.), three sets can be stored radially with the rotation center as a fulcrum.
Furthermore, if the size is extremely small, four sets can be stored radially with the rotation center as a fulcrum. Therefore, a plurality of sheet groups can be stored in a small space in the space of one stage. However, some users use medium-sized sheets only, or use small-sized sheets mainly, so if one tray can store 1 to 4 sheet sizes, the paper separation In order to increase the cost due to the fences for regulating the sheet and the end face of the sheet and to be demerited, the types of rotary trays are divided into 1, 2, 3, and 4 sets.
The joint between the base 123 and the rotating tray 23 can be easily detached by connecting with a minimum number of parts (for example, screws 124 and retaining rings 125), and the tray can be easily attached and detached to accommodate the type according to the user's request. (FIGS. 40 and 4
1, FIGS. 44 and 45). Rotating tray H of rotating tray 23 P133 is arbitrary 1 regardless of the number of sheets that can be stored.
In the same phase as the two storage sections (FIGS. 37 and 38).
The width of the machine body 19, which also has a drawer that can be pulled out, has to be laid out on the body frame and structural members outside the drawer, so that the size of the machine body depends on the size of the drawer. Is done. However, as the general user class using the machine main body 19 expands, even a machine main body (image forming apparatus) having high-performance functions must be accepted by general consumers if the effective area for installing the main body must be kept as small as possible. Hard to remove, especially the rotating tray 2
Since the diameter of No. 3 must be larger than the diagonal length of the largest storable sheet, the lateral width of the machine body 19 tends to increase. When a trouble occurs in the machine body, the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 can be pulled out of the paper feed unit 21 regardless of the orientation of the rotary tray 23, so that the sheet 12 remaining in the transport path can be pulled out.
In order to prevent the occurrence of secondary troubles such as damage to parts due to post-trouble processing such as removing work and forcibly pulling out the tandem rotary paper feeder 5, the rotation tray 23 is prevented.
The width of the base 123 is equal to or larger than the diameter of the cylindrical rotating tray 23, and is minimized when the diameter exceeds the diameter (FIGS. 10 and 11). 152 is a rock lever 142
The projection 153 is a contact position.

Next, the paper feeding unit will be described. The paper feed unit 27 of the rotating tray 23 is
Arm 140 is disposed on the upstream side in the transport direction, and is rotatable with the shaft center of the drive transmission shaft as a fulcrum. The solenoid 141 is disposed further upstream in the transport direction than the drive transmission shaft. The arranged lock lever 142, a joint 143 connecting the arm 140, the solenoid 141 and the lock lever 142, and a spring 144 for pulling the joint 143 from the sheet feeding roller side.
And a bottom plate raising shaft 14 disposed at the bottom of the sheet feeding unit 27.
5, a charging unit 150 that applies a feeding pressure to a spring 149 via a lever (A) 148 by rotation of a bottom plate raising motor 147, and a feeding pressure generated by the charging unit 150. Bottom plate rising shaft 145
Lever (B) 1 which transmits to bottom plate raising lever 146 through
51 (FIGS. 46 to 49). Solenoid 141
Is off, the joint 14 is actuated by the force of the spring 144.
3 moves to the spring 144 side. Joint 143
The lock lever 142 and the arm 140 connected to the shaft 140 rotate toward the spring 144 with the rotation center as a fulcrum, and the sheet feeding roller 29 is in a state of being lowered.
Move to side 4. At this time, the protrusion 152 of the lock lever 142 is
It comes into contact with the surface on the solenoid side of 40. In order to prevent the lock lever 142 from being disengaged even when pressure is applied so that the feed roller 29 at the tip of the arm 140 rotates upward,
By arranging the fulcrum of the lock lever 142 farther than the distance between the fulcrum of zero and the contact position 153, the rocking lever 142 is digged when pressure is applied. When the solenoid 141 is on,
First, the joint 143 starts moving to the solenoid 141 side. Then, the arm 140 connected without play does not move, and the rock lever 142 connected without play starts rotating in conjunction with the joint 143. As a result, the protrusion 152 that has been in contact with the arm 140 is retracted. Further, the joint 143 continues to move toward the solenoid 141, and the arm 140 starts rotating without play with the joint 143. At this time, since the lock lever 142 is released first, there is nothing to hinder the rotation of the arm 140, and the arm 140 can freely rotate. Joint 14
When the roller 3 has finished moving to the solenoid 141 side, the paper feed roller 29 is completely retracted from the rotary tray 23 (FIG. 4).
6, FIGS. 47 and 48). The bottom plate raising lever 146 can be rotated and retracted with the bottom plate raising shaft 145 as a fulcrum until the bottom plate raising lever 146 does not interfere with the rotation tray 23.

Next, the operation of the tandem rotary paper feed tray and the paper feed unit will be described. [Sheet replenishment] When replenishing the sheet 12, the rotating tray 23 is pulled out from the machine main body 19. Rotating tray 23
Since the power supply cord is not connected to the machine body 19, the rock solenoid 120 is turned off, and the rotation tray 23 and the base 123 are fixed by the lock lever 122. After confirming that the sheet size can be accommodated in the rotating tray 23, the sheet 12 is replenished after adjusting the sheet end surface regulating fence to the sheet size to be replenished. At this time,
A3, B4, A4, B if the rotating tray 23 is for 1 or 2 sets
5, 1 size for vertical feed of DLT, RG, LT size,
A4, B5, A5, B6, A6, LT, HLT horizontal feed and A5, B6, A6, HLT size vertical feed are 2 sizes, 3 sets for the same size and A5, B6, A for the same direction
6, HLT horizontal feed and B6, A6 vertical feed, 3 sizes, A4 horizontal feed, 1 A2 horizontal set regardless of vertical / horizontal feed, B5 vertical feed, A6 horizontal feed, 2 sizes, B5 horizontal feed If B6 or A6 horizontal feed and A6 vertical feed are combined in two sizes, etc., one or more sheets 12
And can be stored in one rotating tray 23 (FIG. 5).
0). When the sheet 12 is stored in the rotating tray 23, the size detection unit 131 is attached to a predetermined location. When the rotating tray 23 is set in the machine main body 19, the size of the group of sheets stacked on the rotating tray 23 is detected by the size detecting unit 1.
31 to detect each of the sheet storage units 28a, 28b, 28c.
Whether the sheet 12 is stored in the machine body 19
Is detected by the seat end detection sensor 26 attached to the controller, and the signal is sent to the machine main body controller. When the rotating tray 23 is out of the machine body 19, the sheet feeding unit 2
7, the solenoid 141 is turned on, and the paper feed roller 29 is kept in the rotationally retracted state (FIGS. 46 to 48). [Sheet feeding] One rotating tray 23 in the machine main body 19 is formed as a pair with one feeding unit 27 (FIG. 11). When the sheet 12 desired by the user is on the rotary tray 23 but not on the paper feeding unit 27 side, the rock solenoid 120 of the rotary tray 23 is turned on and the lock lever 122 is rotated via the joint 126 to rotate the rotary tray 23. To be rotatable. The solenoid 141 of the sheet feeding unit 27 and the charging portion 150 at the bottom plate rising portion are released, and are retracted from the rotating tray 23. Rotating tray 2
3 is rotated by the drive unit 25, and the sheet 12 desired by the user is rotated and moved to the sheet feeding unit 27 side and fixed. Then, the solenoid 141 of the sheet feeding unit 27 is turned off again, and the sheet feeding roller 29 is moved to the separating section 13 of the rotating tray 23.
2 and fixed by the rocker lever 142, and the sheet feeding pressure is generated by the charging portion 150 of the bottom plate rising portion.
When the bottom plate raising lever 141 is rotated via 45 to press the sheet 12 against the sheet feeding roller 29 within a predetermined range, a sheet feeding state is established (FIG. 49).

Next, the selection of a sheet at the end of the sheet and the control of the tandem rotary sheet feeding section 5 will be described. FIG.
4 is a flow chart showing the flow of selection of a sheet at the time of sheet end and control of the tandem rotary sheet feeding section 5. S40
It is assumed that the copy operation is started in the step. In step S41, the CPU determines whether or not a sheet end has occurred during the copy operation from the detection result of the sheet end detection sensor 26. If it is determined that the sheet end has not occurred, the copy operation ends. If it is determined that a sheet end has occurred, in step S42, the size detection unit 131 detects whether a sheet having the same size as the currently used sheet is present in another sheet feeding device. And CPU
If there is a sheet of the same size in another sheet feeding device, the flow proceeds to the sheet selection control routine shown in FIG. 52 in step S43. In the sheet selection control routine, in step S43-0, the CPU first determines whether there are a plurality of sheets of the same size. If it is determined that there is only one sheet of the same size, the process proceeds to S43.
In this case, since there is no other choice in this case, the step containing the sheet of the same size is automatically selected, and the copying operation is continued. At this time, if necessary, the CPU controls the paper feed rotation control unit to rotate the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5. If it is determined in step S43-0 that there are a plurality of levels containing sheets of the same size, the sheets in the fixed sheet feeding unit 4 are automatically given priority over the sheets in the tandem rotary sheet feeding unit 5. Select and continue the copy operation. When a sheet end occurs in this way, a paper feed stage containing sheets of the same size is automatically selected so that a copying operation is not interrupted by a sheet supply operation, and a plurality of sheets of the same size When the sheets are stored in the tray, the sheets of the fixed paper feed unit 4 are preferentially selected, thereby eliminating the trouble of rotating the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 and selecting the paper feed stage, thereby improving the productivity. Next, when it is determined in step S42 that there is no sheet of the same size in another sheet feeding unit, the flow proceeds to the sheet supply control routine shown in FIG. 53 in step S43. In the sheet replenishment control routine, in step S43-10, the CPU first controls the sheet feeding roller driving unit and the bottom plate raising lever driving unit to release the sheet feeding roller 29 and the bottom plate raising lever 146 to the non-sheet feeding state. Next, in step S43-11, the CPU controls the paper feed lock control unit by the CPU to lock the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5, and the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 rotates when pulled out by the operator, thereby hindering the replenishment operation, or causing the tandem rotary feed. When the paper section 5 is returned into the machine main body section 19, it is prevented from being displaced from the home position. Then, after sheets are replenished by the operator in step S43-12, the process proceeds to step S43-12.
At step -13, the CPU controls the paper feed lock control section to release the lock, and at step S43-14, C is released.
The PU controls the feed roller driving unit and the bottom plate raising lever drive unit to control the feeding roller 29 and the bottom plate raising lever 146.
Is set to a paper feeding state to prepare for a copying operation.

Another embodiment of the sheet supply control routine shown in FIG. 54 will be described. In step S43-20, first, the CPU controls the sheet feeding roller driving unit and the bottom plate raising lever driving unit by the CPU to release the sheet feeding roller 29 and the bottom plate raising lever 146 to the non-sheet feeding state. Next, S43-21
By controlling the paper feed rotation control unit by the CPU in the step, the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is rotated by 90 degrees, and the paper feed stage where the sheet is ended is directed to the paper feed unit drawout side. In this way, when the rotary sheet feeding unit 5 is pulled out, the sheet feeding stage at which the sheet has ended is directed toward the operator, so that the sheets can be more easily replenished. S43-22
In the step, the CPU controls the paper feed lock control unit to lock the rotary paper feed unit 5 to prevent the operator from rotating when the operator pulls it out and hindering the sheet supply operation. Then, in step S43-24, the CP
The lock is released by controlling the paper feed lock control unit by U, and the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is controlled by controlling the paper feed rotation control unit by the CPU in step S43-25.
Is rotated 90 degrees in the opposite direction to that described above, and is set to the sheet feeding position. Further, in step S43-26, the CPU controls the sheet feeding roller driving unit and the bottom plate raising lever driving unit by the CPU to set the sheet feeding roller 29 and the bottom plate raising lever 142 to the sheet feeding state and prepare for the copying operation. In step S44, the copy operation is restarted. In step S45, the CPU determines whether the copy operation has been completed. If not, the process returns to step S42 to check whether a sheet end has occurred. When the copy operation has been completed, the control ends. In this way, when a sheet of the same size is present in another sheet feeder at the end of the sheet, the sheet feeder is automatically selected and the copy operation is continued,
Furthermore, when sheets of the same size are present in multiple other paper feed trays, the paper feed tray that does not need to be rotated is automatically selected, so that the copying operation can be continued without interruption to replenish sheets. Improve productivity. When a sheet of the same size is not present in another sheet feeding stage, the tandem rotary sheet feeding section 5 is locked by the sheet feeding lock control section and is rotated when the operator pulls out the sheet, so that the sheet replenishing operation is hindered. The operability is improved by preventing the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 from being displaced from the home position when the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is returned. Further, by rotating the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 by 90 degrees and directing the paper feed stage where the sheet ends in advance to the drawer opening side, the sheet feed that has ended when the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is pulled out is provided. Since the steps face the operator, it becomes easier to replenish the sheets,
In addition, the operability is further improved because the amount to be pulled out is small.

Next, a description will be given of a case where three or more types of sheets can be placed on the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 with respect to the selection of the sheet at the end of the sheet and the control of the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5. FIG. 55 is a flowchart showing the flow of selection of a sheet at the time of sheet end and control of the tandem rotary sheet feeding section 5. It is assumed that the copy operation is started in step S50. In step S51, during the copy operation, the CP
If it is determined from U that the sheet end has not occurred from the detection result of the sheet end detection sensor 26, the copying operation is continued until the copy is completed. If it is determined that the sheet end has occurred, the process proceeds to step S52.
The size detection unit 131 detects which sheet feeding unit has a sheet of the same size as the currently used sheet. Then, in step S53, the CPU determines whether a sheet of the same size is stored in the fixed sheet feeding unit 4, and when it is determined that the sheet is stored, the sheet stored in the fixed sheet feeding unit 4 is used as it is. Resume copying,
If it is determined that the paper is not stored in the fixed paper feeding unit 4, the process proceeds to S
In step 54, the CPU determines whether or not sheets of the same size are stored in the tandem rotary sheet feeding unit 5. If it is determined that the sheets are not stored, there is no sheet of the same size. To replenish sheets of the same size. When it is determined that the paper is stored, the process proceeds to step S55, and the CPU sets the rotation direction in the direction of the smaller rotation distance. In other words, when three or more types of sheets are set in the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5, depending on the rotation direction, for example, in the case of three types, clockwise and counterclockwise are 120 degrees and 240 degrees. Since the rotation distance changes, by setting the rotation distance to a shorter one, the rotation time can be shortened and the productivity can be increased. Then, in step S56, the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is automatically rotated in the rotation direction set in step S53 to set the sheet, and the copying operation is restarted in step S57. In step S58, the CPU determines whether or not the copy operation has been completed. If the copy has not been completed, the process returns to step S51. In step S51, it is determined whether or not a sheet end has occurred. To end. In this way, when a sheet end occurs when three or more types of sheets can be placed on the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5, the rotation direction of the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is set to a direction in which the rotation distance is short, and automatically. Rotating the sheet to set the sheet and continuing the copying operation saves the trouble of replenishing the sheet and improves operability.At that time, the rotation time is shortened by setting the rotation direction to the shorter rotation distance. Improve productivity.

Next, the rotary paper discharge mechanism will be described in detail.
FIG. 57 is a detailed plan view of the rotary paper discharge tray unit, and FIG.
Perspective view of the paper discharge tray and the second paper discharge tray, FIGS. 59 and 6
61, FIG. 61 is a plan view centering on the first discharge tray and the second discharge tray, FIG. 62 is a simplified configuration diagram of the vertical mechanism of the second discharge tray, FIG. 63 is the same perspective view, and FIG. FIG. 65 is a perspective view of a main part of the drawer tray. Although these drawings partially overlap with the above-mentioned FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, the discharge tray 30 of the rotary discharge unit 2 includes a first discharge tray 301 and a second discharge tray 3.
02 are divided into two, and each tray can correspond to a sheet size up to A4 size. In addition, since each tray is arranged with a predetermined inclination angle, two trays corresponding to A4 size are arranged in series.
The configuration is such that the occupied area is smaller than the A3 size sheet. In the case of supporting sheets of a size larger than the A4 size, such as the A3 size, the second discharge tray 302 that can be divided and operable far from the discharge port 60 is moved up and down by the driving unit 318. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 58, the movable portion 302a of the second discharge tray 302 can be raised to a substantially horizontal state by the paper tray support arm 304. Usually, a partition plate 305 is provided between the two trays so that the sheets do not overrun. The partition plate 305 is configured to be rotatable in a vertical direction with the upper end as a fulcrum by a driving unit 318, and is configured to operate in synchronization with the operation of the second discharge tray support arm 304. Partition plate 30
Numeral 5 is made of an elastic body that does not bend when it is in a horizontal state, and is capable of rotating even if it hits the bottom surface of the document reading unit 1 during rotation. There is no impact on the internal mechanism of the unit 1 due to its rotation. A first discharge tray support arm 303 and a second discharge tray support arm 304 that support the two trays 301 and 302 of the discharge tray 30 are attached to a shaft 307 of a drive motor 306 that integrally rotates them. . The second sheet ejection tray support arm 304 has a split structure of a fixed portion 308 attached to the motor shaft 307 and a movable portion 309 that moves up and down in order to move up and down according to the corresponding sheet size. And so on. A guide 311 is provided on the lower surface of the first discharge tray 301 that does not move up and down so as to be fitted to a rotation guide rail 310 that guides the operation when the discharge tray 30 performs a rotation operation. The paper ejection tray 30, the rotation guide rail 310 for guiding the operation thereof, and the drive motor 306 are all attached to the drawer tray 61. When the paper ejection tray 30 is not operating, the main body 19
And can be pulled out integrally in the front direction.
The operation of the thus configured rotary paper discharge mechanism will be described in detail. When the drawer tray 61 is pulled out,
The guide members 313 and 314 provided on the lower surface are fitted to the guide rails 315 and 316 so as to be smoothly pulled out. When a normal copy operation is performed, the discharge tray 30 that can be rotated is first set to the first position.
This is performed in a state in which the paper discharge tray 301 is on the paper discharge port 60 side. As shown in FIG. 59, a filer 319 provided on the lower surface of the first discharge tray 301 has a rotary home position detection sensor provided substantially at the center of a side of the drawer tray 61 facing the discharge port 60. When cut off 320, it recognizes that the first paper discharge tray 301 faces the paper discharge port 60 side, and enters a copy operation startable state. At the same time, this position is used as the home position for rotation. The sheet discharged from the discharge port 60 of the apparatus main body has a sheet size of A4.
In the following cases, the sheets are sequentially discharged to the first discharge tray 301 as they are. When the size of the sheet to be discharged is A4 size or more, when the discharge tray 30 is in the home position, the movable portion of the second discharge tray 302 that is rotatable in the vertical direction far from the discharge port 60. The support arm 304 is raised almost horizontally by the support arm 304 and receives the discharged sheet. The second ejection tray support arm 304 is provided with a plurality of eccentric disks 32 in contact with the lower surface of the movable portion 309.
By one rotation, ascending and descending are performed as shown in FIG. Driving of the movable portion 309 of the support arm 304 is rotated by half a turn by turning on and off a solenoid (not shown) from an arm drive motor 322 in a drive portion 318 having a configuration as shown in FIG. The drive is transmitted to the spring clutch 324. When a solenoid (not shown) is turned on, the shaft 325 makes a half turn, and the plurality of eccentric disks 321 fixed to the shaft 325 raise the support arm 304. At the same time, the shaft 330 is rotated by ４ by a spring clutch 329 provided on a shaft 328 driven by a gear 327 which is transmitted by a belt 326 from the gear 323, whereby the partition plate 305 is moved. Release upwards.

The copying operation for a sheet size of A4 size or more is completed, and as shown in FIG.
02, the sheet presence detection sensor 331 detects that there is no paper, and the drawer tray home position sensor 332 detects that the drawer tray 61 is at the set home position. After the provided obstacle detection sensor 333 detects that there is no obstacle such as a user's hand, the two solenoids (not shown) are turned off, and the second discharge tray support arm 304 and the partition plate 305 are lowered. I do. The size of the discharged sheet is A
When the size is four or less, it is possible to sort up to two copies by rotating the discharge tray 30. At the start of the copy operation, the paper discharge tray 30 is controlled so as to be in the home position described above. The drive motor 306 rotates the discharge tray 30 in the horizontal direction in synchronization with the signal of the timing at which one sheet is discharged from the discharge port 60 and enters the next job. The rotational movement operation is performed by the drive motor 306.
A pulse signal is transmitted from the paper discharge rotation control unit so as to rotate the paper 180 degrees. Then, the drive motor 306 rotates the discharge tray 30 so that the second discharge tray 302 faces the discharge port 60, and stacks the discharged sheets. After that, at the same timing, the first discharge tray 3
01 is moved to the paper ejection port 60 side. Hereinafter, the rotation operation is repeated until all jobs are completed. When performing the rotation operation, the rotation guide 311 provided on the lower surface of the first paper discharge tray 301 which does not rotate in the vertical direction is fitted to the rotation guide rail 310 provided on the drawer tray 61 as described above. Since it is guided, the rotation operation is performed smoothly. In addition, as shown in FIG. 64, the above rotation operation is performed when the obstacle detection sensor 333 provided at the entrance of the rotary paper output unit 2 does not detect an obstacle such as a hand, and the user's hand rotates. In the case of a dangerous condition such as being involved in an operation, the device is not operated. The above-described rotary discharge unit 2 includes a discharge tray 30, a rotation drive motor 306, a second discharge tray support arm 304, and a drive unit 318 for the partition plate 305.
Are also integrally provided on the drawer tray 61. Therefore, after a series of copying operations is completed, the drawer tray 6
The paper ejection tray 30 is pulled out of the machine main body 19 by grasping the handle 61a and pulling out the sheet 1 so that the ejected sheet can be easily taken out. When the copying operation is completed, the apparatus automatically detects whether or not the discharge tray 30 is at the home position, and if the discharge tray 30 is at the home position, the drawer tray 61 is set to a drawable state. When pulling out the drawer tray 61, the drawer guides 313 and 314 provided on the lower surface of the drawer tray 61 are used.
However, they are fitted to the guide rails 315 and 316 to make the operation smooth. The lock mechanism 33 is provided in the drawer tray 61.
The lock 5 is automatically provided when the copy start key of the operation section is pressed, and is automatically released when all jobs are completed. As shown in FIG. 65, the locking mechanism 334 is provided with a plurality of locking claws 336 fitted in locking grooves 335 provided on the drawer tray 61, and all of the plurality of locking claws 336 are not shown. It is fixed to a shaft 337 connected to a solenoid, and locks when the solenoid is turned on, and releases the lock when it is turned off. Further, a filer 338 is provided at the rear end of the drawer guide 61 (on the rear side in the drawer direction) as shown in FIG. When cutting 332, it is determined that the drawer tray 61 is in the home position,
Prepare for the next copy operation. The rotary paper discharge section 2 of this configuration is inside the machine main body section 19, and there are other components above the rotary paper discharge section 2, so the periphery of the rotary paper discharge section 2 is dark. At 339, the output tray 30
The upper portion is lighted up at a predetermined timing to make it easier to see the discharged sheet. Further, by lighting the light-up lamp 339, it is easy to recognize from the outside of the machine main body 19 that there is a sheet in the discharge tray 30.

Next, the safety control when the discharge tray 30 rotates will be described. FIG. 66 is a flowchart showing the flow of safety control when the paper discharge tray 30 rotates. In step S70, if the rotation of the paper discharge tray 30 in the rotary paper discharge unit 2 is controlled by a copy operation or the like, and rotation control is to be executed from now on, the CPU detects the obstacle detection sensor 333 by the CPU in step S71. It is detected whether or not foreign matter such as a hand has been inserted into the rotary paper discharge unit 2. If it is determined in step S72 that foreign matter such as an operator's hand has not been inserted into the rotary paper discharge unit 2 in step S72, the process proceeds to step S70. Returning to the step, the rotation control is continued as it is, or the rotation control is executed. If it is determined that a foreign object such as an operator's hand is inserted into the rotary paper discharge unit 2, the process proceeds to step S73 to control the paper discharge rotation control unit. The rotation operation is stopped or prohibited to prevent the operator from manually operating the paper discharge tray 30 inside the rotary paper discharge unit 2 during rotation. In contact with the paper discharge tray 30 is inserted in erroneous connexion rotating discharge unit 2, to prevent that injured.

Next, the sorting control of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 when the paper discharge tray 30 rotates will be described. FIG. 67 is a flowchart showing the flow of the sorting control of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 when the paper discharge tray 30 rotates. In step S80, it is assumed that the mode of the sorting of two copies of the small size is set by the operator from the key input unit of the operation unit and the copying operation is started. Then, in step S81, the CPU
It is determined whether or not the sheet 12 copied by the printer 12 has been discharged from the paper discharge port 60 based on whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the sheet 12 was fed.
If it is determined that the sheet No. 2 has been discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 30 from the sheet discharge port 60, the sheet discharge rotation control section is controlled by the CPU in step S82 to rotate the sheet discharge tray 30 by 180 degrees, and the next step is performed. Wait for the sheet 12 to be discharged. In step S83, it is determined whether or not the copy has been completed.
When it is determined by the PU that the copying is not completed, the sheet 12 that is discharged at any time is transferred to the discharge tray 3.
By rotating 0 every 180 degrees, a sorting function is realized in the case of two copies by alternately storing the two in the two discharge trays 301 and 302. In this way, when the number of copies is two and the size of the sheet 12 is small, the rotation of the rotary discharge unit 2 is controlled, and the two discharge trays 301 and 3 of the rotary discharge unit 2 are controlled.
02 is alternately stored to realize a sorting function of two copies.

Next, control after the copy of the discharge tray 30 of the rotary discharge unit 2 is completed will be described. FIG. 68 is a flowchart showing the flow of control after the copy of the discharge tray 30 of the rotary discharge unit 2 is completed. It is assumed that the copy operation is started in step S90. Then, in step S91, the CPU determines whether or not the copy is completed. If the copy is not completed, the copy operation is continued until the copy is completed. Conversely, when copying is completed, the CPU controls the paper discharge rotation control unit in step S92 to rotate the paper discharge tray 30 of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 by 90 degrees, and discharges the sheet 12 that has been discharged. Turn the paper tray 30 toward the operator. In this way, the discharged sheet 1
2 becomes easy to take out. In step S93, the presence / absence of the sheet 12 in the rotary discharge unit 2 is detected by the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 331 in the rotary discharge unit 2, and in step S94, the sheet 12 remains in the rotary discharge unit 2 by the CPU by the CPU. It is determined whether or not the sheet 12 has been left on the rotary discharge unit 2. If the sheet 12 is left on the rotary discharge unit 2, the discharge tray 30 is left as it is, and conversely, it is determined that the sheet 12 has been removed by the operator and is not left. If so, proceed to step S95 and C
The PU controls the paper discharge rotation control unit to rotate the paper discharge tray 30 by 90 degrees, which is opposite to the previous case, and returns the paper discharge tray 30 to the original position, and ends the control. As described above, after the copy operation is completed, the rotation of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 is controlled so that the paper discharge tray 30 on which the sheets have been discharged is directed toward the operator, so that the discharged sheets can be easily taken out. Improve operability.

Next, control of the lamp 339 in the rotary paper discharge unit 2 after the copy is completed will be described. FIG. 69 is a flowchart showing the flow of control of the lamp 339 in the rotary paper discharge unit 2 after the copy is completed. In step S100,
It is assumed that the copy operation has started. In step S101, the CPU determines whether or not the copy has been completed. If the copy has not been completed, the copy operation is continued until the copy is completed. Conversely, when copying is completed, the CPU controls the ramp control unit in step S102 to turn on the lamp 339 in the rotary paper discharge unit 2 to make the inside of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 brighter, thereby discharging the paper. Sheet 12 is easily taken out, and forgetting to take out copy paper is prevented. In step S103, the presence / absence of the sheet 12 in the rotary discharge unit 2 is detected by the sheet presence / absence detection sensor 331 in the rotary discharge unit 2, and the CPU 12 leaves the sheet 12 in the rotary discharge unit 2 in step S104. Or not,
When it is determined that the sheet 12 is left, the lamp 339 is attached as it is, and when it is determined that the sheet 12 is not removed by the operator, the process proceeds to step S105, where the CPU controls the lamp control unit. Then, the lamp 339 is turned off to end the control.

As described above, by turning on the lamp 339 in the rotary paper discharge unit 2 after the copy operation is completed, the discharged sheet 12 can be easily taken out.
The operability is improved by preventing forgetting to remove 2.

Next, control of the discharge tray 30 of the rotary discharge unit 2 when changing the sheet size will be described. FIG. 70 is a flowchart showing the flow of control of the discharge tray 30 of the rotary discharge unit 2 when changing the sheet size. It is assumed that the sheet size has been set for the copy operation in step S110 by the automatic paper selection mode, the operator's input to the key input unit of the operation unit, or the like. In step S111, the CPU determines whether the current state of the discharge tray 30 matches the set sheet size.
The set sheet size is also large, or conversely, the current discharge tray 30 is small (for example, A4, B5
For example, when the current sheet discharge tray 30 state matches the set sheet size, the control is terminated without any operation, as in the case where the set sheet size is also a small size. . Conversely, if the current discharge tray 30 does not match the set sheet size, the process proceeds to step S112, and if the discharge tray 30 is for a large size, the process proceeds to step S112.
The tray control drive unit is controlled by the PU to change the discharge tray 30 to the small size, and the partition plate 305 is set to the small size. If the paper discharge tray 30 is in a small size in step S112, the CPU controls the tray switching drive unit to change the paper discharge tray 30 to a large size, and further, the partition plate 305 to a large size. Then, the paper discharge tray 30 is set in a shape suitable for the sheet size. In this way, by adjusting the state of the discharge tray 30 to the sheet size, the discharged sheet 1
2 is prevented from coming apart, making it easier to take out and improving operability.

Next, the exhaust heat and ozone removing mechanism will be described in detail. When the photoconductor 8 is charged, a voltage is applied to a charging charger 9 provided around the photoconductor 8 to generate corona discharge. The charging charger 9 generally stretches a small-diameter wire in a shield case made of aluminum or the like,
A part of the shield case has a structure as if removed. Corona ions are emitted from the deleted region. When a voltage is applied to the corona wire, a strong local electric field is formed around the wire, causing partial breakdown of air and sustaining discharge. At the time of air breakdown, ozone is generated around the charging charger 9. If the ozone generated here stays in the vicinity of the photoreceptor 8 as it is, it adheres to the photoreceptor 8 and eventually deteriorates the surface of the photoreceptor 8, resulting in image quality deterioration such as image blur, image chipping, bleeding, and the like. As a result, various problems such as deterioration of insulation of an end block (not shown) of the charging charger 9 occur. Therefore, it is desired to remove ozone from the periphery of the photoconductor 8 as described above. On the other hand, another problem in the image forming system of the electrophotographic apparatus is the exhaust heat generated from the fixing device 16. Normally, the fixing device 16 applies pressure to the toner on the sheet and simultaneously sets the fixing roller 1 in the fixing device 16.
Using a heater (not shown) provided in 6a and 16b (FIG. 16), the toner on the sheet is melted to perform a fixing operation. At this time, the heater is heated to about 170 ° C. to 190 ° C., so that a very high temperature hot air is generated around the fixing device 16. If this hot air stays as it is, the temperature inside the machine main body 19 rises, and it becomes unfavorable for the machine main body 19 and the image forming unit 3. Need to be removed as described above. In the configuration of the present embodiment , as shown in FIG. 16, ozone generated from the charging charger 9 is sucked by a shirotsuko fan 71 through a duct 402 provided with an activated carbon filter 401 at an inlet.
The heat is exhausted from the fixing device 16 by the exhaust heat fan 72 and is guided to the common duct 70 by the regulating member. As shown in FIG. 71, the common duct 70 is provided in a space in the machine main body 19 that is generated because the shape of the machine main body 19 is made cylindrical in order to rotate the machine main body 19. The position where the operation unit is provided is a position facing the position where the operation unit is provided. In other words, even when the machine main body 19 rotates, the exhaust and exhaust heat are always kept farthest from the user so that the operation unit comes to the front of the user when the user tries to perform the device. Therefore, even if the apparatus is accessed from any direction, the user does not have to feel discomfort due to exhaust or exhaust heat. In addition, common duct 7
0 can be provided at a position where there is no member to be avoided when arranging the duct as shown in FIG.
It is possible to dispose it straight down from the periphery. Thus, the sucked ozone and exhaust heat are conveyed downward by using a regulating member, and exhaust can be performed from below the machine main body 19. At this time, since ozone is heavier than air, it is easy to convey it downward, and it is necessary to regulate the conveying direction by sucking from below using a fan (not shown) or the like so that hot air does not rise. Ozone and hot air discharged from the outlet of the common duct 70 provided at the same height as the lowermost portion of the machine main body 19 are used to rotate the machine main body 19 provided below the machine main body 19. The common duct 70 is rotatably moved along with the rotation of the machine main body 19 on the base portion 18 and is discharged from a discharge port (not shown) provided on a movement path of the common duct 70. Ozone is a gas harmful to the human body, and has an allowable concentration of 0.1 ppm, which can be sensed by human smell at 0.02 ppm. In addition, ozone has thermal decomposability. The sucked ozone and exhaust heat are mixed when transported downward in the common duct 70, and the ozone is transported downward while being thermally decomposed. Further, a plurality of activated carbon filters are provided in the common duct 70, and assist in removing ozone that has not been completely decomposed by heat and is conveyed from the conveyed gas. further,
In order to increase the length of the duct in order to increase the reaction time for the thermal decomposition of ozone, this arrangement eliminates the need for complicated wiring.

The control mode of the image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described below. First, the overall control block will be described. FIG. 72 shows an overall block diagram of the control relation. Reference numeral 600 denotes a control unit (controller) which stores fixed data such as a central processing unit (hereinafter abbreviated as CPU) 601, a timer 602, and program data for operating the CPU 601 which constitute a micro computer which controls the image forming apparatus main body. Temporary data indicating the ROM 603 to be stored, the set flags of various modes, the number of sets, the magnification, and the human body detection switch 31 corresponding to the front of the machine main body 19 are temporarily stored, and the data is lost when the power is turned off. Volatile RAM 604, process setting data, number of jams, number of serviceman calls,
Non-volatile RAM 605, which stores logging data indicating how many times the machine body 19 has rotated relative to the home position and in which direction the machine body 19 has been rotated so that data is not lost even when the power is turned off. Operation unit 61 for obtaining various displays for and various input information from the operator
0, a copying process unit 620 for controlling the image forming unit 3 for forming an image such as charging and developing, and a sheet feeding control unit 6 for controlling the rotation and sheet feeding operations of the fixed sheet feeding unit 4 and the tandem rotary sheet feeding unit 5.
30, a paper discharge control unit 64 that controls the rotation and the like of the rotary paper discharge unit 2
0, a main body rotation control section 650 for controlling the rotation of the machine main body section 19, various sensor groups 6 for detecting information necessary for control such as presence / absence of a sheet, size, and home position of various moving sections.
ROM 603, which comprises a CPU 601 and an operation unit 610, a copy processing unit 620, a paper feed control unit 630, a paper discharge control unit 640, a main body rotation control unit 650, and an I / O 606 for interfacing with various sensor groups 660.
And controls the copy sequence based on the control program stored in the. The operation unit 610 includes a CRT display for displaying various messages to the operator, a display unit 611 such as an LCD, and a key input unit 612 for detecting various input information (print key, mode set key, etc.) from the operator. Also, a paper feed control unit 630
Is a drive unit 2 for rotating the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5.
5, a paper feed rotation control unit 631 for controlling
And a paper feed drive unit 632 that drives the rollers and paper feed / transport drive motors related to separation and conveyance inside the paper feed roller 2
9, a paper feed roller driving unit 633 that controls a solenoid 141 for raising and lowering the paper feeding state to switch between the paper feeding state and the non-paper feeding state, and raising and lowering the bottom plate raising lever 146 to switch between the paper feeding state and the non-paper feeding state. Plate raising lever driving unit 634 for controlling the bottom plate raising motor 147 for controlling the rotation of the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 and a paper feed lock control unit 635 for controlling the rock solenoid 120 for switching the rotation operation of the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5. . Also, a paper discharge control unit 640
Is a paper discharge rotation control unit 641 that controls a drive motor 306 for rotating the paper discharge tray 30 in the rotary paper discharge unit 2.
And a drive unit 318 for switching the discharge tray 30 between large size / small size and further switching the partition plate 305 for stopping discharged sheets between large size / small size.
And a lamp control unit 644 that controls on / off of a lamp 339 provided in the rotary sheet discharging unit 2. Further, the various sensor groups 660 include a sheet end detection sensor 26 that detects the presence or absence of a sheet at that stage during paper feeding, a size detection unit 131 that detects the size of the sheet, a machine main body unit 19, the rotary discharge unit 2, and a tandem rotation. A home position detecting sensor 99, a rotating home position detecting sensor 320, and a rotating tray H. for detecting the home position of each rotation of the sheet feeding unit 5.
A P detection sensor 161, a human body detection switch 31 for detecting the position of the operator with respect to the apparatus by contact with the operator, and a failure for detecting whether an operator's hand or the like is in the rotary paper discharge unit 2. Object detection sensor 3
33, a sheet presence / absence detection sensor 331 for detecting whether or not the discharged sheet remains inside the rotary discharge unit 2
And the like. And in actual control, CP
The status of the device detected by the various sensor groups 660 or the operation mode input by the operator from the key input unit 612 of the operation unit 610 is transmitted to the U 601 via the I / O 606. Then, based on the program stored in the ROM 603, the CPU 601 responds to the
Information about the apparatus is displayed to the operator on the display unit 611 of the operation unit 610 via the / O 606, the copying process unit 620 is controlled to set the charging condition and the developing condition, and the paper feed control unit 630 To control the paper feed, control the paper discharge control unit 640 to switch the tray between large size and small size, and control the main body rotation control unit 650.
To control the rotation of the machine main body 19 and the like. Still further, in the above apparatus, a series of C
The determination operation of the PU 601 is performed by using the ROM 603 or the nonvolatile R
It may be stored in the AM 605 in advance. This is the same for each control operation described later.

Next, the control of the initialization when the power is turned on will be described. FIG. 73 is a flowchart showing the flow of the initialization control when the power is turned on. It is assumed that the power of the apparatus is turned on in step S120. In step S121, first, the flow proceeds to the rotation operation check flow of the machine main body 19 shown in FIG. In step S121-0, the CPU 601 detects the number of rotations of the machine main body 19 relative to the home position stored in the non-volatile RAM 605. In step S121-1, the CPU 601 controls the main body rotation control unit 650 to twist the power cord 83. Then, the main body is rotated to the home position so that the machine main body 19 is set to the home position of rotation by the home position detection sensor 99. Then, in step S121-2, the CPU 601 determines whether or not the rotation operation has been performed normally. If the rotation operation has not been performed normally, the fact is displayed on the display unit 611 of the operation unit 610 in step S121-3, and the operator is notified. Inform. Conversely, if it is determined in step S121-2 that the rotation of the machine body 19 has been performed normally,
In step S121-4, the number of rotations of the machine body 19 relative to the home position is returned to the home position in the non-volatile RAM 605, and is stored as 0 rotation.
Returning to the two steps, the tandem rotary sheet feeding section 5 shown in FIG.
The flow proceeds to the check flow of the rotation operation. In step S122-0, the CPU 601 controls the paper feed roller driving unit 633 to retract the paper feed roller 29 upward, and further, in step S12-0.
In step 2-1, the CPU 601 controls the bottom plate raising lever drive unit 634 to retract the bottom plate raising lever 146 to prepare for the rotation of the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5. In step S122-2, the CPU 601 controls the paper feed rotation control unit 631 to rotate the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 to rotate the rotary tray H. It is confirmed by the P detection sensor 161 that the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 has been set to the position of the rotation home position. And S122-3
In step S601, the CPU 601 controls the sheet feeding bottom plate raising lever driving unit 634 to set the bottom plate raising lever 146 to the sheet feeding state.
1 controls the paper feed roller drive unit 633 to set the paper feed roller 29 to the paper feed state. Then, in step S122-5, the CPU 601 determines whether or not the rotation operation of the tandem rotary sheet feeding unit 5 has been performed normally. If not, the operation unit 610 is performed in step S122-6.
Is displayed on the display unit 611 to inform the operator. Conversely, in step S122-5, the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5
If it is determined that the rotation has been performed normally, the process returns to step S123 and proceeds to the rotation operation check flow of the rotary discharge unit 2 shown in FIG. In step S123-0, the presence or absence of a foreign object such as an operator's hand in the rotary paper discharge unit 2 is detected by the obstacle detection sensor 333 provided in the rotary paper discharge unit 2, and the CPU 601 discharges the foreign material in step S123-1. It is determined whether or not there is any paper in the paper section 2. If it is determined that there is a foreign substance, the fact is displayed on the display section 611 of the operation section 610 in step S123-2 to notify the operator and return to step S123-0. . Conversely, when it is determined that there is no foreign matter, the CPU 601 controls the paper discharge rotation control section 641 to rotate the paper discharge tray 30 in step S123-3, and the paper discharge tray 30 is rotated by the rotating home position detection sensor 320. Confirm that it is set to the home position of rotation. In step S123-4, the CPU 601 determines whether or not the rotation of the discharge tray 30 has been performed normally. If not, the display unit 611 of the operation unit 610 is determined in step S123-5.
Is displayed to inform the operator. Conversely, S1
If it is determined in step 23-4 that the rotation of the discharge tray 30 has been performed normally, the control is terminated. As described above, when the power is turned on, the rotation of the machine main body 19, the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 and the rotary paper discharge unit 2 is checked and the position is set at the home position. The operator can be promptly notified, and it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a jam in paper ejection and paper feeding due to the position of the rotary paper discharging unit 2 and the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 being shifted from the home position. In particular, by returning the machine main body 19 to the home position after the power is turned on, it is possible to prevent the power cord 83 from being twisted, thereby improving the reliability.

[0048]

According to the invention of claim 1, wherein, according to the present invention, it is possible to improve the smoothness of the operability and the rotation of the rotating, to allow omnidirectional operation.

[0049] According to the second aspect of the invention, the effect of the invention according to claim 1, wherein, Yotsute to the rotary drive unit is divided from the image recording unit main body, simplification of the rotating mechanism in the apparatus body and It is possible to reduce adverse effects such as vibrations exerted on the image recording unit by the rotation drive unit.

[0050] According to the third aspect of the invention, the effect of the invention according to claim 1, wherein the rotary drive unit divides the image recording unit main body, and the usual support part having no rotary driving part (second (2 cases), the rotation and non-rotation of the main body can be selected as appropriate according to the needs of the purchaser of the device to improve versatility, and the rotation drive unit is an attachment type. Cost can be reduced.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect , a large rotational torque can be obtained with a small driving force.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, the number of reduction gears required for stopping the rotation can be reduced even when the rotation torque of the main body is large. The mechanism can be simplified.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to save space when the opening / closing section of the apparatus main body is opened and to improve maintenance workability.

According to the invention of claim 7 , in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 6 , since the outer peripheral surface is flush, the user's body or clothes are not hooked or damaged. An apparatus with excellent safety can be provided. The design is also beautiful in appearance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a state of a front cover of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state of a front cover of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state of a front cover of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a state of a front cover of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a main body rotation mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a main body rotation mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a rotary paper feed tray unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a rotary paper feed tray unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a plan view illustrating an example of a rotating tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view illustrating another example of the rotating tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a rotary discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a front view of a rotary discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a part around a photoconductor and a vicinity of a fixing unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a heat exhaust duct portion of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a machine body and a base of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a detailed front view of a main body rotation mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a detailed plan view of a main body rotation mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a base portion of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a plan view of a machine main body of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a front view of the lower part of the machine main body of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing the number of teeth and rotational speed of a meshing gear of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating mathematical expressions of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view of a front cover of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a configuration diagram of an operation state of a front cover lock mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a configuration diagram of an operation state of a front cover lock mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is a configuration diagram of an operation state of a front cover lock mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a configuration diagram of an operation state of a front cover lock mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a front view showing a slide mechanism of a front cover of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a plan view showing a slide mechanism of a front cover of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart of control of a main body rotation stop position of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart of control for preventing a power cord from being twisted when the main body of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is rotated.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of main body rotation inhibition control of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart of stop position control after the rotation of the main body of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a plan view illustrating an example of a rotating tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is a plan view illustrating another example of the rotating tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39 is a front view showing a relationship between a rotating tray and a retaining ring of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 40 is a plan view illustrating a relationship between a rotating tray and a retaining ring of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 41 is a front view showing a relationship between a rotating tray and a screw of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 42 is a configuration diagram of a rotating tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention in a locked state.

FIG. 43 is a configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention in a state where the rotating tray is not locked.

FIG. 44 is an explanatory diagram illustrating paper dimensions of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram illustrating dimensions of a sheet storage unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 46 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention in a state where a rotary solenoid is off.

FIG. 47 is a configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention in which the rotary solenoid is being turned on.

FIG. 48 is a configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention after the rotsolenoid is turned on.

FIG. 49 is a perspective view of a bottom plate raising lever driving mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 50 is an explanatory diagram illustrating sizes that can be stored in the sheet storage unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 51 is a flowchart of control at the time of sheet end of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 52 is a control flowchart at the time of sheet end of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 53 is a control flowchart at the time of sheet end of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 54 is a control flowchart at the time of sheet end of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 55 is a control flowchart at the time of sheet end of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 56 is a control flowchart at the time of sheet end of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 57 is a detailed plan view of a rotary discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 58 is a perspective view of a first discharge tray and a second discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 59 is a plan view centering on a first paper discharge tray and a second paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 60 is a plan view centering on a first discharge tray and a second discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 61 is a plan view centered on a first paper discharge tray and a second paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 62 is a simplified configuration diagram of an up-and-down mechanism of a second discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 63 is a simplified perspective view of an up / down mechanism of a second paper ejection tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 64 is a front view of a rotary discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 65 is a perspective view of a main part of a drawer tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 66 is a flow chart of safety control when the discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is rotated.

FIG. 67 is a flowchart of sorting control when the paper discharge tray rotates in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 68 is a flowchart of control after copying of a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 69 is a flowchart of lamp control after copying of a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 70 is a flowchart illustrating control of a discharge tray when a sheet size is changed in the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 71 is a plan view of a common duct of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 72 is an overall control block diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 73 is a flowchart of initialization control when the power of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is turned on.

FIG. 74 is a flowchart of initialization control when the power of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is turned on.

FIG. 75 is a flowchart of initialization control when the power of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is turned on.

FIG. 76 is a flowchart of initialization control when the power of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is turned on.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 document reading unit 2 rotating paper discharge tray 3 image forming unit 4 fixed paper feeding unit 5 tandem rotating paper feeding unit 18 base unit 19 machine body unit 23 rotating tray 25 driving unit 27 paper feeding unit 30 paper discharging tray 31 human body detection switch 40 Front cover 51 Drive motor 70 Common duct 71 White fan 72 Heat exhaust fan 92 Device bottom plate 301 First discharge tray 302 Second discharge tray 318 Drive unit 401 Activated carbon filter 600 Control unit 601 CPU 610 Operation unit 620 Copy process unit 630 Feeding paper Control unit 640 Discharge control unit 650 Body rotation control unit 660 Various sensor groups

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Ki-Saki ▼ Osamu 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Fumio Kurumi 1-chome Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo No. 3-6 Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-2-260495 (JP, A) JP-A-1-146664 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB Name) H04N 1/00 G03G 15/00

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having a recording means for recording input image information as a visible image on a sheet, comprising: a main body casing formed in a substantially cylindrical shape; and a center axis of the main body casing. An image forming apparatus comprising: a rotation driving unit configured to rotationally drive the main body housing. 2. An image forming apparatus having recording means for recording input image information as a visible image on a sheet, wherein a first housing for accommodating said recording means and a second housing for supporting said first housing. A main body housing formed in a substantially cylindrical shape including a body, and the first housing provided on the second housing, and the first housing is automatically moved on the second housing around a center axis of the main body housing. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a rotation driving unit that drives to rotate. 3. The second case according to claim 2 , wherein the second case is detachable with respect to the first case, and can be exchanged with another second case that does not include the rotation driving means as required. An image forming apparatus characterized in that it is possible. 4. The first housing according to claim 2 , wherein the first housing includes a rotation driven portion including an internal gear in which a driving gear of the rotation driving means of the second housing is driven and engaged. An image forming apparatus characterized in that: 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein a pitch circle diameter of the internal gear of the rotation driven portion is set to a value close to a diameter of the main body casing. 6. An image forming apparatus having a recording means for recording input image information as a visible image on a sheet, wherein a main body casing formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and a part of an outer part of the main body casing are opened and closed. An image forming apparatus comprising: an opening / closing portion that is freely formed into a curved surface; and opening / closing means that guides the opening / closing portion to be freely opened and closed along the outer surface of the main body housing. 7. An image forming apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein said opening / closing means makes said opening / closing portion flush with said outer peripheral surface of said main body housing when said opening / closing portion is closed. apparatus.