JP3425007B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, which is capable of performing copy processing without sticking out a discharge tray on the side of the apparatus body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional copying machine, an original document is read by a scanner section provided at the upper part of the main body of the apparatus, the read image information is transferred to a sheet and fixed, and then mounted on the side surface of the main body of the apparatus. The paper is discharged onto a paper discharge tray (external paper discharge tray).

However, in such a so-called wing type copying machine, depending on the installation location, there is a problem that a person may hit the external discharge tray and destroy the tray, and the installation space is different from the main body of the apparatus. It needs to be considerably wider than the projected area, which is a big bottleneck for downsizing of the device.

Therefore, the applicant of the present invention intends to reduce the space occupied by the image forming apparatus and increase the degree of freedom in its installation.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-207210, an image forming engine for forming an image on a sheet, a sheet discharging unit for discharging a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming engine, and a sheet discharged by the sheet discharging unit are described. An image forming engine housing that forms a sheet stacking portion to be stacked above the image forming engine, and a space above the sheet stacking portion are arranged, and the original image information is converted into an electric signal to the image forming engine. An image forming apparatus has been proposed which has a scanner unit for supplying and a supporting unit for supporting the scanner unit above the sheet stacking unit with a space.

As described above, in the so-called wingless type device for ejecting the paper between the image forming unit and the scanner unit, it is not necessary to extend the paper ejection tray to the side of the apparatus casing, so that the external paper ejection described above is performed. It is possible to eliminate the sparseness of the trays and reduce the restrictions on the installation space of the device.

[0006]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
The image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 0 has a sheet stacking unit formed above an image forming unit, and a scanner unit is arranged above the sheet stacking unit with a space therebetween to avoid a malfunction of the wing type apparatus. However, since the upper surface of the image forming unit housing is used as a paper stacking unit and there is no other paper discharge place, it is necessary to arrange, for example, meeting materials for each person when copying a plurality of originals. It is not possible to sort (collate) or stack (sort) the copy sheets for each page of the original. A wingless type device cannot be obtained by attaching a paper ejection tray to the side of the device case for sorting or stacking.

Therefore, the present invention is an apparatus for ejecting copy sheets between an image forming section and a scanner section above the image forming section.
An object is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of stack processing.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, an image forming section for forming image information on a sheet, an apparatus case containing the image forming section, and an apparatus case. An image forming apparatus, which is arranged above the disk and is separated by a space, and which reads original image information, converts the information into an electric signal, and supplies the electric signal to the image forming section. A paper transport path is formed inside a support part that is continuously formed on the device housing and supports the scanner part above the device housing with a space. Further, the support part is connected to the support part, and the device housing is connected. At least one bin tray located in the space between the body and the scanner unit, a first ejection roller for ejecting the paper conveyed to the paper conveyance path to the upper surface of the apparatus casing, and the paper conveyance path to the paper conveyance path. Paper on the bin tray A second discharge roller to output, to provide a switching means for switching so as to convey the sheet to either the first discharge roller and a second discharge roller configured.

The area of the apparatus casing forming the paper transport path has a double structure, and the outer surface of the double structure area constitutes a third paper discharge tray which can be rotated and opened and closed. For example, normally, the advantages of the wingless type device can be enjoyed, and when it is necessary to increase the number of paper discharge locations, the third paper discharge tray can be utilized. For example, the upper surface of the apparatus casing, the bin tray, and the third paper ejection tray may be selectively used depending on the functions of the image forming apparatus, that is, the copy function, the printer function, and the facsimile function.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows a typical so-called in-body discharge type image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The image forming unit 1 is arranged substantially in the center of the apparatus, and the paper feeding unit 2 is provided immediately below the image forming unit 1.
Is located. Although the paper feed unit 2 is shown as comprising two paper feed cassettes, the number of cassettes can be freely increased or decreased as necessary. A scanner unit 3 for reading a document is provided above the image forming unit 1 with a space therebetween. A space between the image forming unit 1 and the scanner unit 3 is formed as a paper discharge unit 4 so that the image copied paper is discharged.

In the image forming unit 1, around a photosensitive drum 5 made of, for example, an organic photosensitive member, a charging charger 6 for charging the drum surface, an exposure device 7 for irradiating image information on the drum with laser light, A developing device 8 for visualizing the electrostatic latent image on the drum, a transfer roller 9 for transferring the toner image on the drum to a sheet, a cleaning device 10 for removing and collecting residual toner on the drum, and the like are arranged. Further, a fixing device 11 that performs a fixing process on the sheet after the image transfer is arranged on the downstream side of the sheet conveyance of the electrophotographic process means.

The paper feed section 2 consisting of a two-stage paper feed cassette,
Each of the paper feed cassettes 21 contains sheets of different sizes or different loading directions. Inside the paper feed cassette 21, a bottom plate 22 for lifting the leading edge of the paper to the calling roller 23 is attached. The paper pulled out from the cassette by the calling roller 23 is
It is delivered to the registration roller 14 via the delivery roller 24. In some cases, paper is fed to the registration rollers 14 from a manual feed tray 16 which is hingedly supported on the side of the apparatus housing 15 of the image forming unit 1 and which is rotatable and openable.

In the scanner section 3, the contact glass 32
In order to scan and scan a document (not shown) placed on it, a reading traveling body 31 composed of a document illumination light source and a mirror is moved. The image information scanned by the reading traveling body 31 is read as an image signal by an image reading device 33 provided behind the lens. The read image signal is digitized and image-processed.
Based on the image-processed signal, a laser diode (LD, not shown) of the exposure device 7 is driven, the laser light from the LD is reflected by a polygon mirror, and then on the photosensitive drum 5 via the mirror. To form an electrostatic latent image on the drum.

The paper discharge unit 4 on the image forming unit 1 is constituted so that the three sides except the front face are surrounded by wall surfaces forming a part of the apparatus housing 15 as seen in FIG. It is in a state of being lifted and supported by. As a result, the image-formed sheet is discharged into the body of the image forming apparatus, and even if the copy target is, for example, a confidential document, the content is unlikely to be seen by a nearby person. In the present embodiment, the paper is ejected on the back side because of the direction of paper conveyance in the image forming unit 1, so that it is particularly excellent in maintaining confidentiality.

The paper discharge section 4 is provided with a paper discharge tray 41 formed on the upper surface of the apparatus casing 15 and a 1-bin tray 42 with a paper discharge jogger. It is also possible to increase the number of bin trays to a plurality according to the extent of the space of the paper discharge section. The paper output tray 41, as can be seen in FIG.
The front cover part swells gently to the front, and the central front side is recessed to form a step with the surroundings so that the discharged sheet can be easily taken out from the front surface of the apparatus. Further, in order to align the rear ends of the discharged sheets, the left side of the sheet discharge tray 41 in FIG. 1 is inclined and falls to the left end. 1 bin tray 42
Is disposed in the hollow part of the space of the paper discharge section 4, and is cut out largely at the center front side so that the paper can be taken out easily. Due to this notch, it is easy for the operator to confirm the paper discharged to the paper discharge tray 41. The sheet discharged to the 1-bin tray 42 is sent out to the front side of the apparatus by the jogger 43 as shown in FIG. The jogger 43 obtains a driving force from a driving device (not shown) for discharging the paper, and
It is controlled to send out the discharged paper for each sheet or for each job.

In the side wall on the left side as viewed in FIG. 1, which is one of the wall surfaces that defines the paper discharge unit 4 and supports the scanner unit 3, FIG.
, A plurality of transport rollers 51, 52, 53
Are arranged to form a paper transport path through which the paper having passed through the fixing device 11 can be discharged to the paper discharge tray 41 or the 1-bin tray 42. In order to lift the paper to the 1-bin tray 42, the discharge roller 54 is configured as a driving roller and is driven by a driving device (not shown). Output trays 41 and 1
The discharge switching of the bin tray 42 is performed by the first switching claw 55 arranged in this paper transport path. The outer cover of the casing 15 which covers the transport rollers 51, 52, 53 and constitutes the wall surface has a double structure, and the outermost cover 17 is hingedly supported and is configured to open and close around the rotation fulcrum 18. ing. When opened, the outermost cover 17 functions as a third paper discharge tray different from the paper discharge tray 41 and the 1-bin tray 42. The outermost cover 17 is hollow, and as shown in FIG. 5, is composed of a main cover plate 17a and an extension plate 17b, and is formed as a telescopic type so that the extension plate 17b can be pulled out when necessary. Has been done. The structure for adjusting the length of the discharge tray is not limited to the telescopic type, but the extension bar 17c is swingably attached near the end of the main cover plate 17a 'as shown in FIG. Thus, the extension tray 17d may be rotatably attached to the main cover plate 17a ″. In particular, the extension structure shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 7 can be expanded and contracted even in the middle of paper discharge, and is excellent in usability. The switching of the transport path to the paper discharge tray 41, the bin tray 42 and the transport direction to the straight paper outermost cover 17 is performed by the second switching claw 56 (FIG. 4).

The copy process in the image forming apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration is the same as the conventionally known procedure.
At the same time, the surface of the photosensitive drum 5 is uniformly charged by the charging charger 6, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface by light irradiation by the exposure device 7 based on a signal read by the scanner unit 3 and subjected to image processing. Then, when the electrostatic latent image passes through a position facing the developing device 8, the latent image is visualized by toner adhesion. The visible image is superposed on the sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding section 2 or the manual feed tray 16 at the same timing, and the image is transferred onto the sheet using the transfer roller 9. The transferred toner image is fixed to the fixing device 1.
It is fixed on the paper by passing 1. on the other hand,
The residual toner on the photoconductor drum 5 after the transfer processing is removed by the cleaning device 10, and the residual charge on the photoconductor drum is removed by the neutralization device. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to any of the sheet discharge tray 41, the bin tray 42, and the opened outermost cover 17 depending on the switching positions of the first switching claw 55 and the second switching claw 56.

Since there are three sheet discharge positions in this manner, it is possible to control so that each function of the copying machine, the facsimile machine, and the printer discharges the sheet. By dividing the paper discharge location by function,
Even if multiple functions are operated at the same time, recording sheets will not be mixed. Further, by performing the switching of the first switching claw 55 during one copy process, it is possible to perform the sorting / stacking process using the paper discharge tray 41 and the 1-bin tray 42, and when the number of copies is considerably large. For example, first, the sheets are stacked on the sheet discharge tray 41, and when the number of sheets reaches a certain number, the first switching claw 55 is switched to change the 1-bin tray 42.
If it is controlled so that the sheet is discharged, the number of copies per copy can be greatly increased.

The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is used in a so-called wingless state in which the manual feed tray 16 and the outermost cover 17 are closed, and has an advantage of saving installation space. The device can be used by pushing it into a narrow space surrounded by walls. However, when the misfeed process needs to be performed from the side of the machine when used in such an installed state, the machine must be moved. In order to improve the mechanical mobility, handles 45 are formed on the front side of the side wall of the paper discharge unit of the apparatus housing 15 that lifts and supports the scanner unit 3, as shown in FIG. On the back surface of the housing 15, as shown in FIG.
Is formed, and cords such as a harness and a connector are accommodated in the recess 34. As a result of forming the concave portion 34 for accommodating the cords in this manner, the back surface of the device can be attached to the wall surface 35.

[0020]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an image forming unit for forming image information on a sheet, a device housing containing the image forming unit, and a space above the device housing are provided. An image forming apparatus that is provided with a scanner unit that reads original image information, converts the information into an electric signal, and supplies the electric signal to the image forming unit. In addition, a paper transport path is formed inside a support part that supports the scanner part above the device housing with a space, and the support part is connected to the support part, and between the device housing and the scanner part. At least one bin tray located in the space, a first discharge roller for discharging the paper transported to the paper transport path to the upper surface of the apparatus housing, and a paper transported to the paper transport path on the bin tray. Second to discharge to
Of the first discharge roller and the first discharge roller or the second discharge roller, the switching means for switching the sheet to be conveyed is provided. Therefore, it is necessary to externally attach the discharge tray. Therefore, it is possible to sort the discharged sheets in the wingless type image forming apparatus in which the space for installation is small and the degree of freedom of installation is improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the area of the apparatus casing forming the paper transport path has a double structure, and the outer surface of the double structure area is rotatable and can be opened and closed. Since the paper discharge tray is configured, it is possible to increase the number of paper discharge sorting patterns.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, different discharge surfaces are used for each function of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, even if a plurality of functions are operated simultaneously, each sheet on which image information is recorded based on different functions is Mixing can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an in-body discharge type image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the image forming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a jogger operation of a bin tray.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a paper transport path region of the in-body paper ejection type image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a third paper discharge tray.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating another configuration of a third paper ejection tray.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating still another configuration of the third paper discharge tray.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a storage process of cords on the rear surface of the device housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Imaging department 2 paper feeder 3 Scanner section 4 Paper output section 5 photoconductor drum 7 Exposure equipment 11 Fixing device 15 Device case 41 Output tray 42 bin tray

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Satoru Ishikake 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-6-135615 (JP, A) JP HEI 5-207210 (JP, A) JP HEI 3-53757 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04N 1/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image forming unit for forming image information on a sheet, an apparatus housing enclosing the image forming unit, and a space above the apparatus housing, which is arranged with a space between them, to store the original image information. An image forming apparatus comprising a scanner unit for reading the information and converting the information into an electric signal and supplying the electric signal to the image forming unit, wherein the scanner unit is continuously formed on the device casing and the scanner unit is provided above the device casing. A paper transport path is formed inside a supporting portion that supports the separating portion, and the supporting portion is connected to the supporting portion, and at least one bin tray located in a space between the apparatus housing and the scanner portion, A first ejection roller for ejecting the paper conveyed to the paper conveyance path onto the upper surface of the apparatus casing; a second ejection roller for ejecting the paper conveyed to the paper conveyance path onto the bin tray; The first discharge roller and the second An image forming apparatus comprising: a switching unit that switches the sheet to one of the discharge rollers so as to convey the sheet. 2. An area of the apparatus housing forming a paper transport path has a double structure, and an outer side surface of the double structure area constitutes a third paper discharge tray which can be rotated and opened / closed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the different discharge surfaces are used for each function of the image forming apparatus.