JP3509037B2 - Staple remover and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a staple remover,
And an image forming apparatus using the staple remover.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a document feeder for automatically conveying a document is used in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile, it is necessary to remove the staple from the document previously stapled. 2. Description of the Related Art A staple remover is provided as a device for removing staples stuck on a document.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-50455 discloses a staple remover provided on the upper surface of a copying machine. The staple remover is mounted in a recess formed in the upper wall of the copying machine, and the tip of the strip portion projects further upward from the upper wall of the copying machine. When removing the staples, the tip of the strip portion is inserted between the sheet and the staples, and the sheet is moved in this state. Then, the staples are removed from the sheet. Here, since the copying machine is provided with the staple remover, the operator who uses the copying machine does not need to carry the staple remover, and the loss of the staple remover can be prevented.

[0004]

Problems to be Solved by the Invention JP-A-59-5045
In the staple remover disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 5 publication, since the tip of the strip portion projects upward from the upper wall of the copying machine, there is a possibility that the clothing of the worker may be caught on the tip of the strip blade during the copying operation. It is a danger.

An object of the present invention is to enhance the safety of the staple remover provided in the image forming apparatus.

[0006]

A staple remover according to one aspect of the present invention is provided in a concave portion of an upper wall of an image forming apparatus and is for removing staples fixed to a sheet. And a rotation operation mechanism. The remover main body has a rotating portion rotatably provided in a recess of the upper wall and a strip portion formed on the rotating portion. Then, the strip portion is rotatable in a first position in which the strip portion is arranged in the recess and the rotating portion is closed in the opening portion of the recess portion, and a second position in which the strip portion is located in the opening portion of the recess portion. The rotation operation mechanism engages with the rotating portion and rotates the remover body between the first position and the second position.

A protrusion is formed on the rotating portion, and the rotation operation mechanism has a slide button slidably arranged on the upper wall and a slide hole which engages with the protrusion and constitutes a link mechanism. It is preferably composed of a member. It is preferable to further include a recovery box mounted on the first position side of the remover body in the recess.

A guide surface for guiding the staple to the collection box is preferably formed on the first position side below the strip portion of the rotating portion. It is preferable that the rotation operation mechanism has a lock mechanism for locking the remover body at the first position and the second position. An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes an image forming apparatus main body and a staple remover. The image forming apparatus main body is an apparatus that has an upper wall in which a concave portion is formed and that reads and processes an image of a document. The staple remover includes a remover body and a rotation operation mechanism. The remover body has a rotating portion rotatably provided in the recess and a strip portion formed on the rotating portion. The rotating part of the remover body is rotatable between a first position in which the strip part is arranged in the recess and the rotating part closes the opening part of the recess, and a second position in which the strip part is located in the opening part of the recess. Is. The rotation operation mechanism engages with the rotating portion to rotate the remover body between the first position and the second position.

[0009]

In the present invention, when the staple remover is not used, the rotary operation mechanism is operated to dispose the remover main body at the first position. In this position, the strip part is arranged in the recess and the rotating part closes the opening of the recess. In this state, it is safe because the strip portion is not exposed.

When using the staple remover, the rotary operation mechanism is operated to dispose the remover main body at the second position. At this time, the strip portion is arranged at the opening of the recess. In this state, the stapled portion of the sheet is arranged at the tip of the strip portion, and then the rotation operation mechanism is operated to rotate the remover body to the first position side. Then, the strip portion enters between the staple and the sheet and removes the staple from the sheet.

When the rotating portion and the slide member are engaged by the link mechanism, the slide button is slid to rotate the remover body. Here, the remover body can be rotated with a simple structure. When the collection box is further provided, the staples removed from the sheet are collected by the collection box. This keeps the aesthetics around the staple remover without scattering the staples.

When a guide surface is formed on the rotating portion,
The staples removed from the sheet by the strip portion are reliably collected in the collection box through the guide surface. When the rotation operation mechanism has the lock mechanism, the strip portion is reliably held at the first position when the staple remover is not used. This further improves the safety of the staple remover.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a copying machine in which an embodiment of the present invention is adopted. This copying machine is mainly composed of the copying machine main body 1
And a sorter 2 disposed on the side of the copying machine body 1. Inside the copying machine main body 1, an image forming section, a document scanning section arranged above the image forming section, and a sheet transport for supplying a sheet to the image forming section and discharging a sheet from the image forming section. And a device. The image forming unit has a photosensitive drum arranged in the center and a charging device, a developing device, a transfer device, a paper separating device and a cleaning device arranged around the photosensitive drum. The document scanning section has an optical system arranged above the image forming section, a document table arranged above the optical system, and a document cover 3 arranged on the document table. The document cover 3 is provided on the copying machine main body 1 so as to be openable and closable, and has a shape that covers the upper surface of the document table. An automatic document feeder 4 is provided on the upper surface of the document table 3.

An operation panel 5 for operating the copying machine main body 1 is provided on the front side of the upper surface of the copying machine main body 1. The operation panel 5 is provided with a liquid crystal display for displaying operation modes, a ten-key pad for inputting numerical values such as the number of copies, and a print button for instructing the start of copy operation. A recess 7a of the upper wall 7 is formed on the upper surface of the document cover 3, and the staple remover 6 is mounted in the recess 7a. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the staple remover 6 is mainly composed of a remover body 11, a slide member 12, and a recovery box 17.

The remover main body 11 has an upper strip portion 1
1a. The remover main body 11 can rotate between the first position shown in FIG. 3 and the second position shown in FIG. 4 by the rotation guide surface 14 formed on the upper wall 7. In the first position, the strip part 11a is arranged in the recess 7a and the closing surface 11c closes the opening of the recess 7a. As is apparent from FIG. 4, the strip portion 11a is in the second position.
Project slightly above the upper wall 7. A guide surface 11b is formed on the first position side of the strip portion 11a.

The slide member 12 comprises a slide button 12a slidably arranged on the upper wall 7, and a main body 12b integrally extending from the slide button 12a and arranged in the upper wall 7. The main body 12b has a portion that extends downward from the slide button 12a and a portion that extends from the portion that extends downward to the remover main body 11 side. An elongated hole 12c extending in the up-down direction is formed at the tip of the portion extending to the remover body 11 side, into which the protrusion 11d formed on the remover body 11 is inserted. By operating the slide button 12a, the remover main body 11 can be rotated between the first position and the second position by the link mechanism formed by the engagement between the elongated hole 12c and the protrusion 11d. Further, the slide member 12 is formed with engaging recesses 12d at two positions. This engaging recess 12d
An engaging projection 15 that engages with any of the above is formed on the lower portion of the rotation guide surface 14 of the upper wall 7. That is, in the first position shown in FIG. 3, the engagement recess 12d on the right side of the drawing fits with the engagement projection 15 and the remover body 11 is locked in the first position. Then, in the second position shown in FIG. 4, the engagement recess 12d on the left side of the drawing fits with the engagement projection 15, and the remover main body 11 is locked in the second position.

The recovery box 17 is arranged on the first position side of the remover body 11. The collection box can be removed from the recess 7a. The recovery box 17 has an opening for receiving the staple S, and further has a lid part for closing the recess 7 a of the upper wall 7 at the upper part. The lid is provided with a transparent window 17a made of acrylic resin.

When the staple remover 6 shown in FIG. 3 is not used, the strip portion 11a is arranged in the recess 7a of the upper wall 7, and the closing surface 11c of the remover body 11 closes the opening of the recess 7a. . Therefore, the worker is not injured by the strip portion 11a. Further, in the first position, the slide member 12 is locked by the lock mechanism including the engagement recess 12d and the engagement projection 15, so that the remover main body 11 does not easily rotate. Therefore, the safety of the staple remover 6 is further improved.

When using the staple remover 6,
The operator slides the slide button 12a to the left in the figure. Then, the remover main body 11 rotates counterclockwise in the drawing by the link mechanism including the long hole 12c and the projection 11d, and the state shown in FIG. 4 is obtained. Also here, the slide member 12 is locked by the engagement projection 15 and the engagement recess 12d. The operator prepares the paper P on which the staples S are stopped, and arranges the portion on which the staples S are stopped at the tip of the strip portion 11a, as shown in FIG. Here, the back portion of the staple S is placed downward. In this state, the operator slides the slide button 12a to the left in the figure. Then, the remover main body 11 rotates clockwise, and the strip portion 11a enters between the back portion of the staple S and the paper P. Then, the staple S is removed from the paper P while the bent portion is expanded by the strip portion 11a. The removed staple S falls on the guide surface 11b of the remover main body 11 and is reliably recovered in the recovery box 17 through the guide surface 11b. As a result, the beauty around the staple remover 6 is maintained without the staples S being scattered.
In the state shown in FIG. 3, even the guide surface 11b and the rotation guide surface 1
Even if the staple S falls between the stapler 4 and the stapler 4, when the remover main body 11 is rotated again, the staple S moves upward by the guide surface 11b and is recovered from there through the guide surface 11b into the recovery box 17.

The accumulation state of the staples S in the collection box 17 can be easily confirmed by the transparent window 17a. When the staple S in the recovery box 17 is full, the recovery box 17 is removed from the recess 7a and the staple S is discarded. In this way, since the recovery box 17 can be removed from the recess 7a, the staple S can be easily discarded.

[0021]

According to the present invention, when the staple remover is not used, the rotary operation mechanism is operated to dispose the remover main body at the first position. In this position, the strip part is arranged in the recess and the rotating part closes the opening of the recess. In this way, the operator is not injured by the strip portion because the strip portion is not exposed.

When the rotating portion and the slide member are engaged by the link mechanism, the slide button is slid to rotate the remover body. Here, the remover body can be rotated with a simple structure. When the collection box is further provided, the staples removed from the sheet are collected by the collection box. This keeps the aesthetics around the staple remover without scattering the staples.

When a guide surface is formed on the rotating portion,
The staples removed from the sheet by the strip portion are reliably collected in the collection box through the guide surface. When the rotation operation mechanism has the lock mechanism, the strip portion is reliably held at the first position when the staple remover is not used. This further improves the safety of the staple remover.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a copying machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a staple remover.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a second position of the staple remover.

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing the operation of removing the collection box.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a collection box.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Copier body 6 Staple remover 7 Upper wall 7a recess 11 remover body 11a strip section 11b Guideway 11c Closed surface 12 Slide member 12a slide button 17 Collection Box

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] 1. A staple remover provided in a concave portion of an upper wall of an image forming apparatus for removing staples fixed to a sheet, the rotating portion being rotatably provided in the concave portion of the upper wall, and A strip portion formed on a rotating portion, the strip portion being disposed in the recess, and the rotating portion closing an opening portion of the recess; and the strip portion being an opening portion of the recess. And a remover main body that is rotatable between a second position and a rotary operation mechanism that engages the rotating portion and rotates the remover main body between a first position and a second position. And a staple remover. 2. A protrusion is formed on the rotating portion, and the rotation operation mechanism is a slide button slidably arranged on the upper wall and a long member which engages with the protrusion to form a link mechanism. The staple remover according to claim 1, comprising a slide member having a hole. 3. A recovery box mounted on the first position side of the remover body in the recess, further comprising:
The staple remover according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The staple remover according to claim 3, wherein a guide surface for guiding staples to the recovery box is formed on the first position side of the strip portion of the rotating portion. 5. The staple remover according to claim 1, wherein the rotation operation mechanism has a lock mechanism for locking the remover main body at the first position and the second position. 6. An image forming apparatus main body having an upper wall in which a concave portion is formed, which reads an image of a document and processes other portions, a rotating portion rotatably provided in the concave portion, and the rotating portion. A strip portion formed therein, the strip portion being disposed in the recess, and the rotating portion closing the opening portion of the recess; and the strip portion being positioned at the opening portion of the recess. A staple remover including a remover body that is rotatable between two positions, and a rotation operation mechanism that engages with the rotating portion to rotate the remover body between a first position and a second position. And an image forming apparatus including. 7. A protrusion is formed on the rotating portion, and the rotation operation mechanism forms a link mechanism by engaging a slide button slidably arranged on the upper wall and the protrusion. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, comprising a slide member having an elongated hole. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the staple remover further includes a recovery box disposed on the first position side of the remover body in the recess. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a guide surface for guiding staples to the recovery box is formed on the first position side of the strip section of the rotating section. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the rotation operation mechanism has a lock mechanism for locking the remover body at the first position and the second position. .