JP3577456B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a discharge tray protruding from one side of a main body housing.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a conventional technique, as shown in FIG. 8, there is known an image forming apparatus in which a double-sided unit 2 for enabling printing on the front and back of a sheet is mounted on one side surface of an image forming apparatus 1. The double-sided unit is easily attached externally, and is often attached as an option mainly to a small-sized low-grade machine because of its compactness. When such a duplex unit 2 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1, the discharge tray 3 is fixedly attached to a lower part of the duplex unit 2. Referring to FIG. 9, when the duplex unit 2 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 1, the duplex unit 2 is centered on the shaft 4 at the lower edge in consideration of paper jam processing in the duplex unit 2. It can be opened and closed.
[0003]
In the above-described configuration, in a state where paper is present in the discharge tray 2, for example, when a paper jam occurs in the duplex unit 2, the operator once takes the paper on the discharge tray 2 by hand. Since the work of opening the double-sided unit 2 was required, the operation was very complicated. Further, when the operator forgets to take the sheet on the discharge tray 2 and opens the duplex unit 2, there is a problem that the sheet on the discharge tray 2 falls from the discharge tray.
[0004]
Further, even in an image forming apparatus in which the duplex unit is not mounted, an opening / closing door that can be opened and closed about a shaft at a lower edge is provided on a discharge side surface of the image forming apparatus for paper jam processing at a discharge portion. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known an image forming apparatus which is configured so that the inside of a discharge portion of the image forming apparatus can be exposed by opening the opening / closing door to perform a paper jam process or the like. Also in this image forming apparatus, since the discharge tray is fixedly attached to the opening / closing door, when the opening / closing door is opened, the paper on the discharge tray is discharged as in the prior art in which the double-sided unit is mounted. There was a problem of falling from above.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to remove paper on a discharge tray when a duplex unit or an opening / closing door is opened, for example, for a paper jam in a duplex unit or a discharge portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus having excellent operability which does not need to be provided.
[0006]
Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention
In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides an opening / closing door provided on one side surface of a main body housing so as to be openable and closable about a shaft at a lower end edge, and provided on the opening / closing door and discharged from an image forming apparatus. And a discharge tray for storing sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus, wherein the discharge tray has a sheet stock section for storing sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus and a mounting portion that stands upright from an edge of the sheet stock section. An engagement portion is formed at a free end of the mounting portion, and the door is a double-sided unit provided with an engaged portion that engages with the engagement portion, and the door is opened. A state maintaining means for maintaining an acute angle between the surface of the discharge tray where the paper is stored and the one side surface of the main body housing , wherein the state maintaining means includes the engaging portion and the engaged portion. It is composed of
According to the first aspect of the present invention, with a very simple configuration, even if the opening / closing door is opened while the paper is stocked in the paper discharge tray, the paper on the paper discharge tray does not fall from the paper discharge tray. . Therefore, operations such as paper jam processing are facilitated. Further, the present invention can be implemented even in an image forming apparatus equipped with a duplex unit, so that operations such as paper jam processing in the duplex unit can be facilitated.
[0009]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus has a paper discharge space that enters inside from an outer surface at an intermediate portion in the vertical direction of the main body housing, and a post-processing unit is provided above the paper discharge space. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: According to the second aspect of the present invention, the main body housing has a paper discharge space in the middle in the vertical direction from the outer surface, and a post-processing portion is provided above the paper discharge space. The present invention can be implemented by an image forming apparatus.
[0010]
The invention according to claim 3, the post-processed sheets are discharged to the discharge tray, the sheet that is not post-processing, to claim 2, characterized in that it is discharged to the lower portion of the discharge space An image forming apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims. According to the invention described in claim 3, the post-processed sheets are discharged to the discharge tray, the sheet non-finished, claim 2, characterized in that it is discharged to the lower portion of the discharge space The present invention can be implemented by the image forming apparatus described in (1).
[0011]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an internal configuration according to the present invention. First, referring to FIG. 1, the outer shape of an image forming apparatus 10 is constituted by a main body housing 11, and the image forming apparatus 10 has a paper discharge space portion that enters inside from the outer surface at an intermediate portion in the vertical direction. 12 are formed. The bottom portion of the paper discharge space 12 is configured as an in-body discharge portion 13 so that normal discharge paper (paper not subjected to post-processing) is stacked, and a post-treatment portion 14 described later is provided above the paper discharge space 12. The paper stapled by the post-processing unit 14 is discharged to a discharge tray 15.
[0012]
Subsequently, referring to FIG. 2, in the sheet fed from sheet feeding unit 20, an image is transferred to the sheet in image forming unit 21, fixed in fixing unit 22, and the first sheet if not post-processed. The paper is discharged to the in-body discharge unit 13 via the discharge roller pair 23. On the other hand, when post-processing is performed, the sheet after fixing is conveyed to the post-processing unit 14 by the second discharge roller pair 24 and stocked. Switching of these discharge paths is performed by a switching claw (not shown) or the like. When the stock of sheets to be post-processed is completed and a sheet bundle is formed, post-processing is performed on the sheet bundle. Thereafter, the sheet bundle is discharged to the discharge tray 15 via the transport roller pair 25 and the third discharge roller pair 26. The roller 27 functions as a lower roller of the second discharge roller pair 24 and also functions as an upper roller of the transport roller pair 25. By adopting such a configuration, two roller pairs can be configured by three rollers, and one roller can be eliminated, so that effects such as downsizing of the apparatus and cost reduction can be achieved.
[0013]
When copying on both sides of a sheet is performed, the copying is performed using a duplex unit 40 provided on the right side of the main body housing 11 in FIG. The two-sided unit 40 is provided with a pair of transport rollers 41, 42, and 43. The sheet on which the image is formed on the first side of the sheet is switched back by the first discharge roller pair 23, and the image is formed on the second side. Therefore, the sheet can be transported to the image forming unit 21 again. The configuration in which the sheet is switched back by the first discharge roller pair 23 will be described in detail. The sheet that has passed through the fixing unit 22 is transported to the first discharge roller pair 23, and the rear end of the sheet is moved to the first transport roller pair 23. The conveyance direction of the first conveyance roller pair 23 is reversed in the state where it is nipped. At this time, the sheet is transported into the duplex unit 40 by a switching claw (not shown). The sheet transported into the duplex unit 40 is transported again to the image forming unit 21 by the transport roller pairs 41, 42, 43. In this way, the duplex unit 40 enables copying on both sides of a sheet. Further, for the paper jam processing in the duplex unit 40 and the paper jam processing in the conveyance path in the image forming apparatus 1, the duplex unit 40 can be separated from the main body housing 11 of the image forming apparatus 10. I have. Specifically, a shaft 21 is provided below the surface where the main body housing 11 and the double-sided unit 40 are in close contact with each other, and the double-sided unit 40 is rotatable counterclockwise with respect to the main body housing 11 around the shaft 21. With this configuration, the contact portion between the main body housing 11 and the double-sided unit 40 can be opened.
[0014]
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the configuration of the post-processing unit in the present invention. The configuration of the post-processing unit 14 will be described with reference to FIG. The post-processing unit 14 includes a tray unit 50 for stacking sheets and a staple unit 30 for stapling a sheet bundle stacked on the tray unit 50. The tray section 50 has a width adjusting section 54 for adjusting the width of the stacked sheet bundle. The staple unit 30 stores a staple (not shown).
[0015]
The width matching portion 54 moves the first side fence 61, the second side fence 63, the rear end side fence 65, and these three side fences along moving openings 62, 64, 66 provided in the tray portion 50. The width of the sheet bundle stacked in the post-processing unit 14 can be adjusted.
[0016]
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a discharge tray according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a view showing engagement between the discharge tray of the present invention and a duplex unit. 4 and 5, the discharge tray 15 has a flat paper stock portion 151 for stocking the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus 10, and a double-sided unit that stands upright from the edge of the paper stock portion 151. And a mounting portion 152 for mounting on the forty. L-shaped protrusions 153, 153 are formed at both ends on the free end side of the mounting portion 152, and engagement portions 154, 154 are formed at the tips of both protrusions 153, 153 so as to face each other. ing. On the other hand, holes 44, 44 as engaged portions are provided at positions corresponding to the engaging portions 154, 154 at both ends of the upper surface of the double-sided unit 40, respectively, and the engaging portions 154, 154 and the hole 44 are provided. When the discharge tray 15 is attached to the double-sided unit 40 by engaging with the double-sided unit 44, the discharge tray 15 can rotate about the engaging portion 154 with respect to the double-sided unit 40.
[0017]
Subsequently, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the double-sided unit according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the unit is opened. For example, when a paper jam occurs in the conveyance path in the image forming apparatus 10 or in the duplex unit 40, the left side surface (the side surface on which the duplex unit 40 is mounted) of the image forming apparatus 10 is in close contact with the duplex unit 40 in FIG. Must be opened apart. In such a case, in the present embodiment, the duplex unit 40 is rotated counterclockwise about the shaft 21 with respect to the main body housing 11 as described above. Therefore, in this embodiment, the double-sided unit 40 functions as a door. At this time, since the discharge tray 15 is engaged with the duplex unit 40 only by the engaging portions 154 and 154, the discharge tray 15 rotates around the engaging portions 154 and 154 by its own weight, and is shown in FIG. As described above, the angle between the paper stock part 151 and one side surface of the main body housing 11 on which the double-sided unit 40 is provided can be maintained at an acute angle. Therefore, the paper on the discharge tray does not fall from the discharge tray. Therefore, when the duplex unit 40 is separated from the main body housing 11, there is no need to temporarily take out the paper on the discharge tray, and the operation such as a paper jam can be performed without leaving the paper on the discharge tray. .
[0018]
In the above embodiment, the state maintaining means is constituted only by the engagement between the engaging part and the hole as the engaged part, but the state maintaining means in the present invention is not limited to this. FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing another embodiment. Referring to FIG. 7, only when the duplex unit 40 is opened, the support bar 70 is projected from the lower part of the duplex unit 40 to abut on the discharge tray 15, and the paper stock unit 151 and the duplex unit 40 of the main body housing 11 are separated. A configuration may be employed in which the angle formed between the first side and the one side surface is maintained at an acute angle. The means for projecting the supporting rod can be operated by operating a solenoid or the like in conjunction with ON / OFF of an open / close switch (not shown) of the duplex unit 40.
[0019]
Furthermore, the present invention can be opened and closed around the lower edge on the surface of the main body housing where the paper is discharged, for example, for paper jam processing at the discharge portion, even if the image forming apparatus is not equipped with a duplex unit. The present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus provided with an opening / closing body as an opening / closing door. In this case, the hole as the engaged portion may be provided in the opening / closing body, or may be engaged by attaching a member provided with a separate hole to the opening / closing body.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when the opening / closing door is opened, the angle between the surface of the discharge tray where the paper is stocked and one side of the main body housing on which the opening / closing door is mounted is maintained at an acute angle. Since the holding means is provided, even if the opening / closing door is opened while the paper is stocked in the paper discharge tray, the paper on the paper discharge tray does not fall from the paper discharge tray. Therefore, operations such as paper jam processing are facilitated.
[0021]
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a discharge tray according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a view showing engagement between a discharge tray and a duplex unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing a double-sided unit opened according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional configuration. [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image forming apparatus 11 ... Main body housing 12 ... Paper discharge space part 13 ... Internal discharge part 14 ... Post-processing part 15 ... Discharge tray 151 ... Paper stock part 152 ... Mounting part 153 ... Projection part 154 ... Engagement part 20 ... Paper feed unit 21 Image forming unit 22 Fixing unit 23 First discharge roller pair 24 Second discharge roller pair 25 Transport roller pair 26 Third discharge roller pair 27 Roller 40 Inside double-sided unit 41, 42, Reference numeral 43: conveying roller pair 44, hole 50, tray 54, width matching portion 61, first side fences 62, 64, 66, moving opening 63, second side fence 65, rear end side fence 70, support rod

Claims (3)

An image forming apparatus having an opening / closing door provided on one side surface of a main body housing so as to be openable and closable about a shaft at a lower end edge, and a discharge tray provided on the opening / closing door and stocking sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus. ,
The discharge tray includes a paper stock portion for stocking the paper discharged from the image forming apparatus, and a mounting portion erected from an edge of the paper stock portion, and an engagement portion is provided at a free end of the mounting portion. Formed,
The opening and closing door is a double-sided unit provided with an engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion,
When you open the door, provided with a state maintaining means for maintaining the angle between the one side face of the face and the body housing for stocking the paper discharge tray at an acute angle, said state maintaining means, said engaging An image forming apparatus comprising: a unit; and an engaged unit . The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the image forming apparatus has a paper discharge space that enters inside from the outer surface at an intermediate part in the vertical direction of the main body housing, and a post-processing unit is provided above the paper discharge space. Item 2. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the post-processed sheet is discharged to the discharge tray, and the non-post-processed sheet is discharged to a lower portion of the discharge space.

Images