JP4746424B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a paper discharge unit that discharges paper in a cylinder.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a so-called in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus that includes a discharge unit that discharges a sheet in a cylinder (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In this patent document 1, a flat sheet discharge tray on which a sheet discharged to the sheet discharge section can be placed is provided in the sheet discharge section disposed in the cylinder, and the discharge tray is disposed on the front side of the apparatus main body. An image forming apparatus is disclosed in which a sheet placed on a discharge tray can be easily taken out by protruding substantially horizontally.
JP-A-11-193166

  However, in the conventional image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the flat discharge tray is protruded substantially horizontally toward the front side of the apparatus main body, the protruding dimension of the discharge tray is increased. There is a problem that the occupied area of the apparatus increases.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing an increase in the area occupied by the apparatus.

To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus capable of placing discharged paper and capable of sliding in a predetermined drawing / storing direction with respect to the apparatus main body. In the image forming apparatus provided with a paper discharge unit including a tray in the cylinder, the paper discharge tray is formed to be curved in an arch shape along the pulling / storing direction, and the paper discharged to the paper discharge unit A tray portion to be placed, a stopper portion that is provided in the tray portion and contacts an end portion of a sheet placed in the tray portion on the drawing direction side, and a wall that is erected on the storage direction side of the tray portion possess a part, which is slidable along the curved shape of the tray portion, the wall surface located on the housing side of the wall, passes immediately before the sheet is discharged to the discharge unit discharge It also serves as an inner wall surface of the paper conveyance path .

  In the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, as described above, the tray portion of the paper discharge tray that is slidable in the predetermined pull-out / storage direction with respect to the main body is formed in an arch shape along the pull-out / storage direction. Since the paper discharge tray is slid along the curved shape of the tray section, the end of the paper discharge tray in the state of being pulled out from the apparatus body is suspended downward. Can be evacuated. As a result, it is possible to reduce the protruding dimension of the discharge tray from the apparatus main body as compared with the case where the flat discharge tray is protruded substantially horizontally from the apparatus main body. Can be suppressed.

  Further, since the stopper portion is provided in the tray portion, when the tray portion is inclined downward by pulling out the discharge tray from the apparatus main body, the stopper portion is provided at the end portion on the drawing direction side of the paper placed on the tray portion. Can contact and prevent the paper from falling. As a result, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the paper is scattered on the floor surface when the paper discharge tray is pulled out. For example, it is possible to improve workability such as taking out the paper after the paper discharge tray is pulled out and performing maintenance. Can be planned. The stopper portion can function as a paper stock portion in a paper discharge tray stored in the apparatus main body. In this case, unlike the case where the stopper portion and the stock portion are provided separately, the paper discharge portion The tray structure can be simplified.

In addition, since the wall portion can be brought into contact with the end portion on the storage direction side of the paper placed on the tray portion, when the paper discharge tray is pulled out from the apparatus main body, the paper is caused by the curved shape of the tray portion. It can prevent falling to the storage direction side. Thus, the paper can be reliably pulled out together with the paper discharge tray, so that the paper take-out workability can be improved. In addition, the paper discharge conveyance path can be exposed to the outside through the paper discharge unit simply by pulling the paper discharge tray out of the apparatus main body, so that it is possible to improve the workability of the jam processing that occurs in the paper discharge conveyance path. Can do.

The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, preferably, before Kikabe section, the wall surface you located in the pull-out direction side also serves as an exterior surface of the discharge unit (claim 2). If comprised in this way, the discharge port arrange | positioned, for example in the exterior surface of a paper discharge part can be easily opened only by pulling out a paper discharge tray with respect to an apparatus main body. Thereby, the workability | operativity of the jam processing which generate | occur | produced in the said discharge port can be improved.

The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the pull-out direction of the sheet discharge tray is preferably substantially equal to the discharge direction to the paper discharge portion of the sheet (claim 3). According to this configuration, for example, when the paper discharge tray is pulled out of the apparatus main body for jam processing at the discharge port of the paper discharge unit, the paper discharge tray is substantially orthogonal to the paper discharge direction to the paper discharge unit. It is possible to prevent paper tearing that occurs when the paper is pulled out in the direction in which the paper is drawn.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, by projecting the end of the paper discharge tray that is pulled out from the apparatus main body in the pull-down direction downward and retracting, the projection size of the paper discharge tray from the apparatus main body is reduced. Therefore, an increase in the area occupied by the apparatus can be suppressed. Further, the stopper portion contacts the end portion of the paper placed on the tray portion on the drawing direction side to prevent the paper from falling, so that the paper is scattered on the floor surface when the paper discharge tray is pulled out. Since inconvenience can be avoided, it is possible to improve workability such as taking out and maintaining the paper after the operation of pulling out the paper discharge tray.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an internal configuration of the printer illustrated in FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of an R portion of the printer shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the printer shown in FIG. First, an overall configuration of a printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In this embodiment, an example in which the image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied to the printer 1 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 of the present embodiment includes an upper unit 1a that reads a document image and the like, and a lower unit 1b that is provided below the upper unit 1a and that prints an image on paper. ing. In addition, the printer 1 has a predetermined space formed between the upper unit 1a and the lower unit 1b so as to enter the rear side horizontally from the front of the device, and the lower unit 1b described later is included in the space. A paper discharge unit 5 is provided for stacking sheets discharged from the printer (in-cylinder discharge).

  The upper unit 1a is configured to be rotatable upward with respect to the lower unit 1b around a fulcrum portion 11 (see FIG. 2), and reads an original image and generates image data corresponding to the original image. The document reading unit 12 and an operation display unit 13 disposed in front of the document reading unit 12 and used for inputting predetermined instructions in accordance with a user (operator) operation.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the lower unit 1b includes a box-shaped unit main body 1c, and transmits the paper from the original reading unit 12 while conveying the paper along a conveyance path L provided in the unit main body 1c. An image is formed on the paper based on the image data thus obtained. The conveyance path L is configured to have a substantially L shape in a side view, and is substantially vertical from the rear end portion of the horizontal conveyance path L1 and the horizontal conveyance path L1 extending substantially horizontally from the front to the rear of the printer 1. And a vertical conveyance path L2 rising up. A paper discharge unit 5 is provided in front of the upper portion of the vertical conveyance path L2. The unit main body 1c is an example of the “apparatus main body” in the present invention, and the upper part of the vertical transport path L2 corresponds to the “discharge transport path” in the present invention.

  The lower unit 1b stores a sheet and supplies the sheet to the image forming unit 3 described below, an image forming unit 3 that forms an image on the sheet supplied from the sheet feeding unit 2, and an image The image forming apparatus includes a fixing unit 4 that fixes the toner image transferred to the paper by the forming unit 3 to the paper, and a paper discharge unit 5 that discharges the paper P subjected to fixing processing by the fixing unit 4.

  The paper feeding unit 2 includes a paper feeding cassette 21 that is attached to the paper feeding unit 2 so as to be able to be drawn forward and is disposed below the horizontal conveyance path L1 of the conveyance path L in the mounted state. The sheet feeding unit 2 takes out the sheets in the sheet feeding cassette 21 one by one by the pickup roller 22 and sends the sheets to the horizontal conveying path L1 of the conveying path L by the sheet feeding roller 23. Further, the registration roller pair 24 After being temporarily kept in standby, the image forming unit 3 is supplied at a predetermined timing.

  The paper feed unit 2 has a manual feed tray 25 attached to the front of the unit main body 1c, and the paper placed on the manual feed tray 25 is conveyed horizontally in the conveyance path L one by one by a pickup roller (not shown). It can be sent to the road L1.

  The image forming unit 3 is configured to transfer a toner image to a sheet after forming the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 31. That is, the image forming unit 3 includes a photosensitive drum 31 disposed substantially in the center in the front-rear direction of the horizontal conveying path L1 of the conveying path L, a charging unit 32 disposed above the photosensitive drum 31, The developing unit 33 disposed in front of the photosensitive drum 31, the transfer unit 34 disposed below the photosensitive drum 31, the cleaning unit 35 disposed behind the photosensitive drum 31, and the charging unit. And a laser scanner unit (LSU) 36 disposed above the cleaning unit 35 and the cleaning unit 35.

  The photosensitive drum 31 rotates clockwise in FIG. 2, and after the surface is uniformly charged by the charging unit 32, the laser based on the image data by the laser scanner unit 36. An electrostatic latent image is formed by irradiating light between the charging unit 32 and the developing unit 33, and toner is further supplied from the developing unit 33 to the surface on which the electrostatic latent image is formed. An image is formed.

  The paper supplied from the paper supply unit 2 is conveyed while being pressed against the photoconductive drum 31 by the transfer roller 34a of the transfer unit 34, so that the toner formed on the surface of the photoconductive drum 31 on the surface thereof. The image is transferred and then sent to the fixing unit 4. The toner and residual charges remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 31 after the transfer are removed by the cleaning unit 35.

  The fixing unit 4 includes a heat roller 41 and a pressure roller 42, and the toner image is fixed to the paper by heat and pressure by sandwiching the paper on which the toner image is transferred by the rollers 41 and 42. To do. Then, the paper P on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 4 is discharged to the paper discharge unit 5 provided in the space between the upper unit 1a and the lower unit 1b through the vertical conveyance path L2.

  Next, the configuration of the paper discharge unit 5 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the paper discharge unit 5 is disposed at the upper end of the vertical conveyance path L2 and discharges the paper P toward the front of the printer 1, and the unit body of the lower unit 1b. The paper discharge tray 52 is provided as a part of the exterior top cover constituting 1c and on which the paper P discharged to the paper discharge section 5 by the paper discharge roller pair 51 is placed.

  The paper discharge tray 52 is configured to be slidable in the front-rear direction so that it can be drawn out and stored in the unit main body 1c. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. Is substantially coincident with the discharge direction of the paper P to the paper discharge unit 5 (see arrow B).

  The paper discharge tray 52 includes a tray portion 53 on which sheets P can be stacked and placed, a stopper portion 54 formed with a predetermined left and right width at a position near the top of the tray portion 53, and a tray portion. 53, a wall portion 55 erected at the end of the storage direction (rear) side of 53, and a tray side rail portion 56 (see FIG. 3) formed to extend in the front-rear direction at both left and right ends of the tray portion 53. Contains.

  Here, the tray portion 53 is formed in an arch shape along the drawing / storage direction (front-rear direction) of the discharge tray 52, and the discharge tray 52 has the curved shape of the tray portion 53. It is designed to slide along. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the end portion on the drawing direction (front) side of the paper discharge tray 52 in the state of being pulled out from the unit main body 1c hangs down. For example, the flat plate indicated by the phantom line in FIG. Compared with the case where the sheet discharge tray is pulled out substantially horizontally from the unit main body, the protruding dimension of the discharge tray 52 from the unit main body 1c can be reduced by about a distance d.

  The stopper portion 54 has a paper support surface 54a that comes into contact with the end of the paper P placed on the tray portion 53 on the drawing direction side, and the tray 52 is stored in the unit main body 1c. In addition to functioning as a stock unit that suppresses scattering of the paper P stacked on the unit 53, the paper P stacked on the tray unit 53 is prevented from falling down while the paper discharge tray 52 is pulled out from the unit main body 1c. It has a function to do. Note that the stopper portion 54 may be rotated so that the stopper portion 54 can be stored in the tray portion 53, and may be raised from the tray portion 53 when the paper discharge tray 52 is pulled out.

  The wall portion 55 includes a flat wall surface 55a located on the drawing direction (front) side of the wall portion 55 and an arc-shaped wall surface 55b located on the storage direction (rear) side of the wall portion 55. Yes. The wall surface 55a and the wall surface 55b are examples of the “first wall surface” and the “second wall surface” in the present invention, respectively. In the state in which the paper discharge tray 52 shown in FIG. 2 is housed in the unit main body 1c, the wall surface 55a also serves as the exterior surface of the paper discharge unit 5, and the wall surface 55b also serves as the inner wall surface of the vertical conveyance path L2. It is configured. In addition, the wall part 55 may be comprised so that the inside, ie, the part pinched | interposed by both wall surface 55a, 55b may become a cavity. In this case, since the paper discharge tray 52 can be reduced in weight, it is possible to improve the workability of the drawer / storage operation of the paper discharge tray 52.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the tray-side rail portion 56 has a convex portion 56a having a rectangular cross section engaged with a rectangular groove portion 14a of the unit-side rail portion 14 extending in the front-rear direction on the unit body 1c. Thus, the paper discharge tray 52 is prevented from being detached from the unit main body 1c while the paper discharge tray 52 is slidably attached to the unit main body 1c.

  In the printer 1 configured as described above, when a paper jam occurs in the upper part of the vertical conveyance path L2, the inner wall surface of the vertical conveyance path L2 is configured by pulling out the discharge tray 52 from the unit body 1c. The wall surface 55b of the wall portion 55 is separated from the vertical conveyance path L2. Then, the vertical conveyance path L2 is exposed to the outside through the paper discharge unit 5 and the paper staying in the vertical conveyance path L2 is removed to perform jam processing. At this time, since the end of the discharge tray 52 on the drawing direction side hangs down so as to cover the front surface of the unit main body 1c of the lower unit 1b, the projecting dimension of the discharge tray 52 from the unit main body 1c is reduced. This alleviates the jamming process of the paper discharge tray 52, thereby improving the workability of the jam processing. Further, the paper P on the paper discharge tray 52 is prevented from falling from the paper discharge tray 52 by the end of the drawing direction side coming into contact with the stopper portion 54. In addition to pulling out the paper discharge tray 52 from the unit main body 1c, when the upper unit 1a is rotated upward with respect to the lower unit 1b, the vicinity of the paper discharge unit 5 is greatly exposed to the outside. Jam processing is further facilitated, and the workability is further improved.

  Further, in the printer 1 having the above-described configuration, the vicinity of the developing unit 33 of the image forming unit 3 can be exposed to the outside by pulling out the paper discharge tray 52 from the unit main body 1c. It becomes easy to do.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the tray portion 53 of the discharge tray 52 configured to be slidable in the front-rear direction and drawn out / stored in the unit main body 1c of the lower unit 1b is arranged along the pull-out / storage direction. Since the paper discharge tray 52 is slid along the curved shape of the tray portion 53, the paper discharge tray 52 is slid along the curved shape of the tray portion 53. The end can be retracted by hanging downward. Thereby, compared with the case where the flat sheet discharge tray is pulled out substantially horizontally from the unit main body, the projecting dimension of the paper discharge tray 52 from the unit main body 1c can be reduced, so that the area occupied by the printer 1 is increased. Can be suppressed.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the stopper portion 54 is provided in the tray portion 53. Therefore, when the tray portion 53 is inclined downward by pulling out the discharge tray 52 from the unit main body 1c, the tray portion 53 is provided. The stopper 54 comes into contact with the end of the paper P placed on the drawing direction side, so that the paper P can be prevented from dropping. As a result, it is possible to avoid the inconvenience that the paper P is scattered on the floor surface when the paper discharge tray 52 is pulled out. For example, operations such as taking out the paper P and performing maintenance after the paper discharge tray 52 is pulled out. It is possible to improve the performance.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the wall portion 55 is erected on the storage direction side of the tray portion 53, so that the wall portion is placed on the end portion on the storage direction side of the paper P placed on the tray portion 53. 55 can be brought into contact with each other, so that when the paper discharge tray 52 is pulled out from the unit main body 1c, the sheet P can be prevented from falling in the storage direction due to the curved shape of the tray portion 53. As a result, the paper P can be reliably pulled out together with the paper discharge tray 52, so that the workability of taking out the paper P can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, since the wall surface 55a of the wall portion 55 of the paper discharge tray 52 is also used as the exterior surface of the paper discharge portion 5, the paper discharge tray 52 is attached to the unit main body 1c. For example, the discharge port disposed on the exterior surface of the paper discharge unit 5 can be easily opened simply by pulling it out. Thereby, the workability | operativity of the jam processing which generate | occur | produced in the said discharge port can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the wall surface 55 b of the wall portion 55 of the paper discharge tray 52 also serves as the inner wall surface of the vertical conveyance path L <b> 2 that passes immediately before the paper P is discharged to the paper discharge portion 5. Since the vertical conveyance path L2 can be exposed to the outside through the paper discharge unit 5 simply by pulling out the paper discharge tray 52 with respect to the unit main body 1c, it is possible to remove the jam that has occurred in the vertical conveyance path L2. Workability can be improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, since the direction in which the paper discharge tray 52 is pulled out is substantially coincident with the direction in which the paper P is discharged to the paper discharge unit 5, for example, at the discharge port of the paper discharge unit 5. When the paper discharge tray 52 is pulled out from the unit main body 1c for the jam processing, paper breakage that occurs when the paper discharge tray 52 is pulled out in a direction substantially perpendicular to the discharge direction of the paper P to the paper discharge unit 5 is generated. Can be prevented.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description of the embodiments but by the scope of claims for patent, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims for patent.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention has been described with reference to an example in which the present invention is applied to the printer 1 having the paper discharge unit 5 in the cylinder. The present invention can also be applied to image forming apparatuses such as copiers, facsimiles, and multifunction peripherals thereof.

  In the above embodiment, the stopper portion 54 of the paper discharge tray 52 is formed on the upper surface of the tray portion 53 so that the angle formed by the paper support surface 54a and the upper surface of the tray portion 53 is an obtuse angle. First, as shown in FIG. 5, the stopper portion 154 of the paper discharge tray 152 has an end portion on the drawer direction side of the tray portion 53 so that the angle formed by the paper support surface 154 a and the upper surface of the tray portion 53 is substantially a right angle. May be provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the stopper portion 254 having a plurality of stepped paper support surfaces 254a is arranged so that the angle formed by the paper support surface 254a and the upper surface of the tray portion 53 is substantially a right angle. You may provide in the edge part of the extraction | drawer direction side of 53. FIG. According to the above configuration, the paper P on the tray unit 53 can be reliably supported by the paper support surface when the paper discharge tray is pulled out, and the user can touch the paper support surface of the stopper unit with a finger or the like. Since the paper discharge tray can be easily pulled forward by hooking, the workability of the paper discharge tray drawing operation can be improved.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the convex portion 56a having a rectangular cross section is formed on the tray side rail portion 56 of the paper discharge tray 52, and the convex portion 56a is formed in the rectangular groove portion 14a of the unit side rail portion 14 of the unit body 1c. Although an example of engaging is shown, the present invention is not limited thereto, and as shown in FIG. 7, a convex portion 356a having a wedge-shaped cross section is formed on the tray-side rail portion 356 of the discharge tray 352, and the convex portion 356a is formed as a unit main body. You may engage with the wedge-shaped groove part 314a of the unit side rail part 314 of 301c.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an external configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining an internal configuration of the printer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of an R portion of the printer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a state where a paper discharge tray of the printer shown in FIG. 2 is pulled out from a unit main body. It is sectional drawing which showed the structure of the stopper part of the paper discharge tray by the modification 1 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which showed the structure of the stopper part of the paper discharge tray by the modification 2 of this invention. It is the perspective view which showed the slide structure of the paper discharge tray by the modification 3 of this invention.

1 Printer (image forming device)
1c, 301c Unit body (device body)
5 Paper discharge part 52,152,252,352 Paper discharge tray 53 Tray part 54,154,254 Stopper part 55 Wall part 55a Wall surface (first wall surface)
55b Wall surface (second wall surface)
L2 Vertical transport path (discharge transport path)
P paper

Claims (3)

In an image forming apparatus provided with a paper discharge unit including a paper discharge tray in which a discharged paper can be placed and slidable in a predetermined drawing / storing direction with respect to the apparatus main body.
The paper discharge tray is
A tray portion that is formed to be curved in an arch shape along the pulling-out and storing direction, and on which the paper discharged to the paper discharge portion is placed;
A stopper portion provided in the tray portion and in contact with an end portion on the drawing direction side of the paper placed on the tray portion ;
Have a wall portion which is erected in the housing direction side of the tray portion,
It is slidable along the curved shape of the tray part ,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a wall surface of the wall portion positioned on the storage direction side also serves as an inner wall surface of a paper discharge conveyance path that passes immediately before the paper is discharged to the paper discharge portion . Before Kikabe section, the wall surface you located in the pull-out direction side, the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that also serves as an exterior surface of the discharge unit. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a direction in which the paper discharge tray is pulled out substantially coincides with a direction in which the paper is discharged to the paper discharge unit.

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