JP4808981B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, and more particularly to an in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus in which a sheet is discharged into a cylinder.

  Conventionally, for the purpose of reducing the installation space of the image forming apparatus, an image forming apparatus provided with a paper discharge unit in a cylinder is known. In such an in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus, in general, a paper discharge unit is provided below a scanner unit that reads a document image, and the upper part of the discharge unit is covered by the scanner unit. Therefore, it is difficult for the operator to visually recognize the paper discharged to the discharge unit, and it is difficult to take out the paper from the discharge unit.

Therefore, conventionally, a technique for exposing the discharged paper from the apparatus has been proposed in order to eliminate the inconvenience described above (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, a discharged sheet is placed on a discharge unit disposed below a scanner unit and above a main body unit including an image forming unit. A paper discharge tray is provided. The paper discharge tray is configured to be rotatable with respect to the image forming apparatus (discharge unit). By rotating the paper discharge tray toward the front of the apparatus, the paper discharged onto the paper discharge tray can be removed. It is exposed to the outside from the side of the device to make it easy to take out the discharged paper. In addition, by automatically rotating the discharge tray using a drive mechanism such as a motor, forgetting to remove the paper discharged to the discharge unit is prevented.
JP 2001-206609 A

  However, in the conventional image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to separately provide a mechanism (drive mechanism) for rotating the paper discharge tray in order to expose the paper discharged to the discharge unit from the apparatus. Therefore, there is a problem that the configuration of the apparatus becomes complicated.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides an image forming apparatus capable of easily taking out discharged paper while suppressing the complexity of the apparatus. With the goal.

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus including a discharge portion for discharging paper in a cylinder, and the discharge portion contacts a rear end in a paper discharge direction. In addition, a first rib protruding in the discharge direction with a predetermined protrusion amount, and a first rib is formed on the side of the paper discharge direction perpendicular to the paper discharge direction from the first rib, and contacts the rear end of the paper. In addition, a second rib protruding in the discharge direction with a protruding amount smaller than the protruding amount of the first rib is included.

According to this image forming apparatus, as described above, the first rib projecting with a predetermined projecting amount in the sheet ejection direction and the sheet ejection direction side perpendicular to the sheet ejection direction from the first rib are formed. By providing the second rib protruding in the discharge direction of the sheet with a protruding amount smaller than the protruding amount of the first rib, the rear end of the sheet discharged to the discharge unit is different in the protruding amount from the first rib and the second rib. When it comes into contact with the rib, the entire sheet is naturally rotated so that the front end of the sheet is directed in the sheet take-out direction. As a result, a part of the front end of the sheet discharged to the discharge unit can be exposed to the outside from the side surface of the apparatus.

In the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect , the first rib and the second rib have an inclined portion that contacts the rear end of the sheet, and the angle formed by the inclined portion of the first rib and the horizontal plane is the second angle. It has smaller than the angle formed between the inclined portion and the horizontal surface of the rib. In such a configuration, by adjusting the angle of the inclined portion of the first rib with respect to the horizontal plane and the angle of the inclined portion of the second rib with respect to the horizontal plane, the protruding amount of the first rib in the paper discharge direction can be easily performed. And the protrusion amount of a 2nd rib can be adjusted. Further, by providing the inclined portion of the first rib and the inclined portion of the second rib that are in contact with the rear end of the paper, the paper discharged to the discharge portion is caught by the top of the first rib and the second rib and stays. Can be suppressed.

In the image forming apparatus, preferably, the discharge portion is in contact with the side in the discharge direction of the sheet discharged to the discharge unit includes a pressing portion which presses the paper take-out direction (Claim 2). If comprised in this way, since the side part of the paper discharged | emitted by the discharge part can be pressed by a press part, the rear end of a paper can be made to contact a 1st rib and a 2nd rib reliably. Further, by providing a pressing portion that presses the paper in the take-out direction, the entire paper can be moved in the take-out direction by the press portion, so that the paper having a small length along the take-out direction is discharged. Even in this case, a part of the paper can be easily exposed to the outside from the side surface of the apparatus.

In the aforementioned structure including the pressing portion, the pressing portion includes a working position in contact with the side of the paper, it is desirable to be movable and retracted position not in contact with the sides of the sheet (claim 3). According to this configuration, the pressing portion can be moved between the operation position that contacts the side portion of the sheet and the retracted position that does not contact the side portion of the sheet. In this case, the pressing unit can be moved to the operating position, and when a sheet other than a predetermined size is discharged, the pressing unit can be moved to the retracted position.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, a part of the front end of the sheet discharged to the discharge unit can be naturally exposed to the outside from the side surface of the apparatus. Unlike the case of rotating the image forming apparatus, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily take out the paper discharged to the discharge unit while suppressing the complicated configuration of the apparatus.

In addition, since the paper discharged to the discharge portion can be restrained from being caught by the tops of the first rib and the second rib, the paper can be discharged smoothly.

According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect , since the rear end of the sheet can be reliably brought into contact with the first rib and the second rib, the entire sheet is more reliably rotated so that the front end of the sheet is directed in the take-out direction. Can be made. Further, even when a sheet having a small length along the take-out direction is discharged, a part of the sheet can be easily exposed to the outside from the side surface of the apparatus, so that the size of the sheet (for example, A3 or B5) The paper discharged to the discharge section can be easily taken out regardless of the above.

According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect , it is possible to suppress the discharge of the paper of a size that the pressing portion does not correspond to, and thus it is possible to smoothly discharge the paper of various sizes.

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

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are diagrams showing a configuration of an in-cylinder discharge portion of the copying machine shown in FIG. . FIG. 5 is a block diagram partially showing the configuration of the copying machine shown in FIG. First, an overall configuration of a copying machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, a case where the copying machine 1 is used as an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a copying machine 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with an upper housing 1a that reads a document image and a lower portion of the upper housing 1a, and prints an image on paper (recording paper). It is comprised by the lower housing 1b. Further, the copying machine 1 has a space 1c formed between the upper housing 1a and the lower housing 1b so as to enter the inner side (back side) horizontally from the front right of the apparatus. In the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, an in-cylinder discharge portion 60 is provided in the space portion 1c for stacking sheets discharged from the lower housing 1b (described later). The in-body discharge unit 60 is an example of the “discharge unit” in the present invention.

  The upper housing 1 a includes a document reading unit 10 for reading a document image and a document feeding unit 20 for conveying the document to the document reading unit 10.

  The document reading unit 10 has a function of reading an image of a document conveyed by the document feeding unit 20 and generating image data corresponding to the document image. The original reading unit 10 includes a scanner 11 having a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor that generates image data from an optically acquired original image, an exposure lamp, and the like, and an apparatus original reading arranged on the upper surface of the scanner 11. The first contact glass 12 for the ADF and the second contact glass 13 for reading the ADF document are included. The document reading unit 10 includes image data acquired from a document placed on the first contact glass 12 or a document transported by the document feeding unit 20 so as to contact the second contact glass 13, a paper size, and the like. Is output to a control unit 70 (see FIG. 5) described later.

  A document feeding unit (ADF: automatic document feeder) 20 includes a document tray 21 on which a document is placed, a carry-in drive unit 22 that carries a document from the document tray 21 by a carry-in roller, and the document along a conveyance path 23. A transport roller 24 that transports the document, a discharge roller 25 that discharges the document transported by the transport roller 24, and a document discharge tray 26 on which the document discharged by the discharge roller 25 is placed (stacked). In response to an instruction input for starting copying (copying), the document feeding unit 20 automatically transports the documents placed on the document tray 21 one by one while making contact with the second contact glass 13 one by one. In addition, it has a function for reading a so-called sheet-through type document that is discharged onto the document discharge tray 26 after exposure scanning of the document.

  The document feeding unit 20 is configured to be openable and closable with respect to the upper surface of the document reading unit 10 with the back side of the device as a pivot point. In the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, the document feeder 20 is lifted upward and rearward to expose the upper surface of the first contact glass 12, so that a book or the like that is spread on the upper surface of the first contact glass 12. A document for reading can be placed.

  The lower housing 1b includes a paper feeding unit 30 for feeding paper, an image forming unit 40 for printing on paper, an operation display unit 50 for operating the copying machine 1, and a paper after printing. And an in-cylinder discharge part 60 from which the gas is discharged.

  The paper feeding unit 30 is provided to feed paper to the image forming unit 40. The sheet feeding unit 30 includes sheet feeding cassettes 31 and 32 that can store sheets of various sizes (A3, A4, B4, and B5 in the present embodiment), and the image forming unit 40 based on these sheet feeding cassettes 31 and 32. A transport path 33 for transporting the paper to the paper, pick-up rollers 34 and 35 for taking out the paper stored in the paper feed cassettes 31 and 32, and paper feed rollers 36 and 37 for feeding the paper one by one to the transport path 33. Including. The transport path 33 is provided with a transport roller 38 for transporting the paper and a registration roller 39 for waiting the transported paper in front of the image forming unit 40. The paper feed unit 30 may include a manual paper feed unit (not shown) including a manual feed tray configured to be openable and closable on a side portion (for example, the right side portion) of the lower housing 1b. In this case, it is preferable that the sheet conveyance path from the manual sheet feeding unit is configured to join the conveyance path 33 on the upstream side of the registration roller 39.

  The image forming unit 40 has a function for forming (printing) a predetermined image on the paper conveyed by the paper supply unit 30. The image forming unit 40 includes a photosensitive drum 41 rotatably supported in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1, a charging unit 42 installed around the photosensitive drum 41, a laser scanning unit 43, a developing unit 44, A transfer roller 45 and a cleaning unit 46, and a fixing roller 47 disposed on the downstream side of the transfer roller 45 are included. The image forming unit 40 is provided with a paper transport path 48 for transporting paper from the image forming unit 40 to the in-body discharge unit 60.

  The charging unit 42 has a function for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 to a predetermined potential. Further, the laser scanning unit 43 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 with a laser beam based on image data transmitted from an image storage unit (not shown) or the like. It is provided to form an electrostatic latent image. Further, the developing unit 44 has a function for making toner (the original image) appear by attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41. In addition, the transfer roller 45 is provided to transfer the toner image that appears on the photosensitive drum 41 to the paper by pressing the paper (recording paper) conveyed from the paper supply unit 30 against the photosensitive drum 41. It has been. The cleaning unit 46 is provided to clean the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 after the transfer of the image onto the paper is completed. The fixing roller 47 has a function for fixing the toner image transferred onto the paper. The fixing roller 47 includes a heat roller and a pressure roller (not shown), and is configured to melt the toner on the paper by the heat of the heat roller and fix the toner on the paper by applying pressure by the pressure roller.

  The operation display unit 50 is provided for inputting a predetermined instruction in response to a user (operator) operation. The operation display unit 50 inputs a start key 51 for a user to input a copy (copying) start instruction, a numeric keypad 52 for inputting the number of copies to be printed, and setting of copying operation (for example, paper size). And a display unit 53 including a touch panel type liquid crystal display (LCD) on which various operation buttons and the like are displayed.

  The in-cylinder discharge unit 60 includes a discharge roller 60a for discharging the sheet conveyed from the image forming unit 40 to the in-cylinder discharge unit 60, and a sheet discharge tray 60b for stacking the discharged sheets. Yes. The paper discharge tray 60b is generally a horizontal plane, but on the discharge roller 60a side, an inclined slope portion 60c that is gently inclined downward is provided.

Here, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the in-body discharge unit 60 is formed with three gaps formed at predetermined intervals on the rear end side in the paper discharge direction (arrow S direction). Ribs 61, 62 and 63 are included. The rib 61 is an example of the “first rib” in the present invention, and the ribs 62 and 63 are examples of the “second rib” in the present invention. Each of the ribs 61, 62, and 63 has inclined portions 61a, 62a, and 63a that are in contact with the rear end of the sheet discharged to the in-body discharge portion 60. An angle θ1 formed by the inclined portion 61a of the rib 61 and the horizontal plane is formed to be smaller than an angle θ2 formed by the inclined portion 62a of the rib 62 and the horizontal plane, and the inclined portion 62a of the rib 62 and the horizontal plane are formed. The angle θ2 is formed to be smaller than the angle θ3 formed by the inclined portion 63a of the rib 63 and the horizontal plane. Thereby, the protrusion amount of the rib 61 in the discharge direction (arrow S direction) is larger than the protrusion amount of the rib 62 in the discharge direction, and the protrusion amount of the rib 62 in the discharge direction is the discharge amount of the rib 63 in the discharge direction. It is larger than the protruding amount. In other words, in the present embodiment, the three ribs 61 to 63 are arranged in the discharge direction as they go in the direction of taking out the paper from the in-body discharge unit 60 (arrow T direction) orthogonal to the paper discharge direction (arrow S direction). The amount of protrusion in the (arrow S direction) is configured to be small. For this reason, the paper discharged to the in-body discharge portion 60 is guided to return to the discharge roller 60a side by the inclination of the inclined slope portion 60c, and its rear end comes into contact with the three ribs 61 to 63. At this time, since the protruding amounts of the three ribs 61 to 63 are different as described above, it is possible to rotate the front end in the paper discharge direction toward the take-out direction (arrow T direction).

  In the present embodiment, the in-body discharge unit 60 includes pressing members 64, 65, 66, and 67 on the side surface in the direction opposite to the paper take-out direction (arrow T direction), as shown in FIGS. It is out. These pressing members 64 to 67 are examples of the “pressing portion” in the present invention. The pressing member 64 can come into contact with the left front side portion of A3 size paper (hereinafter referred to as A3 paper), and is fixedly attached to the side surface of the in-body discharge portion 60. As a result, the left front portion of the A3 sheet can be pressed toward the take-out direction, so that a force for pressing the discharged A3 sheet against the inclined portions 61a to 63a of the ribs 61 to 63 is supplementarily given. It is possible.

  Further, the pressing member 65 is provided at a position where it can come into contact with a left front side portion of a lateral A4 size paper (hereinafter, A4 paper). Here, the horizontal paper indicates a paper that is discharged such that the longitudinal direction of the paper is orthogonal to the discharge direction. The pressing member 65 is protruded from the side surface of the in-cylinder discharge portion 60 by the first drive portion 81 (see FIG. 5) using a solenoid, a motor, or the like, and is in an operating position (FIG. 3). And a retracted position (see FIG. 4) that is housed on the side surface of the in-body discharge portion 60 and does not contact the side portion of the transverse A4 paper. As a result, it is possible to press the left front side of the A4 paper in the horizontal direction toward the take-out direction, so that the discharged A4 paper is pressed against the inclined portions 61a to 63a of the ribs 61 to 63. It is possible to give power supplementary.

  The pressing member 66 is provided at a position where it can come into contact with the left side of a B5 size paper (hereinafter referred to as B5 paper). The pressing member 66 is protruded from the side surface of the in-body discharge unit 60 by a second drive unit 82 (see FIG. 5) using a solenoid, a motor, or the like, and is in an operating position (not shown) that contacts the side of the B5 sheet. And a retracted position (see FIGS. 3 and 4) that is housed on the side surface of the in-body discharge portion 60 and does not contact the side portion of the B5 paper. In addition, the pressing member 66 has an inclined portion 66a that guides the paper by contacting the discharged B5 paper. In the present embodiment, since the side portion of the B5 paper can be pressed toward the take-out direction, a force for pressing the discharged B5 paper against the inclined portions 61a to 63a of the ribs 61 to 63 is provided in an auxiliary manner. , It becomes possible to move the entire B5 sheet in the take-out direction. For this reason, even when a B5 sheet having a small length along the take-out direction is discharged, a part of the B5 sheet can be exposed to the outside from the side surface of the apparatus.

  The pressing member 67 is provided at a position where it can come into contact with the left side of longitudinal A4 paper and B4 size paper (hereinafter referred to as B4 paper). Here, the longitudinal paper indicates a paper that is discharged such that the longitudinal direction of the paper is parallel to the discharge direction. The pressing member 67 is protruded from the side surface of the in-cylinder discharge section 60 by a third driving unit 83 (see FIG. 5) using a solenoid, a motor, or the like, and is in contact with the side portions of the longitudinal A4 paper and B4 paper. (See FIG. 4) and a retracted position (see FIG. 3) that is housed on the side surface of the in-body discharge unit 60 and does not contact the side portions of the A4 paper and B4 paper that pass through vertically. Yes. The pressing member 67 has an inclined portion 67a that guides the paper by contacting the discharged longitudinal A4 paper and B4 paper. In the present embodiment, since the side portions of the longitudinal A4 paper and B4 paper can be pressed in the take-out direction, the discharged longitudinal A4 paper and B4 paper are inclined to the inclined portions of the ribs 61 to 63. It is possible to supplementarily apply the pressing force to 61a to 63a and move the entire sheet in the take-out direction. For this reason, even when longitudinal A4 paper and B4 paper having a small length along the take-out direction are discharged, part of the longitudinal A4 paper and B4 paper can be exposed to the outside from the side surface of the apparatus. Is possible.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the copying machine 1 is a device that responds to predetermined instruction information input from the operation display unit 50 (see FIG. 1), detection signals from sensors provided at various locations of the device, and the like. A control unit 70 that performs overall control is provided. The control unit 70 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores a control program of the copier 1, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that temporarily stores data, and a micro that reads and executes the control program from the ROM. A movable pressing member 65 provided on the in-body discharging unit 60 when discharging paper according to an instruction from the operation display unit 50, a paper size detected by a sensor, or the like, which is composed of a computer (CPU) or the like. An operation mode for performing the rotation operations of 66 and 67 is set, and the operation (drive) of the pressing members 65, 66 and 67 is controlled based on the set operation mode.

  The control unit 70 is electrically connected to the first drive unit 81, the second drive unit 82, the third drive unit 83, and the paper size detection unit 90 for driving the pressing members 65, 66, and 67 described above. It is connected. The paper size detection unit 90 has a function for detecting the size of the paper on which printing is performed in the image forming unit 40. As a method for detecting the paper size by the paper size detecting unit 90, for example, the paper size is identified by a sensor provided in the transport path 33 of the paper feeding unit 30 or the user inputs paper size information on the operation display unit 50. Etc.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation control of the pressing member for each paper size by the control unit of the copying machine shown in FIG. Next, the operation control of the pressing members 65, 66, and 67 according to the sheet size by the control unit 70 of the copying machine 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, from the state in which the three pressing members 65, 66, and 67 are positioned at the retracted position as an initial state, the paper size detection unit 90 detects the size of the paper discharged to the in-body discharge unit 60 in step S1 of FIG. Is done. As a result, the paper size information detected by the paper size detection unit 90 is output to the control unit 70. In step S2, the control unit 70 determines whether the sheet discharged to the in-body discharge unit 60 is an A3 sheet.

  If it is determined in step S2 that the sheet discharged to the in-body discharge unit 60 is an A3 sheet, the control unit 70 controls the first drive unit 81, the second drive unit 82, and the third drive unit 83. Without pressing the signal, the pressing members 65, 66, and 67 are put on standby at the retracted position. In this case, the A3 paper discharged to the in-cylinder discharge unit 60 falls on the paper discharge tray 60b while being interfered with the pressing member 64 fixedly attached to the side surface of the in-cylinder discharge unit 60. The rear end of the sheet is pressed against the inclined portions 61a to 63a of the ribs 61 to 63 by the inclination of the inclined slope portion 60c. As a result, the A3 sheet is rotated so that the front end of the sheet is directed in the take-out direction (arrow T direction), so that a part of the front end of the sheet is exposed to the outside from the side surface of the copying machine 1 and It is placed on the paper discharge tray 60b of the discharge unit 60.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S2 that the sheet discharged to the in-cylinder discharge unit 60 is not an A3 sheet, in step S3, the sheet discharged to the in-cylinder discharge unit 60 is It is determined whether or not it is a continuous A4 sheet.

  If it is determined in step S3 that the sheet discharged to the in-body discharge unit 60 is a horizontal A4 sheet, a control signal is output from the control unit 70 to the first drive unit 81 in step S4. By driving the first drive unit 81, the pressing member 65 is moved to the operating position as shown in FIG. In this case, the horizontal A4 sheet discharged to the in-body discharge unit 60 falls on the sheet discharge tray 60b while being interfered by the pressing member 65 moved to the operating position, and the inclination of the inclined slope portion 60c. As a result, the rear end of the sheet is pressed against the inclined portions 61 a to 63 a of the ribs 61 to 63. As a result, the horizontal A4 sheet is rotated so that the front end of the sheet is directed in the take-out direction (arrow T direction), so that a part of the front end of the sheet is exposed to the outside from the side surface of the copying machine 1. The sheet is placed on the sheet discharge tray 60b of the in-body discharge unit 60.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S3 that the sheet discharged to the in-cylinder discharge unit 60 is not a horizontal A4 sheet, the control unit 70 discharges the sheet to the in-cylinder discharge unit 60 in step S5. It is determined whether or not the sheet is a B5 sheet.

  If it is determined in step S5 that the sheet discharged to the in-body discharge unit 60 is a B5 sheet, the control unit 70 outputs a control signal to the second drive unit 82 in step S6 to perform the second drive. By driving the portion 82, the pressing member 66 is moved to the operating position. In this case, the B5 sheet discharged to the in-body discharge unit 60 is dropped on the sheet discharge tray 60b while being interfered by the pressing member 66 moved to the operating position, and the rear of the sheet is caused by the inclination of the inclined slope unit 60c. The ends are pressed against the inclined portions 61a to 63a of the ribs 61 to 63. At this time, the B5 paper is pressed by the pressing member 66 in the direction of taking out the side portion of the paper (direction of arrow T). Thereby, the B5 sheet is rotated so that the front end of the sheet is directed in the take-out direction (arrow T direction), and the entire B5 sheet is also moved in the take-out direction. The paper is placed on the paper discharge tray 60b of the in-cylinder discharge portion 60 in a state of being exposed to the outside rather than the side surface.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that the sheet discharged to the in-cylinder discharge unit 60 is not a B5 sheet, the sheet discharged to the in-cylinder discharge unit 60 is either a vertical A4 sheet or a B4 sheet. It is judged. Thereby, in step S7, the control member 70 outputs a control signal to the third drive unit 83 to drive the third drive unit 83, thereby moving the pressing member 67 to the operating position as shown in FIG. . In this case, the longitudinal A4 sheet or B4 sheet discharged to the in-body discharge unit 60 falls on the sheet discharge tray 60b while being interfered with the pressing member 67 moved to the operating position, and the inclined slope portion. The rear end of the sheet is pressed against the inclined portions 61a to 63a of the ribs 61 to 63 by the inclination of 60c. At this time, the longitudinal A4 paper or B4 paper is pressed by the pressing member 67 toward the take-out direction (arrow T direction) of the paper. Accordingly, the longitudinal A4 sheet or B4 sheet is rotated so that the front end of the sheet is directed in the take-out direction (the direction of the arrow T), and the longitudinal A4 sheet or the entire B4 sheet is also moved in the take-out direction. Therefore, the sheet is placed on the sheet discharge tray 60 b of the in-body discharge unit 60 with a part of the front end of the sheet exposed outside the side surface of the copying machine 1.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the rib 61 that protrudes with a predetermined protrusion amount in the paper discharge direction (arrow S direction), and the removal of the paper that is orthogonal to the paper discharge direction (arrow S direction) from the rib 61. Formed on the direction (arrow T direction) side and protruding in the paper discharge direction with a protrusion amount smaller than the protrusion amount of the rib 61, and formed on the paper take-out direction side with respect to the rib 62, and the paper discharge direction When the rear end of the paper discharged to the in-body discharge portion 60 is brought into contact with the ribs 61 to 63 having different protrusion amounts, by providing the rib 63 protruding with a protrusion amount smaller than the protrusion amount of the rib 62, Naturally, the entire sheet is rotated so that the front edge of the sheet is directed in the sheet take-out direction. Thus, a part of the front end of the sheet discharged to the in-body discharge unit 60 can be exposed to the outside from the side surface of the apparatus, which is different from the case where the discharged sheet is rotated by a drive mechanism or the like. The sheet discharged to the in-body discharge unit 60 can be easily taken out while suppressing the complication of the apparatus configuration.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the angle θ1 formed by the inclined portion 61a of the rib 61 and the horizontal plane is smaller than the angle θ2 formed by the inclined portion 62a of the rib 62 and the horizontal plane, and the inclination of the rib 62 is increased. The angle θ2 formed by the portion 62a and the horizontal plane is configured to be smaller than the angle θ3 formed by the inclined portion 63a of the rib 63 and the horizontal plane, whereby the angle θ1 of the inclined portion 61a of the rib 61 with respect to the horizontal plane and the rib 62 By adjusting the angle θ2 of the inclined portion 62a with respect to the horizontal plane and the angle θ3 of the inclined portion 63a of the rib 63 with respect to the horizontal plane, it is possible to easily adjust the protruding amount of the ribs 61 to 63 in the paper discharge direction. it can.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, by providing the inclined portions 61a to 63a of the ribs 61 to 63 that come into contact with the rear end of the paper, the paper discharged to the in-body discharge portion 60 is the ribs 61 to 63. Since it is possible to suppress the catching and staying at the top, the paper can be discharged smoothly.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, by providing the pressing members 64 to 67 that contact the side portions in the discharge direction of the paper discharged to the in-cylinder discharge portion 60, Since the side portion of the paper discharged to the discharge portion 60 can be pressed, the rear end of the paper can be reliably brought into contact with the ribs 61 to 63. As a result, the entire sheet can be more reliably rotated so that the front end of the sheet is directed in the take-out direction.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, by providing the pressing members 66 and 67 that press the paper in the take-out direction, the entire paper can be moved in the take-out direction by the pressing members 66 and 67. Therefore, even when paper having a small length along the take-out direction (B5 paper, vertical A4 paper and B4 paper) is discharged, a part of the paper can be easily exposed to the outside from the side surface of the apparatus. Can do. Thereby, the paper discharged to the in-body discharge unit 60 can be easily taken out regardless of the size of the paper.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as described above, the pressing members 65 to 67 are configured so as to be movable between an operating position that contacts the side portion of the sheet and a retracted position that does not contact the side portion of the sheet. Since the pressing members 65 to 67 can be moved between the operating position that contacts the side portion of the sheet and the retracted position that does not contact the side portion of the sheet, the corresponding predetermined size of the sheet is discharged. In addition, the pressing members 65 to 67 are moved to the operating position, and when a sheet of a size other than the predetermined size is discharged, the pressing members 65 to 67 can be moved to the retracted position. Thereby, since it can suppress that discharge | emission of the paper of the size which the press members 65-67 do not respond | correspond, paper of various sizes can be discharged | emitted smoothly.

  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 example in which the discharge unit of the present invention is applied to the in-cylinder discharge unit of the copying machine as an example of the image forming apparatus has been described. The discharge unit of the present invention can also be applied to an inner discharge type image forming apparatus. Further, the discharge unit of the present invention may be applied to an image forming apparatus other than the in-cylinder discharge type.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although shown about the example comprised so that an operation position and a retracted position might be moved by rotating a press member, this invention is not limited to this, A press member is not an in-cylinder discharge part. You may comprise so that an operating position and a retracted position may be moved by linearly moving to the direction orthogonal to a side surface.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which three ribs are provided on the rear end side in the paper discharge direction of the in-cylinder discharge portion has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the in-cylinder discharge portion in the paper discharge direction. Two or four or more ribs may be provided on the rear end side.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the pressing member 64 that contacts the A3 sheet is fixedly provided on the side surface of the in-cylinder discharge portion has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the pressing member 64 that contacts the A3 sheet is provided. Similarly to the other three pressing members 65 to 67, by being configured to be rotatable with respect to the side surface of the in-cylinder discharge portion, an operating position that contacts the A3 sheet and a retracted position that does not contact the A3 sheet are provided. It may be configured to be movable. Further, the pressing members 65 to 67 may be fixedly provided on the side surface of the in-body discharge portion, similarly to the pressing member 64.

1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an overall configuration of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an in-cylinder discharge portion of the copier according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an in-cylinder discharge portion of the copier according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an in-cylinder discharge portion of the copier according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagram partially showing the configuration of the copier according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation control of the pressing member for each paper size by the control unit of the copier according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

Explanation of symbols

1 Copying machine (image forming device)
60 In-body discharge part (discharge part)
61 Rib (1st rib)
62, 63 rib (second rib)
61a, 62a, 63a Inclined part 64, 65, 66, 67 Pressing member (pressing part)

Claims (3)

An image forming apparatus having a discharge portion in a cylinder for discharging paper,
The discharge part is
A first rib that contacts a rear end in the paper discharge direction and protrudes in the discharge direction by a predetermined protrusion amount;
The sheet is formed at a predetermined interval from the discharge direction of the sheet from the discharge unit perpendicular to the discharge direction from the first rib, and is in contact with the rear end of the sheet, and the first direction in the discharge direction. A second rib protruding with a protruding amount smaller than the protruding amount of the rib,
The first rib and the second rib have an inclined portion that contacts a rear end of the paper,
The angle formed between the inclined portion of the first rib and the horizontal plane is smaller than the angle formed between the inclined portion of the second rib and the horizontal plane.
Image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge unit includes a pressing unit that abuts a side portion in the discharge direction of the paper discharged to the discharge unit and presses the paper toward the take-out direction. .   The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the pressing portion is movable between an operation position that contacts the side portion of the sheet and a retracted position that does not contact the side portion of the sheet.

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