JP5304814B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a discharge tray on which recording sheets discharged from a discharge port are stacked.

  Image forming apparatuses such as laser printers are generally known to have a discharge tray on which recording sheets discharged from a discharge port are stacked. However, the width direction of the recording sheets stacked on the discharge tray is known. If both ends are curled so as to warp (cylinder curling), the recording sheet discharged later will hit the cylinder curl, causing a paper jam or pushing out the stacked recording sheets. May end up.

  Therefore, conventionally, an image forming apparatus provided with a swinging member for pressing the rear portions of both end portions in the width direction of the recording sheet discharged from the discharge port in the vicinity of the discharge port is known (for example, Patent Document 1). reference). Specifically, the swing member is provided one by one in the vicinity of the discharge port at positions corresponding to both ends in the width direction of the recording sheet, and by pressing the rear part of both ends of the recording sheet stacked on the discharge tray, The stacked recording sheet is prevented from hitting the next discharged recording sheet.

JP 2005-96964 A

  However, in the above-described technique, since both ends of the recording sheet are each pressed only by one swing member, the rear portion of the recording sheet cannot be sufficiently pressed, and the cylinder may be curled. Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the area where the swing member presses the recording sheet by increasing the swing member. However, since the weight of the swing member increases, the swing member is pushed by the recording sheet. However, it is difficult for the recording sheet to swing, and it becomes difficult to eject the recording sheet.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus that can smoothly discharge a recording sheet and can reliably press the rear portion of the recording sheet on a discharge tray.

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus provided with a discharge tray on which recording sheets discharged from a discharge port are stacked, and the discharge port is disposed in the vicinity of the discharge port. A first swinging member that extends from a position farther away from the discharge tray toward the discharge tray and presses both ends in the width direction of the rear portion of the discharged recording sheet, and is further away from the discharge tray than the discharge port. A second oscillating member that extends from the position toward the discharge tray and presses the rear portions of both end portions in the width direction of the recording sheet on the downstream side of the first oscillating member in the recording sheet conveyance direction. The portion of the first swing member closest to the discharge tray and the portion of the second swing member closest to the discharge tray are arranged on a line following the shape of the opposing discharge tray. The second swing member has a larger downward rotational moment than the first swing member, and the inclination of the surface of the discharge tray that faces the second swing member is the first swing member. It is characterized by being closer to the horizontal than the slope of the surface facing the member .

  According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the rear portions of the both ends of the discharged recording sheet are pressed by the first swinging member and the second swinging member at two positions in the recording sheet conveyance direction. Therefore, the cylinder curl can be sufficiently suppressed. Further, the first rocking member and the second rocking member can be made smaller than when the large rocking member is used to push the range pressed by the first rocking member and the second rocking member. Therefore, the first swing member and the second swing member are likely to swing when the recording sheet discharged from the discharge port comes into contact.

  According to the present invention, since the rear portions of both ends of the recording sheet on the discharge tray can be sufficiently pressed, the recording sheet on the discharge tray and the recording to be discharged next are formed by the cylindrical curling of the rear portion of the recording sheet. It is possible to prevent the sheets from interfering with each other. Further, since the first swing member and the second swing member are likely to swing when the recording sheet discharged from the discharge port comes into contact, the recording sheet can be discharged smoothly.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the color multifunctional device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged view which shows the discharge port vicinity. FIG. 6 is a view illustrating the vicinity of a discharge port when a sheet is discharged. FIG. 6 is a view of the vicinity of a discharge port as viewed from the sheet conveyance direction. It is a figure which shows the state which the 1st rocking | fluctuation member and the 2nd rocking | fluctuation member are pressing down the rear part of the paper on a discharge tray.

<Overall configuration of color MFP>
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the following description, first, the overall configuration of the color multifunction peripheral 1 as an example of the image forming apparatus will be described, and then the characteristic part of the present invention will be described in detail.

  In the following description, the direction will be described with reference to the user when using the laser printer. That is, in FIG. 1, the right side toward the paper surface is “front side (front side)”, the left side toward the paper surface is “rear side (back side)”, the back side toward the paper surface is “right side”, and it faces the paper surface. Let the near side be the “left side”. In addition, the vertical direction toward the page is defined as the “vertical direction”.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the color multifunction device 1 includes a housing 2 and a flat bed scanner 10 provided above the housing 2. Further, the color multifunction peripheral 1 mainly includes a paper feeding unit 3 that supplies a sheet P as an example of a recording sheet and an image forming unit 4 that forms an image on the fed paper P in a housing 2. I have.

  The housing 2 includes an upper wall 2B, a first wall 2A extending perpendicularly downward from the front end of the upper wall 2B, and a discharge tray 22. The discharge tray 22 is formed in a circular arc shape in a sectional view so as to extend obliquely upward from the lower end of the first wall 2A and project upward. A discharge port 21 is formed in the first wall 2A.

  The flatbed scanner 10 is a document reading device having a known configuration. When copying, the image data is created by irradiating the document with light and reading the image. The flat bed scanner 10 is provided on the upper wall 2B of the housing 2 so as to extend forward from the first wall 2A.

  The paper feed unit 3 mainly includes a paper feed tray 31 that is detachably attached to the lower part of the housing 2 and a paper feed mechanism 32 that feeds the paper P in the paper feed tray 31 toward the image forming unit 4. I have.

  The image forming unit 4 includes a scanner unit 5, a process cartridge 6, a transfer roller TR, a fixing device 7, and the like.

  The scanner unit 5 is provided in an upper part of the housing 2 and includes a laser light emitting unit, a polygon mirror, a lens, a reflecting mirror, and the like (not shown). In the scanner unit 5, a laser beam is irradiated on the surface of a photosensitive drum 81 described later by high-speed scanning.

  The process cartridge 6 is detachable from the casing 2 and includes a drum cartridge 8 having a photosensitive drum 81 and a developing cartridge 9 having a developing roller 91 and toner.

  In the process cartridge 6, the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 81 is uniformly charged by a charger (not shown) and then exposed by high-speed scanning of a laser beam from the scanner unit 5. As a result, the potential of the exposed portion is lowered, and an electrostatic latent image based on the image data is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 81.

  Next, the toner in the developing cartridge 9 is supplied to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 81 by the rotationally driven developing roller 91, and a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 81. Thereafter, the paper P is conveyed between the photosensitive drum 81 and the transfer roller TR, whereby the toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 81 is transferred onto the paper P.

  The fixing device 7 includes a heating roller 71 and a pressure roller 72 that is disposed to face the heating roller 71 and presses the heating roller 71. In the fixing device 7 configured as described above, the toner transferred onto the paper P is thermally fixed while the paper P passes between the heating roller 71 and the pressure roller 72.

  The paper P thermally fixed by the fixing device 7 is conveyed to a paper discharge roller R disposed on the downstream side of the fixing device 7, and passes from the paper discharge roller R to the outside of the housing 2 through the discharge port 21. It is fed out and accumulated on a discharge tray 22 formed in the upper part of the housing 2.

<Detailed structure around the outlet>
As shown in FIG. 2, in the vicinity of the discharge port 21, the first swinging member 110 and the second swinging member that press the rear portions of the width direction both ends (hereinafter referred to as both ends) of the paper P discharged from the discharge port 21. A swing member 120 is provided.

  The first swinging members 110 are arranged one by one apart in the paper width direction (see FIG. 4), the base end portion is supported by the first wall 2A so as to be swingable, and is located above the discharge port 21. From the position (position away from the discharge tray 22) toward the front diagonally downward (discharge tray 22), and the lower end extends below the discharge port 21. Specifically, the first swing member 110 extends below the sheet P discharged from the discharge port 21. The first swing member 110 is retracted forward when the leading end of the paper P conveyed from the discharge port 21 contacts the first swing member 110. It is reasonably lightweight so that it can be easily done.

  Further, the first swinging member 110 has an angle formed by the contact surface 111 with which the leading end of the discharged paper P abuts and the top surface of the paper P with the leading end abutting on the abutting surface 111. The downward swing is regulated by a stopper (not shown) so as to be α (acute angle).

  The second oscillating member 120 is formed larger than the first oscillating member 110 in order to increase a downward rotational moment than the first oscillating member 110, and is viewed from the sheet conveying direction. One each is arranged at a position overlapping the first swing member 110 (see FIG. 4). The second oscillating member 120 is supported by the flat bed scanner 10 so that the base end portion thereof is oscillatable, and is diagonally forward and downward from a position above the first oscillating member 110 (position away from the discharge tray 22). It extends toward (discharge tray 22).

  Further, the second swinging member 120 has an angle formed by the angle α between the contact surface 121 with which the leading end of the discharged paper P contacts and the upper surface of the paper P with the leading end in contact with the contact surface 121. Further, the downward swing is restricted by a stopper (not shown) so that the angle β is small.

  The free end of the second swing member 120 is located downstream of the free end of the first swing member 110 in the paper transport direction. Further, in a state where the sheet P is not in contact with the second swing member 120 (the state shown in FIG. 2), from the first wall 2A to the front end portion 122 closest to the discharge tray 22 of the second swing member 120. The second rocking member 120 is arranged so that the distance is less than or equal to half the length in the longitudinal direction of the sheet P of A4 size (the longest size used in the color multifunction device 1). Specifically, the distance following the shape of the discharge tray 22 from the first wall 2A that regulates the rear end of the paper P on the discharge tray 22 to the leading end 122 of the second swing member 120 is an A4 size paper P. It is less than half of the length in the longitudinal direction. Accordingly, the rear portion of the sheet P on the discharge tray 22 can be pressed by the first swing member 110 and the second swing member 120.

  Further, the leading end 112 of the first swinging member 110 and the leading end 122 of the second swinging member 120 are arranged on a line 23 that follows the shape of the discharge tray 22. Thereby, the first swing member 110 and the second swing member 120 can be pressed in accordance with the shape of the paper P stacked on the discharge tray 22. In the discharge tray 22, the slope of the surface 22 </ b> B facing the tip end portion 122 of the second swing member 120 is closer to the horizontal than the slope of the surface 22 </ b> A facing the tip end portion 112 of the first swing member 110. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, the second swing member 120 is formed with a protruding portion 123 that protrudes inward in the paper width direction from the first swing member 110. Accordingly, even when the width of the paper P is small and the rear portions of both ends of the paper P cannot be pressed by the first swing member 110, the rear portions of the both ends of the paper P by the second swing member 120. Can be suppressed.

The operation and effect of the color multifunction peripheral 1 configured as described above will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the paper P is discharged from the discharge port 21, the first swinging member 110 and the second swinging member 120 are pushed by the leading end of the paper P, whereby the discharge port 21. Swing forward to get away from. The first rocking member 110 and the second rocking member 120 are compared with the case where the first rocking member 110 and the second rocking member 120 are pressed by one large rocking member. Since the first swing member 110 and the second swing member 120 can be formed small, the first swing member 110 and the second swing member 120 easily swing when the paper P discharged from the discharge port 21 comes into contact, and the paper P is discharged smoothly. .

  When the paper P is placed on the discharge tray 22 and separated from the first swing member 110 and the second swing member 120, the first swing member 110 and the second swing member 120 are Oscillates downward due to its own weight. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, when a plurality of sheets P are stacked on the discharge tray 22, the first swinging member 110 and the second swinging member 120 are arranged at the rear of both ends of the sheet P. Abut. As described above, the discharged paper P is pressed by the first swing member 110 and the second swing member 120 at the two rear portions at both ends in the recording sheet conveyance direction. Even when curled, the rear portion of the paper P is reliably pressed below the discharge port 21 (the paper P discharged from the discharge port 21). As a result, it is possible to prevent the sheet P subsequently conveyed from the discharge port 21 from hitting the cylinder curl and being jammed, or preventing the sheet P stacked on the discharge tray 22 from being pushed forward.

  And in this embodiment, the front-end | tip part 112 of the 1st rocking | fluctuation member 110 and the front-end | tip part 122 of the 2nd rocking | fluctuation member 120 are arrange | positioned on the line 23 which followed the shape of the opposing discharge tray 22. The paper P can be pressed in accordance with the shape of the paper P stacked according to the shape of the discharge tray 22.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the second swing member 120 has a downward rotational moment greater than that of the first swing member 110, so that the discharged paper P can be reliably pressed. In addition, since the downward rotation moment is large, the surface 22B of the discharge tray 22 that faces the second swing member 120 even when the second swing member 120 is not pushed by the leading end of the sheet P and does not swing. Since the inclination of the sheet P is nearly horizontal, the sheet P having its front end directed toward the discharge tray 22 by hitting the second swing member 120 is discharged forward along the discharge tray 22. On the other hand, since the first swing member 110 has a downward rotation moment smaller than that of the second swing member 120, the first swing member 110 swings reliably when the leading edge of the paper P hits.

  In the present embodiment, the angle β formed between the contact surface 121 of the second swing member 120 and the upper surface of the paper P whose tip is in contact with the second swing member 120 is smaller than the angle α. Since the downward rotation moment of the second swing member 120 is large, the second swing member 120 is not curled even if the second swing member 120 is pushed by the leading edge of the paper P and does not swing. It is discharged forward along the contact surface of the moving member 120.

  Since the second swinging member 120 protrudes inward in the paper width direction relative to the first swinging member 110, the second swinging member 120 reliably ensures that the sheet P is smaller than the first swinging member 110. The rear part of both ends can be pressed down.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. About a concrete structure, it can change suitably in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.

  In the above embodiment, the second swing member 120 has the protruding portion 123 whose free end protrudes inward in the paper width direction, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the second swing member 120 may be formed to have the same width from the base end portion to the free end so as to be wider in the paper width direction than the first swing member 110.

  In the embodiment, the second swing member 120 protrudes inward in the paper width direction from the first swing member 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the second swing member 120 is It does not have to protrude from the first swing member 110 in the paper width direction.

  In the embodiment, the second swing member 120 is moved from the first swing member 110 so that the second swing member 120 has a downward rotational moment greater than that of the first swing member 110. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the second swing member 120 may be formed of a material having a higher density than the first swing member 110.

  In the embodiment, the first swing member 110 is supported by the housing 2 and the second swing member 120 is supported by the flat bed scanner 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. . For example, both the first swing member 110 and the second swing member 120 may be supported by the housing 2 or may be supported by the flat bed scanner 10.

  Although the paper P such as plain paper or postcard is exemplified as the recording sheet, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be, for example, an OHP sheet.

  In the embodiment, the color multifunction peripheral 1 is exemplified as the image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a laser printer, a copying machine, or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Color compound machine 2 Housing | casing 2A 1st wall 10 Flatbed scanner 21 Discharge port 22 Discharge tray 110 1st rocking | fluctuation member 111 Contact surface 112 Lower end part 120 2nd rocker member 121 Contact surface 122 Lower end part 123 Protrusion P Paper R Paper discharge roller

Claims (5)

An image forming apparatus including a discharge tray on which recording sheets discharged from a discharge port are stacked,
In the vicinity of the outlet,
A first swinging member that extends toward the discharge tray from a position farther from the discharge tray than the discharge port, and presses both ends in the width direction of the rear portion of the discharged recording sheet;
It extends toward the discharge tray from a position farther from the discharge tray than the discharge port, and presses the rear part of both ends in the width direction of the recording sheet downstream of the first swing member in the recording sheet conveyance direction. A second swinging member ,
A portion of the first swing member closest to the discharge tray and a portion of the second swing member closest to the discharge tray are disposed on a line following the shape of the opposing discharge tray;
The second oscillating member has a larger downward rotational moment than the first oscillating member,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an inclination of a surface of the discharge tray facing the second swinging member is closer to a horizontal than an inclination of a surface facing the first swinging member . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first rocking member and the second rocking member are provided at positions overlapping each other when viewed from the recording sheet conveyance direction. It said first abutment surface and the angle and the recording sheet is to tip the first swing member is in contact with the swing member, the front end of the recording sheet ejected to the tip of the exhaust out the recording sheet abuts 3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein an angle formed by a contact surface of the second swinging member that is in contact with the recording sheet and a recording sheet having a leading end in contact with the second swinging member is larger. Image forming apparatus. 4. The image formation according to claim 1, wherein the second rocking member protrudes inward in the recording sheet width direction from the first rocking member. 5. apparatus. A document reader provided to face the discharge tray;
The second oscillating member, the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that provided in the document reading apparatus.

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