JPH02158532A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To correspond to a continuous process of a mass quantity and prevent reduction of an operation ratio by providing a large capacity supply paper means with a plurality of large capacity supply paper units composed of similar parts and a paper transfer means to supply a paper from here to an image forming part. CONSTITUTION:A paper P supplied from an supply paper cassette 30, 31, a first and a second large capacity supply paper unit 51, 52, or a manual supply paper part 53 is transferred along a paper transfer means 32 provided in a main body 11a to an image forming part 2. The large capacity supply paper units 51, 52 are composed of almost similar parts and have similar functions. For the unit 52, for example, the paper P is put on an elevator 52d, which is pushed up by a spring 52e constantly. In the meanwhile, the elevator 52d is installed at an unillustrated belt mechanism, and down motion of the paper surface is detected by a paper surface detecting sensor 52f to drive the belt mechanism so as to keep the uppermost paper surface in a predetermined height range. If the sensor 52f detects elimination of the paper, the unit is changed to 51, and the papers P are compensated to the unit 52 during the time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to improvements in image forming apparatuses such as electronic copying machines, for example.

(Prior Art) As electronic copying machines become more popular, the amount of copies they make is rapidly increasing. Correspondingly, the copying speed has improved significantly, and paper feeding means, sorting means, etc. have also been greatly improved to accommodate the increase in throughput.

In particular, the capacity of paper feeding means to accommodate paper sheets (hereinafter referred to as "sheets") as objects on which images are formed has gradually increased, and large-capacity paper feeding means capable of continuously feeding 1000 sheets has been put into practical use.

However, in response to the high processing speed of recent electronic copying machines and the large number of copying requests, the above-mentioned large-capacity paper feeding means does not have enough capacity, and one with a capacity of, for example, 2000 sheets is required.

In order to realize such a large-capacity paper feeding means, it is necessary to design and manufacture a paper feeding unit with a completely new configuration, which is disadvantageous in that it becomes very expensive. On the other hand, during use, it takes time to replenish paper, which is disadvantageous and reduces the operating rate.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, providing a paper feeding means with a larger capacity than the conventional one requires a completely new configuration and is very expensive. In addition, the capacity is large, and it takes time and effort to replenish paper, resulting in a reduction in operating efficiency.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages, and is capable of fully supporting large-volume continuous processing, is inexpensive, and has a large-capacity paper feeding means that does not reduce the operating rate. The purpose is to provide processing equipment.

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention provides an image forming section and a large capacity paper feeder capable of accommodating sheets of the same size to be supplied to the image forming section and always holding the uppermost sheet at a specific position. In an image forming apparatus having a large-capacity paper feeding unit, the large-capacity paper feeding unit includes a plurality of large-capacity paper feeding units made of substantially similar parts, and a plurality of large-capacity paper feeding units that The image forming apparatus is characterized in that it includes a paper conveying means for supplying paper sheets to the image forming section.

(Function) Since the present invention is provided with at least two large-capacity paper feeding units, it is only necessary to replenish paper to the other while one is in operation. Continuous processing is possible without stopping. Moreover, since it is constructed from almost all the same parts, it is extremely inexpensive.

(Example) Hereinafter, details of the present invention will be explained with reference to an illustrated example.

1 and 2 show the overall configuration and appearance of the electronic copying machine of this embodiment, including a main body 1 and an image forming section 2.
, an exposure scanning section 3, a paper feeding section 4, a document processing section 5, a paper discharging section 6, a shift stacking section 7, and a control section (not shown).

The main body part 1 includes a main body 11a and a desk 11. b It has a hole. The apparatus main body 11, which is constructed by accommodating various parts described later in the main body 11a, is placed on a desk 11b so as to be separable.

Next, the image forming section 2 will be described. A photosensitive drum 12 is rotatably provided approximately at the center of the main body 11a.

Around this photosensitive drum 12, a charger 13, an exposure section 14, a developing device 15 are arranged in order along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 12.
, 16, a transfer charger 17, a peeling charger 18, a cleaner 19, and a static eliminator 20 are provided. Also,
A conveyor belt 34 extends with one end close to the peeling charger 18, and a fixing device 35 and the like are provided close to the other end.

Next, the exposure scanning section 3 will be described. An exposure system 21 is provided in the upper part of the main body 11a.

The exposure system 21 includes an exposure lamp 22, first to third reflection mirrors 23, 24, 25, a lens 26, and fourth to sixth reflection mirrors 27, 28, 29.

Next, the paper feed section 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, paper feed cassettes 30 and 31 are provided inside the desk 11b so as to be freely accessible from the front side.

Further, a large-capacity paper feeding means 50 is provided on one side of the main body 11a and the desk llb.

This includes a first large-capacity paper feed unit 1-(LCF) 51 and a second large-capacity paper feed unit 52, each having a storage capacity of 1000 sheets or more. This large capacity paper feeding unit 52
A manual paper feeding section 53 is provided on the upper surface of the paper. By setting sheets of the same size that are most frequently used (for example, A4 size) in the large-capacity sheet feed unit (LCF), the number of times the sheets are replenished can be reduced. In addition, the first large-capacity paper feed unit 51 stores paper of the most frequently used size (for example, A4 size), and the second large-capacity paper feed unit 52 stores paper of the second most frequently used size (for example, A4 size).
For example, by accommodating B5 size), operability can be improved and problems associated with attachment and detachment of these units can be prevented.

The second large-capacity paper feeding unit 52 has an upper cover 52a.
This upper cover 52a also serves as a guide for the manual paper feed section 53. Further, the second large-capacity paper feeding unit 52 includes a paper feeding roller 52b and a separation roller pair 52.
The paper feeding roller 52b and separation roller pair 52c are also used as the paper feeding roller and separation roller pair of the manual paper feeding device 53. Note that the same applies to the first large-capacity paper feeding unit 51, so a description thereof will be omitted, but this is provided below the cassettes 30 and 31, and is convenient for handling jams, as will be described later.

Paper fed from the paper feed cassette) 30, 31, the first large capacity paper feed unit 51, the second large capacity paper feed unit (LCF) 52, or the manual paper feed section 53 is fed to the main body 11.
The paper is conveyed along a paper conveying means 32 provided in the paper a.

Further, the first and second large-capacity paper feeding units 51.
52 is composed of substantially similar parts and has similar functions. To briefly describe these configurations using the second large-capacity paper feeding unit 52 as an example, paper P is placed on an elevator 52d, and is constantly pushed upward by a spring body 52e. There is. On the other hand, the side surface of the elevator 52d is attached to a belt mechanism (not shown), and the pushing force of the spring body 52e is controlled by the belt mechanism, and the pushing force causes the elevator 52d to rise only while the belt mechanism is in operation. do. The operation of this belt mechanism is performed by a paper surface detection sensor 52f provided above, which detects the descent of the paper surface and drives the belt mechanism, so that the uppermost paper surface is always kept at a specific position, that is, at a predetermined height. is kept within the range of

When the paper runs out, the paper surface detection sensor 52f detects this and immediately switches to the other large capacity paper feeding unit 51. During this time, one large-capacity paper feeding unit 52 is replenished with paper.

The paper transport means 32 is provided with a pair of registration rollers 33, the transfer and peeling chargers 17 and 18, a transport belt 34, a fixing device 35, and a pair of paper discharge rollers 36, which will be described later, in order along the paper transport direction. There is. Note that the transport path 51a near the large-capacity paper feed unit 51 is opened and closed as shown by the two-dot chain line and is used for jam removal.

Next, the document processing section 5 will be described. A document placing table 38 is provided on the upper surface of the main body 11a, and this document placing table 38
A platen cover 39 is provided above. A platen sheet 40 is provided inside the platen cover 39. The right end of the platen sheet 40 is lifted and rotated by a mechanism (not shown), and an insertion gap is formed between the platen sheet 40 and the document loading table 38.
The original from a is carried in.

Next, the paper discharge section 6 will be explained. A pair of paper discharge rollers 36 and a sorter device 45 are incorporated in the paper discharge section 6. This sorter device 45 includes a plurality of bins 46 disposed at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction, and a gate means 47 provided between these bins 46 and the paper ejection roller 36. It is composed of.

The gate means 47 includes a telescopic and rotatable guide body 48, and a pair of discharge rollers 49 is provided at the rotary end of the guide body 48.

In addition, in order to reverse the back side transfer paper, the above-mentioned bin 46...
A reversing tray 54a, which together with the gate means 47 constitutes a continuous reversing means 54, is provided at the bottom of . On the reversing tray 54a, a reversing roller 55 that can move vertically and freely rotate forward and backward, and a rotatable switching gate 56 are provided.Furthermore, below the pair of unloading rollers 49, an idle roller 57 as a feed roller is provided. is provided.

When the gate means 47 is moved to the lowest stage, the idle roller 57 rolls into contact with the ejection roller pair 49 and is also used as a paper ejection roller to the staggered stacking section 7, which will be described later.
The sheets are directly fed into the staggered stacking section 7.

Next, the shifted laminated portion 7 will be explained. This includes a stacker 65, a pair of carry-in rollers 66 provided on top of the stacker, a 10th roller pair 67 that can freely rotate in forward and reverse directions, and a 20th roller pair that can freely rotate in forward and reverse directions.
roller pair 68, paper detection sensor 69, and unloading roller pair 70
It is provided with a staggered stacking means 71 consisting of, etc. These details will be explained together with the functions described below.

Next, the operation of the embodiment having the above configuration will be explained.

First, during normal copying, light is scanned by the exposure system 21 on a document placed on the document table 38, and the reflected light is imaged on the photosensitive drum 12 whose surface is charged by the charging charger 13. An electrostatic latent image is formed. This electrostatic latent image is visualized by supplying developer from the developing device 15 or 16. At this time, paper cassette 3
0, 31, large capacity paper feed unit 51, 52 or third
As shown in the figure, the paper is fed from the manual paper feed section 53 by the paper conveying means 32, so that the paper is sent to the image transfer section 12a between the photosensitive drum 12 and the transfer charger 17, and is placed on the photosensitive drum 12. The developed image is transferred to paper. The paper to which this image has been transferred is peeled off from the photosensitive drum 12 by the action of a peeling charger 18, and is sent to a fixing device 35 by a conveyor belt 34, where the image is fixed.

The paper on which this image has been fixed is discharged via the paper discharge roller 36, and is discharged onto the topmost bin 46 via the gate means 47 of the sorter device 45.

Also, when copying and sorting multiple copies of the original, use the fourth
As shown in the figure, the gate means 47 is rotated in the vertical direction, and the materials are selectively fed into the respective bins 46 through a pair of discharge rollers 49 for sorting.

In addition, when making double-sided copies, as shown in Figure 5,
For example, the paper fed from the large capacity paper feed unit 52 is
After passing through the image transfer section 12a and being transferred, the paper is ejected from the pair of rollers 3.
6, enters the reversing tray 54a, is reversed, and sent to the stacker 65. Then, it waits here, passes through the carry-out roller pair 70, passes through the registration roller pair 33 again, is transferred to the back side again, and is stored in one of the designated bins 46 at an appropriate time. To explain this step by step, the gate means 47 is rotated to the lowest end as shown in FIG.
7, the reversing roller 55 and the switching gate 56 are moved upward, and the back transfer paper P (hereinafter referred to as paper P) with the image fixed thereon sent from the fixing device 35 passes through the ejection roller pair 49. It is sent onto the reversing tray 54a through the inverting tray 54a.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the reversing roller 55 is lowered while being rotated in the opposite direction and comes into contact with the paper P.
As shown in C), when the trailing edge of the paper P comes off the discharge roller pair 49, the reversing roller 55 is stopped, the gate 56 rotates downward, and the paper P is struck downward at the end of rotation. .

Then, the reversing roller 55 is reversely rotated, and the paper P is sent between the discharge roller 49 and the idle roller 57 and conveyed under pressure. In this way, when the paper P starts to be conveyed while being held,
As shown in FIG. 9(d), the switching gate 56 and the reversing roller 55 are raised. At this time, the next sheet P is sent to the ejection roller pair 49, and is fed onto the reversing tray 54a in a state where it overlaps with the previous sheet P and passes by each other. That is, loading and unloading are performed simultaneously by the same operation of rotating the four pairs of discharge rollers.

The previous sheet P is conveyed under pressure by a pair of discharge rollers 49 and an idle roller 57, and is introduced into a stacker 65 via a pair of carry-in rollers 66. Therefore, the time interval at which the paper P is carried in is much shorter than in the conventional case, and can sufficiently follow high-speed transfer.

Next, FIGS. 7(a) to 7(a) show the operation of performing staggered stacking, in which the leading edges of the sheets are sequentially shifted and stopped to stack the sheets.
This will be briefly described with reference to Figure (j).

1) The first sheet P1 forms a loop with the 10th-ra pair 67. FIG. 7(a) 2) The first sheet P1 is advanced and pulled out from the pair of carry-in rollers 66. FIG. 7(b) 3) Reverse the first and 20th la pairs 67 and 68 and stop the first sheet P at a position amm from the 10th la pair 67. FIG. 7(C) 4) Form a loop with the 10th-ra pair 67 of the second sheet P2. FIG. 7(d) 5) Advance both sheets P, , P2 and pull out the second sheet P2 from the pair of carry-in rollers 66. FIG. 7(e) 6) Both roller pairs 67 and 68 are rotated in the opposite direction, and the second sheet P2 is stopped at the position from the 10th roller pair 67 to a. FIG. 7(f) 7) After the staggered stacking is completed, rotate the first and 20th pairs in the normal direction, and stop when the leading edge of the first sheet P1 passes a little past the sheet detection sensor 69.

In this state, it waits until the next copy command is issued. FIG. 7(g) 8) Next, when feeding paper P according to a copy command, first, rotate the first and 20th-ra pairs 67 and 68 in the opposite direction to detect the leading edge of paper P1. Several mm from the position of sensor 69
Return to the front. FIG. 7(h) 9) Next, both roller pairs 67 and 68 are rotated forward by a predetermined amount until the paper P1 leaves the 20th roller pair 68. FIG. 7(i) 10) Next, while rotating the carry-out roller 70 in the direction of the arrow, both roller pairs 67 and 68 are rotated in the opposite direction to remove the sheets PI and P2.
The paper P1 is sorted and sent to the pair of registration rollers 33. Next, it is twisted to the state of item 7 (FIG. 7(f)).

The paper P1 sent to the image transfer unit 12a again as described above is transferred to the back side, passes through the fixing device 35, and is then transferred to the image transfer unit 12a, for example.
It is stored in the topmost bin 46.

Although two large-capacity paper feed cassettes are provided in this embodiment, it goes without saying that three or more may be provided. Also,
It is not necessary to have a desk.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, in the present invention, since a plurality of large-capacity paper feeding units are provided, by sequentially and alternately using them, even when processing a large amount, there is no possibility of reducing the operating rate due to paper shortage. Nothing happens.

Furthermore, since the large-capacity paper feeding unit is constructed from substantially similar parts, it can be manufactured at extremely low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
Similarly, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of paper feeding, FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating the flow of paper, FIG. 6(a) to 6(d) are similarly explanatory diagrams of the reversing operation, and FIGS. 7(a) to 7(j) are similarly explanatory diagrams of the shifted stacking operation.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A large-capacity paper feeder comprising an image forming section and a large-capacity paper feeding unit capable of accommodating sheets of the same size to be supplied to the image forming section and always holding the topmost sheet at a specific position. In the image forming apparatus having a paper means, the large-capacity paper feeding means includes a plurality of large-capacity paper feeding units made of substantially similar parts, and a paper sheet is sent from the large-capacity paper feeding unit to the image forming section. An image forming apparatus comprising: a paper conveyance means for supplying paper.