JPH0232628B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a sheet conveyance section is released in conjunction with an opening/closing door, and in particular, a transfer guide member of the image forming apparatus, a pair of conveyance rollers (hereinafter referred to as register rollers), etc. However, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which, for example, a transfer guide can be brought into contact with and separated from a photoreceptor in the apparatus, and a register roller can be moved into and out of contact with each other by opening and closing a door of the apparatus main body.

Conventionally, in this type of image forming apparatus, especially in a copying apparatus, a copy sheet is stored in a cassette or other storage section until it is ejected from the copying apparatus after being fixed.
The sheet is allowed to travel while being restrained by a paper feed roller, a conveyance guide member usually consisting of a pair of plates, a conveyance roller, a fixing roller, etc. On the other hand, as is well known, the sheet itself is affected by changes in environmental temperature and humidity. Because the characteristics of paper sheets are constantly changing, it is not always easy to reliably transport a copy sheet throughout its entire travel process under any circumstances, and it is impossible to completely prevent paper jams. Have difficulty.

Moreover, this jam not only makes it impossible to copy, but also has the disadvantage that valuable copying time is wasted by manipulating various parts of the apparatus to remove the jammed paper. For that reason,
If a jam occurs, provide a means to detect it,
Alternatively, it is extremely important to configure the copying apparatus so that jam paper can be removed easily and quickly. For this reason, the sheet conveyance section near the transfer site where the toner image on the photoconductor is transferred to the copy sheet, where it is most difficult to remove the jam paper, is integrated into a unit including a transfer charger. A swinging mechanism and an operating handle are provided at the bottom of the unit, and by manually operating the handle, the transfer area can be moved toward and away from the photoreceptor, so that even if a jam occurs, there is no jam paper removal space. I was involved in the removal process.

In addition, the transfer guide is swingably disposed in the device, and can move toward and away from the photoreceptor in conjunction with the manual operation of the unit to move toward and away from the photoreceptor. I was creating a space to remove jam paper.

Regarding the register rollers, one of the pair of rollers is equipped with a one-way clutch so that it can be separated from the drive source and rotated freely, and a handle is provided on the front operation side, and by rotating it, it can be held between the rollers. An operation was being carried out to remove the jam paper.

These tasks are extremely troublesome for actual operators.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a new image forming apparatus that is improved in view of these conventional drawbacks.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can automatically and greatly reduce jam processing operations that should not occur often and the time required for them.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily and efficiently perform jam removal by simply adding a highly reliable and simple configuration.

The structure of the present invention for achieving the above object is as follows: A sheet conveyance path is formed for guiding a sheet along an image carrier, and the sheet conveyance path is rotated about a first axis arranged perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction. In the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus includes a sheet guide member that is separable from the image carrier, and a second sheet guide member that is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the first axis.
an opening/closing door that rotates around an axis to open a side of the sheet conveyance path; and a third door that is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the first axis.
a first position rotatably supported on a shaft of the sheet guide member and forming the sheet conveyance path;
a rotating member that moves the sheet transport path to a second position that opens the sheet conveyance path; and a rotating member that moves the sheet guide member between the first position and the second position in conjunction with opening and closing of the opening/closing door. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that it has a connecting member that connects the opening/closing door and the rotating member so as to connect the opening/closing door and the rotating member.

Another configuration for achieving the above object is to form a sheet conveying path for guiding the sheet along the image carrier, and to rotate around a first axis disposed in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. In an image forming apparatus having a sheet guide member that is separable from the image carrier, the second sheet guide member is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the first axis.
an opening/closing door that rotates around an axis to open a side of the sheet conveyance path; and a third door that is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the first axis.
a first position rotatably supported on a shaft of the sheet guide member and forming the sheet conveyance path;
a rotary member that moves the sheet to a second position that opens the sheet conveyance path; and a rotating member that conveys the sheet along the sheet conveyance path in a pinched state, and when the sheet guide member is in the second position, the sheet is in a pinched state. a pair of conveying rollers that are released; and a pair of transport rollers that move the opening/closing door and the rotating member so that the sheet guide member moves between the first position and the second position in conjunction with opening and closing of the opening/closing door. An image forming apparatus comprising: a connecting member that connects the image forming apparatus;

An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine will be described below.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a copying machine to which the present invention can be applied.
The side cover on the main body of the copying machine, which can be opened and closed, is folded down toward the front of the page to open it, and is further cut away to show it. Inside the copying machine main body 100, there are a cylindrical photoreceptor having a central axis extending perpendicular to the plane of the paper, and a developer 3 and a cleaner 4 arranged near the periphery of the photoreceptor.
A charger 5 and a charger 5 are integrally attached to the frame 1a, and these members constitute the unit 1 as a whole. And this unit 1 is
It is placed on the support guide parts Sa and Sb formed on the support member S fixed inside the copying machine main body, and after opening the opening/closing door (not shown) arranged on the front side of the copying machine main body, the paper surface can be opened. It can be pulled out towards the front.

A transfer charger 8a, a separation roller 8b, etc. mounted on the right end of the unit 11 in the figure, which will be described below, are arranged below the unit 1 including the photoreceptor.

A transfer guide member 54 as a sheet guide member is mounted on the right end of the transfer charger 8a in the drawing, and further on the right side, register rollers 7a and 7b as a pair of transport rollers are mounted.

A push-up lever 8c adjacent to the transfer charger 8a is used to swing the transfer guide member 54 up and down as the unit 1 swings.

A lens system LE fixed to the support member S is disposed above the photoconductor 2, and a transparent glass plate G is placed on the top surface of the copying machine and reciprocates from side to side in the figure. is attached.

To briefly explain the copying process, the document stand including the glass plate G on which the document M is placed moves to one side,
At this time, when the document surface is irradiated by the light source L, the reflected light from the document surface passes through the lens system LE and forms an image on the surface of the photoreceptor, which has been uniformly charged by the charger 5, and the electrostatic potential is image, and then the latent image is arrow A.
A toner image is formed along the photoreceptor rotating in the direction until it reaches the position of the developing device 3.

On the other hand, the cylindrical copying materials in the cassette C engaged with the main body of the copying machine are sequentially fed into the machine from the upper part by a paper feed port 6, and the toner on the surface of the photoreceptor is transferred to the copying machine by a registration roller 7. Aligning the position with the image, the toner image passes through the transfer guide and reaches the transfer site where the charger 8a is located, and is transferred to the transfer material, and the transfer material carrying the toner image is further separated by separation means such as a separation roller 8b. The image is then separated from the photoreceptor, passed through a conveyance path 9, fixed and fixed by a fixing device 10, and discharged outside the machine.

On the other hand, after the transfer is completed, the photoreceptor rotates further, and the developer that does not contribute to the transfer is removed by the cleaner 4, after which the same copying process as before is started again.

A copy sheet conveyance path 9 is provided below the unit 1 including the photoreceptor 2, and a separation roller 8b and a transfer charger 8a are provided upstream thereof, and are rotatable around a support shaft 12 as a first axis. There is a transfer conveyance unit 11. In the conventional image forming apparatus, below the unit 11 there is a shaft support plate 13 fixedly planted on the bottom surface of the main body of the copying apparatus, and a lever 15 rotatable about a shaft 14 supported by this plate is attached to the shaft support plate 13. A plate spring 1 attached to the lower part of the transfer conveyance unit 11
It holds the roller 16 that presses the roller 7.

For this reason, the lever 15 is normally in a position where it can form an image as shown in the figure, but by manually rotating and displacing the lever 15 in the counterclockwise direction using an operation handle (not shown), the lever 15 can be moved to a position below the photoreceptor 2. The transfer/transport unit 11 is lowered to secure a space with the photoreceptor 2, and jam processing and maintenance can be performed.

Further, as the unit 11 is lowered, the transfer guide member 54 supported by the push-up lever 8c is separated from the photoreceptor 2, thereby securing a space for jamming and maintenance.

Furthermore, regarding the jamming of the copy sheet caught between the register rollers 7, a one-way clutch (not shown) is disposed behind one of the pair of rollers 7a in the drawing, and a one-way clutch (not shown) is disposed at the rear of the roller 7a of the pair of rollers. Only the register roller 7a can be rotated in the forward direction without rotating the entire drive source, and the copy sheet sandwiched between the rollers is sent out in the conveyance direction by a rotating handle (not shown) on the front side in the figure. It is becoming possible to do this.

Next, the structure of a further improved embodiment of the present invention in such a copying apparatus will be explained with reference to the perspective view shown in FIG.

A base plate 22 for unitizing mechanical parts is provided on the bottom surface of the copying apparatus main body bottom plate 20 located at a position substantially below the photoreceptor, where the part corresponding to the dead space with the rubber feet 21 is processed into a concave shape. A shaft 2 serving as a third shaft has a support fitting 23 attached thereto and is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the support shaft 12.
5, a lever 24 as a rotating member is swingably suspended thereon. The lever 24 includes:
the aforementioned copy sheet conveyance path 9 and separation roller 8b;
The transfer/conveyance unit 11 to which the transfer charger 8a and push-up lever 8c are attached is rotated around the shaft 12 of the support plate 53 and side plate 52 (see FIG. 3) attached to the bottom plate of the main body of the apparatus. Coro 2
6 is rotatably attached to a shaft 28.

The transfer/conveyance unit 1 is attached to the lever 24.
1 and the transfer guide 54 supported by the push-up lever 8c, and a tensile force that has an urging force that can constantly press the transfer guide 54 supported by the push-up lever 8c to a predetermined position near the photoreceptor 2 (portions 50 and 51 shown in FIG. 3). A spring is attached. Therefore, when the lever 24 is given a rotation release action, it rotates clockwise about the shaft 25, and normally copies the top surface of the transfer/conveyance unit 11 as shown in FIG. It can come into contact with the reference positions 50 and 51 of the side plate of the main body of the apparatus and become a position where image formation is possible.

A front door 3 is provided on the front door 30 side of the bottom plate 20 of the main body of the copying machine.
An arm support stand 31 having a rotational hinge of 0 is fixedly installed, and an arm 32 as a connecting member is attached to this support stand 31 so as to be swingable about a shaft 36 . The front door 30 rotates around a second shaft 31a arranged perpendicular to the support shaft 12.

An arcuate long hole is formed in the arm support base 31 around the shaft 36 position, and the range is the position where the arm 32 rotates open and opens the front door 30 as shown in FIG. , is the angle at which the front door 30 is closed and the door catch 45 attached to the side plate 53 of the main body of the device and the front door side door catch 46 reach a specified position where they engage, as shown in FIG. .

Further, a shaft 34 is firmly planted in the arm 32, and a portion of this shaft (the back side in the figure) penetrates and loosely fits into the elongated hole of the arm support base 31, and a long hole extends from the penetrating side. The axial direction is regulated by a flat washer (not shown) that is larger than the width of the hole and an E-shaped stop ring.

Further, in front of the shaft 34, a joint lever 33 as a rotatable connecting member via a shaft 35 is loosely fitted to the lever 24 that raises and lowers the transfer/conveyance unit 11 described above. The axial direction is regulated and installed using a flat washer with a diameter larger than 34 and an E-shaped stop ring.

The shaft 34 fixed to the arm 32 described above passes through the elongated hole of the arm support 31, and its position in the axial direction is regulated by a flat washer and an E-shaped stop ring (not shown) on the back side of the arm support 31 into which it is loosely fitted. The reason for this is that the joint lever 33 is connected to the lever 24.
Since the shaft 34 and the arm 32 are strongly pulled in the direction D in the figure by the traction force of the tension spring 27, which serves to push up the transfer conveyance unit 11 through the This moment is generated, but this is to suppress this force.

A shaft 37 is fixed to the other end of the arm 32, and this shaft passes through a long hole in an arm stand 38 fixed to the front door 30 and is loosely fitted into it. Further, it is fixed with a screw from the back side of the figure in the direction C using a flat washer (not shown) having a diameter larger than the width of the elongated hole and a screw while maintaining an appropriate gap in the axial direction that allows the elongated hole to slide.

This screw can be easily installed and removed. For example, by removing the screw and manually lifting the arm 32 toward the front side plate 53 of the device main body (see Figure 3), the traction force of the tension spring 27 can be used. The transfer/conveyance unit 11 is automatically raised and regulated at a predetermined position, and the transfer, separation, and conveyance status of the copy sheets being fed can be observed from a location that is effective for the cutting service personnel. This is what we are doing.

A tension spring 39 is attached to a portion 32a at the other end of the arm 32, and the other end of the tension spring 39 is attached to an end of an arm stand 38 fixed to the front door 30. It is worn.

The tension spring 39 is attached with almost a free length in the state shown in FIG. 2, and is tensioned in the normal state in which image formation is possible as shown in FIG.

This tension spring 39 is activated by the tension spring 27 for raising the transfer conveyance unit while the front door 30 is rotating from the state shown in FIG. 2 in which it is opened to the state shown in FIG. 3 in which it is closed. This is a braking spring to prevent sudden closing due to traction force.

The force exerted by the tension spring 39 in the direction E to open the front door 30 shown in FIG. 3 is 4 in the figure.
The engagement force of both door catches No. 5 and 46 is smaller than that of the door catches, and furthermore, when the operator rotates and opens the front door 30 in the E direction, the operator only needs to manually apply the engagement force of the door catch and then open the front door. Since the traction force of the tension spring 39 also performs an automatic assisting function, the configuration is extremely easy to operate.

On the other hand, the transfer guide 54, which is supported by the push-up lever 8c attached to the transfer conveyance unit 11, moves up and down when the front door is opened and closed, and the push-up lever attached to it also moves up and down when the front door is opened and closed. By moving up and down accordingly, it rotates and oscillates about the fulcrum 7c as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The tip of the push-up lever is made of resin so that it is not electrically connected to the transfer guide 54 and can be pushed up smoothly.

There are transfer side plates 54a at both ends of the transfer guide 54, and a transfer tension spring 54b connecting with the main device side plate is attached to the lower part of the transfer side plates 54a.
4 is forcibly pulled downward unless pushed up by the push-up lever.

The transfer side plate 54a is swingably supported around the shaft 7c of the upper roller 7b of the register roller 7, and swings as the push-up lever 8c moves up and down.
can freely move on the axial center line 7e between the two rollers of the register roller 7, and is constantly pulled toward the lower roller 7a of the register roller by the register roller tension spring 7d, so that it is in close contact with the lower roller 7a. , and the rotation axis of the upper roller 7b is located at a position separated from the outer frame of the transfer side plate 54a (FIG. 5).

As the transfer guide 54 rotates downward,
The shaft of the upper roller 7b of the register roller, which was separated from the transfer side plate 54a, is pushed up along the outline of the outer frame of the transfer side plate 54a, and the lower roller 7a
A gap is formed between the two (Figure 4).

Thereby, the jam paper caught between the register rollers can be easily taken out in the paper traveling direction.

Conversely, when the transfer guide 54 rotates upward, the axis of the upper roller 7b of the register roller 7 placed on the transfer side plate 54a is
As it gradually moves to the lower roller 7a along the outer frame of the transfer side plate 54a, it becomes free from the outer frame of the transfer side plate 54a and comes into close contact with the lower roller 7a. As a result, the upper roller of the register roller 7 rotates in synchronization with the rotation of the lower roller, allowing the paper to be conveyed.

Next, to explain the operation procedure, the front door 30 in FIG. 37 is loosely fitted with a screw (not shown) at the end of the elongated hole 38a of the arm 32, from the point where it cannot be opened any further, and when manually operated to move it in the direction G to close it.
The shaft 37 of the arm 32 mentioned above moves from the elongated hole 38a of the arm stand 38 toward the other end of the elongated hole 38b. At the same time, the axis 34 of the arm 32, which is also fixed to the arm 32 and centered on the axis 36 of the arm support 31, restricts the position of the arm 32 in the c direction from the elongated hole 31b of the arm support 31 to 31c. move while Furthermore, along with the above movement, the joint lever 33, which is loosely fitted to the shaft 34 that is fixed to the arm 32, also moves in the same direction as the arm 32.

As a result of this movement, the lever 24 at the bottom of the transfer conveyance unit 11 inside the main body of the apparatus begins to rotate clockwise about the shaft 25. A tension spring 27 is tensioned in this direction of rotation and automatically pushes up the transfer conveyance unit 11 to the reference position 50 or 51 on the side plate of the main body of the apparatus. At this point, the front door 30 engages with the door catch 45 attached to the side plate of the main body of the apparatus and the door catch 46 attached to the front door 30 itself, and is in a normal state in which image formation is possible.

On the other hand, when the conveyance unit 11 is pushed up to the reference position 50 or 51, the positional relationship between the transfer guide 54 and the register roller 7 shown in FIG. Push-up lever 8c attached to charger 8a
As a result, the transfer guide 54 is pushed upward and placed at a reference position (not shown) (paper path position where image formation is possible), and the upper roller 7b of the register roller 7 placed on the outer frame of the transfer side plate 54a. The shaft is lowered by the register roller tension spring 7b along the outline of the outer frame of the transfer side plate 54a, and the upper roller 7a and the lower roller 7b are brought into close contact with each other. As a result, the reference position 5 of the transport unit
At the same time as it is pushed up to 0 or 51 and placed in place, a paper path is created in which image formation is possible, and image formation becomes completely possible.

In order to return the front door 30 to the open position, the front door is rotated open and the above-mentioned reverse operation is performed, thereby making it possible to perform jam removal and maintenance work.

Furthermore, since the transfer conveyance unit 11 and the transfer guide 7 can be brought into contact with and separated from the photoreceptor 2, when the front door 30 is opened and the transfer conveyance unit 11 and the transfer guide 7 are separated from the photoreceptor 2, the transfer conveyance unit 11 and the transfer guide 7 are attached to the photoreceptor 2. It is possible to protect the transfer portion of the photoreceptor 2 by advancing the photoreceptor protection cover 18 into the space obtained above in the F direction, and to prevent jamming, maintenance time, or the copying apparatus of this embodiment. ,
Since the unit 1 is pulled out toward the front in the figure when replenishing the developer, it is possible to automatically protect the unit 1 from damage caused by external light or handling.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, the copy sheet conveyance path including the transfer charger near the photoreceptor is integrally formed into a unit, and this is made swingable and at the same time can be moved along with the rotation of the conveyance unit 11. The transfer guide 54 swings freely and enables the presence or absence of a roller gap between the pair of register rollers, and is linked to the opening/closing operation of the front door of the apparatus main body to move the transfer conveyance unit and the transfer guide to the photoreceptor. Furthermore, since the register rollers 7 can be freely moved toward and away from each other, the operating procedures and operating time can be greatly reduced during jamming and maintenance. It is possible to give the operator the impression that one of the basic tasks that they have been performing up until now has become extremely convenient because it has been automated and is no longer necessary.

As explained above, according to the configuration of the present invention, the sheet conveying section can be easily and reliably released, and jamming etc. can be extremely facilitated. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily and efficiently perform jam processing by simply adding a highly reliable and simple configuration. In addition, since the opening/closing door and the seat guide member are mechanically linked,
To reliably handle a jam even if the power is cut off due to an abnormality in an image forming apparatus. Furthermore, according to the present invention, it is possible to interlock the opening/closing door and the seat guide member whose rotation centers are orthogonal to each other with only a simple structure such as a rotating member and a connecting member without intervening a switch or a motor. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a copying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the state in which the transfer/conveyance unit is lowered and the front door is open, and FIG. 3 shows the state of the same mechanism. Fig. 4 is a side sectional view showing the positional relationship between the transfer guide and register roller when the transport unit is lowered, and Fig. 5 is a side sectional view showing the position of the transfer guide and register roller when the transport unit is lifted upwards. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing the relationship. 1... Unit, 100... Copying device main body, 2
...Photoreceptor, 24...Lever, 3...Developer, 3
3...Jyointoreba, 4...Cleaner, 30
... Front door, 5 ... Charger, 31 ... Arm support,
7...Register roller, 20...Device bottom plate, 8a
...Transfer charger, 54...Transfer guide, 8b...
Separation roller, 8c...Pushing lever.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sheet conveying path for guiding a sheet along an image bearing member is formed, and the image bearing member is rotated about a first axis arranged perpendicularly to the sheet conveying direction. In an image forming apparatus having sheet guide members that can be separated further apart, a second sheet guide member disposed in a direction orthogonal to the first axis
an opening/closing door that rotates around an axis to open a side of the sheet conveyance path; and a third door that is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the first axis.
a first position rotatably supported on a shaft of the sheet guide member and forming the sheet conveyance path;
a rotating member that moves the sheet transport path to a second position that opens the sheet conveyance path; and a rotating member that moves the sheet guide member between the first position and the second position in conjunction with opening and closing of the opening/closing door. An image forming apparatus comprising: a connecting member that connects the opening/closing door and the rotating member so as to connect the opening/closing door and the rotating member. 2. A sheet guide that forms a sheet conveyance path for guiding the sheet along the image carrier and is rotatable about a first axis arranged in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction to be separated from the image carrier. In an image forming apparatus having a member, a second member disposed in a direction orthogonal to the first axis.
an opening/closing door that rotates around an axis to open a side of the sheet conveyance path; and a third door that is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the first axis.
a first position rotatably supported on a shaft of the sheet guide member and forming the sheet conveyance path;
a rotary member that moves the sheet to a second position that opens the sheet conveyance path; and a rotating member that conveys the sheet along the sheet conveyance path in a pinched state, and when the sheet guide member is in the second position, the sheet is in a pinched state. a pair of conveying rollers that are released; and a pair of transport rollers that move the opening/closing door and the rotating member so that the sheet guide member moves between the first position and the second position in conjunction with opening and closing of the opening/closing door. An image forming apparatus comprising: a connecting member that connects the two;