JPH0318448Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention has a method in which copy paper on which an unfixed image is formed is guided to a fixing device by a plurality of conveyor belts arranged side by side at a predetermined interval. The present invention relates to a copy paper conveying device in a copying machine.

[Conventional technology]

A typical conventional configuration example of the above-mentioned conveyance device is shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a conveyor belt stretched between rollers 2 and 3, and a fan 4 for conveying the vacuum chamber is provided below the conveyor belt.

5 is a photoreceptor provided on the upstream side of the conveyance direction of the conveyor belt 1, 6 is a transfer section, and 7 is a separation section.

8 is a registration roller provided on the upstream side of the photoreceptor 5 in the conveyance direction, and 9 is a fixing roller provided on the downstream side of the conveyance belt 1 in the conveyance direction, and is composed of a heat roller 9a and a pressure roller 9b. 10 is a paper ejection roller.

The copy paper fed from the paper feed section (not shown) temporarily stops at the registration roller 8, and is moved to the registration roller 8 in synchronization with the toner image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 5. The toner image is transported by being driven and sent to the transfer section 6, where the toner image is transferred.

The copy paper on which the toner image, which is an unfixed image, has been formed is separated from the photoreceptor 5 in the separating section 7, and is sent to the fixing roller 9 while being attracted to the conveyor belt 1 by air suction by the fan 4.

[The problem that the idea aims to solve]

However, when the length of the copy paper in the conveying direction is shorter than the dimension l between the nip point of the registration roller 8 and the nip point of the fixing roller 9, so-called small-size copy paper such as a postcard is to be fed. In this case, the copy paper may not be transported reliably.

That is, as shown by the solid line _P1 in the same figure, the intermediate portion of the small-sized copy paper in the conveying direction (or the intermediate portion in the rotational axis direction of the photoreceptor 5) swells upward (or dents) on the conveying belt 1. ), the copy paper will come into line contact with the top surface of the conveyor belt 1, making it difficult to convey.If the copy paper is particularly stiff, air suction will also prevent the copy paper from warping. There were cases where the items were not transported because they were not corrected.

Further, in order to improve the introduction of the copy paper to the fixing roller 9, if a guide 11 is provided at an angle between the conveyor belt 1 and the fixing roller 9, Even if the warping is not noticeable, as shown by the imaginary line _P2 in the figure, when the leading edge of the copy paper reaches the guide 11, only the trailing edge of the copy paper contacts the conveyor belt 1. In this case as well, it becomes difficult to convey the copy paper, causing a jam.

On the other hand, it is conceivable to arrange the fixing roller 9 close to the transfer section 6 and shorten the dimension l between the registration roller 8 and the fixing roller 9. , the amount of heat generated is large, and it is not preferable to bring the fixing roller 9 close to the photoreceptor 5, which is sensitive to heat, and there is a structural constraint that the dimension l cannot be shortened arbitrarily. There is.

The present invention has been developed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and is intended to reliably transport even small-sized copy paper, which is so-called stiff, even though it is subject to structural constraints. The purpose is to provide a conveying device that can

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the conveyance system described at the beginning, in which a copy sheet on which an unfixed image is formed is guided to a fixing device by a plurality of conveyance belts arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals. In the apparatus, a star-shaped member for pressing the copy paper, which is in point contact with the upper surface of the copy paper and driven to rotate, is provided so as to correspond to the grooves of the conveyor belt and can be moved up and down. Then, the lowermost end of the star-shaped member is inserted between the strips of the conveyor belt, and while the paper is being fed, the leading edge of the copy paper lifts the star-shaped member to bring the star-shaped member into point contact with the top surface of the copy paper. It is characterized by its structure.

[Effect]

According to the above characteristic structure, since the star-shaped member is inserted between the stripes of the conveyor belt when paper is not being fed, no load is applied to the conveyor belt.

When paper is fed by a plurality of conveyor belts, when the leading edge of the copying paper reaches the star-shaped member, the copying paper lifts the star-shaped member with its leading edge.
Thereafter, the star-shaped member rotates as the copy paper is conveyed while pressing the top surface of the copy paper in point contact until the copy paper passes below the star-shaped member.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of a so-called clamshell type electrophotographic copying machine 20 to which the present invention is applied, and is divided into an upper unit U and a lower unit D, which will be described later, and the upper unit U is located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction. The lower unit D can be rotated freely around the horizontal axis (not shown).
A fixing mechanism (not shown) is connected to the downstream side in the conveyance direction.
By releasing the button, the upper unit U can be rotated upward as shown by the imaginary line in the figure.

The upper surface of the upper unit U is provided in the left-right direction X-Y (the same direction as the conveyance direction of the copy paper)
The upper unit U includes an exposure device 22, an optical system device 23 such as a lens, a photoreceptor 24, a charging device 25, a developing device 26, and a cleaning device 27. , an exhaust fan 28, etc. are provided. 29 is an upper partition plate.

Inside the lower unit D is a cassette case 3.
1 storage section 32, manual feed section 33, paper feed roller 3
4. Registration roller pair 35, manual feed roller pair 3
6, transfer device 37, separation device 38, conveyor belt 3
9 and a fan 40 that also serves as exhaust, a conveying device 41, a fixing device 42, a pair of paper ejection rollers 43, a paper ejection tray 44, etc., as well as star-shaped members 45a, 45b.
A pressing member 46 is provided above the conveying device 41.

An example of a specific mounting structure for the pressing member 46 is shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. First, the transport device 41
The conveyor belt 39 carries a plurality of narrow conveyor belts 39a, 39b, 39c, and 39d to the photoreceptor 24.
These conveyor belts 39a, 39b, 39 are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the rotational axis direction.
Between c and 39d, there are several holes below the top surface of the belt.
Conveyance partition plates 47a, 47b, 4 separated by mm intervals
7c is provided.

The pressing member 46 is rotatably attached to the lower surface of the upper partition plate 29, and as described later, the pressing member 46 is placed in an operating position (indicated by a solid line in FIG. 5) in which the star-shaped members 45a and 45b are involved in pressing the copy paper. ) and a non-operating position (shown by phantom lines in FIG. 5) in which the star-shaped members 45a and 45b do not participate in pressing the copy paper.

That is, the pressing member 46 is the star-shaped member 45a,
It consists of a rotating shaft 48 to which a rotating shaft 45b is rotatably attached, and a bracket 49 that holds the rotating shaft 48, and this bracket 49 is attached to a pivot pin 52.
It is rotatably attached to the attachment member 50 via a and 52b, and the attachment member 50 is attached to the upper partition plate 29 via screws 51.

One star-shaped member 45a is connected to the conveyor belt 3.
9b and the transport partition plate 47b, and the other star-shaped member 45b is located between the transport partition plate 47b and the transport belt 39c.

Further, between the bracket 49 and the upper partition plate 29, a retaining spring 53 that urges the bracket 49 in the direction of arrow B in FIG.
It is located around a.

Furthermore, a recessed portion 30 that opens downward is formed in a part of the upper partition plate 29, and a locking piece 5 that engages the locking portion 49d of the bracket 49 is formed.
4' is provided in the recessed part 30 in a state where it can freely slide in the direction of arrow E-F,
The spring 55 that biases the stopper 54 in the direction of arrow F is inserted into the locking hole 5 of the stopper 54.
4a and a mounting plate 29' attached to the upper partition plate 29.

The bracket 49 consists of a back plate 49a, legs 49b, 49c extending downward on both sides of the back plate 49a, and a locking portion 49d.
Elongated holes 49b' and 49c' for holding the rotary shaft 48 rotatably and movably up and down are bored near the lower end of c.

Thus, the star-shaped member 45a of the pressing member 46,
45b is switched to the working position and the conveyor belts 39a, 39b, 39c, 39d are in the non-feeding position, the star-shaped members 45a, 45b
The lowermost end of the conveyor belt 39 enters between the conveyor belts 39b, 39c and the conveyor partition plate 47b, and the conveyor belt 39
The conveyor belts 39a, 39b, 39 are located slightly below the upper surfaces of the conveyor belts 39a, 39c, and
The star-shaped members 45a, 45b are lifted within the range of the elongated holes 49b', 49c' at the leading end of the copy paper conveyed by
5a and 45b press the top surface of the copy paper in a point contact state and are driven to rotate as the copy paper is conveyed.

5 is a magnet provided on the back surface of the back plate 49a of the bracket 49, which doubles as a stopper for preventing the bracket 49 from swinging against the biasing force of the spring 55. Although it has the function of holding the star-shaped members 45a, 45b in the operating position, it is not necessary to provide it.

According to the above configuration, the bracket 49 is rotated so that the pressing member 46 is housed in the recessed part 30, and the locking part 49d of the bracket 49 is rotated.
By locking the star-shaped members 45a and 45b with the locking piece 54' of the stopper 54, the star-shaped members 45a and 45b are held in a non-active position (shown by phantom lines in FIG. 5) where they do not participate in pressing the copy paper.

Also, the stopper 54 is moved in the direction of arrow E against the biasing force of the spring 55, and the locking portion 49
By disengaging the locking piece 54' from the bracket 49, the bracket 49 is biased and swung in the direction of the arrow B, and the magnet 56 on the back of the bracket is magnetically attracted to the upper partition plate 29. The star-shaped members 45a, 45b are switched to their active positions (shown in solid lines in FIG. 5) in which they take part in pressing the copy paper.

Note that the rotation of the pressing member 46 between arrows A and B and the movement of the stopper 54 in the direction of arrows EF may be electrically driven by a motor, a solenoid, or the like.

In the copying machine configured as described above, when normal size copy paper such as A4 size or B5 size is to be fed to the conveyor belt 39, the star-shaped Members 45a, 4
5b can be switched to the non-operating position and kept there, and the copying operation can be carried out in exactly the same manner as in conventional copying machines of this type.

On the other hand, when feeding small-sized and stiff copy paper such as postcards, the star-shaped members 45a, 45
A predetermined copying operation is performed after switching b to the active position.

In this way, when the star-shaped members 45a, 45b are switched to the operating position, the conveyor belts 39a,
When 39b, 39c, and 39d are in the non-sheet feeding state, as described above, the star-shaped members 45a, 45
Since the lowermost end of ``b'' is inserted between the strips of the conveyor belts 39b, 39c, the load from the star-shaped members 45a, 45b is not applied to the conveyor belts 39b, 39c. This prevents scratches and wear.

The star-shaped members 45a, 45b have their lowermost ends connected to the conveyor belts 39b, 39b when paper is not fed.
Since it is located slightly below the top surface of 9c,
When the copy paper is conveyed by the conveyor belts 39a, 39b, 39c, and 39d, the leading edge of the copy paper comes into contact with the star-shaped members 45a and 45b and is lifted up. shaped member 45
a, 45b until the star-shaped member 45
a and 45b rotate in a driven manner while pressing the top surface of the copy paper in a state of point contact.

Therefore, even if the copy paper is slightly curled, as shown by _the solid line _P1 in FIG. Even if the trailing edge side of the copy paper comes into contact with the conveyor belt when the paper reaches the state, the star-shaped member 45a,
45b rotates and presses the copy paper, so that the copy paper is transferred to the conveyor belts 39a, 39b, 3.
9c and 39d, and the star-shaped members 45a and 45b only make point contact with the upper surface of the copy paper, so that there is almost no adverse effect on the unfixed image formed on the upper surface of the copy paper.

In the above embodiment, the pressing member 46 is connected to the upper partition plate 29.
The star-shaped members 45a and 45b of the pressing member 46 are attached rotatably to the press member 46 when not in use as necessary.
Although the present invention is not limited to this, the pressing member 46 can be switched to a non-operating position so that the star-shaped members 45a and 45b are not involved in pressing the copy paper. It may also be configured to be detachable from the machine.

In this case, when the pressing member 46 is attached to the copying machine, the star-shaped members 45a, 45b
are provided so as to correspond to the gaps between the conveyor belts 39b and 39c and to be freely changeable in position up and down, so that the lowermost ends of the star-shaped members 45a and 45b enter between the lines of the conveyor belts 39b and 39c when paper is not being fed. With,
Under paper feeding, the star-shaped member 45 is attached by the leading edge of the copy paper.
a, 45b and lift the star-shaped member 45.
It is important to configure the portions a and 45b so that they are in point contact with the top surface of the copy paper.

An embodiment in which the pressing member 46 is configured to be detachable in this manner is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. In the figure, reference numeral 60 denotes a pressing member, which is detachably attached to the lower surface of the upper partition plate 29, for example. That is, the pressing member 60 is mainly composed of two star-shaped members 62a and 62b attached to the rotating shaft 61, and a bracket 63 that holds the rotating shaft 61.

The bracket 63 is, for example, a back plate 63a.
and legs 63b, 63c extending downward on both sides thereof.
The legs 63b, 63c have locking claws 63d', 63 at their tips extending outward and upward from the middle.
Locking arms 63 each having elasticity and e'
d, 63e, and mounting pieces 63f, 63g extending substantially horizontally from the back surface of the back plate 63a and having engaging portions 63f', 63g' at their tips, respectively;
A long hole 63 is located near the lower end of the legs 63b, 63c.
b', 63c' are drilled, and these long holes 63b', 6
The rotary shaft 61 is held within 3c' so as to be rotatable and movable up and down.

In order to attach the pressing member 60 configured as described above to the upper part of the conveying device 41, for example, the attachment pieces 63f and 63g are inserted into the exhaust hole 29a attached to the lower surface of the upper partition plate 29, and The engaging portions 63f', 63g' are locked at the periphery of the hole 29a, and the locking arms 63d, 63
The respective locking claws 63d' and 63e' of
Engage with the peripheral edge of 9a. The locking arms 63d, 6
3e has an outward elastic force, so that the pressing member 60 can be firmly attached to the lower surface of the upper partition plate 29.

To remove the pressing member 60 from the upper partition plate 29, the locking arms 63d and 63e are connected to the legs 63b and 63e, respectively.
63c, locking claws 63d', 63
Release the engagement between e' and the hole 29a, and
d' and 63e' are inserted into the hole 29 together with the engaging parts 63f' and 63g'.
This is achieved by extracting from a.

As in this embodiment, the pressing member 60 is detachably attached to the copying machine, in particular, the conveying device 41
This is effective in copying machines where there is no space above the press member 60 to accommodate the pressing member 60.

In addition, if the mounting pitch of the mounting pieces 63f and 63g is set to several pitches of the exhaust holes 29a formed in the upper partition plate 29 to ensure consistency with the upper partition plate 29, it is possible to use a conventional copying machine. It can be easily attached to and detached from the printer, or it can be attached in accordance with the conveying position of the copy paper.

In the above-described embodiments, two star-shaped members 45a, 45b, 62a, and 62b are provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the number can be changed.

Further, conveyor belts 39a, 39b, 39c, 3
Although conveyance partition plates 47a, 47b, and 47c are provided between 9d, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, in the present invention, a star-shaped member for pressing the copy paper, which contacts the top surface of the copy paper at a point and rotates as a result, is provided in correspondence with the grooves of the conveyor belt and whose position can be freely changed up and down. , while the paper is being fed, the star-shaped member whose lowest end is inserted between the strips of the conveyor belt is lifted by the leading edge of the copy paper, and then the star-shaped member is held up until the copy paper passes under the star-shaped member. Since the member is pressed against the top surface of the copying paper in a point contact state and rotated in a driven manner, it is possible to achieve this even though the size between the registration roller and the fixing roller cannot be shortened arbitrarily. This makes it possible to reliably convey stiff, small-sized copy paper, and since the star-shaped member only makes point contact with the top surface of the copy paper, it does not adversely affect unfixed images formed on the top surface of the copy paper. There is almost no effect on

Then, when the paper is not being fed, the star-shaped member is inserted between the strips of the conveyor belt, so that
The load of the star-shaped member is not applied to the conveyor belt when paper is not being fed, and therefore, the conveyor belt is prevented from being damaged or worn by the star-shaped member.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a copy paper conveying device in a conventional copying machine, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electrostatographic copying machine to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of the conveying device. , FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a state in which the pressing member is rotatably attached, FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the same, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of the state in which the pressing member is detachably attached. , FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the same. 39, 39a, 39b, 39c, 39d...Transport belt, 42...Fixing device, 45a, 45b,
62a, 62b...star-shaped members.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] (1) Copy paper on which an unfixed image is formed is guided to a fixing device by a plurality of conveyor belts arranged side by side at predetermined intervals. In the conveyance device, a star-shaped member for pressing the copy paper that contacts the upper surface of the copy paper and rotates under the control is provided in correspondence with the grooves of the conveyance belt and can be vertically changed in position, so that the sheet is not fed. At the bottom, the lowest end of the star-shaped member enters between the strips of the conveyor belt, and at the same time, at the bottom of paper feed, the star-shaped member is lifted by the leading edge of the copy paper to bring it into point contact with the top surface of the copy paper. A copy paper conveying device in a copying machine, characterized in that it is configured as follows. (2) Utility model registration claim 1, characterized in that the star-shaped member is configured to be switchable between an active position where it is involved in pressing the copy paper and an inactive position where it is not involved in pressing the copy paper. A copy paper conveyance device in the copying machine described in paragraph (1). (3) In the copying machine according to claim (1) of the utility model registration claim, the star-shaped member is configured to be removable so as not to be involved in pressing the copy paper. Conveyance device.