JPH03267970A - Opening and closing device of paper carrier path - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily execute the processing of a jammed paper or the like from a widely opened part by synchronously opening the lower part mechanism of the paper carrier path by means of the operation of a rocking arm and also providing a means for widely opening the lower guiding plate of an upstream part. CONSTITUTION:A downstream side carrier device 40 which is one of a rocking member is supported in such a way that this device 40 is able to rock toward a main body frame 7 by means of a shaft 43 and the downstream side carrier device 40 is made to rock by means of a pushing up mechanism which is composed of the rocking arm 60 and a lever 65 so that the other member is interlocked to be rocked, therefore, space is formed in the lower part of an image carrier 1. Furthermore, an elastic supporting member 9 is provided in order to make the lower guiding plate 15 of the carrier device part 10 of the upstream side be more lower pushed down than a position where the lower guiding plate 15 is lowered interlocking with the rocking member. Thus, the operation of the rocking arm 60 can make the lower mechanism of the paper carrier path be synchronously open, so that the processing of the jammed paper or the like is easily executed from the widely opened part.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an opening/closing device for a paper conveyance path disposed in an image transfer portion from a photoreceptor in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and in particular, The present invention relates to an opening/closing mechanism that allows a large space to be formed below a photoreceptor drum.

(Prior Art) For example, in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process such as an electronic copying machine or a laser printer, a toner image is formed on a photoreceptor drum, the toner image is transferred to paper, and unfixed toner is The paper carrying the image is fixed through a fixing device to create recording paper.

In the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, a transfer corotron is disposed in the area where the image is transferred from the photoreceptor drum, and a toner image (-JM) is transferred to the surface of the photoreceptor drum by high-pressure discharge from the transfer corotron. Eleven strokes are used to transfer the information to the paper.

On the upstream side of the image transfer part, there is a registration roller that positions the leading edge of the paper and feeds out the paper in synchronization with the toner image formed on the photoreceptor drum, a registration gate, etc., as well as a paper transport mechanism. There are upper and lower guide plates that regulate the road.

Further, on the downstream side of the image transfer section, a conveyor belt device or the like for conveying the sheet carrying the unfixed toner image toward the fixing device is arranged.

However, each of the i-positions arranged on both sides of the image transfer portion of the image carrier as described above has a large number of i-positions arranged in a relatively narrow area.
5111i is often incorporated, so if a paper jam occurs in that area, there is a problem that extremely troublesome work must be performed to remove and cover the paper.

Therefore, in conventional devices, for example, a relatively small image forming device is sometimes configured as a so-called crocodile type device in which the upper FRIlli of the device can be opened and closed via a hinge at the end. be.

In the case of such a device, the upper component and the lower component of the paper transport path are arranged separately, so when the upper mechanism is opened, the paper transport path is Since it is easily released, the operation of removing the jammed paper can be performed easily.

On the other hand, in the case of an apparatus that does not have a Wanilo-type swinging mechanism, the guide plates, etc. placed before and after the image carrier are constructed so that they can be opened and closed, preventing paper from jamming in the paper transport path. If this occurs, a means is used that allows the guide plates of the corresponding portions to be opened and the jammed paper to be removed.

An advantage of configuring each of the above-mentioned mechanisms to be able to be opened and closed separately is that, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 60-123877, a guide plate upstream of the image carrier and a conveyor belt downstream are used. Some systems use a method in which devices and the like are mounted on one frame, and the frame is configured to be swingable via a fulcrum on the downstream side.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the components of the paper conveyance path as described above cannot be swung together. In order to release the paper conveyance path and remove the jammed paper in the apparatus configured to obtain the jammed paper,
It is necessary to widely open the swing frame, insert your hand into the inner part of the paper conveyance path, and perform tasks such as pulling out jammed paper.

However, in general image forming apparatuses, the various mechanisms of the electrophotographic process are often arranged closely together in a relatively narrow area, and there is not enough free space to free up the lower mechanism of the paper transport path. It is difficult to set up

Furthermore, when the paper transport path is opened in a relatively narrow range, there are problems such as not being able to easily insert a hand into the opened paper transport path, making it troublesome to dispose of jammed paper. There is a problem.

In devices such as copying machines that have been used in the past, it is not possible to create sufficient free space at the bottom of the paper conveyance path, and therefore the paper cannot be removed properly. Problems such as parts being torn off and remaining may occur.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of conventionally used devices. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that allows the paper conveyance path to be largely opened by swinging in an interlocked manner, and also allows easy positioning of each mechanism.

(Means and effects for solving the problems) The present invention has the following features:
In an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process, a paper conveying means for transferring an image from an image carrier is
This invention relates to a device that is divided into three parts: a transfer corotron section, an upstream conveyance device section, and a downstream conveyance device section, and which are connected to each other so as to be able to swing through a push-up mechanism and a link mechanism. .

In the paper conveyance path of the present invention, among the swinging members,
A downstream conveyance device is swingably supported with respect to the main body frame by a shaft, and other members are caused to swing in conjunction with each other by swinging the downstream conveyance device via a push-up mechanism, The structure is covered so as to form a space under the image carrier.

Further, a means is provided for pushing down the lower guide plate of the upstream conveying device section further below the position where it is lowered in conjunction with the swinging member.

Further, in the apparatus of the present invention, an elastic member is disposed below the lower guide plate among the upper and lower guide plates constituting the upstream conveyance device section, and by pushing down the elastic member, the lower guide The configuration is such that the release position of the plate can be expanded, and the positioning of the lower guide plate when guiding the paper is performed by pressing the tip of the lower guide plate on the image carrier side against the receiving part of the drum support frame. It is possible to configure -4- to perform the following. In addition to the above configuration, an upper guide plate disposed opposite to the lower guide plate,
It is provided so as to be swingable via a support shaft, and may be provided so as to be positioned via a spacing setting member between it and the lower guide plate.

In addition to the above configuration, in the present invention, the push-up mechanism for performing a push-up action on the downstream conveyance device section includes:
It is composed of a swinging arm and a lever that swing in conjunction with each other, and a guide part with a stopper is provided at the lower part of the downstream conveyance unit, and the rf! In addition to being used as a means for positioning the movable arm, it is also possible to provide means for setting the range of the swinging position of the lever.

With the configuration described above, in the opening/closing position of the paper transport path of the present invention, the lower mechanism of the paper transport path can be synchronously released by operating the swing arm, and a wide open portion can be opened. This makes it easy to dispose of jammed paper.

In addition, by providing a means for opening the lower guide plate of the upstream part more widely, it is possible to insert a hand deep into the register section, and it is possible to easily process paper in this section. be.

Furthermore, by providing a positioning means for the push-up means provided for the downstream conveyance device section, the fixing position of the conveyance device can be set accurately. By providing a means for regulating the position, the swinging range t5 of the swinging arm can be set accurately.

(Example) The configuration of a paper conveyance path opening/closing device of the present invention will be explained according to an illustrated example.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the apparatus of the present invention, a constant @ device is arranged at the downstream part of the photosensitive drum 1 via the paper conveyance gL position, and at the upstream part of the photosensitive drum 1. Upper and lower guide plates 11.15 are arranged for positioning the leading edge of the paper and for guiding the paper towards the image transfer area. Note that in the embodiments of the present invention described later, upstream and downstream are explained based on the paper conveyance direction, and the upstream side of the image transfer section is the paper feeding device of the image forming apparatus. A fixing device, a discharge means, etc. are arranged on the downstream side.

The illustrated example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a photoreceptor drum 1 around which various mechanisms of an electrophotographic process are arranged, and a transfer corotron 30 as a mechanism for transferring images from the photoreceptor drum 1. A conveyor belt device is disposed between the transfer corotron 30 and the fixing device 5.

Note that upper and lower guide plates 6.6a are provided upstream of the fixing device 5 in order to introduce the paper conveyed by the paper 11 feeding device, but the configuration of the guide plates and the fixing device is is constructed in the same way as in conventional devices.

The photosensitive drum 1 is supported by a drum support frame 2 provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus, and as will be described later, a receiving member 3.4 is installed on the drum support frame.
are used to respectively lock the receiving member 17 of the lower guide plate 15 and the contact portion 35 of the front frame 31, so that each component of the paper conveyance path can be positioned at the raised position.

In each mechanism constituting the paper transport path, the upstream transport device 10 is provided with an upper guide plate 11 and a lower guide plate 15, each of which can be oscillated via a support shaft 12.16. There is.

In addition, in order to set the interval between both guide plates, a protrusion 13 is provided at the lower part of the upper guide plate 11, and the protrusion 13 contacts the upper surface of the lower guide plate, thereby setting an interval that allows the paper to pass through. You can.

The paper conveyance path constituted by the upper and lower guide plates includes:
A registration roller device 20 such as a registration gate 23 is arranged, and the pinch roller 21 of the registration roller device 20 is supported by the upper guide plate 11, and when the upper and lower guide plates are fixed, the paper is removed between the two rollers. Cover it so that it can be nipped and sent out.

The tip of the lower guide plate 15 is configured as a receiving member go 7, and a receiving portion 18 is provided at the lower part of the guide plate. Then, the guide plate 15 is pushed up via the receiving part 18 by a push-up unit 734 arranged on the upstream side of the front frame 31.
Push up the receiving member 17 and attach it to the drum support frame 2.
The lower guide plate is positioned and fixed by being engaged with the front part 3. Further, the protrusion 13 provided on the upper guide plate 11 is connected to the lower guide plate 15.
Set the interval such that the paper passes through +i,
A paper transport path can be configured.

The transfer corotron 30 disposed corresponding to the photosensitive drum 1 is supported by a front frame 31, and is connected to the rear frame 4 via a shaft 37.
0 and supports the downstream end of the rear frame 40, both frames 31.4
It is designed so that it can be oscillated in conjunction with 0.

A front frame 3 supporting the transfer corotron 30
1 has a shaft 33 provided on the support block 32 at its upstream portion.
A push-up piece 34 is fixedly or swingably supported through the push-up piece 34, and by locking the receiving portion 18 of the lower guide plate to the piece 34, the vertical movement of the guide plate is performed.

Further, a protrusion 36 is provided at the downstream end of the front frame 31, and the protrusion 36 is attached to the rear frame 31.
The front frame can be positioned by being engaged with a fixing claw 41 provided at the front frame.

As described above, the rear frame 40 disposed downstream of the front frame 31 is supported by the belt drive shaft 43 disposed at the end thereof, and is supported by the belt drive shaft 43 disposed at the end thereof, and is The swinging arm 60 performs a swinging operation, and the front frame 31 connected to the rear frame 40 can be swinged at the same time.

The rear frame 40 is provided with a conveyor belt device and a guide means via a belt support frame.
The structure of each of these members will be explained in detail later in FIG. 2.

A lower plate member 42 is provided at the lower part of the rear frame 40, and a guide member 55 is provided on the lower surface of the upper plate member 42. The guide member 55 guides the openings 61 of the swinging arm 60, and swings the swinging arm 60 so that the rollers 61
By moving the rear frame 40 along the guide member, the rear frame 40 can be swung. Further, the guide member 55 is provided with a stopper 56 for locking the roller at a fixed position, and the stopper 56 can be constructed by cutting and raising a plate of the guide member.

A swinging arm 60 for swinging the member at the lower part of the paper conveyance path has a shaft 6 attached to a bearing means provided on the main body frame 7.
2, and is provided so as to swing together with the lever 65.

When the lever 65 is held in the hand and swung clockwise around the shaft, the lower member of the paper conveyance path is swung counterclockwise around the drive shaft 43 to move the paper. It will be positioned at the position to be transported.

Furthermore, when the lever 65 and the swinging arm 60 are swung counterclockwise, the lower member of the paper transport path is lowered, so that the paper transport path can be released. It turns out. Note that when binding the paper conveyance path released as described above, the swing arm 60 is swinged clockwise to lift the rear frame, and the roller 61 of the swing arm 60 comes into contact with the stopper 56. In this state, the first arm position of the rear frame is set.

A lever stopper 67 provided on the main body frame causes the lever to contact a locking portion 68 when the operator attempts to rotate the lever 65 after the roller 61 contacts the stopper 56, and the lever stops moving further. This is provided to prevent damage to the swing mechanism by restricting rotation.

Further, when the paper conveyance path is released, the projection 66 provided on the lever 65 comes into contact with the locking portion 69 of the stopper 67, and the lever is positioned at the release position. Note that the lever stopper 67 is connected to the lever locking portion 68.
In this case, the protrusion 66 of the lever is brought into direct contact with the top of the main body frame 7, so that the locking state at the swinging position can be maintained. It is also possible.

When the arm swings, the stopper 56 is arranged at a position such that the swing angle θ between the top dead center of the swing arm 60 and the stop position is about 10°. By stopping the swing arm 60 at the above-described position, the lower mechanism of the paper conveyance path can be maintained in an accurately positioned state.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a belt 50 and a belt support frame 45 provided on the rear frame 40 of the present invention. As explained in FIG. 1, the rear frame 40 is connected to the front frame 31 via the shaft 37, and the protrusions 36 of both frames are engaged with the claw members 41.

The belt support frame 45 disposed at the center of the rear frame 40 includes guides 46 to 48 at the center and both sides;
The belt support frame 45 is integrally formed with a member that supports the two belts 50, and the inside of the belt support frame 45 is hollow to form an air suction path. Note that the guides 46 to 48 have flat upper surfaces, and guide the paper along the guide surfaces.

The belt 50 supported by the belt support frame 45 is provided with a large number of holes 51, and by suctioning air from the holes toward the belt support frame, the paper is pressed against the belt surface and the conveying action is performed accurately. Let them do it. The belt 50 is connected to a drive pulley 5 provided on the drive shaft 43.
2 and a driven pulley 53 disposed on the upstream side, and is driven in the paper conveyance direction.

In the apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, the swinging operation of each mechanism when traveling along the paper conveyance path will be explained based on FIGS. 3 and 4.

In order to release the lower mechanism of the paper conveyance path, the lever 65 and the swing arm 60 are connected to the support shaft 62 as described above.
oscillate in the counterclockwise direction around the center.

The swinging of the swinging arm 60 causes the roller 61 to move to the left in the figure along the lower surface of the guide member 55, causing the rear frame 40 to swing clockwise about the shaft 43.

Following the rocking of the rear frame 40, the front frame 31 is also moved in a direction away from the photoreceptor drum,
A receiving member 1 provided on the lower guide plate is placed at a position where the lower end of the upstream side of the front frame 31 contacts the main body frame 7.
The locking of the top 34 with respect to 8 is released.

In the state shown in the example, the lower surface of the lower guide plate 15 is
The lower guide plate 15 is engaged with the elastic support member 9 which is arranged to protrude from the main body frame 7, and supports the lower guide plate 15 in a released state at a position where it is supported by the elastic support member 9.

From the state shown in FIG. 3, the swing arm 6
0 in the counterclockwise direction, the rear frame 40
It still rotates about axis 43.

Following the rotation of the rear frame 40, the lower end of the front frame 31 slides on the main body frame 7 until it is moved to the position shown in FIG. 4 and stopped.

In the final position of one movement of each frame shown in FIG. 4 mentioned above, the lever stops with the protrusion 66 in contact with the lever stopper or the main body frame 7, and further rotation is restricted. be done.

In addition, in FIG. 3, when the lower guide plate 15 held by the elastic support member 9 is to be released further than its stopping position, the spring is compressed by pushing it by hand, as indicated by the chain line. It can be lowered to any position. By further swinging the lower guide plate, it becomes possible to greatly open the paper transport path on the upstream side, and operations such as handling jammed paper can be performed in good condition in that area. Become something.

In addition, when returning each member from the release position shown in FIG. 4 to the operating position, by swinging the lever clockwise, it passes through the state shown in FIG. 3 and returns to the position shown in FIG. 1. It will be returned to. Then, using the receiving members 3.4 provided on the drum support frame 2, the receiving members 17 of the lower guide plate 15 and the contact portions 35 of the front frame 31 are respectively locked, and each component of the paper conveyance path is positioning at the elevated position.

In addition, in the opening/closing device for the paper conveyance path of the present invention described above, means for setting the swinging states of each frame and mechanism as shown in the actual travel example include, in addition to those shown in the drawings.
Any mechanism can be used, and it is also possible to change the connection part of each frame to another vslIi.

Further, the paper conveyance path opening/closing device of the present invention described above can be used even when the photoreceptor is not a drum but a belt-like one.
It can be configured in the same way, and even if the shape of the support frame changes depending on the arrangement of the transfer/separation corotron or the structure of the conveyor belt, it can be configured accordingly. .

(Effects of the Invention) Since the paper transport path opening/closing device of the present invention has the above-described configuration, the lower mechanism of the paper transport path can be opened in synchronization by operating the swing arm. It is possible to easily process the paper from the wide open area.

In addition, by providing a means to open the lower guide plate of the upstream part more widely, it is possible to insert the hand deep into the cash register section, making it easier to process paper in this area. is possible.

Furthermore, by providing a positioning means for the push-up means provided for the downstream transport device section, the fixed position of the transport device can be set accurately.In addition, the positions of both sides of the lever can be regulated. By providing a means to do this, it is possible to accurately set the swing range of the swing arm.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of the paper conveyance path of the present invention, and FIG.
Figure 3 is a plan view showing the arrangement relationship between the carrier frame and front frame, Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in the middle of releasing the paper transport path, and Figure 4 is an illustration of the state in which the paper transport path is completely released. It is a diagram. Reference numerals in the figure 1...Photosensitive drum, 2...Drum support frame, 5...Fixing device, 7...
Main body frame, 9...Elastic support member, 10...
...Upstream conveyance device, 11... Upper guide plate, 12... Support shaft, 15... Lower guide plate, 16... Support shaft , 17...Receiving member, 18 Receiving portion, 20... Registration roller, 23.
...Regigate, 30...Transfer corotron, 31...Front frame, 40...
... Rear frame, 45 ... Belt support frame, 50 ... Belt, 55 ... Guide member, 56 ... Stopper, 60 ... - Swing arm, 61...Roller, 65...Lever 67...Lever stopper. Figure 2

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process, the paper conveyance means for transferring an image from an image carrier is divided into a transfer corotron section, an upstream conveyance device section, and
The downstream conveyance device section is divided into three members, which are connected to each other so as to be able to swing through a push-up mechanism and a link mechanism. The image carrier is supported in a swingable manner relative to the main body frame, and is caused to swing relative to the downstream conveyance device via a push-up mechanism, thereby causing other members to swing in conjunction with each other, thereby creating a space below the image carrier. opening/closing of a paper conveyance path, characterized in that means is provided for pressing down the lower guide plate of the upstream conveyance device part further below the position at which it is lowered in conjunction with the swinging member. Device. (2) An elastic member is arranged below the lower guide plate among the upper and lower guide plates constituting the upstream conveyance device section, and by pushing down the elastic member, the release position of the lower guide plate is adjusted. The lower guide plate is configured to be spreadable, and the lower guide plate is positioned when guiding the paper by pressing the tip of the lower guide plate on the image carrier side against the receiving portion of the drum support frame. The upper guide plate disposed opposite to the plate is swingably provided via a support shaft, and is provided so as to be positioned via a spacing setting member between the upper guide plate and the lower guide plate. An opening/closing device for a paper conveyance path according to claim 1, characterized in that: (3) The push-up mechanism for performing a push-up action on the downstream transfer device section is composed of a swinging arm and a lever that swing in conjunction with each other, and a guide having a stopper at the bottom of the downstream transfer device section. Claim 1, characterized in that a member is provided, and the member is used as a positioning means for a swinging arm when performing a pushing-up action, and a means for setting a range of swinging positions of the lever is provided. The paper conveyance path opening/closing device according to item 2.