JPH04298463A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the weight and the size of an opening and closing unit, minimize a space for installation, and facilitate manual sheet feed. CONSTITUTION:A lower unit 2B which consists of a feed means 26 and a transfer means 5 is movably supported in a separated direction from an image carrier 3, and an allowance part 40 is formed in a device body 1 so as to allow a separating action of the lower unit. A record medium P is fed and stored into the first storage part 32 formed in the allowance part in the device. Also, near the first storage part, there is formed the second storage part 80 serving as a stack means which stores the record medium P temporarily to permit multiple copying or double-side copying. The second storage part is used as a manual feed means.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that has improved paper ejection processing and manual paper feeding structure for recording paper (hereinafter referred to as copy paper) as a recording medium in, for example, an electronic copying machine or a laser printer. It is related to.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of electronic copying machine, the main body of the device in which the image forming process means is built-in is separated into an upper unit and a lower unit with the copy paper conveyance path as a boundary, and the upper unit is separated from the upper unit. Some have a clamshell structure that can be rotated upward to open and close.

In such conventional electronic copying machines, when a jam occurs, the upper unit is opened upward to clear the jam.

[0004] Furthermore, in conventional electronic copying machines and the like, when ejecting copy paper on which an image has been formed by an image forming means,
Currently, the paper is usually ejected onto a paper ejection tray provided outside the main body of the apparatus at the top or on one of the left and right sides.

[0005]

However, in the conventional structure described above, the upper unit that opens and closes when handling a jam is heavy, so the opening and closing mechanism is complicated, the opening and closing unit becomes large, and the entire device becomes expensive.

[0006] Furthermore, when the upper unit is opened and closed to clear a jam during copying, the originals placed on the original table or platen cover fall and scatter on the floor, easily staining the originals. It is troublesome to collect them.

Furthermore, in devices having a structure in which copy paper is ejected onto a paper ejection tray provided outside the main body of the apparatus, particularly on one of the left and right sides, a width corresponding to the protrusion of the paper ejection tray is used. It is necessary to secure extra installation space.

Furthermore, in conventional electronic copying machines, etc.,
When copy paper is manually fed, a manual paper feeding section of a paper cassette set on the side of the main body of the apparatus is used to manually feed copy paper, which poses a problem in that manual paper feeding is troublesome.

The present invention has been made under the above circumstances, and its purpose is to reduce the weight and size of the opening/closing unit, to reduce the installation space, and to make manual feeding easier. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily print paper.

0010

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes an apparatus main body, a device built into the apparatus main body, which forms an image on an image carrier, and which is arranged opposite to the image carrier. an image forming means that guides a recording medium between the image forming means and the image forming means, transfers the image formed on the image carrier, and conveys the recording medium by means of a conveying means; a support means for movably supporting a lower unit having a transfer means and a transfer means in a direction away from the image carrier; and a support means formed in the apparatus main body so as to allow the lower unit to move away from the image carrier by the action of the support means. a first storage section for storing a discharged recording medium, the first storage section being inclined upwardly from a sheet discharge position at a position that allows the separation operation of the lower unit of the first storage section; A second storage section is provided near the storage section and stores a recording medium to be conveyed again to the image forming means. It is characterized in that the medium can be manually fed.

[0011]

[Operation] That is, the present invention supports a lower unit consisting of a conveyance means and a transfer means so as to be movable in a direction away from an image carrier, and also includes a permitting portion in the apparatus main body to allow the lower unit to move away from the image carrier. At the same time, the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance means is inverted and stored in the storage section formed in this allowance section, and the paper is ejected.
Opening/closing by moving the lower opening/closing means in the direction away from the image carrier, the number of parts in the opening/closing mechanism is small, making the opening/closing unit compact, and moreover, it is equivalent to the protrusion of the paper output tray as in the past. There is no need to secure an extra space for installation.

[0012] Furthermore, since the permitting section is open to the front side of the apparatus main body and the recording medium can be manually fed from the open section of the permitting section to the second storage section, manual feeding of the recording medium is possible. Paper can be easily fed from the front side of the device main body.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show the overall structure of an electronic copying machine as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In the figures, 1 is a main body of the machine, and this main body 1 includes an image forming means 2. We are prepared.

The image forming means 2 has a photosensitive drum 3 as an image bearing member which is rotatably supported approximately in the center of the apparatus main body 1. A device 4, a transfer device 5, a peeling device 6, a cleaning device 7, a static eliminator 8, and a charging device 9 are arranged in this order.

The photosensitive drum 3 rotates in the direction of arrow a and is uniformly charged by the charging device 9.

Further, on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 1, an original table 10 made of a platen glass is provided, and on this document table 10, a platen cover 11 (not shown) for holding an original is rotatable upward. It is set in.

Furthermore, reference numeral 12 in the figure denotes an exposure device as an exposure means arranged below the document table 10.

The exposure device 12 includes an exposure lamp 14 whose back is surrounded by a reflector 13 which is an exposure carriage, and first, second and third reflecting mirrors 15, 16, 1.
7, a lens 18, and fourth, fifth, and sixth reflecting mirrors 1
It consists of optical systems such as 9, 20, and 21.

That is, the image of the original (not shown) placed on the original document mounting table 10 is scanned by the exposure device 12 and exposed onto the photosensitive drum 3 of the image forming means 2. , to form an electrostatic latent image.

The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 3 is developed by a developing device 4.

On the other hand, paper feed cassettes 22 and 23, which serve as first paper feed means and store copy paper (plain paper) P as a recording medium in different sizes, are arranged at the lower part of the apparatus main body 1. ing.

These paper feed cassettes 22 and 23 selectively feed copy paper P via paper feed rollers 22a or 23a.
is taken out, and this taken out copy paper P is transported through a paper feed path 24 and a pair of registration rollers 2 that constitute the first conveyance means.
5a and 25b, the paper is guided and fed between the photosensitive drum 3 and the transfer device 5 disposed opposite to it,
The developed image developed by the developing device 4 is transferred onto the copy paper P by the transfer device 5.

The copy paper P after the transfer by the transfer device 5 is peeled off by a peeling device 6 using AC corona discharge, and is conveyed to a fixing device 27 via a conveyor belt 26, which is a second conveyance means.

On the other hand, the developer remaining on the photoreceptor drum 3 after the transfer and peeling off of the developed image onto the copy paper P is cleaned by a cleaning device 7, and the potential on the photoreceptor drum 3 is removed by a static eliminator 8. is set below a certain level to enable the next copy operation.

Further, the copy paper P on which the developed image has been melt-fixed by the fixing device 27 is transferred to a first pair of paper ejection rollers 28a and 28 provided downstream of the fixing device 27.
The paper is ejected by b.

A first gate 29 as a first switching means is installed downstream of the first paper ejection roller pair 28a, 28b, and this copy paper P is By switching the gate 29, the copy paper P is guided to the paper discharge path 30, which is a third conveying means formed in the main body 1 of the apparatus.

The copy paper P guided to the paper ejection path 30 side is moved to a second paper ejection roller pair 31a disposed on the apparatus main body 1 side by a paper ejection control operation by a continuous reversing unit means 300, which will be described later. , 31b into a first storage section (internal tray) 32, which is a discharged paper storage means formed in the apparatus main body 1, and is discharged face down with the original image facing downward. It has become.

By the way, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the image forming means 2 includes a photosensitive drum 3, a developing device 4, a cleaning device 7, a static eliminator 8, a charging device 9, an upper registration roller 25a, and a fixing device. 27 and an upper paper ejection roller 28a, and a lower unit 2B including a transfer device 5, a peeling device 6, a lower registration roller 25b, and a lower paper ejection roller 28b. Separated into upper and lower parts.

A rear end portion of the lower unit 2B corresponding to the rear side 1A of the apparatus main body 1 is rotatably supported by a shaft 200 constituting a support means, and the apparatus main body 1 is supported around the shaft 200 as a fulcrum. By moving the front end side corresponding to the front side 1B downward by driving the hydraulic cylinder 201, the conveyor belt 26, the transfer device 5, etc. can be opened and closed so as to be movable in the direction away from the photoreceptor drum 3. It has become.

[0031] Also, the lower unit 2 in the device main body 1
A permitting section 40 consisting of a gap is formed below B to permit the opening and closing movement of the lower unit 2B. A first storage section 32 is disposed as a discharge paper storage means for inverting and storing the copy paper P discharged from the paper discharge path 30 described above.

Such an opening/closing operation of the lower unit 2B is performed when removing the copy paper P on the conveyance path when a jam occurs, and is also performed by rotating the lower unit 2B downward as shown in FIG. , has enhanced the vision of jam processing.

Note that 202 in the figure is the lower unit 2B.
The locking mechanism allows the front end side to be locked to the support frame 203 of the upper unit 2A, and is unlocked when a jam is cleared, allowing the lower unit 2B to be opened and closed.

Further, reference numeral 50 in the figure represents a paper discharge tray detachably attached to the paper discharge side of the apparatus main body 1.

This paper output tray 50 is normally removed so that the apparatus main body 1 can be installed close to an indoor wall (not shown), thereby reducing the installation space. It is something that exists.

Further, this paper ejection tray 50 is attached to the apparatus main body 1 as necessary, and is attached to the first paper ejection roller pair 28.
The copy paper P discharged from the downstream side of a and 28b is
By switching the gate 29, the third paper ejection roller pair 5
1a and 51b so that the paper can be ejected to the outside of the main body 1 of the apparatus.

In the figure, reference numeral 60 denotes a sheet discharge switching and reversing means which is a fourth conveying means, and this sheet discharge switching and reversing means 60 switches from the first pair of sheet discharge rollers 28a and 28b to the switching means 2.
9, the copy paper P conveyed to the paper discharge path 30 side of the third conveyance means is guided to the switching path 61 via the continuous reversing unit means 300, and is switched back and reversed, so that the copy paper P is The document is configured such that it can be stored in the first storage section 32 in a face-up state with the original image facing upward.

[0038] As a result, in the apparatus in which the automatic document feeder 70 is mounted on the document table 10 of the apparatus main body 1, the order in which the documents G are fed and the order in which the copy sheets P are ejected can be matched. becomes possible.

Further, 80 in the figure indicates the copy paper P conveyed from the first pair of paper discharge rollers 28a, 28b to the paper discharge path 30 side of the third conveyance means by the gate 29, which is the first switching means. This is a second storage section (ADD stacker) that serves as a stacking means for temporarily storing items.

The second storage section 80 is arranged below the first storage section 32, and the apparatus main body 1 is located on the entrance side of the second storage section 80.
A third pair of paper discharge rollers 81a and 81b arranged on the side is provided, and the copy paper P discharged to the paper discharge path 30 side of the third conveying means is transferred to the continuous reversing unit means 30.
0 and is temporarily stored.

The discharged copy paper P stored in the second storage section 80 is transferred to the paper feed path 2 of the first conveyance means by a pair of paper feed rollers 82a and 82b provided on the exit side.
4 and a pair of registration rollers 25a, 25b, the developed image is again guided and conveyed between the photosensitive drum 3 and the transfer device 5 disposed opposite to it, and is developed by the developing device 4. is transferred onto copy paper P by the transfer device 5, thereby making multiple copies or double-sided copies possible.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, the bottom plate 33 of the first storage section 32 is pivotally supported by a shaft 34 on the rear side of the main body 1, and the bottom plate 33 of the first storage section 32 is supported by a shaft 34 on the rear side of the main body 1. It also serves as a cover for covering the top surface, and by opening the cover 33, it is possible to manually feed copy paper P from the open side of the acceptance section 40 that opens to the front side of the apparatus main body 1. .

[0043] Second storage section 8 as the stacking means
0 has a configuration as shown in FIGS. 6 to 9.

That is, the second storage section 80 is as shown in FIG.
As shown in , at the left entrance of the tray 83 in the left-right direction
A pair of paper ejection rollers 81a and 81b driven by a stacker roller 84 disposed on the side of the apparatus main body 1 is provided, and a pair of paper feed rollers 82a and 8 driven by a paper feed motor 85 is provided at the right exit.
2b and a pickup roller 86 are provided, and a first guide 87 is provided at the left entrance on the side of the paper ejection roller pair 81a, 81b so as to be movable toward the right exit.

This first guide 87 can be moved from an initial standby position on the entrance side toward the exit side via a rack 90 meshed with a pinion 89 rotationally driven by a first pulse motor 88. There is.

On the other hand, second and third guides 91 and 92 are provided on the front and rear sides of the tray 83 in the longitudinal direction Y.
are provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction Y, and these second and third guides 91 and 92 can be moved simultaneously in opposite directions by a lead screw 94 that is rotationally driven by a second pulse motor 93. There is.

[0047] Then, the tray 8 of the second storage section 80
When manually feeding copy paper P onto 3, first,
After the distance between the second and third guides 91 and 92 is adjusted according to the size of the copy paper P to be fed by rotation of the lead screw 94 driven by the second pulse motor 93, the distance is shown by diagonal lines in FIG. The copy paper P is set to the left side where the first guide 87 is located.

In this state, as shown in FIG. 8, the first guide 87 is moved from the initial standby position on the entrance side to the exit side by driving the rack 90 meshed with the pinion 89 rotated by the first pulse motor 88. By moving the paper toward the left side, the copy paper P set on the left side is set at the paper feeding position on the right side.

In this way, the copy paper P set at the right paper feed position is picked up by the pickup roller 86 and fed between the pair of paper feed rollers 82a and 82b driven by the paper feed motor 85. , said first
a paper feed path 24 and a pair of registration rollers 25a of the conveyance means;
The paper is conveyed and fed between the photoreceptor drum 3 and the transfer device 5 disposed opposite to it via the photoreceptor drum 25b.

In the figure, reference numeral 100 denotes a large-capacity paper feeding device as a second paper feeding means in which a large-capacity copy paper P is stored, which is installed on the side surface of the main body 1 of the apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 10, this large-capacity paper feeding device 100 is disposed on the side surface of the permissive portion 40 formed in the device main body 1, thereby allowing the pickup roller 101 and the paper feeding roller 102 to It is possible to arrange the copy paper P at a position such that the conveyance path of the copy paper P between the photoreceptor drum 3 and the transfer device 5 disposed opposite to the photoconductor drum 3 through which the copy paper P is conveyed is substantially straight.

Further, the paper feed path 24 constituting the first conveyance means is disposed near the side surface of the permissible portion 40 formed in the apparatus main body 1, passing between it and the large-capacity paper feed device 100. , a part of the guide portion 24a on the side of the allowable portion 40 is rotatably supported by a lever 4 on a shaft 41a.
1, the guide portion 24a can be opened and closed inwardly, and as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 10, the paper feed path 24 is opened by the opening operation of the guide portion 24a, thereby facilitating jam clearance.

On the other hand, in the sheet discharge path 30 constituting the third conveying means, a part of the guide section 30a on the side of the allowing section 40 is
A lever 42 rotatably supported by a shaft 42a can be opened and closed inwardly, and as shown by a dotted line in FIG.
Makes jam processing easier.

[0054]

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the lower unit consisting of the second conveyance means and the transfer means is supported movably in the direction away from the image carrier, and the lower unit A permitting portion is formed within the device main body to permit the separation operation, and for this permitting portion,
The recording medium conveyed by the second conveyance means is reversed by the third conveyance means, and is stored in the first storage section formed in the permissible section in the apparatus main body, and then ejected. In addition, since the lower opening/closing means is opened and closed by moving away from the image carrier, the number of parts in the opening/closing mechanism is reduced, which makes the opening/closing unit more compact and eliminates the need for the protruding part of the paper ejection tray as in the past. There is no need to secure an extra installation space corresponding to the size of the area.

[0055] Further, the allowing portion is opened to the front side of the main body of the apparatus, and the recording medium can be manually fed from the open portion of the allowing portion to the second storage portion constituting the stacking means. Therefore, the recording medium can be easily manually fed from the front side of the apparatus main body.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the platen cover.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of an image forming means.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the open state of the lower unit.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state in which a recording medium is manually fed into a second storage unit.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state in which a recording medium is set in a second storage unit.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state in which a recording medium is set in a second storage unit.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state in which a recording medium is set in a second storage unit.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state in which a recording medium is set in a second storage unit.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of first and second storage sections.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Apparatus body, 2... Image forming means, 2A... Upper unit, 2B... Lower unit, 3... Image carrier, 5... Transfer means,
22, 23...first paper feeding means, 24...first conveying means,
26...Second conveyance means, 29...First switching means, 30...
Third conveyance means, 32...Discharged paper storage means (first storage section)
, 33... Bottom plate (cover), 40... Allowance section, 60... Fourth conveying means, 80... Stacking means (second storage section),
82a, 82b...paper feed roller pair, 83...tray, 86...
Pick-up roller, 87...first guide, 91...second
guide, 93... third guide, 200... support means, P
…recoding media.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Guide a recording medium between an apparatus main body and a transfer means built in the apparatus main body, which forms an image on an image carrier and is arranged opposite to the image carrier,
An image forming means for transferring an image formed on the image carrier and conveying the recording medium by a conveying means, and a lower unit having the conveying means and the transfer means of the image forming means are separated from the image bearing body. a supporting means for movably supporting the lower unit in a direction in which the lower unit moves; a first storage section for storing a discharged recording medium formed to be inclined upwardly from a sheet discharge position at a permissible position;
a second storage section that is provided near the storage section and stores a recording medium to be conveyed again to the image forming means; An image forming apparatus characterized in that a recording medium can be manually fed.