JPH0449149A - Image forming device provided with hand insertion tray - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To mount an additional type feeder below a hand insertion tray so as to make a smooth paper feed possible by moving the center of turning in a long hole and positioning a closing position more upward when the hand insertion tray is closed to a device main unit side from an opened side. CONSTITUTION:A hand insertion tray 12 is turned in a direction G from an opened condition and closed. Here, a gear part 26b, formed in both side supporting parts 26 of the hand insertion tray 12, is meshed with a rack 28 in a side of a device main unit 11 and rotated in a direction J to move a pin 25 upward in a long hole 27. In this way, a position of the hand insertion tray 12, when it is closed, can be located in a high position as compared with the case that the center of turning is not moved. Further, an additional type feeder such as a postcard feeder 40 is mounted below the hand insertion tray 12 and made usable together by arranging the pin 25 and the long hole 27 in a side of the device main unit 11 in a position where the hand insertion tray 12 not interferes with the postcard feeder 40.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a printer or a copying machine, which is equipped with a manual tray for manually feeding paper.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional printer? j [An example of a manual tray unit used when manually feeding paper into an image forming apparatus such as a photocopier is the one shown in FIG. 5 described in Japanese Utility Model Application No. 59-78342.

This manual feed tray unit 1 supports a manual feed tray 4 rotatably in the direction of arrow A on the device main body 2 with a pin 5 above a paper feed cassette 3 which is detachably attached to the device main body 2. The manual feed tray 4 can be moved to the open position shown by the solid line when in use and the stored position shown by the imaginary line when not in use. Insert the paper P into the top until the leading edge contacts the paper feed roller 6, and feed the paper by rotating the paper feed roller 6 in the direction of the arrow.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, with such conventional manual feed trays, when the manual feed tray is closed and moved to the storage position, if you try to raise it as far away from the paper cassette as possible, the manual feed tray shown in FIG. Since the length L of the support portion 7 of No. 4 had to be increased, there was a problem in that the entire manual feed tray became larger accordingly.

If the length L is increased, the rotation radius of the manual feed tray 4 will also increase correspondingly.
If an attempt was made to install an additional feeder such as a manual postcard feeder for manually feeding postcards and the like below the manual feed tray 4, it would not be possible because the feeders would interfere with each other.

This invention was made in view of the above problems,
In addition to making the entire manual feed tray as small as possible, even if an additional feeder such as a postcard feeder is installed below the manual feed tray, they will not interfere with each other, and moreover, the paper feed from the manual feed tray and the additional feeder can be easily The purpose is to maintain the position of the leading edge at a position that allows for smooth paper feeding.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus equipped with a manual tray as described above, in which support portions having pins protruding from each end of the portion of the manual tray to be attached to the apparatus main body are formed. , a gear portion having nine centers aligned with the center of the pin is formed on each of the support portions, and a pair of elongated holes are formed on the device main body side to movably engage each of the pins. At the same time, a rack is fixedly installed along the longitudinal direction of each long hole.

When the manual feed tray is closed, the pin moves within the elongated hole while the gear portions of the respective support portions mesh with the rack.

Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus equipped with the above-mentioned manual feed tray, an additional type feeder is provided below the manual feed tray to enable manual feeding from sources other than the manual feed tray, and a position where the above-mentioned manual feed tray does not interfere with the additional type feeder. It is preferable to arrange the pin and the elongated hole.

[For production]

According to the image forming apparatus equipped with the manual feed tray configured as described above, when the manual feed tray is closed from the open position toward the apparatus main body, the manual feed tray is centered on the pin that engages with the elongated hole formed in the apparatus main body. At that time, the gear parts formed on the support parts on both sides of the manual feed tray rotate while meshing with the ranks on the main body of the device, and the pin moves within the elongated hole, so the manual feed tray rotates. Rotates to the closed position while the center of movement moves.

Therefore, since the manual tray rotates while the rotation center moves, it can be positioned higher when stored with a smaller rotation radius than when the rotation center does not move.

Additionally, if an additional type feeder such as a postcard feeder is installed below this manual feed tray, and the pins and slots mentioned above are placed in a position where the single manual feed tray does not interfere with the additional type feeder, the additional type feeder can also be used. It becomes more convenient.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to the present invention with the manual feed tray opened, and FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a laser printer as an image forming apparatus equipped with the manual feed tray of FIG. be.

The laser printer shown in FIG.
Paper can be fed from a manual tray 12 of a manual tray unit 10, which is attached to the right side of the paper tray 1 so as to be openable and closable in the direction of arrow B. Paper is normally fed from a paper feed cassette 13.

That is, when the paper P in the paper feed cassette 13 is fed in the direction of arrow C in FIG. After that, it is fed again at a predetermined timing and conveyed to the photoreceptor 15, which serves as a belt-shaped latent image carrier.

The photoreceptor 15 is rotating in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 2, and at this time, the surface is charged by the charger 16, and the laser beam from the laser optical system 17 is irradiated onto it, causing the electrostatic potential to increase. forming an image.

That latent image is the developing device! 18 , it is visualized by toner, and the visible image is transferred by the transfer charger 19 to the paper P that has been conveyed to the position of the photoreceptor 15 .
The visible image (toner image) is fixed by a fixing device 21, and is discharged to a paper discharge tray 22 at the top of the main body of the apparatus.

After the visible image has been transferred to the photoreceptor 15, residual toner on the surface of the photoreceptor 15 is removed by a cleaning device 20 having a cleaning blade, and static electricity is removed by a discharge lamp 24.The toner removed from the photoreceptor 15 is removed by the cleaning device 20. 20 collection rollers collect the toner in the toner collection chamber.

As shown in FIG. 1, the manual tray unit 10 has pins 25° 25 at both ends of the manual tray 12 attached to the main body 11 (left side), respectively, and screw holes 26a as shown in FIG. , 26a, thereby forming support portions 26, 26 that protrude outward, respectively, and attaching a pin 2 to the center of each support portion 26, respectively.
Gear portions 26b, 26b are formed to coincide with the center of 5.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1, on the apparatus main body 11 side.

A pair of elongated holes 27, 27 (see also FIG. 3) are formed to engage each pin 25 movably in the direction of the arrow, and racks 28, 27 are formed along the longitudinal direction of each elongated hole 27, respectively. 28 is fixed to the step portion 11a.

When closing one manual feed tray 12, each support portion 2
While the gear portion 26b of No. 6 is meshing with the rack 28, the pin 2
5 moves within the elongated hole 27.

As shown in FIG. 3, the manual tray 12 has holding portions 31 and 31 formed approximately in the middle on both sides.

Holding pins 32.32 movably engaged in the elongated holes 33a of the holding levers 33 are fixed from the outside of each of the holding portions 31. The pin 34 is fixed so as to protrude outward, and the pin 34 is connected to the main body 11 of the device as shown in FIG.
They are rotatably fitted into holes in protrusions formed on the side surfaces of each.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper surface 12 of the manual feed tray 12
Paper site guides 35 and 36 are provided symmetrically with respect to the center in the width direction, and these manual feed trays 1
racks (not shown) are formed on the lower surfaces of the pinions 2 and 2, and the racks are engaged with opposing positions of the pinion so that they can approach and move away from each other in the direction of arrow F in FIG. There is.

When the manual tray unit 1o opens the manual tray 12 to the position shown by the solid line in FIG.
The pin 25 of No. 6 is located below the elongated hole 27, and the holding pin 32 at the center of the manual feed tray 12 is also located on the lower end side of the elongated hole 33a of the holding lever 33.

When the manual tray 12 is rotated from the open state in the direction of arrow G in FIG. Since the gear portions 26b formed in the respective gear portions 26b are engaged with the rack 28 on the side of the apparatus main body 11 and rotate in the direction of the arrow J, the pin 25 moves upward in the elongated hole 27.

Therefore, since the manual feed tray 12 rotates while the center of rotation moves upward in FIG. 1, even if the distance from the center of the pin 25 to the top surface 12a of the manual feed tray 12 is set short, The position of the manual feed tray 12 can be set to a higher position than in the case where the rotation center of the manual feed tray is not moved, as shown by the imaginary line.

When the manual tray 12 is closed, the central holding pin 32 is moved upward within the elongated hole 33a of the holding lever 33.

Note that holding the manual feed tray 12 in this closed state is as follows:
This can be easily done by attaching a magnetic catch or the like that uses magnetism to attract the user between the manual feed tray 12 and the main body 11 of the device.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an example of a laser printer in which a postcard feeder is installed below the manual tray unit.
Portions corresponding to those in the figures are given the same reference numerals.

This laser printer has a manual feed tray 1 shown in FIG.
Below the manual feed tray 12, there is a postcard feeder 40 which is an additional feeder that enables manual feeding from other sources than the manual feed tray 12.
Attach the pin 25 and the elongated hole 2 on the device main body 11 side to the position where the manual feed tray 12 does not interfere with the postcard feeder 40.
7 is arranged.

In this way, the manual feed tray unit 1 according to this embodiment
o rotates while the center of rotation moves upward as described above, so the manual feed tray 12 can be placed in a higher position when closed than in the case where the center of rotation of the single manual feed tray is not moved. Since it is possible, there is a postcard feeder 4 below it.
Additional feeders such as 0 can be further installed and used together.

In this manual feed tray unit 10, since the amount of movement of the tip end 12b of the manual feed tray 12 when opening and closing the tray is small, the paper fed from the top of the manual feed tray 41 and the paper fed from the top of the tray 41 of the postcard feeder 40 are separated. The tips can both be placed in a position that allows them to be fed smoothly.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, since the center of rotation of the manual tray moves within the elongated hole when opening and closing, the distance from the pin of the support part that supports one manual tray to the main body of the apparatus to the top surface of the manual tray is Even if the amount of movement and radius of rotation when closing it are both small, the center of rotation can be moved to the closed position farther away by the amount that the center of rotation moves.
Even if an additional feeder such as a postcard feeder is installed below the manual feed tray, the leading edge of the paper is positioned at the appropriate position for paper feeding without interfering with each other, allowing smooth paper feeding. be able to.

Therefore, a compact manual feed tray can be manufactured at low cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state in which the manual feed tray of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is opened. Fig. 2 is an overall configuration diagram showing an example of a laser printer as an image forming apparatus equipped with the manual feed tray shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the entire manual feed tray unit, and Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the manual feed tray unit. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a laser printer with a postcard feeder attached below. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a conventional manual tray unit. lO...Manual feed tray unit 11...Device main body 12...Manual feed tray 25...Pin 26...Support part 26b
... Gear part 27 ... Long hole 28 ... Rack 33 ... Holding) < -34 ... Pin 35. 36 ... Paper side guide 40 ... Postcard feeder (additional type feeder) No. 1 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an image forming apparatus including a manual feed tray rotatably attached to the apparatus main body by pins, the pins are provided at both ends of a portion of the manual feed tray that is attached to the apparatus main body. A protruding support portion is formed, and a gear portion whose center coincides with the center of the pin is formed on each of the support portions, and each pin is movably engaged with the device main body side. A pair of elongated holes are formed, and a rack is fixed along the longitudinal direction of each of the elongated holes, and when the manual feed tray is closed, the gear portion of each of the support portions is engaged with the rack, and the pin is inserted into the rack. An image forming apparatus equipped with a manual tray that moves within a long hole. 2. The image forming apparatus equipped with a manual feed tray according to claim 1, wherein an additional type feeder is provided below the manual feed tray to enable manual feeding from a source other than the manual feed tray, and the manual feed tray is attached to the additional type feeder. An image forming apparatus equipped with a manual feed tray, characterized in that the pin and the elongated hole are arranged at positions where they do not interfere with each other.