JPH05105249A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily accomplish positioning between respective apparatuses with high accuracy so as to improve the work efficiency at the time of assembling when the connection between a laser printer main body 1 and an optional apparatus or the connection between the optional apparatuses is performed. CONSTITUTION:In an image forming apparatus adapted to form an image on a paper sheet P according to the image data supplied from a host device by a laser printer main body 1, the positioning structures of the laser printer main body 1 for forming an image or optional apparatus 5, 6 disposed under the optional apparatus 5, 6 are made identical to each other.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer for forming an image on a transfer material, to which various optional devices are connected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer, a paper feeding device and a paper discharging device are set as an option in addition to a laser printer main body, and a reversing device for performing printing on both sides of a paper. The feeding device is set.

However, in such a device, when the laser printer main body and the optional device are connected or the optional devices are connected to each other, it is easy to perform highly accurate positioning between the devices and to assemble them. There was a demand for a product with good work efficiency.

[0004]

As described above, when the laser printer main body and the optional device are connected or the optional devices are connected to each other, it is easy to perform accurate positioning between the devices. Since there was a demand for a product with good work efficiency in assembling, a highly accurate positioning between each device when connecting the laser printer main unit to the optional device or connecting the optional device It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that is easy to perform and can improve work efficiency in assembling.

[0005]

The image forming apparatus of the present invention is an image forming apparatus for forming an image according to image data supplied from an external device on a transfer material by the image forming means. A main body and a plurality of optional devices arranged below the main body of the image forming apparatus for feeding the transfer material to the main body of the image forming apparatus or discharging the transfer material from the main body of the image forming apparatus; The positioning structure of each optional device is the same.

[0006]

According to the present invention, an image corresponding to image data supplied from an external device is formed on a transfer material by an image forming means. The image forming device is arranged at the bottom of an image forming device main body or an optional device. The optional devices have the same positioning structure.

[0007]

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

FIG. 2 shows a block configuration of the image forming system of the present invention. Print data is received from a host computer (host device) 10 as an external device, and a recorded image is formed on a sheet from the received data. The laser printer 1 is an image forming apparatus for printing and an optional device. Optional equipment (apparatus) includes a paper feeding device 2 (MPF), an automatic double-sided paper feeding device (ADD; auto document duplexer) 5 including a reversing unit 3 and a re-feeding unit 4, and a large-capacity paper feeding device (L).
A CF (Large Capacity Feeder) 6, a large-capacity discharged paper storage device (LCS; Large Capacity Stacker) 7, or a paper sorting device (sorter: MBS; Mailbox Stacker) 8 is connected.

The laser printer 1 has an operation panel 1a for instructing operation, a printer control unit 1b for expanding print data from the host computer 10 into bit image data, and a paper sheet (in accordance with the bit image data from the printer control unit 1b). It is composed of an engine control unit 1c for printing on a transfer material) and sensors and drivers not shown. The optional devices 2, 3, 4, 6, 7,
Reference numeral 8 is a control circuit 2a, 3a for controlling each device,
4a, 6a, 7a, 8a and each sensor and driver not shown.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a sheet feeder 2 is attached to the right side of a laser printer 1, a reversing section 3 of an automatic double-sided sheet feeder 5 is provided on the left side, and an automatic double-sided feeder is provided at the bottom. The re-feeding unit 4 of the paper device 5 has a large-capacity paper feeding device 6 at its lower part, and a large-capacity paper ejection storage device 7 at its lower part, which are positioned and stacked on a common loading rail for each device. .. A common paper ejection tray 9 is loaded in the paper ejection units of the laser printer 1 and the automatic double-sided paper feeder 5. In addition, as shown in FIG.
Instead of this, the sheet sorting device 8 may be arranged.

The reversing section 3 is attached to a mounting section provided in common for the large-capacity sheet feeding device 6, the large-capacity discharged sheet storage device 7, and the sheet sorting device 8. This allows
The large-capacity paper feeding device 6, the large-capacity paper discharging and accommodating device 7, and the paper allocating device 8 can be operated independently by loading the reversing unit 3 and the laser printer 1. The configuration of the laser printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

That is, in the laser printer 1, a laser optical system 11, a photosensitive drum 12, a charging device (not shown) composed of a scorotron, a developing device (not shown), a transfer device (not shown) composed of a corotron, and a charge eliminator. A pre-exposure device (not shown) as a device, a fixing device 17, a process system such as a cleaning device, and paper feed cassettes 19a, 19
b, feeding rollers 20a and 20b, aligning roller pair 21,
Conveyance guide (not shown), gate 23, paper ejection roller pair 2
4, 25, etc. are arranged.

The laser optical system 11 is a semiconductor laser oscillator (not shown) that generates laser light, a collimator lens (not shown) that corrects the laser light from this oscillator into parallel light, and the laser light from this lens is 1 It is composed of a polygon mirror (rotating mirror) as a rotating body having an octahedron mirror portion that reflects every scanning line, an f.theta. Lens, a mirror, and a mirror motor for rotating (driving) the polygon mirror. ..

During the image forming operation, the laser light from the laser optical system 11 corresponding to the image signal from the host computer 10 or the operation panel 1a is focused on the surface of the photosensitive drum 12. The photoconductor drum 12
Rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure, the surface is first charged by the charging device, and then the laser optical system 11 performs exposure corresponding to the image signal.

That is, the laser beam generated from the semiconductor laser oscillator is scanned from the left to the right of the photosensitive drum 12 at a constant speed as the polygon mirror is rotated by the mirror motor, so that the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 is statically scanned. A latent image is formed. The electrostatic latent image is visualized by the toner attached by the developing device.

On the other hand, the paper (image forming medium) P in the paper feed cassette 19a or 19b is sent to the delivery roller 20a or
The sheet is picked up one by one at 20b, guided to the aligning roller pair 21 through the paper guide path 30 constituted by the conveying roller pair 30a and 30b, and is sent to the transfer section by the aligning roller pair 21. There is.

Further, the sheet feeding device 2 as an optional device
The paper P from is guided to the aligning roller pair 21 via the conveying roller pair 31, and is sent to the transfer portion by the aligning roller pair 21.

Further, the paper P from the automatic double-sided paper feeding device 5, the large-capacity paper feeding device 6, the large-capacity paper ejection accommodating device 7, or the paper allocating device 8 installed as an optional device in the lower part of the printer main body 1. Is guided to the aligning roller pair 21 via the conveying path 30 and is sent to the transfer section by the aligning roller pair 21.

Then, the paper P sent to the transfer portion is brought into close contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 12 at the transfer device portion, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 12 is transferred by the operation of the transfer device.
The transferred paper P is separated from the photoconductor drum 12,
The transferred image is sent to the fixing device 17 via the conveyance guide, and the transferred image is heat-fixed by the heat roller that generates heat for fixing when passing through the fixing device 17.

A heater lamp (not shown) for heating is built in the heat roller. The sheet P after fixing is discharged onto the discharge tray 9 via the gate 23 by the discharge roller pair 24 or above the transport path by the gate 23.
The sheet is sent to the sheet 32 and is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 33 by the sheet discharge roller pair 25.

Further, after the residual toner is removed by the cleaning device on the photosensitive drum 12 after the transfer, the residual image is erased by the pre-exposure device, so that the next image forming operation can be performed.

The photoconductor drum 12, the charging device, the developing device, the pre-exposure device, the fixing device 17, and the cleaning device are integrated into a unit, which is an electrophotographic process unit for the printer body 1. It is configured to be removable.

Further, at the bottom of the printer main body 1, that is, at the bottom of the base frame, as shown in FIG. 1, there are four positioning members to be fitted with a positioning mechanism (described later) of an optional device installed on the lower side. Protrusions 160, ... Are provided. The positioning protrusions 160, ... Are used as legs when the optional equipment is not installed on the lower side, and support the weight of the laser printer body 1.
The configuration of the sheet feeding device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. Paper tray
The sheet P placed on the sheet 65 is conveyed to the separation roller pair 67 by the rotation of a pickup roller (not shown).

The upper roller of the separation roller pair 67 is a driven roller which is given a constant load by the torque limiter, and the lower roller is a driving roller which faces the driven roller. While separating the sheets, they are conveyed to a pair of aligning rollers 68, and after the sheet P is aligned,
Laser printer body 1 with aligning roller pair 68
It is supplied into the laser printer main body 1 after passing through a pair of manual feed rollers 31. Next, the automatic double-sided paper feeding device 5 including the reversing unit 3 and the re-feeding unit 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

The reversing section 3 discharges the paper P discharged by the gate 23 of the laser printer body 1 from a pair of discharge rollers 81.
And the gate of the laser printer main body 1
The sheet P discharged by 23 or the sheet P guided by the reverse rotation of the sheet discharge roller pair 81 is switched between the downward conveying path 83 for conveying to the lower apparatus and the conveying paths 82, 83 for conveying the sheet P. It is composed of a distribution gate 84.

That is, the sheet P discharged from the gate 23 of the laser printer body 1 is guided to the sorting gate 84 by the transport path 82. Paper P led to the sorting gate 84
Is guided to the paper discharge roller pair 81 or the transport path 83. The paper P guided to the paper discharge roller pair 81 is directly discharged onto the paper discharge tray 9 by the paper discharge roller pair 81, or the paper P is discharged.
After being conveyed in the direction of the sheet discharge tray 9 by the length of, the rotation is reversed and the sheet is guided to the sorting gate 84 again. This paper discharge roller pair 81
The paper P from is guided to the conveyance path 83 by the sorting gate 84. The sheet P guided by the transport path 83 is guided to a lower device, for example, the sheet re-feeding section 4. Conveying path 82 of the reversing section 3
The supply of the paper P from the laser printer main body 1 to the sheet is detected by the sensor 85. The transport path 83 is a pair of transport rollers.
It is composed of 83a and 83b.

The sheet re-feeding section 4 receives the sheet P from the reversing section 3.
To a lower apparatus, a conveyance path 89 that branches from the conveyance path 87 to a conveyance path 30 of the laser printer main body 1 by a branch gate 88, and a middle of the conveyance path 89. It is composed of a conveyance path 90 that merges and conveys the paper P from the lower device.

That is, the sheet P from the reversing section 3 is guided to the branch gate 88 by the transport path 87. This branch gate
The paper P guided to 88 is guided to a lower device such as the large-capacity paper feeding device 6 or the conveyance path 89. The paper P conveyed by the conveyance path 89 is the conveyance path of the laser printer body 1.
Guided to 30. Further, the paper P from the lower device, for example, the large-capacity paper feeding device 6 is conveyed by the conveyance path 90 and the conveyance path 89, and is guided to the conveyance path 30 of the laser printer body 1.

The supply of the paper P from the reversing unit 3 to the conveying path 87 of the re-feeding unit 4 is detected by a sensor 91 provided near the entrance of the conveying path 87. The conveyance of the paper P by the conveyance path 89 is detected by a sensor 92 provided between the pair of conveyance rollers 89c and 89d. The transport path 89 is configured by transport roller pairs 89a, 89b, 89c, aligning roller pair 89d, and the like.

At the bottom of the reversing unit 3, that is, at the bottom of the base frame, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a positioning mechanism for an optional device installed below (described later).
Positioning protrusions 161a, 161a, 161b, 161
b, 161b, 161b are provided. The protrusions 161a, 161a for positioning are used as feet when the optional device is not installed on the lower side, and support the weight of the reversing unit 3.

Further, the upper part of the re-feeding section 4 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, a positioning mechanism 162 is provided. This positioning mechanism 162 includes two guide rails 164, 164 having a groove 163 in the longitudinal direction, hollow positioning poles 165, 165, and pinching portions 168, 168, 168, 16.
It is composed of 8. Groove 16 on the guide rail 164 above
As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, further recesses are provided at both ends of 3.
166 and 166 are provided.

In the hollow portions of the positioning poles 165, 165, the protrusions 16 for positioning the reversing portion 3 are respectively provided.
1a and 161a are fitted to each other, and the positioning pinching portions 168, 168, 168, and 168 are respectively fitted with the positioning protrusions 161b, 161b, 161b, and 161b of the reversing portion 3. The above guide rails 164
, 164 of the recessed portions 166, 166, 166, 166, respectively, the projections 160, 160 for positioning the printer body 1,
160, 160 are designed to fit together.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, at the bottom of the re-feeding section 4, that is, at the bottom of the base frame, there are six fittings which are fitted to a positioning mechanism (which will be described later) of an optional device installed on the lower side. Positioning projections 167, ... Are provided. The positioning protrusion 167 is used as a foot when an optional device is not installed on the lower side, and supports the weight of the laser printer body 1 and the like. Next, the large-capacity sheet feeding device 6 will be described with reference to FIG.

The large-capacity sheet feeding device 6 has a storage section 101 in which sheets P are stored by using an elevator mechanism (not shown).
And a sheet feeding mechanism section 103 for taking out and transporting the sheet P from the storage section 101.

An elevator stand 104 on which the paper P is placed is provided in the storage section 101. Further, the upper surface of the paper P is supported by the paper separating claw (not shown) in the storage section 101.

An elevator board 104 is provided on the upper surface of the storage unit 101.
Paper empty switch 105 for detecting that the upper paper P is completely gone, paper P on the elevator stand 104
An elevator upper limit switch 106 is provided for detecting that the number of vehicles has dropped by a predetermined number. An elevator lower limit switch 107 for detecting that the elevator pedestal 104 has reached the lower limit position is provided on the lower side surface of the storage unit 101.

When several sheets P are taken out of the elevator stand 104 and the elevator upper limit switch 106 is turned on, the motor is turned on for a predetermined time to raise the elevator stand 104. When the paper P on the elevator stand 104 is exhausted and the paper empty switch 105 is turned on, the motor is turned on, and the elevator stand 104 is turned on.
Is lowered until the elevator lower limit switch 107 is turned on.

In the take-out / conveying section 102, the uppermost sheet P on the elevator table 104 is fed by a sheet feeding roller 108, and a conveying guide (not shown), aligning roller pair 110,
The sheet is conveyed to an upper apparatus such as the conveying path 90 of the re-feeding unit 4 via a conveying path 112 formed of a conveying guide (not shown). The conveyance of the sheet P by the conveyance path 112 is detected by the sensor 113. The rotation of the motor is transmitted to the paper feed roller 108 by a drive pulley (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet feeding mechanism section 103 is constituted by a conveying path 116 including conveying rollers 116a and 116b, and conveys the sheet P from the upper device to the lower device. The paper P from the conveyance path 87 of the paper re-feeding unit 4 is discharged to the large-capacity paper storage device 7 or the paper distribution device 8
Are being transported to. Transport of the paper P through the transport path 112,
That is, the supply of the paper P from the transport path 87 of the re-feeding section 4 is detected by the sensor 117 provided near the transport roller 116a.

A positioning mechanism 162 (see FIGS. 4 to 7) having the same structure as that of the re-feeding section 4 is provided above the large-capacity sheet feeding device 6, and Six positioning protrusions 167 having the same structure as the re-feeding unit 4 are also provided at the bottom of the capacitive paper feeding device 6, that is, at the bottom of the base frame.

As a result, the positioning poles 165, 165 of the positioning mechanism 162 are provided in the hollow portions of the positioning protrusions 161a, 161a of the reversing portion 3 or the left side of the refeeding portion 4, respectively. The projecting portions 167, 167 of the are fitted together. The projections 160, 16 for positioning the printer body 1 are respectively provided in the recesses 166, 166, 166, 166 of the guide rails 164, 164 of the positioning mechanism 162.
The positioning protrusions 167 1, 167 1, 167 2, 167 1, 167, 167 1, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167, 167 are fitted to each other. Next, the large-capacity discharged paper storage device 7 will be described with reference to FIG.

The large-capacity discharged paper storage device 7 is an elevator mechanism.
The storage unit 121 includes a storage unit 121 for storing the paper P using the storage unit 120, and a storage unit 122 for storing the paper P in the storage unit 121.

In the take-in section 122, the paper P supplied from the upper path, for example, the transport path 116 of the large-capacity sheet feeder 6 passes through a transport guide (not shown) and a transport path 126 including the discharge rollers 125. It is transported to the storage section 121. Transport path 12 above
The conveyance of the paper P by 6 is detected by the sensor 127.

An elevator stand 131 on which the paper P is placed is provided in the storage section 121. This elevator stand 131
Is moved up and down by an elevator mechanism 120.

On the upper surface of the storage section 121, the elevator base 131
A paper empty switch 135 for detecting that there is no upper paper P and an elevator upper limit switch 136 for detecting that a predetermined number of paper P on the elevator base 131 have been lowered and can be stored. An elevator lower limit switch 137 for detecting that the elevator base 131 is at the lower limit position, that is, the paper P is full is provided at the lower part of the side surface of the storage section 121.

When several sheets P are stored in the elevator table 104 and the elevator upper limit switch 136 is turned on, the motor is turned on for a predetermined time or until the elevator upper limit switch 136 is turned off. Lower 131.

In addition, in the upper part of the large-capacity discharged paper storage device 7,
A positioning mechanism 162 (see FIGS. 4 to 7) having the same configuration as that provided in the re-feeding unit 4 is provided, and is also provided at the bottom of the large-capacity delivery storage device 7, that is, the lower portion of the base frame. 6 having the same configuration as that provided in the refeed unit 4
Two positioning protrusions 167, ... Are provided.

As a result, the positioning poles 165, 165 of the positioning mechanism 162 have their respective hollow projections 161a, 161a for positioning the reversing section 3, and the re-feeding section 4 in the hollow parts.
Left side projections 167, 167 or the left side projections 167, 16 of the large-capacity sheet feeder 6 described above.
7 is designed to fit. The guide rails 164, 164 of the positioning mechanism 162 have recesses 166, 166, 166, 166, 166, respectively, which have projections for positioning the printer body 1.
160, 160, 160, 160, the protrusions 167, 167, 167, 167 for positioning the middle and right sides of the re-feeding unit 4, or the protrusions for positioning the middle and right sides of the large-capacity sheet feeding device 6 167, 167, 167, 167 are adapted to fit together. Next, the sheet sorting device 8 will be described with reference to FIG. The sheet sorting device 8 includes a sheet transport unit 141, a sorting unit 142,
And a paper receiving portion 143.

In the paper transport unit 141, the paper P supplied from the upper path, for example, the transport path 116 of the large-capacity paper feeder 6.
However, it is conveyed along a conveying path 147 including a conveying guide (not shown), a conveying belt 145, and a feed roller (not shown). The sensor 148 detects the transport of the sheet P through the transport path 147. Conveyor belt 145 is belt feed roller 14
It is hung on 9 and 150 and the driving force from the motor (not shown) is transmitted.

In the vicinity of each feed roller, a distribution unit is provided.
.. are provided as 142, so that the paper P conveyed on the conveying path 147 can be distributed to the sheet receivers 152 ,. Is becoming Sorting gate 151, ...
Between the paper receiver and the paper receiver 152, respectively.
153 are provided. Each of the paper receivers 152, ... Is provided with a sensor 154 for detecting that the paper P has been conveyed.

In addition, a positioning mechanism having the same structure as that of the sheet re-feeding section 4 is provided above the sheet allocating device 8.
162 (see FIGS. 4 to 7) are provided, and six positioning devices having the same configuration as those provided in the re-feeding unit 4 are provided at the bottom of the sheet sorting device 8, that is, the lower portion of the base frame. The protrusions 167, ... Are provided.

As a result, the positioning poles 165, 165 of the positioning mechanism 162 have their respective hollow projections 161a, 161a for positioning the reversing section 3, and the re-feeding section 4 in the hollow sections.
Left side projections 167, 167 or the left side projections 167, 16 of the large-capacity sheet feeder 6 described above.
7 is designed to fit. The guide rails 164, 164 of the positioning mechanism 162 have recesses 166, 166, 166, 166, 166, respectively, which have projections for positioning the printer body 1.
160, 160, 160, 160, the protrusions 167, 167, 167, 167 for positioning the middle and right sides of the re-feeding unit 4, or the protrusions for positioning the middle and right sides of the large-capacity sheet feeding device 6 167, 167, 167, 167 are adapted to fit together.

As described above, by making the positioning mechanism of each optional device have the same structure, the positional accuracy at the time of assembly can be improved, and various optional devices can be arbitrarily and selectively set. Positioning is also easy. In addition, the work time at the time of assembly by the user can be shortened.

[0054]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, when the laser printer main body and the optional device are connected or the optional devices are connected,
It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that facilitates highly accurate positioning between the apparatuses and improves work efficiency during assembly.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus including a laser printer and optional equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a positioning mechanism of the re-feeding unit of FIG.

5 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a positioning mechanism of the re-feeding unit of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a positioning mechanism and a positioning projection of the re-feeding unit of FIG.

7 is a top view showing a configuration of a guide rail in the positioning mechanism of the re-feeding unit of FIG. 1. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Laser printer, 2 ... Paper feeding device, 3 ... Reversing unit, 4 ...
Re-feeding unit, 5 ..., 6 ... Large-capacity paper feeding device, 7 ... Large-capacity paper ejection storage device, 8 ... Paper sorting device, 9, 33 ... Paper ejection tray, 16
0, ..., 161a, ..., 167, ... ... protrusions, 162 ... positioning mechanism, 163 ... grooves, 164, 164 ... guide rails, 165, 16
5 ... Paul, 166, 166, 166, 166 ... Recess.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location B65H 31/22 7309-3F G03G 15/00 101 8910-2H

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. In an image forming apparatus for forming an image according to image data supplied from an external device on a transfer material by an image forming means, an image forming apparatus main body for forming an image, and a lower portion of the image forming apparatus main body. And a plurality of optional devices for feeding a transfer material to the main body of the image forming apparatus or discharging the transfer material from the main body of the image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus characterized in that there is. 2. The assembly is formed by fitting a protrusion provided on the lower portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus and a positioning structure of an optional device arranged on the lower portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. 3. The assembly is made by fitting a protrusion provided on the lower part of the optional device and a positioning structure of another optional device arranged on the lower part of the optional device. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.