JPH0518108B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an automatic double-sided recording device that facilitates jam processing in a narrow space.

(B) Prior Art Recently, an automatic duplex copying machine that is capable of copying on both sides of recording paper has been proposed. In this type of copying machine, after copying one side of the recording paper, in order to copy the other side, it is necessary to feed the recording paper again to the paper feed side and send it to the recording section (transfer process, etc.), and an automatic duplex feeding mechanism is used for this purpose. is provided. It is conceivable that the recording paper that has been copied on one side by this feeding mechanism is temporarily stored in a duplex tray (also referred to as an intermediate tray), and then sent out again from the duplex tray and copied on the other side. By the way, in a conventional double-sided copying machine, if a paper jam (so-called jam) occurs near the double-sided tray after the recording paper has been recorded on one side through a series of copying processes, the side cover of the copying machine body should be pulled forward and the double-sided The tray is pulled out to the front to remove the jam paper (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-62145). In this case, since a space is required in front of the copying machine for jam removal, there is a problem that jam removal cannot be performed smoothly if the copying machine is installed in a relatively narrow space. Furthermore, since the double-sided tray is pulled out parallel to the conveyance surface of the recording paper, there is a risk that the jam paper may become wrinkled or torn, and furthermore, the conveyance rollers and other members may be disturbed.

(C) Object and Structure of the Invention The present invention provides a recording paper feeder that once holds recording paper with one side recorded on it discharged from the recording unit in an intermediate tray and then feeds it again to the recording unit to record the opposite side. In an automatic double-sided recording apparatus having a feeding mechanism, the recording section is rotatably provided above the intermediate tray in order to facilitate jam removal when the space on the front side of the apparatus is narrow.

(d) Examples The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an automatic double-sided copying machine according to the present invention, in which a platen glass P on which a document M is placed is provided on the upper surface of a main body 1. A scanning optical system 2 is provided below. The scanning optical system 2 includes a reciprocating document irradiation lamp 2a, mirrors 2b and 2c, and a fixed lens 2d and mirror 2e. A photoreceptor drum 3 is provided at the center of the interior of the main body 1 so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow.A charging electrode 4 for uniformly charging the photoreceptor 3a along the rotational direction and a developing sleeve 5a are arranged around the photoreceptor drum 3. Built-in developing device 5, transfer electrode 6, separation electrode 7, and static elimination electrode 8
and a cleaning device 9 are arranged in this order. Paper feed cassettes 10 and 10' each contain two types of recording paper of different sizes and are set in the main body 1. A bottom plate 12 is provided inside the paper feed cassettes 10, 10' for lifting the recording paper upward by a pressure roller 11. Reference numeral 13 denotes a paper feed roller that feeds the recording paper stored in the paper feed cassette 10 to the position of a registration roller 14, which will be described later. Roller 1 to be rotated
3a, 13a and a stop roller 13b. 14 is a registration roller that temporarily stops the recording paper fed by the paper feed roller 13, and then feeds the paper again toward the transfer position in synchronization with the leading edge of the image on the photoreceptor 3a; 15 is the recording paper after transfer; The fixing device 16 includes a heating roller 16a and a pressure roller 16.
It consists of b. Reference numeral 17 denotes a paper discharge roller that discharges the recording paper after fixing to a recording paper reverse feed device 18. It is provided with a forward rotation roller 18a and a forward rotation roller 18b. 19
20 is a sorter provided on the discharge side of the recording paper reverse feeding device 18 for aligning the pages of the recorded material, and 20 is provided in the pedestal 21 for handling the single-sided recorded recording paper fed from the recording paper reverse feeding device 18. This double-sided tray 20 is a double-sided tray that is temporarily stored.The front of the feeding direction (right side in the figure) of this double-sided tray 20 is oriented slightly downward in order to make it easier to store the recording paper, and to align the recording paper against the front side of the device. The front side of the device is tilted downward. Also, double-sided tray 2
0 is provided with a side regulating plate (not shown) that is movable according to the width size of the recording paper and a double-sided tray auxiliary guide plate 231, which will be described later. Reference numeral 22 denotes an auxiliary conveyance belt for guiding the recording paper from the recording paper reverse feeding device 18 to the double-sided tray 20 during double-sided copying;
3', 23'' are pressure rollers that can swing freely in the direction of the arrow by a parallel four-bar link 24, and these pressure rollers 23, 23', 23'' each have a double-sided roller that holds the recording paper on the side of the auxiliary conveyance belt 22. The tray auxiliary guide plate 231 is loosely attached to form a parallel four-bar link structure. Further, these pressure rollers 23, 23', 23'' move integrally with the double-sided tray auxiliary guide plate 231, and are pressed against the auxiliary conveyance belt 22 according to the size of the recording paper during double-sided copying.The pressure rollers 23 and the double-sided tray The auxiliary guide plate 231 and the parallel four-bar link 24 are shown enlarged in FIG.
However, when the paper size is large (for example,
A3 size), only the left roller 23 moves to the position shown by the chain line, and when the paper size is medium (for example, B4 size), the left and center rollers 23 move to the position shown by the chain line.
3 and 23' move to the position shown by the chain line, and when the size of the recording paper is small (for example, A4 and B5 size), all three rollers 23, 23', and 23'' move to the position shown by the chain line. 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes a paper refeed roller for feeding again the recording paper that has been copied on one side in the duplex tray 20, and this paper refeed roller 25 is also designed to prevent double feeding in the same way as the paper feed roller 13. . As can be seen from the figure, the double-sided tray 20, the auxiliary conveyance belt 22, the pressure rollers 23, 23', 23'', the link 24,
The paper refeed roller 25 is provided in a recording paper holding section 26 that can be moved up and down within the pedestal 21 . An intermediate roller 27 is provided between the rollers 14 and 25 in order to convey the recording paper fed by the paper refeed roller 25 to the position of the registration roller 14. The recording paper holding section 26 is raised and lowered by, for example, a pantograph type or ball screw type lifting mechanism (not shown). At this time, the upper and lower limit positions of elevation are regulated by a limit switch or the like.

Next, the operation of the automatic double-sided copying machine will be explained.

First, if you want to copy only on one side of the recording paper,
When a normal copy button is operated, the original M on the platen glass P is exposed and scanned by the scanning optical system 2, and an electrostatic latent image of the original M is formed on the photoreceptor 3a of the photoreceptor drum 3. The electrostatic latent image is made into a visible image by the developing device 5, and the visible image is transferred by the transfer electrode 6 onto a recording sheet from either of the paper feed cassettes 10, 10' of the main body 1. After the transfer, the recording paper is separated from the photoreceptor 3a by the separation electrode 7, and transferred to the conveyance device 15.
The recording paper is conveyed to the fixing device 16, fixed there, and sent to the recording paper reverse feeding device 18 by the paper discharge roller 17. At this time, each roller 1 of the recording paper reverse feed device 18
Since the recording sheets 8a and 18b each rotate in the normal direction (rotation direction that guides the recording paper toward the sorter 19 side), the recording paper is sorted into the sorter 19 with its copy side facing upward.

On the other hand, when copying on both sides of the recording paper, when the double-sided copy selection button on the operation unit is turned on, the roller 18b of the recording paper reverse feed device 18 is reversed (rotated in the opposite direction to normal rotation) and the auxiliary conveyance belt 22 is rotated.
starts driving, and when the pressure rollers 23, 23', 23'' corresponding to the recording paper size move to the position shown by the chain line, the side regulating plate moves, and one-sided copying is completed after the above-mentioned series of copying processes. The recording paper is transferred to the roller 18b by the roller 18a of the recording paper reverse feeding device 18.
conveyed in the direction. Since the conveying force of the roller 18a is greater than that of the roller 18b, the recording paper is conveyed with its leading edge sliding on the roller 18b. The roller 18b is not in strong pressure contact with the recording paper, and the conveyance force is weak, so that no jam occurs due to the conveyance force of the roller 18a. After that, when the trailing edge of the recording paper leaves the roller 18a, the roller 18b
The conveying force to the side (paper ejection direction) is lost and roller 1
Although the force of conveyance in the opposite direction by 8b is weak, it works, and the recording paper is conveyed backwards with the trailing edge leading up to that point. It is guided to the double-sided tray 20 with the copy side facing upward by being sandwiched between the movable pressure rollers 23, 23', and 23''. Through the same process, the set number of sheets are recorded in the double-sided tray 20. Paper is stacked in sequence. When a predetermined number of recording papers are stacked in the duplex tray 20 (the number of stacked sheets is based on the set number of sheets), the drive of the auxiliary conveyance belt 22 is stopped and the duplex tray 2 is stacked.
The tilted state (not shown) toward the front of 0 is released and the state becomes parallel. At the same time, a double-sided copy signal is output and a copying operation for the back side is started. That is, the uppermost recording paper in the double-sided tray 20 is placed on the bottom plate 10.
1, it is lifted upward via the intermediate plate 102 and is pressed against the paper refeed roller 25. after that,
The paper refeed roller 25 starts rotating, and the double-sided tray 2
The uppermost recording paper in 0 is fed toward the main body 1 by the paper refeed roller 25. At this time,
Since the forward inclination of the double-sided tray 20 is already kept parallel, paper can be easily fed by the rollers 25.
The recording paper fed by the paper refeeding roller 25 passes through the intermediate roller 27 and is sent to the position of the registration roller 14, and then the recording paper continues along the same path as when copying one side previously. undergoes copy processing. The recording paper on which double-sided copying has been completed is transferred to the paper ejection roller 17 and the roller 1 of the recording paper reverse feeding device 18.
8a and the roller 18b which is already rotating in the normal direction, the sheets are discharged with the side of the copy later copied facing upward, and are sorted into a sorter 19 if a sorter is provided.

Now, in the automatic double-sided copying machine mentioned above, the main body 1
is supported by a torsion bar at a position Q on the sheet discharge side of the main body 1 with respect to the pedestal 21, and can rotate around this position Q to a position shown by a chain line. However, the main body 1 is normally urged toward the pedestal 21 by the spring action of the torsion bar, and is held at the normal position shown by the solid line in the figure by a click means (not shown). Now, if a jam occurs near the duplex tray 20, operate a lever (not shown) to set it to the set state (the conveyance path through which the recording paper from the duplex tray is sent to the recording section is connected so that double-sided copying is possible). By turning the main body 1 in the direction of the white arrow to the position shown by the chain line, sufficient space can be secured between the double-sided tray 20 and the main body 1. Since the upper part of the paper holding section 26 is open, jam removal can be easily performed by inserting your hand from the diagonally upper right side in the figure. Note that if a jam occurs on the torsion bar side, that is, if a jam occurs at a location above the recording paper holder 26 where the degree of opening is low and it is difficult to dispose of the jam,
By operating the elevating mechanism to lower the recording paper holder 26, the recording paper holder 26 (double-sided tray 20) can be opened more fully, making it easier to remove jams. In this way, no matter where the shim occurs near the double-sided tray 20,
Shams can always be handled easily. After the jam processing, the main body 1 may be rotated toward the pedestal 21 (in the opposite direction of the white arrow) and returned to its original position.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the automatic double-sided copying machine according to the present invention. In this embodiment, as can be seen from the figure, the rotation center Q' for dividing the main body 1 and the pedestal 21 is provided on the paper feed side, and the other configurations are exactly the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. In this way, in addition to securing the space necessary for jamming by rotating the main body 1 to the position shown by the chain line in the same way as in the embodiment shown in FIG. Since the main body 1 is rotated with the paper side as the center of rotation, the rotational moment of the main body 1 can be made smaller than that in the embodiment shown in FIG. Furthermore, since the conveyance path from the recording paper holding section 26 to the main body 1 is almost never deviated due to division, the accuracy of conveying the recording paper from the recording paper holding section 26 to the main body 1 can be improved. In this case, even if a jam occurs on the paper feed side and it is difficult to clear the jam, the lifting mechanism is activated to move the recording paper holder 2.
6 (double-sided tray 20) is lowered and the recording paper holding section 26 is opened more fully, jam processing becomes easier.

In this embodiment, the main body is separated from the pedestal by supporting the center of rotation with a torsion bar, but the present invention can also separate the main body and the pedestal using an air cylinder. In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the recording paper reverse feed device and the sorter are integrated and separated together with the main body.
Only the main body may be divided. Furthermore, the configuration of the recording paper holding section in the recording paper reverse feeding device is not limited to the configuration shown in this embodiment.

(e) Effects of the Invention The present invention provides a recording paper feeding mechanism that temporarily holds the recording paper with one side recorded on it discharged from the recording section in an intermediate tray and then feeds it again to the recording section in order to record the opposite side. In the automatic double-sided recording apparatus, the recording section is provided so as to be rotatable upward with respect to the intermediate tray, so that a sufficient space can be secured between the intermediate tray and the recording section. Therefore, it becomes easy to dispose of jams when the space on the front side of the device is narrow.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an automatic double-sided copying machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the pressure roller 23, double-sided tray auxiliary guide plate 231, and parallel four-bar link 2 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the automatic double-sided copying machine according to the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Main body, 2... Scanning optical system, 3... Photosensitive drum, 4... Charging electrode, 5... Developing device, 6...
Transfer electrode, 7... Separation electrode, 8... Static elimination electrode, 9
... Cleaning device, 10, 10' ... Paper feed cassette, 13 ... Paper feed roller, 14 ... Registration roller, 15 ... Conveyance device, 16 ... Fixing device,
17... Paper discharge roller, 18... Recording paper reverse feeding device,
19... Sorter, 20... Double-sided tray, 21...
... Frame, 22 ... Auxiliary conveyor belt, 23, 23',
23''...Pressure roller, 231...Double-sided tray auxiliary guide plate, 24...Parallel four-bar link, 25...
Paper refeed roller, 26... Recording paper holding section, 27...
intermediate roller.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A recording paper re-feeding mechanism that temporarily holds recording paper with one side recorded on one side ejected from the recording unit in an intermediate tray and then feeds the recording paper to the recording unit again for recording on the opposite side. An automatic double-sided recording device comprising: a tray housing housing the intermediate tray; a recording unit housing housing the recording unit and disposed on the tray housing; and a paper feeding side or a paper ejection side. a support means for rotatably supporting the recording section housing upwardly with respect to the tray housing about one side; and an elevating means for raising and lowering the intermediate tray and the recording paper refeeding mechanism. An automatic double-sided recording device characterized by comprising: