JPH0522430U - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] By combining any combination of units,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which has various sides, can utilize an effective space, and has a smooth side surface. [Structure] At least a plurality of sheet feeding units 19 and 20 also serving as a base of the image forming apparatus body 1 are replaceably stacked below the image forming apparatus body 1, and are fed to the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus body 1. An opening 27 for taking in the sheets conveyed from the units 19, 20 is provided, the entire sheet cassettes 21, 22 are housed inside the sheet feeding units 19, 20, and the sheet cassettes 21, 22 are the main body of the image forming apparatus. It can be pulled out in front of 1.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, and more particularly to a combination of an image forming apparatus and a plurality of units that also serve as a base.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 In this type of paper feeding device, conventionally, the main body of the copying machine is placed on one base, and a plurality of stages of paper feeding cassettes are built in the base so that one of the paper feeding cassettes is the main body of the copying machine. It is configured to feed the paper to a paper feed port provided at the bottom of the. As this related application, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-95941 “Paper guide device for copying machines” can be cited.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, this type of conventional sheet feeding device merely provides a plurality of sheet feeding cassettes accommodating sheets of various sizes in one base, and the base is dedicated and lacks variety. In addition, since a space was provided in the base to accommodate cassettes of various sizes, the height of the base was inevitably increased and the size of the entire device was inevitably increased. Furthermore, since the paper feed cassette that is installed on the base projects over multiple steps from the side of the base, not only does it take up a large space in the lateral direction, but the appearance is not clean and it is not good. It has drawbacks.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art and to make various types of variations possible by arbitrarily combining the units, and to make effective use of the space and to make the seating smooth. An image forming apparatus having such a side surface is provided.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention makes it possible to replace at least a plurality of paper feeding units below the image forming apparatus main body, which doubles as a base of the image forming apparatus main body. An opening is provided on the bottom surface of the main body of the image forming apparatus that receives the sheets conveyed from the sheet feeding unit, the entire sheet feeding cassette is stored in the sheet feeding unit, and the sheet feeding cassette is It can be pulled out to the front of the main body of the image forming apparatus, and a push-up member that pushes up the bottom plate of the sheet feeding cassette inside the sheet feeding unit and the uppermost portion stacked in the sheet feeding cassette. A sheet feeding roller that comes into pressure contact with the sheet and guide means that guides the sheet fed by the sheet feeding roller to the main body of the image forming apparatus are provided. It is intended.

[0006]

[Action]

 According to the present invention, various units and the number of units can be prepared according to the user's request, and the unit has almost the same outer shape and the opening for communicating with the adjacent unit can be provided at the same place according to a wide range of requests. Since it is formed, it is possible to rearrange various units and change the number of units stacked. By doing so, a wide variety of variations are possible, such as those capable of forming images on both sides of the paper, those capable of feeding a large volume, or the height of the image forming apparatus main body being adjusted appropriately. It is possible.

Further, since the entire sheet feeding cassette is housed inside the sheet feeding unit and the sheet feeding cassette can be pulled out to the front of the main body of the image forming apparatus, the sheet feeding cassette projects to the outside as in the conventional case. Without having to do so, the space can be effectively utilized, and the side surfaces of the unit group cling to each other, resulting in a good appearance.

[0008]

【Example】

 Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. A double-sided transport unit 2, paper feed units 19 and 20, and a consumables storage unit 5 are stacked under the copying machine body 1 in a replaceable manner. These various units 2, 19, 20 and 5 have almost the same outer shape, and the width W is designed to have the same dimension. When the units 2, 19, 20 and 5 are stacked, their side surfaces are They are all attached to each other.

Further, the various units 2, 19, 20, 5 are provided with a convex side-slip prevention portion 23 a for preventing the sideslip of the unit by engaging with adjacent units in a stacked state and a concave shape. Skid prevention portions 23b are formed at the upper and lower ends, respectively, and the skid prevention portions 23a and 23b are engaged with each other.

Paper feed cassettes 6 and 7 are attached to the paper feed unit of the copying machine main body 1, and the paper feed units 19 and 20 are configured such that the paper feed cassettes 21 and 22 are provided therein. The paper feed cassettes 21 and 22 can be pulled out to the front side of the copying machine main body 1 and replenished with paper by the guide rails 30 and 30 provided therein. Inside the paper feeding cassettes 21 and 22, as in the copying machine main body 1, a paper feeding roller 8 and a paper feeding drive system such as a pushing arm 9 of the cassette bottom plate are provided.

Openings 24, 25, 26 are provided on the upper surfaces of the double-sided transport unit 2 and the paper feed units 19, 20 so that they are arranged on lines perpendicular to each other in a stacked state of these units. That is, openings 24, 25 and 26 are formed at the same positions, and relay rollers 10, 11 and 12 are provided inside the double-sided transport unit 2 and the paper feed units 19 and 20, respectively. A vertical conveyance path 16 is formed by the relay rollers 10, 11, 12 and the openings 24, 25, 26.

The sheet sent out from the sheet feeding units 19 and 20 is taken in through the opening 27 formed in the bottom surface of the copying machine main body 1 via the vertical conveyance path 16. Then, it is retransmitted from the registration roller 17 to the photosensitive drum 18 through the relay roller 13.

A reversing mechanism 14 having a conveyance path switching lever 14a is provided in the paper discharge section of the copying machine main body 1. By means of this reversing mechanism 14, the sheet after one-sided copying is sent to the double-sided transport unit 2. An opening 28 is formed near the reversing mechanism 14 on the upper surface of the double-sided transport unit 2 for taking in the sheet after one-sided copying. Further, inside the double-sided transport unit 2, a double-sided transport path having a transport roller 15 is provided, and the reversed sheet is taken in through the opening 28 as shown by an arrow, and passes through this double-sided transport path. It merges with the vertical transport path 16.

As shown in the figure, the double-sided transport unit 2 is arranged at the uppermost stage of the stacked unit group, the sheet feeding units 19 and 20 are arranged therebelow, and the consumables storage unit 5 is arranged at the lowermost stage. The consumables storage unit 5 stores consumables such as paper and toner necessary for the copying machine.

As described above, the stacked units are independent of each other, and it is possible to add a unit (including adjusting the height of the copying machine main body 1) or change the order of the units as necessary. it can.

As the paper handling device unit, in addition to the paper feeding unit, the double-sided conveyance unit, the consumables storage unit as in the above-described embodiment, various types such as a synthetic copy unit, a large-capacity paper feeding unit, and a paper folding unit are used. can do.

[0017]

[Effect of the device]

 The present invention is as described above, and various units and a number of units can be prepared according to the user's request, and according to a wide range of requests, the outer shape of each unit is almost the same, and in order to communicate with the adjacent unit, Since the openings are formed in the same place, it is possible to rearrange various units and change the number of units stacked. By doing so, a wide variety of variations are possible, such as those capable of forming images on both sides of the paper, those capable of feeding a large amount of capacity, and the height of the image forming apparatus main body being adjusted appropriately. It is possible.

Further, since the entire sheet feeding cassette is housed inside the sheet feeding unit and the sheet feeding cassette can be pulled out to the front of the image forming apparatus main body, the sheet feeding cassette projects to the outside as in the conventional case. Without having to do so, the space can be effectively utilized, and the side surfaces of the unit group cling to each other, resulting in a good appearance.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural view showing an entire copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Copier main body 2 Double-sided transport unit 3 Paper feed unit 4 Paper feed unit 5 Consumables storage unit 8 Paper feed roller 9 Lifting arm 10 Relay roller 11 Relay roller 12 Relay roller 14 Reversing mechanism 15 Transport roller 16 Vertical transport path 19 Paper feed Unit 20 Paper feed unit 21 Paper feed cassette 22 Paper feed cassette 23 Side slip prevention unit 24 Opening 25 Opening 26 Opening 27 Opening 28 Opening 30 Slide rail W Unit width width

Claims (5)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. At least a plurality of sheet feeding units, which also serve as a base of the image forming apparatus body, are replaceably stacked below the image forming apparatus body, and the sheet feeding unit is provided on the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus body. An opening is provided for taking in the sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding unit, the entire sheet feeding cassette is stored in the sheet feeding unit, and the sheet feeding cassette can be pulled out to the front of the image forming apparatus main body. Inside the paper feed unit, a push-up member that pushes up the bottom plate of the paper feed cassette, and a paper feed roller that comes into pressure contact with the uppermost paper stacked in the paper feed cassette,
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a guide unit that guides the sheet fed by the sheet feeding roller to the image forming apparatus main body. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a consumables storage unit is arranged below the paper feed unit group. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the lateral width dimension of the paper feeding unit and the lateral width dimension of the consumables storage unit are substantially the same. 4. The sheet ejected from the image forming apparatus main body is inserted between the uppermost sheet feeding unit of the paper feeding unit group and the image forming apparatus main body according to claim 1. An image forming apparatus is provided with a double-sided transport unit provided with guide means for guiding again the sheet taken in through the opening to the image forming apparatus main body side. 5. Claim 1 or claim 2 or claim 4.
In the above description, the image forming apparatus is characterized in that the unit is formed with a sideslip preventing portion that engages with adjacent units by stacking to prevent sideslip of the unit.