JPH05246557A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smooth insertion and removal of an intermediate tray on the front side of an image forming device. CONSTITUTION:A first stopper means 23 is released by means of release means 20 and 21 and an intermediate tray T is moved to the front of a device through the energizing force of an energizing means 25. In the middle of the movement, the intermediate tray T is stopped by a second stopper means 16 once. Through following movement, the intermediate tray T is stopped in a third position by means of a third stopper means. This constitution performs smooth insertion and removal of the intermediate tray T in and from a device body and facilitates disposal of the jammed paper sheets and maintenance of a device.

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 an electrophotographic copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, when some malfunction occurs and a paper jam occurs, an unnecessary sheet remaining inside the apparatus body must be removed.

Conventionally, in order to eliminate this paper jam,
I had to put my hand inside the machine to remove the sheet that was stuck on the paper path. However, in such a device, since it is necessary to put a hand inside the device, it is difficult to visually recognize the sheet, and since there is not enough space for clearing the paper jam, it is difficult to clear the paper jam. It was

Therefore, there has been proposed an apparatus in which a sheet remaining portion (unit) is pulled out to the front of the apparatus to facilitate the paper jam processing visually and in space.
This type of device will be described.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus of this type. Copying device M for copying on sheet P
Has a copying section as an image forming section having a photoconductor 151 at substantially the center of the apparatus main body, and a document table 152 at the upper part of the machine body. A scanning system 153 is provided below the document table 152. A sheet feeding unit including sheets 154, 155, and 156 is formed on the right side and the lower side of the machine body.
57, 158 and 159 are provided. Photoconductor 151
A primary charging device 160, a developing device 161, and a cleaner 1 are provided in the vicinity.
62, a registration roller pair 163, a transfer charging device 114, a separation charging device 165 are arranged, and further, a conveying section 166 and a fixing device 117 are arranged.

For double-sided or multiple copying, the flapper 168,
The sheets S are once stored in the intermediate tray T by the action of 169, 170 and the like, and are on standby to be fed again. The intermediate tray T is constructed so that it can be pulled out toward the front of the apparatus, and when a paper jam occurs, the intermediate tray T is pulled out and a paper jam process is performed.

In the double-sided copying machine, the sheets whose one side has been copied are aligned and stacked on the intermediate tray to prepare for re-feeding for copying to the other side. Further, in the case where multiplex copying is performed even with single-sided copying, sheets are similarly stacked on the intermediate tray in an aligned state.

By the way, the sheets stacked on the intermediate tray are discharged from a discharge gate device located above the intermediate tray and then conveyed to a predetermined position by a feed roller and stacked. Here, the front end of the copied sheet is easily curled, and when the distance between the intermediate tray and the discharge gate device is large, the front end of the sheet is curled and a stacking defect is likely to occur. Further, when the distance between the intermediate tray and the discharge gate device is small, the sheet take-out property becomes poor when a jam occurs.

In order to solve such a problem, an apparatus as described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-22202 has been devised.

That is, a discharge gate device that discharges the conveyed sheet obliquely downward is provided, and a movable side plate that aligns the leading end of the sheet discharged from this discharge gate device in the width direction is provided with the feed roller and the leading end of the sheet. A fixed portion is provided in the vicinity of the stopper for aligning the above, and an inclined movable portion which is positioned below the discharge gate device and has a fulcrum on the fixed portion side and which is rotatable up and down is disposed.

[0011]

However, in the apparatus having such a structure, a large force is required for pulling out because the intermediate tray T itself has a large mass. Moreover, when the pulled-out intermediate tray is attached to the apparatus main body, if the intermediate tray T is pushed in with a little force, the intermediate tray T may hit the apparatus body strongly and damage the intermediate tray T and the apparatus body. was there.

In view of the above inconvenience, there is a structure in which a spring or the like for urging the intermediate tray T forward is provided so that the intermediate tray T is automatically pushed forward when the intermediate tray T is released from the apparatus main body. In this case as well, there is a safety problem that the pushed-out intermediate tray T vigorously jumps forward and hits a part of the body.

Further, in the device described in the above publication, since it has a vertically movable movable part, there remains a problem that the entire device becomes large in size by the space in which the movable part moves. ..

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily and safely performing paper jam processing, processing, and maintenance of the apparatus.

[0015]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances and is movable in the front of the image forming apparatus (M), and usually at a predetermined first position in the apparatus main body. A unit (T) that performs an operation related to image formation, and a biasing means (25) that biases the unit (T) toward the front of the apparatus,
A first stopper means (23) for stopping the unit (T) at a first position which is an image forming operation position against the urging force of the urging means (25), and a first stopper means (23). ) Is released, and the releasing means (20, 21) for moving the unit (T) to the front side of the apparatus by the urging means (25) and the unit (T) are moved slightly forward of the apparatus main body. The unit (T) in the second position
A second stopper means (16) for temporarily stopping the unit, and a third stopper means (175) for stopping the unit (T) at a third position moved further from the second position to the front. , Are included.

The image forming apparatus (M) further includes front doors (176, 17) that can be opened and closed to cover the general front surface of the apparatus body.
7), the front doors (176, 177) are closed to enable the image forming operation only when the unit (T) is in the second position or the third position. It is characterized in that the front doors (176, 177) are not closed and the image forming operation is not performed.

Further, a discharge gate device (42) for discharging the sheet (P) which is carried in with a downward inclination and discharged obliquely downward, and the sheet located below the discharge gate device (42). A means (65) for aligning the sheets (P), a means (66) for feeding the sheets (P) which are aligned toward the image forming section, and a movable sheet stacking member that can be pulled out to the front of the apparatus main body. Intermediate tray consisting of parts (80)
And are included.

[0018]

As described above, the unit (T) that performs the operation related to image formation based on the above structure is stopped at the first position by the first stopper means (23). This unit (T)
Is released to the front of the device by the urging force of the urging means (25) by releasing the first stopper means by the releasing means (20, 21). During the movement of the unit (T), the unit (T) is temporarily stopped by the second stopper means (16), and after the unit (T) is moved further forward, the unit (T) is moved to the third position.
It is stopped by the stopper means (175).

As a result, a unit (T) having a large mass
Can be smoothly taken in and out of the main body of the apparatus, and paper jam processing and maintenance of the apparatus can be performed easily and safely.

Below the discharge gate device (42), a sheet stacking part (8) that can be pulled out to the front side of the main body of the device.
Since (0) is located, the sheet stacking portion (80) can be brought close to the discharge gate device (42), so that even if the sheet is easily curled, the curling can be prevented. It is possible to prevent and surely stack. Further, when a sheet jam occurs, the sheet stacking unit (80) is pulled out, and the discharge gate device (42).
Since the sheet stacking unit (80) can be separated from the sheet stacking device, jam processing can be easily performed, and the sheets are aligned for stacking to pull out the sheet stacking unit (80) to the front side without tilting the sheet stacking unit (80). The position of the leading edge of the sheet is stable, and there is no need to perform realignment after the jam processing.

[0021]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in detail below based on examples.

A general description of the electrophotographic copying machine to which the present invention can be applied is exactly the same as that of the conventional example (FIG. 7), and therefore the same symbols are used and the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the vicinity of the intermediate tray T to which the present invention can be applied.

The transport section 166 is provided for the transfer / separation charger 11.
It has 4,115. Further, the transport unit 166 is provided with rotating rollers 121 and 122 at the bottom. Further, the transport unit 1
66 is rotatable about a fulcrum 116a in the direction of arrow A, is urged upward by a spring described later, and abuts against a positioning portion (not shown) provided in the apparatus body to be positioned. The intermediate tray T includes sliders 1 and 1.
It is housed in the main body of the apparatus via 2 and is movable in the direction of arrow B.

A guide stay 13 is provided above the intermediate tray T.
Is provided. The guide stay 13 is provided with a pressing spring 4 and a stopper spring (second stopper) 16. 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a handle for unlocking, which is rotatable in the direction of arrow C about the fulcrum shaft 19. The handle 17 is connected to the latch plate 21 via a link mechanism 20. The latch plate 21 is rotatable about a fulcrum shaft 22 in the direction of arrow D, and is caught by a first stopper 23 fixedly mounted on the main body of the apparatus when the apparatus is operating to position the intermediate tray T. The pressing spring 25 arranged on the main body of the apparatus presses the abutting portion 26 of the intermediate tray T toward the front of the apparatus. When the handle 20 a is pulled in the direction of arrow C until it abuts against the abutting portion 14, the latch plate 21 rotates in the direction of arrow D about the fulcrum shaft 22 via the link mechanism 20 and the first stopper 23.
It comes off. The intermediate tray T is pushed out toward the front of the device by the pressing spring 25.

The operation of pulling out the intermediate tray T is shown in FIG.
6 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6 (a view seen from the arrow E in FIG. 1).

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the intermediate tray T is operably attached to the apparatus main body. In this state, the transport unit 1
The roller 171 provided at the approximate center of 66 and the pressure spring 15 provided at the approximate center of the intermediate tray T are aligned. That is,
The conveying portion 166 is pushed up by the urging force of the pressure spring 15 and hits the positioning portions 173 and 174 to stop. At this time, the pressing spring 25 is sufficiently pressed.

When pulling out the intermediate tray T, first, the handle 17 is pulled to release the latch plate 21 from the first stopper 23. Then, the intermediate tray T is automatically pushed forward by the urging force of the pressing spring 25. And roller 171
Comes out of the pressure spring 15 and hits the second stopper 5 (FIG. 3). At this time, the transport unit 166 is provided on the roller 171.
Since the weight is applied, the brake is applied and the intermediate tray T is temporarily stopped. Therefore, there is no danger that the intermediate tray T suddenly pops out and hits a part of the body. Then, when the intermediate tray T is pulled further toward you from this position, the intermediate tray T is pulled out along the sliders 11 and 12. At this time, the roller 171 rolls on the guide stay 13 (FIG. 4), and the roller 172 rolls on the guide stay 13 (FIG. 5) from the middle, and the intermediate tray T is pulled out. Then, the abutting portion 26 abuts on the third stopper 125 provided on the apparatus body (FIG. 6). At this time, the roller 172 is formed on the slope portion 13 a of the guide stay 13.
And the transport unit 166 is completely lowered. At this time, since there is a sufficient space in the upper part x of the intermediate tray T and the upper part y of the transport unit 166, it is possible to easily carry out paper jam processing, maintenance and the like.

When the intermediate tray T is mounted on the main body of the apparatus, the operation reverse to the above description is performed. First, when the intermediate tray T is pushed in the direction of arrow F from the state shown in FIG.
2 rises while rolling on the slope 13a of the guide stay,
The intermediate tray T is inserted into the apparatus main body while pushing up the transport unit 166. Then, the roller 171 rolls over the guide stay 13 and the second stopper 5 or the pressure spring 1
When it hits 5, the intermediate tray T is braked and temporarily stopped (in this embodiment, the pressure spring 15 and the second stopper 5 are made of the same member). Therefore, even if the intermediate tray T is pushed into the apparatus main body with a comparatively strong force, the brake is applied and the apparatus temporarily stops, so that the intermediate tray T and the apparatus main body do not collide and are damaged.
If the intermediate tray is pushed further from this state, the latch plate 2
1 is caught by the first stopper 23 and is set to the first position where the image forming operation is possible (FIG. 2).

FIG. 4 and FIG. 8 are perspective views showing the appearance of this embodiment. Front doors 176, 1 that cover the front surface of the main body of the apparatus
77 is configured to rotate about fulcrum shafts 178 and 179, respectively, and open like 176 'and 177'.
The front doors 176 and 177 are provided with protrusions 130 and 131, and when the front doors 176 and 177 are closed, a switch (not shown) arranged in the main body of the apparatus is used.
0, 181 is pushed, and the main body of the apparatus can be operated.

According to the present invention, when the intermediate tray T is not in the predetermined position (first position) of the apparatus main body, that is, when it projects forward, a part of the intermediate tray T (for example, T in FIG. 1).
The front door 126 (127) hits a, Tb), and the front door 12
6 (127) is configured not to close. In this state, the protrusion 180 (181) does not press the switch of the apparatus body, and thus the apparatus body does not operate. Therefore, there is no possibility of accidentally operating the device in an incomplete state and causing an accident. <Other Embodiments> The intermediate tray has been described above as a unit to which the present invention can be applied, but the unit is not limited to this.

For example, the present invention can be applied to all units that can be operated / maintained by pulling out forward such as a developing device, a fixing device, and a paper feed cassette.

FIG. 9 is an overall sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

For the original placed on the 181 original table,
The image irradiated by the document exposure light 180 forms a latent image on the photosensitive drum 151 through a lens 153, a mirror, and the like. On the latent image, a toner image is formed by the toner in the toner hopper 182 by the developing device 183.
a, 47b, 47c, etc., a toner image is transferred from the paper feed decks and trays such as a, 47b, and 47c onto the paper fed by the registration roller 46 at the same timing, and then passes through the conveyance unit 40 and then the fixing device 16
7, the toner is thermally and pressure-fixed on the sheet, and the discharge roller 4
The sheet is discharged to the outside of the main body by 5b and is stacked on the sheet discharge tray 41c or a sorter. On the other hand, the sheet to be copied on both sides is fixed at 23167, inverted by the reversing unit 41a, and then discharged according to the sheet size from the discharge gate device 42 described later for each size, and the sheet stacking unit (enclosed by a dashed line) After loading on 43, the second register roller pair 4
5. The toner image is transferred from the drum again through the pair of registration rollers 46, is fixed by the fixing device 167 through the conveying unit 40, is discharged from the main body by the discharge roller 41b, and is then stacked on the tray 41c. ..

Next, the emission gate device 2542 will be described in detail.

First, the sheet 1S which has been copied on one side
When the number is multiple, the transport roller pair 3 and the duplex roller transport roller pair 3 '
A discharge gate device 2542 fed by This discharge gate device 2542 is provided with four discharge roller pairs 51, 52, 53, 55, and gate claws 56, 57, 5 are provided between the discharge roller pairs 51, 52, 53, 55.
9 is rotatably provided. The discharge gate device 2542 has four discharge positions by controlling the rotation of the gate claws 56, 57, 59 by a solenoid (not shown), and discharges like A for the largest sheet. Then, if the sheet is the smallest, it is discharged like B.

Further, below the discharge gate device 2542, a sheet stacking portion (intermediate tray) 2643 that can be pulled out in the direction of the arrow 26i is provided, as will be described later with reference to FIG. The sheet stacker 2643 has sheets 1 on both sides thereof.
A pair of movable fences 6 that are movable side plates that align the side edges of S
0 is attached slidably. Further, in order to align the front edge of the sheet 1S, a feed roller 63 that is supported by an arm 62 that is rotatable about the axis of a fulcrum 61 and is driven to rotate is provided. The roller 63 is a solenoid (not shown) or the like. OFF / ON control is performed by the control means to contact the upper surface of the sheet 1S and feed the sheet to the stopper plate 65. The sheet 1S whose front edge is aligned by the stopper plate 65 is D-cut roller 66 when re-fed.
Gives a feeding force to the sheet between the sheet and the stopper plate, and then the sheet is separated and fed by the retard roller pair 66 ',
The sheet 1S is sent to the image forming unit again. Here, the discharge gate device 2542 is positioned close to the sheet stacking portion 2643 by inclining downward as shown in the drawing, so that the leading end of the sheet 1S discharged from the discharge gate device 2542 is curled. Even if
The sheet 1S is prevented from being rounded and the stacking property is improved.

Next, the structure of the sheet stacking unit 2643 will be described in detail.

In FIG. 10, the sheet conveying member 82 is rotatable in a direction of 41f around a shaft 82a fixed to the main body of the image forming apparatus via a bearing. 1
The sheet conveying member 82 is suspended from the main body by a spring 29, and the sheet conveying member 82 is suspended by a spring 29. It is in contact with the tray) and is located during jam clearance. A sheet stacking unit (double-sided intermediate tray) 2643 includes 26c, 26d sliders 72, 7 on the main body.
It is fixed to the main body via 3 and can be moved in the drawing direction of 80. The guide stay 26a is composed of a 70 'guide portion and a 70 "leaf spring. 75 is a grip portion which swings around a swing axis of 75' to a stopper of 76 '.
By pulling the handle forward in the arrow direction, the latch plate rotatable around the axis 79 through the link 77 is released in the arrow direction, and the latch is released by the 43 stopper shafts 85 fixed to the main body.

The leaf spring 5 of 43b abuts the cut-and-raised portion 80 when set, and the sheet stacking portion 43 is reliably set in the direction of arrow 80 by the stopper of the latch when the main body is set. When the sheet stacking unit 43 is pulled out from the main body in FIG. 11 during the jam processing, the sheet conveying unit 82 moves to the position 41 ′ after the rotation, and the effective size of the jam processing unit 87 is within the limited size. It is possible to maximize the jam, and the jam handling property is improved by one action linked to pulling out the sheet stacking unit 43 to the front.

FIG. 12, FIG. 13 and FIG. 14 show right side views at the time of jam processing.

FIG. 14 shows the sheet conveying section 8 in the set state.
The sheet guide portion is pressed upward by the leaf spring of 15 at the roller portion of 41 g of 2. FIG. 4 (a) FIG. 12 shows a state in which the sheet guide portion is pulled out to the maximum, and the guide tip end 70 'and the roller 41b82b are separated, but they are engaged with each other at 71 and 171. FIG. 13 shows a state in which the unit 26 is inserted into the main body halfway, and there is a gap between the image carrier 151 and the transport unit 82 because it is not set. Finally, as shown in FIG. 14, when the sheet stacking unit 2643 is set, the transport unit 4182 hits the stoppers 43a5a and 43b5b, and the transfer / separation unit is positioned with respect to the drum 151.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the sheet conveying section 41 can also be released in association with the mounting / demounting operation of the sheet stacking section 2643, so that the jam handling property is further improved.
It has become possible to provide a device that is easy to use.

[0044]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a discharge gate device for discharging a sheet which is slanted downward and directed obliquely downward, and further below the discharge gate, the front side of the apparatus main body. Since the sheet stacking unit that can be pulled out is located in the above position, the sheet can be brought close to the discharge gate, and even if the sheet easily curls, the curling is prevented in advance and the sheet is surely secured. Has the effect of being able to stack. Further, when a jam occurs, the sheet stacking unit can be pulled out toward the front and separated from the discharge gate device, so that a jam process can be easily performed, and the sheet stacking unit is not tilted. Since the sheet is pulled out toward the front, the position of the leading end of the low-aligned sheets is stable, and there is an effect that it is not necessary to realign the sheets after the jam processing.

Further, according to the present invention, the unit stopped at the first position by the first stopper means can be moved to the front of the apparatus by releasing the releasing means and urging the urging means.
Moreover, the unit is temporarily stopped during movement by the second stopper means and then stopped at the third position by the third stopper means. As a result, the unit can be smoothly taken in and out, and paper jams and device maintenance can be easily performed.

Further, according to the present invention, a discharge gate device is provided for discharging the sheet, which is slanted downward and discharged obliquely downward, and further, below the discharge gate, the sheet stackable to the front side of the apparatus main body can be loaded. Because the department is located,
The sheet can be brought close to the discharge gate, and even if the sheet is easily curled, the curl can be prevented from occurring and the sheet can be reliably stacked. Further, when a jam occurs, the sheet stacking unit can be pulled out toward the front and separated from the discharge gate device, so that a jam process can be easily performed, and the sheet stacking unit is not tilted. Since the sheet is pulled out toward the front, the position of the leading end of the low-aligned sheets is stable, and there is an effect that it is not necessary to realign the sheets after the jam processing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a unit portion of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a similar operation diagram.

FIG. 4 is a similar operation diagram.

FIG. 5 is a similar action diagram.

FIG. 6 is an operation diagram of the same.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional side view showing an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is the same perspective view.

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional side view of an image forming apparatus to which another embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 10 is an operation diagram of the same.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the sheet stacking unit.

FIG. 12 is the same action diagram.

FIG. 13 is a similar action diagram.

FIG. 14 is a similar action diagram.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P sheet M image forming apparatus T unit (intermediate tray) 16 second stopper means 23 first stopper means 20, 21 releasing means 25 biasing means 175 third stopper means 176, 177 front door

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] December 7, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Correction target item name] All drawings

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

[Figure 8]

[Fig. 2]

[Figure 3]

[Figure 4]

FIG. 14

[Figure 5]

[Figure 6]

[Fig. 12]

[Figure 7]

[Figure 9]

[Figure 10]

FIG. 11

[Fig. 13]

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location G03G 15/00 112 7369-2H

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A movable member in front of the image forming apparatus,
Normally, a unit that performs an operation related to image formation at a predetermined first position in the apparatus body, a biasing unit that biases the unit toward the front of the apparatus, and a unit that resists the biasing force of the biasing unit First stopper means for stopping at a first position which is an image forming operation position; releasing means for releasing the first stopper means and for moving the unit toward the front of the apparatus by the urging means; Second stopper means for temporarily stopping the unit at a second position where the unit has moved slightly forward of the apparatus main body, and the unit at the third position where the unit has moved further from the second position to the front. An image forming apparatus comprising: a third stopper means for stopping. 2. The image forming apparatus further includes a front door that can be opened and closed to cover the front surface of the main body of the apparatus, and the front door is closed only when the unit is in the first position to enable an image forming operation. An image forming apparatus characterized in that the front door is not closed and the image forming operation is not performed when the unit is in the second or third position. 3. The image forming apparatus, wherein the unit is an intermediate tray unit for temporarily stacking image-formed sheets for re-feeding. 4. A discharge gate device that discharges a sheet that is inclined downward and discharges obliquely downward, and a unit and an image forming unit that are located below the discharge gate device and that aligns the sheets. An image forming apparatus comprising: an intermediate tray including a unit that feeds sheets aligned toward each other, and an intermediate tray that includes a movable sheet stacking unit that can be pulled out from the front surface of the apparatus main body.