JPH0558486A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a jammed sheet which is manually fed from a manual feed tray but is jammed at a nip section between paired registration rollers, to be easily removed even by a worker who is not familiar with the handling of an image forming device, with both the paired upper and lower registration rollers opened separately. CONSTITUTION:A tray cover 17 which can be opened/closed, is provided over a manual feed tray 3, and an action to open the tray cover 17 is interlocked with an opening/closing mechanism 28 for opening an upper and a lower roller 6A and 6B of paired registration rollers 6 separately.

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 copying machine, a printer and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers and facsimiles are provided with a manual feed tray for manually feeding sheet materials one by one.

In the image forming apparatus having the manual feed tray, when the sheet material manually fed from the manual feed tray causes a jam at the nip portion of the registration roller pair, the jammed paper can be easily fed from the manual feed tray portion. There is something thought to be able to get rid of.

A conventional example of such an image forming apparatus is shown in FIGS.

A manual feed tray 3 is attached to the manual feed opening 2 of the image forming apparatus main body 1. Further, a pair of registration rollers 6 is provided upstream of the photosensitive drum 5 in the image forming apparatus main body 1.
Are arranged.

The upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6 can be brought into and out of contact with each other. Here, the lower roller 6B is fixed in position, and the upper roller 6A is fixed to the lower roller 6B.
Move vertically with respect to B.

The lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6 includes
A cam member 10 for separating the upper roller 6A from the lower roller 6B by a predetermined amount is rotatably attached. When the cam member 10 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 10, the upper roller 6A causes the V-shaped cam surface 10 of the cam member 10 to move.
It is pressed by A and separated from the lower roller 6B. Then, when the cam member 10 rotates clockwise by the return spring 11 and returns to the position shown in the figure, the upper roller 6A comes into contact with the lower roller 6B with a predetermined pressure.

When the operation lever 12 is pushed down in the direction of the arrow, the cam member 10 rotates counterclockwise as described above to separate the upper roller 6A from the lower roller 9.

The operation lever 12 is rotatably attached to a bracket 13 provided in the image forming apparatus main body 1 with a shaft 15 in a state where the operation portion 12A thereof projects outside the image forming apparatus main body 1.

When the operating lever 12 is pushed down in the direction of the arrow, its tip 12B engages with the projection 10B of the cam member 10 to rotate the cam member 10 counterclockwise. When the pushing down force is removed from the operating lever 12, the operating lever 12 is returned to the position shown by the return spring 16, and at the same time, the cam member 10 is also returned to the position shown by the return spring 11.

Now, as shown in FIG. 10, the manual feed tray 3
When the sheet material S manually fed from the sheet jams at the nip portion of the registration roller pair 6, the registration lever pair 6 is pushed down in the image forming apparatus by pushing down the operation lever 12 protruding outside the image forming apparatus main body 1. Since the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B can be separated from each other, the jammed sheet material S can be easily removed with a small force by pulling the rear end portion located on the manual feed tray 3.

Further, when the operation lever 12 is returned to its original position, the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6 are returned.
Are brought into contact with each other again with a predetermined pressure.

[0013]

However, in the case of the system of separating the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6 by using the operation lever 12 as in the above-mentioned conventional example, the image forming apparatus can be handled easily. An unfamiliar person may pull the jammed sheet material S without using the operation lever 12.

In such a case, since the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6 are in contact with each other with a predetermined pressure, the jammed sheet material S is removed unless it is pulled with a very large force. In addition to being unable to do so, there is a problem that the sheet material S is broken in the middle and remains in the nip portion of the registration roller pair 6 or the like.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even a person who is unfamiliar with the handling of the image forming apparatus can perform registration after the upper roller and the lower roller of the registration roller pair are separated. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of removing a jammed sheet material at a nip portion of a roller pair.

[0016]

The present invention will be described with reference to, for example, FIGS. 1 and 2, an upper roller (6A) of a registration roller pair (6) installed in an image forming apparatus main body (1).
The lower roller (6B) and the lower roller (6B) can be contacted and separated from each other, and the upper roller (6A) and the lower roller (6B) of the registration roller pair (6) are separated so that the resist is fed from the manual feed tray (3). A sheet material (S) jammed at a nip portion of a roller pair (6) can be easily removed from the manual feed tray (3) outside the image forming apparatus main body (1). ..

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a tray cover (17) which can be opened and closed on the manual feed tray (3), and the operation of opening the tray cover (17) is performed by the registration roller pair. (6) Upper roller (6A)
And a lowering mechanism (2B) for separating the lower roller (6B).
It is characterized in that 8) is linked.

When the manual feed tray (3) is foldably attached to the main body (1) of the image forming apparatus about the support shaft (20) at the base end, the tray cover (17) is provided. When it is folded together with the manual feed tray (3), the opening mechanism (28) is not linked to the operation of the tray cover (17).

[0019]

According to the above construction, when the tray cover (17) provided on the manual feed tray (3) is opened, the opening mechanism (28) interlocks with this operation and the upper roller of the registration roller pair (6). (6A) and the lower roller (6B) are separated.

When the sheet material (S) jammed at the nip portion of the registration roller pair (6) is removed by pulling the rear end portion located on the manual feed tray (3), the tray cover (17) The rear end portion of the sheet material (S) cannot be pulled unless the opening is opened.

As a result, in order to remove the sheet material (S) jammed at the nip portion of the registration roller pair (6), even a person unfamiliar with the handling of the image forming apparatus can surely place the sheet material (S) on the registration roller pair (6). The sheet material (S) is pulled while the roller (6A) and the lower roller (6B) are separated. Therefore, the sheet material (S) jammed by the pair of registration rollers (6) can be easily removed with a small force and will not be broken in the middle.

When the tray cover (17) is folded together with the manual feed tray (3), the upper roller (6A) and the lower roller (6B) of the registration roller pair (6) are not separated.

As a result, when the paper is fed from the paper feeding means (33) other than the manual feed tray (3), the pair of registration rollers (6) is fed with the sheet material (S) fed from the paper feeding means (33). The skew correction and the transportation can be performed without any trouble.

The reference numerals in parentheses are for reference to the drawings and do not limit the structure in any way.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <Embodiment 1> FIGS. 1 to 3 show an image forming apparatus (copier) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

In this image forming apparatus, the same members as those of the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description of those which are functionally unchanged will be omitted.

The image forming apparatus is provided with a tray cover 17 which can be opened and closed on the manual feed tray 3 having the side regulating plate 3A.

The manual feed tray 3 is rotatably attached via a bearing 21 to a support shaft 20 attached to the rear plate 19 of the image forming apparatus main body 1.

The support shaft 20 is fixed to a cam member 22 which also serves as a bearing of the tray cover 17, and is rotatably attached to the rear side plate 19 of the image forming apparatus 1.

Therefore, the tray cover 17 can be opened and closed vertically about the support shaft 20, and when it is rotated upward together with the manual feed tray 3 about the support shaft 20,
The image forming apparatus main body 1 can be folded (see FIG. 6).
reference).

A relay cam member 25 is rotatably attached to the bracket 13 via a support shaft 23 movable in the axial direction.

As shown in FIG. 5, the support shaft 23 is normally located at a position where the return spring 26 causes the flange 23A to contact the end surface of the bracket 13. At this time, the relay cam member 25 attached to the support shaft 23 is pressed by the return spring 26,
It is in contact with the regulating member (retaining ring) 27 of the support shaft 23.

When the support shaft 23 is in the normal state, when the tray cover 17 is rotated upward about the support shaft 20 and opened, the cam member 22 of the tray cover 17 is opened at one end 25A of the relay cam member 25.
And the relay cam member 25 is rotated clockwise.

When the relay cam member 25 rotates clockwise, the other end 25B engages with the projection 10B of the cam member 10 rotatably attached to the lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6, and the cam member 10 is moved. Rotate counterclockwise.

When the cam member 10 rotates counterclockwise,
The upper roller 6A of the registration roller pair 6 is V of the cam member 10.
It is pressed by the character-shaped cam surface 10A and separated from the lower roller 6B.

When the tray cover 17 is closed, the relay cam member 25 is returned to its original position by the return spring 29 as shown in FIG. 3, and the cam member 10 is also returned to its original position by the return spring 11. As a result, the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6 again come into contact with each other at a predetermined pressure.

When the manual support tray 3 is in a normal state, the manual feed tray 3 is rotated upward about the support shaft 20 and folded to fold the cam member 3 provided at the base end of the manual feed tray 3.
0 engages with the cam surface 23B of the support shaft 23 as shown in FIG. 5, and slides the support shaft 23 in the arrow direction.

The axial position of the relay cam member 25 is changed by the sliding of the support shaft 23, and the cam member 22 of the tray cover 17 folded integrally with the manual feed tray 3 is engaged with one end 25A of the relay cam member 25. Will not do.

Therefore, when the tray cover 17 is integrally folded with the manual feed tray 3, the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6 are not separated.

In the case of this image forming apparatus, the cam member 1
0 and the relay cam member 25 separate the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6 from each other.
Is configured.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the sheet material S manually fed from the manual feed tray 3 with the tray cover 17 closed is fed by the feed roller 31.

Now, assuming that the sheet material S fed by the sheet feeding roller 31 causes a jam at the nip portion of the registration roller pair 6 as shown in the figure, in this image forming apparatus, the registration operation is performed by opening the tray cover 17. Since the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B of the roller pair 6 can be separated from each other, when the tray cover 17 is opened, a jam is caused by pulling the rear end portion of the sheet material S located on the manual feed tray 3. The sheet material S can be easily removed with a small force.

In this image forming apparatus, the registration roller pair 6 is interlocked with the operation of opening the tray cover 17, which must be opened when removing the jammed sheet material S.
Since the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B are separated, even a person who is unfamiliar with handling the image forming apparatus can jam the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6 in a separated state. Then, the sheet material S that has caused the swelling is removed. For this reason, there is no possibility of tearing during the removal of the jammed sheet material S.

When the tray cover 17 is opened, this state is detected by detection means (not shown),
A warning light 32 provided on the panel portion 1A of the image forming apparatus main body 1
(See FIGS. 1 and 6) is turned on to warn the operator that the tray cover 17 is open, and the paper feed roller 31 is stopped. As a result, it is possible to prevent the sheet material S manually fed by mistake from causing a jam at the pair of registration rollers 6 in the open state.

Further, in the present image forming apparatus, the manual feed tray 3 can be folded as shown in FIG. 6 when the manual feed is not performed. The upper roller 6 of the registration roller pair 6 is moved by the operation of the tray cover 17 that is folded in a linear manner.
A and the lower roller 6B are not separated. Therefore, when the sheet material S in the sheet feeding cassette 33 shown in FIG. 4 is fed by the sheet feeding roller 35, the registration roller pair 6 can perform the skew correction and the conveyance of the sheet material S without any trouble. it can. <Embodiment 2> FIGS. 7 and 8 show the main configuration of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

In this image forming apparatus, the same members as those of the image forming apparatus of the above-described first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description of those that are functionally unchanged will be omitted.

In this image forming apparatus, the support shaft 20 fixed to the cam member 22 of the tray cover 17 is attached to the image forming apparatus main body 1.
It is attached to the rear side plate 19 so as to be rotatable and movable in the axial direction. The bearing 21 of the manual feed tray 3 is also attached to the support shaft 20 so as to be rotatable and axially movable.

The front side portions 36 and 37 of the manual feed tray 3 and the tray cover 17 are rotatably and axially movable with respect to a support shaft 40 fixed to a front side plate 39 of the image forming apparatus main body 1.

The rear plate 19 of the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a cam member 41 for moving the manual feed tray 3 rotating upward about the support shaft 20 toward the front plate 39.

A biasing spring 42 for pressing the manual feed tray 3 toward the rear side plate 19 is attached to the front side plate 39.

The relay cam member 25 with respect to the bracket 13
The support shaft 23 for attaching the is fixed to the bracket 13 so as not to move in the axial direction. The relay cam member 25 is urged by the urging spring 43 and attached to a predetermined position of the support shaft 23.

In the case of the image forming apparatus constructed as described above, when the tray cover 17 is rotated upward about the support shafts 20 and 40 and opened, the cam member 22 is engaged with the one end 25A of the relay cam member 25. Since the relay cam member 25 is rotated clockwise, the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6 can be separated from each other as in the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment.

When the manual feed tray 3 is folded upward by rotating it around the support shafts 20 and 40, the manual feed tray 3 is pressed by the cam surface 41A of the cam member 41 and resists the biasing spring 42 to support the support shaft 20. , 40, and gradually moves toward the front side plate 39. As a result, the bearing 21 of the manual feed tray 3 presses the cam member 22 of the tray cover 17 that is folded together with the manual feed tray 3, so that the tray cover 17 moves in the arrow direction.

Therefore, when the manual feed tray 3 is folded, the axial position of the cam member 22 of the tray cover 17 changes, so that it does not engage with the one end 25A of the relay cam member 25. Therefore, the upper roller 6A and the lower roller 6B of the registration roller pair 6 are not separated.

[0055]

As described above, the image forming apparatus of the present invention separates the upper roller and the lower roller of the registration roller pair by the separation mechanism that is interlocked with the operation of opening the tray cover provided on the manual feed tray. Even if the user is not used to handling the image forming apparatus, the upper roller and the lower roller of the registration roller pair can be detached without breaking the sheet material jammed at the nip portion of the registration roller pair with a small force. Can be removed.

Further, in the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the unused manual feed tray is folded, the operation of the tray cover that is folded together with the manual feed tray prevents the upper roller and the lower roller of the registration roller pair from opening. Therefore, the pair of registration rollers can perform the skew correction and the conveyance of the sheet material fed from the sheet feeding means other than the manual feed tray without any trouble.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of a main part of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view showing a state in which a sheet material is manually fed from a manual feed tray of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a relay cam member portion provided in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the manual feed tray of the image forming apparatus is folded.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an essential part of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the main part of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of essential parts of the image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Image forming apparatus main body 3 Manual feed tray 6 Registration roller pair 6A Upper roller 6B Lower roller 17 Tray cover 20 Spindle 28 Opening mechanism S Sheet material

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An upper roller and a lower roller of a pair of registration rollers installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus can be brought into contact with and separated from each other, and the upper roller and the lower roller of this pair of registration rollers can be separated to feed from a manual feed tray. An image forming apparatus capable of easily removing the sheet material that has been jammed at the nip portion of the pair of registration rollers from the image forming apparatus main body to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body. A tray cover
An image forming apparatus in which an opening mechanism for opening the upper roller and the lower roller of the registration roller pair is interlocked with the operation of opening the tray cover. 2. When the manual feed tray is attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus so as to be foldable around a support shaft at a base end, when the tray cover is folded integrally with the manual feed tray, the opening is performed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the separating mechanism is not interlocked with the operation of the tray cover.