JPH06115738A - Paper feeder and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To achieve miniaturization and space saving so as to realize cost reduction by providing a constitution such that a plurality of sheet receiving means are integrally rotated to be driven selectively in a horizontal direction relating to a single paper feed means to take out a sheet of required size. CONSTITUTION:In a copying machine main unit having a base part 18 provided with casters 19, a fixed paper feed part is provided in a bottom part in the main unit having a picture forming part in the upward, and a drawable tandem rotary paper feed part is provided along a slide rail 24 relating to the main unit. This rotary paper feed part has a rotary tray 23 horizontally rotated by a drive part 26, the first/second sheet receiving parts 28a, 28b are set to the rotary tray 23, and a sheet size is detected by size detecting parts 131a, 131b. A paper feed unit 27 is provided, to place its paper feed roller 29 in a refuge position at the time of drawing out the rotary paper feed part, and when set again the rotary paper feed part, the paper feed roller 29 is brought into pressure contact with a separating part and placed in a paper feedable condition.

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, facsimile or printer, and a paper feeding apparatus used for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, there has been a strong demand for downsizing of office automation equipment due to a substantial reduction in office space due to an increase in office automation equipment or a reduction in office space itself due to an increase in rent. Conventionally, various types of sheet feeding devices for image forming apparatuses have been proposed, but as a part of miniaturization, conventionally, sheet feeding units that are stacked in multiple stages in the vertical direction are arranged in series in the horizontal direction. Therefore, it has been proposed to reduce the size of the device body as much as possible.

The following are typical examples. (1) Two sheet accommodating portions are arranged in series in the sheet feeding direction, and two sheet feeding means for separating and feeding a sheet from each sheet accommodating portion are provided corresponding to each sheet accommodating portion, and selected. A method of feeding a sheet from each sheet storage unit using individual sheet feeding means. (2) Two sheet accommodating units are arranged in series in the sheet feeding direction, and one sheet feeding unit having a swing switching mechanism for selectively separating and feeding sheets from the respective sheet accommodating units is provided. A method in which the sheet feeding unit is swung to the selected sheet storage unit side and switched to feed the sheet. (3) A moving unit that arranges two sheet accommodating portions in series in the sheet feeding direction and moves the sheet from the sheet accommodating portion on the upstream side of the sheet feeding direction to the sheet accommodating portion on the downstream side of the sheet feeding direction, A sheet feeding means for separating and feeding the sheet from the sheet accommodation section on the downstream side is provided, and when the sheets in the sheet accommodation section on the downstream side are exhausted, the sheet accommodation section on the upstream side from the sheet accommodation section on the downstream side is provided. A method in which a sheet is moved to the sheet storage portion and the sheet is replenished from the outside to the upstream sheet storage portion.

[0004]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, (1)
In the sheet feeding method, since a plurality of sheet feeding means are still provided corresponding to each sheet accommodating section,
The cost is as high as that of the conventional one, and the installation space is especially required for the above-mentioned sheet feeding means provided in the sheet storage portion on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction. Further, in order to feed the sheet from the upstream side sheet storing section through the upper side of the downstream side sheet storing section as well, a dedicated sheet conveying path is eventually required, which increases the risk of jamming, and therefore Cost and space also increase.

Further, in the feeding method of (2), usually, the sheet feeding means for separating and feeding the sheets has severely stipulated installation conditions for the sheets in order to ensure a predetermined separating performance. Swing-switching the sheet feeding means having such a property is not preferable because it may impair the separation performance. Even if switching is performed, a large-scale and costly switching mechanism is required so as not to impair the predetermined separation performance. Further, since the paper feeding means itself has a certain size and is not light in weight, the switching mechanism needs to be large in consideration of torque.

Further, in the paper feeding method of (3), it is a necessary precondition that the serial paper feeding mechanism has sheets of the same size, and there is a drawback that different sizes cannot be accommodated. In addition, when moving the sheet from the above-mentioned sheet storage portion on the upstream side in the sheet feeding direction to the sheet storage portion on the downstream side, special consideration should be given to the moving means so as not to cause wrinkles or skew in the sheet. Therefore, the cost and the installation space may be increased accordingly.

Here, when the selection of the sheet accommodating section in each of the above-mentioned conventional serial sheet feeding systems is replaced with a method of horizontally rotating a plurality of sheet accommodating sections, reliability and operability are deteriorated as compared with the conventional method. There is a concern that it will happen. In other words, during the rotation operation, if the sheet storage unit is not set to the predetermined position with respect to the fixed paper feeding means, the paper feeding operation becomes unstable, and when the sheets are exhausted during the paper feeding operation, the appropriate recovery is performed. If this is not done, operability and productivity will decrease. Therefore, it is necessary to perform reliable rotation control and fine rotation control according to the situation.

The present invention has been made in view of such a background, and by horizontally rotating a plurality of sheet accommodating means, a small size and space saving are realized and a special sheet conveying path is unnecessary. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet feeding device capable of reducing costs, and to provide an image forming apparatus incorporating the sheet feeding device to improve productivity and smooth image forming operation. .

[0009]

The above object is to provide a plurality of sheet accommodating means arranged in the same horizontal plane and a sheet fixing means which is fixed at a predetermined position and separates and feeds sheets one by one from the sheet accommodating means. One sheet feeding means, a selecting means for selecting one sheet storing means fed by the sheet feeding means from the plurality of sheet storing means, and the plurality of sheet storing means are integrally rotated in the horizontal direction. Rotation moving means for moving, and control means for positioning the sheet containing means selected by the selecting means from the plurality of sheet containing means at a predetermined paper feeding position corresponding to the paper feeding means by the rotary moving means. Is achieved by the first means.

The above-mentioned object is, in the first means, a first sheet accommodating means arranged in the same horizontal plane, a second sheet accommodating means arranged in the same horizontal plane, and the first and second sheets. Sheet presence / absence detecting means for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet accommodated in the sheet accommodating means, and a sheet in the first sheet accommodating means by the sheet presence / absence detecting means during the sheet feeding operation from the first sheet accommodating means. When the absence is detected and the absence of the sheet in the second sheet accommodating means is detected, it is achieved by the second means including a control means for controlling the rotation moving means to a predetermined state.

Further, the above object is to provide a plurality of sheet accommodating means arranged in the same horizontal plane and a sheet feeding means which is fixed at a predetermined position and separates and feeds the sheets one by one from the sheet accommodating means. A first sheet feeding device having a rotation moving means for integrally rotating and moving the sheet accommodating means in the horizontal direction with respect to the sheet feeding means, a sheet accommodating means and a sheet for separating and feeding the sheets one by one from the sheet accommodating means. In the image forming apparatus having a second sheet feeding device having a sheet feeding unit for performing sheet feeding, when no sheet is detected during the sheet feeding operation from one of the plurality of sheet accommodating units of the first sheet feeding unit, When a sheet of the same size as the lost sheet is stored in the sheet storage means of the second sheet feeding device, a sheet of the same size as the lost sheet is stored in the other sheet storage means of the first sheet feeding device. Even if housed Said sheet accommodating means of the second sheet feeding unit selected preferentially is achieved by the third means having a control means for continuing the image forming operation.

[0012]

In the first means, the plurality of sheet accommodating means arranged in the same horizontal plane are integrally rotated in the horizontal direction with respect to one sheet feeding means, and at this time, the rotation control means is used. The selected sheet accommodating means is accurately and quickly positioned at a predetermined sheet feeding position corresponding to the sheet feeding means.

In the second means, when the sheets run out in the first means in the first means, the rotation control is performed according to the status of other sheet storing means (presence / absence of sheets, sheet size, etc.). The means appropriately controls the rotation operation of the sheet storage means.

In the third means, when no sheet is detected during the sheet feeding operation from one of the plurality of sheet accommodating means of the first sheet feeding device, the sheet accommodating means of the second sheet feeding device loses the sheet. In the case where a sheet of the same size as the uncut sheet is accommodated, even if the same size sheet as the lost sheet is accommodated in another sheet accommodating means in the first sheet feeding device, the second sheet feeding device The sheet storing means is preferentially selected and the image forming operation is continued.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, an apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. (1) Overall Outline The outline of the entire device will be described with reference to FIG. The apparatus is mainly composed of a document reading unit 1, a rotary discharge tray unit 2, an image forming unit 3, a fixed paper feeding unit 4, and a tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5. The original set on the original table 6 is read by the original reading unit 1 and converted into a digital signal. Based on the signal, the image writing unit 7 irradiates the photoconductor 8 of the image forming unit 3 with laser light. The photoconductor 8 starts to rotate when a copy start signal is input, is charged to a uniform potential by the charging charger 9, becomes a latent image by the image writing unit 7, and is visualized by the developing device 10. On the other hand, sheet 12
Is conveyed to the registration roller 15 by the paper feeding units 4 and 5, and is fed to the transfer unit at a predetermined timing. Then, the toner is transferred onto the sheet 12 by the transfer charger 11, and then the photosensitive member 8 is cleaned by the cleaning device 13 and uniformly discharged by the discharging lamp 14 to form one cycle. The sheet 12 is fixed by the fixing device 16 via the transfer device 20 after transfer, and is discharged to the rotary discharge tray unit 2. Further, this device has a double-split structure.
That is, this apparatus has a base unit 18 to which a caster 17 is added, a document reading unit 1, a rotary paper ejection tray unit 2, an image forming unit 3, a fixed paper feeding unit 4, and a tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5. It is composed of a machine body 19. With this configuration, the base portion 18 and the machine body portion 19 can rotate independently. In addition, as described above, the base portion 18
Since the machine body 19 can be independently rotated, the device has a cylindrical shape. Of the paper feed unit 21 including the fixed paper feed unit 4 and the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5, the fixed paper feed unit 4 has a normal paper feed tray 22, and the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 has a rotary tray 23. ing. Two
4 is a slide rail for sliding each tray,
Reference numeral 25 is a drive unit, 26 is a sheet end detection sensor, 27 is a paper feed unit, 29 is a paper feed roller, and 30 is a paper discharge tray.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the image forming apparatus, and FIG.
It is a side view. As mentioned above, the device adopts a cylindrical shape. This is because the base portion 18 and the machine body portion 19 can rotate independently of each other by having the double-split structure as described above. This is also because a rotary paper feed mechanism and a rotary paper discharge mechanism are used, as will be described later. Further, as shown in the figure, a human body detection switch 31 is attached around the device. The human body detection switch 31 is used for the rotation stop position control of the device body rotation control. The front of the apparatus main body is directed toward the human body detection switch 31 pushed by the operator, so that the front of the apparatus main body is correctly oriented in the direction of the operator. 4 to 7 are front views showing the respective states of the front cover. As shown in FIG. 4, when the front cover 40 is closed, the front cover 40 is flush with the outer peripheral surface of the exterior cover 41. Next, when the front cover 40 is pulled out, the front cover 40 projects from the exterior cover 41 (FIG. 5). Further, the front cover 40 slides along the outer peripheral surface of the exterior (FIG. 6), and after the front cover 40, the opening 42 for removing the jam of the user and maintenance for the service person is obtained. (Fig. 7). Since the device has a cylindrical shape, the front cover opening can be configured as a cover slide structure in which the front cover opening is opened along the outer peripheral surface of the outer cover 41 as the outer cover opening / closing structure as described above. . As a result, this method is more advantageous than the conventional double-door type front cover opening / closing mechanism used in the box-type copying machine for space saving, which has recently been in high demand.

8 and 9 are schematic views of the main body rotating mechanism. As described above, the present apparatus has a double-split structure and has a base 17 to which a caster 17 is added, a document reading unit 1, a rotary paper ejection tray unit 2, an image forming unit 3, a fixed paper feeding unit 4, It is composed of a machine body 19 having a tandem rotary paper feeder 5. With this configuration, the base portion 18 and the machine body portion 19 can rotate independently. A roller 50 is attached to the machine body 19 and the base 1
A guide groove (not shown) of 8 is slid to rotate. The center of rotation is in the center of the machine,
Since the shape of the device is a cylinder, it is the center of the circle when viewed from above. Further, the drive motor 51, which is the drive source of the rotational movement,
Of the double split structure of the base portion 18 and the machine body portion 19, it is attached to the base portion 18. The drive transmission from the drive motor 51, which is the drive source of the rotational movement, is performed by the drive spur gear 52 attached to the shaft of the drive motor 51 and the driven spur gear 53 of the machine body 19 outside thereof. I'm running. The drive side spur gear 52 absorbs the eccentricity of the driven inner spur gear 53 by, for example, supporting the spur gear one side by a tightener method. Further, since the pitch circle diameter of the driven internal spur gear 53 can be made substantially equal to the outer diameter of the main body, it is possible to reduce the use of the reduction gear even if the main body rotation torque is large. Further, among the drive spur gear 52 and the driven inner spur gear 53 that form the drive transmission mechanism from the drive motor 51 that is the drive source of the rotational movement, the drive spur gear 52 is arranged inside. Then, the base portion 18 is replaced with the machine body portion 19
When the roller 50 is incorporated into the base portion 18, the roller 50 is completed by incorporating the roller 50 in the guide groove (not shown) so that the center of rotation of the machine body portion 19 is aligned.

Next, an outline of the rotary paper feeding mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS.
It will be described with reference to FIG. The sheet feeding units 4 and 5 capable of accommodating a single sheet group to a plurality of sheet groups 12 can be pulled out from the inside of the machine body 19 by the slide rails 24 on both sides to the outside of the machine body. The rotary tray 23 of the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 can be automatically rotated by 360 degrees about an arbitrary point of the rotary tray 23 by the drive unit 26, and a lock (not shown) in the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 is provided. Rotating tray 2 by turning off the solenoid
You can lock 3 and make it non-rotatable. Also,
The arbitrary rotation center axis of the rotary tray 23 is the machine body 1
9 is perpendicular to the installation surface of the machine body 19
The rotary tray 23 held horizontally with respect to the installation surface of
It is possible to control the rotation movement while maintaining the horizontal state. On the tandem rotary paper feeder 5, the rotation center of the rotary tray 23 is used as a fulcrum in order to prevent the sheets 12 from coming apart during the rotational movement of the rotary tray 23 and to prevent skew during sheet conveyance. A sheet end surface regulating fenestion (not shown) and an end fenestion (not shown) perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction are provided so as to be parallel to the radiation line. The number of sheets that can be stored on the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 is determined according to the maximum sheet size that can be stored. For example, the rotation center is used as a fulcrum, two sets face each other, and for small size paper (A5, B6, HLT, etc.), the rotation center is used as a fulcrum and three sets can be radially stored. Furthermore, if it is a very small size paper, it is possible to store 4 sets radially with the center of rotation as the fulcrum. Therefore, it is possible to store a plurality of sheet groups for small size paper in the space for one sheet, and one sheet size of 1 to 4 can be stored in one tray (see FIGS. 12 and 13). 28a, 28b,
28c is a 1st, 2nd, 3rd sheet storage part. However, depending on the user, where only medium-sized sheets are used and where small-sized sheets are mainly used, it is possible to store 1 to 4 sheet sizes in one tray. Since the cost is reduced by the sheet end face regulation fluence and becomes demerit, the rotary tray is classified into 1, 2 sets, 3 sets and 4 sets, and can be easily removed with screws, snap rings, etc. The tray can be easily attached and detached to accommodate different types. Next, the operation of replenishing the sheet 12 will be described.
The tandem rotary paper feeder 5 is pulled out from the machine body 19. Since the tandem rotary paper feeder 5 is not connected to the machine body 19 by the power cord, the lock solenoid (not shown) is turned off, and the rotary tray 23 is fixed by the lock lever (not shown). Next, after confirming that the sheet size can be stored in the rotary tray 23, the sheet 12 is replenished after adjusting the sheet end face regulation fence (not shown) to the sheet size to be replenished. At this time, the carousel 23
For two sets, A3, B4, A4, B5, DLT, R
1 size for vertical feed of G and LT sizes, A4, B5, A
5, B6, A6, LT, HLT lateral feed and A5, B6
Vertical feed of A6, HLT size will be 2 sizes. A5, B6, A6, H for 3 sets, same size and same direction
For LT horizontal feed and B6 and A6 vertical feed, 3 sizes are available.
If there is one horizontal feed of 4, 2 sets of A6 regardless of vertical and horizontal feed,
By combining B6 vertical feed with two sizes of A6 horizontal feed, B5 horizontal feed with B6 and A6 horizontal feeds and A6 vertical feed with two sizes, a single sheet to a plurality of sheets 12 can be mixed and stored. When the tandem rotary paper feeder 5 is set in the machine body 19, the size of the sheets stacked on the rotary tray 23 is detected by a size detector (not shown),
The sheet end detection sensor 26 detects whether or not the sheet 12 is stored in each of the sheet storage portions 28a, 28b, 28c. In addition, the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 is the machine main unit 19
The paper feed unit 27 and the paper feed roller 29 are kept in the rotational retreat state when they are out of the room. The sheet feeding operation will be described. One tandem rotary paper feeder 5 in the machine body 19 is paired with one paper feeding unit 27 (FIG. 1). When the sheet 12 desired by the user is on the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 but not on the paper feeding unit 27 side, the lock solenoid (not shown) of the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 is turned on to rotate the lock lever (not shown).
The carousel 23 is rotatable. The paper feed roller 29 of the paper feed unit 27 is released and retracted from the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5. The rotary tray 23 is rotationally moved by the drive unit 25, and the sheet 12 desired by the user is rotationally moved to the paper feeding unit 27 side and fixed. Then, the sheet feeding roller 29 of the sheet feeding unit 27 is again brought into pressure contact with the separating section (not shown) of the tandem rotary sheet feeding section 5 to be in the sheet feeding state.

Next, an outline of the rotary sheet discharging mechanism will be described.
FIG. 14 is a plan view of the rotary discharge tray unit, and FIG. 15 is a side view of the same. A paper discharge tray 30 in a rotary paper discharge tray unit 2 provided below the document reading unit 1 in the image forming apparatus.
Is completely housed inside the main body, so that in the side surface of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, there is no portion wider than the main body width. The paper ejection tray 30 is the first paper ejection tray 30.
It is divided into two parts, a first discharge tray 302 and a second discharge tray 302, and each tray can handle up to A4 size. In the case of supporting a sheet having a size larger than A4 size such as A3 size, the second paper ejection tray 302 far from the paper ejection port.
However, it is configured so that it can be raised to a substantially horizontal state by a second discharge tray supporting arm that moves up and down by a drive unit (not shown) (FIG. 15). At this time, the first paper ejection tray 301 is located on the paper ejection port 60 side. Also,
The first paper ejection tray support arm 303 and the second paper ejection tray support arm 304 that support the two trays 301 and 302 of the paper ejection tray 30 are attached to the shaft of a drive motor 306 that integrally rotates them. The second sheet ejection tray support arm 304 has a divided structure of a fixed portion attached to the motor shaft and a movable portion that performs the vertical movement because the second ejection tray support arm 304 performs the vertical movement according to the corresponding sheet size. further,
A rotation guide rail 3 is provided on the lower surface of the first paper ejection tray 301 to guide the operation of the paper ejection tray when the paper ejection tray unit rotates.
10 are provided in a circular shape. In addition, the guide rail 31
0, its mounting base, and the drive motor 306 are all attached to the drawer tray 61.
When 0 is not operating, the guide member provided on the lower surface thereof fits with the guide rails 315 and 316 and can be smoothly pulled out. When the normal copy operation is performed, the rotatable discharge tray 30 is ready to start the copy operation when the first discharge tray 301 is first on the discharge port 60 side. At the same time, this position is the home position of rotation. When the sheet size is A4 or smaller, the sheets discharged from the sheet discharge port 60 of the apparatus body are sequentially discharged to the first discharge tray 301 as they are. On the other hand, when the discharged sheet size is A4 size or more, when the discharge tray 30 is in the home position, the discharge port 60
The second discharge tray 302, which is rotatably movable in the vertical direction on the side farther from, rises to a substantially horizontal position by its support arm 304, and receives the discharged sheet. When the copy operation of the sheet of A4 size or more is completed, the second sheet ejection tray 30
When a sheet presence / absence detection sensor (not shown) provided on the sheet 2 detects that there is no sheet and the drawer tray 61 is in the set home position, the above-mentioned two solenoids (not shown) are turned off and the second sheet discharge is performed. Tray support arm 3
04 descends. The size of the discharged sheet is A
When the size is 4 or less, it is possible to sort up to 2 copies by rotating the discharge tray 30. 33
Reference numeral 9 is a light at plumb.

Next, an outline of the mechanism related to exhaust heat and ozone removal will be described. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a part around the photoconductor and the vicinity of the fixing portion, and FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a heat exhaust duct portion. In the image forming process of the electrophotographic apparatus, when the photoconductor 8 is charged, a voltage is applied to the charging charger 9 provided around the photoconductor 8 to generate corona discharge. At that time, ozone is generated in the vicinity of the charging charger 9. If the ozone generated here stays around the photoconductor 8 as it is, it will adhere to the photoconductor 8 and eventually alter the surface of the photoconductor, resulting in image blurring, image defects, blurring, etc.
The image quality will be degraded. Therefore, it is desired to remove ozone from the periphery of the photoconductor 8. In addition, the waste heat treatment generated from the fixing device 16 for fixing the toner transferred onto the sheet is also a problem. Fixing device 1
6 melts the toner on the sheet to perform the fixing work. At this time, since the heater is heated to about 170 to 190 degrees, a considerably high temperature hot air is generated around the fixing device 16. Therefore, it is necessary to exhaust heat to the outside. As shown in the figure, the ozone generated from the charging charger 9 is discharged to the common duct 70.
The heat is sucked by the Shirotsuko fan 71, further sucked by the exhaust heat fan 72, and guided to the common duct 70 by the regulating member together with the heat exhausted from the fixing device 16. Further, the sucked ozone and the exhaust heat are conveyed downward by using the regulating member, and the exhaust can be performed from the lower side of the device.

Next, an outline of the control mode related technology will be described. First, the main body rotation control will be described. The rotation stop position of the apparatus main body is such that the front of the apparatus main body is directed toward the human body detection switch 31 pushed by the operator. As a result, the front of the apparatus main body is correctly oriented in the direction of the operator, and the apparatus can be easily accessed from any direction of 360 degrees. Further, at that time, since the rotation direction is set to the direction in which the rotation distance is shortened, the rotation time can be shortened and the operability is further improved. The control to prevent the power cord from kinking when rotating the main unit is based on the current home position stored in the non-volatile RAM when the front of the main unit is rotated to face the operator. Depending on CP
When the number of rotations is a predetermined number or more by U, the rotation direction is set so that the twist of the power cord is returned,
This prevents disconnection of the power cord and improves reliability. Further, when the number of rotations is less than a predetermined number of times, the operability is improved by setting the direction in which the rotation distance is shortened and switching so as to shorten the rotation time. The control for prohibiting rotation when the main body rotates will be described.
When the operator makes a rotation request for the device body, the CPU determines whether the device body is ready or not ready. If it is not ready, the operator is allowed to work by prohibiting the device body from rotating. It prevents injuries caused by careless rotation when moving and improves safety.

Next, the rotary sheet feeding control will be described. The sheet selection and the control of the rotary sheet feeding unit at the sheet end in the rotary sheet feeding control will be described. If a sheet of the same size is in another sheet feed tray at the sheet end, that sheet feed tray is automatically selected and the copy operation is continued. Furthermore, when sheets of the same size are in multiple other paper feed trays, by automatically selecting the paper feed tray that does not require rotation,
To replenish the sheets, the copying operation is continued without interruption to improve productivity. Further, when sheets of the same size are not present in another sheet feeding stage, the rotary sheet feeding unit 5 is locked by the locking mechanism, and the sheet is rotated when the operator pulls it out, which hinders the sheet replenishing operation, or the sheet is rotated. It is possible to prevent the rotary paper feeding unit 5 from being displaced from the home position when it is returned, and further to rotate the rotary paper feeding unit 5 by 90 degrees so that the rotary paper feeding unit 5 faces toward the drawer side. The seats are more easily replenished because they face the operator when they are pulled out. In addition, the amount of withdrawal is small, which improves operability.

Next, the rotary sheet discharge control will be described. The safety control of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 when the tray is rotated in the rotary paper discharge control will be described. Prevents injury by prohibiting the rotation operation when foreign matter such as the operator's hand is inserted into the paper ejection port 60 when the rotation paper ejection unit 2 is rotationally controlled or is about to be rotationally controlled. To improve safety. The sorting control of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 when the tray is rotated in the rotary paper discharge control will be described. When the number of copies is two, the rotation paper ejection unit 2 is controlled to rotate and accommodated alternately in the two trays 30a and 30b of the rotation paper ejection unit 2, so that the sorting function of two copies is realized. The control after the completion of copying of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 when the tray is rotated in the rotary paper discharge control will be described. After the copying operation is completed, the rotation and discharge portion 2 is rotationally controlled so that the tray 30 of the rotation and discharge portion 2 from which the sheets have been discharged is directed toward the operator, so that the discharged sheets can be easily taken out. To improve operability. Paper discharge tray 3 of the rotary paper discharge unit 2 when changing the sheet size in the rotary paper discharge control
The control of 0 will be described. By adjusting the state of the sheet discharge tray 30 and the sheet size, it is possible to prevent the discharged sheets from falling apart and to easily take them out, thereby improving the operability.

Next, the characteristic part of the present invention will be described. First, the rotary paper feeding mechanism will be described in detail. 18 is a plan view showing an example of a rotary tray, FIG. 19 is a plan view showing another example of the rotary tray, FIG. 20 is a front view showing the relationship between the rotary tray and a retaining ring, FIG. 21 is the same plan view, FIG. 23 is a front view showing the relationship between the rotary tray and screws, FIG. 23 is a block diagram of the rotary tray in a locked state, FIG. 24 is a block diagram of the rotary tray in a non-locked state,
FIG. 25 is an explanatory view showing the size of the sheet, FIG. 26 is an explanatory view showing the size of the sheet storage portion, FIG. 27 is a block diagram of the lock solenoid off state, FIG.
FIG. 30 is a configuration diagram after the switch is turned on, FIG. 30 is a perspective view of the bottom plate lifting lever drive mechanism, and FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing a size that can be stored in the sheet storage portion. These figures and the above-mentioned FIG. 10 and FIG.
The explanation will be made based on No. 1 although it partially overlaps with the above. In the structure in which the rotary tray 23 capable of accommodating a single sheet group and a plurality of sheet groups can be pulled out from the machine body 19 to the outside,
The rotary tray 23 is automatically rotated by 360 degrees with respect to the paper feed unit 27 about an arbitrary point in the paper feed unit by the drive unit 25, and the lock solenoid 1 in the rotary tray 23 is moved.
When 20 is turned off, the force of the spring 121 acts to rotate the lock lever 122 to make the rotary tray 23 unrotatable with respect to the base 123 (FIGS. 10 and 1).
1, FIG. 23, FIG. 24). In FIGS. 18 and 19, 13
0a, 130b, and 130c are bottom plates having a rotation center on the rotation center side with respect to the outer shape side of the rotation tray 23, 131a,
Reference numerals 131b and 131c denote a size detection unit for notifying the control unit of the main body of the machine of the size of the stored sheets.
2a, 132b, 132c are separating units for feeding sheets to the image forming unit while separately feeding the sheets one by one, and 133 is a rotary tray H.H. P is shown respectively. The number of sheets that can be stored in the rotary tray 23 is determined according to the maximum sheet size that can be stored. Currently, most commercially available machines have A3 size (420 x
297), double letter size (431.
8 × 279.4). This is also the carousel 23
The size is the maximum size that can be passed. The diagonal length when these two size sheet centers are combined is 524.1 mm, and when the tandem two end fence widths are taken into consideration, the diameter of the rotary tray 23 is around 540 mm.
This rotating tray 23 with a diameter of 540 mm has a large size (A
3, DLT, B4, RG, etc., 1 set, medium size (A
4, LT, B5, etc.) can be stored in two sets facing each other with the center of rotation as the fulcrum, and for small sizes (A5, B6, HLT, etc.), three sets can be stored radially with the center of rotation as the fulcrum. Furthermore, if the size is extremely small, it is possible to store four pairs radially with the center of rotation as the fulcrum. Therefore, if the size is small, a plurality of sheet groups can be stored in the space for one step. However, some users only use medium-sized sheets,
If you can store 1 to 4 sheet sizes in one tray in different places such as mainly using small size sheets, it will be demerit because of the cost up to the paper feed separation part and sheet end face regulation fence, which is a rotating tray. Are classified into 1, 2 sets, 3 sets, and 4 sets, and the joint portion of the base 123 and the rotary tray 23 is connected with the minimum parts (for example, the screw 124 or the snap ring 125) so that it can be easily removed. Then, the tray is simply attachable / detachable so as to correspond to the type according to the user's request (FIG. 21, FIG. 22, FIG. 25, FIG. 26). The carousel H. of the carousel 23. P1
The reference numeral 33 has the same phase as an arbitrary one storage portion regardless of the number of sheets that can be stored (FIGS. 18 and 19). The width of the machine body 19 that also has a paper feed unit that can be pulled out is
Since the main body skeleton and structural members have to be laid out outside the drawer, the size of the apparatus main body depends on the size of the drawer. However, as the number of general users who use the machine main body 19 expands, even a machine main body (image forming apparatus) having high-performance functions should be accepted by general consumers unless the main body installation effective area is kept as small as possible. It is difficult to prevent this, and in particular, the diameter of the rotary tray 23 has to be set larger than the diagonal length of the maximum storable sheet, so that the width of the machine body 19 tends to be increased. Further, when a trouble occurs in the machine body, the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 can be pulled out from the paper feeding unit 21 regardless of the orientation of the rotary tray 23, so that the sheets 12 left in the transport path can be removed. After troubles such as paper removal work, tandem rotary paper feeder 5
In order to prevent secondary troubles such as damage of parts due to forcibly pulling out, the width of the base 123 of the rotary tray 23 should be equal to or larger than the diameter of the cylindrical rotary tray 23. Is minimized (FIGS. 10 and 11). Reference numeral 152 is a protrusion of the lock lever 142, and 153 is a contact position.

Next, the paper feeding unit will be described. The feeding unit 27 of the rotary tray 23 is attached so that an arm 140 for holding the feeding roller 29 is arranged around the shaft center of the drive transmission shaft arranged upstream of the conveying direction as a fulcrum and is rotatable. Further, a solenoid 141 arranged further upstream in the conveying direction, a lock lever 142 arranged between them, a joint 143 for connecting the arm 140, the solenoid 141 and the lock lever 142, and a spring 144 for pulling the joint 143 from the paper feed roller side.
And the bottom plate lifting shaft 14 arranged at the bottom of the paper feeding unit 27.
The bottom plate raising lever 146 attached to the No. 5 and the charge portion 150 for applying the feed pressure to the spring 149 via the lever (A) 148 by the rotation of the bottom plate raising motor 147, and the feed pressure made by the charge portion 150, Bottom plate raising shaft 145
Lever (B) 1 which is transmitted to the bottom plate raising lever 146 via
51 (FIGS. 27 to 30). Solenoid 141
When the power is off, the force of the spring 144 causes the joint 14
3 moves toward the spring 144 side. The Joint 143
The lock lever 142 and the arm 140 which are connected to each other rotate toward the spring 144 side with the center of rotation as a fulcrum, the paper feed roller 29 is in a downward state, and the plunger of the solenoid 141 which is connected to the joint 143 is also the spring 14.
Move to side 4. At this time, in order to fix the position of the paper feed roller 29, the protrusion 152 of the lock lever 142 is attached to the arm 1
It contacts the solenoid side surface of 40. The arm 14 is arranged so that the paper feed roller 29 at the tip of the arm 140 rotates upward so that the lock lever 142 does not come off even when pressure is applied.
By arranging the fulcrum of the lock lever 142 farther than the distance between the fulcrum of 0 and the contact position 153, the rock lever 142 bites in when pressure is applied. When the solenoid 141 is on,
First, the joint 143 starts moving toward the solenoid 141. Then, the arm 140 connected with play does not move, and the lock lever 142 connected without play starts to rotate in conjunction with the joint 143. As a result, the protrusion 152 that was in contact with the arm 140 is retracted. Further, the joint 143 continues to move to the solenoid 141 side, and the arm 140 also loses the play with the joint 143 and starts rotating. At this time, since the lock lever 142 is detached first, there is nothing that hinders the rotation of the arm 140, and the arm 140 can freely rotate. The Joint 14
When the sheet 3 has moved to the solenoid 141 side, the sheet feeding roller 29 is completely retracted from the rotary tray 23 (see FIG. 2).
7, FIG. 28, FIG. 29). The bottom plate lifting lever 146 can be rotated and retracted by using the bottom plate lifting shaft 145 as a fulcrum to a position where it does not interfere with the taking in and out of the rotary tray 23.

Next, the operation of the tandem rotary paper feed tray and the paper feed unit will be described. [Sheet Replenishment] When replenishing the sheet 12, the rotary tray 23 is pulled out from the machine body 19. Carousel 23
Since the machine main body 19 is not connected to the power cord, the lock solenoid 120 is turned off, and the rotary tray 23 and the base 123 are fixed by the lock lever 122. After confirming whether or not the sheet size can be stored in the rotary tray 23, the sheet 12 is replenished after the sheet end face regulating defence is adjusted to the replenished sheet size. At this time,
If the carousel 23 is for 1 or 2 sets, A3, B4, A4, B
5, 1 size for vertical feed of DLT, RG, LT size,
A4, B5, A5, B6, A6, LT, HLT horizontal feed and A5, B6, A6, HLT size vertical feed for 2 sizes, 3 sets for the same size and same direction A5, B6, A
6 sizes for HLT horizontal feed and B6, A6 vertical feed, 2 sets for A4 horizontal feed regardless of vertical or horizontal feed, 2 sets for A5 horizontal feed, 2 sizes for A6 horizontal feed, B5 horizontal feed If B6, A6 horizontal feed and A6 vertical feed are combined in two sizes, a single sheet to multiple sheets 12
Can be mixed and stored in one rotary tray 23 (see FIG. 3).
1). After the sheets 12 are stored in the rotary tray 23, the size detection unit 131 is attached to a predetermined place. When the rotary tray 23 is set in the machine body 19, the size of the sheet group stacked on the rotary tray 23 is detected by the size detector 1.
The sheet storage units 28a, 28b, 28c detected by 31
Whether the seat 12 is stored in the machine main unit 19
It is detected by the seat end detection sensor 26 attached to and the signal is sent to the machine body control section. When the carousel 23 is out of the machine body 19, the paper feeding unit 2
The solenoid 141 of No. 7 is turned on, and the paper feed roller 29 is kept in the rotational retracted state (FIGS. 27 to 29). [Sheet feeding] In the machine body 19, one rotary tray 23 is paired with one sheet feeding unit 27 (Fig. 11). When the sheet 12 desired by the user is on the rotary tray 23 but not on the sheet feeding unit 27 side, the lock solenoid 120 of the rotary tray 23 is turned on and the lock lever 122 is rotated via the joint 126 to rotate the rotary tray 23. To be rotatable. The solenoid 141 of the paper feeding unit 27 and the charge portion 150 of the bottom plate rising portion are released to retract from the rotary tray 23. Carousel 2
3 is rotationally moved by the drive unit 25, and the sheet 12 desired by the user is rotationally moved to the paper feeding unit 27 side and fixed. Then, the solenoid 141 of the paper feeding unit 27 is turned off again, and the paper feeding roller 29 is moved to the separating unit 13 of the rotary tray 23.
2 is pressed and fixed by the lock lever 142, and the charging portion 150 of the bottom plate rising portion creates a sheet feeding pressure.
When the bottom plate raising lever 141 is rotated via 45 to bring the sheet 12 into pressure contact with the sheet feeding roller 29 within a predetermined range, the sheet is brought into a sheet feeding state (FIG. 30).

Next, the sheet selection and the control of the tandem rotary sheet feeder 5 at the sheet end will be described. Figure 3
Reference numeral 2 is a flow chart showing the flow of control of the tandem rotary paper feeding section 5 and the selection of the sheet at the sheet end. S
It is assumed that the copy operation is started in 40 steps. In step S41, the CPU determines from the detection result of the sheet end detection sensor 26 whether or not a sheet end has occurred during the copying operation. If it is determined that the sheet end has not occurred, the copying operation is ended. However, if it is determined that the sheet end has occurred, the size detection unit 131 detects whether or not there is a sheet of the same size as the size of the sheet currently used in S42 step. Then
If the CPU determines that there is a sheet of the same size in another sheet feeding device, the sheet selection control routine shown in FIG. 33 is performed in step S43. In the sheet selection control routine, in step S43-0, the CPU first determines whether there are a plurality of sheets of the same size. If it is determined that there is only one sheet of the same size,
In step S43-1, there is no other choice in this case, so the stage containing the sheets of the same size is automatically selected and the copy operation is continued. At that time, if necessary, the CPU controls the paper feed rotation control unit to rotate the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5. If it is determined in step S43-0 that there are a plurality of stages accommodating sheets of the same size, the sheets in the fixed paper feed unit 4 are automatically prioritized over the sheets in the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5. Select and continue the copy operation. When a sheet end occurs in this way, by automatically selecting the paper feed stage that accommodates sheets of the same size, the interruption of the copy operation due to the sheet replenishment operation is eliminated, and more than one sheet of the same size is used. When the sheets are accommodated in the tray, the sheets in the fixed paper feed unit 4 are preferentially selected, thereby eliminating the trouble of rotating the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 to select the paper feed stage and improving the productivity. Then S
If it is determined in step 42 that the sheets of the same size are not in the other sheet feeding portion, the sheet replenishment control routine shown in FIG. 34 is executed in step S43. In the sheet replenishment control routine, in step S43-10, the CPU first controls the paper feed roller drive unit and the bottom plate lift lever drive unit to release the paper feed roller 29 and the bottom plate lift lever 146 to the non-paper feed state. Then, in step S43-11, the CPU
Controls the paper feed lock control unit to lock the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 to rotate when the operator pulls it out, which hinders the replenishment operation. It prevents you from slipping out of your home position when you put it back inside. And S43-
After the sheet is replenished by the operator in 12 steps, the CPU controls the paper feed lock control unit in step S43-13 to release the lock. In step S43-14, the CPU feeds the paper feed roller drive unit and the bottom plate raising lever. The drive unit is controlled to set the paper feed roller 29 and the bottom plate lift lever 146 to the paper feed state to prepare for the copy operation.

An embodiment of another sheet replenishment control routine shown in FIG. 35 will be described. In step S43-20, the CPU controls the paper feed roller drive unit and the bottom plate lift lever drive unit to release the paper feed roller 29 and the bottom plate lift lever 146 to the non-paper feed state. Then S43-
By controlling the paper feed rotation control unit by the CPU in 21 steps, the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is rotated 90 degrees, and the paper feed stage with the sheet ended is directed toward the paper feed unit outlet side. By doing so, when the rotary sheet feeding unit 5 is pulled out, the sheet feeding stage having the sheet end faces the operator, so that it is easier to replenish the sheet, and the amount of pulling out is small, and the operability is improved. S43-
In 22 steps, the CPU controls the paper feed lock control unit to lock the rotary paper feed unit 5 to prevent the rotation of the rotary paper feed unit 5 when the operator pulls it out, which hinders the sheet supply operation. Then, in step S43-24, the CPU controls the paper feed lock control unit to release the lock, and in step S43-25, the CPU controls the paper feed rotation control unit to set the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 to the previous state. On the contrary, it is rotated 90 degrees and set at the paper feeding position. Further, in step S43-26, the CPU controls the paper feed roller drive unit and the bottom plate lift lever drive unit,
The paper feed roller 29 and the bottom plate lifting lever 142 are set to the paper feed state to prepare for the copy operation. Then, the copy operation is restarted in step S44, the CPU determines in step S45 whether or not the copy operation is completed, and if it is not completed, the process returns to step S42 to check whether a sheet end has occurred or not. When the copy operation is finished, the control is finished. In this way
When a sheet of the same size is in another sheet feeding device at the end of the sheet, the sheet feeding tray is automatically selected to continue the copy operation, and when the same size of sheet is placed in multiple sheet feeding trays. Automatically selects a paper feed stage that does not need to perform a rotation operation, thereby continuing the copy operation for sheet supply without interruption and improving the productivity. Further, when sheets of the same size are not present in other sheet feeding stages, the tandem rotary sheet feeding section 5 is locked by the sheet feeding lock control section and is rotated when the operator pulls it out, which disturbs the sheet replenishing operation. The operability is improved by preventing the slippage and the deviation from the home position when the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 is returned. Furthermore, by rotating the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 by 90 degrees and orienting the paper feed stage that has been sheet-ended in advance toward the drawer opening side, the paper feed that is sheet-ended when the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 is pulled out Since the step faces the operator, it becomes easier to replenish the sheet and the operability is further improved because the amount of pulling out the sheet is small.

Next, regarding the selection of sheets at the time of sheet end and the control of the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5, a case where three or more types of sheets can be placed on the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 will be described. FIG. 36 is a flow chart showing a flow of control of the tandem rotary sheet feeding section 5 and the selection of the sheet at the sheet end. It is assumed that the copy operation is started in step S50. Then, in the S51 step, during the copying operation,
When the CPU determines from the detection result of the sheet end detection sensor 26 that the sheet end has not occurred, the copy operation is continued as it is until the end of copying, but when it is determined that the sheet end has occurred, the process proceeds to step S52. The size detecting unit 131 detects in which sheet feeding unit a sheet having the same size as the currently used sheet is located. Then, in step S53, the CPU determines whether sheets of the same size are stored in the fixed sheet feeding unit 4, and when it is determined that the sheets are stored, the sheets stored in the fixed sheet feeding unit 4 are used as they are. When the copying is restarted and it is determined that the sheets are not stored in the fixed sheet feeding unit 4, the process proceeds to step S54, and the CPU determines whether the tandem rotation sheet feeding unit 5 stores sheets of the same size. When it is determined that they are not stored, there is no sheet of the same size, so the seat end is displayed,
Encourage replenishment of sheets of the same size. If it is determined that the device is stored, the process proceeds to step S55, where the CPU sets the rotation direction to the direction in which the rotation distance is smaller. This means that when three or more types of sheets are set in the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5, depending on the rotation direction, for example, in the case of three types, clockwise and counterclockwise 120 and 240 degrees, for example. Since the rotation distance changes, it is possible to shorten the rotation time and increase productivity by setting the rotation distance to the shorter one. Then, in step S56, the tandem rotary paper feeder 5 is automatically rotated in the rotation direction set in step S53 to set the sheet, and in step S57, the copying operation is restarted. In step S58, the CPU determines whether or not the copy operation is completed. If the copy is not completed, the process returns to step S51 to determine whether or not a sheet end has occurred, and when the copy is completed, control is performed. To finish. In this way, when a sheet end occurs when three or more types of sheets can be placed on the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5, the rotation direction of the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 is set to a direction with a short rotation distance, and the automatic rotation is performed. By rotating the sheet to the set position and continuing the copy operation, you can save the trouble of replenishing the sheet and improve the operability.At that time, you can shorten the rotation time by setting the rotation direction to the direction with a short rotation distance. Improve productivity.

The control modes of the image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described below. First, the overall block of control will be described. FIG. 38 shows an overall block diagram of the control relationship. Reference numeral 600 denotes a control unit (controller) which stores fixed data such as program data for operating a central processing unit (hereinafter abbreviated as CPU) 601, a timer 602, and a CPU 601 which constitute a microcomputer controlling the main body of the image forming apparatus. The ROM 603 to be stored, the set flags of various modes, the number of sets, the magnification, and temporary data indicating which human body detection switch 31 the front of the machine body 19 corresponds to are temporarily stored, and the data disappears when the power is turned off. Volatile RAM 604, process setting data, number of jams, number of serviceman calls,
Non-volatile RAM 605 that stores data such as the number of sheets passed and how many times and in which direction the machine body 19 rotates with respect to the home position, and the data is not lost even when the power is turned off. Operation unit 61 for obtaining various displays on the screen and various input information from the operator
0, a copying process unit 620 that controls the image forming unit 3 that performs image formation such as charging and development, a paper feed control unit 630 that controls the rotation and paper feed operations of the fixed paper feed unit 4 and the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5. , A paper ejection control unit 6 for controlling rotation of the paper ejection unit 2
40, a main body rotation control unit 650 that controls the rotation of the machine main body unit 19, various sensor groups 660 that detect information necessary for control such as presence / absence of a sheet, size and home position of various moving units, a CPU 601, and an operation unit 610. , A copy process unit 620, a paper feed control unit 630, a paper discharge control unit 640, a main body rotation control unit 650, and an I / O 606 that controls the interface with various sensor groups 660.
The copy sequence is comprehensively controlled based on the control program stored in 3. The operation unit 610 includes a CRT display for displaying various messages to the operator, a display unit 611 such as an LCD, and a key input unit 612 for detecting various input information (print key, mode set key, etc.) from the operator. Further, the paper feed control unit 63
0 is a paper feed rotation control unit 631 that controls the drive unit 25 for rotating the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5, the paper feed device 4, and the paper feed device 4.
5, a sheet feeding / conveying drive unit 632 for driving each roller and a sheet feeding / conveyance driving motor for separation and conveyance, and a solenoid 141 for moving up and down the sheet feeding roller 29 to switch between a sheet feeding state and a non-sheet feeding state. Paper feed roller drive unit 633, a bottom plate lift lever drive unit 634 for controlling the bottom plate lift motor 147 for moving the bottom plate lift lever 146 up and down to switch between a paper feed state and a non-paper feed state, and a tandem rotation feed. It is configured by a paper feed lock control unit 635 that controls a lock solenoid 120 for switching prohibition / release of the rotation operation of the paper unit 5.

The paper discharge control unit 640 also drives the drive motor 306 for rotating the paper discharge tray 30 in the rotary paper discharge unit 2.
And a discharge rotation control unit 641 for controlling the discharge tray 30 and a drive for switching the discharge tray 30 for large size / small size and for switching the partition plate 305 for stopping discharged sheets to large size / small size. The tray switching drive unit 642 that controls the unit 318, and the lamp control unit 644 that controls the on / off of the lamp 339 provided in the rotary paper discharge unit 2. Further, the various sensor groups 660 include a sheet end detection sensor 26 that detects the presence / absence of a sheet at that stage during sheet feeding, and a size detection unit 13 that detects the size of the sheet.
1, a home position detection sensor 99 for detecting the home position of each rotation of the machine body 19, the rotary paper discharge unit 2, and the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5, a rotary home position detection sensor 320, a rotary tray H.H. P detection sensor 161,
Human body detection switch 3 for detecting the position of the operator with respect to the device when the operator touches
1. Obstacle detection sensor 333 that detects whether the operator's hand or the like is inside the rotary paper discharge unit 2 and the rotary paper discharge unit 2
A sheet presence / absence detection sensor 331 or the like for detecting whether or not there are remaining sheets discharged inside the sheet. Then, in the actual control, the I / O 6
The state of the device detected by the various sensor groups 660 or the operation mode input by the operator from the key input unit 612 of the operation unit 610 is transmitted via 06. Then, based on the program stored in the ROM 603 accordingly, information about the apparatus is displayed to the operator on the display unit 611 of the operation unit 610 from the CPU 601 through the I / O 606, and the copy process unit 620 is displayed.
To set the charging condition and the developing condition, to control the paper feed control unit 630 to feed the sheet, and to control the paper discharge control unit 640 to switch the tray between the large size and the small size. Alternatively, the main body rotation control unit 650 is controlled to rotate the machine main body unit 19, and so on. Furthermore, in the above apparatus, a series of determination operations of the CPU 601 may be stored in the ROM 603 or the non-volatile RAM 605 in advance. This also applies to each control operation described later.

Next, the initialization control when the power is turned on will be described. FIG. 39 shows a flow chart showing the flow of initialization control when the power is turned on. It is assumed that the power of the apparatus is turned on in step S120. In step S121, first, the process proceeds to the rotational operation check flow of the machine body 19 shown in FIG. In step S121-0, the CPU 601 detects the number of revolutions of the machine body 19 stored in the non-volatile RAM 605 with respect to the home position, and in step S121-1 the CPU 601 controls the body rotation controller 650 to twist the power cord 83. In order to eliminate the problem, the main body is rotated to the home position, and the home position detecting sensor 99 confirms that the machine main body portion 19 is set to the rotational home position. Then, in step S121-2, it is determined by the CPU 601 whether or not the rotation operation is normally performed, and if it is not normally performed, the fact is displayed on the display unit 611 of the operation unit 610 in step S121-3 and the operator is informed. Inform. On the contrary, when it is determined in step S121-2 that the rotation of the machine body 19 is normally performed,
In step S121-4, the number of revolutions of the machine main body 19 with respect to the home position is returned to the home position in the non-volatile RAM 605.
Returning to step 2, the tandem rotary paper feeder 5 shown in FIG.
Proceed to the rotation check flow. In step S122-0, the CPU 601 controls the paper feed roller driving unit 633 to retract the paper feed roller 29 upward, and further to step S12.
In step 2-1 the CPU 601 controls the bottom plate lifting lever drive unit 634 to retract the bottom plate lifting lever 146 downward to prepare for rotation of the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5. Then, in step S122-2, the CPU 601 controls the paper feed rotation control unit 631 to rotate the tandem rotary paper feed unit 5 to rotate the rotary tray H.H. It is confirmed by the P detection sensor 161 that the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 is set at the home position of rotation. And S122-3
In step S601, the CPU 601 controls the sheet feeding bottom plate raising lever drive unit 634 to set the bottom plate raising lever 146 to the sheet feeding state, and in step S122-4, the CPU 60 sets.
The sheet feeding roller driving unit 633 is controlled by 1 to set the sheet feeding roller 29 to the sheet feeding state. Then, in step S122-5, the CPU 601 determines whether or not the rotation operation of the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 is normally performed. If not, the operation unit 610 is performed in step S122-6.
This is displayed on the display unit 611 of No. 1 to notify the operator. On the contrary, in S122-5 step, the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5
If it is determined that the rotation has been normally performed, the process returns to step S123 to proceed to the rotational operation check flow of the rotary sheet discharging unit 2 shown in FIG. In step S123-0, the presence or absence of foreign matter such as the operator's hand in the rotary paper discharge unit 2 is detected by the obstacle detection sensor 333 provided in the rotary paper discharge unit 2, and the foreign matter is rotated and discharged by the CPU 601 in step S123-1. If it is determined whether or not there is a foreign object in the paper unit 2, and if it is determined that there is a foreign substance, the information is displayed on the display unit 611 of the operation unit 610 at step S123-2 to notify the operator and the process returns to step S123-0. . On the contrary, if it is determined that there is no foreign matter, the CPU 601 controls the paper discharge rotation control unit 641 to rotate the paper discharge tray 30 in step S123-3, and the rotary home position detection sensor 320 causes the paper discharge tray 30 to move. Make sure it is set to the home position of rotation. Then, in step S123-4, the CPU 601 determines whether or not the rotation operation of the discharge tray 30 is normally performed, and if it is not normally performed, the display portion 611 of the operation unit 610 is determined in step S123-5.
Is displayed to notify the operator. Conversely, S1
When it is determined in step 23-4 that the discharge tray 30 has been rotated normally, the control ends. In this way, when the power is turned on, the machine main body 19, the tandem rotary paper feeder 5, and the rotary paper ejector 2 are checked for rotational operation to set the position to the home position, and when that does not work properly, that effect is indicated. The operator can be promptly notified, and it is possible to prevent a paper ejection or paper feeding jam due to the positions of the rotary paper ejection unit 2 and the tandem rotary paper feeding unit 5 being displaced from the home position. Further, in particular, by returning the machine main body 19 to the home position after the power is turned on, it is possible to prevent the power cord 83 from being twisted, so that the reliability is improved.

[0033]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the plurality of sheet accommodating means are integrally and selectively rotated with respect to one sheet feeding means in the horizontal direction, so that a small size and a small space can be achieved. While realizing realization, one paper feeding means,
Moreover, since a special sheet conveying path is not required, it is possible to suppress unnecessary cost increase and occurrence of jam. further,
The sheet storage means selected by the rotation control means can be accurately and quickly positioned at a predetermined sheet feeding position corresponding to the sheet feeding means.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, the sheet feeding roller and the pressure lever which constitute the sheet feeding means when the sheet accommodation means is rotated are provided in the sheet accommodation means. By performing the control of retracting to the outside of the rotation area, a smooth rotation operation can be realized without the sheet accommodating means and the sheet feeding means coming into contact with each other.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the sheet is exhausted during the paper feeding operation, and there is no sheet in the other sheet accommodating means in the same horizontal plane, the rotation moving means is set to a predetermined value. By controlling the state, it is possible to improve the operability at the time of replenishing the seat.

According to the invention of claim 4, the effect of the invention of claim 3 is further embodied. In any case, the rotation operation is prohibited so that the user replenishes the seat. Therefore, when pulling out the sheet accommodating means, no unintended rotation operation is performed no matter what time it is pulled out, safety is ensured, and operability of sheet replenishment is not impaired.

According to the invention described in claim 5, the effect of the invention described in claim 3 is further embodied. After the absence of the sheet is detected, the sheet accommodating means whose end is the sheet is automatically operated. When the user replenishes the sheet, the sheet accommodating means is set at a position where the replenishment operation can be easily performed by rotating the apparatus body toward the front by 90 degrees, thus improving the operability of the sheet replenishment. Can be made.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when sheets are exhausted during the sheet feeding operation, and if sheets of the same size are present in other sheet accommodating means in the same horizontal plane, the sheet source is not used. It is possible to improve productivity and smooth the image forming operation by controlling the rotation moving means so as to automatically rotate so as to replace the dull sheet containing means with another sheet containing means.

According to the invention of claim 7, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 6, when the sheets are exhausted during the sheet feeding operation, sheets of the same size are accommodated in other sheet accommodating means in the same horizontal plane. Even if it exists, when a sheet of the same size is present in the non-rotating normal sheet accommodating means, the normal sheet accommodating means is preferentially selected and switched as a sheet feeding source to further improve productivity. It is possible to improve and smooth the image forming operation.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a sheet feeding device and an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a state of a front cover of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state of a front cover of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state of a front cover of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a state of a front cover of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a main body rotating mechanism of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the main body rotating mechanism of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a rotary paper feeding tray unit of the paper feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a front view of a rotary paper feeding tray unit of the paper feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an example of a rotary tray of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a plan view showing another example of the rotary tray of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a rotary sheet discharge tray section of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a front view of the rotary paper ejection tray unit of the paper feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a part around the photoconductor and the vicinity of the fixing unit of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of a heat exhaust duct portion of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing an example of a rotary tray of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a plan view showing another example of the rotary tray of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a front view showing the relationship between the rotary tray and the retaining ring of the paper feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a plan view showing the relationship between the rotary tray and the retaining ring of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a front view showing the relationship between the rotary tray and the screws of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a configuration diagram of the rotary tray of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention in a locked state.

FIG. 24 is a configuration diagram of a rotary tray of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention in a non-locked state.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing dimensions of sheets of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram showing dimensions of the sheet storage unit of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is a block diagram of the lock solenoid OFF state of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 28 is a configuration diagram in which the lock solenoids of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention are on.

FIG. 29 is a configuration diagram after the lock solenoids of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention are turned on.

FIG. 30 is a perspective view of a bottom plate lifting lever drive mechanism of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing sizes that can be stored in the sheet storage unit of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart of control at the sheet end of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 33 is a flow chart of control at the sheet end of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 34 is a flow chart of control at the sheet end of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 35 is a flowchart of control at the sheet end of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a flow chart of control at the sheet end of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a flowchart of control at the sheet end of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is an overall control block diagram of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 39 is a flowchart of initialization control when the power supply of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is turned on.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart of initialization control when the power supply of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is turned on.

FIG. 41 is a flow chart of initialization control when the power supply of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is turned on.

FIG. 42 is a flow chart of initialization control when the power supply of the sheet feeding device and the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is turned on.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Original reading section 2 Rotating paper ejection tray 3 Image forming section 4 Fixed feeding section 5 Tandem rotating feeding section 18 Base section 19 Machine body section 23 Rotating tray 25 Driving section 27 Paper feeding unit 28a, 28b, 28c Sheet accommodating section 600 Control unit 601 CPU 610 Operation unit 620 Copy process unit 630 Paper feed control unit 660 Various sensor groups

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical indication location G03G 15/00 109 7369-2H H04N 1/00 108 B 7046-5C (72) Inventor Ki ▲ saki ▼ Osamu Nakamamagome 1-3-6, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of sheet accommodating means arranged in the same horizontal plane, and one sheet feeding means fixed at a predetermined position for separating and feeding the sheets one by one from the sheet accommodating means.
A selection means for selecting one sheet storage means to be fed by the sheet feeding means from the plurality of sheet storage means; and a rotation movement means for integrally rotationally moving the plurality of sheet storage means in the horizontal direction. A control means for positioning the sheet storage means selected by the selection means from the plurality of sheet storage means to a predetermined paper feed position corresponding to the paper feed means by the rotational movement means. And a paper feeder. 2. The sheet feeding means according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding means has a sheet feeding roller for separating and feeding the sheets one by one from the sheet accommodating means, and a pressure lever for pushing up the sheet with respect to the sheet feeding roller. In addition, during the rotational movement of the sheet accommodating means by the rotational movement means, the paper feed roller and the pressure lever are retracted to the outside of the rotational movement area of the sheet accommodating means, and the predetermined distance corresponding to the sheet feeding means is set. A sheet feeding device comprising a control means for moving the sheet feeding roller and the pressure lever to an operating position after the positioning and rotational movement to the sheet feeding position is completed. 3. The first sheet storage means arranged in the same horizontal plane, the second sheet storage means arranged in the same horizontal plane, and the first and second sheet storage means according to claim 1. Sheet presence / absence detection means for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet accommodated in the means, and the absence / presence of a sheet in the first sheet storage means is detected by the sheet presence / absence detection means during a sheet feeding operation from the first sheet storage means. And a control means for controlling the rotational movement means to a predetermined state when the absence of the sheet in the second sheet accommodating means is detected. 4. The sheet feeding device according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined state is a state in which rotation of the first and second sheet accommodating means by the rotational movement means is prohibited. 5. The predetermined state according to claim 3, wherein the first sheet accommodating means in which the absence of a sheet is detected is moved toward the front side of the apparatus main body by the rotation moving means.
A paper feeding device characterized by being rotated once. 6. The first sheet storage means according to claim 1, and a first sheet size detection means for detecting the size of the sheet stored in the first sheet storage means. A second sheet storage means arranged in the same horizontal plane, a second sheet size detection means for detecting the size of the sheet stored in the second sheet storage means, and the first and second sheet storage means. Sheet presence / absence detection means for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet accommodated in the sheet accommodation means, and the sheet presence / absence detection means detects the absence of the sheet during the sheet feeding operation from the first sheet accommodation means. The presence / absence detection unit detects the presence of the sheet in the second sheet storage unit, and the sheet size in the second sheet storage unit detected by the second sheet size detection unit is the front. If the size of the sheet in the first sheet storage means detected by the first sheet size detection means is the same, the first sheet at the predetermined sheet feeding position
2. A sheet feeding device, comprising: control means for automatically rotating the plurality of sheet storage means by the rotational movement means in order to replace the sheet storage means of the second sheet storage means with the second sheet storage means. 7. A plurality of sheet accommodating means arranged in the same horizontal plane and a plurality of sheet accommodating means fixed to a predetermined position and separating and feeding the sheets one by one from the sheet accommodating means and the plurality of sheet accommodating means. A first sheet feeding device having a rotational movement means for integrally rotating the sheet in the horizontal direction with respect to the sheet feeding means, a sheet accommodating means, and a sheet feeding for separately feeding and feeding one sheet from the sheet accommodating means An image forming apparatus including a second sheet feeding device having a sheet feeding unit, the second sheet feeding unit detects the absence of the sheet during the sheet feeding operation from one of the plurality of sheet storing units of the first sheet feeding unit. When a sheet having the same size as the lost sheet is stored in the sheet storage means of the sheet feeding device, a sheet having the same size as the lost sheet is stored in the other sheet storage means in the first sheet feeding device. Even if the second paper feeding device An image forming apparatus, comprising: a control unit for preferentially selecting a sheet storage unit for a predetermined position and continuing an image forming operation.