JPH06255861A - Paper discharge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a paper discharge device wherein emitting a sound, generated in the inside of a device main unit, to the outside is reduced. CONSTITUTION:In a paper discharge device having a paper discharge means 12 for discharging paper, formed with an image in an image forming part in a device main unit 7, from an opening part 11, formed in a facing cover 8, to the outside through a paper conveying path 10, an openable/closable cover unit 15 or sound shield sheet for closing the opening part 11 is mounted 4 on the device main unit 7. This cover unit 15 or sound shield sheet, when a point end of paper is contacted or detected, is opened and closed by passing a rear end of paper.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper discharge device used in an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine, a laser printer and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine is provided with a paper discharge device for discharging the image-formed paper to the outside. FIG. 11 shows an example of a conventional paper discharge device applied to a copying machine. First, the exterior cover 2 on the side surface of the copying machine main body 1 is formed with an opening 3 serving as a sheet discharge port through which a sheet on which an image is formed by an image forming unit (not shown) is discharged. The opening 3 is formed in a rectangular shape with a width slightly larger than the maximum size paper width that can be used for discharging various sizes of paper and a height that does not prevent the paper from being discharged. Further, the copying machine main body 1 is connected to the opening 3.
A paper discharge roller pair 6 in which a plurality of rollers 5 are press-fitted into two shafts 4a and 4b is disposed on the inner side of the paper, and the paper discharge roller pair 6 is rotationally driven by a drive device (not shown). The sheet is discharged from the opening 3 to the outside. The roller 5 is positioned and fixed so that, for example, a roller made of rubber such as chloroprene and a roller made of resin such as polyacetal are paired and contact each other.

[0003]

In such a conventional paper discharge device, the opening 3 is formed in a rectangular shape with a width larger than the maximum size of paper that can be used and a height that does not prevent the paper from being discharged. Therefore, most of the sound generated inside the copying machine main body 1 is radiated to the outside through the opening portion 3 and becomes noise, which causes a problem in that people around the copying machine feel uncomfortable.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a sheet is discharged to the outside through an opening formed in an outer cover of a sheet on which an image is formed in an image forming section in the apparatus main body through a sheet conveying path. In the paper discharge device having means, an openable / closable lid for closing the opening is attached to the main body of the device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the lid has an opening / closing means which is opened by a conveying force at the time of contact of the leading edge of the sheet and closed by passing the rear edge of the sheet. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a sheet discharging device having a sheet discharging unit for discharging the sheet on which the image is formed in the image forming section in the apparatus main body to the outside through an opening formed in the outer cover through the sheet conveying path. In the above, there is provided a sound insulating sheet which is wound between two shafts and has a hole through which a sheet partially passes and which is movable in a direction orthogonal to the sheet transport direction while covering the opening. An elastic body that urges one end of the sound insulation sheet in a direction to wind the sound insulation sheet is attached to the one shaft, and a drive motor that rotates in a direction to wind the other end side of the sound insulation sheet is connected to the other shaft to convey the sheet. A paper detection sensor is arranged in front of the sound insulation sheet in the road, and a control unit for driving and controlling the drive motor based on the detection result of the paper detection sensor is provided.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the outer cover is closed by closing the opening when the opening is not required by the lid that opens and closes the opening serving as the sheet discharge port for the image formed sheet. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the sound generated inside the apparatus body from becoming noise and being unnecessarily radiated to the outside.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the lid is opened by the conveying force when the leading edge of the sheet comes into contact with the opening / closing means and the lid is closed by the passage of the trailing edge of the sheet. Therefore, the lid is closed only while the sheet is passing. When the body is opened and the paper discharge port is secured, at other times the lid is closed and the opening is closed, the exterior cover is closed, and when the paper is not passing, or , The noise during standby without copying is reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the sheet detection sensor detects the leading edge of the sheet when the sheet is being conveyed by the sheet discharging means, the drive motor is rotationally driven to wind up the sound insulating sheet on one shaft side. By moving the hole to the opening position and communicating with this opening, the paper exit is secured and the paper is ejected to the outside, and the paper detection sensor detects the passage of the rear edge of the paper. Then, the control unit controls the drive motor to stop and the elastic force of the elastic body to rewind the sound insulating sheet to the other shaft side to close the opening, so that the paper discharge port is opened only while the paper is passing. Otherwise, the sound insulation sheet closes the opening to keep the outer cover in a closed state, reducing noise when paper is not passing through or when not in copying. It

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment shows an example in which the paper discharge device is applied to a copying machine, and corresponds to the inventions of claims 1 and 2. First, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the structure of a paper discharge device. An exterior cover 8 on the side of a copying machine main body 7 as an apparatus main body has an image forming unit (not shown) inside the copying machine main body 7. An opening 11 is formed as a sheet discharge port through which the sheet 9 on which the image is formed is discharged through the sheet conveying path 10. In the vicinity of the opening 11, the paper is discharged from the copying machine main body 7 as a paper discharging means that is positioned in the paper transport path 10 to transport the paper 9 and discharge the paper 9 from the opening 11 to the outside. A roller pair 12 is provided. The paper discharge roller pair 12 is formed by pressing a plurality of rollers 14 into two shafts 13a and 13b, respectively.
The rollers 14 press-fitted into b are positioned and fixed so as to be in contact with each other in pairs.

On the other hand, as a structure relating to the main part of this embodiment, an openable / closable lid 15 for closing the opening 11 is attached to the copying machine main body 7, and the lid 15 is in the direction of arrow a. It is freely supported by a shaft 16 that is orthogonal to the (paper transport direction). Specifically, the lid body 15 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
It comprises a support piece 17 having a and a lid piece 18 bent downward with respect to this support piece 17. This lid piece 18
Is bent in a dogleg shape so that the sheet discharge roller pair 12 side becomes a convex surface, and thereby an inclined surface 18a inclined to the outside for contacting the sheet 9 is formed at the tip thereof. . A weight 19 for fixing the angular position of the lid 15 is fixed to the end of the support piece 17. Then, the support piece 17 freely supported by the shaft 16, the inclined surface 18a of the lid piece 18, and the weight 19 cause the lid body 15 to move in the arrow direction by the conveying force when the leading end of the sheet 9 comes into contact. The cover 15 opens in the direction b, and when the rear end of the sheet 9 passes, the lid 15 falls due to its own weight and serves as an opening / closing means for balancing the opening / closing operation so as to close in the direction of arrow c.

In such a structure, when the sheet 9 is not conveyed, as shown in FIG. 1, the opening 11 is closed by the lid 15 and the outer cover 8 is sealed, so that the copying machine main body 7 is closed. The sound generated inside is shielded without being emitted to the outside. On the other hand, the paper 9 is the paper transport path 10
When the paper is conveyed in the direction of the arrow a by the pair of paper discharge rollers 12, as shown in FIG.
5, the lid 15 is pushed open in the direction of the arrow b by the conveying force of the paper 9 by the pair of paper ejection rollers 12 against the inclined surface 18a at the bottom of the paper 5, so that the paper ejection port for the paper 9 is secured and the paper 9 is exposed to the outside. It will be discharged. Then, when the passage of the rear end of the sheet 9 is completed, the lid body 15 drops by its own weight in the direction of arrow c and closes, so that the opening portion 11 is closed again and the outer cover 8 is sealed, and the copying machine body 7 is closed. The sound generated inside is blocked.

As described above, in this embodiment, the lid 15 is opened only while the sheet 9 is passing by the conveying force of the pair of paper discharge rollers 12, and at other times, the lid 15 is closed and the opening 11 is closed. Since the outer cover 8 is hermetically closed, the noise when the paper 9 is not passing through or when the paper 9 is not in a standby state is reduced, which can significantly reduce the time-averaged noise level. It will be possible. Moreover, since the lid piece 18 of the lid body 15 is bent and formed in a dogleg shape, the leading end of the paper sheet 9 hits the inclined surface 18a at the lower portion thereof, so that the lid body 15 can be held even if the paper sheet 9 curls upward. It is possible to open surely.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those described in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. This embodiment corresponds to the invention described in claim 1, and is provided with a lid 21 which is opened and closed by a solenoid 20 in place of the lid 15 of the embodiment shown in FIG. That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the copying machine body 7, the opening 21 formed in the outer cover 8 on the side surface of the copying machine body 7 is closed to open and close the lid body 21 in the arrow a direction (paper transport direction). Is attached, and this lid 21 has an arrow a
It is openably and closably supported by a shaft 22 orthogonal to the direction. Specifically, the lid 21 is, as shown in FIG.
A support hole 23a inserted into and supported by the shaft 22 and a connection hole 23b connected to the solenoid 20 via a metal wire 24.
And a lid piece 25 bent downward at a right angle to the support piece 23.

On the other hand, the paper detection sensor 2 is provided between the lid 21 and the paper discharge roller pair 12 in the paper conveyance path 10.
6 is provided, and the paper detection sensor 26 is connected to a control circuit 27 that drives and controls the solenoid 20 based on the detection result. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the control circuit 27 includes a delay circuit 28 including a resistor R and a capacitor C, a switching circuit 29 that operates based on the detection result of the paper detection sensor 26, and a DC power supply 30. Are sequentially connected, and the solenoid 20 is connected to both ends of the capacitor C of the delay circuit 28.

In such a structure, when the sheet 9 is not conveyed, the opening 11 is closed by the lid 21 as shown in FIG. 4, and the sound generated inside the copying machine body 7 is insulated. Has been done. On the other hand, when the paper 9 is conveyed by the paper discharge roller pair 12, the paper detection sensor 26
Detects the leading edge of the sheet 9 and closes the switching circuit 29, so that the DC power source 30 charges the capacitor C through the resistor R, and after a certain time, the solenoid 20 sucks the lid 21 via the metal wire 24. The lid 21 opens in the direction of the arrow b to secure the paper discharge port for the paper 9, and the paper 9 is discharged to the outside. When the sheet detection sensor 26 detects the passage of the rear end of the sheet 9, the switching circuit 2
9 opens, but the discharge of the charged capacitor C causes the solenoid 20 to be delayed and released after a certain time,
By closing the lid 21 by dropping it in the direction of arrow c by its own weight,
The opening 11 is closed again and the outer cover 8 is hermetically closed, so that the sound generated inside the copying machine body 7 is blocked.

As described above, also in this embodiment, the lid 21 is opened to secure the sheet discharge port of the sheet 9 only while the sheet 9 is passing, and the lid 21 is closed in other cases, similarly to the above-described examples. Since the opening 11 is closed and the outer cover 8 is sealed, the noise when the paper 9 is not passing through or when the paper 9 is not in a standby state is reduced, whereby the time-averaged noise level is obtained. Can be significantly reduced. Also,
Based on the detection result of the sheet detection sensor 26, the control circuit 27
By driving the solenoid 20 to open and close the lid body 21, it is possible to reliably open and close the lid body 21 even if the paper 9 is weak. Moreover, since the delay circuit 28 delays the opening / closing operation of the lid body 21, the time delay between the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet 9 being conveyed to the lid body 21 after the sheet detection sensor 26 is operated is corrected. This makes it possible to prevent an unnecessary early opening of the lid body 21 and to prevent the rear end of the sheet 9 from being hit by the early closing of the lid body 21.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those described in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. This embodiment corresponds to the invention described in claim 3, and instead of the lid 15 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a sound insulation sheet 32 that is opened and closed by a drive motor 31 is provided. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the copying machine main body 7 is slidable in the arrow d direction orthogonal to the arrow a direction (paper transport direction) while covering the opening 11 formed in the outer cover 8 on the side surface thereof. The sound insulation sheet 3 that can be moved freely
2 is attached. Specifically, this sound insulation sheet 3
As shown in FIG. 9, 2 is wound around two shafts 33a and 33b, and a paper passage hole 34 as a hole portion for the paper 9 to pass through is formed in a part thereof. . Also,
The drive motor 31 that rotates in the direction in which the sound insulating sheet 32 is wound is connected to the one shaft (the upper side in the illustrated example) around which the sound insulating sheet 32 is wound.
A spiral spring (not shown) as an elastic body for urging the sound insulation sheet 32 in the winding direction is attached to the other (lower side in the illustrated example) shaft 33b.

On the other hand, a paper detection sensor 35 is arranged between the sound insulating sheet 32 and the paper discharge roller pair 12 in the paper conveyance path 10. The paper detection sensor 35 indicates the detection result. A control circuit 36 is connected as a control unit for driving and controlling the drive motor 31 based on the above. That is, the control circuit 36, as shown in FIG.
A delay circuit 37 including a resistor R and a capacitor C, a switching circuit 38 that operates based on the detection result of the paper detection sensor 35, and a DC power supply 39 are connected in this order, and the capacitor C of the delay circuit 37 is connected. The drive motor 31 is connected to both ends of the.

In such a structure, when the paper 9 is not conveyed, the drive motor 31 is stopped and the sound insulation sheet 32 is moved downward by the elastic force of the spring.
3b, the paper passage hole 34 is held in a state of being lower than the position of the opening portion 11 as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. In this state, the sheet passage hole 34 of the sound insulation sheet 32 is
Since the opening 11 is closed by the portion that is not open, the sound generated inside the copying machine body 7 is blocked. on the other hand,
When the paper 9 is conveyed by the paper discharge roller pair 12, the paper detection sensor 35 detects the leading edge of the paper 9 and the switching circuit 38 is closed, so that the capacitor C is charged through the resistor R by the DC power supply 39. After a certain period of time, the drive motor 31 starts to rotate and the sound insulation sheet 32 moves to the upper shaft 3
The sheet passing hole 34 is wound up by 3a, moves to the position of the opening 11, and communicates with the opening 11. This allows
The sheet discharge port for the sheet 9 is secured and the sheet 9 is discharged to the outside. Then, when the sheet detection sensor 35 detects the passage of the rear end of the sheet 9, the switching circuit 38 opens.
The driving motor 3 is driven by discharging the charged capacitor C.
1 delays and stops after a certain time. As a result, the sound insulation sheet 32 is attached to the lower shaft 33 by the elastic force of the spring.
After being rewound to b, the opening 11 is closed again by the portion of the sound insulating sheet 32 where the sheet passage hole 34 is not opened, so that the outer cover 8 is sealed and generated inside the copying machine main body 7. Sound is cut off.

As described above, in this embodiment as well, the sound insulating sheet 32 moves only while the sheet 9 is passing and the sheet passing hole 34 communicates with the opening 11 so that the sheet 9 is discharged. Since the mouth is secured and the opening 11 is closed by the sound insulation sheet 32 at other times and the outer cover 8 is closed, noise when the sheet is not passing through or when the sheet is not copying and waiting Is reduced, which makes it possible to significantly reduce the time-averaged noise level. Moreover, since the opening / closing movement of the sound insulating sheet 32 is delayed by the delay circuit 37, the time delay between the leading edge and the trailing edge of the sheet 9 being conveyed to the sound insulating sheet 32 after the sheet detection sensor 35 is operated is corrected. As a result, unnecessary early opening of the sound insulating sheet 32 can be prevented, and hitting of the rear end of the sheet 9 due to early closing of the sound insulating sheet 32 can be prevented.

[0022]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet discharging unit for discharging the sheet, on which the image is formed in the image forming section in the apparatus main body, through the sheet conveying path to the outside through the opening formed in the outer cover. In the paper apparatus, since an openable / closable lid for closing the opening is attached to the apparatus main body, when the opening is not necessary, the lid is closed to close the opening, so that the outer cover is in a sealed state. It is possible to prevent the noise generated in 1) from being radiated to the outside unnecessarily, and thereby to significantly reduce the time-averaged noise level.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the lid has an opening / closing means that is opened by a conveying force at the time of contact of the leading edge of the sheet and closed by passing the trailing edge of the sheet. Therefore, the lid is opened only while the paper is passing, and at other times, the lid is closed and the outer cover is closed. Noise is reduced, which can significantly reduce the time-averaged noise level.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a sheet discharging device having a sheet discharging means for discharging the sheet on which the image is formed in the image forming section in the apparatus main body from the opening formed in the outer cover through the sheet conveying path to the outside. In the above, there is provided a sound insulating sheet which is wound between two shafts and has a hole through which a sheet partially passes and which is movable in a direction orthogonal to the sheet transport direction while covering the opening. An elastic body that urges one end side of the sound insulation sheet in a direction to wind the sound insulation sheet is attached to the one shaft, and a drive motor that rotates in a direction to wind the other end side of the sound insulation sheet is connected to the other shaft to convey the sheet. Since a paper detection sensor is arranged in front of the sound insulation sheet on the road, and a control unit for driving and controlling the drive motor based on the detection result of the paper detection sensor is provided, the paper is not conveyed when the paper is conveyed. When the knowledge sensor detects the leading edge of the paper, the drive motor is rotationally driven to wind the sound insulating sheet around one shaft side, and the hole of the sound insulating sheet is moved to the opening position and communicates with the opening. When the paper outlet is secured and the paper is ejected to the outside, and the paper detection sensor detects the passage of the rear edge of the paper, the drive motor is stopped and the elastic force of the elastic body causes the sound insulation sheet to move to the other shaft. It will be rewound to the side and the opening will be blocked, reducing the noise when the paper is not passing through or when not waiting for copying, thereby significantly reducing the time-averaged noise level. It can be done.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a paper discharge device showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet discharge device showing a sheet discharge state.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a lid body.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a paper discharge device showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the sheet discharge device showing a sheet discharge state.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a lid body.

FIG. 7 is a control circuit diagram of a solenoid.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a paper discharge device showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a sound insulation sheet.

FIG. 10 is a control circuit diagram of a drive motor.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a paper discharge device showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Device Main Body 8 Outer Cover 9 Paper 10 Paper Transport Path 11 Opening 12 Paper Ejection Means 15 Lid 21 Lid 31 Drive Motor 32 Sound Insulation Sheets 33a, 33b Shaft 34 Hole 35 Paper Detection Sensor 36 Control

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A paper ejection device having a paper ejection device for ejecting a paper, on which an image is formed by an image forming unit in the device main body, through an opening formed in an outer cover through a paper transport path to the device main body. A paper discharge device having an openable / closable lid for closing the opening. 2. The paper discharge device according to claim 1, wherein the lid has an opening / closing means which is opened by a conveying force when the leading edge of the sheet comes into contact with the lid and is closed by passing the rear edge of the sheet. 3. A paper ejection device having a paper ejection device for ejecting a paper, on which an image is formed by an image forming section in the apparatus main body, through a paper conveyance path to an outside through an opening formed in an outer cover. A sound insulating sheet having a hole for passing a sheet of paper, which is wound between the sheets, is provided so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction while covering the opening, and the one shaft is provided with An elastic body that urges one end side of the sound insulation sheet is attached, and a drive motor that rotates in the direction in which the other end side of the sound insulation sheet is wound is connected to the other shaft, and the sound insulation sheet in the paper conveyance path is connected. A paper discharge device, in which a paper detection sensor is provided immediately before, and a control unit for driving and controlling the drive motor based on a detection result of the paper detection sensor is provided.