JPH07137890A - Direction changing device for paper in manual paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify a direction changing mechanism and its operation, in the case of feeding paper toward an image recording part, by arranging a hand insertion tray in a front side of a device main unit, and changing a direction at a right angle of the paper inserted from the hand insertion tray. CONSTITUTION:A direction changing device 10 is arranged in the inside of a device main unit continued to a hand insertion tray 5 arranged in a front side of the main unit of an electrophotographic copying machine, to constitute the direction changing device 10 of conveying members 20, 20a arranged above and below a conveying guide 11. The conveying member, mounting half moon- shaped rollers 23, 27 to shafts vertically and horizontally arranged, is used and stopped in a position of making plane parts of the half moon-shaped rollers 23, 27 correspond to paper in a condition that no conveying action is performed relating to the paper, so as to prevent the roller from obstructing in the case of conveying the paper in the other direction. The paper, changing its direction at a right angle, is fed out toward a paper conveying path of the device main unit from the direction changing device 10.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus in which a paper feed tray for an electrophotographic copying machine or the like is provided so that it can be pulled out to the front side of the apparatus, and the paper can be fed from the front side of the apparatus body.
The present invention relates to an apparatus in which a manual feed tray is provided on the front side of the apparatus body similarly to the paper feed tray, and it is not necessary to use a member projecting to a side portion of the apparatus body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a device such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a paper feed tray arranged at the bottom of the main body of the device is provided so as to be pulled out to the front side so that the paper feeding operation can be easily performed and the side portion of the device can be easily operated. It uses a mechanism that can reduce the margin space of. In an apparatus such as the electrophotographic copying machine, an example in which a paper feed tray is provided so as to be pulled out to the front side of the apparatus main body is known, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-231324. In the conventional device, the paper feed trays are arranged in multiple stages in the paper feed unit of the device,
A mechanism is used in which a sheet is fed from a sheet feeding device arranged corresponding to each sheet feeding tray toward a image transfer section through a sheet conveying path arranged on the side of the sheet feeding section. Further, in the electrophotographic copying machine shown in the above-mentioned conventional example, the manual feed tray is arranged on the side portion of the apparatus main body through the hinge means, and special paper or plastic film that cannot be accommodated in the paper feed tray is stored. When a copy is made by using the copy, it can be fed from the manual feed tray. However, when the manual feed tray is arranged on the side of the apparatus main body as in the conventional example, it is necessary to provide an extra space on the side of the apparatus main body in order to feed paper from the manual feed tray. Become.

Therefore, in the above-mentioned electrophotographic copying machine, it is considered that the paper can be supplied from the front side of the apparatus body and the provision of an extra protruding member on the side portion of the apparatus body can be omitted. ing. When the manual feed tray is arranged on the front side of the device, it is necessary to provide a direction changing device inside the device body. To this end, the transport direction converting mechanism is, for example, a real-life type shokai 63-1
As shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 19560, etc., it is also possible to configure the mechanism as a mechanism capable of changing the sheet conveying direction to a right angle. In the direction changing device shown in the above-mentioned conventional example, a mechanism for changing the sheet conveying direction to a right angle is arranged in the middle of the paper feeding path from the paper feeding tray, and the direction changing device is configured by using a mechanism such as a turntable. To be able to.

[0004]

However, when the direction changing device as shown in the prior art is used, the mechanism for changing the sheet conveying direction becomes complicated, and the sheet conveying path of the electrophotographic copying machine is complicated. However, it requires a large amount of space to hinder the miniaturization of the device. Also,
When the direction changing device is composed of a turntable, in order to rotate the paper by 90 degrees, an extra space is required, and in addition, in order to control the drive of the turntable and operations such as positioning. However, there is a problem that the number of control items in the control device increases, and the detection mechanism for the control becomes complicated. Further, in the case where the direction changing device is composed of an oblique conveying roller member, since the direction is changed in the state where the sheet is wound around the conveying roller, an action of extra curving the sheet is added, so that the sheet is curled. May occur, which may hinder the subsequent processing of the paper.

Therefore, instead of the conventional example, as shown in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 62-2550, two conveying means are arranged at orthogonal positions, and one conveying means conveys the sheet. It is also conceivable to construct a mechanism for feeding the above in a perpendicular direction by another orthogonal conveying means. However, when the direction of the sheet is changed by using the orthogonal roller devices, it is necessary to provide a driving mechanism for separating and contacting the sheet with respect to the conveying devices.
There is a problem that the configuration of the direction changing device becomes complicated.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As described above, the present invention can simplify the structure of the conveying mechanism in the direction changing device when the manual feed tray is arranged on the front side of the device body and the direction changing device is provided inside the device. At the same time, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device that can easily perform the action of converting the sheet feeding direction.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a manual feed tray is arranged on the front surface of an image forming apparatus so as to be openable and closable,
The present invention relates to a device provided with a mechanism for feeding the paper set in the manual feed tray toward the direction changing device of the device main body.
In the sheet direction changing device in the manual sheet feeding device of the present invention, the conveying unit is arranged at a position orthogonal to the direction changing unit of the apparatus main body, and the drive of the conveying unit is switched to change the direction of the sheet at a right angle. Is arranged so that the sheet taken in from the manual feed tray can be changed in direction by the direction changing device and can be fed toward the image forming unit.

Further, in the sheet direction changing device in the manual sheet feeding device of the present invention, a conveying guide for guiding the sheet is arranged in a path for inserting the sheet from the manual feeding tray toward the direction changing device, and the conveying guide is provided. A reference guide is arranged on the back side of the sheet to position the sheet, and a means for detecting the sheet is arranged. After the sheet is detected by the detecting section, a predetermined timing is set, and a conveying direction is set. The conversion action of can be performed.

Further, in the apparatus of the present invention, the upper transport mechanism and the lower transport mechanism are arranged at symmetrical positions in the upper and lower portions of the direction changing device, and the upper and lower transport members are arranged vertically and laterally. In addition to being configured by a direction transport member, the upper transport mechanism and the lower transport mechanism can be configured by half-moon rollers. In addition to the above configuration, in the present invention, the transport members forming the vertical transport member and the horizontal transport member are arranged in an orthogonal state above the transport guide, and each transport member has a paddle on its shaft. It is also possible to configure the device.

As described above, the manual feed tray of the electrophotographic copying machine is arranged on the front side of the apparatus main body, and the direction of the sheet is changed by the direction changing device provided inside the apparatus main body. No need for extra space in the part,
It becomes possible to use the office space effectively. Further, in the direction changing device of the present invention, a half-moon roller or a paddle member can be used as the conveying member,
Since the conveying member imparts an intermittent feeding action, it is not necessary to provide a mechanism for releasing the nip of the sheet as in the case of using a roller member, and the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified. it can. Further, in the direction changing device of the present invention, since the sheet is conveyed by using the half-moon roller or the paddle member, it is possible to easily perform the operations such as positioning of the sheet inserted from the manual feed tray, and the complicated control means. The device can be easily controlled without the need to provide.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A sheet direction changing device in a manual paper feeding device of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated example. Figure 1
The electrophotographic copying machine 1 shown in FIG.
Is equipped with a mechanism for forming a copy by forming a toner image using an electrophotographic method and fixing it. In the lower part of the image forming unit 2, there are arranged paper feed trays 3 and 4 which can be inserted and pulled out to the front side of the apparatus, and further, in the space above the paper feed tray, a direction changing device 10 is arranged. ing. Then, the paper feed trays 3 and 4 and the paper fed from the direction changing device 10 are configured so that they can be fed toward the image transfer portion via a paper conveyance path (not shown).

A manual feed tray 5 is provided on the front side of the main body corresponding to the direction changing device 10 so as to be openable and closable via a hinge means 5a. A paper device 6 is arranged. The mechanism of the manual feed tray 5 and the direction changing device 10 can be configured as shown in FIG. 2, and the paper feeding device 6 arranged with respect to the manual feed tray 5 includes:
A nudger roller 7, a feed roller 8 and a retard pad 9 which form a separating mechanism are arranged. And
A plurality of sheets P are set on the manual feed tray 5, and the sheets can be conveyed toward the direction changing device 10 while separating the sheets one by one.

In the direction changing device 10, the transport guide 1
The reference guide 12 is disposed on the back side of the first guide 1, and the upper transport mechanism 20 and the lower transport mechanism 20a are disposed at the upper and lower positions of the transport guide 11, and the upper and lower transport members are arranged in the vertical transport member. And a lateral conveying member. The upper transport mechanism and the lower transport mechanism can be configured, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, and the vertical transport member has a plurality of half-moon rollers 23 arranged on the shaft 22 in a skewered pattern. I am using. Also, in the lateral transfer member,
A plurality of half-moon rollers 27 arranged at a predetermined interval is used for a shaft 26 arranged in a state orthogonal to the shaft 22, and the two types of the shafts 22, 26 which are orthogonal to each other are:
Separately rotated by drive means (not shown), and
It is provided to regulate the stop position.

The lower transport mechanism 20a disposed below the transport guide 11 is provided with a transport mechanism similar to that of the upper transport mechanism 20, and these transport mechanisms are:
The upper transport mechanism is indicated by adding a to the reference numeral. Then, when carrying out the action of carrying and changing the direction of the paper, the driving is performed in a state where the upper and lower carrying mechanisms are interlocked with each other, while feeding the paper from the manual feed tray while nipping the paper with the upper and lower half-moon rollers, The feeding action in the direction perpendicular to the feeding direction can be performed.

The direction changing device 1 configured as described above.
In 0, when a sheet is inserted from the manual feed tray 5 by the sheet feeding device 6, the vertical conveying member 21 is driven for a predetermined time after the sensor S detects the leading end of the sheet in the feeding direction. . Then, the conveyance by the vertical conveying member 21 is completed in a state where the leading end of the sheet is in contact with the reference guide 12, and thereafter, the driving of the horizontal conveying member 25 is started by the drive signal from the control device. ,
The sheet is sent out toward the image forming unit via the sheet feeding path from the sheet feeding tray in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the sheet conveying mechanism is constituted by half-moon rollers, the arcuate portions of the upper and lower half-moon rollers and the flat portion correspond to each other, and are interlocked. By driving the sheet, it is possible to intermittently perform the conveying action on the sheet. Then, at the position where the sheet conveyed in the vertical direction abuts the reference guide 12, the driving of the shaft is stopped in a state where the plane portion of the half-moon roller faces the sheet. In addition, in order to control the drive of the shaft as described above, it is possible to provide means for detecting the rotational state of the shaft. Therefore, when the conveyance by the vertical conveyance member is stopped, the half-moon roller is not in contact with the sheet, and when the horizontal conveyance member 25 conveys it next time, a mechanism for releasing the nip like a roller device. Need not be provided.

At the next stage, the conveyance action of the lateral conveyance member 25 is started on the sheet stopped by engaging the reference guide 12. In the lateral transfer member 25,
Similar to the case of the vertical conveying member 21, the sheet is conveyed from above and below while nipping by half-moon rollers, and the sheet is sent out to the conveying rollers arranged in the sheet conveying path by the horizontal conveying member. Then, when the paper feeding by the lateral conveying member is completed, the operation of feeding the next paper from the manual feed tray is performed, and the operation of the direction changing device is performed on the paper.

(Example of using paddle member as direction changing device) As described above, in addition to providing the conveying mechanism by the half-moon roller to the direction changing device, in the present invention, as shown in FIGS. In addition, the vertical conveyance member 30 and the horizontal conveyance member 35 can be configured by using the paddle member. Since the two orthogonal conveying means of the vertical conveying member 30 and the horizontal conveying member 35 can be arranged only on the upper part of the conveying guide 11, the conveying mechanism is simplified as compared with the case of FIG. be able to. Further, in the transport mechanism using the paddle member, when the paddle member is stopped at a horizontal position, it is possible to set a state in which the paddle member does not come into contact with the sheet, and it is possible to easily perform the action of transporting in the orthogonal direction next. Will be things.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the conveying device using the paddle member of the present invention, the one in which the paddle members 32 and 37 are attached to the shafts 31 and 36 arranged in the orthogonal direction is used. It is possible to drive the respective shafts at a predetermined timing to carry out the conveying action on the paper. As the paddle member used in the direction changing device, it is possible to use the same mechanism as the paddle member used in the conventional sheet conveying device, and a thin plate is used for the base member attached to the shaft. It is possible to provide the function of conveying the sheet while pressing the sheet against the sheet guide with the blade member.
The paddle member may be made of rubber or other material having a large friction coefficient and flexibility.

Even when the paddle member having the above-described structure is used, a sheet fed from the manual feed tray by the sheet feeding device is detected by the sensor S at the leading edge of the sheet, and then the sheet is predetermined. The vertical conveyance member 30 is driven for a period of time to stop the front end of the paper in contact with the reference guide 12 and hold the paddle member 32 in the horizontal position. After that, the lateral feeding member 35 is driven by the lateral feeding command from the control device, and the paper is fed toward the image forming unit.

(Other Embodiments Using Direction Changing Device) The direction changing device constructed as described above according to the present invention is a paper feed mechanism from the manual feed tray, and constitutes a mechanism for feeding the paper toward the image forming section. In addition to the above, when a sheet is inserted from the manual feed tray in the double feed state, a mechanism for discharging the double feed sheet may be configured. A mechanism for ejecting the multi-fed sheet in a direction different from the paper feed path of the main body when the multi-fed sheet is separated in the direction changing device and the separation is detected. Etc. can also be configured.

In order to perform the above-mentioned operation, as shown in FIG. 6, an arrow Y is applied to a sheet inserted in the arrow X direction from the manual feed tray 5 toward the direction changing device.
A mechanism for driving the lateral transport member 25 in the forward and reverse directions is provided so that the paper can be sent out in the 1 or Y2 direction. Further, the feeding devices 15 and 16 may be arranged on both sides of the direction changing device 10, or one of the sheet conveying devices may be arranged and the discharge tray or the like may be arranged on the other. Then, if the paper taken in the direction changing device 10 is normal, the paper is sent out toward the paper carrying device 15, and in the case of double paper feeding or other papers, double paper feeding / paper type It is possible to perform an operation such as discharging toward the discharge tray 16 based on the signal detected by the detecting means S and S1. Also,
For example, when a means for detecting the paper size is arranged for the direction changing device and the size of the paper is different from the specified size, the paper is not conveyed toward the image forming unit but is output to the discharge tray. It is also possible to use means such as direct discharge toward the end.

The direction changing device 10 of the present invention can be used not only as an electrophotographic copying machine, but also as a device for sorting sheets. For example, the members 1 arranged on both sides of the direction changing device 10 with respect to the tray 5 shown in FIG.
5 and 16 can each be configured as a discharge tray. Then, from the manual feed tray 5 to the direction changing device 10
It is possible to configure a means such as sorting the sheet inserted in the X direction toward the both sides in the directions of the arrows Y1 and Y2 based on information such as the size of the sheet. Therefore,
When the apparatus shown in FIG. 6 is applied to the sheet sorting means, it becomes possible to change the direction of the sheet at right angles in the same plane, and therefore, a copy or a copy requiring special processing, It is possible to configure a mechanism for handling other sheet-like things.

[0024]

Since the paper direction changing device in the manual paper feeding device of the present invention is constructed as described above, the manual paper feeding tray of the electrophotographic copying machine is arranged at the front side of the device main body, By changing the conveying direction of the sheet by the direction changing device provided inside the device, it is possible to effectively use the office space without requiring an extra space on the side of the device body. Further, in the direction changing device of the present invention, a half-moon roller or a paddle member can be used as the conveying member, and the conveying member imparts an intermittent feeding action. As described above, there is no need to provide a mechanism for releasing the paper nip, and the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified. Further, in the direction changing device of the present invention, since the sheet is conveyed by using the half-moon roller or the paddle member, it is possible to easily perform the operations such as positioning of the sheet inserted from the manual feed tray, and the complicated control means. The device can be easily controlled without the need to provide.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of an image forming apparatus in which a direction changing device of the present invention can be incorporated.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of the direction changing device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a direction changing device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the configuration of another embodiment of the direction changing device of the present invention.

5 is a perspective view of the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of another embodiment of the direction changing device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Electrophotographic copying machine, 5 Bypass tray, 6
Paper feeding device, 10 direction changing device, 11 transport guide, 12 reference guide, 20 upper transport mechanism,
20a Lower transport mechanism, 21 / 21a Vertical transport member, 23/27 Half moon roller, 25 / 25a
Lateral transport member, 32/37 paddle member.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A manual feed tray is arranged on the front surface of the image forming apparatus so as to be openable and closable, and a mechanism for feeding the paper set in the manual feed tray toward a direction changing device of the apparatus main body is provided. A conveying unit is arranged at a position orthogonal to the converting device, and a conveying mechanism for changing the direction of the sheet at a right angle by arranging the drive for the conveying unit is arranged, and the sheet taken from the manual feed tray is changed in direction by the direction changing device. Then, the sheet direction changing device in the manual sheet feeding device is characterized in that the sheet is fed toward the image forming section. 2. Positioning of a sheet by arranging a conveyance guide for guiding the sheet in a path for inserting the sheet from the manual feed tray toward the direction changing device, and arranging a reference guide on the inner side of the conveyance guide. 2. The manual feed according to claim 1, further comprising: a means for detecting a sheet, and performing a conversion operation in the conveyance direction at a predetermined timing after the sheet is detected by the detecting means. A paper direction changing device in the paper feeding device. 3. An upper transport mechanism and a lower transport mechanism are arranged at symmetrical positions in the upper and lower portions of the direction changing device, and the upper and lower transport members are arranged by a vertical transport member and a horizontal transport member. 3. The sheet direction changing device in the manual paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the upper transport mechanism and the lower transport mechanism are configured by half-moon rollers. 4. A transport member that constitutes a vertical transport member and a horizontal transport member is arranged above the transport guide in a state of being orthogonal to each other, and each transport member is configured by a device having a paddle on its shaft. The sheet direction changing device in the manual sheet feeding device according to claim 1 or 2.