JPH07219286A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming device which does not basically require the exchange of component members, which has no hindrance concerning wiring, etc., and where a carrying path for double-sided recording can be attached/ detached when necessary. CONSTITUTION:(a) A main body device provided with two intermediate apertures for carrying paper, a connector 44 for electrically connecting with the outside and a locking means 112, and (b) a paper carrying device 200 incorporating plural carrying rollers, a pair of rollers of which can be normally and reversely rotated, and a switching means, having two apertures for carrying the paper, and provided with a connector electrically connected with the outside and a locking means 201 are installed in the image forming device. The respective intermediate apertures of the main body device and the respective apertures of the device 200 are positioned to be opposed to each other and the connector 44 of the main body device and the connector of the device 200 are coupled, so that actuation for double-sided copying can be performed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile or a laser printer, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus in which a sheet conveying device for double-sided recording can be detached.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for a double-sided recording function for forming an image on both sides of a recording paper as part of the high-grade image forming apparatus.

In an image forming apparatus equipped with such a double-sided copying function, first, only one side of the recording paper is targeted by a conventional image forming process, that is, an original document is optically read, and an analog apparatus directly reads it. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor, the read information is once converted into an electric signal in the digital device, and after the image processing and editing, the electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor by the laser beam and developed, Transferring to a recording paper and fixing the transferred image are performed.

After that, after passing through the reversing conveyance path, a similar image forming process is carried out on another surface of the recording paper.

On the other hand, there is a strong demand for downsizing such as reduction of office space, and the image forming apparatus is gradually miniaturized like other OA equipments. The length of the path is becoming smaller than twice the maximum length of the paper fed from the paper feed unit, and therefore the first sheet of paper is used for printing on the second side, and therefore the reverse conveyance path is used. If it is inside, the second sheet cannot be fed to the conveyance path for the image forming process,
The throughput was greatly reduced when printing on both sides.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 13463, it is possible to store at least two sheets of recording paper in the re-feeding conveyance path, and
It has been proposed that the plurality of recording sheets stored can be stopped and fed independently.

With such a configuration, the processing amount for double-sided printing and multiplex printing can be made approximately the same as the processing amount for single-sided printing, even though the entire apparatus is downsized. I am trying.

However, in recent years, there has been a strong demand from the user side to further reduce the cost of products. In terms of functionality, single copy etc.
Apart from the essential functions, it is desired that optional functions that are not so be treated as options so that they can be selected as appropriate according to the individual circumstances of the user side. In the past, in addition to a single-function type image forming apparatus, various kinds of apparatuses were available to meet the above demands, but functions that were not necessary at the time of purchase were needed at a later date. In this case, if the function cannot be added, the above request cannot be essentially answered. Regarding the double-sided recording function, in the conventional image forming apparatus, the double-sided recording conveyance path is installed in advance to have the double-sided recording function, or since such a conveyance path is not provided, the function is abandoned. There is only one type of device in existence, and the essential requirements have not been met.

Therefore, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus which basically does not require replacement of constituent members, has no trouble with respect to wiring, etc., and has a double-sided recording conveyance path detachable as required. And

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises: (a) two intermediate openings for conveying a sheet and an electrical connection to the outside. A main body device having a connector and locking means, (b) a plurality of conveying rollers and a switching means are built-in, and a pair of rollers among the conveying rollers can be rotated forward and backward, and an opening for conveying paper is provided. A sheet conveying device provided at two locations and provided with a connector for electrically connecting to the outside and a locking means,
The respective intermediate openings of the main body device and the respective openings of the paper transport device have a facing positional relationship with each other, and the connector of the main body device and the connector of the paper transport device are connected to enable an operation for double-sided copying. Is configured as follows.

The apparatus main body is provided with an operation panel projecting from the housing, has a paper carrying space in the rear area of the operation panel, and the paper carrying apparatus is
A through opening is provided at a position where the transport path formed by the transport roller and the sheet transport opening is interrupted, and as a result,
It is preferable if it is configured so that there are four openings for sheet conveyance.

It is preferable that a paper feed tray be rotatably attached to the main body of the apparatus so that the paper feed tray can be opened and closed regardless of attachment / detachment of the paper transport device.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a printer in which double-sided copying is not performed, which represents an embodiment of the present invention. Around the photoconductor 1 rotating in the direction of the arrow, the charging unit 2, the laser beam L from the laser optical system 3, and the toner 5 are supplied to supply the photoconductor 1
A developing means 4 and a transfer means 7 for visualizing the latent image above are arranged. Further, the paper P in the paper cassette 20 arranged on the lower side in the figure and detachable in the direction of the arrow a is supported by the intermediate plate 22, and the arm 21 is supported by the force of a spring (not shown).
It is pressed against the paper feed roller 24 via.

A command is issued from a control unit (not shown) to rotate the paper feed roller 24, whereby the uppermost paper in the paper feed cassette 20 is prevented from being double-fed by the separation pad 23.
The sheet is conveyed to the registration roller 25 on the downstream side, and at a timing synchronized with the image on the photoconductor 1, the sheet is further sent toward the transfer unit 7. The sheet on which an image is obtained from the photoconductor 1 by the transfer unit 7 is further conveyed to the fixing unit 30, and is passed between a fixing roller 32 having a heater 31 built therein and a pressure roller 33 which is in pressure contact with the toner, and is heated and pressed. The image can be fixed.

After that, the sheet on which the image has been formed is discharged and placed on the discharge tray portion 45 by the discharge roller 40 with the image side facing down. The ejected paper stopper 46 is movable in the direction of arrow b in order to correspond to the size of the ejected paper.

In a case 72 arranged on the left side of the image forming process section as seen in the drawing, electrical equipment / control devices such as a power source 70 and a printed board 75 are housed. A controller board 80 is housed in another case 82 arranged above the case 72.

The operation surface is arranged on the right side as seen in the figure,
The operation panel 60 projects from the upper front surface of the exterior part 90 (the upper right end of the apparatus in the figure), and the paper feed tray 50 is rotatably attached by a pin 51. When the paper feed tray 50 is not used, the tray 50 is held by the outer frame 90 made of a magnetic material such as iron and the magnet catch Mg on the main body exterior cover 90 on the side surface of the main body of the apparatus, and is in the stored state as illustrated. Has become. Mechanical latching means may be provided instead of the magnetic catch. When using the tray 50 equipped with the middle plate and the push-up spring, the tray 50 is set by rotating it to the position shown by the chain double-dashed line. When a control unit (not shown) issues a command to prioritize paper feed from the paper feed tray 50, the paper feed roller 52 rotates and the paper feed tray 50 is rotated.
The uppermost paper inside is conveyed to the registration roller 25 through the conveyance space 100 to the registration roller 25 while being prevented from being double-fed by the separation pad 53, and further timed to the transfer means 7. It is sent out to be used for image formation.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which members for double-sided copying are attached to the printer having the above structure. Moreover, the state at the time of attachment is shown in FIG.

As can be seen from FIG. 3, the double-sided copying paper conveying device 200 has a substantially L-shaped box shape, and when the device is attached, as shown in FIG. After opening 50 to the use position, it is set so as to cover the operation panel 60. An opening 220 is opened in the sheet conveying device 200, and when set, the operation panel 60 passes through the opening 220 and protrudes to a position that does not hinder the operation, as shown in FIG. Guide pins 20 arranged at both ends of the sheet conveying device 200 in a properly set state
1 is fitted in the opening 42 on the apparatus main body side, a groove (not shown) provided on the guide pin meshes with a lock member (not shown) on the apparatus main body side, and the sheet conveying apparatus 200 is fixedly held.

When set in this manner, the connector 44 on the main body side is connected to a connector (not shown) on the side of the sheet conveying device 200, and the connection of the control signal line to the device 200 is realized.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the sheet conveying device 200, a pair of conveying rollers 203, 204 and 205 are arranged along the L-shape together with a guide 207 forming a conveying path, and further, a switching claw 201 and a regular claw 201. Reversible switching roller 20
2 is located in the vicinity of the paper discharge roller 40 of the apparatus main body.

In the case of performing double-sided copying, when a sheet whose one side has been copied is sent out from the discharge roller 40, the switching roller 20 is moved by the switching claw 201 located at the position shown by the solid line.
2 and is drawn out onto the discharge tray portion 45 or onto the guide plate 250 above the tray portion 45, which is retrofitted together with the sheet conveying device 200, and the rear end of the sheet is discharged by the detection sensor (not shown). 40 and switch claw 201
When it is detected that the switch roller 202 is rotated in the reverse direction and the switch claw 201 is switched to the position shown by the dotted line, most of the paper that has gone out of the machine is switched back to the guide 207. The space is conveyed by the conveyance roller 203. The switching openings 230, 24 of the paper transport device 200
0 (FIG. 3) and the conveyance space 130 provided on the back side of the operation panel 60, the conveyance direction of the sheet is changed, and the sheet passes through the conveyance rollers 204 and 205 and the opening 120 provided in the exterior portion 90 of the apparatus main body. The paper sent to the registration roller 25 through the same is subjected to the same process as the first one-sided copy, and image information is recorded on the other surface, and is discharged onto the paper discharge tray unit 45 or the guide plate 250.

When the paper feed tray 50 is not used even after the paper transport device 200 is attached, as shown in FIG.
No. 0 outer cover 210 is held.

In the above embodiment, the device is mounted so as to cover the operation panel when the paper transporting device is mounted, but it is mounted along the paper transporting direction, that is, the mounting direction is 90 degrees from the above embodiment. Even in the image forming apparatus in which the operation panel is provided in the apparatus main body casing in the shifted direction, it is possible to additionally install the sheet conveying apparatus. Even in such a case, the paper transport device
Since it provides an additional sheet conveyance path having a conveyance direction that coincides with the sheet conveyance direction for single-sided copying, the sheet conveyance device is attached to the image forming apparatus main body from the direction shown in FIG. 3, for example. The Rukoto.

[0026]

According to the apparatus of the first aspect of the invention, since the paper transporting device for providing the transporting path for double-sided copying is made detachable, it is basically not necessary to replace the constituent members, and the wiring or the like is not required. With respect to the above, there is no problem, and a function for double-sided copying can be added later if necessary.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the sheet conveying device is provided with the conveying roller with respect to the apparatus main body having the operation panel protruding from the housing and having the sheet conveying space in the rear area of the operation panel. Since the through-opening is provided at the position where the conveyance path formed by the sheet conveyance opening is interrupted, the double-sided copying function can be retrofitted if necessary without removing the operation panel.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention in a state where a member for double-sided copying is not attached.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram corresponding to FIG. 1 in a state where a member for double-sided copying is attached.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating attachment of a member for double-sided copying.

[Explanation of symbols]

 42 Opening 44 Connector 50 Paper Feed Tray 60 Operation Panel 120 Opening 130 Transport Space 200 Paper Transporting Device 201 Guide Pin 210 Exterior Cover 220 Opening 230 Switching Opening 240 Switching Opening 250 Guide Plate

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Yutaka Kodama 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A main body device comprising: (a) two intermediate openings for transporting a sheet; a connector for electrical connection to the outside; and a locking means; (b) a plurality of transport rollers. And a switching unit are built in, a pair of rollers among the transport rollers can be rotated forward and backward, two openings for transporting the sheet are provided, and a connector and a locking unit for electrical connection with the outside are provided. The main body device and the respective openings of the paper transport device have a mutually facing positional relationship with each other, and the connector of the main body device and the connector of the paper transport device are connected to each other. An image forming apparatus that enables operation for double-sided copying. 2. An apparatus main body having an operation panel projecting from a housing and having a sheet conveyance space in a rear area of the operation panel, and a portion for interrupting a conveyance path formed by a conveyance roller and a sheet conveyance opening. Through openings are provided, resulting in four openings for paper transport.
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a sheet conveying apparatus that is a point. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a paper feed tray is rotatably attached to the main body of the apparatus, and the paper feed tray can be opened and closed regardless of attachment / detachment of the paper transport apparatus. . 4. A main body image forming apparatus provided with two intermediate openings for conveying a sheet, a connector for electrical connection with the outside, and a locking means. 5. A plurality of conveying rollers and a switching means are built-in, a pair of rollers among the conveying rollers can be rotated forward and backward, openings for conveying the paper are provided at two places, and electrical connection with the outside is provided. Conveying device provided with a connector and locking means.