JPH08337347A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an image forming device of such a structure that copying sheets of paper are exhausted to the area between an image preparing part and a scanner part located over it, with which it is easy to take out the sheet(s) to be exhausted. CONSTITUTION: An image forming device concerned comprises an image preparing part 1 to form image information on a sheet of paper, a easing 15 to accommodate the image preparing part, a scanner part 3 which is installed over the casing with a certain space reserved and which reads the original image information and supplies it to the image preparing part upon converting into an electric signal, and a supporting part which supports the scanner part 3 over the casing with a certain space reserved in between, wherein on the oversurface of the casing a sheet exhaust tray 41 is furnished capable of moving in the direction approx. perpendicular to the sheet exhausting direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, which is capable of performing copy processing without sticking out a discharge tray on the side of the apparatus body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional copying machine, an original document is read by a scanner section provided at the upper part of the main body of the apparatus, the read image information is transferred to a sheet and fixed, and then mounted on the side surface of the main body of the apparatus. The paper is discharged onto a paper discharge tray (external paper discharge tray).

However, in such a so-called wing type copying machine, depending on the installation location, there is a problem that a person may hit the external discharge tray and destroy the tray, and the installation space is different from the main body of the apparatus. It needs to be considerably wider than the projected area, which is a big bottleneck for downsizing of the device.

In an apparatus such as a laser printer that does not need to read an original image independently, a sheet on which image information is formed is discharged to the upper surface area of the apparatus casing. If the upper surface of the housing can be used as a paper discharge tray in this way, the installation space will be equal to the projected area of the main body of the device, and space can be saved, but it is necessary to read the original image as in a copying machine or a facsimile. In the apparatus, since the scanner unit is arranged in the upper portion of the apparatus main body to read the original document as the original image, the paper discharge point has to be positioned on the side of the apparatus main body.

In order to reduce the space occupied by the image forming apparatus and increase the degree of freedom in installing the image forming apparatus, the applicant of the present invention has disclosed an image forming engine for forming an image on a sheet in JP-A-5-207210, and a related image forming engine. A sheet discharging unit that discharges a sheet on which an image is formed by an image engine, an image forming engine casing that forms a sheet stacking unit that stacks the sheet discharged by the sheet discharging unit above the image forming engine, and a sheet. A scanner unit disposed above the stacking unit with a space therebetween to convert the document image information into an electric signal and supply the image forming engine to the image forming engine, and the scanner unit above the sheet stacking unit with a space therebetween. An image forming apparatus having a supporting means has been proposed.

As described above, in the so-called wingless type apparatus for discharging the paper between the image forming section and the scanner section, it is not necessary to extend the paper discharge tray to the side of the apparatus housing, and therefore the above-mentioned external paper discharge is performed. It is possible to eliminate the sparseness of the trays and reduce the restrictions on the installation space of the device.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
The image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 0 has a sheet stacking unit formed above an image forming unit, and a scanner unit is arranged above the sheet stacking unit with a space therebetween to avoid a malfunction of the wing type apparatus. However, the paper stacking (discharging) part is enclosed between the image forming housing and the scanner part, and the paper is discharged inside the cylinder, so to speak, so it is a groping operation when taking it out, and the space inside the cylinder is narrow. As a result, there is a difficulty in removing the paper.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus for ejecting copy sheets, which is an apparatus for ejecting copy sheets between an image forming section and a scanner section above the image forming section.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, an image forming section for forming image information on a sheet, an apparatus case containing the image forming section, and an apparatus case. And a scanner unit which is arranged above the device with a space between them, reads the original image information, converts the information into an electric signal, and supplies it to the image forming unit, and the scanner unit separates the space above the apparatus casing. In the image forming apparatus including a supporting portion that supports the sheet, a sheet discharge tray that is movable in a direction substantially orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction is provided on the upper surface of the apparatus housing.

An image forming unit for forming image information on a sheet,
An apparatus housing including the image forming unit, and a space provided above the apparatus housing, the original image information is read, the information is converted into an electric signal, and the electric signal is supplied to the image forming unit. In an image forming apparatus including a scanner section and a support section for supporting the scanner section above the apparatus housing with a space, a paper conveyance path is provided inside the support section continuously formed in the apparatus housing. Is provided, and at least one bin tray connected to the support part and located in the space between the device housing and the scanner part is provided, and a paper jogger is attached to the bin tray or the upper surface of the device housing. However, the above problem is solved. In this case, it is convenient if the paper ejection side of the upper surface of the apparatus casing is raised at least partially.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows a typical so-called in-body discharge type image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The image forming unit 1 is arranged substantially in the center of the apparatus, and the paper feeding unit 2 is provided immediately below the image forming unit 1.
Is located. Although the paper feed unit 2 is shown as comprising two paper feed cassettes, the number of cassettes can be freely increased or decreased as necessary. A scanner unit 3 for reading a document is provided above the image forming unit 1 with a space therebetween. A space between the image forming unit 1 and the scanner unit 3 is formed as a paper discharge unit 4 so that the image copied paper is discharged.

In the image forming unit 1, around a photosensitive drum 5 made of, for example, an organic photosensitive member, a charger 6 for charging the drum surface, an exposure device 7 for irradiating image information on the drum with laser light, A developing device 8 for visualizing the electrostatic latent image on the drum, a transfer roller 9 for transferring the toner image on the drum to a sheet, a cleaning device 10 for removing and collecting residual toner on the drum, and the like are arranged. Further, a fixing device 11 that performs a fixing process on the sheet after the image transfer is arranged on the downstream side of the sheet conveyance of the electrophotographic process means.

The paper feed unit 2 consisting of a two-stage paper feed cassette,
Each of the paper feed cassettes 21 contains sheets of different sizes or different loading directions. Inside the paper feed cassette 21, a bottom plate 22 for lifting the leading edge of the paper to the calling roller 23 is attached. The paper pulled out from the cassette by the calling roller 23 is
It is delivered to the registration roller 14 via the delivery roller 24. In some cases, paper is fed to the registration rollers 14 from a manual feed tray 16 which is hingedly supported on the side of the apparatus housing 15 of the image forming unit 1 and which is rotatable and openable.

In the scanner section 3, the contact glass 32
In order to scan and scan a document (not shown) placed on it, a reading traveling body 31 composed of a document illumination light source and a mirror is moved. The image information scanned by the reading traveling body 31 is read as an image signal by an image reading device 33 provided behind the lens. The read image signal is digitized and image-processed.
Based on the image-processed signal, a laser diode (LD, not shown) of the exposure device 7 is driven, the laser light from the LD is reflected by a polygon mirror, and then on the photosensitive drum 5 via the mirror. To form an electrostatic latent image on the drum.

The paper discharge unit 4 on the image forming unit 1 is constituted by wall surfaces forming a part of the apparatus casing 15 on three sides except the front side as viewed in FIG. 1, and is shown in FIG. As described above, the scanner unit 3 is in a state of being raised and supported. As a result, the image-formed sheet is discharged into the body of the image forming apparatus, and even if the copy target is, for example, a confidential document, the content is unlikely to be seen by a nearby person. In the present embodiment, the paper is ejected on the back side because of the direction of paper conveyance in the image forming unit 1, so that it is particularly excellent in maintaining confidentiality.

As shown in FIG. 3, a paper discharge tray 41 that can be pulled out is arranged on the upper surface of the housing 15 forming the paper discharge section 4. The paper output tray 41 has a central front side scooped out so that the paper can be easily taken out when pulled out, and is inclined so that the left side in FIG. 1 becomes lower for aligning the rear ends of the discharged paper. are doing. Rail-shaped projections 42 are formed on the inner sides of both side walls of the wall surface that defines the paper discharge unit 4 and supports the scanner unit 3 in order to pull out and push in the paper discharge tray. The paper discharge tray 41 slides along the rail-shaped projections 42, is pulled out, and is pushed in. However, rollers may be arranged at both edges of the back surface of the tray for smooth sliding. . A handle may be attached to the front of the output tray for easy pulling out. The handle prevents the discharged stacked sheets from dropping from the tray. A plurality of rail-shaped projections may be provided according to the extent of the paper ejection portion space, and a plurality of paper ejection trays may be arranged in the paper ejection portion space.

In addition to the paper discharge tray 41, the paper discharge unit 4 also includes
A 1-bin tray 43 with a paper discharge jogger is provided.
Like the paper discharge tray, the number of bin trays can be increased to a plurality according to the extent of the paper discharge unit space. As shown in FIG. 2, the 1-bin tray 43 is arranged in the hollow portion of the space of the paper discharge unit 4, and has a large notch at the center front side so that the paper can be easily taken out. Due to this notch, it is easy for the operator to confirm the paper discharged to the paper discharge tray 41. The sheet discharged to the 1-bin tray 43 is sent out to the front side of the apparatus by the automatic jogger 44 as shown in FIG. The jogger 44 is configured so that a driving force is transmitted from, for example, a driving device (not shown) for the discharge roller described below, and the paper may be sent out one by one, or by each job. The stacked sheets may be sent out.

In order to make it easier to take out the paper from the bin tray, instead of providing the automatic jogger, a handle portion 46 is provided on the front side of the tray so that the tray can be pulled out similarly to the paper discharge tray 41. (Fig. 5 (a)). Alternatively, only the tray central piece 47 may be constructed so as to be slidable and pulled out against the action of the spring 48 (FIG. 5B). The tray central piece 47 'may be slid toward the front side (FIG. 5 (c)). Alternatively, a manual jogger member 49 may be provided on the tray (FIG. 5 (d)). In some cases, the entire tray is constructed as a slide type with spring action (FIG. 5 (e)). In particular, in the structure in which the tray is inclined to facilitate the taking-out of the sheet, the front cover portion of the apparatus housing 15 is formed so as to be partly raised, and the sheet is prevented from slipping down. Good.

In the side wall on the left side as viewed in FIG. 1, which is one of the wall surfaces that defines the paper discharge unit 4 and supports the scanner unit 3, FIG.
, A plurality of transport rollers 51, 52, 53
Is provided to form a paper transport path through which the paper having passed through the fixing device 11 can be discharged to the paper discharge tray 41 or the 1-bin tray 43. In order to lift the sheet to the 1-bin tray 43, the discharge roller 54 is configured as a driving roller and is driven by a driving device (not shown). Output trays 41 and 1
The discharge switching of the bin tray 43 is performed by the first switching claw 55 arranged in this paper transport path. The outer cover of the casing 15 which covers the transport rollers 51, 52, 53 and constitutes the wall surface has a double structure, and the outermost cover 17 is hingedly supported and is configured to open and close around the rotation fulcrum 18. ing. When opened, the outermost cover 17 functions as a third paper discharge tray different from the paper discharge tray 41 and the 1-bin tray 43. The outermost cover 17 is hollow, and as shown in FIG. 7, is composed of a main cover plate 17a and an extension plate 17b, and is formed as a telescopic type that allows the extension plate 17b to be pulled out when necessary. Has been done. Conveyance paths to the paper ejection tray 41 and the bin tray 43 and the outermost cover 1 for straight paper ejection
The switching of the transport direction to 7 is performed by the second switching claw 56 (FIG. 6).

The copy process in the image forming apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration is the same as the conventionally known procedure.
At the same time, the surface of the photosensitive drum 5 is uniformly charged by the charging charger 6, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface by light irradiation by the exposure device 7 based on a signal read by the scanner unit 3 and subjected to image processing. Then, when the electrostatic latent image passes through a position facing the developing device 8, the latent image is visualized by toner adhesion. The visible image is superposed on the sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding section 2 or the manual feed tray 16 at the same timing, and the image is transferred onto the sheet using the transfer roller 9. The transferred toner image is fixed to the fixing device 1.
It is fixed on the paper by passing 1. on the other hand,
The residual toner on the photoconductor drum 5 after the transfer processing is removed by the cleaning device 10, and the residual charge on the photoconductor drum is removed by the neutralization device. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to any of the sheet discharge tray 41, the bin tray 43, and the opened outermost cover 17 depending on the switching positions of the first switching claw 55 and the second switching claw 56.

Since there are a plurality of paper discharge positions as described above, it is possible to perform control so that paper is discharged to each position for each function of the copier, facsimile, and printer. By dividing the discharge location for each function, the recording sheets will not be mixed even if a plurality of functions are operated at the same time. Further, by switching the first switching claw 55 during one copy process, the paper ejection trays 41 and 1
When the bin tray 43 can be used for sorting / stacking, and the number of copies is considerably large, for example, the sheets are first stacked on the paper discharge tray 41, and the first switching is performed when a certain number is reached. If the pawl 55 is switched to control the sheet to be ejected to the 1-bin tray 43, the number of copies per copy can be greatly increased.

The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment has the advantage of saving the installation space by using the manual feed tray 16 and the outermost cover 17 in a so-called wingless state, and has the advantage of saving the installation space. The device can be used by pushing it into a narrow space surrounded by walls. However, when the misfeed process needs to be performed from the side of the machine when used in such an installed state, the machine must be moved. In order to improve the mechanical mobility, handles 45 are formed on the front side of the side wall of the paper discharge unit of the apparatus housing 15 that lifts and supports the scanner unit 3, as shown in FIG.

[0023]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an image forming unit for forming image information on a sheet, a device housing containing the image forming unit, and a space above the device housing are provided. A scanner unit for reading the original image information, converting the information into an electric signal and supplying the electric signal to the image forming unit, and a support unit for supporting the scanner unit above the apparatus housing with a space. In the image forming apparatus including the above, since a paper discharge tray that is movable in a direction substantially orthogonal to the paper discharge direction is provided on the upper surface of the apparatus housing, the image forming unit and the scanner unit above it are provided. Even when the paper is discharged into the limited space, the discharged paper can be easily taken out.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, an image forming unit for forming image information on a sheet, an apparatus housing containing the image forming unit, and a space above the apparatus housing are arranged. The scanner unit includes a scanner unit that reads the original image information, converts the information into an electric signal, and supplies the electric signal to the image forming unit, and a support unit that supports the scanner unit above the apparatus housing with a space. In the image forming apparatus configured as above, a paper transport path is formed inside a supporting portion continuously formed in the apparatus casing, is connected to the supporting portion, and is located in a space between the apparatus casing and the scanner unit. Since at least one bin tray is provided and the paper jogger is attached to the upper surface of the bin tray or the apparatus casing, the same as in the invention of claim 1, between the image forming unit and the scanner unit above it. Paper in a limited space Even in discharged, it becomes easy to take out the exhaust paper. According to the third aspect of the present invention, if the paper ejection side of the upper surface of the apparatus casing is at least partially raised, it is possible to prevent the paper from falling from the apparatus when the paper is ejected. Become.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an in-body discharge type image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

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

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an operation of pulling out a paper discharge tray.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a jogger operation of a bin tray.

5 (a) to (e) are conceptual diagrams illustrating a modified example of the bin tray.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a paper transport path region of the in-body paper discharge type image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of a third paper discharge tray.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Image forming unit 2 Paper feeding unit 3 Scanner unit 4 Paper discharging unit 5 Photosensitive drum 7 Exposure device 11 Fixing device 15 Device housing 41 Paper discharging tray 42 Rail-like projection 43 Bin tray

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image forming unit for forming image information on a sheet, an apparatus housing enclosing the image forming unit, and a space above the apparatus housing, which is arranged with a space between them, to store the original image information. An image forming apparatus comprising: a scanner unit that converts the information to an electric signal and supplies the image forming unit to the image forming unit; and a support unit that supports the scanner unit with a space above the device casing, wherein the device is provided. An image forming apparatus comprising a paper discharge tray movable on a top surface of a housing in a direction substantially orthogonal to a paper discharge direction. 2. An image forming unit for forming image information on a sheet, a device housing enclosing the image forming unit, and a space above the device housing, which is arranged with a space therebetween, and the original image information is stored. An image forming apparatus comprising: a scanner unit that converts the information to an electric signal and supplies the image forming unit to the image forming unit; and a support unit that supports the scanner unit with a space above the device casing, wherein the device is provided. A paper conveyance path is formed inside a support portion continuously formed in the housing, and at least one bin tray connected to the support portion and located in the space between the apparatus housing and the scanner portion is provided. An image forming apparatus characterized in that a paper jogger is attached to an upper surface of a bin tray or an apparatus housing. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the paper ejection side of the upper surface of the apparatus casing is raised at least partially.