JPH09255215A - Image forming device and its feeding/delivering mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve workability by automatically adjusting a space between opposing side fences provided in a delivery section according to the changing of a space between opposing side fences provided in a feeding section. SOLUTION: Feeding side fences 51 and delivering side fences 54 are provided in feeding and delivering sections 7 and 8 so as to be freely slid. A main displacement body 57 displaced according to the sliding of the feeding side fences 51 and a follower displacement body 60 freely displaced along the moving locus of the main displacement body 57 are provided, and when the main displacement body 57 and the follower displacement body 60 are connected to each other, the follower displacement body 60 and the delivery side fences 54 are associatively moved by an interlocking mechanism 62 such that a space between the opposing feeding side fences 51 is made coincident with a space between the opposing delivery side fences 54. Sensors 58 and 59 for detecting connection between the main and follower displacement bodies 57 and 60 are provided and until these sensors detect connection between the main and follower displacement bodies 57 and 60, the delivery side fences 54 are slid in a close direction or a shifting away direction.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feeding / discharging mechanism of an image forming apparatus such as a printing machine or a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a printing machine has been used as an image forming apparatus for passing a transfer sheet in a sheet passing path from a sheet feeding section to a sheet discharging section and forming a desired image on the transfer sheet in the sheet passing process. And copiers have been put to practical use. For example, a stencil printing machine classified into the category of a printing machine heats and punches a master made of a thermoplastic resin to form a desired perforated image, and transfers ink to transfer paper through the perforations formed in the master. This is a structure for performing image formation. In addition, the copying machine forms a desired electrostatic latent image on a uniformly charged photoconductor, develops the electrostatic latent image with toner or the like, transfers the developed image to transfer paper, and prints the developed image after the transfer. This is a structure in which image formation is performed by fixing. In any case, the image forming apparatus has a common point in that the transfer paper is passed through a paper passage from the paper supply unit to the paper discharge unit, and a desired image is formed on the transfer paper in the paper passing process. I have.
In general, transfer papers stacked and mounted on a paper supply unit are separately fed and sent to a paper passing path.

In such an image forming apparatus, generally, the larger the model, the more diversified the size of the transfer paper on which an image can be formed. Models that can form images on transfer paper of various sizes are usually provided with a pair of side fences facing each other in the paper feed section on which the transfer papers are stacked, and the distance between these side fences is set to be opposite to each other. It is generally variable. In such a structure, the skew that is likely to occur on the transfer paper during the separation paper feeding is prevented by adjusting the facing distance between the side fences according to the size of the transfer paper.

[0004]

In an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image on transfer sheets of various sizes, a side fence which can freely move toward and away from each other in the paper width direction is also provided in a paper discharging section, and the paper is discharged. There are models that can align transfer paper. In this case, the facing distance between the side fence on the side of the sheet feeding unit and the side fence on the side of the sheet discharging unit must be adjusted separately. Therefore, there is a problem that the work for that is complicated.

In Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-30370,
In a printing machine, the facing interval between a pair of paper-discharging rollers and a paper-discharging ring for discharging transfer paper after image formation to a paper-discharging unit can be varied in association with the variable facing distance between side fences in the paper-feeding unit. The invention thus made is described. Also,
JP-A-60-220752 and JP-A-60-2207
Also in Japanese Patent No. 53, in the printing machine, the facing distance of the paper discharging unit including a pair of paper discharging rollers for discharging the transfer paper after image formation to the paper discharging unit is set to the facing distance of the side fences in the paper feeding unit. An invention has been disclosed in which it can be variably interlocked with and varied.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
Pass the transfer paper through the paper path from the paper feed section to the paper discharge section,
In an image forming apparatus that forms a desired image on a transfer sheet in this sheet passing process, a pair of paper feed side fences provided in a paper feed unit, at least one of which is slidable in the paper width direction, and a paper ejection unit are provided. A pair of paper ejection side fences, at least one of which is slidable in the paper width direction,
The main displacement body that is displaced according to the slide of the paper feed side fence, the sub displacement body that is provided so as to be displaceable along the movement trajectory of this main displacement body, the facing distance between the paper feed side fence and the discharge side fence. A coupling mechanism that links the main displacement body and the sub-displacement body while maintaining the relation in which the main displacement body and the sub-displacement body are coupled to each other when the facing distances match each other, and the coupling mechanism that links the main displacement body and the sub-displacement body. Sensor, a drive unit that drives the paper ejection side fence to slide toward and away from the paper ejection side fence, and activates the drive unit until the sensor detects the coupling between the main displacement body and the sub displacement body, and the paper ejection side fence. And a space adjusting means for sliding the paper in a direction toward or away from the paper supply / discharge mechanism.

Therefore, when the operator slides the paper feed side fence to change the facing distance of the paper feed side fence, the main displacement body is displaced accordingly. Then, the drive unit is activated by the space adjusting means, and the facing space of the paper discharge side fences is changed. Then, when the sensor detects the coupling between the main displacement body and the sub displacement body, the activation of the drive unit is stopped, and the facing interval of the paper ejection side fences is set to a predetermined interval. At this time, since the main displacement body and the sub displacement body are coupled to each other, the facing distance between the paper feeding side fences and the facing distance between the paper discharging side fences match. Therefore, the facing distance of the paper discharge side fence is automatically adjusted only by adjusting the facing distance of the paper feed side fence.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, if a plurality of sensors are arranged in parallel in the displacement direction of the main displacement body and the sub displacement body, the paper ejection side fence is slid when the paper ejection side fence is slid. It is easily determined in which direction to move the. That is, if a plurality of sensors are arranged in the displacement direction of the main displacement body and the sub displacement body, the movement direction of the main displacement body, that is, the movement direction of the sheet feeding side fence is recognized. It is only necessary to move the paper ejection side fence in the direction corresponding to the above. When the minimum distance or the maximum distance between the paper ejection side fences is detected while the paper ejection side fences are being slid in the approaching or separating directions, the paper ejection side fences can be detected. By reversing the sliding direction of, even if the sub-displacement body has overtaken the main displacement body, the facing interval of the paper ejection side fence is set without fail. Further, if the discharge side fence is provided with a transfer paper holding portion for holding the discharged transfer paper in a U-shape, the discharged transfer paper is U-shaped. It is held in a shape and loaded neatly.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, wherein a transfer sheet is passed through a sheet passing path from a sheet feeding section to a sheet discharging section, and a desired image is formed on the transfer sheet in the step of passing the sheet. A pair of paper feed side fences provided in the paper feed unit and at least one of which is slidable in the paper width direction; and a pair of paper feed side fences provided in the paper ejection unit and at least one of which is slidable in the paper width direction. The paper feeding side fence is configured so as to interlock with the slide of the paper feeding side fence and slide the paper discharging side fence in the same slide amount and direction as the paper feeding side fence. Therefore, when the operator slides the paper feeding side fence to change the facing distance of the paper feeding side fence, the facing distance of the paper discharging side fence is changed accordingly. As a result, the facing distance between the paper feeding side fences and the facing distance between the paper discharging side fences match,
The facing distance of the paper ejection side fence is automatically adjusted simply by adjusting the facing distance of the paper feeding side fence.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, wherein a transfer sheet is passed through a sheet passing path from a sheet feeding section to a sheet discharging section, and a desired image is formed on the transfer sheet in the step of passing the sheet. The sheet feeding / discharging mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is provided, and the sheet feeding operation from the sheet feeding unit is prohibited during the sliding operation of the sheet discharging side fence interlocked with the sliding of the sheet feeding side fence. Therefore, since the paper feeding / ejection operation is not performed during the sliding of the paper ejection side fence, the transfer paper ejected to the paper ejection unit is misaligned or the transfer paper ejected to the paper ejection side fence during sliding is Collisions are prevented.

[0011]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, an example of application to the stencil printing machine 1 as an image forming apparatus is shown. Since the basic structure of the stencil printing machine 1 is well known, the basic structure will be briefly described. First, the stencil printing machine 1 will be described.

[Stencil Printing Machine] FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view of the stencil printer 1.

The stencil printing machine 1 is roughly composed of an optical reading section 3, a plate making section 4, a printing section 5, a plate discharging section 6, a paper feeding section 7, and a paper discharging section 8.

The optical reading section 3 has a structure as a digital scanner in which a document 10 placed on the contact glass 9 is irradiated with light from a light source 11 and the reflected light is received by a CCD 12, and an ADF 13 is provided. . In other words, the optical reading unit 3 has a two-mode scanner configuration and is compatible with image reading in the original fixed system and the original moving system.

The plate making unit 4 draws out the master 2 as an image forming medium which is wound and held in a roll shape into the master conveyance path 14 and punches the master 2 with a thermal head 15 located on the master conveyance path 14. This is a structure in which the punched master 2 is cut by a cutter 16 into a sheet shape, and the sheet-shaped master 2 is sent to the printing unit 5.

The printing unit 5 has a plate cylinder 17 as a main component. The plate cylinder 17 has holes having a diameter of about 0.15 to 0.5 mm formed on the outer peripheral surface at intervals of about 0.25 to 1.0 mm, and is centered on a spindle that also serves as an ink supply pipe 21 described later. Is driven to rotate. The plate cylinder 17 has a stage section 18 and a clamper section 19. The master 2 sent from the plate making section 4 to the stage section 18 is held by the clamper section 19 and driven to rotate so that the master 2 is held. It is a structure that holds it in a wound state. The printing unit 5 includes an ink supply unit 20 inside such a plate cylinder 17. The ink supply unit 20 is composed of an ink supply pipe 21, an ink supply roller 22, and a doctor roller 23, and a large number of holes formed on the outer peripheral surface of the ink supply pipe 21 are provided between the ink supply roller 22 and the doctor roller 23. Ink 25 is supplied to the ink reservoir 24 located and the ink 2
This is a structure in which the amount of 5 is regulated by the gap between the rollers 22 and 23 and is supplied to the ink supply roller 22. The printing unit 5 has a press roller 26 that is pressed against the ink supply roller 22 from the outer peripheral surface of the plate cylinder 17, and the press roller 26 applies pressure to the plate cylinder 17 to deform it. The ink 25 leaks from the inner peripheral surface to the outer peripheral surface. That is, when the ink 25 leaks from the plate cylinder 17, the ink 25 passes through the holes formed in the master 2 wound around the plate cylinder 17, and the transfer paper is provided between the plate cylinder 17 and the press roller 26. The principle of printing in the printing unit 5 is to form an image on the transfer paper 27 by passing the sheet 27.

The plate discharge unit 6 has a structure in which the master 2 that is no longer needed after use is received from the plate cylinder 17 and is stored in the plate discharge box 28.

The paper feed section 7 has a structure in which the transfer papers 27 placed in a stacked state on the paper feed table 29 are separated and fed and guided between the plate cylinder 17 and the press roller 26. The transfer paper 27 guided between the plate cylinder 17 and the press roller 26 is conveyed by the belt conveyor 30 and reaches the tray-shaped paper discharge unit 8, so that the paper feed unit 7 and the paper discharge unit 8 pass the paper. It is connected by route 31. The paper feed unit 7 and the paper discharge unit 8 will be described later in detail.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the electrical connection of the control system. The operation of each unit described above is performed by the control system shown in FIG. The control system includes a clock generator 32 and a CPU 33 and a ROM 34 for centrally performing various processes.
A microcomputer including a RAM 35 and a RAM 35 is provided as a main component.
6, a plate making controller 37, a print controller 38, an image processing controller 39, and an operation display controller 40. CPU33
Operates according to the basic clock cycle generated by the clock generator 32, and the operation program executed by the CPU 33 is stored in the ROM 34. RAM3
Reference numeral 5 is used as a work area or the like.

The optical reading control unit 36 is included in the optical reading unit 3 and controls its operation. Therefore, the optical reading control unit 36 includes an image reading system that handles the output signal of the CCD 12 and a drive system that drives the light source 11 and the like. The image reading system includes a CCD substrate 41 including a signal output circuit of the CCD 12.
And A for A / D converting the output signal from the CCD substrate 41
And / D conversion board 42, both of which are connected to the CPU 33 to receive operation control. The CCD substrate 41 is the CCD 12
This is a mounting substrate of the above, and the read signal of the CCD 12 for each main scanning line is serially output pixel by pixel. A
The / D conversion board 42 converts the analog signal serially output from the CCD board 41 into a multivalued digital signal of 64 to 256 gradations, and further performs well-known shading correction and background for the converted multivalued digital signal. Apply correction. The signal after A / D conversion by the A / D conversion board 42 is output to the image processing control unit 39. The drive system includes a motor drive circuit 44 that controls the drive of the two motors 43 that are the drive sources of the digital scanner and the ADF 13. The motor drive circuit 44 is used in the clock generator 3
In synchronization with the clock signal from the motor 2, a current pulse having a predetermined value is applied to each excitation phase of the motor 43 at a predetermined timing and a frequency, thereby rotating the motor 43 at a predetermined timing and speed. The clock signal provided from the clock generator 32 to the motor drive circuit 44 is a signal obtained by dividing the frequency from the basic clock cycle.

The plate-making control section 37 is included in the plate-making section 4 and controls its operation. Therefore, the plate making control unit 37
Is composed of an image writing system for driving and controlling the thermal head 15 and a carrying system for carrying the master 2. The image writing system includes a thermal head heat generation control circuit 45 which is connected to the CPU 33 and drives and controls the thermal head 15. The thermal head heat generation control circuit 45 transmits a heat generation signal to the thermal head 15 according to the image data transmitted from the image processing control unit 39, which will be described later, to selectively cause a heat generating element (not shown) to generate heat. The transport system includes a motor drive circuit 47 that controls the drive of the motor 46 that is the drive source of the feed unit that transports the master 2. This motor drive circuit 47
Is synchronized with the clock signal from the clock generator 32,
A current pulse of a predetermined value is applied to each excitation phase of the motor 46 at a predetermined timing and frequency, whereby the motor 46 is driven.
Is rotationally driven at a predetermined timing and speed. The clock signal supplied from the clock generator 32 to the motor drive circuit 47 is a signal whose frequency is divided from the basic clock cycle.

The print control unit 38 includes a printing unit 5, a plate discharge unit 6,
It is included in the paper feed unit 7 and the paper discharge unit 8 and controls its operation. That is, the print control unit 38 includes a plurality of motors 48 that drive the respective units in the printing unit 5, the plate discharge unit 6, and the paper feeding unit 7.
A motor drive circuit 49 for driving and controlling the motor is a main component. Here, the respective units driven by the motor 48 are the plate cylinder 17, the ink supply roller 22, the doctor roller 23, the press roller 26, and the clamper unit 19 in the printing unit 5.
The plate discharging unit 6 is a feed unit that conveys the master 2 and a mechanism that applies a pressing force to the master 2 in the plate discharging box 28, and the sheet feeding unit 7 is a feed mechanism that feeds and conveys the transfer sheet 27. The motor drive circuit 49 applies a current pulse of a predetermined value at a predetermined timing and frequency to each excitation phase of the motor 48 in synchronization with the clock signal from the clock generator 32,
As a result, the motor 48 is rotationally driven at a predetermined timing and speed. The clock signal supplied from the clock generator 32 to the motor drive circuit 49 is a signal whose frequency is divided from the basic clock cycle.

The operation display control unit 40 drives and controls an operation system, a display system and an operation display system on an operation panel (not shown). That is, the operation display control unit 40 generates a predetermined signal when the operation system (including the operation system of the operation display system), for example, the start key 50 or the like is operated and transmits it to the CPU 33, and the display system (operation display). (Including a system display system), for example, a monitor display unit or an LCD display unit (not shown) is driven to display a predetermined display. Although only the start key 50 is shown in the operation display control unit 40 in the block diagram of FIG. 6, the operation display control unit 40 includes all operation systems, display systems, and operation display systems in the operation panel. ing.

The image processing control unit 39 includes an optical reading control unit 3
A predetermined process is performed on the image data of the document 10 read in 6 and the process of transmitting the image data to the plate making control unit 37 is performed. The predetermined processing to be performed on the image data is, for example, MTF correction, scaling, and the like.

In such a structure, the stencil printing machine 1
Are a plate making operation for making a master 2 in the plate making section 4 based on a document image read by the optical reading section 3;
The printing operation of transferring and printing the original image on the transfer paper 27 by utilizing the above is a basic operation. Each of these operations is continuously executed by pressing the start key 50.

The plate making operation will be described. First, when the start key 50 is pressed, the used master 2 wound around the plate cylinder 17 is discarded in the plate discharge section 6. Thus, preparation for the plate making operation is completed. Substantially plate making operation is performed in the process in which the master 2 is transported through the master transport path 14. That is, the thermal head 15 heats and punches the master 2, and a punched image based on the original image read by the optical reading unit 3 is formed on the master 2. Then, the master 2 after the heat punching is cut into a predetermined length by the cutter 16 and sent to the printing unit 5.

The printing operation will be described. In the printing unit 5, the clamper unit 19 holds the master 2 on which the perforated image is formed, which is conveyed from the plate making unit 4, on the stage unit 18 provided on the plate cylinder 17, and the plate cylinder 17 rotates in this state. The master 2 is wound around the plate cylinder 17. Therefore,
The transfer paper 27 is conveyed from the paper feed unit 7 toward the plate cylinder 17 in synchronization with the rotation of the plate cylinder 17, and is pressed against the plate cylinder 17 with the master 2 by the press roller 26. This allows
The ink 25 leaks from the inside of the plate cylinder 17 to which the ink 25 is supplied by the ink supply roller 22 to the outside,
The leaked ink 25 passes through the perforations formed in the master 2 and is transferred to the transfer paper 27. Thus, the transfer paper 27
The punched image formed on the master 2 is transferred to and printed.

[Sheet Feeding and Discharging Mechanism] Next, the sheet feeding and discharging mechanism including the sheet feeding unit 7 and the sheet discharging unit 8 will be described. In the paper feeding section 7,
A pair of paper feed side fences 51 facing the paper feed tray 29
Is attached. These paper feeding side fences 5
1 is slidable in the paper width direction by a rack and pinion mechanism 52 attached to the lower part of the paper feed table 29.
A pair of paper ejection side fences 54 facing the paper ejection tray 53 are also attached to the paper ejection unit 8. These paper discharge side fences 54 are also rack and pinion mechanisms 56 attached to the main body frame 55 of the stencil printing machine 1.
(See FIG. 5), it is slidable in the paper width direction.
Then, the lower portion of the paper discharge side fence 54 is bent in a direction in which the paper discharge side fence 54 is close to each other to form a transfer paper holding portion 54a.
The transfer sheet holder 54a holds the discharged transfer sheet 27 in U
Hold in a letter shape.

The main displacement body 57 is engaged with one of the paper feed side fences 51. This structure is shown in FIG. That is, the main displacement body 57 is attached to the main body frame 55 so as to be slidable in the paper width direction, and is configured to move together with the paper feed side fence 51 by engaging with one paper feed side fence 51. Here, the main displacement body 57 includes a sensor A58 and a sensor B59.
Is installed. These sensor A58 and sensor B
Reference numeral 59 denotes a transmissive optical sensor including a light emitting portion PD and a light receiving portion PT, which are arranged adjacent to each other in the sliding direction of the main displacement body 57. On the other hand, the light emitting portion PD and the light receiving portion P in the sensor A58 and the sensor B59 are
T is arranged such that the optical axis direction is orthogonal to the sliding direction of the main displacement body 57.

Next, a sub-displacement body 60 which is freely displaceable along the movement locus of the main displacement body 57 is provided. The sub-displacement body 60 is arranged between the light emitting portion PD and the light receiving portion PT of the sensor A58 and the sensor B59, and both sensors 5 are provided.
It is formed in a size capable of simultaneously blocking the light emitting parts PD and the light receiving parts PT of 8,59. The sub-displacement body 60 is incorporated in an interlocking mechanism 62 including a coil spring 61 formed by fixing one end of the wire to the main body frame 55 and the other end to one of the paper ejection side fences 54. In other words, the interlocking mechanism 62 uses the sub-displacement body 60 as the light emitting portion P in the sensor A58 and the sensor B59.
A pulley pair 63 for maintaining a state of being positioned between D and the light receiving portion PT is provided, and the sub-displacement body 60 is supported between the pulley pair 63. The sub-displacement body 60 is displaced along the movement trajectory of the main displacement body 57 while the coil spring 61 is expanded and contracted according to the sliding movement of the paper discharge side fence 54. The interlocking mechanism 62 maintains the relationship in which the main displacement body 57 and the sub-displacement body 60 are coupled to each other when the facing distance between the paper feeding side fence 51 and the facing distance between the paper discharging side fences 54 match, and the sub-displacement is maintained. The body 60 and the paper ejection side fence 54 are configured to interlock with each other. In this case, the relationship in which the main displacement body 57 and the subsidiary displacement body 60 are coupled is that the subsidiary displacement body 60 is connected to the sensor A58 and the sensor B5.
9 means a relationship in which the light emitting portion PD and the light receiving portion PT of 9 are positioned at the same time.

Next, one of the motors 48 in the print controller 38 is fixed to the body frame 55. The motor 48 functions as a drive unit that drives the pinion gear 56 a in the rack and pinion mechanism 56 on the paper discharge unit 8 side to slide the paper discharge side fence 54.

In the paper feeding / discharging mechanism of the present embodiment, the motor 48 is activated until the sensors 58, 59 detect the coupling between the main displacement body 57 and the sub displacement body 60, and the paper discharge side fence 54 is brought close to it. Alternatively, it is provided with a space adjusting means for sliding in the separating direction. That is, as shown in FIG.
A sensor A 58 and a sensor B 59 are connected to 3. The CPU 33 then uses the sensor A 58 and the sensor B.
When either one of 59 is turned on, the motor 48 is activated to slide the paper discharge side fence 54, and a process of maintaining this state until both the sensor A 58 and the sensor B 59 are turned off is executed. Such processing is
It is executed as a subroutine that interrupts the main routine.

The CPU 33 has a microswitch A64.
And the microswitch B65 is also connected. As shown in FIG. 5, the micro switch A64 is switched on by interfering with a part of the rack 56b in the rack & pinion mechanism 56 on the side of the paper discharging unit 8 when the facing interval of the paper discharging side fences 54 is maximized. The micro switch B65 is arranged at a position where the micro switch B65 is turned on by interfering with a part of the rack 56b when the facing distance between the paper discharge side fences 54 is minimized.

The operation of the paper feeding / discharging mechanism will be described. In general, in the paper feeding / discharging mechanism according to the present embodiment, when the facing interval of the paper feeding side fences 51 in the paper feeding unit 7 is variable, the paper discharging side fences 54 are also discharged in the paper discharging unit 8 accordingly. The facing interval of is automatically changed. The details will be described below.

When the facing interval of the paper feed side fence 51 is widened, the main displacement body 57 moves according to the movement of the paper feed side fence 51, and the sensor A58 mounted on this main displacement body 57 moves the sub displacement body 60. Pass and turn on. That is, the light emitted from the light emitting portion PD of the sensor A58 is received by the light receiving portion PT, the output signal of the light receiving portion PT becomes high, and the CPU 33 determines that the sensor A58 is in the on state. As a result, the subroutine shown in FIG. 7 is executed. First, when the sensor A58 is turned on (step S
1), the motor 48 provided in the paper discharge unit 8 is driven by the motor drive circuit 49 to be activated (step S2). At this time, the motor 48 rotates in the A direction, that is, in the direction in which the facing interval of the paper discharge side fence 54 is increased. This allows
The facing interval of the paper ejection side fence 54 is widened. Then, the sub-displacement body 60 is pulled by the coil spring 61 in the interlocking mechanism 62 and moves in the direction in which the light emitting portion PD and the light receiving portion PT of the sensor A58 are blocked. Therefore, it is determined whether the sub-displacement body 60 has moved to a position where the light emitting portion PD and the light receiving portion PT of the sensor A58 are blocked, that is, whether the sensor A58 is turned off (step S4).
When 58 is turned off, after confirming that the sensor B59 is turned off (step S5), the drive of the motor 48 is stopped (step S6). As a result, the main displacement body 57 and the sub-displacement body 60 are brought into a combined state, and the paper feeding side fence 5
The facing distance of 1 and the facing distance of the paper discharge side fence 54 match.

On the other hand, after the motor 48 is driven in the direction A and before the sensor A58 is turned off, the micro switch A
If 64 is turned on (step S3), it is considered that the secondary displacement body 60 has overtaken the sensor A58 due to some error. This is because, in this case, the facing distance between the paper ejection side fences 54 is the maximum. Also,
Even when it is confirmed that the sensor B59 is turned on after it is confirmed that the sensor A58 is turned off in step S4 (step S
5), due to some error, the secondary displacement body 60 causes the sensor A
It is thought that he has passed 58. Therefore,
In these cases, the motor 48 is driven to rotate in the B direction, which is the reverse direction of the A direction, that is, in the direction in which the facing interval of the paper discharge side fence 54 is narrowed (step S).
7). As a result, the facing distance between the paper ejection side fences 54 is narrowed. Then, the sub-displacement body 60 is pulled by the interlocking mechanism 62 and moves in the direction in which the light emitting portion PD and the light receiving portion PT of the sensor B59 are blocked. Therefore, it is determined whether the sub-displacement body 60 has moved to a position where the light emitting portion PD and the light receiving portion PT of the sensor B59 are blocked, that is, whether the sensor B59 is turned off (step S9).
When 59 is turned off, it is reconfirmed that the sensor A58 is turned off (step S10), and then the driving of the motor 48 is stopped (step S6). As a result, the main displacement body 57
The sub-displacement body 60 and the sub-displacement body 60 are connected to each other, and the facing distance of the paper feeding side fence 51 and the facing distance of the paper discharging side fence 54 match.

During the reverse rotation processing of the motor 48, if the micro switch B65 is turned on before the sensor B59 is turned off (step S8), the slave displacement body 60 has overtaken the sensor B59 due to some error. It is considered to be a thing. In this case, the paper ejection side fence 5
This is because the facing distance of 4 is the minimum. Further, after it is confirmed that the sensor B59 is turned off in step S9, the sensor A
Even when it is confirmed that 58 is turned on (step S10),
It is considered that the secondary displacement body 60 has overtaken the sensor B59 due to some error. Therefore, in these cases, the motor 48 is again driven to rotate in the A direction (step S2), and the processing from step S3 onward is repeated.

On the other hand, when the facing interval of the paper feed side fence 51 is narrowed, the main displacement body 57 moves according to the movement of the paper feed side fence 51, and the sensor B59 mounted on this main displacement body 57 causes the sub displacement body to move. It turns on after passing 60.
That is, the light emitted from the light emitting portion PD of the sensor B59 is received by the light receiving portion PT, the output signal of the light receiving portion PT becomes high, and the CPU 33 determines that the sensor B59 is in the on state. As a result, the subroutine shown in FIG. 8 is executed. The subroutine shown in FIG. 8 is the same as the subroutine shown in FIG. 7 except that the rotation direction of the motor 48 is opposite to that of the subroutine shown in FIG. Therefore, the description is omitted.

Further, in the stencil printing machine 1, the paper feeding operation from the paper feeding table 29 is prohibited during the sliding operation of the paper discharging side fence 54 which is interlocked with the sliding of the paper feeding side fence 51. That is, during the sliding operation of the paper ejection side fence 54, the CPU 33 does not execute the printing operation even if the CPU 33 receives the print command.
As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the transfer sheet 27 discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 53 is in an unaligned state or the discharged transfer sheet 27 collides with the discharging side fence 54 that is sliding. To be done.

As described above, in the paper feeding / discharging mechanism of this embodiment, when the facing interval of the paper feeding side fences 51 in the paper feeding unit 7 is variable, the paper discharging unit 8 discharges paper accordingly. The facing distance between the side fences 54 is automatically changed. Therefore, the workability is significantly improved when adjusting the facing distance between the side fences 51 and 54 that needs to be changed according to the size of the transfer paper 27. Then, as a result of the facing distance between the paper feeding side fences 51 and the facing distance between the paper discharging side fences 54 matching, the transfer papers 27 are neatly stacked on the paper discharging unit 8. Moreover, since the paper discharge side fence 54 is provided with the transfer paper holding portion 54a at the lower part thereof, the discharged transfer paper 27 is held in the paper discharge portion 8 in a U-shape and stacked more orderly.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the paper discharge section 8. In this modified example of the paper discharge unit 8, a rack and pinion mechanism 56 that allows the paper discharge side fence 54 to slide is attached to the lower portion of the paper discharge table 53.

[0042]

The sheet feeding / discharging mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is provided so as to be displaceable along the main displacement body which is displaced according to the slide of the sheet feeding side fence, and the movement trajectory of the main displacement body. The sub-displacement body and the sheet-discharging side fence and the sheet-discharging side fence are opposed to each other, and the main-displacement body and the sub-displacement body are connected to each other when the facing distances of the paper-feeding side fence and the paper-discharging side fence match. An interlocking mechanism that interlocks with the side fence,
A sensor that detects the connection between the main displacement body and the sub-displacement body, a drive unit that drives the paper ejection side fence to slide in the approaching / separating direction, and until the sensor detects the connection between the main displacement body and the sub-displacement body. Since there is a spacing means for activating the drive unit and sliding the side fences toward or away from each other, it is possible to automatically adjust the facing distance between the paper discharging side fences only by adjusting the facing distance between the paper feeding side fences. As a result, workability can be significantly improved when adjusting the facing distance between the side fences, which needs to be variable according to the size of the transfer paper.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since a plurality of sensors are arranged in parallel in the displacement direction of the main displacement body and the sub-displacement body, when the paper feeding side fence is slid as in the third aspect of the invention. It is possible to easily determine in which direction the paper ejection side fence should be initially moved. Therefore, when the facing interval of the paper ejection side fence is automatically adjusted, the efficiency of the process is improved.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the minimum distance or the maximum distance between the paper ejection side fences is detected while the paper ejection side fences are being slid toward or away from each other, the sliding direction of the paper ejection side fences is changed. Since it is inverted, even if the sub-displacement body overtakes the main displacement body due to the slide of the paper ejection side fence driven by the drive unit, be sure to set the facing interval of the paper ejection side fence. You can

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the transfer paper holding portion for holding the transferred transfer paper in the U-shape is provided on the paper discharge side fence, the discharged transfer paper is held in the U-shape. Then, the sheets can be loaded in the paper discharge section in an orderly manner.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the image forming apparatus, the transfer sheet is passed through a sheet passing path from the sheet feeding section to the sheet discharging section, and a desired image is formed on the transfer sheet in the step of passing the sheet. A pair of paper feed side fences provided in the paper feed unit and at least one of which is slidable in the paper width direction; and a pair of paper feed side fences provided in the paper ejection unit and at least one of which is slidable in the paper width direction. Since the paper feed side fence slides in the same slide amount and direction as the paper feed side fence, the distance between the paper feed side fences faces each other. You can automatically adjust the facing spacing of the paper ejection side fences by simply adjusting the side fences, which allows the side fences to be variable according to the size of the transfer paper. When adjusting work facing distance, it is possible to greatly improve the workability.

According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the image forming apparatus, the transfer sheet is passed through a sheet passing path from the sheet feeding section to the sheet discharging section, and a desired image is formed on the transfer sheet in the step of passing the sheet. The sheet feeding / discharging mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding operation from the sheet feeding unit is prohibited during the sliding operation of the sheet discharging side fence that is interlocked with the sliding of the sheet feeding side fence. Therefore, it is possible to prevent misalignment of the transfer paper discharged to the paper discharge unit and collision of the discharged transfer paper with the discharging side fence during sliding.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view showing an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a structure of a paper feeding unit.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a connection structure of a paper feed side fence and a main displacement body.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a structure of a paper discharge unit.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing electrical connection of each unit.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an interrupt process executed when sensor A is turned on.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an interrupt process executed when sensor B is turned on.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the paper discharge unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Paper Feeding Section 8 Paper Discharging Section 27 Transfer Paper 31 Paper Passing Path 48 Driving Section 51 Paper Feeding Side Fence 54 Paper Discharging Side Fence 54a Transfer Paper Holding Section 57 Main Displacement Body 58, 59 Sensor 60 Slave Displacement Body 62 Interlocking Mechanism

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for causing a transfer sheet to pass through a sheet passing path from a sheet feeding section to a sheet discharging section and forming a desired image on the transfer sheet in the step of passing the sheet. A pair of paper feed side fences, at least one of which is slidable in the paper width direction, and a pair of paper discharge side fences, at least one of which is slidable in the paper width direction, provided in the paper ejection unit; A main displacement body that is displaced according to the slide of the side fence, a sub-displacement body that is displaceable along the movement trajectory of the main displacement body, a facing distance between the paper feed side fence and a discharge side fence. An interlocking mechanism that maintains the relationship in which the main displacement body and the sub-displacement body are coupled to each other when the facing distances match, and interlocks the sub-displacement body and the paper discharge side fence; A sensor that detects the coupling with the sub-displacement body, a drive unit that drives the paper ejection side fence to slide in the approaching / separating direction, and the sensor detects the coupling between the main displacement body and the sub-displacement body. A sheet feeding / discharging mechanism of an image forming apparatus, comprising: a space adjusting unit for activating the driving unit and sliding the sheet discharging side fence toward or away from each other. 2. The paper feeding / discharging mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of sensors are arranged in parallel in the displacement direction of the main displacement body and the sub displacement body. 3. The interval adjusting means detects the sliding direction of the paper feeding side fence from the detection results of a plurality of sensors, and slides the paper discharging side fence in the same direction as the moving direction. 2. A paper feeding / discharging mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to 2. 4. The spacing adjusting means slides the paper discharge side fence when the minimum distance or the maximum distance of the paper discharge side fence is detected while the paper discharge side fence is being slid toward or away from the paper discharge side fence. The sheet feeding / discharging mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the direction is reversed. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper discharge side fence has a transfer paper holding unit that holds the discharged transfer paper in a U-shape. Paper feeding and discharging device. 6. An image forming apparatus for causing a transfer sheet to pass through a sheet passing path extending from a sheet feeding section to a sheet discharging section and forming a desired image on the transfer sheet in the sheet passing step. A pair of paper feed side fences, at least one of which is slidable in the paper width direction, and a pair of paper discharge side fences, at least one of which is provided in the paper discharge unit and are slidable in the paper width direction, A paper feeding / discharging mechanism of an image forming apparatus, characterized in that the paper discharging side fence is slid in the same sliding amount and direction as the paper feeding side fence. . 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer paper is passed through a paper passage from the paper feed portion to the paper discharge portion, and a desired image is formed on the transfer paper in the paper passing process. An image characterized by including the paper feeding / discharging mechanism according to any one of (1) to (3), and prohibiting the paper feeding operation from the paper feeding unit during the sliding operation of the paper ejection side fence which is interlocked with the sliding of the paper feeding side fence. Forming equipment.