JPH09323854A - Recording paper reversing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the mechanism which reverses recording papers discharged with the image face upward from the recording unit proper before they are stacked on a discharging tray and discharge them reversed be a mechanism which does not require a large reversing space, discharges easily the recording papers reversed, maintains the order of the recording papers and can be incorporated in a small-sized recording unit by making it a small-sized and light weight option unit. SOLUTION: A device comprises a detecting means 7 which detects passage of a recording paper 4 discharged from the discharge port of the recording unit proper, transporting rollers 10 and 11 for transporting the recording paper, an opening and closing guide plate 12 which is so constituted as to be moved vertically for reversing the recording paper and constitutes a part of a recording paper transporting guide when it is at the bottom position, a control means which controls drive of the opening and closing guide plate and a bent 15 which keeps a stacking space for the recording paper after it is discharged with the reverse side upward and regulates the height of the reversing device itself.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a copying machine, a printer,
The present invention relates to a recording paper reversing device that is optionally installed in an image recording device such as a facsimile device. More specifically, the recording paper discharged from the image recording device with the image surface facing downward is small,
The present invention relates to a recording paper reversing device capable of being reversed by a mechanism having a simple structure and stacking with an image surface facing upward.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a recording sheet on which an image has been recorded in an image recording section of a small-sized image recording apparatus is discharged to a discharge tray or the like with the image side facing upward,
Since the page order of the stacked recording papers is opposite to the page order of the originals, it is necessary to manually rearrange the page order after ejecting the papers.
For this reason, conventionally, a back surface discharge mechanism (reversing mechanism) is arranged near the discharge port of the recording apparatus, and the image surface of the recording paper is reversed downward and then stacked in page order.
However, if such a back surface discharge mechanism is adopted in a small-sized recording apparatus, it is possible to discharge the recording paper while keeping the page order of the recording paper. However, is the reversing mechanism large in space? Or, since the layout of the device body is considerably restricted like the method of discharging the paper on the upper surface of the device, it was difficult to use it for a model in which the device body is small and the layout is restricted.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above, and the recording paper discharged from the main body of the recording apparatus with the image surface upward is reversed before being stacked on the paper discharge tray so as to be reversed. By making the paper ejection mechanism a compact and lightweight optional unit, you can easily eject the back side of the recording paper (paper ejection with the non-image side facing up) without the need for a large reversing space. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording paper reversing device that maintains order and can be installed in a small recording device. Another object of the present invention is to cope with a case where the user wants to perform normal paper discharge (surface paper discharge) without reversing the recording paper for the convenience of the user.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve the above object,
The invention of claim 1 can be retrofitted to a paper ejection port of the recording apparatus main body for ejecting the image surface upward from the paper ejection port or a paper ejection tray attached to the recording apparatus main body. In a recording paper reversing device that stacks recording paper ejected with the image side facing up from the paper exit side upside down and back side up, the recording paper ejected from the paper exit Detection unit, a conveyance roller for conveying the recording paper, and a conveyance guide for the recording paper when the recording paper is in the lowered position while being vertically movable to reverse the front and back of the recording paper. An opening / closing guide plate that constitutes a unit, and a control unit that controls the driving of the opening / closing guide plate,
It is characterized by having a bridge pier for securing a stacking space of the recording paper and adjusting the height of the reversing device itself after the recording paper is discharged with the back surface facing upward. According to a second aspect of the present invention, the opening / closing guide plate is composed of one substantially U-shaped opening / closing guide plate, and the opening / closing guide plate is rotated in the up-down direction about a rotation fulcrum, and the back surface of the recording paper is When the sheet is discharged upward, the opening / closing guide plate is opened upward to open a part of the conveying path. According to a third aspect of the present invention, the open / close guide plate is composed of two movable open / close guide plates, and one open / close guide plate has a function as a recording paper conveyance guide unit and a discharge direction switching unit.
The other opening / closing guide plate is characterized by having an opening / closing guide function when ejecting the recording paper with the back surface facing upward. According to the invention of claim 4, the recording paper is ejected with the back surface thereof facing upward,
It is characterized in that it has a control unit for switching between normal paper ejection with the image surface facing upward.

[0005]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The configuration and operation of the recording paper reversing device of the present invention will be described below. 1 (a) to 1 (e) are views for explaining the configuration and operation of the recording paper reversing device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are explanatory views of the structure and operation of the main part, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the arrangement of gears constituting the drive mechanism. The recording paper reversing device 1 is installed by retrofitting on the paper discharge port of the recording device main body 2 or on the horizontal tray 3 provided on the discharge side outer wall of the recording device main body 2. At this time, if necessary, the pier 15 of the extendable unit is adjusted to adjust the discharge height position of the recording paper. The pier 15 is also responsible for securing the stacking space for the discharged recording paper. This recording paper reversing device 1 is a discharge roller at the final stage of the recording device body.
Upper and lower guide ribs 5 and 6 provided near the la 2a
And a detection means (sensor) 7 for detecting the presence or absence of the recording paper 4.
A controller 8 of the recording paper reversing device 1, a motor 9 as a drive source of the device 1, a transport roller 10 and its opposing roller 11
And a U-shaped opening / closing guide plate 12 for reversing the recording paper (a shape in which the U-shape is rotated by about 90 degrees), an abutting portion 13 located at the end of the transport path, and driving of the opening / closing guide plate is controlled. And a control means 14 (not shown) (for example, a clutch). The recording apparatus main body 1 is of a type that ejects with the image surface facing upward, and the ejection order is from the first page.

A two-stage gear 20 directly connected to the output shaft of the motor 9
On the other hand, the output of the
On the other hand, it is connected to the clutch shaft gear 22 which is connected to the clutch 14. The clutch shaft gear 22 is the clutch 14
Is turned on and off, the driving force from the motor 9 is transmitted to the open / close guide plate gear 19 and cut off. The open / close guide plate gear 19 has a shaft portion (rotation fulcrum) 12
It is connected to A, and the shaft portion 12A is integral with the opening / closing guide plate 12. Therefore, when the clutch 14 is turned on, the open / close guide gear 19 rotates clockwise, and as a result, the open / close guide plate 12 rotates upward to open. On the contrary, when the clutch 14 is turned off, the open / close guide plate 12 is lowered to its closed position by its own weight or the force of a return spring (not shown).

Next, the schematic structure of the control system of the recording paper reversing device of the present invention will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. A drive source 9 of the present invention (a motor is used as a typical example) or a drive source 9 of the present invention is generated by an output signal from a paper discharge sensor 7 for detecting the conveyance of recording paper discharged from the recording apparatus main body 1 or a mode sensor 18. A control unit 8 for controlling other drive elements and a transport roller for transporting the recording paper discharged from the recording apparatus main body.
The roller 10 and the opposing roller 11 are connected to the power from the motor 9 through the opening / closing means 14 (a clutch is a typical example), and the recording paper 4 is turned by about 180 ° (reverse side).
It has an opening / closing guide plate 14 for making it. Further, the power source (power source) of this unit may be built in the unit like a dry battery, or may be supplied from the recording apparatus main body 2 by connection with a connector. In the above structure, the discharge roller 2a at the final stage of the recording apparatus main body 2
The recording paper 4 that has been ejected with the image surface facing upward (surface ejection) has its leading edge ejected at the final stage of the recording apparatus main body 2.
Detecting means (sensor) 7 which is guided by upper and lower guide ribs 5 and 6 provided in the vicinity of the la 2a and detects the presence or absence of recording paper.
Reach Then, the control unit 8 of the recording paper reversing device 1 operates the motor 9 which is the drive source of the conveying means. (Fig. 1 (a)
Next, the leading edge of the recording paper 4 is conveyed downward through the U-shaped open / close guide plate 12 for reversing the recording paper by the nip portion between the conveyance roller 10 and the opposing roller 11. The leading end of the inverted recording paper 4 is conveyed by the pier 15 of the unit into the space S formed in the lower part of the unit and strikes the abutting portion 13. (Fig. 1 (b)). At the timing when the leading edge of the recording paper strikes the abutting portion 13, the control unit 8 drives the clutch 14 as a control means for controlling the drive of the open / close guide plate 12, and the open / close guide plate 12 is moved as shown in FIG.
Open like. That is, the open guide plate 12 is the device 1
A curved conveyance path is formed between the guide rib 6 and the extended portion of the guide rib 6 fixed to the opening / closing guide plate 12 which is supported so as to be openable / closable as shown in FIGS. 1 (b), (c), (d) and (e). Opens and closes. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b), the shaft portion 12A
The open / close guide plate 12 is configured to be rotatable around, and its ON / OFF is realized by the clutch. The recording paper that has been abutted against the abutting portion 13 and prohibited from moving forward is opened by the opening / closing guide plate 12 so that the recording paper is conveyed.
The recording paper 4 which is continuously conveyed by the pair of rollers 10 and 11 is discharged onto the horizontal tray 3 while forming a loop by the waist of the paper itself (FIGS. 1 (c) and (d)). At the timing when the trailing edge of the recording sheet is discharged from the pair of transport rollers 10 and 11 after the sensor 7 is turned off by the passage of the trailing edge of the recording sheet, the controller 8 controls the pair of transport rollers 10 and 11. Drive mode
The motor 9 and the clutch 14 are stopped (FIG. 1 (e)). In addition,
As means for controlling the opening / closing of the open / close guide plate 12, a cam mechanism using a solenoid can be used in addition to the clutch, but these may be appropriately selected depending on the layout and the cost. Further, since the height of the recording paper reversing device 1 can be adjusted by the piers 15 of the unit, it becomes easy to commonly use the recording paper reversing device of the present invention with different types of recording device main bodies. As described above, according to this reversing device, the recording sheets that have been ejected on the front side are inverted in the final stage and are ejected with the back side facing upward, so they are stacked in page order. According to this configuration, the desired effect can be realized without increasing the size of the configuration and significantly increasing the number of parts.

Next, FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b) are diagrams showing the configuration and operation of another embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as those of the above-mentioned embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals to avoid duplicating operation. Although not described, a configuration in which an upper opening / closing guide plate 16 is rotatably supported immediately after the nip portion of the transport rollers 10 and 11 and a mode sensor 18 for detecting the opening / closing operation of the upper opening / closing guide plate 16 is arranged. Is characteristic. The upper opening / closing guide plate 16 is operated by a solenoid (not shown) or other driving means based on a control signal from the controller. Various sensors such as a limit switch and a photo sensor can be used as the mode sensor 18, and the upper open / close guide plate 16 is discriminated from the position shown in FIG. 5 (a) and the position shown in (b). It is used for this purpose, and the detection signal is output to the control unit 8. The upper open / close guide plate 16 has a recording paper guide function and a conveyance direction switching function, and serves as a guide plate for reversing when the back surface is ejected (when reversing) with the image side facing up (FIG. 5 (a)).
), It serves as a switching plate for the paper passage path when the paper is discharged from the front surface (normal time) (Fig. 5 (b)).

That is, as shown in FIG. 5A, the upper opening / closing guide plate 16 abuts the recording sheet 4 from the nip portion of the conveying rollers 10 and 11 along the opening / closing guide plate 12 in a closed state. If you hold the posture to guide toward,
The recording paper 4 is reversed and discharged through the path shown in FIGS. 1 (a) to 1 (e). At this time, for example, the mode sensor 18 is OFF. On the other hand, the upper opening / closing guide plate 16 is shown in FIG.
When the recording paper from the nip of the conveying rollers 10 and 11 is ejected directly onto the horizontal tray 3 as shown in (b), the recording paper is ejected with the image side facing up as shown in the figure. To be done. At this time, the mode sensor 18 is ON.
The open / close guide plate (lower open / close guide) 12 has an open / close guide function for reversing, as in the above-described embodiment. In addition,
When the upper open / close guide plate 16 is set to the front surface discharge position (FIG. 5 (b)), it is not necessary to operate the open / close guide plate 12, so the mode sensor 18 connected to the clutch 14 is turned on.
The flip-flop is used to prevent the opening / closing operation, or the control unit 8 controls the two patterns as described later. A torque limiter or the like may be used as an overload preventing means while the clutch 14 for opening the opening / closing guide plate 12 is connected, but if the slip torque of the clutch is used, no additional parts are required. Therefore, a suitable clutch may be selected each time.

Next, FIGS. 6 and 7 show a flow as an example of a mode in which the back side discharge and the normal discharge (front side discharge) are switched by the user's selection. 8 is shown in FIG.
FIG. 8 is a mechanism diagram corresponding to the description of the flow of FIG. 7. 6 and 7 show the flow in each case when the control unit 8 has two control modes A and B for the back side sheet discharge and the normal sheet discharge. Further, this flow chart shows an example of a type having one opening / closing guide plate in FIG. 1 corresponding to claim 2, but a type having two opening / closing guide plates in FIG. 5 corresponding to claim 3. In the case of, the operation is almost the same.
In FIG. 8, the mode sensor 18 is arranged at the top,
The mode sensor 18 detects whether the open / close guide plate 12 is open or closed. First, the case where the back side paper ejection is selected by the user (A mode) will be described with reference to FIG. 6. First, in step 1, the changeover switch (not shown) on the operation unit is switched to the back side paper ejection mode. deep. In this state, when the recording paper on which the first page is printed with the image side facing upward is discharged from the recording apparatus main body 1, the sensor 7
Is turned on, the motor 9 starts driving, and the leading edge of the recording paper passes the transport rollers 10 and 11 (S2, 3, 4). The recording paper further advances, the leading edge of the recording paper passes through the opening / closing guide plate 12, hits the abutting plate 13, and turns about 180 °. At this timing, the clutch 14 is turned on to open / close the guide plate 12.
Is raised to open, so the open / close guide plate 12
The latter half of the recording paper, which is regulated by, expands outward, and the pair of conveying rollers ejects the latter half of the recording paper while looping (S5). When the trailing edge of the recording paper passes the sensor 7, the sensor 7 is turned off (S6). The motor 9 is stopped by the timing of the trailing edge of the recording paper separating from the conveying roller pair, and the open / close guide plate 12 is lowered to close (S).
7). Finally, the recording paper 4 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 3 with its back surface (non-image surface) facing upward (S8).

Next, the case where the user selects the normal paper discharge (B mode) will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the user switches the open / close guide plate 12 to the normal paper discharge mode using the changeover switch on the operation section (S10),
As shown in FIG. 8, the opening / closing guide plate 12 rises in the opening direction, and the mode sensor 18 is turned on. O from the mode sensor 18
The control unit 8 selects the control mode B based on the N signal. In this case, since it is not necessary to drive the opening / closing guide plate 12 for reversing the recording paper, the clutch 14 which is the opening / closing means.
Power is not transmitted to. Therefore, the recording paper 4 ejected from the recording apparatus main body 2 is ejected straight to the horizontal tray 3 by the transport roller 10 of the unit with the image surface facing upward (S11 to 17). Note that the present invention can be applied to the general paper ejection unit of a top surface paper ejection type (face-up) paper sheet recording apparatus.

[0012]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the detecting means for detecting the passage of the recording sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port of the recording apparatus main body, the conveying roller for conveying the recording sheet, and the recording device An opening / closing guide plate which is configured to be movable up and down in order to reverse the front and back sides of the paper, and which constitutes a part of a recording paper conveyance guide when in the lowered position, a control means for controlling the driving of the opening and closing guide plate, and a recording device. Since it has a pier for securing the stacking space of recording paper and adjusting the height of the reversing device itself after ejecting the paper with the back side facing up, it can be turned upside down by making it a small and lightweight option unit. The recording paper can be easily discharged on the back side without requiring a space, and the order of the recording paper can be maintained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the opening / closing guide plate is one.
The opening / closing guide plate is composed of a substantially U-shaped opening / closing guide plate. The opening / closing guide plate rotates vertically about a rotation fulcrum, and when the recording paper is ejected with the back surface facing upward, the opening / closing guide plate is used. Since it is configured to open upward and open a part of the transport path, the number of parts can be reduced by making the open / close guide plate a single U-shaped part, and the operation method can be changed to a rotary operation. The switching operation can be controlled with a simple mechanism.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the opening / closing guide plate is
The opening / closing guide plate is composed of two movable opening / closing guide plates. One opening / closing guide plate has a function as a recording paper conveyance guide unit and a discharge direction switching unit, and the other opening / closing guide plate has the back surface of the recording paper facing upward. Since it has an opening / closing guide function for discharging, it is possible to smoothly switch between normal paper discharge (front surface paper discharge) and back surface paper discharge by configuring the guide plate with two upper and lower sheets. It is possible to supply an excellent recording paper reversing device. According to the invention of claim 4, the recording paper has a control unit for switching between the paper discharge with the back surface of the recording paper facing upward and the normal paper discharge with the image surface facing upward, so that the recording paper is convenient for the user. The discharge surface of can be selected as either front or back.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A to FIG. 1E are diagrams illustrating the configuration and operation of one embodiment of the present invention.

2 (a) and 2 (b) are perspective views of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a gear configuration of a drive system of the embodiment example of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system of the recording paper reversing device of the present invention.

5 (a) and 5 (b) are configuration and operation explanatory diagrams of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an operation in the case of rear surface paper ejection.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation in the case of normal paper ejection.

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are diagrams illustrating the configuration and operation of another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Recording paper reversing device, 2 ... Recording device main body, 3 ... Horizontal tray, 4 ... Recording paper, 5 ... Upper guide rib, 6 ...
Lower guide rib, 7 ... Sensor, 8 ... Control part, 9 ... Motor (driving source), 10 ... Transport roller, 11 ... Opposing member (roller, etc.), 12. ..Opening / closing guide plate, 13 ... Abutting portion, 14 ... Clutch (control means), 15 ... (Unit) pier, 16 ... Upper opening / closing guide plate, 17 ... Lower opening / closing guide Plate, 18 ... Mode sensor, 19 ... Open / close guide plate gear, 20 ... Motor shaft (two-stage) gear, 21 ... Conveying roller gear, 22 ... Clutch shaft gear, 23 ... Recording paper reversing device housing

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A paper discharge unit of a recording apparatus main body, which can be retrofitted to a paper discharge port of a recording apparatus main body for discharging an image surface upward from a paper discharge outlet or a discharge tray attached to the recording apparatus main body. The recording paper discharged from the mouth with the image side facing up,
In a recording paper reversing device that reverses the front and back and stacks with the back side facing upward, a detection unit that detects passage of the recording paper ejected from a paper ejection port of the recording apparatus main body, and a conveyance roller for conveying the recording paper. -The opening and closing guide plate that is configured to be movable up and down in order to turn the recording paper upside down and that forms a part of the recording paper conveyance guide when in the lowered position, and controls the driving of the opening and closing guide plate. A recording paper reversing device having control means and a bridge pier for securing a stacking space of the recording paper and adjusting the height of the reversing device itself after the recording paper is discharged with the back surface facing upward. . 2. The opening / closing guide plate is composed of one substantially U-shaped opening / closing guide plate, and the opening / closing guide plate rotates vertically about a rotation fulcrum so that the back surface of the recording paper faces upward. 2. The recording paper reversing device according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing guide plate is opened upward and a part of the conveying path is opened when the sheet is ejected. 3. The opening / closing guide plate is composed of two movable opening / closing guide plates, one opening / closing guide plate having a function as a recording paper conveyance guide means and a discharge direction switching means, and the other opening / closing guide plate. 2. The recording paper reversing device according to claim 1, wherein the guide plate has an opening / closing guide function for discharging the recording paper with the back surface thereof facing upward. 4. A control unit for switching between a back-side paper discharge with the back surface of the recording paper facing upward and a normal paper discharge with the image surface facing upward, respectively. Recording paper reversing device.