JPH09325665A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate maintenance work such as changing a toner cartridge at a copying part and jamming processing at a printer part by providing a guiding member and movably guiding the printer part between an ordinary operation position and a separate retreat position. SOLUTION: The copying part 10 is provided with an aperture part 75 for loading or changing the toner cartridge 34. The guiding member 77 for guiding the printer part 11 to the ordinary operation position adjacent to the original carrying position of the copying part 10 and the retreat position separate from the original carrying position is attached to the upper surface of the aperture part 75. The guiding member 77 is engaged with a member to be guided 78 arranged at the lower part of the printer part 11 so as to move the printer part 11 between the ordinary operation position and the retreat position. Then, in the case the printer part 11 is at the retreat position, the aperture part 75 of the copying part 10 is exposed upward and a cover member 76 is opened, so that, the toner cartridge 34 is changed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a first image forming section for forming a first image and a second image forming section for forming a second image. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Printers for printing characters and image data transferred from data processing devices such as personal computers and word processors are widely known. When an image is printed using such a printer, there is a problem that the processing speed is generally slower than that of a copying machine, and it takes time when the number of printed sheets increases. Therefore, an image forming apparatus as disclosed in JP-A-5-107987 has been provided. This apparatus has both a copying section having the functions of a copying machine and a printer section having the functions of a normal printer. The printer section prints image data output from a computer or the like on paper. The sheet on which an image is formed by the printer unit is conveyed to a document placement position of the copying unit. The copying section sequentially transports the documents placed at the document placement position to the document reading position, reads the image on the sheet, and performs a copying operation based on the instructed condition.

In such an image forming apparatus, since a sheet on which an image is formed by a printer unit is used as a document in a copying unit, an image can be formed on a large number of sheets at a relatively high speed. Further, since the image data output from the data processing device such as a personal computer is processed by the printer unit, it is not necessary to provide the data processing unit on the copying unit side, and the cost can be reduced.

[0004]

In the image forming apparatus as described above, the document placing position of the copying section is provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body. Further, since the sheet on which the image is formed by the printer unit is conveyed to the document placing position of the copying unit, it is preferable that the printer unit is provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body adjacent to the document placing position.

In this case, the upper surface of the apparatus body is occupied by the document conveying means of the copying section and the printer section,
There is no space to provide an opening for maintenance inside the device. For example, when a large toner cartridge is required in the copying section, it is advantageous to be able to operate it from the top when replacing it. However, in the above-mentioned device, there is no space on the upper surface of the device, and therefore, it is necessary to attach and detach the toner cartridge from the side face, which involves a problem that the work is restricted.

Further, when a paper jam occurs when the image-formed paper is discharged in the printer unit, or when a paper jam occurs when the document is conveyed from the printer unit to the document placement position of the copying unit. , It is difficult to remove jammed paper. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which maintenance work such as replacement of a toner cartridge in a copying section is easy and jam processing in a printer section is easy.

[0007]

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises a first image forming section, a second image forming section, a document conveying means, and a guide member. The first image forming unit forms a first image by forming a first image on a sheet. The second image forming unit conveys the originals aligned in the original placement position to the original reading position, reads the image of the original, and forms the second image on the sheet. The document conveying means conveys the document created by the first image forming unit to the document placement position of the second image forming unit. The guide member movably guides the first image forming unit between a normal operation position adjacent to the document placing position of the second image forming unit and a retracted position separated from the document placing position.

In this case, the first image forming unit is hidden when it is located at the normal operation position, and is exposed outside the second forming unit when the first image forming unit is moved to the retracted position. It becomes possible to provide an opening for maintenance on the surface. A document transport unit sequentially stacks the documents created and discharged by the first image forming unit and a document stack unit, and the documents stacked on the document stack unit are taken out to the second image forming unit side and transported to the document placement position. The first image forming unit includes a first document conveying unit, the second image forming unit includes a second document conveying unit that conveys a document between a document placing position and a document reading position, and the first image forming unit is in a normal operation position. The first and second document transporting means can be connected to each other when the above condition is present.

When the first image forming unit is located at the retracted position, the first image forming unit projects to the side of the second image forming unit with its lower surface exposed.
At this time, the document stack portion can be configured to be opened downward. In this case, when a paper jam occurs in the first image forming unit, it is easy to open the document stack unit downward and perform the jam processing. The second image forming unit is provided with a maintenance opening below the first image forming unit when the first image forming unit is in the normal operation position. The maintenance processing of the second image forming unit can be performed through the opening. In this case, maintenance processing such as replacement of a large toner cartridge can be easily performed.

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a system in which an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is adopted. The image forming apparatus 1 is connected to data processing apparatuses 2 and 2 including a plurality of personal computers, a network server, a host computer and the like via a line 3 such as a dedicated cable, a communication line, and a LAN cable. Data processing device 2
Is capable of creating, editing, and inputting / outputting image data to be output, and image processing for instructing the image forming apparatus 1 to perform image processing such as output paper size and number of copies. It is possible to create and edit control data and output it.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a copying section 10 and a printer section 11. Copying unit 10
Is provided with a copying machine main body 13 having a document table 12 on which an original is placed, and a document conveying device 14 arranged above the copying machine main body 13. An exposure unit 15 including a light source, a mirror, a lens unit, and the like is provided inside the copying machine main body 13 for reading a document. An image forming unit 16 for forming a toner image of the read original is provided at the center of the copying machine main body 13. The image forming section 16 has a photosensitive drum 17 on the surface of which an electrostatic latent image is formed. Around the photosensitive drum 17, a charging device 18, a developing device 19, a transfer separation device 2
0 and the cleaning device 21 are arranged.

A paper feed unit 22 is provided below the copying machine main body 13. The paper feeding unit 22 is provided in the copying machine main body 13 in FIG.
A bypass table 23 provided on the right side; and a sheet cassette 2 arranged vertically below the copier body 13
4, 25, 26, a large paper cassette 27, and a paper feeding device 28 for transporting the paper stored in the bypass table 23 or the paper cassettes 24 to 27 to the image forming unit 16.

On the downstream side of the image forming section 16 in the sheet conveying direction, a sheet discharge conveying path 29 for conveying the sheet to the left side of FIG. 2 and a fixing device 3 for melting and fixing the toner image on the sheet.
0 and a discharge roller 31 for discharging the sheet after fixing.
And a discharge tray 32 for receiving discharged sheets. A toner hopper 33 for supplying toner is attached to the developing device 19. A toner cartridge 34 is detachably mounted on the toner hopper 33.

Details of the printer unit 11 are shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. 3, which is a schematic configuration diagram of a vertical section. The printer unit 11 is provided with a photosensitive drum 41 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on the peripheral surface based on image data output from the data processing device 2. Around the photoconductor drum 41, a charger (not shown) that uniformly charges the photoconductor drum 41 and a laser unit that irradiates a laser on the photoconductor drum 41 to form an electrostatic latent image (shown in the figure). (Omitted) are both provided below the drum, and further, a developing device 42 and a transfer roller 41a that visualize the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 41 into a toner image are provided. This embodiment employs a so-called back transfer method, in which a toner image is transferred to the lower surface of a sheet supplied between the transfer roller 41a. A paper feeding unit 44 in which a paper feeding cassette 43 is mounted is provided on the upstream side (right side in FIG. 3) of the photosensitive drum 41 in the paper transport direction. On the upper part of the paper feed section 44, the paper feed cassette 4 to be mounted is attached.
A sheet feeding roller 45 for taking out the sheet from the sheet 3 is provided. Between the paper feed roller 45 and the photoconductor drum 41, a conveyance roller 4 that conveys paper from the paper feed cassette 43.
A sheet feeding / transporting path 47 including 6 is configured. The paper stored in the paper feed cassette 43 is A4 size or smaller, and when supplying A4 size paper, the long side direction is set to be the same as the transport direction.

A fixing device 48 for fusing and fixing the toner image formed on the sheet is provided on the downstream side of the photosensitive drum 41 in the sheet conveying direction (left side in FIG. 3). A paper discharge conveyance path 50 including a conveyance roller 49 is provided further downstream of the fixing device 48 in the paper conveyance direction. An intermediate portion of the paper discharge conveyance path 50 is curved in a substantially U shape, and changes the direction of the paper conveyed from the fixing device 48 by 180 ° and conveys the paper downstream. A discharge roller 51 is provided further downstream of the sheet discharge conveyance path 50.

[Document Stack Section] Below the printer section 11, a stack tray 52 for stacking sheets discharged from the discharge roller 51 is provided. Stacking tray 52
A fixed position regulating member 53 that regulates the position of the trailing edge of the sheet in the transport direction is provided on the paper. This fixed position regulating member 5
3 is disposed upstream of the discharge roller 51 by a predetermined distance in the paper transport direction.

Further, on the downstream side of the stacking tray 52 in the sheet conveying direction, there is provided a movable position regulating member 54 which is movable in the sheet conveying direction and regulates the position of the front end of the sheet in the sheet conveying direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the movable position restricting member 54 includes an abutting plate 55 that abuts against the leading end of the sheet in the conveyance direction. The contact plate 55 is connected to one end of a joint member 57 that is rotatably supported about a support shaft 56. The other end of the joint member 57 is connected to the plunger tip of the solenoid 58.

During normal operation when no signal is input to the solenoid 58, the plunger is in a protruding state, and the contact plate 55 is located at the normal position shown by the solid line in FIG. When a signal is input to the solenoid 58, the plunger is pulled inside, and the joint member 57 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. Along with this, the contact plate 55
Moves to the downstream side (upper side in FIG. 4) in the paper transport direction to reach the paper removal position shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG.

The normal position of the contact plate 55 is a position separated from the fixed position regulating member 53 by a distance substantially the same as the long side length of the A4 sheet. Further, the distance between the sheet detaching position of the contact plate 55 and the normal position is determined by the discharge roller 51 and the fixed position regulating member 53.
Is set to be equal to or slightly larger than the distance in the paper transport direction. The movable position regulating member 54 is configured so that the solenoid 58 is turned on when the trailing edge of the sheet leaves the discharge roller 51, and the contact plate 55 is at the sheet releasing position.

Above the stacking tray 52, the discharge roller 5
When the sheet is discharged from the sheet 1, a separation roller 59 is provided for sending the sheet in the transport direction and separating the rear end of the sheet from the discharge roller 51. The detaching roller 59 is supported by a supporting member 60 that is rotatable in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3, and is configured to descend and come into contact with the sheet when the rear end of the sheet detaches from the discharge roller 51.

[Printer Transport Drive System] Printer 11
As shown in FIG. 5, a motor 61 is provided to drive the sheet. The motor 61 has a rotating shaft 62.
Is arranged so that the rotation direction of is orthogonal to the paper conveyance direction of the printer unit 11. Further, the motor 61 is configured to be able to rotate in the forward and reverse directions, and is driven in the reverse rotation when the image is formed in the printer unit 11 and when the sheet is re-fed from the stacking tray 52 to the copying unit 10.

A gear 63 is attached to the rotary shaft 62 of the motor 61. The gear 63 is a one-way clutch 64
And a gear 65 mounted coaxially.
The gear 65 is connected to the bevel gear 66a via the one-way clutch 64, and transmits the rotational force to the bevel gear 66a only in one direction around the axis. Bevel gear 66
a meshes with the bevel gear 66b. Bevel gear 66
b is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axes of the gear 65 and the bevel gear 66a, and is attached to a rotation shaft 67 that rotates in a direction corresponding to the sheet conveyance direction in the printer unit 11. The rotary shaft 67 is provided with a paper feed roller 45, a transport roller 46, and a photosensitive drum 4 via various gears and belts.
1, fixing device 48, conveyance roller 49, discharge roller 51,
The driving force in the sheet conveyance direction is transmitted to the separation roller 59 and the like.

The gear 63 also meshes with a gear 68 that meshes with the gear 69. The gear 69 is provided coaxially with the one-way clutch 70, and transmits the rotational force to the re-feed roller 71 only in one direction around the axis via the one-way clutch 70. A pickup roller 72 is provided above the stacking tray 52 for sending out the sheets on the stacking tray 52 to the copy section 10 side. The pickup roller 72 is connected to the re-feed roller 71 via a gear or a belt. The pick-up roller 72 is supported by a support member 73 rotatable in the direction of arrow B in FIG.
When the paper is re-fed to the 0 side, it descends and comes into contact with the paper. A separation roller 74 driven by counter rotation for preventing double feeding is in contact with the re-feed roller 71.

[Printer Unit Moving Mechanism] As shown in FIG. 6, the copying unit 10 is provided with an opening 75 for mounting and replacing the toner cartridge 34. A lid member 76 is openably and closably attached to the opening 75. A guide member 77 for guiding the printer unit 11 to a normal operation position adjacent to the document feeder 14 of the copying machine unit 10 and a retracted position separated from the document feeder 14 is attached to the upper surface of the opening 75. ing. The guide member 77 engages with a guided member 78 provided in the lower portion of the printer unit 11 to move the printer unit 11 between the normal operation position shown in FIG. 6 and the retracted position shown in FIG. To do.

When the printer unit 11 is in the normal operation position as shown in FIG. 6, the opening 75 of the copying unit 10 is located below the printer unit 11 and is hidden. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when the printer unit 11 is in the retracted position, the opening 75 of the copying unit 10 is exposed upward, the lid member 76 is opened, and the toner cartridge 34 can be replaced.

The stacking tray 52 of the printer unit 11
Is coupled to the main body of the printer unit 11 so that it can be opened downward by a joint unit 79. A locking projection 80 is provided at the tip of the stacking tray 52, and the locking projection 80 is locked to the main body side to maintain the stacking tray 52 at the normal position. As shown in FIG. 7, when the printer unit 11 is moved to the retracted position, the lower surface of the stacking tray 52 is exposed downward. here,
By releasing the locked state of the locking projection 80, the stacking tray 52 can be opened obliquely downward. With this,
When a paper jam occurs on the stacking tray 52 or the re-feeding conveyance path 81, the work of removing the paper can be easily performed.

[Document Transfer Device for Copying Section] As shown in FIG. 2, the document transfer apparatus 14 of the copying section 10 includes a document mounting section 82 for mounting a document. On the downstream side (the left side in FIG. 2) of the document placing section 82 in the conveying direction, the document is placed on the document placing section 82.
A sheet feeding roller 83 for taking out the sheet from the sheet and a separation belt 84 stretched over a plurality of rollers and counter-rotated to prevent double feeding are provided. Further, on the downstream side in the transport direction, a document transport section 85 is provided which is curved in a substantially U shape and guides the document to the document table 12 side. Further, a transport belt 86 connected to the document transport path 85 and stretched over a plurality of rollers at a position corresponding to the document table 12 is provided.

The document feeding device 14 further includes a document returning portion 88 having a document feeding path 87 connected to the feeding belt 86.
Is provided. As shown in FIG. 8, a document feeding path 87 provided in the document returning section 88 has a document feeding feeding path 89 for taking out a document from the document table 12 and a document feeding feeding path 81 continuous to the paper feeding feeding path 81 of the printer section 11. A transport path 90, a document placement transport path 91 continuous from the document return transport path 89 to the document placing portion 82 side, and a document discharge transport path 93 continuous from the document return transport path 89 to the document discharge tray 92 side are provided. ing.
The document transport path 87 includes a plurality of transport rollers 94, 95, 9
6 are provided, each of which is rotationally driven by a drive source (not shown).

Document placement conveyance path 91 and document discharge conveyance path 93
Is branched from the original return conveyance path 89, and a branch claw 97 is provided at a branch point. This branch claw 97
Is rotatably supported about a support shaft 98, and is movable between a solid line position and a chain line position in FIG.
When the original conveyed from the original feeding / conveying path 90 or the original returning / conveying path 89 is conveyed to the original placing section 82 via the original placing / conveying path 91, the branching claw 97 is located at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Is located in. Further, when the original conveyed from the original return conveyance path 89 is conveyed to the original discharge tray 92 via the original discharge conveyance path 93, the branch claw 97 is arranged at the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. As a result, it is possible to selectively discharge the processed document to the document discharge tray 92 or the document placement unit 82 finally.

[Printer Unit Control System] The block diagram of FIG. 9 shows a schematic configuration of the printer unit 11. Printer unit 11
Has a control unit 101 composed of a microcomputer system including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like.
The control unit 101 is connected to a receiving unit 102 that receives image data and image processing control data from the data processing device 2 in FIG. Further, of the image processing control data received by the receiving unit 102, the data relating to the copying operation is copied by the copying unit 1.
A transmission unit 103 for transmitting to the 0 side is connected to the control unit 101.

The control unit 101 further includes a photosensitive drum 4
1. The image forming unit 104 including a developing device 42 (see FIG. 3) and a laser unit (not shown) is connected. Further, the paper is sequentially conveyed to the paper feed cassette 43, the photoconductor drum 41, and the stacking tray 52, and the stacking tray 52 is used to transfer the paper.
The transport drive system 105 for taking out to the 0 side is
It is connected to the. The transport drive system 105 includes the motor 61 and each gear shown in FIG.
A sheet feeding system 106 that conveys sheets at the time of image formation and a sheet re-feeding system 107 that takes out sheets from the stacking tray 52 to the copying unit 10 side are connected to the sheet 5. In the paper feed system 106, there are a discharge roller 51 that discharges the paper onto the stacking tray 52, a movable position regulating member 54 that moves in the paper transport direction when the paper is discharged from the discharge roller 51, a separation roller 59, and the like. included. Further, the re-feeding system 107 includes a pickup roller 72 for picking up the sheets on the stacking tray 52, a re-feeding roller 71, a separating roller 74 and the like.

[Copier Control System] The block diagram of FIG. 10 shows a schematic structure of the copying unit 10. Copying unit 10 is CP
It has a control unit 111 composed of a microcomputer system including U, ROM, RAM and the like. Control unit 1
An operation unit 112 is provided on the upper surface of the copying unit 10.
Is connected. The operation unit 112 includes a key operation unit including a print key, a numeric keypad for setting the number of copies, a reduction / enlargement magnification selection key, and other selection keys for selecting a processing mode, and a display unit including a liquid crystal display panel. There is.

The control unit 111 includes a receiving unit 11 which receives image processing control data transferred from the printer unit 11.
3 is connected. Further, the control unit 111 is connected to an image processing unit 114 that performs various types of image processing on the image information read by the image reading unit 115.
Further, an original transport unit 116 that transports the original to the original reading unit 115 and an image forming unit 117 that forms an image on a sheet based on the image information read by the image reading unit 115 are connected to the control unit 111.

[Overall Operation] The overall operation in one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. When the apparatus is turned on, various parameters and the like are initialized in step S1. In step S2, it is determined whether the operation unit 112 of the copy unit 10 has been operated. If it is determined that the operation unit 112 has been operated, step S
Move to 3. In step S3, the copying unit 10 performs a copying operation based on a normal operation.

In step S4, it is determined whether or not the image processing control data from the data processing device 2 has been received. When the image processing control data is received in step S4, the process proceeds to step S5. In step S5, the image data output from the data processing device is received and printed,
Perform a copy operation. In step S6, other processing is performed and the process proceeds to step S2.

[Operation of Printer Unit] Upon receiving the image processing control data from the data processing device in step S4, the printer unit 11 operates based on the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. In step S11, it is determined whether the printer unit 11 is in the process of printing. If the printer unit 11 is in the process of printing, step S1
Move to 2. In step S12, the data processing device 2
Prohibit receiving image data from. In step S13, a signal indicating that the printing process is in progress is output to the data processing device 2, and at the same time, the presence of the data processing device on standby is stored in the memory. Then, the process proceeds to step S28.

In step S11, the printer unit 11
If it is determined that the print processing is not in progress, the process proceeds to step S14. In step S14, the presence / absence of a document on the stacking tray 52 is determined. Here, the presence or absence of the document can be detected by a sheet detection sensor (not shown) provided on the stacking tray 52. If there is a document on the stacking tray 52, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15,
If the copy unit 10 is not in operation, the document on the stacking tray 52 is conveyed to the copy unit 10 side, or there is the document on the stacking tray 52 with respect to the data processing device 2 that has transmitted the image processing control data. A message is sent to prompt the manuscript ejection process. In step S16, a signal for permitting the transmission of the image data is transmitted to the data processing device 2 which has transmitted the image processing control data. In step S17, a signal indicating that the printing process in the printer unit 11 is being executed is sent to the copying unit 10.

In step S18, the image data transmitted from the data processing device 2 is received. In step S19, the sheet feeding system 106 is driven by the transport driving system 105 to feed the sheet from the sheet feeding cassette 43 to the photosensitive drum 41 side, and an image is formed on the sheet. In step S20, the document on which the image is formed is discharged onto the stacking tray 52 via the discharge roller 51. The documents stacked on the stacking tray 52 are stacked in a so-called face-up state in which the surface on which the image is formed is the top surface.

In step S21, it is determined whether or not there is more image data output from the data processing device 2. If there is image data to be printed, the process returns to step S18, and if there is no image data to be printed, the process proceeds to step S22. In step S22, a signal indicating that the printing process is completed is transmitted to the copying unit 10 side.

In step S23, it is determined whether the copying section 10 is in operation. Here, the copying unit 10 receives a signal indicating that it is in operation from the copying unit 10.
Is determined to be in operation and waits until it receives a signal from the copying unit 10 indicating that the operation is completed. When it is determined in step S23 that the copying unit 10 is not operating, the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, the image processing control data received from the data processing device is transferred to the copy unit 1
Send to 0 side. The image processing control data includes data for instructing the number of copies and various copy modes.

In step S25, the originals stacked on the stacking tray 52 are taken out in order from the top and conveyed to the original conveying device 14 side of the copying section 10. In step S26,
It is determined whether all the documents on the stacking tray 52 have been conveyed. While documents are on the stacking tray 52,
The process proceeds to step S25 to continue the document conveyance process. If it is determined in step S26 that the document conveyance is completed, the process proceeds to step S27. In step S27, the copy unit 10
A signal indicating that the document conveyance processing has been completed is transmitted to the side. In step S28, the state in which the acceptance of the data output from the data processing device 2 is permitted is set. Step S2
At 9, it is determined whether there is a data processing device waiting for the printing process. Here, the data stored in the memory in step S13 is detected, and if there is a data processing device on standby, the process proceeds to step S14, and if there is no data processing device on standby, the process in the printer unit 11 ends. .

[Printer Original Discharge Processing] Step S2
FIG. 14 shows the document discharge process for 0. Step S3
In step 1, it is determined whether or not the leading edge of the document conveyed through the sheet discharge conveyance path 50 has reached the discharge roller 51. Here, for example, the leading edge position of the document can be detected based on the detection result of a sheet detection sensor (not shown) provided near the upstream side of the discharge roller 51 in the transport direction. If it is determined in step S31 that the document leading edge position has reached the vicinity of the discharge roller 51, the process proceeds to step S32. In step S32, the discharge roller 51 is rotationally driven. In this case, the motor 61 shown in FIG. 5 is driven to rotate, for example, counterclockwise in the figure to drive the paper feeding system 106 via the gears 63 and 65, the one-way clutch 64, and the bevel gears 66a and 66b. The discharge roller 51 interlocked with the paper system 106 is rotationally driven. At this time, the motor 61
The driving force of the one-way clutch 70 is used for the re-feeding system 1.
Therefore, the re-feeding roller 71 and the pickup roller 72 are not rotationally driven.
The contact plate 55 of the movable position restricting member 54 is in the normal position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, and the separating roller 59 is the stacking tray 52.
Has been pulled above.

In step S33, it is determined whether or not the trailing edge of the original has reached the discharge roller 51. In this case, when the sheet detection sensor near the upstream side of the discharge roller 51 in the transport direction detects the document rear end position, the discharge roller 5
When it is determined that the trailing edge of the original has reached 1, the process proceeds to step S34. In step S34, the movable position restricting member 54 is moved to the downstream side in the transport direction. Here, the solenoid 5
By inputting a drive signal to 8, the contact plate 55 is moved to the sheet separating position shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. In step S35, the separation roller 59 is lowered to bring the peripheral surface into contact with the original document on the stacking tray 52, and rotationally driven in the paper transport direction.

In step S36, it is determined whether or not the document has been completely discharged. Here, if it is detected that the trailing edge of the document has separated from the discharge roller 51 by a paper detection sensor (not shown) provided near the discharge roller 51 on the downstream side in the paper transport direction, it is determined that the document has been discharged. Then, the process proceeds to step S37. In step S37, the separation roller 59 is raised to separate it from the sheets on the stacking tray 52,
The contact plate 55 of the movable position restricting member 54 is returned to the normal position shown by the solid line position in FIG. In step S38, the discharge roller 51 is stopped.

Here, the document to be discharged is the step S3.
At 6, the sheet is completely separated from the discharge roller 51 and stacked on the stacking tray 52. At this time, since the discharge roller 51 is arranged on the downstream side of the fixed position regulation member 53 in the transport direction, the discharged document may be caught on the fixed position regulation member 53 or may slip under the previously discharged document. Disappears. Further, in step S37, the contact plate 55 is returned to the normal position to surely align the widths of the front end position and the rear end position in the paper transport direction.

[Printer Refeeding System] FIG. 15 shows the document conveying process in step S25 of FIG. In step S41, the pickup roller 72 is moved down to abut the document on the stacking tray 52, and is rotationally driven in the paper transport direction. Here, the pickup roller 72 can be driven by driving the motor 61 shown in FIG. 5 to rotate clockwise in the figure and driving the re-feeding system 107 via the gears 63, 68, 69 and the one-way clutch 70. At this time,
The rotation force of the motor 61 is generated by the one-way clutch 64.
It is not transmitted to the paper feed system 106 side.

In step S42, it is determined whether or not the leading edge of the original taken out from the stacking tray 52 by the pickup roller 72 has reached the vicinity of the refeed roller 71.
Here, when the sheet detection sensor (not shown) provided near the upstream side of the re-feed roller 71 in the sheet transport direction detects the leading edge position of the document, the leading edge position of the document is determined by the re-feed roller 71.
When it is determined that the proximity has been reached, the process proceeds to step S43.
In step S43, the re-feeding roller 71 is rotationally driven in the paper transport direction. In this case as well, it can be driven by rotating the motor 61 clockwise as shown in FIG. At this time, at the same time, the separation roller 7
4 is driven by counter rotation. When the conveyance of the original document by the re-feeding roller 71 is started, the pickup roller 72 is raised and separated from the original document on the stacking tray 52 in step S44.

In step S45, it is determined whether or not the trailing edge of the original has passed the refeed roller 71. Here, if a sheet detection sensor (not shown) provided near the downstream side of the re-feed roller 71 in the sheet transport direction detects the trailing edge of the document, it is determined that the trailing edge of the document has passed through the re-feed roller 71. It is determined and the process proceeds to step S46. In step S46, the driving of the re-feed roller 71 is stopped. In step S47, the presence / absence of a document on the stacking tray 52 is determined. If there is a document on the stacking tray 52, the process proceeds to step S41 to continue the document transport process, and if it is determined that there is no document, the document transport process ends.

The documents stacked on the stacking tray 52 are stacked so that the document printed last in the face-up state is the top. Since this is picked up from the top by the pickup roller 72 and conveyed to the copying unit 10 side, the original printed on the original placing unit 82 of the copying unit 10 in the face-up state is placed at the top. Placed. Therefore, the document feeder 1 of the copying unit 10
In the case of the method in which the document 4 is fed from the bottom, it is possible to make the copies produced by the copy section 10 correspond to the order of the first image data.

The document conveying process by the re-feeding system 107 is in a direction orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction by the sheet feeding system 106. Therefore, by setting the paper conveyance direction of the paper feed system 106 to be the long side direction of the A4 paper, it is possible to employ a relatively inexpensive printer unit 11 having a small capacity, and a printer unit 11 having a relatively large capacity can be used. The document can be conveyed in the A4 short side direction so that the ability can be fully exhibited.

Moreover, the rotational force of the motor 61 capable of rotating in the normal and reverse directions is applied to the paper feeding system 10 via the one-way clutches 64 and 70.
6 and the re-feeding system 107, both can be driven by one motor, the installation space of the motor can be reduced, downsizing can be achieved, and power consumption can be reduced. [Normal Copy Operation of Copy Section] FIG. 16 shows the normal copy operation of the copy section 10 in step S3 of FIG.

In step S51, it is determined whether or not the copying unit 10 is in a state of prohibiting acceptance of an operation input from the operation unit 112. This is because when the copying unit 10 is actually performing the copying operation or when the process of conveying the document from the printer unit 11 to the document placing unit 82 is being executed, it is determined that the operation acceptance is prohibited, and nothing is processed. Without returning to the main routine. If it is determined that the operation acceptance is not prohibited, the process proceeds to step S52. In step S52, the operation unit 11
The operation input from the key input unit provided in 2 is accepted. In step S53, a signal indicating that the copying operation is being executed is transmitted to the printer unit 11. Step S5
At 4, the operation input from the operation unit 112 is prohibited. In step S55, a normal copying operation is performed based on the condition input from the operation unit 112. At this time, the branch claw 97 provided in the document returning unit 88 of the document conveying device 14 is arranged at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 8 and is set so as to return the document from the document returning conveying path 89 to the document placing unit 82. .

In step S56, it is determined whether or not the copying operation based on the conditions accepted in step S52 is completed. If it is determined that the copying operation is completed, step S5
Move to 7. In step S57, a signal indicating that the copying operation has ended is transmitted to the printer unit 11 side, and the operation unit 112
The operation acceptance prohibited state is released for and the acceptance input is permitted.

[Copying Section Printed Original Copying Operation] The copying operation in the copying section 10 based on the original printed by the printer section 11 will be described with reference to FIG. In step S61,
The image processing control data transmitted from the printer unit 11 is received. In step S62, it is determined whether or not the document remains on the document placing section 82. If a document is present on the document placing section 82, the process proceeds to step S63. In step S63, the branch claw 97 provided in the document returning portion 88 of the document feeding device 14 is arranged at the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 8, and the document from the document returning and feeding path 89 is fed through the document discharging and feeding path 93. The sheet is discharged to the discharge tray 92.

In step S64, the operation input from the operation unit 112 is prohibited and the printer unit 11 to the document placing unit 82 is prohibited.
The original to be transported. At this time, the branch claw 97 of the document returning unit 88 is arranged at the position shown by the solid line in FIG.
It is set so that the original document from is conveyed to the original placing portion 82. In step S65, it is determined whether or not the document conveyance from the printer unit 11 is completed. Here, in step S27 of FIG. 13, when the signal indicating that the document transportation process is completed is received from the printer unit 11, it is determined that the document transportation is completed, and the process proceeds to step S66.

In step S66, a signal indicating that the copying operation is being executed is transmitted to the printer section 11. In step S67, the branch claw 97 of the document returning unit 88 is arranged at the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 8, and the document from the document returning / transporting path 89 is fed through the document discharging / transporting path 93 to the document discharging tray 9
Set to discharge to 2. In step S68, the originals on the original placing portion 82 are sequentially conveyed onto the original table 12 through the original conveying path 85, a copying operation is performed based on the image processing control data, and the copied originals are ejected onto the original discharge tray 92.
To be discharged. At this time, the original is placed on the original placing portion 82 so that the original printed in the face-up state is the uppermost surface. When performing a copying operation, the paper feed roller 83 sequentially conveys the original placed on the original placing portion 82 onto the original table 12 from the bottom. Therefore,
Copies copied by the copying section 10 are discharged in the order corresponding to the first original.

In step S69, it is determined whether or not the copying operation based on the image processing control data is completed. If it is determined that the copying operation is completed, the process proceeds to step S70.
In step S70, a signal indicating that the copying operation has been completed is transmitted to the printer unit 11, the operation unit 112 is released from the prohibition of operation reception, and the reception input is permitted.

[0058]

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the first image forming section can be moved with respect to the second image forming section by using the guide member, and particularly, the first image forming section is set to the normal operation position. It can be configured so that the entire size becomes compact when arranged, and can be moved to the retracted position to perform maintenance processing and the like. Further, when a paper jam occurs in the first image forming unit or a paper jam occurs in a document conveying unit that conveys a document from the first image forming unit to the second image forming unit, the first image forming unit is moved to the retracted position. This makes it easier to process.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional configuration diagram of a printer unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a plane cross section thereof.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional schematic configuration diagram showing a main part thereof.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a printer unit moving mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a printer unit moving mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of a document feeder.

FIG. 9 is a control block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer unit.

FIG. 10 is a control block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a copying unit.

FIG. 11 is a control flowchart showing the overall operation.

FIG. 12 is a control flowchart showing the operation of the printer unit.

FIG. 13 is a control flowchart showing the operation of the printer unit.

FIG. 14 is a control flowchart showing a document discharge operation in the printer unit.

FIG. 15 is a control flowchart showing a re-feeding operation from the printer unit.

FIG. 16 is a control flowchart showing a normal copying operation.

FIG. 17 is a control flowchart showing a copy operation of a print document.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Copying Part 11 Printer Part 14 Original Conveying Device 34 Toner Cartridge 52 Stacking Tray 75 Opening 76 Cover Member 77 Guide Member 78 Guided Member 79 Joint Member 80 Locking Protrusion 81 Refeeding Conveyance Path

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A first image forming section for forming a document by forming a first image on a sheet, and a document aligned in a document placement position is conveyed to a document reading position to read an image of the document. A second image forming unit for forming a second image on a sheet by means of a sheet, and a document conveying unit for conveying the document formed by the first image forming unit to a document placement position of the second image forming unit, A guide member for movably guiding the first image forming unit between a normal operation position adjacent to the document placing position of the second image forming unit and a retracted position separated from the document placing position. An image forming apparatus provided. 2. A document stacking unit for sequentially stacking documents created and discharged by the first image forming unit and a document stacked on the document stacking unit for the second image forming unit. A second document forming unit that conveys a document between the document placing position and the document reading position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: two document conveying units, wherein the first and second document conveying units are connected to each other when the first image forming unit is in the normal operation position. 3. The first image forming section projects laterally of the second image forming section with its lower surface exposed when located in the retracted position, and at this time, the original stack section can be opened downward. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 4. The first when in the normal operating position
A maintenance opening is provided in the second image forming section below the image forming section, and when the first image forming section is moved to the retracted position, the maintenance opening is opened through the maintenance opening. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which enables maintenance processing of the two image forming units. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the maintenance process is replacement of a toner cartridge.