JPH10181933A - Conveying mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the replacement of rollers by fitting one side end of a shaft of a driven roller in a hole installed in a bracket and also the other end of this shaft in a nearly U-shaped long hole extending toward almost downward from an upper end face of the bracket, and attaching them to the bracket as a whole. SOLUTION: A side part 502b is installed in a movable bracket 502, a hole 502f in a turning end side, and an nearly U-shaped long hole 502g extending toward the nearly lower part from the upper end face in the turning end side of a side part 502c, respectively. In the movable bracket 502, a first end 510a of a shaft 510 is fitted in the hole 502f and a second end 510b in the long hole 502g, respectively. A separation roller 313 is rotatably installed in a nearly central part of the shaft 510. For the movable bracket 502, the shaft 510 has the second end 510g separated from the long hole 502g, extracting the first end 510a from the hole 502f, and it is removed, then this first end 510a is fitted in the hole 502f, and the section end 510b is dropped in the long hole 502g and installed. With this constitution, replacement of the separation roller 313 becomes facilitated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a transport mechanism,
More specifically, one of the driving rotator of the roller and the endless annular belt, a bracket provided below the driving rotator and provided to be movable in the direction of the driving rotator, A shaft supported by a bracket, a roller provided on the shaft, and an urging means for urging the bracket in the direction of the driving rotator, wherein the driving rotator and the driven roller form a sheet. The present invention relates to a transport mechanism for nipping and transporting members.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Next, a conventional example will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a conventional transport mechanism. In the figure, an endless annular belt 1 is wound around a driving roller 2 and a driven roller 3.

Below the endless annular belt 1, there is provided a substantially U-shaped bracket 5 rotatably provided around a pin 4. Two holes 5 a are formed in the bracket 5, and both ends of a shaft 10 rotatably supporting the roller 6 are fitted into the holes 5 a, and the shaft 10 is positioned by an E-ring 11. .

Further, one end of the bracket 5 is locked by the bracket 5 and the other end of the bracket 5 is urged by a spring 7 as an urging means locked to the apparatus main body side. Can be pressed against

[0005] Reference numeral 8 denotes a guide plate. Next, the operation of the transport function having the above configuration will be described. When the drive roller 2 is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow I in FIG.
Is driven in the direction of arrow II in the figure. Further, the roller 6 pressing against the endless annular belt 1 also rotates in the direction of arrow III.

When the sheet-like member 12 reaches between the endless annular belt 1 and the roller 6, the sheet-like member is nipped and conveyed by the endless belt 1 and the roller 6.

[0007]

However, in the transport mechanism having the above-described structure, in order to replace the roller 6, the assembly including the endless annular belt 1, the driving roller 2, and the driven roller 3 is removed, and then the E-ring is removed. 11, the shaft 10 must be removed from the hole 5 a of the bracket 5, and the roller 6 must be replaced.

Further, when the guide plate 8 is provided as in the conventional example, the guide plate 8 must be removed. Therefore, there is a problem that it takes time to replace the roller.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport mechanism in which rollers can be easily replaced.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, comprising: a driving rotator of one of a roller and an endless annular belt; and a driving rotator provided below the driving rotator. A bracket provided movably in the direction of the driving rotator, and a shaft having both ends supported by the bracket,
A transport mechanism comprising: a driven roller provided on the shaft; and urging means for urging the bracket in the direction of the driving rotator, wherein the driving rotator and the driven roller sandwich and convey a sheet-shaped member. In mounting the shaft and the bracket, one end of the shaft is fitted into a hole formed in the bracket, and the other end of the shaft is substantially downward from an upper end surface of the bracket. A transport mechanism characterized in that the transport mechanism is fitted into a substantially U-shaped elongated hole extending toward the front.

The shaft and the bracket are attached such that one end of the shaft fits into a hole formed in the bracket, and the other end of the shaft extends substantially downward from the upper end surface of the bracket. By being configured to fit into the U-shaped elongated hole, when mounting the shaft to the bracket, first, one of the shafts is fitted into the hole drilled in the bracket, and then the shaft It is completed by dropping the other into a substantially U-shaped slot.

Next, when removing the shaft from the bracket,
First, the other end of the shaft is disengaged from the substantially U-shaped long hole of the bracket, and then the one end of the shaft is withdrawn from the hole of the bracket.

Therefore, the roller can be easily replaced. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a cross-sectional shape at one end of the shaft and a cross-sectional shape at the other end are different from each other, and one of the shafts has a different shape. The transport device is characterized in that the cross-sectional shape on the end side is a shape that cannot be fitted into the substantially U-shaped elongated hole of the bracket.

The cross-sectional shape at one end of the shaft is different from the cross-sectional shape at the other end, and the cross-sectional shape at one end of the shaft is substantially U-shaped. By adopting a shape that cannot be fitted in the long hole, it is possible to prevent a wrong orientation of the shaft.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electrophotographic copying machine will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a main part of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an electrophotographic copying machine using the transport mechanism of the present embodiment, and FIG. It is a left side view.

First, an overall configuration of an electrophotographic copying machine provided with a transport mechanism according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, 100 is an electrophotographic copying machine main body, 200 is a paper feed unit (PFU device), 300 is an automatic document feeder (ADF), and 400 is a copier post-processing device (finisher (sorter with stapler device) FNS device). is there.

The main body 100 of the electrophotographic copying machine scans the original D with slit-like light over the entire surface, guides light information reflected from the original D via a mirror, a lens, and the like to a photosensitive drum. A scanning exposure unit 110 for forming an electrostatic latent image thereon, and an image forming unit 120 for visualizing the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum using a developer and transferring the latent image to a copy paper P
And the paper supply unit 13 that supplies the copy paper P to the image forming unit 120
0, a transport unit 140 for transporting the copy paper P, a fixing unit 150 for thermally fixing the toner on the copy paper P, and a discharge switching unit 160
And a plurality of paper feed cassettes 170 and a duplex paper copy paper re-feeding device (ADU device) 180.

In the figure, the dashed line indicates the transport path of the copy paper P. The transport route consists of a main route and a circulation route.
There are types. The main route is the electrophotographic copier body 100
After the image forming unit 120 forms an image on the copy paper P stored in the sheet feeding cassette 170 or the sheet feeding unit 200 provided in the lower part of the image forming unit 120, the conveying unit 140 and the fixing unit 15
0, a route accommodated in the copier post-processing device 400 via the paper discharge switching unit 160, and the circulation route is the paper discharge switching unit 1
The copying paper P branched from 60 is temporarily stored in the copying paper resupplying device 180 for double-sided copying, and is then re-fed to reach the paper feeding unit 130 of the main body 100 of the electrophotographic copying machine.

Next, referring to FIG.
0 will be described. In the figure, reference numeral 102 denotes a platen glass (platen glass) provided on the electrophotographic copying machine main body 100 and on which a document D is placed. Automatic Document Feeder 300
Is attached to the electrophotographic copying machine main body 100 via a hinge 304, and as shown in FIG. 3, can be brought into contact with the platen glass 102 (solid line position) / retreat (double-dot chain line position). The state in which the original D is in contact with the platen glass 102 is a state in which the automatic document feeder 300 can be used, and the state in which the document D is retracted from the platen glass 102 is that the original D is manually placed on the platen glass 102. Is set to read the image.

In the automatic document feeder 300, 305
Denotes a document table on which a document D from which an image is to be read is to be loaded. A movable pressing plate 306 is provided rotatably about a shaft 307 on the downstream side of the document feeding table 305 from the document feeding. Above the movable pressing plate 306, a delivery roller 309, a driving roller 310, and a driven roller 31
1, an endless annular sheet feeding belt 312 wound around a driving roller 310 and a driven roller 311, and a separating roller 313 provided below the sheet feeding belt 312 for preventing double feeding. A transport mechanism H is provided.

Subsequent to the transport mechanism H, transport roller pairs 314, 315 and 316 for transporting the document D toward the document table glass 102 while nipping the document D are provided. An endless annular transport belt 317 is rotatably stretched between the drive roller 318, the driven roller 319, the four document pressing rollers 320, and the tension roller 321 on the platen glass 102.

In the vicinity of the driving roller 318, the document D
Is provided with a sensor S for detecting the tip of the. 322,
Reference numeral 323 denotes a pair of transport rollers for nipping the document D for which image reading has been completed and transporting the document D in the direction of the paper discharge tray 324.

When the automatic document feeder 300 is not used, one end of the document is abutted against the downstream side of the document table glass 102 in the document feeding direction so that the document abuts for positioning the document. When the automatic document feeder 300 is in contact with the platen glass 102, the platen plate 330 provided with the platen
02 when the automatic document feeder 300 is retracted from the platen glass 102 when the automatic document feeder 300 is retracted from the platen glass 102. ing.

Next, the attachment of the separating roller 313 of the transport mechanism H of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In these figures, reference numeral 500 denotes a base bracket provided in the automatic document feeder 300.
The base bracket 500 has a substantially U-shape, and has a base 500a attached to the automatic document feeder 300;
It comprises side portions 500b and 500c bent from both ends of the base portion 500a in the direction of the paper feed belt 312.

The side portions 500b and 500c have holes 500f and 500f, respectively.
500g are drilled, and the shaft 501 has these holes 500f,
500g fit. Reference numeral 502 denotes a substantially U-shaped moving bracket including a base 502a and side portions 502b and 502c bent from both ends of the base 502a. Side 502
b and 502c have holes 502d and 5 into which the shaft 501 is loosely inserted.
The moving bracket 502 is rotatable about the shaft 501 in the direction of the paper feed belt 312.

A substantially D-shaped hole 502f is formed at the rotation end of the side portion 502b of the moving bracket 502.
A substantially U-shaped elongated hole 502g extending substantially downward from the upper end surface is formed on the rotation end side.

The cross-sectional shape of the first end 510a on the one end side is substantially D-shaped, and the second end 51 on the other end side.
Ob is a first end 510a of a shaft 510 having an oval cross section.
Is fitted in the hole 502f of the moving bracket 502,
The end 510b is fitted in the elongated hole 502g of the moving bracket 502.

In this embodiment, the first shaft 510
The end 510b side is a long hole 502 of the moving bracket 502.
g was set so that it could not be fitted. A separating roller 313 is rotatably provided at a substantially intermediate portion of the shaft 510. Further, on one end face side of the separating roller 313, one side of a torque limiter 513 that inhibits transmission of a rotational force when a load acts on a predetermined value or more is attached.

514 has a substantially D-shaped hole 514a having the same cross-sectional shape as the first end 510a of the shaft 510.
Reference numeral 10a denotes a spring reference plate which is fitted and whose rotation with respect to the shaft 510 is prohibited. A torsion spring 515 is disposed between the spring reference plate 514 and the torque limiter 513 so as to wind the shaft 510. One end of the torsion spring 515 is locked by a protrusion 513a provided on the other side of the torque limiter 513, and the other end is locked by a hole 514a of the spring reference plate 514.

In the natural state, the projection 513a of the torque limiter 513 is pressed against the bent portion 514b of the spring reference plate 514 by the urging force of the torsion spring 515.

A torsion spring 520 is provided on a shaft 501 that rotatably supports the movable bracket 502. One end of the torsion spring 520 is engaged with a spring receiving portion 500d formed on the base 500a of the base bracket 500, and the other end is formed on the lower end surface of the side portion 502c of the moving bracket 502. Spring receiving part 502
h, and the moving bracket 502 is attached to the separating roller 3.
13 is urged in the direction of pressing against the paper feed belt 312.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of grooves having different heights are provided in the spring receiver 500d, and the urging force of the torsion spring 520 can be adjusted by selecting these grooves.

The separating roller 313 is configured to press against the paper feed belt 312 via the hole 600a of the transport guide plate 600. Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.

(1) When Using the Automatic Document Feeder First, the automatic document feeder 300 is brought into contact with the platen glass 102, and a document D for reading an image is loaded on the document placing table 305.

The automatic document feeder 300 is brought into contact with the platen glass 102 so that the document abutting plate 330
Is pushed down to a position where it does not protrude from the original placing surface.
Next, when the switch is turned on, the movable pressing plate 306 moves upward, and the original D is pressed against the feed roller 311. Then, the uppermost document D among the stacked documents D is fed by the rotating feed roller 309.

Further, the drive roller 310 rotates, and the document D is nipped and conveyed by the paper feed belt 312 and the separating roller 313. At this time, the rotation of the separation roller 313 causes the diameter of the torsion spring 515 to be reduced. However, when the separating roller 313 rotates by a predetermined angle, the torque to the torsion spring 515 is cut off by the torque limiter 513, and the torsion spring 515 holds its position.

When the document D passes, the restoring force of the torsion spring 515 causes the separation roller 31 to move.
Reference numeral 3 rotates reversely (to the original position) until the projection 513a of the torque limiter 513 contacts the bent portion 514b of the spring reference plate 514.

Therefore, even if the originals D are multi-fed for some reason, the multi-fed originals D are separated by the separating rollers 31.
The reverse rotation of 3 pushes back and prevents double feed. Then, the original D collides with the conveying roller pair 314 and the original D
The posture is adjusted and stops once.

Next, the conveying roller pairs 314, 315, 316
The document D is nipped and conveyed, and is conveyed on the platen glass 102 by the frictional force of the conveyance belt 317 driven by the driving roller 318.

When the rear end of the document D is detected by the sensor S, a control unit (not shown) controls the drive roller 318,
The document D is stopped at a predetermined position on the platen glass 102. Then, the image of the document D is read, and the driving roller 318 is driven again, and the document D for which the image reading is completed is conveyed. Can be

(2) When the Automatic Document Feeder is Not Used The automatic document feeder 300 is located at a position retracted from the platen glass 2. Therefore, the original abutment plate 330 is moved by the urging force of the spring
Is located at a protruding position protruding from the original mounting surface of the document.

Then, the original D is manually placed on the original abutment plate 3.
The document D is positioned, and the image is read. Next, a replacement operation of the separating roller 313 of the transport mechanism having the above configuration will be described.

In this embodiment, the separating roller 3
13 is replaced in units of a separating roller assembly including the separating roller 313, the shaft 510, the torque limiter 513, the spring reference plate 514, and the torsion spring 515.

When the driving roller 310, the driven roller 311, and the paper feed belt 312 are removed, as shown in FIG. 8B, the moving bracket 502 is rotated by the urging force of the torsion spring 520, and the separating roller 313 is moved to the conveyance guide plate. The projection 600 protrudes from the hole 600a. Therefore, the separation roller 313 can be replaced without removing the transport guide plate 600.

Then, the second end 510b of the shaft 510 is disengaged from the substantially U-shaped elongated hole 502g of the moving bracket 502, and then the first end 510a of the shaft 510 is removed from the hole 502f of the moving bracket 502. The removal is then completed.
The first end 510 a of the moving bracket 502 with the hole 502
f, and then the other end 510b of the shaft is dropped into a substantially U-shaped elongated hole 502g to complete the mounting.

According to the above configuration, the shaft 510 and the moving bracket 502 are attached to the first end 510 of the shaft 510.
a fits into the hole 502f of the moving bracket 502,
Since the end 510b is configured to fit into the substantially U-shaped elongated hole 502g of the moving bracket 502, the shaft 51
When attaching the first bracket 510 to the moving bracket 502, first, the first end 510 a of the shaft 510 is connected to the moving bracket 50.
2 hole 502f and then the other end 51 of the shaft.
0b is dropped into a substantially U-shaped elongated hole 502g to complete the process.

Next, to remove the shaft 510 from the moving bracket 502, first, the second end 510b of the shaft 510 is detached from the substantially U-shaped elongated hole 502g of the moving bracket 502. The process is completed by removing the first end 510a of the shaft 510 from the hole 502f. Therefore, replacement of the separation roller 313 is facilitated.

The first end 510b side of the shaft 510 is
By setting the shape so that it cannot be fitted into the elongated hole 502g of the moving bracket 502, it is possible to prevent the shaft 510 from being attached in the wrong direction.

Further, the second end 510 b of the shaft 510 having a substantially oval cross section fits into the substantially U-shaped elongated hole 502 g of the movable bracket 502, so that the separating roller 313 is formed.
Does not come off from the elongated hole 502g due to the rotation of.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above embodiment, the description has been given of the transport mechanism including the endless annular belt and the roller biased in the direction of the endless annular belt. However, the first roller and the second roller biased in the first roller direction are described. The present invention is also applicable to a transport mechanism including rollers.

[0051]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the shaft and the bracket are mounted, one end of the shaft is fitted into a hole formed in the bracket, and the other end of the shaft is mounted. The end of the bracket extends substantially downward from the upper end surface of the bracket so as to fit into a substantially U-shaped elongated hole,
When the shaft and the bracket are attached, one end of the shaft fits into a hole drilled in the bracket, and the other end of the shaft extends substantially downward from the upper end surface of the bracket. When the shaft is attached to the bracket, the shaft is first fitted into the hole formed in the bracket, and then the other shaft is substantially attached. U
It is completed by dropping it into the long hole of the character shape. Next, to remove the shaft from the bracket, first remove the other end of the shaft from the substantially U-shaped long hole of the bracket, and then pull out one end of the shaft from the hole in the bracket. Complete. Therefore, replacement of the rollers is facilitated.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the cross-sectional shape at one end of the shaft is different from the cross-sectional shape at the other end, and the cross-sectional shape at one end of the shaft is different. Since the cross-sectional shape is such that it cannot fit into the substantially U-shaped elongated hole of the bracket, the wrong orientation of the shaft can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a main part of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an electrophotographic copying machine using the transport mechanism of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a left side view in FIG.

4 is an overall configuration diagram of an electrophotographic copying machine provided with the automatic document feeder shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the separating roller as viewed from the conveyor belt side.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining the attachment of a separating roller, and FIG.
1 is a front view in FIG. 1, FIG. 2B is a left side view of the moving bracket in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2C is a right side view of the moving bracket in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating attachment of a torsion spring 515 in FIG.

8A and 8B are diagrams illustrating a left side surface in FIG. 5, in which FIG. 8A is a diagram when a conveyor belt is present, and FIG. 8B is a diagram when the conveyor belt is removed.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of a conventional transport mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 502 Moving bracket 502f Hole 502g Slot 510 Shaft 510a First end (one end) 510b Second end (other end)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A driving rotator of one of a roller and an endless annular belt; a bracket provided below the driving rotator and movably provided in the direction of the driving rotator; A shaft supported by the bracket, a driven roller provided on the shaft, and an urging means for urging the bracket toward the driving rotator, wherein a sheet is formed by the driving rotator and the driven roller. In the transport mechanism for nipping and transporting a member having a shape, mounting of the shaft and the bracket includes fitting one end of the shaft into a hole formed in the bracket, and mounting the other end of the shaft to the bracket. A transport mechanism which is fitted into a substantially U-shaped elongated hole extending substantially downward from an upper end surface of the bracket. 2. A cross-sectional shape at one end of the shaft and a cross-sectional shape at the other end are different from each other, and a cross-sectional shape at one end of the shaft is different from that of the bracket. 2. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer device has a shape that cannot be fitted into a substantially U-shaped elongated hole.