JPH10285316A - Image-forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the cost and to decrease a space occupied by an image- forming device, without losing operability in the case of maintenance or jamming processing or the like. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a reader 1 reading an image of an original, a printer 2 that records an image on a sheet, and a container rack 3 that contains the reader 1 and the printer 2 respectively placed at upper and lower parts, and a sheet mount section 7 for mounting sheets discharged after recording is placed to a space between the reader 1 and the printer 2. Furthermore, the container rack 3 has a freely turnable turntable 6, in parallel with a mount face of a lower placing base 5 on the lower placing base 5, on which the printer 2 is mounted.

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 in which a reading apparatus for reading an image of a document and a recording apparatus for recording and forming an image on a sheet are combined, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus such as a facsimile or a copying machine. is there.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine is configured as an apparatus in which an image reading section for reading an image of a document and an image recording section for recording an image on a sheet are integrally combined. For example, first, image light (reflected light) of a document read by an image reading unit is transmitted to an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum provided in an image recording unit, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the image carrier. It is formed. Then, a toner image is formed on the image carrier by a developing unit which is one of the process units disposed around the image carrier. Then, the toner image is transferred to a sheet by a transfer unit arranged to face the image carrier. Then, the transfer toner image is fixed on the sheet by the fixing unit, and the image is recorded on the sheet.

A general electrophotographic copying machine as described above is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-231324. In this conventional electrophotographic copying machine, an image reading section is disposed at an upper portion of an apparatus main body, an image recording section is disposed at a lower portion of the image reading section, and an image recording section is disposed at a lower portion of the apparatus main body. A feeding unit including a plurality of feeding cassettes and the like for feeding sheets to the printer is arranged. Also, in this electrophotographic copying machine, as described above,
A method (optical type) of writing an image by transmitting light (image light) obtained by scanning an image of a document directly to an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum is used.

On the other hand, image information of a document read by an image reading unit is output as a digital signal, and the signal is stored in an image recording unit using a writing means such as a laser beam. There are also digital devices that form an electrostatic latent image on the body. The digital type electrophotographic copying machine is configured so that the image signal processing operation is performed in the same manner as in the case of facsimile. For example, as the image recording unit, a mechanism for recording an image on a sheet using a digital method is provided similarly to a laser beam printer disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 1-314256.

As described above, even in an image forming apparatus in which a digital image reading unit and an image recording unit are combined, the information obtained by scanning the image of a document is the same as in the case of the optical type electrophotographic copying machine or the like. Can be used to record an image on a sheet. Further, the image forming apparatus using the digital method can be used not only as an electrophotographic copying machine but also as a facsimile or as a printer connected to a computer. The functions of the electrophotographic copying machine, the laser beam printer, and the facsimile can be arbitrarily used by the image forming apparatus having the composite function as described above.

Further, as described above, when an image forming apparatus is configured by combining a digital image reading section and an image recording section, the apparatus body uses a digital mechanism, so that it is relatively compact. It can be configured as a device. Further, even when a feeding cassette or the like is mounted on the feeding section, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2-231324, the sheet accommodating device such as the feeding cassette is mounted on the front side of the image forming apparatus main body. It can be attached and detached from. With this configuration, the installation space of the image forming apparatus can be reduced and the operability of the apparatus can be improved, as compared with an apparatus in which the feeding cassette is detached from the side of the apparatus main body.

[0007]

However, in the above conventional example, even in a digital image forming apparatus which can be constructed relatively compact, a sheet stack such as a discharge tray for stacking sheets discharged after recording is provided. Department
It is arranged so as to protrude from the side of the apparatus body. For this reason, there has been a problem that the space for the discharge tray is required extra as a space for installing the apparatus main body.

In the conventional image forming apparatus, a sheet supplied from a feeding cassette or the like is usually conveyed to an image recording unit via a sheet conveying path arranged on a side of the apparatus main body. In many cases, a door or the like is provided on the side of the apparatus main body to perform maintenance on each member constituting the image forming apparatus or to process a jam sheet in the sheet conveyance path. In many cases. Therefore, in an apparatus provided with an opening / closing member on the side of the apparatus main body, a space for opening and closing the opening / closing member is required on both sides of the apparatus, and this space is additionally required as an installation space for the apparatus main body. There was a problem of becoming.

[0009] Even when other devices and the like are arranged on both sides of the image forming apparatus, the other devices cannot be arranged in close contact with each other, so that a large amount of space is required. was there. On the other hand, when another device or the like is arranged close to both sides of the image forming device, the other device is moved when maintenance of the image forming device is performed (when the opening / closing member is opened / closed). Alternatively, it is necessary to move the image forming apparatus, and there is a problem that the operation becomes complicated.

In addition, when the opening / closing member is opened at the time of jam clearance or the like, it is necessary to cut off the supply of power to the image recording section and the like, so that the opening / closing detecting means for detecting the opening / closing of the opening / closing member is opened and closed. There is a problem that it is necessary to provide it on a member, and the cost is increased accordingly.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to reduce the space occupied by the image forming apparatus and to reduce the cost without impairing the operability during maintenance or jam clearance.

[0012]

To achieve the above object, a typical configuration of the present invention is a reading device for reading an image of a document, a recording device for recording an image on a sheet, and a vertically moving device. And a housing frame body to be arranged and housed in
A sheet stacking unit for stacking sheets discharged after recording is disposed in a space between the reading device and the recording device.

According to the above configuration, since the sheet stacking section is disposed in the space between the reading device and the recording device, it is possible to effectively use the space and the like.

Further, since the housing frame has a turntable rotatable in parallel with a mounting surface of the mounting table on a mounting table on which the apparatus is mounted. Jam handling and maintenance can be performed only on the front side, and other devices can be placed on both sides of the device in close contact with each other, effectively saving space without impairing operability. It can be used.

Also, a connection terminal of a supply cable for supplying power to a device mounted on the turntable, and a communication cable for transferring information such as digital signals between the respective devices. The installation operation can be simplified by providing the connection terminals of the above.

Alternatively, by transferring information such as digital signals between the devices by the optical communication means, wiring and connection work of communication cables and the like can be reduced.

In addition, in connection with the turning operation of the turntable, the supply of electric power to the device mounted on the turntable is cut off, so that the opening / closing of the opening / closing member, which is conventionally required, is detected. Parts such as means are not required, and the cost can be reduced accordingly.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiment, an image forming apparatus in which a reading apparatus for reading an image of a document and a recording apparatus for recording an image on a sheet are integrally combined will be described as an example of the image forming apparatus.

[First Embodiment] An image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
2 is a front view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a right side view of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus, FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the area occupied by the image forming apparatus.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a reader as a reading device, which reads image information of a document and processes the image information by a digital signal. Reference numeral 2 denotes a printer as a recording device, which records an image on a sheet based on image information of a document read by the reader 1 (or image information sent from another device). Reference numeral 3 denotes a storage rack serving as a storage frame body, in which the reader 1 and the printer 2 are independently arranged and stored.
The accommodation rack 3 is provided with an upper mounting table 4 and a lower mounting table 5, and the lower mounting table 5 is provided with a turntable 6 which is rotatable in parallel with the mounting surface. Then, the reader 1 is disposed on the upper mounting table 4 of the storage rack 3, the printer 2 is disposed on the turntable 6 of the lower mounting table 5, and positioned at a predetermined position by a positioning member (not shown). I have. Further, a sheet stacking unit 7 provided in the printer 2 for stacking sheets discharged after recording.
Are arranged in a space between the reader 1 and the printer 2 housed in the housing rack 3.

The reader 1 includes a control panel 8 for operating the image forming apparatus (such as key input),
A scanning mechanism 9 for scanning and reading an image surface of a document set on a platen glass (not shown) on an upper portion of the apparatus main body;
The scanning mechanism 9 includes a platen cover 10 for pressing and holding the original on a platen glass, and a controller 11 for processing image information of the original read by the scanning mechanism 9 using digital signals. At the same time as the operation of the image forming apparatus is performed, the image information of the document is processed by a digital signal, and the signal (image information) is output to the printer 2 (or another device).

The printer 2 outputs a laser beam according to a digital signal (image information) input from the reader 1 (or another device), and irradiates the laser beam to the photosensitive drum 13a to write an image. Writing device 12 and a photosensitive drum 13a by the writing device 12.
An image forming unit 13 for converting the electrostatic latent image formed on the sheet to a visible image (toner image) and transferring the toner image to a sheet; a fixing device 14 for fixing the transferred toner image to a sheet;
A feeding unit 15 including a sheet cassette 15a for feeding sheets to the apparatus 13 is provided. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the sheets stored in the sheet cassette 15a are transported to the image forming unit 13 through a sheet transport path arranged on the right side of the printer main body, and the photosensitive drum 13a is moved as described above.
Is transferred to a sheet. Next, the transfer toner image is fixed to a sheet through a fixing device 14,
After fixing, the sheet is discharged to the sheet stacking section 7 through a sheet conveyance path arranged on the left side of the printer body.

Also, on both sides and the front of the printer body,
A right door 16, a left door 17, and a front door 18 as opening / closing members are respectively provided so as to be openable and closable. This makes it possible to perform maintenance inside the printer, processing of a jam sheet in a sheet conveyance path on the side of the printer body, and the like.
Further, the feeding unit 15 employs a front loading system in which a sheet cassette 15a is inserted from the front of the printer body.

As shown in FIG. 4, the turntable 6 has an outlet 20 which is a connection terminal of a power cable for supplying power to the printer 2 mounted on the turntable 6, and A connection terminal 22 of a communication relay cable 21 for transmitting information such as a digital signal is provided. The outlet 20 is connected to the table tap 24 on the rear surface of the storage rack 3 via a mating electrode pair 32 provided on the turntable 6 and a mating electrode pair groove 33 provided on the lower mounting table 5. The communication relay cable 21 extends through the center hole 25 of the turntable 6 to the back of the storage rack 3, and the other connection terminal 26 is connected to the storage rack 3.
It is attached to the back of. Then, the power cable 27 of the reader 1 mounted on the upper mounting table 4 of the storage rack 3 is connected to the power strip 24, and the communication cable 28 from the reader 1 is connected to the connection terminal 26. Then, the power cable 29 (see FIG. 2) of the printer 2 mounted on the turntable 6 of the lower mounting table 5 is connected to the outlet 20, and the communication cable 30 is connected to the connection terminal 22.

The width and depth dimensions of the printer 2 are as follows:
As shown in FIG. 5, the printer 2 mounted on the turntable 6 has a lever 31 provided on the lower mounting table 5 so as to be rotatable within the area occupied by the reader 1. It is configured to be rotatable until it hits a stopper that does not exist. In the present embodiment, it is set to be rotatable up to 180 degrees (up to 90 degrees left and right from the state shown in FIG. 1).
That is, similarly to the front door 18 on the front side of the printer main body, the printer 2 rotates to a position where it can be opened and closed on the front side of the image forming apparatus main body, similarly to the front door 18 on the front side of the printer main body. . Thus, maintenance inside the printer, processing of a jam sheet, and the like can be performed from the front side of the image forming apparatus main body.

Further, in conjunction with the rotation of the printer 2 (ie, the rotation of the turntable 6), the supply of power to the printer 2 mounted on the turntable 6 is cut off. That is, the printer 2 is mounted, and in conjunction with the rotation of the turntable 6, the fitting electrode pair 32 provided on the turntable 6 and the fitting electrode pair groove 33 provided on the lower mounting table 5 are fitted. Is released, and the supply of power to the printer 2 is cut off. The mating electrode pair
32, regardless of the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the turntable 6, when the turntable 6 is rotated from the state shown in FIG. 1, the engagement with the engagement electrode pair groove 33 is released, and the turntable 6 is turned off. When the state returns to the state shown in FIG. 1, it is engaged with the engagement electrode pair groove 33 to be turned ON, and the turntable 6 is fixed.

As described above, the sheet stacking section 7 is arranged in the space between the reader 1 and the printer 2 housed in the housing rack 3 and is placed on the lower mounting table 5 for mounting the printer 2 thereon. By providing a turntable 6 that is rotatable in parallel with the mounting surface, for example, jam clearance and maintenance can be performed only on the front side, which is the operation unit side of the apparatus main body. Since the devices can be arranged close to each other, a space or the like can be effectively used without impairing operability.

A power supply cable 29 for supplying power to the printer 2 mounted on the turntable 6 is connected to a turntable 6 provided on the lower mounting table 5 of the storage rack 3, and from the reader 1. By providing the connection terminal 22 of the communication cable 30 for transferring information such as a digital signal, the installation work can be simplified.

In addition, the power supply to the printer 2 mounted on the turntable 6 is cut off in conjunction with the turning operation of the turntable 6 provided on the lower mounting table 5. Components such as an opening / closing detection means for an opening / closing member such as a door, which are conventionally required, become unnecessary, and the cost can be reduced accordingly.

[Second Embodiment] An image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a front view of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. Note that members having the same functions as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment uses the infrared communication devices 51 and 52, which are optical communication means, instead of a communication cable to print image information of a document read by the reader 1 as a printer. 2 is transferred.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a reader as a reading device, which is provided with an infrared communication device 51 at the bottom thereof. Reference numeral 2 denotes a printer as a recording device, which is provided with an infrared communication device 52 at a position facing the infrared communication device 51 on the upper surface thereof. Reference numeral 3 denotes a storage rack as a storage frame, and a hole 53 for inserting the infrared communication device 51 is provided in the upper mounting table 4 so as not to obstruct an optical path from the infrared communication device 51 to the infrared communication device 52. Have been.

Accordingly, the reader 1 reads the image information of the document and processes it with a digital signal, and transfers the image information to the infrared communication device 52 of the printer 2 by the infrared communication device 51. The printer 2 records an image on a sheet as in the above-described embodiment based on the image information received by the infrared communication device 2.

Further, when the printer 2 is rotated when performing jam sheet processing or maintenance, the supply of power to the printer 2 is cut off by utilizing the fact that the communication between the infrared communication devices 51 and 52 is interrupted. It is configured as follows.

As described above, by transmitting information such as digital signals between the reader 1 and the printer 2 by the infrared communication devices 51 and 52, which are optical communication means, a communication cable, an electrode pair and the like can be obtained. Can be reduced, and wiring and connection work of the communication cable can be reduced.

[Other Embodiments] In the above embodiment,
Although the configuration in which the turntable rotatable in parallel with the mounting surface of the mounting table of the housing frame is provided only on the lower mounting table of the housing frame is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, a configuration in which only the upper mounting table is provided, or a configuration in which the upper and lower mounting tables are provided may be provided as necessary.

In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied is exemplified by an image forming apparatus having a composite function such as a function as a copying machine and a function as a facsimile, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an apparatus having only a function as a copier, an apparatus having only a function as a facsimile, or an apparatus combining other functions is also effective.

In the above-described embodiment, an electrophotographic printer is exemplified as the recording apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the recording apparatus adopts another method such as an ink jet method. May be.

Further, the reading method in the reading apparatus is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be, for example, a reading apparatus using a contact image sensor. Furthermore,
Although the reading device in which the document is set by the operator has been illustrated, the invention is not limited to this. For example, a reading device having an automatic document feeding device may be used. In this case, it goes without saying that the tray on which the fed document is placed and the tray on which the discharged document is placed do not protrude outside the apparatus.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the sheet stacking section is disposed in the space between the reading device and the recording device, space and the like can be used effectively.

Further, since a turntable is provided on the mounting table on which the apparatus is mounted so as to be rotatable in parallel with the mounting surface, for example, jam clearance and maintenance can be performed only on the front side, which is the operation unit side of the apparatus main body. Can be performed, and the other devices can be arranged close to both sides of the present device, so that space and the like can be effectively used without impairing operability.

Also, a connection terminal of a supply cable for supplying electric power to a device mounted on the turntable, and a communication cable for transferring information such as digital signals between the respective devices. By providing these connection terminals, the installation work can be simplified, and the installation work can be shortened.

Alternatively, by adopting a configuration in which information such as digital signals between the respective devices is transferred by optical communication means, wiring and connection work of communication cables and the like can be reduced, and installation time can be shortened. it can.

In addition, by interlocking with the turning operation of the turntable, the supply of electric power to the device mounted on the turntable is cut off, so that the opening / closing member opening / closing detecting means required in the prior art is required. Becomes unnecessary, and the cost can be reduced accordingly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an occupied area of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Leader 2 ... Printer 3 ... Storage rack 4 ... Upper mounting table 5 ... Lower mounting table 6 ... Turntable 7 ... Sheet loading part 8 ... Control panel 9 ... Scanning mechanism 10 ... Platen cover 11 ... Controller 12 ... Writing device 13 ... Image forming unit 13a Photosensitive drum 14 Fixing device 15 Feeding unit 15a Sheet cassette 16 Right door 17 Left door 18 Front door 20 Outlet 21 Communication relay cable 22, 26 Connection terminal 24 Table Tap 25, 53 ... Hole 27 ... Power cable 28, 30 ... Communication cable 29 ... Power cable 31 ... Lever 32 ... Mating electrode pair 33 ... Mating electrode pair groove 51, 52 ... Infrared communication device

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A reading device for reading an image of a document, a recording device for recording an image on a sheet, and a storage frame for vertically arranging and storing each of the devices, and a sheet discharged after recording An image forming apparatus, wherein a sheet stacking section for stacking sheets is arranged in a space between the reading device and the recording device. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the housing frame has a turntable on a mounting table on which the apparatus is mounted, the turntable being rotatable in parallel with a mounting surface of the mounting table. The image forming apparatus as described in the above. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reading device and the recording device have independent configurations. 4. The recording apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a feeding unit below, an image forming unit at the center, and a discharge stacking unit above.
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the recording device has an opening / closing member on a side. 6. The turntable has a connection terminal of a supply cable for supplying power to a device mounted on the turntable, and a communication cable for transferring information such as a digital signal between the respective devices. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a connection terminal. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus has an optical communication unit for transferring information such as a digital signal between the respective apparatuses. 8. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the power supply to the device mounted on the turntable is cut off in conjunction with the turning operation of the turntable.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 7. 9. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the width and the depth of one device placed on the turntable are within the occupied area of the other device and are rotatable. An image forming apparatus according to claim 8. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a rotation angle of the turntable is set to a maximum of 180 degrees.