JPH11227950A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent side regulating means located over a sheet loading means from interfering with obstacles in the vicinity of a paper feeding opening when the paper feeding opening set up for an image forming device is closed by the sheet loading means when the device is not in use. SOLUTION: In an image forming device provided with a device main body 100 having an image forming means in its inside, a paper feeding opening set up for the device main body 100 to let a sheet pass through, a sheet loading means 1 pivoted by the device main body 100 to open/close the paper feeding opening, and concurrently to feed a sheet to the image forming means by way of the paper feeding opening, and with paired side regulating means 8a and 8b provided for the sheet loading means 1 to regulate the lateral direction of a sheet while being interlocked with each other, when the sheet loading means is operated so as to be closed with respect to the sheet feeding opening, a wire 2 is pulled up by a spring 3, an engaging member 5 is mounted by way of a belt 4, and the regulating means 8a and 8b are relatively separated from each other, so that the regulating means are thereby prevented from interfering with a guide 9.

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 such as an electrophotographic apparatus such as a copying machine and an LBP, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having an improved multi-tray section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A schematic view of an example of an electrophotographic full-color image forming apparatus is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an image forming apparatus main body. In the figure, reference numeral 101 denotes a photosensitive drum, which is rotationally driven in a clockwise direction at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) by driving means (not shown). Reference numeral 102 denotes a transfer drum that is driven to rotate with respect to the photosensitive drum 101 in the counterclockwise direction at the same peripheral speed as the photosensitive drum 101.

A document 103 is scanned by a document illumination lamp 104, and a first mirror 105, a second mirror 106,
The reflected light is bent by the mirror 107 and the lens 1
In general, in the case of a full-color original which is read as an image by the photoelectric sensor 109 after the focus is adjusted by 08, four scanning operations are performed to read the magenta, cyan, yellow, and black components in the original.

First, a laser transmitter 1 corresponding to the image of the magenta component read by the photoelectric sensor 109 is used.
A laser beam is emitted from 10, and a latent image in the scanning direction is formed on the photosensitive drum 101 via the mirror 112 by the rotating polygon 111. Then, the toner image is developed by the magenta developing device 113 as a toner image.

On the other hand, the transfer paper is stacked on an upper cassette 117, a middle cassette 119, a lower cassette 121, a multi-tray 123 as a sheet stacking means, and the like, but the following description will be made using the lower cassette 121.

The transfer papers stacked in the lower cassette 121 are separated one by one in a paper feed separation unit 122, and the vertical path rollers 124, 125, 126, and the horizontal path roller 12 are separated.
7. The registration roller 129 is driven by the pre-registration roller 128.
Has been transported to

The timing of the transfer paper is adjusted by registration rollers 129 so that the position of the transfer paper is adjusted to the image position on the photosensitive drum 101.
02. Then, the transfer paper is suctioned onto the transfer drum 102 by the suction roller 130.

Next, in the transfer section 131, the photosensitive drum 10
Magenta toner image developed on the transfer drum 10
2 is transferred to the transfer paper adsorbed on the transfer paper 2. Then, the transfer paper rotates while being adsorbed on the transfer drum 102 as it is.

The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 101 without being transferred by the transfer unit 131 is collected by a cleaner 135. Then, after the potential on the photosensitive drum 101 is made uniform by the primary charger 136, a latent image corresponding to the image of the cyan component is formed on the photosensitive drum 101 by the same process as that of the image of the magenta component. The image is developed as a toner image by the container 114. Then, 1
The cyan toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper that is attracted onto the rotating transfer drum 102.

Similarly, the image of the yellow component and the image of the black component are transferred onto the transfer paper, and the images of the four color components are all transferred onto the transfer paper. By the way, 115
Denotes a yellow developing device, and 116 denotes a black developing device.

Here, it is needless to say that the control is performed such that a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 101 by the laser beam so that the images of the four color components on the document 103 all coincide on the transfer paper.

The transfer paper onto which the four color toner images have been transferred is pushed up by a push-up roller 132 and a separation claw 133 to form a transfer drum 1.
02, and is separated from the fixing device 1 by the transport unit 134.
37. In the fixing device 137, the transfer paper is sandwiched between a pair of a fixing roller 143 heated by the heater 144 and a pressure roller 145 heated by the heater 146, and the toner image carried on the transfer paper is heated and melted. Is fixed on the transfer paper. After that, the sheet is discharged out of the image forming apparatus main body by the sheet discharge roller 139 and is stacked on the tray 147.

The above is an example of the normal mode. In the case of the double-sided mode, the flapper 138 is used to switch to the vertical path in the transfer paper transport direction. The transfer paper conveyed into the vertical path is conveyed by the conveyance rollers 148, 149, 150 and the reversing roller 140 until the rear end of the transfer paper passes through the flapper 151. Thereafter, the transfer path of the transfer sheet is switched by rotating the flapper 151, and the transfer sheet is switched back by the reverse rotation of the reversing roller 140, and the transfer path 15
2 to the discharge path 141. In the emission path,
By switching the flappers 141A to 141D according to the size of the transfer paper, the transfer paper is placed on the intermediate tray 1 with the formed image facing up.
53. Then, the transfer paper is supplied to the re-feed roller 14.
2, the paper is re-fed so as to form an image on another surface.

In recent years, in order to cope with various kinds of transfer materials such as OHP sheets and glossy papers, the use frequency of the multi-tray in the above-described color image forming apparatus and monochrome image forming apparatus is increasing.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of the multi-tray 123.

In the figure, 51 is a tray, 52 is a middle plate, 53 is a side regulating plate for regulating both sides of the transfer material, 54 is a pickup roller, 55 is a roller cover, 56 is an upper transport guide, 57 is a lower transport guide, 58 is a separation roller pair.

Here, the operation of the multi-tray will be described. First, the transfer material S is stacked on the middle plate. When the copy operation starts, the middle plate 5 is driven by a lifter motor (not shown).
2 is raised (FIG. 6), the transfer material is fed and conveyed to a separation roller pair 58 by a pickup roller 54 as a feeding means, and only one transfer material is separated by the separation roller pair 58, and the main body of the image forming apparatus. It is transported inside 100.
Thereafter, the sheet is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 147 through the above-described image forming process.

However, in order to improve the sheet feeding performance of the multi-tray corresponding to various kinds of transfer materials, the conveyance guides 56, 5
In the image forming apparatus in which the multi-tray 7 is extended from the pair of separation rollers 58 to the direction of the pickup roller 54, in order to reduce the size of the image forming apparatus, there is a condition that the multi-tray must be stored in the main body without traveling from the main body when not in use. is there. In order to satisfy this condition, when storing the multi tray in the main body,
Traveled members on the transport guide and multi-tray, for example,
The multi-tray may not be able to be stored due to interference of the side regulating plate. That is, FIG. 7 shows a top view of the multi-tray when the multi-tray cannot be stored. As shown in the figure, the conveyance guide 56 is extended to the left and right. , Left and right side regulating members 53
a and 53b interfere.

For this reason, there is a solution in which the conveyance guide is cut out only at both ends which have little influence on the sheet passing performance, the side regulating plate is moved to both ends, and then the multi-tray is folded and stored in the main body.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the multi-tray when it can be stored, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view when the multi-tray is stored in the image forming apparatus main body. In this case, the roller cover 55 is flipped up around the vicinity of the axis of the separation roller 58. In FIG. 9, the side regulating plate 53 and the transport guide 56 are illustrated as overlapping, and it can be seen that the multi-tray cannot be stored unless the transport guide is cut out.

[0022]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, when the multi-tray is stored in the main body, the multi-tray cannot be stored unless the side regulating plate is moved to both ends without fail. It was very annoying.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to move the side regulating plate to a predetermined position with an end on the multi-tray in conjunction with the operation of closing or storing the multi-tray, and only the portion corresponding to this position is guided on the main body side. The notch is intended to achieve both maintenance of the multi-tray paper feed performance and improvement of user operability.

[0024]

In order to achieve the above object, a means according to the present invention comprises an apparatus main body having therein an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet, and a sheet opened in the apparatus main body and passing through the sheet. And a sheet stacking means pivotally supported by the apparatus main body to open and close the sheet feeding opening, and to supply sheets to image forming means through the sheet feeding opening; and And a pair of side restricting means for restricting the width direction of the sheet in conjunction with each other, wherein the sheet stacking means interlocks with the sheet feeding port to close the sheet feeding port. And interlocking means for moving the side regulating means in a direction away from each other.

[0025]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a schematic top sectional view of a multi-tray showing the features of the present invention best, showing a state in which the multi-tray is opened, that is, a used state. .

In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a multi-tray as sheet stacking means, and 2 denotes a wire as a linear body having one end fixed to the apparatus main body and the other end connected to one end of a wire urging spring. The other end of 3 is fixed to a tray. 2a
Is a roller for guiding the wire 2.

Reference numeral 4 denotes an endless member such as a belt or a wire as an endless belt wound around the guide rollers 4a and 4b. Reference numeral 5 denotes an engaging member fixed to the belt 4 and engaged with the side regulating member. Reference numeral 6 denotes a gear, reference numeral 7 denotes a connecting member for connecting the belt 4 and the wire, and reference numeral 8 denotes a side control plate which is movable in the direction of an arrow in the figure and controls the width direction of the transfer paper. However, both control plates can be interlocked with each other.

Reference numerals 9 and 10 denote transport guides, reference numerals 11 and 12 denote separation rollers, and reference numeral 13 denotes a pickup roller as a feeding means. These rollers are disposed near a paper feed port opened in the apparatus main body. Reference numeral 14 denotes a roller cover that supports the pickup roller, and is rotatably attached to the apparatus main body around an axis coaxial with or near the rotation axis of the separation roller.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the multi-tray in a state where the multi-tray is opened. In other words, this shows a state in which the tray is positioned at an angle of about 90 degrees with respect to the side wall of the apparatus main body, and the paper feed opening of the transfer paper opened in the side wall is opened.

In this state, since the tray is open,
As shown in FIG. 2, the wire 2 is extended, and in FIG. 1, the connecting member 7 moves upward against the wire urging spring 3 as shown.

At this time, the engaging member 5 locked to the belt 4
Is moved near the center of the multi-tray, and this position is set inside the minimum size paper that can be fed by the multi-tray. In other words, the engaging member 5 is located at a retracted position outside the range in which the side regulating plate 8 can be moved without any trouble with respect to transfer materials of various sizes that can be fed.

In this state, since the engaging member 5 is at the retracted position with respect to the side regulating plate 8, the user can freely move the side regulating plate 8 according to the size of the transfer material to be used. .

Next, the operation when the multi-tray 1 is closed or stored in the main body will be described. At this time, the tray 1 is substantially parallel to the side wall of the apparatus main body, and closes the sheet feeding port for the transfer material. In this case, the tray 1 is often stored in a recess in the side wall.

When the multi-tray is closed, the connecting members 7
Is moved to the center of the multi-tray by the wire urging spring 3. Then, in conjunction with this movement, the engaging member 5 locked on the belt 4 moves upward and hits a part of the side regulating plate.

When the multi-tray is further closed, the engaging member 5 is further moved upward by the wire urging spring 3, and
Move the side regulating plate to both ends. At this time, the engagement member 5
Abuts only on the side regulating plate 8b, but when the side regulating plate 8b moves upward, the rack portion integrally formed with the 8b rotates the gear 6, and this rotation is also integrally formed with the 8a. Is transmitted to the rack, and 8a also moves downward.

As described above, the side regulating plate 8 moves to both ends in conjunction with the operation of closing the multi-tray.

FIG. 3 is a view seen from a direction perpendicular to the loading surface of the multi-tray when the multi-tray is closed.

In this state, the side regulating plate 8 has been moved to both ends of the multi-tray, and the transport guide 9 is cut off at a position corresponding to this position. In addition, the side regulating plate 8 and the conveyance guide 9 can be stored without interference. At that time, the interlocking means of the closing operation of the multi-tray and the side regulating plate is constituted by a member having a simple shape such as a wire or a spring.
The configuration is simple.

In the above example, the operation of the wire 2 is
The engaging member 5 transmitted through the first member 8a can be engaged with one of the side regulating members 8b. However, the engaging member 5 is directly attached to a wire, and the other engaging member 5 is attached to the wire.
a may be engageable.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The same members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. The fixed cam 18 is inserted into the support shaft 17 which rotates integrally with the tray 1,
The cam follower 19 is spline-fitted to the support shaft 17, is rotatable integrally with the support shaft and is movable in the axial direction with respect to the support shaft, and is urged toward the fixed cam by urging means such as a coil spring (not shown). ing. One end of an engagement lever 20 is pivotally connected to the follower 19, and an intermediate portion of the lever is a pin 21.
To the tray 1.

With the above configuration, when the tray is rotated from the open state to the closed state in FIG. 10, the fixed cam 18 and the follower 19 rotate relatively, and the follower 19 moves in a direction away from the fixed cam 18 (upward in the figure). Then, the lever 20 pivots about the pin 21 and its engaging end moves downward in the drawing to engage with one side regulating member 8a, and the side regulating member also moves in the same direction. Both side regulating members are interlocked with each other, and the interval between them is widened by a predetermined distance.
Then, interference between the regulating members 8a and 8b and the transport guide 9 is avoided, and the tray 1 can be moved to the closed position with respect to the apparatus main body.

In this embodiment, the interlocking means for opening and closing the tray and the side regulating plate has a relatively complicated shape of members such as cams and cam followers as compared with the first embodiment. There is an advantage that the interlocking means between the tray and the side regulating plate is not exposed to the outside when the apparatus is opened and used, unlike the wire of the above embodiment.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A paper feed port for passing a sheet is opened in the apparatus main body having an image forming means therein, and the paper feed port is pivotally supported by the apparatus main body to open and close the image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus provided with a sheet stacking unit for supplying a sheet to the unit, wherein the sheet stacking unit includes a pair of side regulating units that regulate a width direction of the sheet in cooperation with each other. By providing interlocking means for moving the pair of side regulating means in the direction away from each other in conjunction with the closing operation on the paper feed port,
During the closing operation of the sheet stacking means, the side regulating members move away from each other, so that interference with obstacles such as a conveyance guide on the apparatus main body side is avoided, and various kinds of sheets are supplied from the sheet stacking means according to the intended use. That is, both the maintenance of the sheet feeding performance as a multi-tray and the improvement of user operability can be achieved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view when a sheet stacking unit is used in an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a sheet stacking unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention when a sheet stacking unit is closed.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a side view when a conventional sheet stacking unit is used.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a sheet feeding operation of a conventional sheet stacking unit.

FIG. 7 is a plan view when a conventional sheet stacking unit is used.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a cut state of a conventional conveyance guide near a sheet stacking unit.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the conventional sheet stacking unit when closed.

FIG. 10 is a partially broken plan view when another embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is used.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 51, 123 Multi-tray 2 Wire 3 Spring 4 Belt 4a, 4b Roller 5 Engaging member 6 Gear 7 Connecting member 8a, 8b, 53 Side regulating member 9, 10 Transport guide 11 , 12, 58 ... Separation rollers 13, 54 ... Pickup rollers 14, 55 ... Roller cover 17 ... Support shaft 18 ... Fixed cam 19 ... Cam follower 20 ... Engaging lever 21 ... Pin 100 ... Image forming apparatus main body 101 ... Photosensitive drum 102 ... Transfer drums 113 to 116 Developing devices 117, 119, 121 Cassette 137 Fixing device

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus body having an image forming means for forming an image on a sheet therein, a sheet feeding port opened in the apparatus body for passing a sheet, and a sheet feeder pivotally supported by the apparatus body. A sheet stacking unit for opening and closing the opening and supplying a sheet to the image forming unit through the sheet feeding opening; and a pair of sheet stacking units provided in the sheet stacking unit and interlocking with each other to regulate the width direction of the sheet. An image forming apparatus having a side regulating unit, comprising an interlocking unit that moves the pair of side regulating units in a direction away from each other in conjunction with a closing operation of the sheet stacking unit with respect to the sheet feeding port. Image forming apparatus. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interlocking means includes a linear member having one end fixed to the apparatus main body, and an urging means for urging the other end of the linear member in a width direction of the sheet stacking means. An image forming apparatus having an engagement member for transmitting an operation of the linear member to the side regulating means. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the interlocking means includes a direction changing means for moving the engaging member in a direction opposite to a moving direction of the other end of the linear member. . 4. An image according to claim 3, wherein said direction changing means is a pair of rotating rollers disposed at an interval and an endless strip wound around said rotating rollers. Forming equipment. 5. An image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said linear member is a wire, and said urging means is a coil spring. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interlocking means comprises: a fixed cam fitted to a rotation support shaft of the sheet stacking means;
A follower that is engaged with the fixed cam, is axially movable on the rotation support shaft, and is rotatable integrally with the rotation support shaft, one end is fitted to the follower, and an intermediate portion is pivotally connected to the sheet stacking means. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a lever-shaped engaging member that is supported, and the other end of which engages with the side regulating means to move the side regulating means. 7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the pair of side restricting means is interlocked by a rack provided on each side restricting means and a gear engaged with the rack. Characteristic image forming apparatus. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the paper feed port is opened on a side wall of the apparatus main body. 9. An image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said engaging member is moved to a retracted position separated from said side regulating means when said sheet stacking means is used in an open state. apparatus. 10. The sheet feeding means according to claim 8, wherein a supporting means for feeding means for picking up and feeding the sheet on the sheet stacking means is pivotally supported near the sheet feeding port, and the supporting means closes the sheet stacking means. An image forming apparatus which is sometimes moved to the apparatus main body side by the sheet stacking means. 11. The paper feeding port according to claim 8, wherein:
A conveyance guide is provided that extends in the width direction of the supplied sheet and guides at least one of the upper and lower sides of the sheet, and the end of the conveyance guide in the width direction interferes with the side regulating unit when the sheet stacking unit is closed. An image forming apparatus characterized by being cut so as not to be cut. 12. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a recess is formed in a side wall of the apparatus body around the sheet feeding port, and the sheet stacking means is stored in the recess when the sheet stacking means is closed. Characteristic image forming apparatus.