JPH11263466A - Picture image processing device and picture image formation device furnished with it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a picture image processing device capable of preventing malfunction of a processing means by static electricity and a picture image formation device furnished with it. SOLUTION: Static electricity accumulated on a sheet discharged from a discharge port 17 after processed by a processing means with a brush 20 arranged on the discharge port 17 or in the neighborhood of it is discharged. Additionally, static electricity accumulated on the brush 20 is prevented from influencing upon the processing means by devising it possible for a user to touch the grounded brush 20 before touching the conductive member 7 by grounding the brush 20 by a grounding conductor 21 and arranging it so as to be accumulated on the conductive member 7 positioned in the neighborhood of the processing means in the sheet carrier direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus in which a conveyed sheet is processed by a processing means and then discharged from a discharge port. More particularly, the present invention is provided with a brush for removing static electricity accumulated in the sheet. About things.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of an image processing apparatus for processing a sheet by a processing means, an original, which is a conveyed sheet, is read by an image reading means, which is a processing means.
2. Description of the Related Art There is an image reading apparatus configured to discharge a sheet from a discharge port. Some of such image reading apparatuses are provided with a brush for removing static electricity accumulated in a document at or near the discharge port.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of such an image reading apparatus. In FIG.
Reference numeral 1a denotes a lower housing that forms a lower portion of the image reading device 1. The paper feed roller 2, the transport roller 3, and the paper discharge roller 4 are attached to the lower housing 1a.

Further, the transport roller 3 and the discharge roller 4
Is an image reading sensor which is image reading means having at least the length in the width direction of the document P read by the image reading device 1, that is, the length in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the document P indicated by the arrow A. 5 is fixed.

In the vicinity of the image reading sensor 5, a metal correction plate 6 is provided in the longitudinal direction of the image reading sensor 5 so that the image reading sensor 5 is not affected by the deformation of the lower housing 1a. That is, the document P is fixed to the lower housing 1a by a screw 7 as a conductive member in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the document P.

A lower housing 1 is provided above the lower housing 1a.
The upper housing 1b which forms the conveyance path R of the original P is disposed opposite to the upper housing 1a, and the upper housing 1b is in contact with the paper feed roller 2 to separate the originals P one by one;
Followed rollers 10 and 11 which are in pressure contact with the transport roller 3 and the paper discharge roller 4 via an elastic member (spring) (not shown) are attached. Further, a spring 12a is attached to the upper housing 1b.
The white sheet metal 12 pressed by the image reading sensor 5 is attached.

On the other hand, in FIG.
Reference numeral 17 denotes a paper discharge port provided on the downstream side of the paper discharge roller 4, and reference numeral 16 denotes a paper discharge stacking part provided in the paper discharge port 17. A brush 14 formed by implanting a conductive wire 14a on a metal plate 13 is fixed to the discharge port 16 or the upper end inside the discharge port 16. The original P is discharged to the brush 14 by the brush 14. By contacting immediately before the paper is discharged from the opening 16, static electricity accumulated in the document P is discharged.

When reading an original image in the image reading apparatus 1 configured as described above, first, the paper feed port 15
After the originals P stacked on the lower housing 1 are separated one by one by the frictional force between the paper feed roller 2 and the separation pad 9 and the originals.
a and the upper housing 1b.

Next, the original P is conveyed to the image reading sensor 5 by the conveying roller 3 at a predetermined speed. here,
The original P is brought into close contact with the image reading sensor 5 by the white sheet metal 12, and the image is read by the image reading sensor 5 in this state.

Thereafter, the document P is discharged from the discharge port 17 by the discharge roller 4 and is stacked on the discharge stacking section 16. At the time of paper discharge, the originals P are stacked on the paper discharge stacking unit 16 because static electricity accumulated by contacting the brush 14 is eliminated. At this time, the static electricity accumulated on the brush 14 side is spontaneously discharged into the air from the brush 14 itself and the metal plate 13.

[0011]

However, such a conventional image reading apparatus uses a screw 7 for fixing a correction plate 6 located in the vicinity of the image reading sensor 5 at the time of, for example, clearing a jam or cleaning. May be touched.

At this time, if the user touches the brush 14 on the downstream side of the screw 7 before touching the screw 7, the brush 14
Is not grounded, the user is charged, and if the user touches the screw 7 thereafter, the user's static electricity flows from the fingertip to the correction plate 6 from the finger 7 and causes the image reading sensor 5 to malfunction. There was a problem.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an image reading apparatus (image processing apparatus) capable of preventing a malfunction of an image reading sensor (processing means) due to static electricity. ) And an image forming apparatus provided with the same.

[0014]

According to the present invention, after a conveyed sheet is processed by a processing means, the sheet is discharged from a discharge port, and static electricity accumulated in the sheet at or near the discharge port is eliminated. In an image processing apparatus provided with a brush, the brush is grounded, and the brush is disposed so as to overlap a conductive member located near the processing means in a sheet conveying direction.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the brush is arranged in a space between the conductive member and the discharge port so that the brush overlaps the conductive member in a sheet conveying direction.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the processing means is a reading means.

Further, in the present invention, the processing means is a recording means.

According to the present invention, the brush includes a plurality of conductive wires and a conductive base on which the wires are implanted, and the base and a ground connected to the base. It is characterized by being grounded through a wire.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the ground wire is detachably connected to the base.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit and an image processing apparatus, wherein the image processing apparatus is the image processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Is what you do.

According to the present invention, the image processing device is an image reading device.

Further, according to the present invention, the static electricity accumulated on the sheet discharged from the discharge port after being processed by the processing means is removed by the brush disposed at or near the discharge port. Is grounded and arranged so as to overlap in the sheet conveying direction with respect to the conductive member located in the vicinity of the processing means, so that the user touches the grounded brush before touching the conductive member, and accumulates in the brush. Ensure that the static electricity generated does not affect the processing means.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an MFP as an example of an image forming apparatus provided with an image reading apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a multifunction printer (Multi Function Printer). In FIG.
Printer unit.

The printer unit 40A is detachably attached to a sheet feed tray 41, a sheet feed roller 42, and an MFP 40 on which sheets S on which images are to be formed are stacked, and an electrophotographic photosensitive drum as an image carrier. 43a,
The image forming apparatus includes a developing roller 43b, a charging roller 43c, a process cartridge 43 as an image forming unit including a cleaning blade (not shown), and a transfer roller 43d.

Further, the printer section 40A scans a laser beam in accordance with information read by the image reading apparatus 1 to form a latent image on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum 23a. Photosensitive drum 4
A fixing device 45 for fixing the toner image formed on the sheet 3a to the sheet S is provided.

When a printing operation is performed in the printer section 40 A of the MFP 40, the sheets S stacked on the paper feed tray 41 are first picked up by the paper feed rollers 42 and then conveyed to the process cartridge 43. On the other hand, at this time, in the process cartridge 43, a toner image corresponding to the information from the light deflection scanning device 44 is formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum 43a by electrophotography.

Next, the toner image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum 43a is transferred onto the sheet S by the transfer roller 43d, and thereafter, the toner image is transferred onto the sheet S.
Is transported to a fixing device 45 for melting and fixing the toner by heat. Finally, the sheet S that has passed through the fixing device 45 is discharged to a discharge tray 47 from a discharge port 46 formed on the upper surface of the MFP 40.

The arrows A and B shown in FIG. 1 indicate the transport direction of the sheet S and the document P in the printer section 40A and the image reading apparatus 1. In addition, the MFP 40 can use the printer unit 40A and the image reading unit 1 independently, or can be used simultaneously as a copying machine.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the image reading apparatus according to this embodiment. 7, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 7 denote the same or corresponding parts, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 denotes a brush provided downstream of the driven roller 11. The brush 20 is composed of a metal plate 19 which is a conductive base and a large number of brushes implanted on the metal plate 19. It has a conductive wire 20a.

Here, the brush 20 is disposed so as to overlap the screw 7 to which the correction plate 6 is fixed in the document conveying direction. Specifically, for example, a brush 20 having a width and a brush pitch (wire interval) that hides all the screws 7 from the paper discharge port 17 as shown in FIG. We arrange in space.

The metal plate 19 of the brush 20 is fixed to the side wall surface of the upper housing 1b constituting the upper end portion 17a of the paper discharge port 17, and the ground wire 21 connects the metal plate 19 to the upper housing 17b. It is fixed with a screw 22 attached to 1b.

Then, the metal plate 1 of the brush 20 is
By grounding 9 via the ground line 21, when static electricity accumulated on the document P is eliminated, static electricity accumulated on the brush 20 side can be discharged. Thus, the discharging effect of the brush 20 is improved, and the charge of the original P is efficiently removed, so that the paper discharge alignment can be stabilized.

In addition, by grounding the brush 20 and arranging the brush 20 so as to overlap the screw 7 in the document conveying direction, even if a user attempts to touch the screw 7, the user must contact the metal plate 19 and the metal plate 19 before touching the screw 7. Since the user comes into contact with the grounded brush 20 via the ground wire 21, the user is neutralized, and the user's static electricity does not flow to the screw 7 from the fingertip.

Even when a tool or the like is inserted from the discharge port 17 to attach or remove the screw 7, the tool or the like always touches the brush 20 before touching the screw 7, so that the static electricity of the tool or the like is discharged. 7 no longer flows.

As a result, the static electricity is transferred to the image reading sensor 5.
And the malfunction of the image reading sensor 5 can be prevented.

By the way, in the above description, the width of the brush 20 is set so as to hide all the screws 7. However, for example, as shown in FIG. 20A may be connected and used so that they can be grounded. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a brush 20B in which the brush pitch is reduced only where the screw 7 exists so as to hide the screw 7 may be used.

Further, a similar effect can be obtained even with a brush (not shown) configured to hide only a specific screw 7 that causes the image reading sensor 5 to malfunction when static electricity flows.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a paper discharge port of the image reading apparatus according to the present embodiment. 3, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 3 denote the same or corresponding parts, and a description thereof will be omitted.

In the figure, reference numeral 20C denotes a brush provided downstream of the driven roller 11, and the brush 20C
Is a metal plate 27 that is a conductive base, and the metal plate 27
And a large number of conductive wires 20a implanted in the wire.

Note that this brush 20C is also the same as the first brush described above.
In the same manner as in the first embodiment, the correction plate 6 is disposed so as to overlap the screw 7 to which the correction plate 6 is fixed in the document conveying direction. In the present embodiment, the brush 20 </ b> C is fixed via a metal plate 27 to the side wall surface of the lower housing 1 a constituting the lower end portion 17 b of the paper discharge port 17.

A protrusion 27a is formed at one end of the metal plate 27 of the brush 26.
A fastener 29 provided at the end of the ground wire 28 is detachably connected to a.

By detachably connecting the fastener 29 of the ground wire 28 to the metal plate 27, disassembly such as assembly and repair can be easily performed without using a tool. Further, since the ground wire 28 can be fixed without using a separate member such as the screw 22 (see FIG. 3), the ground wire 28 can be easily attached and detached even in a narrow space, and the apparatus can be made compact. can do.

In the present embodiment, the shape of the connecting portion on the brush side is a male shape, and the shape of the grounding line side is a female shape.

In the above description, an image reading apparatus as an example of an image processing apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an image recording apparatus having an image recording means as a sheet processing means It is natural that the above can also be applied.

[0048]

As described above, according to the present invention, by grounding the brush, the discharge effect of the brush can be enhanced, and the discharge sheet alignment of the discharge sheet can be stabilized. In addition, since the user touches the grounded brush before touching the conductive member located in the vicinity of the processing means, static electricity accumulated in the brush does not affect the processing means via the conductive member. And malfunction of the processing means due to static electricity can be prevented.

Further, by making the ground wire detachable, the workability at the time of disassembly and repair can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 illustrates an MFP (Mu) as an example of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus including an image reading apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an lti Function Printer.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image reading apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a discharge port portion of the image reading apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a discharge port portion of another example of the image reading apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a discharge port portion of another example of the image reading apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a paper discharge port of an image reading apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a conventional image reading apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image reading apparatus 1a, 1b Case 2 Paper feed roller 3 Conveying roller 4 Paper discharge roller 5 Image reading sensor 6 Correction plate 7 Screw 13, 19, 27 Metal plate 14, 20, 20A, 20B, 20C Brush 17 Paper discharge port Reference Signs List 20a Wire 21 Ground Wire 40 MFP 40A Printer 43 Process Cartridge

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Ken Kenba 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc.

Claims (8)

[Claims] In an image processing apparatus, a conveyed sheet is processed by a processing unit and then discharged from a discharge port and a brush is provided at or near the discharge port for removing static electricity accumulated in the sheet. An image processing apparatus, wherein the brush is grounded, and the brush is arranged so as to overlap a conductive member located near the processing means in a sheet conveying direction. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the brush is disposed in a space between the conductive member and the discharge port so that the brush overlaps the conductive member in a sheet conveying direction. apparatus. 3. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing means is a reading means. 4. An image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said processing means is a recording means. 5. The brush includes a plurality of conductive wires and a conductive base on which the wires are implanted, and the brush includes a ground wire connected to the base and a ground wire connected to the base. 2. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus is grounded. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the ground wire is detachably connected to the base. 7. An image forming apparatus provided with an image forming unit and an image processing device, wherein the image processing device is provided with the image processing device.
An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image processing device is an image reading device.