JPH1141390A - Facsimile equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To always make satisfactory the operability of an operation panel part even when the length of an original or a recording sheet is beyond a prescribed length while miniaturizing this device by moving the operation panel part to the front position of this device when the length of the original or the recording sheet is beyond the prescribed length. SOLUTION: In the case of a size less than a prescribed size B4 to be usually used, a user performs an operation for copy or transmission while a back edge 3f of an operating part 3 is present at a prescribed position without moving the operating part 3. Then the original or the recording sheet can be prevented from being overlapped on the operating part 3, operability can be made satisfactory, and a size in a backward and forward direction of the device can be suppressed to the minimum, and a space can be saved. On the other hand, in the case of using the original or the recording sheet in the maximum size A3 beyond the prescribed length, the user pulls a movement knob 3b until a front C position, and moves the operating part 3 forward so that the original and the recording sheet can be prevented from being overlapped on the operating part 3, and satisfactory operability can be ensured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a facsimile apparatus with improved operability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A facsimile apparatus having a built-in recording unit based on an electrophotographic process used to be a recording paper discharge tray,
Document output trays are often provided in the lateral direction of the housing of the device. However, in recent years, these recording paper output trays and document output trays In addition, there has been proposed a device that can be provided above the housing of the device, and all operations can be performed from the front of the device in order to improve operability.

[0003] Among them, a facsimile apparatus previously proposed (Japanese Patent Application No. 8-3804) has a configuration as shown in FIG.

First, referring to FIG. 5, an overall configuration of a facsimile apparatus will be described. An original reading unit 104 is provided on an apparatus 101, and an original is placed on an original tray 102 on which a right and left original is regulated by a side guide 102a. The document G is conveyed in the direction indicated by a broken line arrow Ga in the drawing, the information on the document surface is read, converted into an electric signal, transmitted to a predetermined recording system, and the document is read and then sequentially stacked. Tray 10
The document is ejected so that the original surface faces downward on the top 8.

On the other hand, the recording sheet P is stored in the sheet cassette 11
3 and picked up one by one, and then conveyed along a substantially “S” -shaped conveyance path as indicated by an arrow Pa in the figure.
After the image is recorded on the recording sheet P picked up in response to the image signal at
The recording sheets are sequentially discharged onto a discharge tray with the recording surface of the recording sheet facing down, and are stacked.

On the other hand, an operation panel 103 is provided in front F of the device 101 to improve operability,
The display is easy to see.

[0007]

However, the conventional example has the following problems.

A discharge position of a document and a recording sheet;
Since the original placement position when reading the original is located almost above the operation unit, the original and the recording sheet do not hang over the operation unit, and the display and keys of the operation unit are hidden below and the operability is not deteriorated. In addition, the operation unit 103 is disposed near the front end of the maximum size in the specifications of the original and the recording sheet or at a position before the front end thereof.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which a document Gmax having the maximum length in specifications is placed on the document table 102, discharged to the document discharge tray 108, and the maximum recording sheet Pmax is received in the receiving unit 1.
The state where the sheet is discharged to 15a is shown. Here, as described above, the document and the recording sheet are configured so as not to cover the keys of the operation unit and the display unit.

However, since the size of the apparatus in the front-rear direction is increased by the length of the operation unit in addition to the length of the maximum original or the maximum recording sheet, a considerable occupation space in the front-rear direction is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a facsimile apparatus in which the operability of an operation panel unit is always improved even when a document or a recording sheet exceeds a predetermined length while reducing the size of the apparatus.

Further, the present invention is intended to enable all operations on a document or a recording sheet from the same direction.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides a facsimile apparatus having a housing forming an exterior surface, an operation panel disposed at a front portion of the housing, and a recording sheet after recording. The document is ejected from the rear side of the facsimile machine to the front side, the original is placed from the front to the rear of the apparatus, and the read original is ejected from the rear side of the apparatus to the front side. In a facsimile apparatus in which the placed document is located above the operation panel section, the operation panel section is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction of the apparatus, and when the document or recording sheet does not exceed a predetermined length, the operation panel section is At the rear position of the apparatus, the ejected document or recording sheet or the placed document is configured not to cover the surface of the operation panel unit, and the document or the recording sheet has a predetermined length. The operation panel unit is characterized in that it is moved to the front of the apparatus position when exceeding.

Further, the present invention provides a recording sheet storage means detachably disposed at a lower portion of a front portion of a housing and capable of storing a plurality of recording sheets to be removed at a front side of the apparatus.
A recording sheet discharge tray for stacking recording sheets discharged from the rear side to the front side of the apparatus, a document mounting table for placing a document from the front side to the rear side of the apparatus, and a document side to be discharged from the rear side of the apparatus to the front side. And a document discharge tray on which the read document is stacked.

Further, according to the present invention, the recording sheet discharge tray is provided at a height substantially equal to or higher than the operation panel portion.
The document placement table and the document delivery table are provided at a height substantially equal to or higher than the operation panel section.

Also, the present invention provides a recording sheet transporting method in which recording sheets picked up one by one from the recording sheet storage means are transported in the housing in a substantially S-shape, recorded, and discharged to the recording sheet discharge table. Means, and a document reading unit disposed above the recording sheet discharge table, for conveying and reading a document placed on the document table in a substantially C shape, and discharging the document to the document discharge table. It is characterized by having.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the entire facsimile machine, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

First, referring to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of the facsimile apparatus will be described.
A document reading unit 4 is provided on the upper side, and a document G on a document tray 2 on which a document is placed with its right and left regulated by a side guide 2a is conveyed in a direction indicated by a dashed arrow Ga in FIG. The information is read, converted into an electric signal, transmitted to a predetermined recording system, and after reading the document, the document is discharged onto a discharge tray 8 on which the document is sequentially stacked such that the document surface faces down.

On the other hand, the recording sheet P is stored in the sheet cassette 13
Are picked up one by one, and then conveyed along a substantially inverted "S" -shaped conveyance path as indicated by an arrow Pa in the figure. During the conveyance, the image forming unit responds to an image signal. After the image is recorded on the picked-up recording sheet P, the recording sheet is sequentially discharged onto the receiving portion 15a of the housing 15 with the recording surface of the recording sheet facing down and sequentially discharged onto the discharge tray and stacked. Have been. In this embodiment, the image forming unit is configured as a laser beam printer.

On the other hand, an operation panel 3 is provided at the front F of the device 1 so as to improve the operability and make the display unit easy to see.

As described above, the original reading section 4 for the original G
The apparatus can be placed on the apparatus, taken out of the discharged document G, and taken out of the discharged recording sheet P from the front side (front side) of the apparatus.

1 and 2, the sheet cassette 13 is manually moved in the direction A in the drawing so as to be set in the cassette orifice 13a below and in front of the apparatus 1, and is detachable. It is provided in.

That is, the cassette orchestra 13a can be mounted from the front of the apparatus.

A plurality of recording sheets P of a predetermined size (A3, B4, A4, etc.) are accommodated in the sheet cassette 13, and the ends of the recording sheets P are sent to the sheet feeding section 30. .

An image forming section 10 shown by a broken line in FIG. 1 is disposed above the sheet feeding section 30. Further to the left of the image forming section 10 is a recording sheet in the image forming section 10. A fixing unit 22 for fixing the toner image recorded on P is provided. Also, the laser optical unit 9
Is for irradiating a laser beam onto the photosensitive drum 10a of the image forming unit 10 in accordance with an image signal to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 10a. And the fixing unit 22 in the upper space.

The image forming section 10 is formed in a recording cartridge shown by a broken line, and this cartridge is detachable from the apparatus main body through an openable / closable opening / closing section 15b. The opening / closing section 15b is used for the recording sheet P
Are formed flush with a part of an upper surface exterior portion 15t having a paper discharge receiving portion 15a that can be sequentially stacked.

On the other hand, the paper feeding unit 30 is configured to be detachable from the front side (in the direction of the arrow) of the apparatus housing, and is arranged on the bottom of the apparatus 1 at the upper right of the sheet cassette 13 that stores the recording sheets P. . The recording sheets P stacked and accommodated in the sheet cassette 13 are stacked again by a paper feed roller 30a and a separating member 30b pressed against the recording sheet P.
Is transported downstream by the pair of rollers 19a and 19b, transported while being inverted along the transport guides 23b and 25c, and further gripped by the pair of transport rollers 25a and 25b.

The recording sheet P is transferred to the image forming section 10.
Thus, an image is recorded on the recording sheet P.

Next, in the image forming section 10, toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 10a, and the visualized toner image is recorded by the photosensitive drum 10a and the transfer roller 10f pressed against the photosensitive drum 10a. The toner is transferred onto the sheet P, and is conveyed downstream to the fixing unit 22. Fixing unit 2
In 2, the toner image is completely fixed on the recording sheet P by applying heat and pressure to the transferred recording sheet P, and the toner image is inverted upward by a fixing discharge guide 22c disposed downstream. The sheet is conveyed to the backup roller 24b pressed by the spring against the conveying roller 24a, and finally discharged onto the sheet discharge receiving portion 15a by the sheet discharge roller 14b pressed against the sheet discharge roller 14a.

On the other hand, the paper discharge receiving portion 15a is formed on the upper surface exterior portion 15 of the apparatus as shown in the drawing, and is formed so as to be inclined upward toward the front of the apparatus, while the paper discharge receiving portion 15a is formed. , Are sequentially stacked in page order.

In the above configuration, in the processing after the paper jam of the recording sheet P, (a) when a paper jam occurs in the paper feed unit 30, the sheet cassette 13 is manually pulled out toward the apparatus and the paper feed unit is opened. By doing so, the jammed recording sheet P can be removed. (B) When a paper jam occurs between the paper feeding unit 30 and the fixing unit 22, the opening / closing unit 1 that is a part of the exterior unit 15 on the upper surface of the apparatus.
Open 5b, take out the above-mentioned integrated cartridge,
Clear paper jams. (C) When a paper jam occurs downstream of the fixing unit 22, the jammed recording sheet P from the discharge receiving unit 15a side.
Can be pulled out.

That is, the paper jam processing can be performed from the front side of the apparatus.

Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the operation unit which is a feature of the present invention.

The operation section 3 for operating the apparatus is disposed in front of the apparatus top exterior section 15, and is supported by the apparatus top exterior section 15 and the front cover 3 a disposed below the operation section 3. I have.

Guide ribs 3d are provided at both ends of the lower surface of the operation unit 3.
Are provided in the front-rear direction of the device.

The guide groove 3 is formed on the upper surface of the front cover 3a.
e guides the guide ribs 3d of the operation unit 3 in the front-rear direction of the device and regulates the vertical direction of the operation unit 3.

Reference numeral 3b denotes a movement knob of the operation unit 3. The guide rib 3d is guided along the guide groove 3e by the user pulling the movement knob 3b toward the user, so that the operation unit 3 is moved forward. Can be moved to

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance when the operation unit is moved to the front, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG.

Here, when the operation unit 3 is moved to the near side, the upper surface of the front cover 3a appears on the front.

The position of the rear end 3f of the operation unit 3 is located near the position of the front end (position B) of the size of the document or recording paper (referred to as a predetermined length) which is normally used by the user. It is composed.

In this embodiment, the B4 size, which is a size normally used in domestic facsimile machines, is assumed to be a predetermined length, and the B4 size original GB4 and the recording sheet PB4 are arranged so as not to cover the keys and the display unit of the operation unit 3. ing.

When the front end of the maximum usable original or recording paper size exceeding a predetermined length is set to the position C, the operation unit pulls the moving knob 3b of the operation unit 3 toward the front, and The rear end 3f is configured to be movable to the position C.

In this embodiment, the maximum size is assumed to be A3, so that the document GA3 and the recording sheet PA3 of A3 do not cover the keys and the display unit of the operation unit 3.
That is, the operation unit 3 is movable by 56 mm, which is the difference between the 364 mm length of the B4 size and the 420 mm length of the A3 size.

A load member (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of the above-described guide groove 3e, and a light load is applied to the guide rib 3d when the operation portion 3 is at the position B and when the operation portion 3 is at the position C. When the operation unit 3 is at the position B or C, the operation unit 3 is not moved easily even if the user operates the operation unit 3 for operations such as copying and transmission. Has become.

When the user moves the operation unit 3 as described above, the user needs to move the operation unit 3 against the above-mentioned load means, so that a certain amount of force is required, but the frequency of movement is not so large. Therefore, it does not lead to a decrease in operability.

Further, in this configuration, the moving knob 3b also serves to abut the leading end of the recording sheet P, and serves to align the recording paper, and the recording sheet P is pushed by the next recording sheet P and falls toward the apparatus. Has been prevented.

On the other hand, as a feature of the present configuration, as described above, the document G can be placed on the document reading section 4, the discharged document G can be taken out, and the discharged recording sheet P can be taken out from the front of the apparatus. The operation unit is also in front and easy to operate. Further, when the recording sheet P is mounted, the cassette 13 can be mounted from the front side.
In the unlikely event that the recording sheet P becomes jammed, the paper can be removed from the front of the apparatus.

With the above configuration, the user does not move the operation unit 3 for a size smaller than the predetermined size B4 which is normally used, that is, when the rear end 3f of the operation unit 3 is at the position B, the operation for copy or transmission is performed. It can be performed. At this time, the original and the recording paper do not fall on the operation unit 3. The operability is good, the size of the apparatus in the front-rear direction can be minimized, and the space can be saved.

On the other hand, even if the maximum size A3 document or recording sheet exceeding the predetermined length is used, the user pulls the moving knob 3b to the position C in front to move the operation unit 3 to the front. Thus, good operability can be ensured without the document and the recording sheet getting on the operation unit 3.

When the recording sheets are stacked, the upper surface of the front cover 3a functions as a stacking table before B.

After the operation is completed, the operation unit 3 is again
The space can be saved by moving to the position.

In addition, the operation of removing the paper jam of the original, the recording sheet, the operation unit and the recording sheet can all be performed from the front of the apparatus, and a low-cost operation such as moving the operation unit as described above while realizing a facsimile with good operability is realized. With a simple configuration, space can be saved.

(Embodiment 2) In the above description, the operation unit is moved in the front-back direction manually. However, if the size of the document or the recording sheet is detected and automatically moved, the operability is further improved. Needless to say. At this time, it is desirable that the user set the maximum original and return the operation unit when the operation is completed as described above. When the operation is not performed, the operation unit can be automatically returned, and the operability is further improved.

Although the predetermined length of the original or recording paper size assumed in the above description is B4, it may be another size. For example, in the case of A4, the rear surface of the operation unit is aligned with the front end face of A4. Space can be saved.

Although the size of the original or recording paper exceeding the predetermined length assumed in the above description is set to the maximum of A3, the operation when the operation unit is pulled out to the tip of the leisure size even in the leisure size used overseas. The same effect can be obtained by matching the rear surfaces of the sections.

In the above description, the guide for moving the operating portion back and forth is provided. However, if the operating portion is fixed at the positions B and C by fastening means such as screws, the guide rib 3d and the guide An inexpensive configuration can be realized without the need for the groove 3e or the load means described above.

In the above description, only a recording apparatus using an electrophotographic process has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Needless to say, various types of recording devices can be used as appropriate.

[0058]

According to the above arrangement, the user does not move the operation unit for the size of the original or recording sheet (usually less than a predetermined length) which is normally used, that is, the operation unit is used for copying or transmitting at the original position. Operation can be performed. At this time, the original and the recording paper do not fall on the operation unit. The operability is good, the size of the apparatus in the front-back direction can be minimized, and the space can be saved.

On the other hand, even in the case of using a document or a recording sheet of a maximum size exceeding a predetermined length, the user moves the operation unit to the front by pulling the moving knob to the front position, and the document and the recording sheet are moved. Good operability can be ensured without hanging on the operation unit.

When the recording sheets are stacked, the upper surface of the front cover functions as a stacking table in front.

After the operation is completed, the operation unit is moved to the original position again to save space.

In addition, the operation of removing the paper jam of the original, the recording sheet, the operation unit, and the recording sheet can all be performed from the front of the apparatus, and realizes a facsimile with good operability, and at a low cost such as moving the operation unit as described above. With a simple configuration, space can be saved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an entire facsimile apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram when the operation panel of FIG. 1 is moved to the front side of the apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the entire conventional facsimile machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 apparatus main body 2 document table 3 operation panel section 3 a front cover 3 b moving knob 3 d guide rib 3 e guide groove 4 document reading section 8 document discharge tray 9 laser optical section 10 image forming means 13 recording sheet cassette 15 a discharge receiving section 22 fixing means

Claims (4)

[Claims] A facsimile machine, a casing forming an exterior of the facsimile machine, an operation panel disposed at a front portion of the casing, and a recording sheet after recording is discharged from a rear side of the facsimile machine to a front side; The original is placed from the front to the rear of the apparatus, and the read original is discharged from the rear to the front of the apparatus, and the discharged original or recording sheet or the placed original is positioned above the operation panel unit. In the facsimile apparatus, the operation panel section is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction of the apparatus, and when the document or the recording sheet does not exceed a predetermined length, the operation panel section is at the rear position of the apparatus, and the discharged document or the recording sheet is Or, when the original or the recording sheet is longer than a predetermined length, the operation panel may be placed in front of the apparatus. Facsimile machine, wherein the facsimile machine is moved to a first position. 2. A recording sheet storage means detachably disposed at a lower portion of a front portion of the housing and capable of storing a plurality of recording sheets to be removed at the front side of the apparatus, and a front side from a rear side of the apparatus. Sheet tray for loading the recording sheets discharged to the side, a document tray for placing the documents from the front to the rear of the device, and stack of the read documents discharged from the rear to the front of the device. 2. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The recording sheet discharge table is provided at a height substantially equal to or higher than the operation panel section, and the document placing table and the document discharge table are substantially equal to or higher than the operation panel section. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the facsimile apparatus is provided at a height. 4. A recording sheet transporting means for transporting a recording sheet picked up one by one from the recording sheet storage means in a substantially S-shape in the housing, recording the recording sheet, and discharging the recording sheet to a recording sheet discharge table; A document reading unit that is disposed above the recording sheet discharge table, conveys and reads a document placed on the document table in a substantially C shape, and discharges the document to the document discharge table. The facsimile apparatus according to claim 2, wherein