JPS62146865A - Sheet accommodating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a sheet from being damaged when the sheet can not be accommodated, by installing a detecting means for the room for accommodation of sheets into a tray and providing a switching means which brings the sheet supplied from a discharge port to a transport means when accommodation is permitted, and which brings the sheet to an auxiliary sheet taking-out port when accommodation is not permitted. CONSTITUTION:A full-of-sheet detecting device 74 for detecting the room for accommodation of the sheets discharged onto a tray 36 and an auxiliary sheet taking-out port 32 formed on a housing 26 are formed oppositely to a sheet taking-in port 28. A switching means 80 is provided, with which the sheet discharged from a sheet discharge port 14 is brought into a transport means 40, when the full-of-sheet detecting device 74 detects the room for accommodation of the sheet into the tray 36, while when the accommodation-disable state is detected, the sheet is brought to the auxiliary sheet taking-out port 32. Therefore, even if the captioned device is not electrically connected with an image forming device 10, the discharged sheet is prevented from being damaged when the accommodation of the sheet into the tray 36 is not permitted.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] This invention relates to copying machines, laser printers, liquid crystal printers,
The present invention relates to a sheet storage device that includes a tray that stores sheets such as copy paper, tracing vapor, and synthetic resin film discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a printing machine.

[Technical field of the invention and problems with the background art] In general, a sheet storage device attached to a sheet discharge port of an image forming apparatus, such as a laser printer, is used when the tray becomes full of sheets or when the sheets are stuck in the conveyance path. When a blockage occurs, the laser printer is configured to be shut down.

However, in such a sheet storage device, as soon as the tray becomes full or sheets become jammed in the conveyance path,
If the laser printer is stopped, cylindrical particles will remain inside the laser printer. For this reason, it is necessary to stop the laser printer after discharging the sheet inside the laser printer. However, since the tray is already full or jammed with sheets, sheets to be ejected later will be damaged on the conveyance path.

Further, there is a tendency for sheet storage devices equipped with a sheet reversing function to be made optional. For this reason, a sheet storage device that does not have an electrical connection to a laser printer and can be easily mounted on the back of the printer has been considered. In such a sheet storage device, even if the tray becomes full or sheets are jammed, the laser printer cannot be stopped, and sheets to be ejected later will be damaged.

[Object of the Invention] This invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the invention is to prevent sheets from being stored in a tray even if they are not electrically connected to an image forming apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet storage device in which sheets discharged from an image forming apparatus are not damaged.

[Summary of the Invention] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a sheet that is attached to a sheet discharge port of an image forming apparatus and that is discharged through the sheet discharge port by the conveying force of the image forming apparatus. A sheet storage device that accommodates a housing includes a housing having a sheet intake port facing a sheet discharge port and a sheet ejection port facing the sheet intake port; a tray for accommodating the sheet, and a conveyance means for conveying the sheet brought to the sheet intake port to the tray;
a first detection means for detecting whether or not sheets can be accommodated on the tray; a sheet auxiliary take-out port formed in the housing; and provided opposite to the sheet intake port; When the first detection means detects that the sheet can be stored in the tray, the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port is delivered to the conveying means, and the first detection means detects that the sheet can be stored on the tray. The present invention is characterized by comprising a switching means for bringing the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port to the sheet auxiliary ejection port when the inability of the sheet discharge port is detected.

[Embodiments of the Invention] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a sheet storage device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus, for example a laser printer 10, is placed on a stand 12. As shown in FIG. A sheet storage device 16 is detachably attached to the sheet discharge port 14 of the laser printer 10 via a pair of claws 18 and 20 (shown in FIGS. 2 and 4). As shown in FIG. 2, inside the laser printer 6-10, a pair of paper ejection rollers 22 and 24 are provided facing the sheet ejection port 14.

The sheet storage device 16 described above, as shown in FIG.
It includes a housing 26 that is attached to the laser printer 10. This housing 26 includes a laser printer 1
0, there is a sheet intake port 28 at a position facing the sheet discharge port 14, and this sheet intake port 2.
8, a sheet auxiliary sheet take-out port 32 located near the sheet take-in port 28, and a temporary sheet take-out port 34 located below the sheet take-out port 30. .

In the sheet ejection port 30, there is also a paper ejection tray 36.
Temporary sheet holding trays 38 are detachably attached to the temporary sheet take-out ports 34, respectively.

Inside the housing 26, there is a switchback conveyance mechanism as a conveyance means for conveying the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port 14 of the laser printer 10 to the sheet discharge tray 36 in a reversed state. 40 are provided.

This switchback conveyor 11140 has a first
, and a second conveyance path 44 that connects an intermediate portion of the first conveyance path 42 and the sheet take-out port 30. At the joint between the first conveyance path 42 and the second conveyance path 44, a sheet is allowed to be conveyed from the sheet intake port 28 in the first conveyance path 42 to the sheet temporary take-out port 34, and a sheet A conveyance path switching guide 46 is provided that prohibits conveyance of the sheet from the temporary takeout port 34 to the sheet intake port 28 and forcibly guides the sheet to the sheet takeout port 30.

The conveyance path switching guide 46 is made of, for example, a thin plate of polycarbonate resin (trade name: Mylar). As shown in FIG. 6, this guide 46 is composed of a plurality of guide members 46a, and each guide member 46a
The distal end portion of is inserted into an inverted triangular hole 48 formed in the lower guide plate 42a of the first conveyance path 42. In this way, the sheet from the sheet intake port 28 is
These guide members 46a are pushed up and the first conveyance path 42
The sheets from the temporary sheet ejection port 34 are guided to the sheet ejection port 30 via the second conveyance path 44 along these guide members 46a. become.

As shown in FIG. 2 again, the rolling contact portion is located in the first conveyance path 42 between the above-described joint portion and the sheet temporary take-out port 34, and the first and second conveyance rollers 5
0.52 (conveying section) are arranged in a state of rolling contact with each other. These first and second conveyance rollers 50 and 52 are
A reversible motor 54 as a drive source moves the conveyance roller 50 in the forward direction in the figure, counterclockwise, and the conveyance roller 52 in the forward direction.
is clockwise) or in the opposite direction (the conveyance roller 50 is clockwise,
The conveyance roller 52 is rotationally driven (counterclockwise). By rotationally driving these conveyance rollers 50 and 52 in the forward direction, the sheet sandwiched between them is conveyed toward the temporary sheet take-out port 34. On the other hand, the conveying rollers 50 and 52 are driven to rotate in opposite directions, so that the sheet sandwiched between them is conveyed toward the sheet take-out port 3o.

The end portion of the second conveyance path 44, that is, the sheet take-out port 3
0, the first and second discharge rollers 56-. 58 are disposed in a state of rolling contact with each other. These spinning rollers 56, 58 are rotationally driven by the reversible motor 54 mentioned above.

The first conveyance path 4 between the sheet intake port 28 and the joint
A first detector 60 (second detection means) for detecting that the leading edge of the sheet has reached this part is disposed in the part 2. This first detector 60 is composed of a photosensor with a set of levers, and when the lever 60a is pushed up by the leading edge of the sheet, the first detector 60 is turned on, and the laser printer 10 is connected to the first conveyance path 42. It is detected that the sheet has been brought from. By turning on the first inspection type 6o, the reversible motor 54 starts rotating in the forward direction.

Further, a second detector 62 is disposed in a portion of the first conveyance path 42 between the joint portion and the conveyance rollers 50, 52 to detect when the sheet has reached this portion. This second
The detector 62 is composed of a reflective photosensor,
The first detector on the opposite side to the side where this second detector 62 is provided
A black plate 64 is provided at the transport path 42 so as not to reflect light from the light emitting elements constituting the photosensor. This second detector 62 turns on when the sheet crosses the optical path of the photosensor, turns off when the light receiving element no longer receives light from the light emitting element, and detects that the trailing edge of the sheet has passed. There is. By detecting the rear end of the sheet by this second detector 62, the reversible motor 5
4 has its rotation direction changed to the opposite direction.

The sheet temporary holding tray 38 described above is connected to the first conveyance path 4
2 is used to temporarily hold the front end of the sheet conveyed by the forward rotation of the conveyance rollers 50 and 52 until the rotation direction of the conveyance rollers 50 and 52 is reversed and the sheet is switched back. . This sheet temporary holding tray 3
8 is attached to the housing 26 through a pair of holes 66a and 66b formed in the housing 26, as shown in FIG.

Further, at the end of the second conveyance path 44, a second conveyance path 44 is provided.
A third detector 68 is provided to detect that the sheet is discharged from the sheet. This third detector 68 is composed of a photosensor with a set of levers, and when the lever 68a is pushed up by the leading edge of the sheet and pushed down by the passage of the trailing edge, the third detector 68 is turned on and off. The sheet is transferred from the second conveyance path 44 to the sheet take-out port 3.
It is detected that the paper has been ejected onto the paper ejection tray 36 via 0. When the third detector 68 is turned off, the rotation of the reversible motor 54 is stopped.

As shown in FIG. 5, this paper discharge tray 36 has a pair of holes 70a formed in the housing 26.

It is attached to the housing 26 in an inclined state via 70b.

Note that a static elimination brush 72 is attached to the back side of the sheet ejection port 30 in the housing 26 for removing electric charge from the sheet ejected from the sheet ejection port 30. Further, on the front side of the housing 26, between the paper ejection tray 36 and the sheet ejection port 30, there is a paper ejection tray 3.
A fourth detector (sheet full detector) 74 for detecting the fullness of the sheet on 6 is provided.

The fourth detector 74 is composed of a lever set of seven sensors. When the lever 74a is pushed up by the upper surface of a predetermined number of stacked sheets, the fourth detector 74 is turned on and the sheets are ejected. It is detected that the tray 36 is full. By turning on the fourth detector 74, a solenoid, which will be described later, is demagnetized.

In the portion of the housing 26 directly above the fourth detector 74, the sheet discharged from the sheet outlet 30 directly touches the lever 74a of the fourth detector 74, and the fourth detector 74 Cover 7 to prevent 74 from malfunctioning.
6 is installed.

Here, a sheet jam detector 78 is constituted by first to third detectors 60.62°68. This sheet jam detector 78 is connected to the first to third detectors 60.
62, 68 is not turned off for a predetermined period of time, it is determined that a sheet jam has occurred in the first or second transport path 42, 44. Note that the fourth detector 74 as the sheet full detector described above and the sheet jam detector 78 are used as a detection means (a fourth detector) for detecting whether or not sheets can be stored on the paper ejection tray 36. 1 detection means) is configured. This detection means detects whether the sheet full detector 74 detects that the sheet is full on the paper discharge tray 36, or the sheet jam detector 78 detects that the sheet is full on the first or second conveyance path 42, 44. By detecting that the paper output tray 3 is clogged,
It is detected that it is impossible to accommodate a sheet on 6.

Opposed to the sheet intake port 28 described above, a switching mechanism 80 as a conveyance path switching means is disposed within the housing 26.
is provided. The portion of the housing 26 above this switching mechanism 80 is provided with the aforementioned auxiliary sheet ejection port 3.
2 is formed.

The housing 2 above this sheet auxiliary ejection port 32
The portion 6 is inclined and functions as an auxiliary tray 82 that accommodates sheets taken out from the auxiliary sheet take-out port 32.

The aforementioned switching mechanism 80 is provided to switch whether the sheet taken in from the sheet intake port 28 is guided to the first conveyance path 42 or to the auxiliary sheet takeout port 32 based on the detection result of the detection means. It is being That is,
This switching mechanism 80 is connected to a gate member 84 provided to be able to selectively close the first conveyance path 42 or the auxiliary sheet ejection port 32, and is connected to the gate member 84, and normally closes the auxiliary sheet ejection port 32. The gate member 84 is urged to be closed, and the first conveyance path 42 is closed based on the detection result from the above-mentioned detection means that it is impossible to accommodate the sheet on the paper discharge tray 36. The gate member 84 is provided with a drive mechanism 86 that urges the gate member 84 to do so.

This drive mechanism 86 includes, for example, a solenoid.

When a solenoid is used as the drive mechanism 86 in this way, the solenoid is energized by turning on the power of the sheet storage device 16, and the gate member 84 closes the auxiliary sheet takeout port 32 and opens the first conveyance path 42. It is biased to the open position. On the other hand, the above-mentioned detection means
When it is detected that the sheet cannot be stored on the sheet 6 or when the power is turned off, the solenoid is demagnetized, the gate member 84 closes the first conveyance path 42, and the sheet auxiliary ejection port 32 is closed.
is biased to the position where it opens.

The base end of the guide plate 428 on the lower side of the first conveyance path 42 described above extends through the sheet intake port 28 to the vicinity of the paper discharge rollers 22, 24 of the laser printer 10.

An upright piece 88 that is slightly bent upward is attached to the base end of the lower guide plate 42a. This standing piece 8
8, the gate member 84 closes the first conveyance path 42,
When the sheet is taken out onto the auxiliary tray 82 through the auxiliary sheet takeout port 32, it functions as a stopper that supports the rear end of the taken out sheet.

Further, the auxiliary tray 82 is provided with a fifth detector 90 that detects that a sheet is taken out there.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a door 92 is provided on the surface of the housing 26 opposite to the surface connected to the laser printer 10. As shown in FIGS. This door 92 has hinges 9
It is mounted rotatably around a vertical axis via 4.
The door 92 is opened via a handle 96 attached to the door 92, and the interior of the housing 26 is opened. Note that the open/closed state of the door 92 is detected by a door switch (not shown).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, an operation panel 98 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 26. This operation panel 9
8, a reset switch 1001, a power lamp 102,
A full detection lamp 104 and an abnormal stop lamp 106 are provided. The power lamp 102 lights up only while the power is on, indicating that the RAM is being turned on. The full detection lamp 104 indicates that the fourth detector 74 is connected to the paper output tray 3.
It lights up when it is detected that the sheet on the paper discharge tray 36 is full, indicating that the sheet on the paper discharge tray 36 is full. The abnormality stop lamp 108 is turned on when the sheet jam detector 78 detects a sheet jam or when the door 92 is opened and the door switch is turned on, and an abnormality occurs in the sheets 1 to 16. It shows what you did.

The operation of the sheet storage device 16 configured as described above will be explained in the seventh section.
This will be explained below with reference to the timing chart shown in the figure.

When the power is turned on, the power lamp 10 on the operation panel 98
2. The full detection lamp 104 and the abnormal stop lamp 106 are turned on, respectively. Further, the solenoid is energized, and the gate member 84 is connected to the first conveyance path 4 as shown by the solid line in FIG.
2 is opened, and the sheet auxiliary ejection port 32 is biased to a position where it is closed.

Thereafter, by pressing the reset switch 100, the lamps 104 and 106 are turned off.

In this state, when a sheet is ejected from the laser printer 10, this sheet is
Due to the rotational force of the sheet discharge rollers 22 and 24, the sheet is brought to the first conveyance path 42 through the sheet intake port 28 without being obstructed by the gate member 84. This sheet is
Turn on the first detector 60. Therefore, the reversible motor 54 starts rotating in the forward direction, as shown in the timing chart in FIG.

In this way, from the laser printer 10 to the paper ejection roller 2
The sheets ejected by conveyance rollers 50 .
52, the sheet is conveyed to the sheet temporary holding tray 38 via the sheet temporary take-out port 34. Here, when the rear end of the sheet is detected by the second detector 62, the reversible motor 54 starts rotating in the opposite direction. For this reason, the conveyor rollers 50, 52 move the sheet to the sheet intake port 28.
It begins to rotate so that it is transported in the opposite direction.

The sheet thus reversely run on the first conveyance path 42 is brought to the second conveyance path 44 by the conveyance path switching guide 46, and by the rotation of the first and second discharge rows 556,58, A paper output tray 36 is inserted through the sheet ejection port 30.
is discharged to the top. During this discharge operation, the third detector 6
When motor 8 detects the rear end of the sheet, reversible motor 5
4 is stopped, and the rotation of conveyance rollers 50, 52 and discharge rollers 56, 58 is stopped.

When a sheet subsequent to the sheet ejected in this manner is taken in from the laser printer 10, this subsequent sheet turns on the first detector 60, so that the reversible motor 54 is started to be driven, and the above-described ejection operation is performed. is repeated.

This ejecting operation is performed when the fourth detector 74 detects that the sheet is full on the ejection tray 36 or when the sheet jam detector 78 detects that the sheet is ejected from the laser printer 10. This continues until a sheet jam is detected in the first or second conveyance path 42,44.

Here, when the fourth detector 74 detects that the sheet is full on the paper ejection tray 36, the lamp 104
is lit, and the sheet is moved to the first or second conveyance path 42.
The lamp 106 is turned on when the sheet jam detector 78 detects that the door 92 is jammed or the door switch detects that the door 92 is opened.

Thus, when it is detected that a sheet is full on the output tray 36 or jammed in the transport path 42, 44, the solenoid is deenergized and the gate member 84 is activated as shown in dashed lines in FIG. In this way, the first transport path 42 is closed and the auxiliary sheet ejection port 32 is opened. Therefore, the sheet ejected from the laser printer 10 is passed through the sheet auxiliary ejection port 32 by the gate member 84 to the ejection roller 2 of the laser printer 10.
It is brought onto the auxiliary tray 82 by a conveying force of 2.24.

Here, the trailing edge of the sheet brought onto the auxiliary tray 82 remains at the sheet intake port 28, but the trailing edge of the sheet is placed in the upright position provided on the guide plate 42a of the first conveyance path 42. It is locked by a piece 88 and is prevented from returning to the laser printer 1o side. Also, the auxiliary tray 3
6, the fifth detector 90 is turned on.

Thereafter, even if the sheet jam detector 78 is turned off when the sheet jam is cleared or the ejected sheet is removed from the ejection tray 36 and the fourth detector 74 is turned off, the fifth detector 74 is turned off. The sheet storage device 16 is set not to be reset unless the detector 90 is turned off.

As described in detail above, according to this embodiment, even if the laser printer 10 and the sheet storage device j16 are not electrically coupled, the paper output tray 36 may become full of sheets or the sheets may not be conveyed. If the passages 42 and 44 become clogged, the switching mechanism 80
is closed, and sheets subsequently discharged from the laser printer 1o are stored on the auxiliary tray 82 via the auxiliary sheet ejection port 32. In this way, even after sheets cannot be accommodated in the paper ejection tray 36, the sheets ejected from the laser printer 10 will not be damaged.

Further, according to this embodiment, the sheet auxiliary ejection port 32
is formed in the housing 26, and the housing 26 also serves as the auxiliary tray 82.
Although the structure is simple, sufficient functionality can be achieved.

Furthermore, since the auxiliary sheet take-out port 32 is provided near the sheet intake port 28, the laser printer 1
It becomes possible to bring the sheet to the auxiliary tray 82 by using the conveying force of the paper discharge rollers 22 and 24 of 0.

In addition, the auxiliary tray 8 is
The trailing edge of the sheet brought onto the first conveyance path 42
Since the sheet is held by an upright piece 88 attached to the guide plate 42a, the sheet will not return to the laser printer 10 side.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, and can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the invention.

For example, in the embodiment described above, the auxiliary tray 82 was described as being formed from a part of the housing 26, but the auxiliary tray is not limited to such a structure, and the auxiliary tray may be a separate structure that is detachable from the housing 26. It may be constructed from members.

Further, in the embodiment described above, the conveying means is explained as being constituted by a switchback conveyance mechanism that reverses the front and back of the sheet, but it is not necessary to reverse the front and back of the sheet in this way. It may also be something that is transported straight as it is.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, the present invention relates to a sheet that is attached to a sheet discharge port of an image forming apparatus and is discharged through the sheet discharge port by the conveying force of the image forming apparatus. The sheet storage device includes a housing having a sheet intake port facing a sheet discharge port, a sheet ejection port facing the sheet intake port, and a housing that is attached to the housing and stores the discharged sheets through the sheet ejection port. a tray to be accommodated through the tray, a conveying means for conveying the sheet brought to the sheet intake port to the tray, and a first detection for detecting whether or not the sheet can be accommodated on the tray. means, a sheet auxiliary ejection port formed in the housing, and provided opposite to the sheet intake port, and when the first detection device detects that the sheet can be stored in the tray, the sheet is removed from the sheet ejection port. The discharged sheet is brought to the conveying means, and when the first detection means detects that the sheet cannot be accommodated on the tray, the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port is brought to the sheet auxiliary ejection port. It is characterized in that it is equipped with a switching means that brings about. Therefore, according to the present invention, even if the image forming apparatus is not electrically connected to the image forming apparatus, it is possible to prevent m sheets from being ejected from the image forming apparatus after it becomes impossible to accommodate the sheets in the tray. A sheet storage device will be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a perspective view showing a sheet storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a sectional view schematically showing the sheet storage device shown in FIG. 1 attached to a laser printer; Figures 3 and 4
The figures are a top view and a front view of the sheet storage device, respectively. FIG. 5 is a back view of the sheet storage device. FIG. 6 is a partially exploded view of the sheet storage device shown in FIG. 5 with the door partially cut away. The cross-sectional view and FIG. 7 show a timing chart i indicating the operating states of the reversible motor and the first to third detectors. 26-10... Laser printer (both meeting forming device), 14...
・Sheet discharge port, 16...Sheet storage device, 26・
...Housing, 28...Seat intake, 30
... Sheet ejection port, 32... Sheet auxiliary ejection port, 36... Paper output tray (tray), 40...
- Switchback conveyance mechanism (conveyance means), 74... fourth detector (sheet full detector), 78... sheet jam detector, 80... switching mechanism (switching means).

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a sheet storage device that is attached to the sheet ejection port of an image forming apparatus and stores sheets ejected through the sheet ejection port by the conveying force of the image forming apparatus, a sheet facing the sheet ejection port a housing having a sheet intake port and a sheet take-out port opposite to the sheet intake port; a tray attached to the housing for receiving discharged sheets through the sheet take-out port; a conveyance means for conveying the loaded sheet to the tray; a first detection means for detecting whether the sheet can be accommodated on the tray; and an auxiliary sheet ejection port formed in the housing; , provided opposite to the sheet intake port, and when the first detection means detects that sheets can be accommodated in the tray, brings the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port to the conveying means, and transports the sheet to the conveyance means. A sheet characterized by comprising: a switching means for bringing the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port to the sheet auxiliary ejection port when the detection means of No. 1 detects that the sheet cannot be accommodated on the tray. Containment device. (2) The conveyance means includes a second detection means for detecting the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port, and a second detection means provided downstream of the second detection means with respect to the sheet conveyance direction. 2. The sheet storage device according to claim 1, further comprising a conveyance section that starts conveyance of the sheet when the detection means detects the sheet. (3) The sheet storage device according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary sheet take-out port is provided near the sheet intake port. (4) The first detection means includes a sheet full detector that detects when the tray is full of sheets, and a sheet jam detector that detects that the sheet is jammed in the conveying means. The first detection means detects whether the sheet is on the tray by the sheet full detector detecting that the sheet is full on the tray, or by the sheet jam detector detecting that the sheet is jammed in the conveying means. The sheet storage device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet storage device detects that the sheet cannot be stored in the sheet storage device.