JPS62235166A - Sheet exhaust device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate any special process in a copying machine etc. for flapper changeover by performing changeover of sheet in the exhaust direction to the inverted and non-inverted exhaust parts interlocked with the setting of a loading member at the non-inverted exhaust part. CONSTITUTION:In the condition that an exhaust tray 23 installed in non-inverted exhaust part is collapsed unward, a copying sheet P from the fixation part 9 is faced up as a flapper 25 is in inverted position, to be exhausted over an upper cover 2. In case it is difficult to make inverted exhaustion, for ex. mail cards, the exhaust tray 23 is turned downward round a hinge 23a, and when its locational end 23c is put in contact with a block 28 of the device body, an arm 27 is pushed by an actuator boss 23b to rotate round a shaft 26, so as to change over the flapper 25 into the horizontal direction in non-inverted position. If a copying sheet P is sent from the fixation part 9, is exhausted to the exhaust tray 23 in non-inversion. Thus the mechanism is simplified, and any special process is eliminated otherwise required to perform flapper changeover.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a discharge section switching device used in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and facsimile machines, and particularly relates to a discharge section switching device for inverting a sheet material and then discharging it. The present invention relates to a sheet material discharging device that selectively switches between the use of a reversing discharging section and a non-reversing discharging section that discharges sheets without reversing them.

[Conventional technology]

For example, if we consider the case of a copying machine, if the copy material on which the original image has been copied is ejected as is without turning it inside out, and it is immediately stacked on top of the ejected copy material one after another, the resulting copy material will be The volumes are loaded in the opposite order to the order in which they were copied. To resolve this inconvenience and load copy materials in the same order as they were copied, it is sufficient to turn the copy materials upside down when discharging them. If a thick copying material is used, there is a risk that it will not be able to be transported at a curved portion of the transport path. For this reason, it is desirable for copying machines with a reversing ejecting section to be equipped with a non-reversing ejecting section that ejects thick copying materials without reversing them.This applies only to copying machines. However, this also applies to other image forming apparatuses in general.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the case where the sheet material has a reversal discharge section and a non-reverse discharge section as the discharge section, a sheet material discharge device is required that can selectively switch which discharge section is used.

In conventional devices of this kind, the flapper that switches the single-car discharge section is electrically controlled using a solenoid or displaced by a manual lever, so the mechanism is complex and expensive. However, the manual lever had the drawback of being cumbersome to operate.

[Configuration to solve the problem]

The present invention is a sheet material discharging device that has been made to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art, and includes a reversing position where the conveyed sheet material is guided to a reversing discharge section and a non-reversing position where the sheet material is guided to a non-reversing discharge section. The switching means that can take the reversing position takes the above-mentioned non-reversing position when the member is set in a state where sheet materials can be stacked on the non-reversing discharge section, and the switching means that can take the above-mentioned non-reversing position when the member is set in a state where sheet materials can be stacked on the non-reversing discharge section. When the loading member is not in the position, the loading member is displaced by a displacement means interlocking with the loading member so as to assume the above-mentioned inverted position.

〔Example〕

FIG. 5 shows an image forming apparatus to which the present invention can be applied. The specific configuration is such that the transfer material P is fed out one by one by the paper feed roller 4 from a paper feed section consisting of a cassette 17 that stores the transfer material and a paper feed roller 4, and the transfer material P is fed out one by one by the paper feed roller 4.
b is supplied in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 16 in the process cartridge C. Further, a corona charger 19 that uniformly charges the surface of the drum 16 is arranged near the photosensitive drum 16 in the process cartridge C, and optical information is exposed to the photosensitive drum 16 by the scanner 3 in response to an external control signal. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed, and the toner image developed by the developing device 17 is transferred onto the transfer material conveyed from the conveyance section at the transfer section where the transfer charger 7 is disposed. The residual toner, paper powder, etc. on the surface of the photosensitive drum 16 are removed by a cleaning device 18 having a blade.
removed by On the other hand, the transfer material on which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 16 due to the curvature of the drum, and is transported to the fixing device 9 via the transport guide 8.
After this toner is fixed by heat or the like, the transfer material P changes direction at the top and is ejected by a paper ejection roller 11 to an open/close cover 2 which also serves as a paper ejection tray.

Next, the opening/closing cover for mounting the process cartridge C in the above configuration will be described in detail.

When installing the process cartridge C, the opening/closing cover 1a must be opened relative to the lower housing 1b, as shown in FIG. However, the opening/closing cover 1a includes a paper ejection roller 11, a pre-exposure lamp 12, a folding mirror 13, a positioning member 14 for the opening/closing cover, a guide rail 20 for guiding the cartridge to a predetermined position and making it stand out, and a guide rail 20 for guiding the cartridge to a predetermined position and making it stand out. It is composed of a spring 22 that pushes it in a predetermined direction. Therefore, compared to the structure of a conventional upper casing, there are far fewer supporting means and a much simpler structure can be achieved, making it possible to reduce the size and weight of the upper casing including the opening/closing cover 1a.

Furthermore, a paper discharge tray 23 that forms part of the exterior and can be opened and closed is provided on the back.

The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 5 to which the present invention described above can be applied selectively uses a flapper 25 to selectively move paper in the direction of the upper cover 2, which is a reversal discharge section, and in the direction of the foldable paper discharge tray 23, which is a non-reversal discharge section. Switching transport is being performed.

The present invention relates to an area including the reversing sheet ejecting section, the non-reversing sheet ejecting section, and the flapper, and the mechanism thereof will be specifically explained below.

FIG. 1 shows the paper output tray 23 provided in the non-reversing output section.
It is shown in a folded state by being rotated upward by the hinge 23a. In this state, the paper discharge tray 23 is a part of the exterior of the image forming apparatus, and care is taken not to spoil the appearance as an extra accessory. The transfer paper P that has passed through the pair of fixing rollers 9a*9b of the fixing section 9 reaches the first pair of paper discharge rollers 24a and 24b. At this time, the flapper 25, which is a switching means provided on the downstream side, is in the reversing position, so the transfer paper P is directed upward, guided by the reversing guide 26, and placed upside down on the upper cover 2. be discharged.

Next, if a thick sheet such as a postcard or business card is used as the transfer paper and reverse ejection is difficult, rotate the paper ejection tray 23 provided in the non-reversal ejection section around the hinge 23a as shown in Figure 82. and set the transfer paper so that it can be loaded. When the positioning end 23c of the paper ejection tray 23 is brought into contact with the block 28 of the apparatus main body.

The arm 27 is pushed by the operating protrusion 23b and rotates about the shaft 26. Along with this, the flapper 25, which is integrally formed with the arm 27, also rotates about the shaft 26, and assumes a non-inverted position as shown in the figure. When the transfer paper P is conveyed in this state, the transfer paper P that has passed through the fixing roller pairs 9a and 9b and the first paper discharge roller pair 24a and 24b is not guided upward by the flapper 25 and is placed on the paper discharge tray 2. The paper is ejected to the non-reversing ejection section where is set.

FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) are a front view and a side view showing the relationship among the flapper 25, shaft 26, and arm 27, respectively. The shaft 26 is rotatably attached to the main body of the apparatus at both ends 26a, and two arms 27 are also provided near both ends of the shaft 26 so as not to block the course of the transfer paper.

FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) show a second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment described above, the paper ejection tray 23 was provided in the non-reversing ejection section, but in this second embodiment, a removable paper ejection tray 30 is used. When the removable paper ejection tray 30 is not set as shown in FIG. is discharged to the upper cover 2. Next, as shown in FIG. 4(b), when the paper ejection tray 30 is fitted and set in the mounting guide 29 of the non-reversing ejection section, the arm 27 is pushed by the operating end 30a and rotates, and is formed integrally with this. The flapper 25 that has been rotated takes a non-inverted position. As a result, the fixing roller pair 9a*9b,
The transfer paper that has passed through the first pair of paper discharge rollers 24aφ24b is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 30 set in a non-reversing discharge section.

〔Effect of the invention〕

By using the configuration of the present invention as explained above,
The direction of discharging the sheet material to the reversing discharge section and the non-reversing discharge section can be switched in conjunction with the setting of the stacking members in the non-reversing discharge section. By doing this, compared to the conventional method of electrically controlling the direction of the flapper with a solenoid or using a manual lever to switch each time, the mechanism is simpler and the cost can be kept low. The effect is that no special operation is required.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are cross-sectional views of a first embodiment of a sheet material discharging device using the present invention, and FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) are front and side views of the flapper, shaft, and arm, Figure 4(a)・(
b) is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a sheet material discharge device using the present invention, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views of an image forming apparatus to which the sheet discharge device of the present invention can be applied. 2...Top cover, 9a/9b...Fixing roller pair,
11aφllb/llc...second paper ejection roller pair, 23
... Paper ejection tray, 23b... Operating protrusion, 23c...
・Positioning end portion, 24a, 24b...first paper ejection roller pair, 25...flapper, 27...arm, 29...
・Installation guide, 30... Paper ejection tray, 30a... Operating end part Fig. 3 (α) Cb)

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a sheet material discharge device capable of selectively switching between reverse discharge in which the conveyed sheet material is reversed and discharged and non-reverse discharge in which the sheet material is discharged without being reversed, a conveyance path for conveying the sheet material; a reversing discharge section for reversing and discharging the sheet material; a non-reversing discharging section for discharging the sheet material in a non-reversing manner; a reversing position for guiding the sheet material conveyed along the conveying path to the reversing discharge section; and the non-reversing discharge section. a switching means that can selectively take a non-reversing position leading to the discharge section, and a loading member that loads the discharged sheet material so that the loading member is in a state where the sheet material can be loaded onto the non-reversing discharge section. When set, the switching means takes the non-reversing position, and when the stacking member is not set in a state where sheet materials can be stacked on the non-reversing discharge section, the switching means takes the reversing position. A sheet material discharging device comprising: a displacement means for displacing the sheet material; (2) The sheet material discharging device according to claim 1, wherein the displacement means is interlocked with a tray member rotatably attached to the non-reversing discharge section. (3) The sheet material discharging device according to claim 1, wherein the displacement means is interlocked with a tray member that is detachably set in the non-reversing discharge section.