JPS6225486Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a recording device. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having at least one of a sheet guide plate that guides sheets inserted into the apparatus main body during image formation and a sheet receiving tray that receives sheets discharged from the apparatus main body.

Hereinafter, a copying machine will be described as an example of an image forming apparatus.

Conventionally, in a copying machine, the sheet guide plate is either fixed to the copying machine main body, or is slightly rotatable or detachable, and the same applies to the sheet receiving tray. However, these guide plates and trays therefore get in the way when not in use, and there is a risk of them being damaged by being hit by objects. Furthermore, these removable guide plates and trays are cumbersome to attach and remove, and require a storage space for these parts when they are removed. Therefore, by making these guide plates and trays foldable against the main body of a copying machine, when the copying machine is not in use, these guide plates and trays can be stored or folded into the copy machine main body. It is effective to locate it near the wall of the container.

However, some copying machines use a blower fan to create airflow to cool the inside of the machine.
When there are holes for intake and exhaust, the folding of the guide plate and tray is restricted.

If the existence of these ventilation holes is ignored and these holes are blocked with folded guide plates or trays, the internal temperature of the main body will rise when the heat fixing device, main motor, etc. are operating. Furthermore, if the ventilation holes are blocked with a folded guide plate or the like immediately after use, natural cooling of the exposure lamp, fixing device, etc. will be hindered. and,
When the temperature inside the main body increases, the toner solidifies and adversely affects semiconductors in the electric circuit.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide an image forming apparatus that allows the guide plate, tray, etc. mentioned above to be folded into the main body when not in use, and that can prevent temperature rise inside the main body. It provides:

The present invention achieves the above object by being attached to an insertion opening for inserting a sheet material into a main body, and having a first position in which it contacts or approaches a wall of the main body when folded, and a first position in which the sheet material is moved from this first position. a guide plate that assumes a second position when inserting the sheet material; and a first position that is attached to the discharge opening for receiving the sheet material discharged from the body and contacts or approaches the body wall when folded; , at least one of the discharge trays is moved from the first position to take a second position for receiving the sheet material, and the collapsible member is provided with ventilation holes so that the member can be folded. This image forming apparatus eliminates the need to block the ventilation holes in the main body wall even when the image forming apparatus is closed.

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

Figure 1 is an internal side view of the copying machine in use;
The figure is a perspective view thereof.

First, reference numeral 1 in the figure is a document mounting table made of a member such as glass, which reciprocates in the direction of the arrow. Reference numeral 2 denotes a converging light transmitting member which slit-exposes the original image on the original table 1 onto the photosensitive drum 3. Further, the photosensitive drum 3 has a photosensitive layer on its peripheral surface and rotates in the direction of the arrow. 4 is a charger that uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 3, and 5 is a developer. The photosensitive drum 3, which is uniformly charged by the charger 4, forms an electrostatic latent image on the drum 3 via the focusing light transmitter 2, and then this latent image is visualized by the developer 5. .

On the other hand, the transfer material P on the guide plate 13 used for inserting the transfer sheet into the main body is moved to the insertion slot 20 by the feed roller 6 and the register roller 7 which rotates in synchronization with the image on the photosensitive drum 3. It is fed onto the drum 3 through the. Then, the toner image on the drum 3 is transferred to the transferred transfer material P by the charger 8. Thereafter, the transfer material P is separated from the drum 3 by the separation means 21,
The sheet passes through the guide 9 and is fixed by the fixing device 10, and then is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 12 from the discharge port 22 by the discharge roller 11.

In this embodiment, the guide plate 12 is rotatable about a shaft 14 with respect to an insertion opening 20 on the main body side, so that this insertion opening 20 can be opened and closed. At its tip, there is a hook member 15 for fixing the guide plate 13 in the closed position on the main body side when the guide plate 13 is closed (the closed state is shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). It is located away from the area through which P passes. Note that a fixing member 16 is provided at a position facing the hook member 15 on the main body side.

When the guide plate 13 is rotated counterclockwise and closed, the hook member 15 and the fixing member 16 are engaged to fix the guide plate 13 in the closed position on the main body side.

The same applies to the discharge tray 12. That is, the tray 12 is rotatable about the shaft 19 relative to the discharge port on the main body side, and the discharge port 22 can be opened and closed. A hook member 17 is provided at a position away from the passage area of the transfer material P on the tray 12 side. Further, a fixing member 22 is provided at a position opposite to the hook member 17 when the tray 12 is rotated clockwise and closed (the closed state is shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1).

Now, when using the copying machine according to this embodiment,
First, attach the guide plate 13 and the cradle 12 to the shaft 1, respectively.
Rotate around 9 and 14 and open from position B to position A as shown in Figure 1. Next, the transfer material P is placed on the guide plate 13, and the transfer material P is fed into the main body through the insertion opening 20 by the rollers 6 and 7 and is copied. After copying is completed, when the guide plate 13 and the tray 12 are moved from the position A to the position B and closed, the hook members 15 and 21 and the fixing members 16 and 22 are engaged, and the guide plate 13 and the tray 12 are attached to the main body. It is fixed in the folded state.

In the above-mentioned apparatus, a cooling fan 23 is provided above the fixing section to generate air flow inside the apparatus. The guide plate 13 and the tray 12 are provided with ventilation holes 25 and 27. In particular, the ventilation holes 27 are provided opposite to the discharge side of the cooling fan 23. Air flowing in from the ventilation holes 25 and other parts passes through the inside of the main body, passes through the cooling fan 23, and is exhausted outside the machine through the ventilation holes 27. In this way, the guide plate 13 and the tray 12 have ventilation holes 2.
4 and 26, even when these guide plates etc. are in the closed position B, the ventilation holes 25 and 26 on the main body side are provided.
27 is not blocked by these guide plates or the like.

In this apparatus, when the main power is turned on, the fan 23 rotates, electricity flows to the heater of the heat fixing device, and when the temperature reaches the fixing temperature, the temperature is controlled to be maintained at a constant temperature.
Therefore, in this device, after turning on the main power, during warm-up until the fuser reaches the specified temperature,
Even when the guide plate 13 and tray 12 are folded against the main body, the ventilation holes through which air flows in and the ventilation holes on the outlet side of the cooling fan 23 are secured, allowing exposure of the inside of the main body without reducing the effectiveness of the cooling fan. lamp 2
8. Temperature caused by electric circuits etc. can be lowered.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the guide plate and the discharge tray, and is a top view of this plate-like body. 29 in the diagram
is a ventilation hole, and 30 which crosses the hole 29 is a rib. When it is a discharge tray, it is preferable to provide a smooth rib 30 on the transfer material passing surface side so that the leading edge of the transfer material P does not get caught in the ventilation hole when the transfer material P is discharged.

As explained above, according to the present invention, by providing ventilation holes in the insertion guide plate and the ejection tray, it is possible to secure an air flow path for the cooling fan, so when not copying, these guide plates etc. Space can be saved by storing it close to or close to the folding body. By the way, the air flow path is other than the path of a sheet material such as a transfer material (for example,
In case of suction from the back of the main unit and blowing out in the direction of discharging the sheet material, it is sufficient to make holes in the necessary guides, trays, etc., and holes are always required in both the guide and tray. isn't it. The present invention can also be used in facsimile machines and other recording devices that handle sheet materials in this way.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an internal sectional view of a copying machine to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of a tray etc. showing another embodiment. In the figure, 12 is a discharge tray, 13 is a sheet guide plate, and 24, 25, 26, 27, and 29 are ventilation holes.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The guide plate 13 assumes a first position when folded onto the container wall of the main unit and a second position when inserting the sheet material P into the main unit;
and a second position when receiving the sheet material ejected from the main device.
Ventilation holes 24, 26, 29 are provided in at least one of the main body devices, and an air flow path is formed between the main device and the ventilation holes 25, 27 provided in the wall of the main device when the first position is taken. Image forming device.