JP2006264792A - Aligning means and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an alignment means for aligning a sheet-like medium conveyed at a position deviating from the center of the conveyance path at once in two directions: a conveyance direction and a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction.
SOLUTION: A shaft 47 having an axial center in a direction intersecting with a conveying direction 9 and connected to a driving source, a pressing member 48 attached eccentrically to the shaft 47, and an edge of the sheet-like medium The fence 41 has fences 41 and 44 that are in contact with each other, and is fed to the surface of the sheet-like medium 10 that has entered between the opposing surface and the pressing member 48 to rotate the sheet-like medium 10 in a contact state. , 44 and align.
[Selection] Figure 11

Description

  The present invention relates to an aligning means for aligning sheet-like media and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, a plotter, and a multi-function machine in which the aligning means is used.

  In a wide image forming apparatus having a paper size of A2, A0, etc., the main application is used for special applications such as newspapers, newspaper advertisements, and design drawings. However, A3 size and A4 size general documents, which are smaller than that, are also used in common. For example, taking an A2 size image forming apparatus as an example, and assuming that the A2 size print speed is 20 sheets per minute, the paper transport speed is constant for both large and small sizes, so the A4 print speed. Is a case where the distance between the sheets is 50 mm, and the printing speed is about 34 sheets per minute as shown in the following formula.

20 × 594 (A2 longitudinal size) / (297 (A4 longitudinal size) +50 (distance between papers)) = 34.2 (sheets / minute)
In this way, the print speed does not increase as expected even with small prints.

  Therefore, for example, by loading two types of A4 size paper or less in an A2 size paper cassette and feeding multiple sheets simultaneously or independently, productivity (printing speed) is improved and small size paper is used. It has been proposed to increase the number of loading types.

  However, for example, by arranging paper in parallel in the cassette, the transport position in the main scanning direction (paper width direction perpendicular to the transport direction) of the paper does not pass through the center of the transport path, but through the end. Will do. In the conveyance path, for example, when the fixing roller of the fixing device has a drum shape to prevent wrinkles, the fixing roller is fed by the taper portion of the fixing roller that has passed through the end portion instead of the central portion in the axial direction of the fixing roller. For this reason, skew and resist misalignment occur due to a force component in the direction crossing the transport direction.

  As countermeasures, it has been proposed to prevent the occurrence of skew by changing the light distribution of the heater arranged in the fixing roller or changing the nip distribution by adding a backup roller. However, in the method of changing the temperature distribution of the fixing roller, it takes almost one minute for the temperature to reach the target temperature distribution, which causes the user to wait. In addition, the method of changing the nip distribution is not practical because the mechanism is complicated and the cost is increased.

  (A) On the other hand, in a copying machine that forms an image on a plurality of copying papers conveyed in parallel, a paper discharge tray is a technique that eliminates the need for aligning the copiers discharged to each paper discharge tray. The tray portion corresponding to at least one of the conveyance paths is higher than the tray surface of the discharge tray corresponding to the other conveyance path, and the recording sheet discharged to the higher discharge tray is discharged. There has been proposed an image forming apparatus provided with a discharge movement unit that moves in a direction perpendicular to the direction and moves to a lower discharge tray (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  (B) In addition, a technique has been proposed in which the translated paper is obliquely overlapped by changing its direction in the middle of transporting the paper that is translated and transported by a discharge driving roller group composed of a group of rollers having different diameters in the axial direction. (See Patent Document 2).

  (C) Further, there is a technique for performing a sheet-like medium aligning operation using an aligning unit that is in contact with the end surface parallel to the discharge direction of the sheet-shaped medium stacked on the stacking unit for stacking the sheet-shaped medium. It has been proposed (see Patent Document 3).

  However, the techniques (A) and (B) unite translated papers, and there is no viewpoint to correct skew and resist misalignment. The aligning member in the technique (C) described above has a width direction of the sheet-like medium. They are arranged so as to sandwich them.

JP-A-10-48900 JP-A-61-192660 JP 2002-293472 A

  The present invention provides a simple alignment unit and an image forming apparatus capable of aligning a sheet-like medium conveyed at a position off the center of the conveyance path at once in two directions, ie, a conveyance direction and a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. The task is to do.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an aligning means for aligning the sheet-like medium conveyed while being inclined with respect to the conveying direction, the direction intersecting the conveying direction. A pressing member that rotates around the axis and a fence that contacts and aligns with the edge of the sheet-like medium. A separated state in which a space where the sheet-like medium can enter is formed between the facing surface and the facing surface; and a contact state in contact with the surface of the sheet-like medium that has entered between the facing surface and the pressing member. The sheet-like medium is fed by rotation in the contact state and abutted against the fence to be aligned.
The invention according to claim 2 includes a stack unit for stacking sheet-like media on which an image is formed while being fed from a paper feeding unit via a conveyance path via an image forming unit, a transfer unit, and a fixing unit. In the image forming apparatus in which rollers for extending the width of the sheet-like medium in the width direction are arranged in the path, the stack unit includes the aligning unit according to claim 1.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, the sheet feeding unit is a single sheet-like medium having a size smaller than the maximum size of the sheet-like medium that can form an image with the image forming apparatus. A plurality of sets can be juxtaposed to the stacking unit, and a plurality of sets of sheet media juxtaposed to the sheet feeding unit are fed in translation, with a time difference, or independently, and the alignment means is arranged side by side. It is provided corresponding to each set of sheet-like media.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second or third aspect of the present invention, a roller for extending the width of the sheet-like medium in the width direction is disposed in the conveyance path.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the wrinkle extending roller is a fixing roller in the fixing unit and has a drum shape.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, the stack unit including the alignment unit is installed in the in-body sheet discharge unit.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus further comprises a jogger mechanism that moves the sheet-like medium discharged to the back side of the in-body discharge portion after the job is completed.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, the stack unit including the alignment unit is installed in the post-processing apparatus.

  According to the present invention, the skew of the sheet-like medium discharged to both end sides off the center of the conveyance path (the center position in the paper width direction) can be simplified without providing a skew correction mechanism such as a fixing backup roller in the image forming apparatus. The cost can be reduced by correcting with the means of configuration.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
[1] Outline of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. An image reading device 37 is located at the uppermost part of the apparatus main body 1, and five sheet feeding cassettes 4 to 8 are provided at the lower part thereof. The maximum size sheet-like medium (hereinafter referred to as paper) that can form an image with the image forming apparatus is assumed to be A2 size paper. Cassettes from the bottom to the third level, that is, cassettes 4, 5, and 6 are cassettes that can accommodate sheets up to A2 size. The fourth and fifth cassettes 7 and 8 from the bottom are cassettes that can accommodate up to A3 size, and the number of stored sheets is larger than the A2 size cassette.

  Here, details of the sheet feeding unit will be described. 2, two sets of A4 size paper 10 smaller than the A2 size, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 7, are provided in one cassette (5, 6). There is a case where a set of A2 size paper 14 which is the maximum size is stored as shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 6, and FIG. In FIG. 5, A4 size sheets 10 are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction with respect to the sheet conveyance direction 9. As shown in FIG. 7, the lateral direction of the A4 size paper 10 is arranged orthogonal to the paper transport direction 9, and a paper center regulating member 11 as shown in FIG. Is arranged.

  5 and 6, a sheet side surface regulating member 12 is disposed on each side of each A4 size sheet 10 and A2 size sheet 14 to prevent skew when the sheet is conveyed and to convey the sheet. Positioning in the lateral direction 13 of the position is performed.

  7 and 8, a sheet transporting unit is provided so as to correspond to each set of A4 size sheets 10 and to arrange the A2 size sheets 14 in common.

  The sheet conveying means includes a calling roller 15, a sheet feeding roller 16, a reverse rotation roller 17, and A4 bottom plates 18 and 19 and an A2 bottom plate 20 for raising the sheet to the height of the calling roller 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, when the A4 size paper 10 is loaded in any of the cassettes 4, 5 and 6, the shaft 21 in FIGS. 2 and 3 is rotated counterclockwise by the driving means (not shown). The A4 bottom plate pressing lever 22 fixed to the shaft 21 by rotating rotates the A4 bottom plates 18 and 19 corresponding to the A4 size paper 10 independently about the shaft 210 and pushes them upward. As a result, the A4 size paper 10 is pushed up to the calling roller 15.

  At the time of paper feeding, the calling roller 15 rotates and the A4 size paper 10 is conveyed to the paper feed roller 16 and the reverse rotation roller 17, so that the paper feed roller 16 and the reverse rotation roller 17 do not cause double feeding of paper. Separated one by one. These operations are performed for each of the A4 size sheets 10 arranged in parallel as shown in FIG. 7, and are simultaneously conveyed and translated.

  The A4 size paper 10 that has been simultaneously conveyed has a large number of pairs of rollers, which are translated and conveyed by vertical conveying means 24 such as grip conveying rollers arranged at intervals in the vertical direction, and a pair of resists via a pair of conveying rollers 25. It strikes against the roller 26 and stops once. By abutting against the registration roller 26 and stopping, the registration and skew between the paper and the image are corrected.

  As is well known, an electrostatic recording process member is arranged around the photosensitive drum 27 to form an image forming unit. That is, a charging unit 28, an optical writing device 29, a developing unit 30, a transfer roller 31 as a transfer charging unit, a cleaning unit 32, and the like.

  The surface of the photosensitive drum charged by the charging unit 28 is exposed by exposure light from the optical writing device 29 so that an exposure area is determined so that an image is formed on each of the A4 size papers 10 that are translated, and the electrostatic latent surface is exposed. An image is carried. The electrostatic latent image is visualized with toner while passing through the developing means 30, and the toner image thus carried is synchronized with the data from the optical writing device 28 and restarted from the registration roller 26. A toner image on the photosensitive drum 27 is transferred onto the fed paper by applying a transfer bias of a transfer roller 31 constituting a transfer portion.

  The transfer roller 31 also serves as a support roller for the conveyance belt 40, and the two A4 size sheets 10 that have been transferred are translated along with the rotation of the conveyance belt 40, and a fixing unit configured by a fixing device 33. Established while passing through.

  The path of the A4 size paper 10 exiting the fixing device 33 is divided by a branching unit (not shown) at the position where the transport roller 34 exits. One path is a path that is reversed to be discharged from the pair of discharge rollers 35 to the stack portion including the in-body discharge section 36, and the other path is a path that passes through the pair of discharge rollers 360 and reaches the post-processing apparatus. Any one is selected and sent.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the in-body discharge unit 36 includes a space portion on a lateral hole that is formed in a side portion of the apparatus main body 1 and is open only in one direction on the near side.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, when the A2 size paper 14 is placed in any of the cassettes 4, 5 and 6 in the paper feeding unit, the shaft 21 in FIGS. The A2 bottom plate pressure lever 23 fixed to the shaft 21 by rotating clockwise by a driving means (not shown) turns the A2 bottom plate 20 corresponding to the A2 size paper 14 upward by rotating the shaft 210 about the fulcrum. Along with this, the A4 bottom plates 18 and 19 are also pushed up by rotating around the shaft 210, and thereby the A2 size paper 14 is pushed up to the two calling rollers 15 with a substantially whole width of A2 size.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the A2 size paper 14 is sent out by two paper transporting means used for transporting the A4 size paper 10. Thereafter, the same path as in the case of the A4 size paper 10 is followed, and the paper is discharged to the in-body paper discharge unit 36 or the post-processing device via the discharge roller 35 or 360 of FIG.

[2] Alignment Unit In FIG. 1, a pressure roller 39 is in pressure contact with a fixing roller 38 having a built-in heat source. After the toner image is transferred at the transfer portion, the unfixed toner image on the paper fed by the transport belt 40 is fixed while passing between the fixing roller 38 and the pressure roller 39 in the fixing device 33. .

  As shown in FIG. 10, the fixing roller 38 has a diameter of a central portion (a portion indicated by OO) of the roller in the axial direction of the roller so that the sheet does not wrinkle when passing through the fixing roller 38. It has a tapered shape that is slightly smaller than the diameters of both end portions, and has a drum shape as a whole.

  That is, the fixing roller 38 exerts a force in the direction of pulling the sheet from the center in the width direction of the sheet (direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction) to the both ends due to the shape of the drum shape. Act to extend the wrinkles of the paper. It can be said that the wrinkle-extending roller is a wrinkle-extending roller. That is, due to the shape of the hourglass, the fixing roller 38 has a slightly faster peripheral speed at both ends of the roller, and is always more than the center OO in the width direction of the sheet with respect to the sheet such as A2 size sheet conveyed on the center basis. The wrinkles are extended or wrinkles are prevented by applying stress to the outside.

  However, as shown in FIG. 10, a mode in which A4 size paper 10 is simultaneously conveyed in parallel, or a sheet on only one side does not pass through the central portion (center of the conveyance path) in the axial direction of fixing roller 38. In addition, when the paper passes through the end portion that is out of the central portion, the A4 size sheet 10 is independent with the center OO in between. The size paper 10 is sent in a C-shaped manner and discharged due to a skew that tends to narrow the interval on the downstream side.

  Therefore, this example is configured as follows. First, in FIG. 12, a slit 42S is formed in the stack surface constituting member 42 constituting the paper placement surface (paper stack portion) of the in-body discharge section 36, and the shaft is driven to rotate forward and backward by a drive actuator. A side-side abutting member 41 that can swing around 43 is allowed to protrude upward and downward from the slit 42S, and such a configuration is provided in the front and rear (back side and front side) of the in-body discharge unit 36.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, in the paper transport mode in which the paper does not pass through the center of the fixing roller 38 in the longitudinal direction (the center OO in the width direction of the paper), the paper is ejected. After being discharged from the roller 35, side abutting members (side fences) 41 provided on the front and rear (back side and front side) of the in-body discharge unit 36 are driven from below the in-body discharge unit 36 by a drive actuator. It was driven so that it protrudes to the upper side of the in-body discharge section 36. The rear side (back side) side abutting member 41 may be fixed because it does not become an obstacle when taking out the paper.

  11 and 12, the upstream end of the paper stack surface constituting member 42 in the paper transport direction 9 is bent in an L shape to form a paper trailing edge abutting member (end fence) 44. ing. Further, the upper surface of the paper stack surface constituting member 42 is inclined so as to become higher toward the downstream side in the paper transport direction 9.

  In FIG. 1 and FIG. 11, the in-body sheet discharge unit 36 has a rotation shaft 47 having an axis O2-O2 in a direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction and connected to a motor 45 serving as a driving source by a belt 46. And an eccentric cam attached to the rotating shaft 47 and made of a soft material having elasticity, such as sponge, that does not slide against the paper. For example, it is made of a foaming elastic member and has a half-moon shape as an example of the eccentric cam shape. A pressing member 48 made of a roller and the like, and a fence such as a side surface abutting member 41 and a rear end abutting member 44 that are in contact with and align with the edge of the paper are provided, and the pressing member 48 depends on the rotational position of the rotation shaft 47. A paper entry space 49 is formed between the opposite surface (the upper surface of the paper stack surface constituting member 42 when there is no paper stack and the uppermost surface of the paper when there is paper stack). And a contact state in which the surface of the paper that has entered between the opposing surface and the pressing member 48 is elastically deformed and brought into contact with the paper. Aligning means configured to feed the paper so as to hit the fence (side surface abutting member 41, rear end abutting member 44) by capturing the paper by friction with the paper did.

  As a result, even if the image forming apparatus does not have a skew correction mechanism such as a fixing backup roller, the sheet is deviated from the center in the sheet width direction (direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction on the sheet surface) after the sheet is discharged. The mechanism is simplified and the cost is reduced by correcting the skew of the two translational papers discharged to both ends, for example, in a letter C shape, by the individual alignment means according to the present invention corresponding to each paper. It can be performed. In addition, it is possible to eliminate the waiting time caused by changing the fixing temperature distribution. In this example, since the aligning means is provided in the in-body discharge section, a special space for skew correction is not required, and space saving can be achieved.

  Such an aligning means is provided corresponding to every two sets of A4 paper size paper set side by side in the paper feed cassette as shown in FIGS. As a result, the sheets of the juxtaposed paper sets can be aligned even when they are fed in translation, with a time difference, or independently. Even if the wrinkle-extending roller is a roller provided on the conveyance path other than the fixing roller 38, the alignment unit can perform alignment if the roller is provided upstream of the alignment unit in the conveyance direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, before the paper enters, the pressing member 48 creates a paper entry space 49 and waits in a separated state. Under this separation state, the pressing member 48 passes through the paper entry space 49. When the two A4 size papers 10 are translated and discharged and placed on the paper stack surface constituting member 42, the pressing member 48 is rotated by rotating the rotary shaft 47 in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. By pressing and rotating while elastically deforming the A4 size paper 10, the pressing member 48 generates a pressing force in the direction intersecting the transport direction 9 on the A4 size paper 10 discharged at a large radius portion. The side surface abutting member 41 and the rear end abutting member 44 are fed in directions intersecting with each other, and the edge of the paper is abutted against the side abutting member 41 and the rear end abutting member 44 for alignment. To.

  The pressing member 48, the motor 45, and the like are fixed to the image reading device 37 located above the in-body sheet discharge unit 36 by the support base 50. For example, a pulse motor is used as the motor 45. In other words, the paper feed direction by rotating the pressing member against the paper is the outside of the machine (the direction in which the A4 size papers 10 are separated from each other). The direction is set approximately in the middle between the direction pressed against the side surface abutting member 41 and the direction pressed against the rear end abutting member 44. Due to the feeding of the sheet by the pressing member, the skewed sheet is abutted against the side surface abutting member and the end surface abutting portion, and the skew and the resist are corrected.

  After the job is finished, the side abutting member 41 is housed inside the paper stack surface constituting member 42 so that the user can easily take out the paper from the front side. As the pressing member 48 that applies the pressing force to the discharged paper, for example, an eccentric cam made of a foamable material such as a sponge, for example, a half-moon-shaped half-moon roller can be used. If it is not the above-mentioned foaming meniscus roller, it can be applied instead, for example, as shown in FIG. 19, a thin piece member (Mylar or the like) attached to the rotating shaft 52 corresponding to the rotating shaft 47 as shown in FIG. Alternatively, a flexible member 51 made of a material having a high friction member 53 such as rubber attached to the tip thereof may be used instead.

  In the above example, a pressing force is applied by the pressing member 48 made of the pressing member 48 or the thin piece member in an oblique direction, but the pressing members are perpendicular to the paper discharge direction and pressed outward (directions away from each other); It can also be separated into two pressing members that are parallel to the discharge direction and opposite in direction.

  Even when only one of the paper sets arranged in parallel in the paper feed cassettes 4, 5, 6 and the like is discharged, if one or more of the alignment means are provided in advance, either one of the alignment means is used. Skew and resist can be corrected.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, only the paper corresponding to the back side of the in-body paper discharge unit 36 is discharged from the paper set arranged in parallel in the paper feed cassettes 4, 5, 6 and the like. If the paper corresponding to both the front side and the back side is discharged, the paper stocked on the back side of the machine can be taken out in front of the cylinder even if the paper is aligned by the aligning means according to the present invention. This is difficult because the structure allows the paper to be taken out only from the side. That is, as can be seen from FIG. 9, when the paper is stocked on the back side of the in-body discharge, the target paper is hardly visible to the user, which may cause forgetting to remove the paper or cause jamming. .

  Therefore, as one of the countermeasures, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the paper stack surface constituting member 42 is divided into a back side member 42A and a front side member 42B, and the front side member 42B is transported. The end on the direction 9 side is supported by a shaft 53 and can be swung with the shaft 53 as a fulcrum. During stacking, the back side member 42A and the front side member 42B are integrated with the paper stack surface at the same level. After the job is finished, the front side member 42B is unlocked and the rear end abutting member 44 side is pushed down with the shaft 53 as a fulcrum as shown in FIG. As a result, the opening on the front side widens, so that the sheets aligned on the back side can be visually checked, and the sheet can be easily taken out. In addition, it is preferable to lower the side surface abutting member 41 on the near side.

  As another countermeasure, as shown in FIG. 15, a jogger mechanism for moving the A4 size paper 10 discharged to the back side of the in-body paper discharge unit 36 after the job is completed is provided. A known jogger mechanism can be applied. For example, in FIG. 15, the aligning member 56 is provided on two shafts 54 and 55 extending from the back side to the front side of the machine.

  The aligning member 56 is configured to be capable of reciprocating along the shafts 54 and 56 and capable of stopping rotation around the shaft. After the job is finished, the A4 size paper 10 aligned on the back side is rotated about the axis to the position related to the aligning member 56, and the paper is hooked and stopped toward the front side at a position where it can be easily pushed out. Therefore, the paper is taken out. For such an alignment member 56, as shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, a plate-like alignment member 56 that is rotationally driven around the shaft 55 (54) and can also move in the longitudinal direction of the shaft. It can be used (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

  By providing the jogger mechanism, the paper is transported to the near side by the aligning member 56, and the user can easily take out the paper. Small size paper stacked on the rear side of the machine in the paper output section is difficult to see and difficult to remove, so moving it to the front side with the jogger mechanism improves the operability so that the user can easily take out the paper. .

  When a post-processing device such as a sorter or a stapler attached as an option is attached to a machine that does not have an in-cylinder paper discharge unit or an in-cylinder paper discharge unit, the alignment unit according to the present invention is attached to the post-processing device. It is possible to install a stack unit provided with

  The post-processing device 3 is adjusted at the level of the inlet 3-1 so that the paper discharged from the discharge roller 360 provided in the image forming apparatus main body 1 can be received. Inside the post-processing apparatus 3, a punch unit 3-2 for punching holes, a stapler 3-3, and the like are disposed, and pre-stack trays 3-4, staple trays 3-5, branch claws are provided as additional members. 3-6, conveyance belts 3-7 and 3-8, and a feed roller.

  The transfer paper processed by passing through the punch unit 3-2 or the stapler 3-3 by the action of the feed roller and the branch claw 3-6 is transferred to the upper tray 3-9 by the feed roller and the transport belt 3-7. Then, it is discharged to the lower tray 3-10. The aligning means according to the present invention is provided in the staple tray 3-5.

  Before processing by the stapler 3-3, the two sheets translated by the discharge roller 57 are discharged to the staple tray 3-5, and the A4 size paper 10 discharged from the discharge roller 57 is discharged onto the staple tray 3-5. As a means for aligning, a pressing member 480 having the same configuration as the pressing member 48 shown in FIG. 1 or a pressing member corresponding to the pressing member 51 shown in FIG. 19 is provided. By providing the aligning means in the post-processing unit, it is possible to save space without requiring a special space for skew correction.

  In this example, the embodiments for the single color image forming apparatus have been described so far, but the present invention may be applied to a tandem type color image forming apparatus having a plurality of photosensitive drums. A color image forming apparatus 72 illustrated in FIG. 18 has an image reading apparatus 73 at the top, and four image stations 61 to 61 that form cyan, magenta, yellow, and black images around the intermediate transfer belt 60. 64, the photosensitive drums 61d to 64d of each image station are exposed and scanned with scanning light from an optical writing device 65 for writing a color image, and electrostatic latent images are formed. 1 is developed, and a superposed color image is obtained on the intermediate transfer belt 60, and then the superposed color image is equipped with a paper feed cassette in which A4 size paper is juxtaposed in the same manner as the paper feed cassettes 4, 5, and 6 in FIG. The paper is fed from the paper feeding unit 66 to the paper fed by the transfer unit 67 and then discharged through a fixing device 70 having a pressure roller 68 and a fixing roller 69. 71 is discharged to the internal sheet discharge portion 360 from.

  Assuming that the fixing roller 69 is a wrinkle extending roller having a drum shape similar to that of the fixing roller 38 in FIG. 1, a pressing member 4800 having the same configuration as the pressing member 48 shown in FIG. Alternatively, a pressing member corresponding to the pressing member 51 shown in FIG. 10 can be provided.

  Since the color image forming apparatus provided with such an intermediate transfer belt 60 transfers multicolor toners at a time in the transfer process, the position due to the effect of uneven transport of paper (skew, etc.) at the time of sub-multiple sheet transfer simultaneously. Misalignment is unlikely to occur, and alignment by the alignment means is performed well.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a top view of a paper feed cassette. 3A is a front view of the paper feed cassette when A2 size paper is placed, and FIG. 3B is a side view of the paper feed cassette when A2 size paper is placed. 4A is a front view of the paper feed cassette when A4 size paper is placed, and FIG. 4B is a side view of the paper feed cassette when A4 size paper is placed. It is a side view of a paper feed cassette on which A4 size paper is placed. It is a side view of a paper feed cassette on which A2 size paper is placed. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a paper arrangement state on a paper feed cassette on which A4 size paper is placed. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a paper arrangement state on a paper feed cassette on which A2 size paper is placed. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an in-body sheet discharge unit in the image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a state in which a sheet is skewed and discharged. FIG. 6 is a plan view of an in-body sheet discharge unit that explains an alignment unit. It is the figure explaining the structure of the movable side abutting member. FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a divided sheet stack surface constituting member. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a divided sheet stack surface constituting member. FIG. 6 is a plan view of an in-body discharge unit that employs a jogger mechanism. FIG. 16A is a front view of the aligning member at the aligning rotation position, and FIG. 16B is a front view of the aligning member at the storage rotation position. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a post-processing device attached to an image forming apparatus. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a tandem type color image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. It is the front view which showed the structural example of the pressing member comprised with the thin piece.

Explanation of symbols

41 Side abutting member 44 Rear end abutting member 47 Shafts 48, 51 Pressing member

Claims (8)

An alignment means for aligning the sheet-like medium conveyed while being inclined with respect to the conveyance direction.
Having a shaft center in a direction intersecting the transport direction, connected to a driving source, and having a pressing member that rotates around this shaft center and a fence that contacts and aligns with the edge of the sheet-like medium, The pressing member is separated from the opposing surface by a rotational position to create a space in which the sheet-like medium can enter between the opposing surface and the sheet-like medium that has entered between the opposing surface and the pressing member. An alignment means characterized in that it can be brought into contact with the surface of the sheet, and the sheet-like medium is fed by rotation in the contact state so as to abut against the fence and align. A stack unit for stacking the sheet-like medium on which the image is formed while being fed from the paper feeding unit via the conveyance path passing through the image forming unit, the transfer unit, and the fixing unit; and the width of the sheet-like medium in the conveyance path In the image forming apparatus in which the rollers for extending the direction of wrinkles are arranged,
An image forming apparatus comprising the stacking unit according to claim 1. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.
The sheet feeding unit can juxtapose a plurality of sets of sheet-like media having a size smaller than the maximum size of sheet-like media that can form an image with the image forming apparatus,
A configuration in which a plurality of sheet-like media juxtaposed in the paper feeding unit are fed in translation, with a time difference, or independently,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the aligning means is provided corresponding to each set of the juxtaposed sheet-like media. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 or 3,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a roller for extending a crease in the width direction of the sheet-like medium is disposed in the conveyance path. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wrinkle extending roller is a fixing roller in the fixing unit and has a drum shape. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a stack unit including the aligning unit is installed in an in-body sheet discharge unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6.
An image forming apparatus comprising: a jogger mechanism that moves a sheet-like medium discharged to the back side of the in-body discharge unit after a job is completed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a stack unit including the aligning unit is installed in a post-processing apparatus.

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