JPH0221478Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention provides a sorter (collating machine) for collating copy sheets discharged from a fixing section of a copying machine main body. This invention relates to an electrostatographic copying machine with a sorter installed along a route.

[Conventional technology]

In the above electrostatographic copying machine with a sorter,
If the sorter is fixedly connected to the copying machine main body side with screws, etc., it is possible to remove paper when a paper jam occurs in the fixing section or paper ejection section of the copying machine main body side, or inside the sorter. The work is time-consuming, and maintenance of the inside of the sorter and the fixing section is also difficult. Therefore, the sorter is constructed separately from the copying machine main body and is configured to be movable, so that the sorter can be easily removed in case of paper jams or maintenance. It is arranged to be separated from the main body of the copying machine.

As a form of moving this sorter, for example, it is possible to make the sorter detachable from the copying machine body based on the configuration shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-17960, or −
As seen in Japanese Patent No. 80134, there is a sorter that is equipped with wheels for movement so that the sorter can be moved freely.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, in either configuration, it is extremely difficult to always return to a constant position relative to the copying machine body when the sorter is returned to the copying machine body side, and the relative position of the sorter with respect to the copying machine body is extremely difficult. As a result, the sheet feeding from the fixing section to the sorter may not be carried out smoothly as specified, which has the disadvantage that the sheet feeding position is disturbed or a situation where sheet feeding is not possible occurs.

Furthermore, when the sorter is returned to the copying machine main body side, it is necessary to fix the sorter to the copying machine main body, and if this fixing operation is forgotten, the position of the sorter with respect to the copying machine main body may change due to vibration etc. Therefore, there were also drawbacks that led to disturbances in the paper feeding position and failure to feed the paper.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention has been developed in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks through simple improvements.
In an electrostatographic copying machine with a sorter, a sorter for collating copy sheets discharged from a fixing section of a copying machine body is installed in a line in a paper discharge path from the fixing section. The sorter is pivotally connected via a book link, and the sorter is swingably switched between a first position adjacent to the copying machine main body and a second position spaced apart downstream in the paper ejection direction with respect to the copying machine main body. When the sorter is switched to the first position, an imaginary line connecting the upper and lower pivot axes of each of the two links is a vertical imaginary line that passes through the lower pivot axis of each link. It is distinctive in that it is constructed so that it is inclined toward the main body of the copying machine with respect to the line.

[Effect]

According to the above characteristic structure, the sorter, which is mechanically pivotally connected to the copying machine main body via two links, is swung and the sorter is switched to the second position, so that the copying machine main body and the sorter can be connected to each other. A work space is formed between them, and by switching the sorter to the first position, the sorter is returned to a predetermined collating attitude, and the switching attitude of the first position of the sorter is changed by the gravity of the sorter itself. It will be maintained stably.

That is, the first position of the sorter is reliably held fixed by the weight of the sorter itself.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an electrostatographic copying machine equipped with a sorter, and numeral 1 denotes a document mounting table, which is slid by a driving means not shown.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a photosensitive drum having a photosensitive member on its outer circumferential surface, and is rotatably suspended horizontally on the front and rear side plates (not shown) of the copying machine main body 23, and around it are a charging device 3, an exposure device 4, a developing device 5, and a transfer device. A device 6, a paper separation device 7, and a cleaning device 8 are arranged.

9 is a paper feed cassette; 9a is the paper feed cassette 9;
Paper feed roller that feeds the copy paper one by one
0 and 10 are feeding rollers.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a fixing section for fixing the image transferred to the copy paper, which is composed of an upper roller for heating and a lower roller 13 for applying pressure. Reference numerals 14 and 15 denote a pair of upper and lower paper ejection rollers, of which the upper roller 14 and the heating upper roller 12 are mounted in a case 24 that is rotatable around the axis of the lower paper ejection roller 15. The lower roller 13 for applying pressure is provided with a spring 16
It is mounted and supported on an arm 17 which is urged upward by.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a sorter installed in line with the paper ejection path from the fixing section 11. A pair of upper and lower conveyance rollers 20 and 21 are provided inside the sorter case 19, and a copying machine main body 23 of the sorter case 19 is provided.
A paper output tray 22 is provided on the opposite side of the paper output tray 22, which is lifted upward by a predetermined size each time a sheet of copy paper is fed in. It is designed so that it can be positioned and collated.

A link means 2 is provided between the sorter 18 and the copying machine main body 23 for swinging the sorter 18 in a position parallel to the paper ejection direction with respect to the copying machine main body 23.
7 are pivotally connected, and as shown in Figure 1,
The sorter 18 is configured to be switchable between a first position A in which it is adjacent to the copying machine main body 23 and a second position B in which the sorter 18 is separated from the copying machine main body 23 as shown in FIG. .

Note that the fixing unit 11 includes an upper roller 14 for discharging paper.
Although a heat fixing type is illustrated in which a rotatable case 24 with a heating upper roller 12 is provided, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and there may be a so-called pressure fixing type or the above-mentioned upper roller 12,
It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a device in which 14 is fixedly provided.

In the case of a type in which the upper rollers 12 and 14 are fixedly provided, paper jammed between the rollers can be removed by manually rotating the upper rollers 12 and 14 or the lower rollers 13 and 15. Can be done.

To explain the specific structure of the link means 27, as shown in detail in FIG. 3, a pair of link members 28, 28 are arranged in series in the paper discharge direction, and a pair of links 29, 29 are pivotally connected between both link constituent members 28, 28 and the front and rear plate portions 19a of the sorter case 19, respectively. And the link 29,
The lines P ₁ and P ₁ connecting the upper and lower pivot axes Q ₁ and Q ₂ of 29 are approximately parallel to each other, and the dimensions between the upper and lower pivot axes Q ₁ and Q ₂ are approximately equal. The sorter case 19 is set as an upper link component, and the sorter case 19, the link components 28, 28, and the links 29, 29 are connected to each other.
A parallel quadruple link mechanism C is constructed by the following.

When the sorter 18 is switched to the first position A in which the sorter case 19 is brought into contact with the copying machine main body 23, the upper pivot axis Q ₁ of the links 29, 29 relative to the sorter case 19,
The position of Q ₁ corresponds to the link 29, 28 connected to the copying machine main body 23, and
Vertical lines P and P passing through the lower pivot axes Q ₂ and Q ₂ of 29
In other words, when the sorter 18 is switched to the first position A, the line _P1 is inclined toward the copying machine main body by a predetermined angle θ with respect to the vertical line P. In addition, when the sorter 18 is switched to the second position B, the upper pivot axes Q ₁ and Q ₁ are on the opposite side of the copying machine main body 23 with respect to the vertical lines P and P. The positions of the pivot axes Q ₁ and Q ₂ of the links 29 and 29 are set so that they are located at .

Thus, when the sorter 18 is switched to the first position A, the switched attitude of the sorter 18 at the first position A is stably maintained by the gravity of the sorter 18 itself. Sorter 1
8 of the sorter 18 by the weight itself.
Position A is reliably held fixed.

In addition, the sorter case 19 and the copying machine main body 23
The first position A of the sorter 18 is located on the contact surface of the sorter 18.
A fixing means (magnets that magnetically attract each other are exemplified) 30 for holding the sorter 18 is provided so that the first position A of the sorter 18 can be maintained more stably.

In addition, 31 in the figure is a handle, and 32 is the second position B.
A sorter support member 33 for supporting the sorter 18 is an elastic support member made of rubber or the like provided at the lower end of the support member 32.

According to the above configuration, the sorter 18 is swung in a direction away from the copying machine main body 23 against the magnetic attraction force of the fixing means 30 and the gravity of the sorter 18, and the upper pivot axis
When Q ₁ and Q ₁ cross the vertical lines P and P, the sorter 18 is switched to the second position B by placing the sorter 18 on the support member 32 while supporting and holding the sorter 18. Using the space formed between the copying machine main body 23 and the sorter case 19, the case 24 equipped with the heating and paper ejecting rollers 12, 14 is attached to the case 24. Release the fixing and remove the copying machine body 23.
By removing the paper from the outside of the fixing unit 11 and releasing the pressure contact between the upper and lower rollers 12 and 13 of the fixing unit 11, it is possible to easily and easily remove the paper when a paper jam occurs in the fixing unit 11, or remove the paper from the sorter case. When a paper jam occurs inside the 19, the work of removing paper can be easily and easily performed.

Of course, maintenance of the interior of the sorter 18, the fixing section 11, etc. can also be easily performed using the above space.

Then, by switching the sorter 18 to the first position A by the reverse operation, the sorter 18
The relative position of the sorter 18 with respect to the copying machine main body 23 can be returned to the initial position, that is, the relative positional relationship of the sorter 18 with respect to the copying machine main body 23 can always be kept constant. from the fixing unit 11 to the sorter 1 without paper failure.
8 can always be fed smoothly as specified.

Furthermore, since the sorter 18 moves substantially in parallel between the two positions, when the sorter 18 moves, it is possible to prevent the copying machine that has been taken out to the paper discharge tray 22 from falling.

Furthermore, by simply switching the sorter 18 to the first position A, the sorter 18 can be securely fixed based on the gravity of the sorter 18 without requiring any particular fixing means.

Note that an elastic support 3 is attached to the lower end of the support member 32.
3 is provided, but this may be omitted, or the link constituent members 28, 28 may be plate-shaped.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the linking means 27. In such an embodiment, the link component 28 and the link 29 pivotally connected thereto, and the link component 28 and the links 29, 29
The present invention is characterized in that, for example, a helical spring 34 is interposed to urge the sorter 18 toward the first position A, and with this configuration, while the sorter 18 is switched to the first position A, and until the upper pivot axis Q ₁ crosses the vertical line P,
The biasing force of the spring 34 functions as an auxiliary force for lifting the sorter, and conversely, the biasing force of the spring 34 functions as an auxiliary force for lifting the sorter 18.
During switching to the second position B and after the upper pivot axis Q ₁ crosses the vertical line P, the biasing force functions as an auxiliary force for supporting the sorter. There is an advantage that the position of the sorter 18 can be easily changed with a light operating force, and the biasing force can be used to fix the first position A of the sorter 18.

In the above-mentioned alternative embodiment, the same components as those shown in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and their designation will be omitted.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, in the electrophotographic copying machine with a sorter of the present invention, the sorter can be switched between a first position in which the sorter is adjacent to the copying machine main body and a second position in which the sorter is spaced downstream in the paper ejection direction with respect to the copying machine main body. Since the sorter is mechanically pivotally connected to the copying machine main body via two links, the return posture of the sorter relative to the copying machine main body is always maintained when the sorter is returned to the first position. can be made immutable, therefore,
Paper feeding from the copying machine main body to the sorter can always be carried out smoothly as specified, and it is possible to avoid disturbances in the paper feeding posture and situations in which paper cannot be fed.

Furthermore, the line connecting the upper and lower pivot axes of each link is inclined toward the copying machine main body with respect to the vertical line passing through the lower pivot axis of each link, so that the sorter can be moved to the first position. The act of switching the sorter to the first position itself makes it possible to fix the sorter in the first position, and thus, without requiring a fixing means and without forgetting the fixing operation, the sorter can be fixed in the same position. The return posture relative to the main body can be reliably fixed.

Moreover, in order to enable the sorter to be freely switched between the first position and the second position, it is conceivable that a sliding means be provided between the copying machine main body and the sorter, and the present invention devises such a unique structure. Although an application was filed at the same time as the invention, compared to such a slide structure, the position switching means by link connection of the present invention has the advantage that it has a simple structure and can be assembled at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of an electrostatographic copying machine with a sorter, FIG. 2 is a side view of the main parts with the sorter switched to the second position, and FIG. Detailed view of the linking means. FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the linking means of another embodiment. 11... Fixing section, 18... Sorter, 23...
Copying machine main body, 29... link, A... first position,
B...second position, P...vertical imaginary line, _P1 ...imaginary line, _Q1 , _Q2 ...pivot axis, θ...predetermined angle.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] An electrostatographic copying machine with a sorter, in which a sorter for collating copy sheets discharged from a fixing section of a copying machine body is installed in line with a paper discharge path from the fixing section. , the sorter is pivotally connected to the copying machine main body via two links, and the sorter is separated from a first position adjacent to the copying machine main body and downstream in the paper ejection direction with respect to the copying machine main body. and a second position, and when the sorter is switched to the first position, an imaginary line connecting the upper and lower pivot axes of each of the two links points to the lower part of each link. An electrostatographic copying machine with a sorter, characterized in that the copying machine is inclined at a predetermined angle toward the main body of the copying machine with respect to a vertical imaginary line passing through a pivot axis. An electrophotographic copying machine with a sorter according to claim 1, wherein the two links are parallel links that swing and switch the sorter between the two positions in a substantially parallel attitude.