JPH031221B2 - - 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 machine. More specifically, the sheet fed by the sheet feeding means (transfer material, copying material, recording paper, etc.)
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a transfer material (hereinafter referred to as a transfer material).

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

Conventionally, in copying machines, there have been two types of devices for feeding transfer material, depending on the amount of copies to be made: a manual feeding device and a continuous feeding device. A manual feeding device is a feeding device in which the operator manually feeds the transfer material one sheet at a time by hand. Each time the operator makes a copy, the transfer material is placed on the feeding stand provided in the main body of the copying machine and fed. This is what you send. On the other hand, continuous feeding devices include a transfer material loading platform feeding device that is equipped with a transfer material loading platform in the main body of the copying machine, and when in use, directly places the required number of transfer materials on this platform and feeds them one by one. , load and store transfer materials of a predetermined size in a cassette in advance,
When in use, a cassette containing transfer material of the required size is attached to the copying machine body and fed one by one, and a large amount of transfer material is directly loaded and stored inside the copying machine body one by one. There is a deck feeding device for feeding. Furthermore, there is also a roll feeding device that stores a long transfer material in the form of a roll, and feeds out the transfer material in the required size for each copy, cuts it, and then feeds it.

Conventional copying machines have been provided with one of these transfer material feeding devices, a plurality of them, or a combination of a plurality of types. In other words, there are copying machines that can only feed manually as a transfer material feeding method, those that can feed manually and one size cassette, those that can feed two sizes of cassettes, or those that can feed manual and two sizes. There were various types depending on the user's copy volume, such as those that could feed cassettes of different sizes, and those that could feed cassettes of two sizes and decks of one size.

However, in conventional copying machines, only a device built into the main body of the copying machine can be used as a transfer material feeding device. For this reason, with low-end machines, for example, if a user using a copying machine that only supports manual feeding increases the amount of copies that can no longer be handled by feeding, even if the copying machine can be used, This had to be replaced with a copying machine equipped with a continuous feed system. In other words, a different copying machine is required even if the amount of copies changes. On the other hand, high-end copying machines have drawbacks such as the size of the copying machine itself becoming larger as it is equipped with various feeding devices, and also being heavier and more expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to eliminate the drawbacks of the above-mentioned conventional devices, and by providing a transfer material feeding device separate from the one inside the main body so as to be connectable to the main body of the copying machine, it is possible to improve the user's various needs. It is possible to increase the system feeding function in accordance with the amount of copies to be made, thereby providing an image forming apparatus that is space-saving, lightweight, and inexpensive.

The structure of the present invention that achieves the above object is as follows: An image forming apparatus including an image forming apparatus main body C and a support base 13 that supports the image forming apparatus main body C, wherein the image forming apparatus main body C carries a sheet. a first mounting table 6a on which the sheet is placed; a detection means 6b for detecting the sheet placed on the first sheet mounting table; and a sheet placed on the first sheet 6a based on the detection by the detection means 6b. a first feeding means 6 for feeding sheets; and image forming means 1, 2, 3, 4 for forming an image on the sheet fed by the first feeding means.
5, 8, and a first passage 44 that guides the sheet from the bottom of the image forming apparatus main body C to the image forming means, and the support table 13 has a second placing table 41 on which the sheet is placed. , a second feeding means 23 for feeding out the sheet placed on the second mounting table, and a second feeding means 23 for guiding the sheet fed out by the second feeding means to the first path. Passage 24, 25
and an operating means 46 for setting the number of sheets and causing the second feeding means to feed the set number of sheets.

Next, an example of a copying machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described.

FIG. 1 shows an external view of the copying machine main body C, and FIG. 2 shows a sectional view of the copying machine main body C. In the figure 1
is a document mounting table made of a transparent member, which moves back and forth in the direction of the arrow. Reference numeral 2 denotes a short-focus, small-diameter imaging element array, and the original image reflected by the light source 2a of the original placed on the original placing table 1 is slit-exposed onto the photosensitive drum 3 by this array 2. A charger 4 uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 3. The uniformly charged drum 3 is subjected to image exposure by the element array 2, and an electrostatic image corresponding to the original image is formed. Next, this electrostatic image is visualized by the developing device 5. These and the transfer charger 8, which will be described later, constitute an image forming means. On the other hand, the first
The transfer material P that is manually fed from above the manual feed table 6a serving as a loading table is transferred to the first feed means that rotates upon receiving a detection signal from the detection means 6b that detects that the transfer material P is manually fed. The image on the photosensitive drum 3 is fed onto the drum 3 by the feeding roller 6 and the registration roller 7, which rotates at the appropriate timing so that the image is placed at an appropriate position on the transfer paper. Then, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 3 is transferred onto the transfer paper P by the transfer charger 8. Thereafter, the transfer material P separated from the drum 3 by the separating means 8a is guided to the fixing device 10 by the guide 9.
After the toner image on the transfer material P is fixed, it is ejected onto a tray 12 by a paper ejection roller 11. In addition,
8b is a cleaning means, and 8c is a cooling fan.

The copying machine of this embodiment has a built-in manual feeding device that can feed only one sheet of transfer material, but if a large number of sheets of transfer material are to be continuously copied due to increased copy usage , by connecting the attachment 13 to the lower part of the copying machine main body C, the cassette 14
Continuous feeding is possible. Attachment 1
3 shows a cross-sectional view of the device C attached to the main body C. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of the attachment 13.

The structures of the attachment 13 and cassette 14 will be described in detail below.

In the figure, a housing 15 is a molded product made of ABS or PC resin, and one end of the housing is provided with pedestals 16 ₁ and 16 ₂ that support the legs 10a on the paper ejection side of the copying machine main body C shown by a dashed line. ing. Wing bolts 17 ₁ and 17 ₂ for fixing the attachment 13 to the bottom of the copying machine main body C pass through the front of the attachment 13, and are secured to the housing 15 by retainers 18 ₁ and 18 ₂ .
and become one. Further, 19 is a guide for guiding the cassette 14. In front of it is a side plate 20 ₁ ,
20 ₂ is provided, and a pedestal 21 is provided on both outer sides thereof for supporting the leg 10b on the paper feeding side of the copying machine main body.
₁ , 21 ₂ are arranged. This pedestal 21 ₁ , 2
1 ₂ are caulked with positioning pins 22 ₁ and 22 ₂ , which fit into positioning holes 10c provided in the legs 10b on the paper feed side of the copying machine main body C to position the main body C and the attachment 13. Also, the side plate 20 ₁ ,
20 ₂ , there is a paper feeding roller 23 as a second feeding means, and a paper feeding upper guide 2 constituting a second path.
4. A lower paper feed guide 25, an upper transport roller 26, and a lower transport roller 27 are provided. This paper feed roller 23 is provided on a paper feed roller shaft 30 and has a half-moon shape, and a paper feed ring 23a, which is extremely smaller in diameter than the paper feed roller 23, is provided on the side of the feed roller 23 on the same axis 30 so as to be freely rotatable. ing. On the opposite side of the paper feed roller 23 with respect to the side plate ₂₀₂ , a paper feed gear 28 is provided on the paper feed roller shaft 30 via a spring latch (not shown). Further, 29 is a control pipe which, together with a spring clutch and a solenoid 31, forms a one-turn clutch. Furthermore, a connector 32 is connected to a connector on the main body C side when the attachment 13 is connected to the main body C to give an electric signal to the solenoid 31.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the attachment 13 shown in FIG. 4 when viewed from arrow A.

FIG. 5 shows the paper feed roller 23 and the upper transport roller 26.
The drive system is shown. In the figure, reference numerals 33 and 34 indicate idler gears, which are provided on a support plate 37 rotatably provided around the paper feed roller shaft 30.
It is biased clockwise by a spring 38. This idler gear 33 meshes with a gear 36 and an idler gear 34 provided on the copying machine main body C side,
The gear 34 meshes with the upper conveyance roller gear 35 and the paper feed gear 28. When the attachment 13 is connected to the copying machine main body C, the idler gear 33 changes to the gear 36.
When the gear 36 rotates in the direction of arrow a, the idler gear 33 rotates in the direction of arrow b,
Further, the idler gear 34 rotates in the direction of arrow c,
The upper conveyance roller gear 35 and the paper feed gear 28 rotate. That is, the paper feed roller 23 and the upper conveyance roller 26
rotates. Before copying, the protrusion 29a of the control tube 29
The pawl 39 is engaged with. The pawl 39 can swing around a pin 39a, and the other end is connected to the solenoid 31 and biased clockwise by a spring 38. When the pawl 39 is engaged with the protrusion 29a, the spring of the spring clutch is loosened, the paper feed roller shaft 30 is not driven, and the paper feed roller 23 is therefore stopped.
When the paper feed signal is input to the solenoid 31 via the connector 32, the solenoid 31 pulls the pawl 39, which disengages from the protrusion 29a of the control tube 29, causing the spring of the spring clutch to wrap around and drive the paper feed roller shaft 30. Then, the paper feed roller 23 rotates. When the paper feed roller 23 rotates, the solenoid 31
is cut, and the claw 39 returns to its original position. The rotating paper feed roller 23 stops when the protrusion 29a engages with the claw 39 again.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
The middle plate 41 is comprised of a middle plate 41 as a mounting base, a separation claw 42, and a spring 43, and the middle plate 41 is swingably supported by engaging an engaging portion 40a provided in the housing 40 with one end 41a thereof. There is. And this middle plate 41
The other end on the feeding side is biased by a spring 43, and the transfer material Ps is loaded thereon. The tip of the uppermost transfer material of this transfer material Ps is separated by the separation claw 4.
2 is applied. The separation claw 42 is in light contact with the transfer material due to its own weight, and prevents the transfer materials from being sent in an overlapping manner.

Now, next, attachment 13 and cassette 1.
4 will be explained about the operation of attaching it and making a copy.

First, the legs 10b on the paper feed side of the copying machine main body are placed on the pedestals 21 ₁ and 21 ₂ in the attachment 13. At this time, the positioning hole 10c provided in the foot 10b and the positioning pins 22 ₁ , 22 ₂ fit together, and the attachment 13 is positioned with respect to the main body C. At the same time, the foot 10a on the paper ejection side also connects to the base 16 ₁ , 16 Put it on ₂ . At that time, the connector 32 is connected to the main body C to the connecting portion 32a.

Next, the main body C and the attachment 13 are fixed using butterfly bolts 17 ₁ and 17 ₂ . Thereafter, the cassette 14 is inserted along the guide 19 until it stops. On the way, the transfer material Ps comes into contact with the paper feed roller 23a,
The paper feed roller 23 is adjusted so as to come into contact with the transfer material Ps with an appropriate paper feed pressure. When the copy button is pressed, the paper feed roller 23 is rotated by the drive mechanism described above, and the transfer material is sent out from inside the cassette 14 and transferred to the paper feed guides 24 and 25 by the pair of transport rollers 26 and 27. The paper is fed while being guided by a guide 44 that constitutes a first passage in the main body C, and is sent to the drum 3 with timing taken by a pair of registration rollers 7. Thereafter, copies are obtained through the same process as in the case of single-sheet feeding.

In the copying machine shown in FIG. 1, a copy button 45a and other operation display means 45b are provided on the main body C side.
is provided. In the embodiment of the present invention, the operating means 46 is disposed on the attachment 13 as shown in FIG. 46 is a copy button and operation display means provided on the attachment. That is, the copying machine main body C can be driven by the signal from the sensor 6b simply by inserting the transfer material as shown in FIG. Enables settings and continuous copying. By doing so, only the functions necessary for manual feeding can be left in the copying machine main body C, and the copying machine main body C can be made more compact. It goes without saying that the transfer material feeding means remaining in the main body C is not limited to the manual feeding device. If another transfer material feeding device is attached to the main body, the copying speed may be changed accordingly. By doing so, for example, when copying a large number of sheets, the transfer material can be continuously fed at a faster copying speed than manual feeding, and a large number of copies can be obtained more quickly. Note that the functions provided on the attachment are not limited to those shown in Figure 6; for example, the copy button
It may also have a sheet number setting button, sheet number display window, transfer material replenishment display window, etc. Further, the sheet feeding means connectable to the main body of the apparatus is not limited to a cassette, and any known feeding means such as a deck or a manual feeding method may be used. Alternatively, there may be a plurality of cassettes, that is, two-stage cassettes.

As explained above, in an image forming apparatus having a transfer material feeding means, the present invention enables connection of a transfer material feeding means separate from the feeding means built into the apparatus main body to the main body. The system size of the image forming apparatus can be increased, and the main body can be made more compact and lightweight.

Further, in the present invention, the main body of the image forming apparatus can be configured with only the feeding means having the minimum necessary functions, and the cost and size of the main body can be reduced. Moreover, it has a means for setting the number of sheets as necessary.
The image forming apparatus can be changed to a more sophisticated image forming apparatus.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a copying machine to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the copying machine with other attachments loaded, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the copying machine with other attachments loaded. 5 is a sectional view of the drive system, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a copying machine using other attachments. In the figure, 6a... Manual feed stand, 6b... Detection means, 7... Registration roller, 13... Attachment, 14... Cassette, 15... Frame, 23
a...Paper feed ring, 23...Paper feed roller, 24...
...Paper feed upper guide, 25...Paper feed lower guide, 26...
...Upper conveyance roller, 27...Lower conveyor roller, 28...
... Paper feed gear, 29 ... Control tube, 30 ... Paper feed roller shaft, 31 ... Solenoid, 33, 34 ... Idler gear, 35 ... Conveyance upper roller gear, 36 ...
Gear, 39...claw.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus including an image forming apparatus main body C and a support base 13 that supports the image forming apparatus main body C, wherein the image forming apparatus main body C includes a first support base 13 on which a sheet is placed. a mounting table 6a; a detection means 6b for detecting the sheet placed on the first mounting table; and a detection means 6b for feeding out the sheet placed on the first mounting table 6a based on the detection by the detection means 6b. 1 feeding means 6; image forming means 1, 2, 3, 4, which forms an image on the sheet fed by the first feeding means;
5, 8, and a first passage 44 that guides the sheet to the image forming means from the bottom of the image forming apparatus main body C, and the support table 13 has: a second placing table 41 on which the sheet is placed; , a second feeding means 23 for feeding out the sheet placed on the second mounting table, and a second feeding means 23 for guiding the sheet fed out by the second feeding means to the first path. Passage 24, 25
and an operating means 46 for setting the number of sheets and causing the second feeding means to feed the set number of sheets.