JPH04189255A - Image formig device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the freedom in displacing state of a device by removing a medium subjected to image formation from two side surfaces opposite to each other of a body to a room to which the medium is discharged. CONSTITUTION:When a sheet is jammed in a carrying passage 31 at the time of forming an image, an operator puts the hand on the handle part 136 of the locking tool 13 of an opening and closing unit 130 to remove a hook part 135 from the locking hole 138 of a body frame 134. Thus, the lower part of the unit 130 is gently rotated and released with a support shaft 132 as the center by the dead weight, and moved to a visible part within the sheet removing room R of the device body 1. By this movement, the operator can see a sheet P1 or P2 by the eyes through the room R, and inserts the hand into the room R to remove the sheet P1 or P2. After removing the sheet in this way, the unit 130 is again brought up and rotated, and the hook part 135 of the locking tool 133 is engagingly locked with the locking hole 138 of the body frame 134 to lock and close the unit 130.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electronic copying machine and a laser beam printer.

(Prior Art) As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 1-299158, there has been an image forming apparatus that transports and stacks sheets on which images have been formed on a paper discharge tray within a machine.

However, in such conventional image forming apparatuses, the paper output tray is installed in a closed state within the machine body, and it takes time and effort for the operator to access it to take out paper, etc., and the number of access points is limited. Since the location of the image forming apparatus is limited, the arrangement of the image forming apparatus is also limited.

(Issues to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the conventional image forming apparatus, it takes time and effort to take out paper from the paper output tray provided inside the machine, and there are only a few places that can be accessed. There was a drawback that even the arrangement of the image forming apparatus was limited.
□ Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that facilitates access to the above-mentioned paper discharge tray, and at the same time allows access from any location, allowing for greater freedom in the arrangement of the apparatus. shall be.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an image forming means for forming an image on an image forming medium, a housing containing the image forming means, and the like. , a gap forming means for forming a gap in the direction of gravity at a position where the image forming means is provided in the housing, and an image formed by the image forming means in the gap formed by the gap forming means. and a conveyance means for conveying the formed image forming medium, and the gap formed by the gap forming means is formed on a first side surface of the housing and a second side surface opposite to the first side surface. The present invention provides an image forming apparatus characterized in that it is open to a wide range of users.

(Function) The gap formed by the gap forming means on which the image forming medium on which the image has been formed by the image forming means is conveyed is opened to two mutually opposing sides, and can be accessed from these two sides.

(Example) Examples of the present invention will be described below as shown in FIGS. 1 to 11. I will refer to and explain.

Fig. 1 shows the internal structure of the entire electronic copying machine.
Image forming process configuration means 2 such as transfer, peeling, cleaning, static neutralization, fixing, etc. are built-in, and an original placing table (hereinafter referred to as a platen glass) 3 on which an original is set is provided on the top surface of the main body 1 of the apparatus. .

Further, a paper feed cassette 10.11 serving as a paper feed unit that stores paper such as plain paper to be supplied to the image forming process configuration means 2 is inserted in the lower part of the apparatus main body 1. A tray 12 for collecting fixed sheets is provided on one upper side.

The image forming process configuration means 2 has the following configuration. That is, a drum-shaped photoreceptor 20 serving as an image carrier is arranged approximately in the center of the apparatus main body 1.
Around the photoconductor 20, a conventionally known electrostatic charger 21 and an exposure device (optical system) are arranged along the direction of rotation thereof.
22 exposure section 22a, developing device 23, transfer charger 25 as transfer means, peeling charger 26, cleaning device 2
7. Static eliminators 28 are sequentially arranged.

Furthermore, inside the apparatus main body 1, the paper feed cassette 10.
The paper as an image forming medium automatically fed from 11 is passed through the image transfer section 30 between the photoreceptor 20 and the transfer charger 25 to a tray 12 which is detachably provided on the left side of the main body 1 of the apparatus. A paper conveyance path 31 is formed that leads to.

Various devices are disposed along this paper transport path 31 as a first transport means. In other words, the image transfer section 30
, align the leading edge of the paper on the upstream side of the
A pair of registration rollers 32 are disposed to convey the paper while synchronizing the conveyance of the paper with the rotational movement of the photoreceptor 20, and on the downstream side, a fixing roller consisting of a heat roller 33a and a press roller 33b that rolls into contact with the heat roller 33a. A device 33;
A roller 34a and a roller 34 are downstream of this fixing device 33.
A pair of rollers 34 whose rollers b are in rolling contact with each other is provided, and a pair of paper discharge rollers 35 is further disposed downstream thereof,
A switch 36 for detecting paper ejection is provided here. In addition, the peeling charger 26 and the fixing device 33
A conveyor belt 37 is disposed between the two. Various devices arranged along these paper transport paths 31 are as follows:
The opening/closing unit 130, which will be described in detail later, is configured to be able to integrally move in a direction away from the photoreceptor 20. A gap R is formed below inside the device main body 1 to allow the opening/closing unit 130 to open.

Near the mounting portion of the paper feed cassette 10.11, there are pickup rollers 38, 39 for taking out sheets P1 and P2 stored in each paper feed cassette one by one, and pickup rollers 38, 39 for taking out the sheets P1 and P2 stored in each paper feed cassette one by one. paper P1,
Separation conveyance means 4 constituted by a roller pair consisting of a conveyance roller that receives P2 and sends it to the paper conveyance path 31 and a separation roller.
0.41 is allocated.

By the way, in the present invention, a conveyance means is provided to guide the paper from various devices disposed along the paper conveyance path 31 to the gap R, and the image is fixed on the paper.
The structure is such that the sheet on which image formation has been completed is guided and conveyed into the gap R.

That is, a gate 50 is rotatably provided between the pair of rollers 34 downstream of the fixing device 33 and the pair of discharge rollers 35, and switches the paper conveyance direction between the pair of discharge rollers 35 and the gap R direction. is provided.

From the gate 50 toward the gap R, a paper guide plate 51 and a rotatably provided gate 52 for switching the paper transport direction are provided from the upstream side in the paper transport direction.

A pair of paper discharge rollers 53 is rotatably provided on one side of the paper conveyance direction which is switched by the gate 52, and discharges the paper into the gap R with the image-formed surface facing upward. A switch 54 is provided for detecting the ejection of paper.The other side of the paper conveying force direction switched by the gate 42 is provided with a switch 54 as an image forming medium storage section formed inside the lower wall of the gap R. A double-sided copying conveyance mechanism 60 is provided for the stack section S, which feeds the paper after inverting it.Incidentally, the gap R
The lower wall of the stack section S can be opened and closed as will be described later, and is configured so that an operator can remove the sheets in the stack section S in the open state. Moreover, at least a portion of this lower wall is made of a light-transmitting member, such as a glass plate 56, as shown in FIG.
There is a region in which a is inserted, and the structure is configured so that the operator can easily check the stacking state of the sheets in the stack section S.

The position of this glass plate 56 allows the operator to check the stacked state of sheets in the stack section S without having to bend down when operating the main body 1 of the apparatus to perform a copying operation. It is preferable that the lower wall be provided at a certain position, and the entire lower wall may be made of a glass plate.Also, the transparent member is not limited to a glass plate, and may be made of plastic, acrylic, etc. The conveyance mechanism is provided with three rollers 61, 62 and 63 rotatably connected in the directions of arrows A and B shown in the figure, respectively, in order to switch between the leading edge and the trailing edge of the paper in the conveying direction using a so-called switchback method. Furthermore, on the downstream side, there are a paper guide plate 64 that guides the conveyance of the paper, a pair of rollers 65 that are rotatably connected to each other so as to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions, and a switch 66 that detects paper in the vicinity of the rollers 61 and 62. A pair of paper ejection rollers 67 is rotatably provided at a position near the insertion portion into the stack portion S on the downstream side of the paper transported in a switchback manner by each of these rollers. A switch 68 for detecting paper ejection is provided here.In addition, a switch 68 is provided in the stack section S through which paper is conveyed through such a device, and is provided movably in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure. A length guide 70, a width guide 71 movable in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the length guide 70, and a pickup roller 72 for taking out sheets one by one from the stack section S are disposed. 72
Separation and conveyance means 73 is provided on the downstream side of the conveyance of the paper taken out at , for feeding the paper into the paper conveyance path. Paper transport operations in these mechanisms will be described later.

Next, the exposure device 22 exposes the document set on the platen glass 3 provided on the top surface of the device main body 1 using an exposure lamp 81 as a light source whose back is surrounded by a reflector 80.
The light image reflected from the original is reflected by a first reflecting mirror 82, a second reflecting mirror 83, and a third reflecting mirror 8.
4 sequentially to the lens 85, and then the lens 85
The transmitted light image is transmitted to the fourth reflective mirror 86, the fifth reflective mirror 87, the sixth reflective mirror 88, and the slit glass 8.
The photoreceptor 9 is guided to the photoreceptor 20 sequentially.

The exposure lamp 81 and the first reflection mirror 82 surrounded by the reflector 80 are mounted on a first carriage (not shown) that is movable back and forth along the lower surface of the platen glass 3, and the j@2 The reflecting mirror 83 and the third reflecting mirror 84 are mounted on a second carriage (not shown) that moves in the same direction at half the speed of the first carriage. The carriage moves from left to right in the state shown in FIG. 1 using a carriage shaft or the like as a guide, and irradiates light onto the original set on the platen glass 3 so that the photoreceptor 20 corresponds to the image of the original. The optical image is subjected to slit exposure.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an operation panel 90 is provided near the platen glass on the top surface of the apparatus main body 1, through which an operator can set copying conditions and the like.

As described in detail in FIG. 3, this operation panel 90 is provided with a copy key 91 at the rightmost end for instructing the apparatus main body 1 to start a copying operation. To the left of this copy key 91 is a numeric keypad 92 for setting and inputting the number of copies, etc.
, a clear key 93 for clearing and setting the set copying conditions to the standard state, a preheating key 94 for switching between power saving mode and standard mode, and temporarily storing the copying conditions set by the closing operation in a memory (not shown). interrupt key 9, which allows copying operations based on other copying conditions and resets the above-mentioned copying conditions stored in the memory by re-entering the key;
5 are provided. To the left of these, there is a density setting section 96 for setting the density of the copied image, and an operator's intention is inputted as FYESJ, rNOJ, rHELPJ in order to provide information such as how to set copying conditions that the apparatus main body 1 has in an interactive format. Input unit 97, magnification of copy image from 50% to 2
00? .

A magnification setting section 98 is provided for setting the magnification in 1% increments between A display section 99 for displaying information is provided.

Further to the left of these, a paper size specification section 100 for specifying the paper size, a document size specification section 101 for specifying the document size, and abnormal conditions of the apparatus main body 1 are displayed using figures that are easy for the operator to recognize. A display section 102 and an edit setting section 103 for setting various image edits are provided. At the leftmost end of these operation panels 60, there is a transport path selection key 104, which is a feature of the present invention, and which, when pressed, selectively sets the transport path on the downstream side of the fixing device 33 described above. It is located near the
An indicator 104a lights up when the transport path selection key 104 is pressed once and the paper is transported to the gap R, and an indicator 104a lights up when the paper is transported to the stack section S when the transport path selection key 104 is pressed twice and double-sided copying is set. A container 104b is provided. Incidentally, if it is turned on three times, it is configured so that it returns to the state in which it has not been turned on even - times.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, we will mainly focus on the transport path selection key 104.
The control section of the main body related to input will be explained.

At the center of the drawing is a main processor 110 that controls overall control of the copying operation of the main body 1 of the apparatus. On the input side of the main processor 110, an operation panel 90 is provided via an input interface circuit 111, on which the above-mentioned copy key 91, conveyance path selection key 104, etc. switch 36.54.66
．． 68 are connected. On the output side of the main processor 110, via an output interface circuit 112,
A solenoid 113 that urges the gate 5o to rotate clockwise/counterclockwise in an on/off operation, and a solenoid 114 that urges the gate 52 to rotate clockwise/counterclockwise in the same on/off operation. is connected. Furthermore, the output side of the main processor 110 is connected via an output interface circuit 112 to a motor 115 that is a drive source for each roller and the like. Furthermore, main processor 11
0 is connected via an output interface circuit 112, and in order to intermittent the driving force of the motor 115, a clutch 116 is connected between the roller 35, a Clara 117 is connected between the roller 53, and rollers 61 and 62. A clutch 118 is provided between the roller 63 and the roller 65, a driving force transmission system 119 that connects and connects the driving force to the roller 65 and rotates the roller 65 in forward and reverse directions, and a clutch 120 between the paper discharge roller 67 and the roller 65. is provided. Further, on the output side of the output interface circuit 112, there is a motor 120 for rotationally driving the pickup roller 72 and the separating and conveying means in the direction of taking out one sheet. clutches 121 and 122;
Pulse motors 123 and 124 are electrically connected to each other to move the length guide 70 and the width guide 71 by a predetermined amount depending on the alignment of the sheets in the stack section S, particularly the size of the sheets.

Here, in these control units, the transport path selection key 104
The operation related to the injection will be explained with reference to FIG. First, if the transport path selection key 104 is not pressed,
As shown in FIG. 5(a), the solenoid 113 is turned off, the gate 50 is rotated clockwise, and the clutch 1
16 is turned on to transmit the driving force of the motor 115 to the roller 35, the paper P is guided to the paper ejection tray 12 via the paper ejection roller 35, and the switch 36 detects whether the paper is ejected.

If the conveyance path selection key 104 has been turned on once,
The display 104a on the operation panel 90 lights up, and the display shown in FIG.
As shown in b), the solenoid 113 is turned on and the gate 50 is rotated counterclockwise, and the solenoid 114 is turned on.
In this state, the gate 52 is urged to rotate counterclockwise, and only the clutch 117 is turned on to transmit the driving force of the motor 115 to the roller 53. Therefore, the paper P is guided to the gap R via the paper guide plate 51 and the paper discharge roller 53, and the switch 54 detects the paper discharge. If the transport path selection key 104 is pressed twice and double-sided copying is set, the display 104b on the operation panel 90 lights up, and the solenoid 113 is turned on to close the gate 5 as shown in FIG. 5(C).
0 is rotated counterclockwise, the solenoid 114 is turned on, the gate 52 is rotated clockwise, and the clutch 118 and the driving force transmission system 119 are first turned on and the motor is turned on. 115 is applied to the roller 61.
62. In order to transmit the paper to 63, the paper is transferred to the double-sided copying transport mechanism 6.
0 and is first nipped and conveyed by a pair of rollers 65 from rollers 61 and 62, and the switch 66 detects the paper P.

When the paper is conveyed by the pair of rollers 65 until the paper is not detected by the switch 66 as shown in FIG. is turned on and the driving force of the motor 115 is transmitted to the roller 67. Then, as shown in FIG. 5(e), the paper is conveyed by the roller 65 to the sandwiching portion between the rollers 62 and 63, and guided to the paper ejection roller 65.
Further, the paper is guided to the stack section, and the switch 68 detects the discharge of the paper.

In this way, when the set number of copies on one side of the double-sided copying operation are completed, a signal is supplied to the pulse motor 125 to move a predetermined amount according to the size of the paper P, as shown in FIG. As shown, the paper P in the stack section S
alignment in the width direction is performed. Subsequently, a signal for moving the paper P by a predetermined amount is supplied to the pulse motor 124 according to the size of the paper P, so that the paper P moves from the left to the right in the figure, as shown in FIG. 5(f). The pickup roller 72 moves the paper to a position where it can be fed. In this state, the copy key 91
When the sheets P are loaded, the sheets P aligned in the stack section S are conveyed to the image transfer section 30 by the pickup roller 72 and the separation conveyance means 73.

In such a configuration, the conveyance path that conveys the paper to the gap R has the following characteristics.

In other words, the conveyance path for discharging paper from the paper guide plate 51 to the gap R by the roller 53 is such that when multiple sheets of originals are successively copied in ascending order, the copied sheets are piled up in the gap R according to the order in which the originals are copied. This is very convenient because the copies are already in place when the copied paper is taken out.

Next, the copying operation of the electronic copying machine 1 described above in detail will be described. First, after setting the original on the platen glass 3 and selecting the transport path using the transport path selection key 104,
Insert the copy key 91.

As a result, the exposure lamp 81 is turned on and the first and second carriages are moved along the platen glass 3. By this movement, the original is scanned with light, and the light reflected via the original is reflected by the first to third reflecting mirrors 82.8.
3.84 to the lens 85, and further passes through this lens 85 to the 4th P') reflecting mirror 86 of the main cylinder 6.
．． 87, 88- and is imaged onto the photoreceptor 20 through the slit glass 89. The surface of the photoreceptor 20 is charged by the charger 2, and an electrostatic latent image of the document is formed by this image formation. This electrostatic latent image is developed by being supplied with developer by the developing device 23.

On the other hand, at this time, the paper sheets P1 and P2 are picked up by the pickup rollers 38 and 39 from the paper feed cassette 10 or 11.
The sheets are taken out, separated one by one by separating and conveying means 40 and 41, and sent to registration rollers 32-\. After the skew of the leading edge of this paper is aligned by the registration roller 32,
Image transfer section 3 between photoreceptor 20 and transfer charger 25
0, and the developer image on the photoreceptor 20 is transferred.

The paper to which this image has been transferred is peeled off from the photoreceptor 20 by the action of the peeling charger 26, and is conveyed by the conveyor belt 37. Then, this paper is sent to the fixing device 33 where the image is fixed, and according to the selection state of the transport path by the transport path selection key 104, the paper is transferred to the paper output tray 10 as described above.
2. It is discharged to the gap R or the stack part S.

Second, a detector for detecting attachment/detachment of the removably attached paper ejection tray 12 may be provided near the mounting portion of the paper ejection tray 12. In such a configuration, when the detector detects that the paper output tray 12 is not attached, the main processor 110 selects the transport path selection key 1.
Among the transport path selection states according to 04, setting of the state of ejecting to the paper ejection tray 12 is prohibited, and only the state of displaying one of the indicators 104a and 104b on the operation panel 90 is set. Paper output tray 12 not installed
It is preferable to adopt a configuration in which the paper is conveyed in the direction shown in FIG. Furthermore, with this configuration, the paper discharge tray 12 can be removed as appropriate in order to reduce the space required for installing the apparatus main body 1, which is extremely convenient.

Incidentally, an opening/closing unit 130 that forms the transport path 31 is provided within the apparatus main body 1. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, this opening/closing unit 130 is rotatably attached to a main body frame 134 via a support shaft 132 at its rear side. A locking tool 133 is attached to the center portion of the front side of the opening/closing unit 130.

This locking tool 133 includes a hook portion 135 that is engaged with and detached from the main body frame 134, and a handle portion 136 that rotates the hook portion 135. Further, the opening/closing unit 130 is supported by a balancer 137, and when the locking tool 133 is unlocked, the opening/closing unit 130 is supported by a balancer 137.
0 is rotated gently downward.

The lower roller 32a1 of the registration roller 32, the transfer charger 25, the peeling charger 26, the conveyance belt 37, and the roller 34b are integrally and movably arranged in the opening/closing unit 130 constructed in this manner.

On the other hand, as described above, a gap R for paper removal is formed in the front central part of the apparatus main body 1, and the opening/closing unit 13
0 is opened downward, it is configured so that it can be visually observed by the operator within the space R.

The operation of the opening/closing unit 130 having such a configuration will be explained. First, assuming a situation in which paper is jammed in the conveyance path 31 during image formation as described above, the operator must perform the following steps to remove the jammed paper, as shown in FIG.
Operate the handle part 136 of the locking tool 133 of the opening/closing unit 130 to attach the hook part 135 to the main body frame 13.
4 from the locking hole 138. As a result, the opening/closing unit 130 is opened by gently rotating downward about the support shaft 132 due to its own weight, and moves to a visible part of the paper removal gap R of the apparatus main body 1. This movement allows the operator to visually see the paper P1 (P2) from the gap R.
Insert your hand into the gap R and remove the paper PI (P2). In this manner, after removing the paper, the opening/closing unit 130 is lifted upward again and rotated, and the hook portion 135 of the locking tool 133 is engaged with the locking hole 138 of the main body frame 134 to lock and close it. .

As described above, the opening/closing unit 130 includes the lightweight registration roller 32a1, the transfer charger 25, and the peeling charger 2.
6. A conveyor belt 37 and a roller 34a are provided, and the opening/closing unit 130 is opened to remove the jammed paper.
The opening/closing operation of the opening/closing unit 130 becomes easier, and
The opening/closing mechanism can be simplified and costs can be reduced.

Also, when removing this jammed paper, make sure that the platen glass 3
does not move at all, so even if something is on the platen glass 3, it will not fall.

By the way, in this way, when a paper jam occurs, double-sided copying is being performed, but the double-sided copying stops, or the previous operator goes somewhere in the middle of double-sided copying. etc., it becomes necessary to remove the paper in the stack section S. In that case, in order to easily remove the sheets from the stack section S, the lower wall 140 of the gap R is configured to be rotatable around a support shaft 142, as shown in FIG. A handle portion 144 is formed as a depression in the lower wall 140 in order to facilitate the opening operation of the lower wall 140. Therefore, when paper is to be removed from the stack section S, it can be accomplished by an extremely simple operation of grasping the handle section 144 and rotating the lower wall 140 upward. However, since it is not desirable for the lower wall 140 to be opened during the copying operation, a locking tool (not shown) is provided to lock the lower wall 140 during the copying operation.

In addition, since the gap R in the device main body 1 of the main body is formed so as to penetrate from the front surface to the rear surface, which are the side surfaces facing each other, as shown in FIG. It is possible to take out the paper P. for example,
As shown in FIG. 11, the operator operates other OA equipment 150 while executing the copying operation of the apparatus main body 1, and when the copying operation of the apparatus main body 1 is completed, the operator takes out the paper P without moving. It is extremely convenient because it can be done.

In addition, even when the device must be placed in a state where the front side is completely blocked, the device can be used normally. If this is the case, the image forming apparatus can be placed in the office regardless of whether it is placed in the front, side, or rear, and the space can be used more effectively.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the image forming medium can be removed from two mutually opposing sides of the main body with respect to the gap from which the image forming medium is discharged. Therefore, the removal operation, that is, access is possible from any position of the operator as long as it is around the image forming apparatus.
Not only is this extremely convenient, but it also allows for various layouts, such as a front-closed layout, which allows the device to be placed in a wider variety of positions.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 11 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 shows the internal structure and components of an electronic copying machine, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the electronic copying machine, and FIG. The figure is a front view showing the operation panel, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control unit mainly related to selection of the conveyance path, and a perspective view showing the arrangement configuration. FIG. 8 is a side view showing the structure of the installation of the opening/closing unit. Figure 9 is a side view showing the operation when taking out paper from the stack unit.
FIG. 0 is a side view showing paper removal from the gap in the main body of the apparatus, and FIG. 11 is a layout diagram showing the arrangement of the electronic copying machine. 1...Electronic copying machine main body, R...Gap, 56...
・Glass plate, 60... Conveyance mechanism for double-sided copying, S...
Stack unit, 104... Conveyance path switching key, 130...
- Opening/closing unit, 140...lower wall. Agent Patent Attorney Ken Ken Chika Apparatus Yamashita - Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9゜Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 11

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An image forming means for forming an image on an image forming medium; a housing housing the image forming means; a gap forming means for forming a gap; and a conveying means for conveying an image forming medium on which an image is formed by the image forming means in the gap formed by the gap forming means, An image forming apparatus characterized in that the gap formed by the means is open to a first side surface of the housing and a second side surface opposite to the first side surface.