JPH04336548A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the paper reversing function with the simple structure by installing a paper reversing guide for reversing the paper discharged from a paper discharge port to a paper feeding port side, in demountable manner on a device body. CONSTITUTION:As for an image forming device, a paper sheet is introduced from a paper feeding port 26 formed on one side part of a device body 2, and the image forming device is equipped with a paper transport part 5 for discharging the paper from a paper discharge port 21 formed on the other side part of the device body 2 through an image preparing part 4 and a fixation part 6. Furhter, a paper reversing guide R which is installed in demountable manner on the device body 2 and reverses the paper sheet discharged from the paper discharge port 21 to the paper feeding port 26 side is provided. Further, a paper reversing guide R which is installed in demountable manner between the installation state where the paper sheet discharged from the paper discharge port 21 to the paper feeding port 26 side and the installation state for introducing the paper sheet upward is provided on the device body 2. Accordingly, the paper sheet can be reversed only by installing the paper reversing guide R on the deivice body 2.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine or an electrostatic printer.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, extremely small image forming apparatuses such as electrostatic copiers and printers have been used to visualize an electrostatic latent image formed on a photoreceptor drum into a toner image and then transfer it to paper. A so-called portable type device has been provided (for example, see Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-17453).

This type of image forming apparatus includes an image forming section that visualizes an electrostatic latent image corresponding to a document image formed on a photoreceptor into a toner image, and then transfers the toner image onto paper; It includes a fixing section that fixes an image, a paper transport section that introduces paper into the apparatus main body, supplies it to the image forming section, and then discharges it from the apparatus main body, a drive system that drives these, and a control circuit and other electrical equipment. It is equipped with functional parts such as products. and,
Each of these functional parts is attached to a metal reinforcing frame, which is arranged inside a box-shaped casing made of a resin molded product, and is made of a pair of side plates, a stay connecting the side plates, and the like.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In order to popularize the image forming apparatus having the above configuration for home and personal use, it is necessary to make the image forming apparatus as small and lightweight as possible, to reduce the manufacturing cost and selling price, and to make the apparatus more compact and lightweight. It is desirable that the area required for use be as small as possible. However, in conventional small-sized image forming apparatuses, in order to simplify the internal structure of the apparatus as much as possible, the paper transport path is routed from a paper feed port provided on one side of the apparatus main body to a paper ejection port provided on the other side. Since it is formed in a straight line leading to the mouth, space is required before and after the device to place paper, and there is a problem in that the area required when the device is used cannot be reduced.

In order to solve the above problem, it is conceivable to provide a mechanism in the paper transport path to reverse the image-processed paper toward the paper feed port, but in this case, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost Contrary to the goal of reducing
The problem was that it required The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to reduce the number of parts, reduce size and weight, and reduce manufacturing costs, and also has a simpler structure that allows paper to be reversed. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can perform the following operations.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes: (1) an apparatus main body; It includes an image forming section that visualizes the toner image and transfers it to paper; and a fixing section that is also placed inside the device body and fixes the toner image transferred to the paper. In an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus includes at least a sheet conveying section that introduces paper from a paper feed port provided in the apparatus main body, passes through the image forming section and fixing section, and discharges the paper from a paper discharge port provided on the other side of the device main body. The paper reversing guide is detachably attached to the paper reversing guide for reversing the paper discharged from the paper ejection port toward the paper feed port.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the paper reversing guide is attached to the main body of the apparatus to reverse the paper ejected from the paper ejection port toward the paper feed port, and the paper reversing guide is configured to An image forming apparatus is provided that can be detachably mounted in two mounting states, including an upwardly leading mounting state.

[0008]

[Operation] According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention having the above configuration, simply attaching the paper reversing guide to the main body of the apparatus allows
Paper can be reversed. According to another aspect of the present invention, the paper ejection direction can be switched by selecting the attachment state of the paper reversing guide to the apparatus main body.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Examples will be explained in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing examples. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the copying machine. Referring to the figure, in this copying machine, the casing of the apparatus main body 2 is composed of an upper casing 24 and a lower casing 25, and a document conveying section 9 is attached to the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24. This document conveying section 9 carries a document d inserted into the document insertion slot 90a from the rear of the apparatus main body 2.
, a pair of conveyor rollers 910 and 920 and a conveyor belt 93
0, the document is conveyed along the upper surface 24p, and is discharged toward the front of the apparatus main body 2 through the document discharge port 90b. On the other hand, a paper feed port 26 is formed at the lower part of the front surface of the apparatus main body 2. Paper p fed from this paper feed port 26
is discharged to the rear of the device main body 2. In this way, in this copying machine, the document d and the paper p are conveyed along the front-rear direction, and the casing of the apparatus main body 2 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is short in the front-rear direction and long in the left-right direction.

[0010] Also, both end surfaces 24u of the upper casing 24
A U-shaped carrying handle 120 is attached to a stopper 123 as a shaft member for connecting the upper and lower casings so as to be rotatable within a predetermined range around the stopper 123. In addition, the upper casing 24
A plug 132 at the tip of a power supply line 131 for power supply is inserted into the apparatus main body 2 from one end surface 24u of the power supply.

[0011] The handle 120 has a handle portion 121 made of resin or the like.
and a U-shaped plate-shaped frame 122 made of metal or the like, to which the handheld portion 121 is attached at the center in the longitudinal direction. When the frame 122 is attached to the device main body 2, the frame 122 includes a main body portion 122a extending in the longitudinal direction of the device main body 2, and a main body portion 122a that is bent at right angles from both ends of the main body portion 122a, and extends along the end surface 24u of the upper casing 24. A stopper 123 is provided at the tip of the extended portion 122b.
A ring portion 122c having a hole 122d through which the ring is inserted is provided. The stopper 123 is removably attached to a mounting member inside the device (not shown) with a screw. Therefore, the above-mentioned stopper 123 can be easily attached and detached from the outside by turning the attachment member by hand, so the user can easily attach and detach the handle without using tools such as a screwdriver. be able to. Therefore, users who do not need the handle 120 can conveniently remove it.

Furthermore, since the handle 120 supports both ends of the device body 2 in the longitudinal direction, when the device is carried by the handle 120, the moment of inertia of the device body 2 swinging about the stopper 123 is reduced. can be made small and easy to carry. Furthermore, when the device is lifted by gripping the handle 120, the handheld portion 121 and the stopper 123 are positioned on a vertical line passing through the center of gravity of the device main body 2 and above the center of gravity, so that the device can be held up. The device main body 2 can be lifted without rotating while the main body 2 is placed on a desk surface or the like. Further, since the hand-held portion 121 of the handle 120 is arranged at the center in the longitudinal direction of the handle 120, the device main body 2 can be stably held by the handle 120.

The above-mentioned copying machine includes a paper reversing guide R that is detachably attached to the main body 2 of the apparatus and guides the paper discharged from the paper discharge port 21. As shown in FIG. 3, this paper reversing guide R is integrally molded into a hollow box shape from synthetic resin or the like, and one side surface R1
, an inlet R for introducing the paper discharged from the paper discharge port 21.
2 is provided, and the above-mentioned inlet R is provided inside.
A plurality of guide plates R3 are integrally formed to invert the paper introduced from 2 and guide it to a discharge port R4 formed on the end surface opposite to the side where the introduction port R2 is formed.

The outer shape of the side surface R1 of the paper reversing guide R and the vicinity of the paper discharge port 21 of the apparatus main body 2 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG.
As shown in , it is formed in such a shape that two mounting states can be selected, including a mounting state in which the side surface R1 is oriented laterally and this side surface R1 is in contact with the side surface on the paper discharge port 21 side of the apparatus main body 2. . and the introduction port R2 of the paper reversing guide R;
The paper discharge port 21 of the apparatus main body 2 is formed at the same position in any of the above-mentioned attachment states. In addition, in the latter installation state, when the handle 120 is folded down as shown in FIG.
The main body portion 122a of 22 wraps around the back side of the paper reversing guide R, and the paper reversing guide R is fixed to the side surface of the apparatus main body 2 on the paper discharge port 21 side.

When the paper reversing guide R is attached to the main body 2 of the apparatus in the former attachment state, the paper p discharged from the paper discharge port 21 is guided as shown by the dashed line arrow in FIG. Introduced into the paper reversing guide R from the opening R2,
After being guided and reversed by the guide plate R3, as shown in FIG.
It is ejected to the front of the device. In addition, the paper reversing guide R
is installed in the apparatus main body 2 in the latter installation state, the paper p ejected from the paper ejection port 21 is transferred from the inlet R2 into the paper reversing guide R, as shown by the dashed-dotted arrow in FIG. After being guided by the guide plate R3, the sheet is discharged upward from the apparatus from the discharge port R4 located above the paper feed port 26 side, as shown in FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, inside the apparatus main body 2, a document conveyed by a pair of conveyance rollers 910 of the document conveyance section 9, etc. is placed on the upper surface 2 of the upper casing 24.
An optical system 3 scans illumination through a contact glass 11a disposed flush with the 4p, and guides reflected light from the original to a photoreceptor drum 42, and a developing device 41 converts an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor drum 42. An image forming unit 4 that transfers the toner image onto the paper after the toner image is visualized by , and a fixing unit 6 that fixes the toner image transferred to the paper in the middle are arranged, and the paper is transferred to the paper feed port 26.
The paper is provided with functional parts such as a paper transport section 5 that is introduced into the apparatus main body 2 and then discharged from the paper discharge port 21 through the image forming section 4.

The optical system 3 includes a fluorescent lamp 31 for illuminating the original and a lens 32 that guides reflected light from the original to the photosensitive drum 42, which are arranged inside a case 33. . The image forming section 4 includes a photosensitive drum 4
A charger 43, a developing device 41, a transfer charger 44, and a cleaner 45 are arranged in this order around the photoreceptor drum 42, and an original image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 42, which is uniformly charged by the charger 43. After forming an image to form an electrostatic latent image, the electrostatic latent image is transferred to a developing device 4.
1, the toner image is transferred to paper by a transfer charger 44, and the residual toner is collected by a cleaner 45 and stored in a toner collection container 47.

The developing device 41 includes a toner cartridge 410 that is detachably attached to a resin-made developer housing 41a, and a toner supply roller that supplies the toner dropped and supplied from the toner cartridge 410 into the inside of the developer housing 41a. 41d, and an agitation roller 41e that agitates the toner supplied inside the development housing 41a.
A developing roller 41f that supplies toner to the photosensitive drum 42
It is equipped with

The toner cartridge 410 is integrally formed of a transparent synthetic resin material, and when the toner cartridge 410 is installed in the developer housing 41a, the shoulder portion 410a of the toner cartridge 410 touches the shoulder portion 2 of the upper casing 24.
40, so that the amount of toner in the toner cartridge 410 can be directly confirmed from the outside. Note that the shoulder portion 410a of the toner cartridge 410 is fitted into the window W1 so that its outer surface is flush with the outer surface of the shoulder portion 240 of the upper casing 24. Further, the toner cartridge 410 is designed to prevent light from deteriorating the photoreceptor drum 42 or affecting the formed image even if light leaks to the photoreceptor drum 42 in the toner cartridge 410. The body drum 42 is colored in a color that does not transmit light of the wavelength to which it is sensitive.

Rib-shaped upper guides 41b are provided on the lower surface of the developing housing 41a and project in parallel to each other, and the upper guides 41b guide the upper surface of the sheet being conveyed. The upper guide 41b is integrally molded with the developer housing 41a, and compared to the case where the upper guide is formed separately, the number of parts and assembly steps can be reduced, and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

The toner collection container 47 is integrally formed of a transparent synthetic resin material, and is provided above the paper transport section 5 on the downstream side in the transport direction. This toner collection container 47 is fitted into a window W2 formed from the shoulder 249 to the side of the upper casing 24, so that the amount of collected toner in the toner collection container 47 can be directly confirmed from the outside. ing. The outer surface of the outer wall 47a of the toner collection container 47 is formed in the same shape as the outer surface of the upper casing 24 from the shoulder 249 to the side. Further, the toner collection container 47 is designed so that even if light leaks to the photoreceptor drum 42 in the toner collection container 47 portion, it will not deteriorate the photoreceptor drum 42 or affect the formed image. , the photosensitive drum 42 is colored in a color that does not transmit light of the wavelength to which it is sensitive.

The toner collection container 47 contains the cleaner 4.
An opening 470 is provided in a portion facing the photoreceptor drum 42 in order to rotatably hold the photoreceptor drum 5 and to store the toner collected from the surface of the photoreceptor drum 42 by the cleaner 45 inside the container. Further, this opening 470 is closed by a light shielding plate 472 in order to prevent light that has entered the toner collection container 47 through the outer wall 47a from reaching the photoreceptor drum 42. Further, this light shielding plate 472 is connected to a cleaning blade 47 that cleans the photoreceptor drum 42 together with the cleaner 45.
It also serves as a holding plate that holds 1.

The paper transport section 5 includes a transport roller pair 51 consisting of a pair of upper rollers 51a and a lower roller 51b, which sandwich the paper whose leading end has been inserted from the paper feed port 26 and introduce it into the apparatus main body 2, and a transport roller pair 51. The fixing unit 6 includes a registration stopper 52 that abuts the leading edge of the paper conveyed by the pair 51 to temporarily hold the paper on standby, and the fixing unit 6.

The resist stopper 52 has a fulcrum 52a.
It is provided to be rotatable around the center, and is normally biased to rotate clockwise in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1 by a coil spring (not shown), so that the paper conveyance path In this advanced state, the leading end of the paper is brought into contact with the paper and the paper is put on standby. Then, when the original is moved to a predetermined position, for example, a pair of transport rollers 9
The registration stopper 52 is rotated counterclockwise via a rotation mechanism interlocked with the rotation mechanism 1, etc., and is evacuated from the paper conveyance path as shown by the solid line in FIG. Supply to 4.

Upper roller 51a of the transport roller pair 51
is rotatably supported by an upper guide 41b protruding from the developing housing 41a of the developing device 41. That is, the upper roller 51a is moved by the upper guide 41b.
It also serves as a supporting member. On the other hand, the lower roller 51b rotates following the rotation of the upper roller 51a, and is rotatably supported at the tip of a support member 52b that rotates about a fulcrum 52a as the registration stopper 52 rotates. When the registration stopper 52 is advanced into the paper conveyance path, it is placed apart from the upper roller 51a. Then, when the registration stopper 52 rotates counterclockwise and retreats from the paper conveyance path, as shown in the figure, it comes into pressure contact with the upper roller 51a, and the upper roller 51a
At the same time, it rotates in order to supply the paper to the image forming section 4.

The fixing unit 6 fixes the toner image transferred to the paper while sandwiching the paper and conveying the paper. A pressure roller 62 that is driven by the paper, a separation claw 6a that separates the paper after fixing from the heat roller 61, and a guide plate 6b that guides the paper separated from the heat roller 61 by the separation claw 6a to the paper discharge port 21. ing. heat roller 6
1 is substantially covered by a housing 64,
Heat dissipation is suppressed. At the lower end of the housing 64, along with a lower guide member 65, a thermal roller 6
A guide portion 64a is provided to guide the user to 1.

The document conveying section 9 includes a pair of swinging covers 901 and 902 that are swingably attached to a support protrusion 240 projecting upward from the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24 via support shafts G3 and G4. , these swinging covers 901,
It includes a pair of conveyance rollers 910 and 920 and a conveyance belt 930 arranged inside 902 . Swinging cover 901
, 902 are gear portions G1, 902 formed in opposing parts;
G2 are attached to the support protrusion 240 in a state where they are engaged with each other, and when either one is swung up and down,
Along with this, the other side similarly swings up and down. The swinging covers 901 and 902 can be placed in a closed state in which the lower surface thereof is brought into close contact with the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24 and the internal conveyance roller pair 910 etc. are cut off from the outside, and in an upper state as shown in FIG. the document insertion slot 90.
a and the document discharge port 90b, and then the pair of transport rollers 91
It is configured to be locked in two states, an open state in which the 0 etc. are exposed, by a locking mechanism (not shown).

The lower surface of the swing cover 901 also has a through hole 24x formed in the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24.
A cover protrusion S1 is inserted into the upper casing 24 through the cover protrusion S1 and turns ON and OFF the photo sensor S as a power switch arranged in the upper casing 24 as the swinging covers 901 and 902 swing. is formed. To explain more specifically, the swinging cover 901
When the cover projection S1 is in the closed state, the cover protrusion S1 is located away from the photosensor S, and in this state, the photosensor S is OFF and the power of the device is turned off. and,
When the rocking cover 901 is rocked to the open state, the cover protrusion S1 is inserted between the sensors of the photosensor S to turn the photosensor S from OFF to ON, as shown in FIG.
and the device is turned on. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the power is turned on and off by swinging the swinging covers 901 and 902, so there is no need to provide a separate power switch, and the number of parts can be further reduced. When 901 and 902 are closed, the power is always turned off, which has the advantage of preventing wasted electricity due to forgetting to turn off the power and accidents caused by overheating.

As described in detail above, according to this embodiment, the paper reversing guide R is placed on a desk or the like with its side surface R1 facing upward, and the apparatus main body 2 is placed on this side surface R1. When placed, the paper p discharged from the paper discharge port 21 can be reversed and discharged to the front of the apparatus. Furthermore, when the paper reversing guide R is brought into contact with the side surface of the apparatus main body 2 on the paper ejection port 21 side with its side surface R1 facing sideways, the paper p ejected from the paper ejection port 21 is transferred to the device. can be discharged upwards. Therefore, there is no need for a space on the rear side of the device to place paper, and the area required when using the device can be reduced. Moreover, since the paper reversing guide R is just a box, it can be used without significantly increasing the number of parts as in conventional paper reversing mechanisms.
It becomes possible to reverse the paper.

In the above embodiment, the paper reversing guide R
However, in addition to the installation state in which the paper p ejected from the paper ejection port 21 is reversed and ejected toward the front of the device, it can also be installed in an installation state in which the paper p is ejected upward from the device, but the paper reversing guide may be one that can be attached to the device main body only in the former attachment state.

The present invention can of course be applied and practiced not only to the above-mentioned roller pair conveyance type copying machine but also to a so-called moving table type copying machine in which the original is operated and exposed by moving the original table. Can be done. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to copying machines but also to printers and the like.

[0032]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, by simply attaching the paper reversing guide to the main body of the apparatus, the paper ejected from the paper ejection port at the rear of the apparatus can be reversed to the front of the apparatus. Therefore, unlike conventional paper reversing mechanisms, the paper can be reversed without significantly increasing the number of parts. Therefore, there is no need for space on the rear side of the device to place paper, and the area required when using the device can be reduced, making it compact and lightweight, and reducing manufacturing costs. It becomes easy to popularize it for personal use. In addition, if it is possible to select the attachment state of the paper reversal guide to the device main body, the structure will be simpler, and the paper ejection direction can be changed according to the state in which the paper reversal guide is not attached to the device main body. Since multiple directions can be selected, the usage patterns of the device can be further increased.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which a paper reversing guide is attached to a copying machine as an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the attached state shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a paper reversing guide.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another attachment state of the paper reversing guide.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the attached state shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a paper reversing guide is not attached to the copying machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

2　　　　　Device body 21 Paper ejection slot 26 Paper feed slot 4 Imaging section 42 Photoreceptor 5 Paper transport section 6 Fixing section R　　　Paper reversal guide

Claims (2)

[Claims] [Claim 1] ■ An apparatus main body; ■ An image forming section disposed within the apparatus main body that visualizes the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor into a toner image and then transfers it to paper; It includes a fixing section that is disposed inside the device main body and fixes the toner image transferred to the paper, and the paper is introduced from the paper feed port provided on one side of the device main body, and is passed through the image forming section and fixing section to the device. In an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus includes at least a paper transport section that ejects paper from a paper ejection port provided on the other side of the main body; An image forming apparatus comprising a paper reversing guide for reversing the paper to the side. [Claim 2] ■ An apparatus main body; ■ An image forming section disposed within the apparatus main body that visualizes the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor into a toner image and then transfers it to paper; It includes a fixing section that is disposed inside the device main body and fixes the toner image transferred to the paper, and the paper is introduced from the paper feed port provided on one side of the device main body, and is passed through the image forming section and fixing section to the device. In an image forming apparatus including at least a paper transport unit that discharges paper from a paper discharge port provided on the other side of the main body, the paper discharged from the paper discharge port is reversed toward the paper feed port side with respect to the apparatus main body. An image forming apparatus comprising a paper reversing guide that can be detachably attached in two attachment states: an attached state and an attached state in which the paper is guided upward.