JPH0572877A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily copy thick originals such as a notebook and a pocketbook. CONSTITUTION:An original carrying part 1 which carries an original on an original guiding plate 21 is provided with upper and lower carrying rollers 91 and 92, respectively, for carrying the original. The lower cover 110 holds the upper carrying roller 91, which abuts on the upper surface of the original freely rotatively. The upper cover 100 supports the lower cover 110 together with the upper carrying roller 91. The upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110 are connected by a connecting member 11 so that at least the lower cover 110 can move together with the upper carrying roller 91 corresponding to the thickness of the original.

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 electrophotographic copying machine or a facsimile, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a document feeding section for feeding a document along a document guide plate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine or a facsimile, a document conveyed along a document guide plate is passed through a transparent contact glass fitted in a predetermined position of the guide plate. In addition to illuminating, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor by guiding the reflected light from the document to the photoconductor, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image, and then transferred to a sheet. Are known.

Conventionally, in this type of apparatus, as shown in FIG. 8, there is an apparatus which has a document conveying section 8 for moving a document 20 from the right side to the left side and copying a long material. In this case, a contact glass 55 is provided on the document guide plate 21, lower transport rollers 81 and 82 are arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side of the contact glass 55, and pair with the lower transport rollers 81 and 82, respectively. Upper transport roller 8
3, 85 are arranged. In addition, the upper transport roller 8
At the center of 3, 85, an upper conveyance roller 84 for bringing the original into contact with the contact glass 55 is provided. These three upper conveying rollers 83, 84, 85 are provided on the lower cover 8
It is rotatably held at 10. Also, the lower cover 81
0 is held by the connecting member 88 on the upper cover 800. In this copying machine, the document 20 inserted from the right side of the drawing is copied while being conveyed onto the contact glass 55, and the paper is discharged from the portion where the copying is completed.

[0004]

However, in the original conveying section 8 of the image forming apparatus, the upper conveying rollers 83, 8 are used even when a thick original such as a notebook or notebook is copied.
4, 85 and the lower conveying rollers 81, 82 are narrow, and the upper conveying rollers 83, 84, 85 and the document guide plate 21 are narrow. In addition, since the changes in these intervals are slight, it is difficult to copy a thick original document.

By the way, the lower cover 810 has upper transport rollers 83, 84, 85 and lower transport rollers 81, 82.
And the upper conveying rollers 83, 84, 85 and the document guide plate 2
It is conceivable to provide an adjusting unit that is movably supported so that the interval of 1 can be changed and that can adjust the moving amount of the lower cover 810 in advance according to the thickness of the document. However, in this configuration, the interval must be adjusted each time according to the thickness of a thick original such as a notebook or a notebook, and once adjusted, it cannot cope with a change in the original thickness.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the need to adjust the distance between the upper conveying roller and the lower conveying roller and the distance between the upper conveying roller and the original guide plate each time according to the thickness of the original, and the notebook or notebook. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily copying thick originals such as the above.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above technical problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention has a structure in which an original conveyed along an original guide plate of the main body of an apparatus is predetermined by the original guide plate. In an image forming apparatus that illuminates through a transparent contact plate fitted in a position and guides reflected light from the original document to a photoconductor, the original document conveying unit that conveys the original document on the original document guide plate is for conveying the original document. Roller means having an upper conveyance roller and a lower conveyance roller, a holding means for rotatably holding the upper conveyance roller of the roller means, which is in contact with the upper surface of the document, and a support for supporting the holding means together with the upper conveyance roller. Means, and the holding means and the supporting means, at least the holding means can be moved up and down together with the upper transport roller in accordance with the thickness of the document,
It is characterized in that they are connected by a stretchable connecting means.

[0008]

According to the above construction, since at least the holding means is connected by the expandable / contractible connecting means, the holding means can be moved up and down together with the upper conveying roller in accordance with the thickness of the original. The distance between the carrying roller and the lower carrying roller and the distance between the upper carrying roller and the document guide plate can correspond to the thickness of the document.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to the figure, in this copying machine, the main part of the upper surface (excluding the right side of the upper surface) of the apparatus main body 2 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is short in the front-rear direction and long in the left-right direction is used as a document guide plate 21, The document feeder 1 is attached to the. A slit 24 is formed substantially in the center of the document guide plate 21 in the front-rear direction, and the contact glass 5 is fitted into the slit 24. Further, a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped accessory case 4 having an open top is attached to the right side of the upper surface of the apparatus body 2. On the other hand, a U-shaped carrying handle 3 is attached by a stopper 34 so as to sandwich both side surfaces 22 of the apparatus main body 2 so as to be rotatable within a predetermined range around the stopper 34. In addition, on one side surface 22 of the device body 2,
The electric wire plug 6 for power supply is inserted.

More specifically, the handle 3 described above is used.
Includes a hand-held portion 31 made of resin or the like, and a U-shaped metal frame 30 having the hand-held portion 31 attached at the center in the longitudinal direction. Hand-held part 31 and frame 30
A display mark 30a indicating the set position of the document according to the document size is provided on the upper surface of the. Also, frame 3
0 is provided with a ring portion 321 at each tip portion, and the protrusion 32 is provided at the inner front portion of the frame 30 adjacent to the ring portion 321.
3 is provided. On the other hand, each side surface 22 of the device body 2
A cylindrical receiving member 221 is provided on the side of the receiving member 221, and a stopper 223 is provided on the side surface of the receiving member 221 so as to project toward the front of the apparatus body 2. In the handle 3, the ring portion 321 is attached to the apparatus main body 2
It is brought into contact with the receiving metal 221 from outside and is rotatably supported by the stopper 34. In addition, the handle 3 has a protrusion 32.
It is positioned at a predetermined position on the front side of the copying machine by 3 and the stopper 223, and is set to assist the document conveyance.

The stopper 34 is a grip portion 34 that can be rotated by hand.
3, a support portion 341 inserted into the ring portion 321 of the handle 3.
And a screw portion 342 for attaching to the apparatus main body 2. The stopper 34 can be easily attached and detached, and the handle 3 can be removed when the handle 3 is unnecessary.
Further, when the handle 2 is attached, the handle 2 can stably carry the copying machine.

In the document conveying section 1, a document guide plate 21 on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 2 is provided with a roller means 9 for conveying a document, and a lower cover 110 which covers the document guide plate 21 above the roller means 9.
Further, the upper cover 100 arranged above the lower cover 110 is provided. The lower cover 110 and the upper cover 100 are detachably attached to the document guide plate 21 by a pair of connecting members 11 made of resin or the like having a spring member 12. Further, these covers 110 and 100 also serve as a document guide for guiding the document in a predetermined direction.

The roller means 9 is an upper conveying roller 91 having three conveying rollers 93, 94, 95 located above.
And two transport rollers 96, 9 below the document guide plate 21.
7 and a lower side conveyance roller 92 having No. 7 are provided.
Conveyor roller 9 driven by a drive system in the apparatus body 2
6 and a transport roller 9 that rotates by being driven by the transport roller 96.
3 and 3 are paired. The transport roller 93 includes a roller shaft 932 and four resin roller members 931 arranged at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the roller shaft 932. Both ends of the roller shaft 932 are rotatable with respect to the lower cover 110. Supported by. The transport roller 96 also has four roller members 961 arranged at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the roller shaft 962, and both ends of the roller shaft 962 are rotatably supported by the apparatus body 2. Further, the transport roller 96 has four
Only the upper part of the peripheral surface of one roller member 961 is the document guide plate 21.
It is arranged so as to slightly project from the slit 23 formed in the. Therefore, the transport roller 93 and the transport roller 9
Reference numeral 6 indicates a state in which the document guide plate 21 is positioned above and below the slit 23 of the document guide plate 21, and their peripheral surfaces are in contact with each other.
The transport rollers 95 and 97 are also configured in the same manner as the transport rollers 93 and 96, and contact their peripheral surfaces with each other while being positioned above and below the slit 25 at the front part of the document guide plate 21. I am letting you. The conveyance roller 94 is a long white roller 941 that is in sliding contact with the contact glass 5 on the rear side of the apparatus body 2 with respect to the conveyance roller 95.
The lower cover 110 by means of the roller shaft 942.
It is rotatably supported by. This transport roller 94 is
The original is pressed downward so that the original is conveyed along the contact glass 5 reliably. Transmission rollers 943 that rotate integrally with the roller shaft 942 are attached to both ends of the roller shaft 942. Further, transmission rollers 953 that rotate integrally with the roller shaft 952 are attached to both ends of the roller shaft 952 of the above-described transport roller 95, and an endless structure is provided between the transmission roller 953 and the transmission roller 943. A belt 98 is wrapped around. As a result, the transport roller 94 causes the transmission rollers 95 to
3, 943 and the belt 98, the conveyance roller 95
Follow and rotate.

The lower cover 110 is the upper cover roller 9 described above.
A document guide plate 21 as a holding means for rotatably holding 1
And a pair of side surfaces 11 having a substantially trapezoidal shape.
4 is equipped. A ridge 112 is provided on the upper surface portion 111 of the lower cover 110 along the direction of the short side thereof as a document positioning mark corresponding to various document sizes.
Further, on the front portion of the upper surface portion 111, a display 113 indicating which document size the ridge 112 corresponds to is attached. As described above, since the protrusion 112 is provided on the upper surface portion 111 of the lower cover 110, the document can be easily positioned. In addition, the original is the protrusion 11 of the lower cover 110.
2 and the display mark 30a provided on the hand-held portion 31 of the handle 3 described above can be used for positioning. Next, a notch 115 and a notch 116 opened downward are provided at the front part of the side surface part 114, and a notch 117 opened rearward is provided at the rear part. These notches 11
4, 115 and 117 have a circular shape at the inner part and a narrower entrance part. The notch 115 has a roller shaft 9
A portion of the roller 52 between the roller member 951 and the transmission roller 953 is loosely fitted. A portion of the roller shaft 942 between the white roller 941 and the transmission roller 943 is loosely fitted in the notch 116. The roller shaft 932 of the upper conveyance roller 93 is loosely fitted in the notch 117. Further, a stay portion 118 is provided on the lower rear portion of each side surface portion 114 so as to project outward. The stay portion 118 is formed with a cut groove portion 119 that is open to the outside.

Next, the upper cover 100 will be described. In addition to FIG. 1, the description of the upper cover 100 will be made with reference to the perspective view of the upper cover 100 shown in FIG. 2 viewed from the rear side. 1 and 2, the upper cover 10
0 is long in the left-right direction of the apparatus main body 2, and is substantially parallel to the document guide plate 21 of the apparatus main body 2, an upper surface portion 101, a rear surface portion 105 continuously provided on the upper surface portion 101, and a pair of substantially trapezoidal shapes. The side surface portion 103 is provided. Rear part 1
A cutout 106 is formed at the lower end of the device 05 from the rear side of the apparatus main body 2 to form an opening for inserting a thick original document with the original guide plate 21 of the apparatus main body 2. A pair of through holes 102 through which the connecting member 11 including the spring member 12 is inserted are formed at both ends of the upper surface portion 101 in the longitudinal direction. A pair of ribs 104 parallel to the side surface portions 103 are provided below the upper surface portion 101.
It is provided with a certain distance. The side surface portion 103 and the rib 104 can be fitted to the left and right outer sides of the lower cover 110, respectively, and can come into contact with the document guide plate 21. Therefore,
The heights of the side surface portion 103 and the rib 104 are as follows when the upper cover 100 is attached to the document guide plate 21.
The ribs 104 are set so that both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the contact glass 5 can be pressed from above, and both left and right outer sides thereof can be pressed by the side surface portions 103.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a connecting portion of the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110 with respect to the document guide plate 21 when a thin document is copied or not used in the copying machine of FIG. Referring to the figure, the connecting member 11 has a cylindrical body 11c, a diameter-reduced portion 11b, and a substantially triangular shape, which are arranged under a head 11d having a pair of parallel side walls that can be picked and rotated by fingers. The arrowhead portion 11a is provided. In the head 11d,
An insertion hole 11e for preventing fingers from slipping is formed. The reduced diameter portion 11b has a helical spring material 1
2 is fitted. On the other hand, a boss portion 102a is provided below the through hole 102 of the upper cover 100 so as to project.
The connecting member 1 is attached to the bottom portion 102c of the boss portion 102a.
A hole 107 through which the first arrowhead portion 11a penetrates is formed. A pair of pressing ribs 102b that extend downward to the middle are provided on the outer peripheral portion of the boss 102a. Also,
On the document guide plate 21, at a position corresponding to the boss portion 102a,
A pair of recesses 26 into which the boss portions 102a are inserted are provided (see also FIG. 1). An outer peripheral protrusion 261 protruding from the document guide plate 21 is formed on the outer periphery of the recess 26. In addition, a hole 262 is formed in the bottom surface 263 of the recess 26 so that the arrowhead portion 11a of the connecting member 11 passes therethrough. Further, a fixing portion 264 having a groove into which the upper portion of the arrow head portion 11a of the connecting member 11 is fitted is provided on the inner surface side of the device body 2 below the recess 26.

Next, the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 11
A method of attaching the document No. 0 to the document guide plate 21 will be described. First, the lower cover 110 includes the cut groove portion 119 of the stay portion 118.
Are fitted to the pressing ribs 102b of the upper cover 100. As a result, the lower cover 110 is attached to the upper conveyance roller 9
It is stably held by the upper cover 100 together with 1. With the lower cover 110 attached, the upper cover 100 inserts the boss portion 102a into the insertion hole 26 of the document guide plate 21. At this time, the pressing rib 102b of the upper cover 100
Alternatively, the length of the outer peripheral protrusion 261 of the recess 26 is smaller than that of the lower cover 11.
The upper conveyance roller 91 supported by 0 is set so as to be in contact with the document guide plate 21. Then, the connecting member 1
1, with the spring material 12 fitted in the reduced diameter portion 11b,
The through hole 102 of the upper cover 100 is passed through the retaining portion 264 of the apparatus body 2, and the arrowhead portion 11a is fitted into the groove of the retaining portion 264. At this time, the spring material 12 is in contact with the bottom portion 102c of the boss portion 102a and the lower surface 11f of the body portion 11c.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a connecting portion of the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110 with respect to the document guide plate 21 at the time of copying a thick document in the copying machine of FIG. Referring to the figure, the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110 move upward when the thick original is copied, with the spring material 12 compressed according to the thickness X of the original. At this time, the height of the outer peripheral protrusion 261 is set so that the boss portion 102a of the upper cover 100 does not come out of the recess 26 even if the upper cover 110 and the lower cover 100 move to the maximum. As a result, the distance between the upper conveying roller 91 and the lower conveying roller 92 and the distance between the upper conveying roller 91 and the document guide plate 21 can be easily moved without adjusting in advance according to the thickness of the document. .. After the thick original is ejected, the elastic force of the spring material 12 causes the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110 to return to their original positions, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 shows a document transport unit 1 for copying a thin document.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the document conveying section 1 at the time of copying a thick document. Referring to these figures,
The operation of the document feeder 1 will be described. Referring to FIG. 5, when copying a thin original d, from the front of the apparatus main body 2 (on the right side in the drawing), the upper cover 1 serves as an original insertion port.
00 and the lower cover 110, the document d is inserted and conveyed along the upper surface portion 111 of the lower cover 110. Then, the document d is curved along the upper conveyance roller 93 by the curved guide surface formed inside the rear portion of the upper cover 100, and the leading end of the document d is brought into contact with the lower conveyance roller 96. The document d is set to the state of facing the original and set.
In this state, by turning on a copy start switch (not shown), the document d is conveyed to the conveyance roller 94 side while being pinched by the conveyance rollers 93 and 96 and being inverted. Further, the document d is transported along the contact glass 5 by the transport roller 94 and the transport rollers 95 and 97, and is discharged from between the lower cover 110 and the document guide plate 21 as a document discharge port.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, when a thick document e such as a notebook or a notebook is copied, it is formed on the rear side (left side in the figure) of the apparatus main body 2 by the notch 106 of the upper cover 100. The document e is inserted through the opening. Then, the leading edge of the document e is introduced until it comes into contact with the contact portion between the upper transport roller 93 and the lower transport roller 96, and the document e is set. In this state, by turning on the copy start switch, the document e is nipped by the transport rollers 93 and 96 and is transported to the transport roller 94 side. At this time, the lower cover 110 together with the upper cover 100 and the upper conveying roller 91 is pushed up and moved according to the thickness of the document e. This is because the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110 are movably attached to the document guide plate 21 by the connecting member 11 having the spring member 12, as described above. In this way, while pressing the document e against the document guide plate 21, the contact glass 5
The document is conveyed along the sheet and is discharged from between the lower cover 110 and the document guide plate 21 as a document discharge port. Therefore, the thick original document e can be easily copied.

Incidentally, the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 11 described above.
0 indicates that the upper cover 100 is the connecting member 1 as shown in FIG.
The lower cover 110 may be securely fixed to the document guide plate 21 by 1 g, and the lower cover 110 may be supported so as to be vertically movable by a spiral spring member 12 a that is inserted through the outer periphery of the boss portion 102 a of the upper cover 100. .. In addition, various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0022]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a thick original such as a notebook or a notebook can be easily copied.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a copying machine as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an upper cover of the copying machine shown in FIG.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a connecting portion of an upper cover and a lower cover with respect to a document guide plate when a thin document is copied or not used in the copying machine of FIG.

4 is a cross-sectional view showing a connecting portion of an upper cover and a lower cover with respect to a document guide plate at the time of copying a thick document in the copying machine of FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a document transporting unit at the time of copying a thin document in the copying machine of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a document transporting unit at the time of copying a thick document in the copying machine of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a connecting portion of an upper cover and a lower cover in an image forming apparatus of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Document transport unit 2 Device body 21 Document guide plate 9 Roller means 91 Upper transport roller 92 Lower transport roller 100 Upper cover 110 Lower cover 11 Connecting member 12 Spring material

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A document conveyed along a document guide plate of an apparatus main body is illuminated through a transparent contact plate fitted in a predetermined position of the guide plate, and reflected light from the document is guided to a photoconductor. In the image forming apparatus, a document transport unit that transports a document on the document guide plate has a roller unit having an upper transport roller and a lower transport roller for transporting a document, and a roller unit that contacts the upper surface of the document. A holding means for rotatably holding the contacting upper side transport roller and a supporting means for supporting the holding means together with the upper side transport roller are provided, and at least the holding means and the supporting means together with the upper side transport roller are provided. An image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus is connected by an expandable and contractible connecting means so that the document can be moved up and down according to the thickness of the document.