JP2008100776A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of capable of driving to open and close a paper feeding tray and a paper delivery tray automatically without requiring user's manual operation. <P>SOLUTION: When a power supply button is set to ON, a control part rotatably drives a tray driving motor 80 in the upward direction and drives a first linear gear 81 in the downward direction to open the paper feeding tray 2. Since a gear 85 for driving belt is turned and driven in the backward direction and a second linear gear 86 is driven in the forward direction, the paper delivery tray 3 is opened. On the other hand, when the power supply button is set to OFF, the control part rotatably drives the tray driving motor 80 in the downward direction, drives the first linear gear 81 in the upward direction, and pushes up the paper feeding tray 2 in the upward direction by the first linear gear 81 to close the paper feeding tray 2. Since the second linear gear 86 drives a case body 12 in the backward direction and pulls the paper delivery tray 3 into a bottom part 12b, the paper delivery tray 3 is closed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus capable of automatically opening and closing a paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known an image forming apparatus that can store a paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray in a housing when not in use. In this type of image forming apparatus, when printing is performed, the paper feed tray and paper discharge tray are pulled out from the housing (hereinafter referred to as an open state), and when printing is not performed, the paper feed tray and paper discharge tray are discharged. In this state, the tray is stored in the housing (hereinafter referred to as a closed state). The user manually opens and closes the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray. Therefore, each time the user performs printing using the image forming apparatus, the user has to manually open and close the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray, which is troublesome.

On the other hand, Patent Documents 1 to 4 disclose an image in which both the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray can be driven to open and close only by driving either the paper feed tray or the paper discharge tray. A forming apparatus is disclosed. However, in these image forming apparatuses, the user must manually open and close either the paper feed tray or the paper discharge tray, and the above problem cannot be solved.
JP 2003-89249 A JP 2000-226150 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-255858 JP 2005-89033 A

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems. The user automatically opens and closes the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray without manually opening and closing the paper feed tray and paper discharge tray. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can be opened and closed.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a housing, and is rotatably attached to the vicinity of the upper rear end of the housing, and an open state in which paper can be placed, and is housed in the housing. A paper feed tray that can be opened and closed in a closed state, a paper transport mechanism that transports paper placed on the paper feed tray in a predetermined direction, and an image is formed on the paper transported in the predetermined direction by the paper transport mechanism An image forming means that can be pulled out from the vicinity of the bottom of the housing, and can be opened and closed in an open state where paper printed by the image forming means can be received and in a closed state housed in the housing In the image forming apparatus comprising a sheet discharge tray, a power button for operating the power supply on / off state of the apparatus main body, and a control means for controlling each part of the apparatus, the sheet feed tray and the sheet discharge Open tray And a tray drive mechanism that can be driven in conjunction with each other so as to be in a closed state, wherein the tray drive mechanism includes a tray drive motor, a gear with a first bevel gear connected to the tray drive motor, A first linear gear connected to the gear with the first bevel gear and the paper feed tray and capable of opening and closing the paper feed tray, and a gear with the second bevel gear connected to the gear with the first bevel gear A second linear gear connected to the paper discharge tray and capable of opening and closing the paper discharge tray, a belt driving gear connected to the second linear gear, the belt driving gear, A transmission belt for connecting a gear with a second bevel gear, and when the tray drive motor is driven, the first linear gear and the second linear gear are driven, and the paper feed tray and the paper discharge Tray The control means drives the tray drive motor when the power button is turned on, and the tray drive mechanism causes the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray to move. Are driven in an open state, and when the power button is operated to be turned off, the tray drive motor is driven so that the tray drive mechanism causes the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray to move. Each of the paper feed trays is driven so as to be in a closed state, so that the user only operates the power button without manually opening and closing the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray. In addition, the paper discharge tray can be automatically opened and closed.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a housing and a rotatable attachment in the vicinity of the upper rear end of the housing, and an open state in which a sheet can be placed and a supply state that can be opened and closed in a closed state housed in the housing. A paper tray, a paper transport mechanism for transporting paper placed on the paper feed tray in a predetermined direction, an image forming means for forming an image on the paper transported in the predetermined direction by the paper transport mechanism, An open state is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the vicinity of the bottom of the housing and can receive the paper printed by the image forming means, and a paper discharge tray which can be opened and closed in a closed state housed in the housing. The image forming apparatus further includes a tray driving mechanism that can automatically drive the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray in conjunction with each other so as to be in an open state and a closed state.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, when the power source of the apparatus main body is switched to the on state, the tray driving mechanism is in a state where the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray are in an open state. When the power source of the apparatus main body is switched to the off state, the sheet feeding tray and the sheet discharge tray are driven so as to be closed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the power button is turned on, the tray drive motor is driven, and the tray drive mechanism drives the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray so as to be in the open state. When the power button is turned off, the tray drive motor is driven, and the tray drive mechanism drives the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray so as to be in a closed state, respectively. Therefore, unlike the prior art, the user can automatically open and close the drive tray only by operating the power button without manually opening and closing the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray. Therefore, the user's trouble can be reduced.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray can be automatically driven so as to be in an open state and a closed state, respectively. This can be done automatically without manually opening and closing the paper discharge tray. Therefore, the user's trouble can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 3, the same effect as that of the invention of claim 2 can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Here, a case where the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus such as an ink jet printer will be described. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. For example, the present invention may be applied to an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer using an electrophotographic system. 1 and 2 show the appearance of the image forming apparatus 1 such as an ink jet printer, and FIG. 3 shows an internal block configuration of the image forming apparatus 1. 1 shows a non-use state of the image forming apparatus 1, and FIG. 2 shows a printable state of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a housing 12, a paper feed tray 2 on which the paper P is placed, and the paper P placed on the paper feed tray 2 in the sub-scanning direction (the direction of the white arrow in FIG. 2). A paper transport mechanism 5 for transporting in a predetermined direction) and a print head 71 for printing on the paper P are mounted. The carrier 7 (image forming unit) reciprocated in the main scanning direction orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction, and the carrier 7 A carrier motor 6 to be driven and a paper discharge tray 3 for receiving the paper P printed by the carrier 7 are provided. Further, the image forming apparatus 1 can open and close the power supply button 4 for operating the power supply on / off state of the apparatus main body and the paper feed tray 2 and the paper discharge tray 3 to be opened and closed in conjunction with each other. The mechanism 8 and the control part 11 (control means) which controls each part of an apparatus are provided.

  The paper feed tray 2 is rotatably attached to the vicinity of the rear end of the upper portion 12a of the housing 12 via a rotation shaft 21 (see FIG. 4), and a state in which the paper P can be placed (hereinafter referred to as an open state). And can be opened and closed in a state of being housed in the housing 12 (hereinafter referred to as a closed state). The paper discharge tray 3 is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the vicinity of the bottom 12 b of the housing 12, and can be opened and closed in an open state where the printed paper P can be received and a closed state housed in the housing 12. When the image forming apparatus 1 is in a printable state, the paper feed tray 2 and the paper discharge tray 3 are opened, and when not in use, the paper feed tray 2 and the paper discharge tray 3 are closed.

  The print head 71 mounted on the carrier 7 prints on the paper P by discharging a plurality of types of ink from the nozzles. The print head 71 has a plurality of types of ink stored in independent cartridges (not shown) provided with nozzles.

  The paper transport mechanism 5 includes a transport roller (not shown) that transports the paper P and a transport motor (not shown) that drives the transport roller. The paper P placed on the paper feed tray 2 is transported to a printing position where the carrier 7 reciprocates by the transport rollers.

  The tray drive mechanism 8 has a tray drive motor 80 and the like. Details of the tray drive mechanism 8 will be described later.

  The control unit 11 controls a printing operation based on print data sent from a computer or the like connected to the image forming apparatus 1. Further, the control unit 11 controls processing such as opening / closing driving of a paper feed tray 2 and a paper discharge tray 3 described later.

  Next, details of the tray drive mechanism 8 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 show side cross-sections of the image forming apparatus 1. 4 shows a closed state of the paper feed tray 2 and the paper discharge tray 3, and FIG. 5 shows an open state of the paper feed tray 2 and the paper discharge tray 3.

  The tray drive mechanism 8 is connected to the tray drive motor 80, the gear 82 with the first bevel gear connected to the tray drive motor 80, the gear 82 with the first bevel gear, and the paper feed tray 2, and the paper feed tray. And a first linear gear 81 capable of opening and closing the motor 2. The tray drive mechanism 8 is connected to the second bevel gear-equipped gear 83 connected to the first bevel gear-equipped gear 82, and is connected to the sheet discharge tray 3, and can be driven to open and close the sheet discharge tray 3. It further includes a linear gear 86, a belt driving gear 85 connected to the second linear gear 86, and a transmission belt 84 connecting the belt driving gear 85 and the second gear 83 with bevel gear.

  As for the 1st linear gear 81, the unevenness | corrugation is alternately formed in the surface, and the front-end | tip part 81a of the 1st linear gear 81 is connected with the paper feed tray 2. As shown in FIG. A gear 82 with a first bevel gear is connected to a substantially middle portion of the first linear gear 81.

  The first bevel gear-equipped gear 82 is provided with an bevel gear 82a, and the second bevel gear-equipped gear 83 is provided with a bevel gear 83a. The bevel gear 82a and the bevel gear 83a are engaged with each other. When the first bevel gear-equipped gear 82 is rotationally driven, the second bevel gear-equipped gear 83 is rotationally driven.

  As for the 2nd linear gear 86, the unevenness | corrugation is alternately formed in the surface, and the front-end | tip part 86a of the 2nd linear gear 86 is connected with the paper discharge tray 3. FIG. Further, a belt driving gear 85 is connected to a substantially middle portion of the second linear gear 86.

  Next, opening / closing driving of the paper feed tray 2 and the paper discharge tray 3 will be described. When the user operates the power button 4 to be turned on, the control unit 11 rotates the tray drive motor 80 in the direction of the upper part 12a of the casing 12 (hereinafter referred to as an upward direction), and the first bevel gear gear 82 is The first linear gear 81 is driven in the direction of the bottom 12b of the casing 12 (hereinafter referred to as the downward direction). For this reason, one end of the paper feed tray 2 is pulled in the direction of the bottom portion 12 b, and the paper feed tray 2 is brought into an open state by being driven to rotate about the rotary shaft 21.

  Further, the belt driving gear 85 is rotationally driven in the rear direction of the housing 12 via the transmission belt 84, and the second linear gear 86 is driven in the front direction of the housing 12. For this reason, the second linear gear 86 pushes the paper discharge tray 3 from the bottom 12b of the housing 12 toward the front surface, so that the paper discharge tray 3 is opened.

  On the other hand, when the user operates the power button 4 in the off state, the control unit 11 rotates the tray drive motor 80 downward, and the first bevel gear-equipped gear 82 is rotated downward. One linear gear 81 is driven upward. Therefore, one end of the paper feed tray 2 is pushed upward by the first linear gear 81, so that the paper feed tray 2 is in a closed state by being driven to rotate about the rotation shaft 21.

  Further, the belt driving gear 85 is rotationally driven in the front direction of the housing 12 via the transmission belt 84, and the second linear gear 86 is driven in the rear direction. For this reason, the second linear gear 86 pulls the paper discharge tray 3 into the bottom 12b of the housing 12, and the paper discharge tray 3 is closed.

  As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the user turns on the power button 4, the control unit 11 drives the tray drive motor 80, and the tray drive mechanism 8 moves the paper feed tray. 2 and the paper discharge tray 3 are driven so as to be in an open state. When the user turns off the power button 4, the control unit 11 drives the tray drive motor 80 so that the tray drive mechanism 8 interlocks the paper feed tray 2 and the paper discharge tray 3 to be closed. To drive. Therefore, unlike the prior art, the user automatically opens and closes the paper feed tray 2 and the paper discharge tray 3 by operating the power button 4 without manually opening and closing the paper feed tray 2 and the paper discharge tray 3. It can be driven. Therefore, the user's trouble can be reduced.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the structure of the said embodiment, A various deformation | transformation is possible suitably in the range which does not change the meaning of invention. For example, in this image forming apparatus 1, the tray driving mechanism 8 is driven by operating the power button 4 in the on / off state. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a tray opening / closing button is further provided. By operating in an on / off state, the tray driving mechanism 8 may be driven, and the paper feed tray 2 and the paper discharge tray 3 may be driven to open and close.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view when the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention are in a closed state. FIG. 3 is a perspective view when a paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus are in an open state. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view when a paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray of the image forming apparatus are in a closed state. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the image forming apparatus when a paper feed tray and a paper discharge tray are in an open state.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Paper feed tray 3 Paper discharge tray 4 Power button 5 Paper transport mechanism 7 Carrier (image forming means)
8 Tray drive mechanism 11 Control unit (control means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Housing | casing 12a Upper part 12b Bottom part 80 Tray drive motor 81 1st linear gear 82 Gear with 1st bevel gear 83 Gear with 2nd bevel gear 84 Transmission belt 85 Belt driving gear 86 2nd linear gear P Paper

Claims (3)

A housing,
An open state in which a sheet can be placed in a rotatable manner near the upper rear end of the housing, and a paper feed tray that can be opened and closed in a closed state housed in the housing;
A paper transport mechanism for transporting the paper placed on the paper feed tray in a predetermined direction;
Image forming means for forming an image on a sheet conveyed in the predetermined direction by the sheet conveying mechanism;
An open state that is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the vicinity of the bottom of the housing and can receive a sheet printed by the image forming unit; and a paper discharge tray that can be opened and closed in a closed state housed in the housing.
A power button for operating the power on / off state of the device body;
In an image forming apparatus comprising a control means for controlling each part of the apparatus,
A tray drive mechanism capable of driving the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray in conjunction with each other in an open state and a closed state;
The tray drive mechanism is
A tray drive motor;
A gear with a first bevel gear connected to the tray drive motor;
A first linear gear connected to the gear with the first bevel gear and the paper feed tray and capable of opening and closing the paper feed tray;
A gear with a second bevel gear coupled to the gear with the first bevel gear;
A second linear gear connected to the paper discharge tray and capable of opening and closing the paper discharge tray;
A belt driving gear coupled to the second linear gear;
A transmission belt for connecting the belt driving gear and the gear with the second bevel gear, and when the tray driving motor is driven, the first linear gear and the second linear gear are driven, The paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray can be driven to open and close,
The control means includes
When the power button is operated to be turned on, the tray drive motor is driven, and the tray drive mechanism is driven so that the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray are in an open state, respectively.
When the power button is operated in the off state, the tray drive motor is driven, and the tray drive mechanism is driven to interlock the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray, respectively, and is in a closed state. Thus, the user can automatically open and close the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray by operating the power button without manually opening and closing the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray. An image forming apparatus characterized by being able to do this. A housing,
An open state in which a sheet can be placed in a rotatable manner near the upper rear end of the housing, and a paper feed tray that can be opened and closed in a closed state housed in the housing;
A paper transport mechanism for transporting the paper placed on the paper feed tray in a predetermined direction;
Image forming means for forming an image on a sheet conveyed in the predetermined direction by the sheet conveying mechanism;
An open state that is provided so as to be able to be pulled out from the vicinity of the bottom of the housing and can receive a sheet printed by the image forming means, and a paper discharge tray that can be opened and closed in a closed state housed in the housing. In the provided image forming apparatus,
An image forming apparatus, further comprising: a tray driving mechanism capable of automatically driving the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray in conjunction with each other so as to be in an open state and a closed state. The tray drive mechanism is
When the power supply of the apparatus main body is switched to the ON state, the paper feed tray and the paper discharge tray are driven to be opened,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the power source of the apparatus main body is switched to an off state, the sheet feeding tray and the sheet discharge tray are driven to be in a closed state.

Images