JP3589973B2 - Discharge tray and image forming apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a discharge tray for stacking recording sheets (for example, sheet-shaped copy paper or resin film) discharged from an image forming apparatus main body, and an image of a copier, a printer, a facsimile, or the like provided with the discharge tray. The present invention relates to a forming apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a copying machine as an image forming apparatus has a paper ejection tray attached to a side of a copying machine main body, discharges printed recording sheets onto the paper ejection tray, and places a plurality of recording sheets on the paper ejection tray. To be stacked. It is to be noted that a small copying machine generally has a discharge tray with a stacking amount of about 1 to 500 sheets.
[0003]
FIG.Shows such a paper discharge tray 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the paper discharge tray 1 includes a front plate 3 attached to the side of the copying machine main body 11 below the paper discharge rollers 2, a bottom plate 4 extending substantially horizontally from a lower end of the front plate 3, An inclined substrate 5 that rises obliquely from the bottom plate 4. The paper discharge tray 1 is configured to sequentially stack the recording sheets P discharged from the paper discharge rollers 2 so that about 500 recording sheets P can be stacked. In such a paper discharge tray 1, the recording sheet P slides under its own weight along the inclined surface of the inclined substrate 5 in a direction substantially opposite to the discharge direction. The rear end (in the discharge direction of the recording sheets P) is abutted against the front plate 3 so that the recording sheets P are aligned and stacked.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When the recording sheet P is discharged onto such a discharge tray 1,FIG.As shown in (1), the recording sheet P curves and hangs down in a substantially S-shape, and its leading end moves while rubbing on the recording sheet P stacked on the sheet discharge tray 1. In this case, depending on the number of recording sheets P stacked on the discharge tray 1, the amount A of dripping of the recording sheets P sent from the discharge rollers 2 greatly differs. That is, when the number of the recording sheets P stacked on the discharge tray 1 is very small, the amount A of the discharged recording sheets P is large, while about 500 sheets When the recording sheets P are stacked, the amount A of the discharged recording sheets P sags becomes small. When the amount of sagging of the recording sheet P is large, the force for rubbing the recording sheet P on the paper output tray 1 is increased by the amount of deformation of the recording sheet P, and the recording sheet P on the paper output tray 1 is discharged. It may be pushed out from the paper tray 1. When the amount A of drooping of the recording sheet P is large, the leading end of the recording sheet P sent out from the sheet discharging roller 2 is moved to the sheet discharging tray.1After contact with the upper recording sheet P, there may be a problem that the sheet is partially bent in a direction opposite to the discharge direction.
[0005]
In the case of a large-sized copying machine, in order to solve the above-described problem, the paper discharge tray is raised and lowered by a motor and a mechanism connected thereto, and the recording sheets sent from the paper discharge rollers are smoothly placed on the paper discharge tray. A technology that can be loaded on a vehicle has already been developed. However, if the discharge tray is raised and lowered by an electric mechanism such as a motor, the structure of the copying machine becomes complicated and large, and the price increases. Therefore, the mechanism for raising and lowering the discharge tray employed in such a large-sized copying machine cannot be directly applied to a simple and small-sized copying machine having a capacity of about 500 sheets on the discharge tray.
[0006]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple paper output tray that can smoothly and reliably stack recording sheets without using an electric mechanism such as a motor.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention is a discharge tray configured to support a recording sheet discharged from a discharge roller by an inclined substrate extending obliquely upward in a discharge direction of the recording sheet from below the discharge roller. . In the sheet discharge tray of the present invention, at least a part of the inclined substrate is swingable. The swingable portion is partially formed on the inclined substrate so as to partially support a substantially central portion in the width direction of the recording sheet, and the recording sheet discharged from the sheet discharging roller is formed. The sheet is lifted by a spring member so that the amount of sag of the sheet is substantially constant. Side plates for preventing the recording sheet from falling off are formed at both ends in the width direction of the inclined substrate.
[0008]
According to the present invention having such a configuration, regardless of the stacked amount of the recording sheet on the inclined substrate, the contact state between the recording sheet on the inclined substrate and the recording sheet discharged from the discharge roller becomes substantially constant, The recording sheet discharged from the discharge roller does not push out the recording sheet on the inclined substrate, and the recording sheet discharged from the discharge roller does not "break" at the leading end.
[0009]
Further, in the present invention, the swingable portion is formed at both ends in the width direction and at a tip thereof with side plates that close a gap formed between the swingable portion and the inclined substrate. Further, the inclined substrate is provided with a slit which engages the side plate with a gap.
[0010]
According to the present invention having such a configuration, the recording sheet discharged from the discharge roller is deformed so that both ends in the width direction hang down, and the stiffness (rigidity) is increased. The recording sheet is smoothly loaded on the inclined substrate without causing the occurrence.
[0011]
Further, according to the present invention, an image is formed on a recording sheet fed from a paper feeding unit by an image forming unit, and the recording sheet after the image formation is discharged from a discharge roller onto a discharge tray. An image forming apparatus, wherein the discharge tray is any one of the above-described inventions.
[0012]
According to the present invention having such a configuration, the contact state between the recording sheet discharged from the discharge roller and the recording sheet on the discharge tray becomes substantially constant regardless of the stacking amount of the recording sheet on the discharge tray. Therefore, the recording sheets can be smoothly and reliably stacked on the discharge tray.
[0013]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0014]
(Image forming device)
FIGS. 1 and 2 show a copying machine as an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Here, FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the internal configuration of the copying machine 10 as viewed from the front side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the external shape of the copying machine 10, that is, the shape of the copying machine main body (image forming apparatus main body) 11 as viewed from the outside.
[0015]
First, an outline of the configuration of the copier 10 will be described mainly with reference to FIG. 1 and with reference to FIG. 2 as appropriate, and then the details of the configuration will be described.
[0016]
The copying machine 10 includes a copying machine main body 11 configured in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The copying machine main body 11 includes three parts in the up-down direction, that is, a lower housing 12, a coupling housing 13, and It is roughly divided into the upper housing 14. Then, inside the lower housing 12, a sheet feeding unit 15, an image forming unit 16, and a fixing unit 17 are provided in order from the bottom. The connection housing 13 is provided with a paper discharge unit 18 and a post-processing unit 20. From the sheet feeding section 15 to the post-processing section 20, the recording sheets (for example, paper) P to be image-formed are arranged from bottom to top in order corresponding to the conveyance from the bottom to the top. An image reading section 21 is provided inside the upper housing 14. The connection housing 13 has a paper discharge space S between the lower housing 12 and the upper housing 14 on the right side of the paper discharge unit 18. Note that a document feed mechanism 22 is mounted on the upper part of the upper housing 14.
[0017]
Subsequently, details of the configuration of each unit will be described in order from the paper feeding unit 15.
[0018]
The paper supply unit 15 includes a paper supply cassette 23 in which a plurality of recording sheets P are stored in a stacked state, a paper supply roller 24 that supplies the recording sheets P in the paper supply cassette 23 one by one, Tray 25 for feeding recording sheets, a paper feed roller 26 for feeding the recording sheets set in the manual tray 25, and the recording sheet P supplied from the paper feeding rollers 24, 26 are temporarily stopped. And a registration roller 27 that supplies the image data to the image forming unit 16 in synchronization with the image forming unit 16. As shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed cassette 23 is configured to be able to be pulled out forward (in the direction of arrow a) on the front side of the user. The size of the recording sheet P is changed. As shown in FIG. 1, the manual feed tray 25 is swingably supported by the lower housing 12 via a shaft 25a on the proximal end side, and has a substantially horizontal operation position shown in FIG. And a retracted position substantially upright along the left side surface of the vehicle.
[0019]
The image forming unit 16 includes a photosensitive drum 28 as an image carrier, a primary charger 30 for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 28, and exposing the charged surface of the photosensitive drum 28 to form an electrostatic latent image. An exposing device (for example, a laser scanner) 31 for forming, a developing device 32 for applying toner to the electrostatic latent image for development, and a toner image on the photosensitive drum 28 are supplied from the above-described registration roller 27. The image forming apparatus includes a transfer charger (transfer roller) 33 for transferring to the recording sheet P, and a cleaner 34 for removing residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 after the transfer of the toner image. The above-described exposure device 31 scans the surface of the photoconductor drum 28 with a laser beam whose ON / OFF is controlled based on image information read by an image reading unit 21 described later.
[0020]
The fixing unit 17 includes a fixing roller 36 having a built-in heater 35 and a pressure roller 37 pressed by the fixing roller 36 to form a fixing nip between the fixing roller 36 and the fixing roller 36. The recording sheet P on which the toner image has been transferred to the surface in the above-described image forming unit 16 is heated and pressed in the fixing unit 17 when passing through the fixing nip, so that the toner image is fixed on the surface. It has become.
[0021]
The paper discharge unit 18 switches the conveyance path of the recording sheet P after fixing the toner image to the upper post-processing unit 20 side and the right paper discharge space S side, and the recording sheet P from the flapper 38. The paper discharge roller 40 that discharges the paper toward the right paper discharge space S, and a flat paper discharge plate 41 that forms the bottom of the paper discharge space S are provided. The recording sheet P discharged from the paper discharge roller 40 is stacked on the paper discharge plate 41 in a so-called face-down manner with the image surface (the surface on which the toner image is fixed) facing downward.
[0022]
The post-processing unit 20 includes a feeding / conveying unit 42, an alignment unit 43, a paper discharge tray 44, and a stapler 45 (see FIG. 2) as a post-processing device.
[0023]
The feeding / conveying unit 42 is disposed above the above-described paper discharge unit 18. As shown in the enlarged views of FIGS. 3 and 4, the supply / conveyance unit 42 includes a switchable first flapper 46 and a second flapper 47 for guiding the recording sheet P conveyed from the paper discharge unit 18. The upper and lower discharge rollers 48, 50 for discharging the recording sheet P guided by the first and second flappers 46, 47 toward the right alignment unit 43, and discharged to the alignment unit 43. A retractable stopper 51 for regulating the position of the trailing end of the recording sheet P, and a transport roller 52 for transporting the recording sheet P on the alignment unit 43 toward the left discharge tray 44. .
[0024]
Of these, the first and second flappers 46 and 47 can be switched to the positions shown in FIGS. When the position shown in FIG. 3 is taken, the recording sheet P conveyed from the lower paper discharge unit 18 is guided to the upper and lower paper discharge rollers 48 and 50. 4, the recording sheet P nipped and conveyed from the right by the lower discharge roller 50 and the transport roller 52 is guided to the left discharge tray 44 side. In addition, the stopper 51 has an upright position protruding upward from the reference surface 59 shown in FIG. 3 and a retracted position retracting below the reference surface 59 shown in FIG. Further, the transport roller 52 has a retracted position shown in FIG. 3 retracted downward from the reference surface 59 and an operation position shown in FIG. 4 projected upward from the reference surface 59. When the transport roller 52 is at the retracted position, a gap is formed between the transport roller 52 and the upper lower discharge roller 50 so that the rear ends of the plurality of recording sheets P can enter. Note that the lower discharge roller 50 also serves as a discharge roller and a transport roller. That is, in the state shown in FIG. 3, the lower discharge roller 50 discharges the recording sheet P onto the intermediate tray 53 together with the upper discharge roller 48, while in the state shown in FIG. The recording sheet P is sandwiched and conveyed to the left.
[0025]
As described above, the feeding / conveying unit 42 discharges the recording sheet P conveyed from the lower discharge unit 18 to the right alignment unit 43, and discharges the recording sheet P discharged onto the alignment unit 43 to the left. The paper is discharged onto one of the paper discharge trays 44.
[0026]
As shown in FIG. 1, the alignment unit 43 is disposed to be adjacent to the right side of the feeding / conveying unit 42, and is located above the above-described paper discharge plate 41, that is, above the discharge space S. The alignment unit 43 includes an intermediate tray 53 that supports the recording sheet P discharged from the feeding / conveying unit 42 from below, and a front shift that can move substantially in the left-right direction along the upper surface (recording sheet support surface) of the intermediate tray 53. A member 54 and width shifting members 55 and 56 that can move substantially in the front-rear direction along the upper surface of the intermediate tray 53 are provided. Each time the recording sheet P is discharged onto the intermediate tray 52, the forward moving member 54 repeats the reciprocating movement in the left and right direction, presses the leading end of the recording sheet P when moving leftward, and stops the rear end of the recording sheet P with a stopper. 51, thereby aligning the position of the recording sheet P on the intermediate tray 53 in the transport direction. On the other hand, each time the recording sheet P is discharged onto the intermediate tray 53, the width shifting members 55 and 56 repeatedly approach and separate from each other, and press the left end and right end of the recording sheet P when approaching. The position of the recording sheet P on the position 53 in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording sheet P (hereinafter referred to as “width direction”) is aligned. Here, when the above-described alignment operation is performed, the dimension of the front shifting member 54 and the stopper 51 is slightly shorter than the length of the recording sheet P in the transport direction (the length in the direction orthogonal to the width direction). The position of the recording sheet P in the transport direction is surely aligned. Similarly, when performing the above-described alignment operation, the above-described width shift members 55 and 56 move to a position where the dimension between the two members is slightly shorter than the dimension in the width direction of the recording sheet P, and The position in the width direction is surely matched.
[0027]
In addition to the above-described aligning operation, the above-described width shifting members 55 and 56 move the recording sheet P on the intermediate tray 53 to the front side (front side) and discharge the recording sheet P onto the discharge tray 44. Sorting is performed by shifting the position of the sheet P in the width direction, and further, the recording sheet P on the intermediate tray 53 is moved to a position corresponding to the stapler 45 on the front side. Can be moved backward to return to the original position.
[0028]
The paper discharge tray 44 is disposed on the left side of the paper supply / conveyance unit 42, and has paper discharge rollers 57 for discharging the recording sheet P conveyed from the paper supply / conveyance unit 42 to the left, and a discharged paper sheet P And a loading section 58 that supports the loading section 58 from below. The paper discharge tray 44 will be described later in detail.
[0029]
The stapler 45 is for stapling a plurality of recording sheets P, and is disposed on the front side of the above-described feeding / conveying unit 42 as shown in FIG.
[0030]
The image reading unit 21 includes a light-transmitting document table 60 on which the document D is placed with its image surface (image information) facing downward, and an openable and closable document pressing plate for pressing the document D against the document table 60. 61, a scanning unit 62 that moves from left to right while irradiating the image surface G of the document D on the document table 60 with light, and mirrors 63, 64, and 65 that further reflect light reflected from the image surface G. , A lens unit 66 that forms an image of the reflected light on the CCD 67, and a CCD 67 that performs photoelectric conversion. The document reading unit 21 performs so-called fixed reading in which the document D is fixed and the scanning unit 62 is moved. The image information read by the image reading unit 21 is sent to the exposure unit 31 described above. An operation panel 68 operated by a user is disposed on the front side of the upper housing 14 in which the image reading unit 21 is disposed.
[0031]
In the copying machine 10 configured as described above, an image surface (image information) G of the original D placed on the original platen 60 is read by the scanning unit 62 that moves and scans. The read image information is sent to the exposure device 31 of the image forming unit 16.
[0032]
On the other hand, in the image forming section 16, the photosensitive drum 28 is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow, and the surface thereof is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity and a predetermined potential by the primary charger 34. Exposure based on image information is performed on the surface of the charged photosensitive drum 28 by the exposure device 31 to form an electrostatic latent image. This electrostatic latent image is developed as a toner image by attaching toner by the developing device 32. The toner image thus formed on the photosensitive drum 28 is transferred to the surface of the recording sheet P by the transfer charger 33.
[0033]
The recording sheet P is fed from a paper feed cassette 23 or a manual feed tray 25 of the paper feed unit 15 by a paper feed roller 24 or a paper feed roller 26, temporarily stopped by a registration roller 27, and further stopped by a photosensitive drum 28. The toner is supplied to a transfer portion between the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer charger 33 in synchronization with the upper toner image.
[0034]
The toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 after the transfer of the toner image is removed by the cleaner 34, and the photosensitive drum 28 is provided for the next image formation.
[0035]
On the other hand, the recording sheet P to which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 17, where the recording sheet P is heated and pressed by the fixing roller 36 and the pressing roller 37 to fix the toner image on the surface.
[0036]
The output destination of the recording sheet P on which the toner image has been fixed in this manner differs depending on whether or not post-processing is performed as follows.
[0037]
First, when there is no post-processing, the recording sheet P on which the toner image has been fixed is guided to the right discharge roller 40 by the flapper 38 of the discharge unit 18, and the right discharge plate 41 by the discharge roller 40. Paper is discharged face-down with the image surface (the surface on which the toner image is formed) facing downward, and stacked one after another.
[0038]
On the other hand, when the post-processing is performed, the recording sheet P after the fixing of the toner image is conveyed to the upper feeding / conveying unit 20 by switching the flapper 38. The conveyed recording sheet P is guided to upper and lower discharge rollers 48 and 50 by first and second flappers 46 and 47 arranged at the position shown in FIG. At this time, the transport roller 52 is located at the retracted position, and the stopper 51 is located at the upright position. The leading end of the recording sheet P discharged onto the intermediate tray 53 is pushed leftward by the forward moving member 54, and the trailing end of the recording sheet P hits the stopper 51, whereby the position in the transport direction is aligned. At the same time, both ends of the discharged recording sheet P in the width direction are pressed by the width shifting members 55 and 56, whereby the position in the width direction is aligned. Such an alignment operation is similarly performed on the recording sheets P sequentially discharged onto the intermediate tray 53.
[0039]
Then, when a predetermined number of recording sheets P to be stapled are stacked on the intermediate tray 53, the discharge of the recording sheets P is stopped. After that, the width shifting members 55 and 56 in contact with the left and right side edges of the recording sheet P move forward, and the rear side of the rear end of the recording sheet P is arranged at a position corresponding to the stapler 45. The stapler 45 operates to bind a predetermined number of recording sheets P. The stapled recording sheet P is moved backward by the width shifting members 55 and 56 and returns to the original position. As shown in FIG. 4, the returned recording sheet P is nipped at the rear end thereof with the lower discharge roller 50 by the transport roller 52 disposed at the operating position. Then, the stopper 51 is located at the retracted position in FIG. 4, the first and second flappers 46 and 47 are located at the position in FIG. 4, and the lower discharge roller 50 and the transport roller 52 rotate in the direction of the arrow. As a result, the stapled recording sheet P is conveyed to the left, discharged by the discharge rollers 57 of the discharge tray 44 onto the stacking section 58 (see FIG. 1), and stacked.
[0040]
(Output tray)
Next, the details of the paper discharge tray 44 are shown in FIGS.9It will be described based on.
[0041]
As described above, the discharge tray 44 includes the discharge roller 57 and the stacking unit 58, and can stack approximately 500 recording sheets P. The stacking section 58 includes a front plate 75 attached to the side surface of the copying machine main body 11, a bottom plate 76 extending substantially horizontally from the lower end of the front plate 75, and an inclined substrate 77 obliquely upward from an end of the bottom plate 76. And Among these, a substantially flat support plate 78 is attached to the inclined substrate 77 so as to be able to swing. The support plate 78 is a plate for supporting the recording sheet P sent out from the paper discharge roller 57, and a substantially arc-shaped support portion 80 formed at the left end thereof can swing on a bearing portion 81 on the inclined substrate 77 side. The portion near the support portion 80 is elastically supported by a compression coil spring 82 as a spring member. That is, a step-shaped spring member accommodating portion 83 is formed in a portion near the bearing portion 81 of the inclined substrate 77, and a compression coil spring 82 is disposed in the spring member accommodating portion 83, and a support plate is formed by the compression coil spring 82. 78 is elastically supportedYou.
[0042]
The support plate 78 is located below the nip portion 84 of the discharge roller 57 when the recording sheet P is not stacked, and can support the recording sheet P discharged from the discharge roller 57 smoothly. (See FIG. 5). Here, the support plate 78 supports the first recording sheet P as shown in FIG.FIG.A state in which a recording sheet P that is approximately half of the allowable load capacity (500 sheets) as shown in FIG.FIG.Is compared with a state in which the recording sheet P is supported by the same amount as the allowable load amount, as shown in FIG. 3, the weight of the recording sheet P is set so that the drooping amount B of the recording sheet P is almost the same in any state. The compression coil spring 82 is bent and deformed in accordance with the (load amount), and rotates by the amount of deformation of the compression coil spring 82. Here, when the allowable stacking amount of the discharge tray 44 is about 1 to 500 sheets, the hanging amount B of the recording sheet P is B = 20 mm to 80 mm with respect to the maximum value L of the recording sheet P in the discharging direction. Is preferable.
[0043]
According to the discharge tray 44 having such a configuration, the contact position between the recording sheet P discharged from the discharge roller 57 and the support plate 78, or the discharge position, regardless of the stacked state of the recording sheets P on the support plate 78. The contact position between the recording sheet P discharged from the paper roller 57 and the recording sheet P stacked on the support plate 78 is substantially constant, and the amount of sag B of the recording sheet P discharged from the discharge roller 57 is substantially the same. Become. As a result, the contact state between the recording sheet P discharged from the paper discharge roller 57 and the recording sheet P stacked on the support plate 78 is substantially uniform and stable, so that the recording sheet P is stacked on the support plate 78 (stacking portion 58). Regardless of the amount of the recording sheets P, the recording sheets P can be stacked in a preferable state. That is, according to the present embodiment, regardless of the amount of the recording sheets P stacked on the support plate 78 (the stacking unit 58), the amount of the curved deformation of the recording sheets P discharged from the paper discharge rollers 57 is reduced. Since the frictional force acting between the recording sheets P, P can be set to a stable and small value, the recording sheets P discharged from the discharge rollers 57 are stacked on the support plate 78 (stacking portion 58). There is no possibility that the ejected recording sheet P is pushed out, and no problem such as “breaking” occurs at the leading end of the recording sheet P discharged from the paper discharge roller 57.
[0044]
Further, as described above, the paper discharge tray 44 of the present embodiment can support the support plate 78 with only the compression coil spring 82, and therefore, as compared with the conventional electric lifting / lowering mechanism configured by a motor or the like. The structure of the tray 44 can be simplified, the size and weight of the paper discharge tray 44 can be reduced, and the product price can be reduced. In addition, as described above, the paper discharge tray 44 of the present embodiment does not use electric power for the support mechanism of the support plate 78, so that the copy tray is compared with a case where an electric lifting mechanism constituted by a motor or the like is used. The power consumption of the device 10 can be reduced.
[0045]
In the above-described embodiment, a part of the surface portion (the surface portion on which the recording sheets P are stacked) of the inclined substrate 77 is provided by attaching the support plate 78 to the inclined substrate 77 of the sheet discharge tray 44 so as to be able to swing. With the support plate 78I have.
[0046]
[0047]
Also,In the discharge tray 44, the support plate 78 partially supports a predetermined range W substantially at the center in the width direction of the recording sheet P.I have. Also,The discharge tray 44 includes a pair of side plates 85 and 86 that regulate the movement of the recording sheet P at both ends in the width direction and prevent the recording sheet P from slipping off the stacking portion 58 in the width direction.I have.Here, the predetermined range W is preferably W = (1/7) La to (1/3) La with respect to the width dimension La of the recording sheet P.
[0048]
Such a structureNaturallyAccording to this, when the recording sheet P is discharged from the paper discharge roller 57 onto the support plate 78 of the stacking portion 58, both ends P1 and P2 in the width direction of the recording sheet P hang down from the support plate 78 (in other words, downward). If it does so, it will be curved and deformed so as to be convex upward and loaded.
[0049]
As a result, the stiffness of the recording sheet P supported by the support plate 78 is increased (the rigidity is increased), so that “breaking” of the leading end of the recording sheet P can be effectively prevented, and the stacking section 58 of the recording sheet P Loading on top is made easier and more reliable.
[0050]
[0051]
10 to 11 show modified examples of the paper discharge tray 44 to which the present invention is applied.It is shown. this house,FIG.FIG. 4 is an external perspective view illustrating a stacking unit 58 of the paper discharge tray 44. Also,FIG.IsFIG.3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X3-X3 of FIG. 3, showing a state in which recording sheets P are stacked on a stacking unit 58.
[0052]
As shown in these figures,In the paper discharge tray 44, side plates 87 for closing a gap between the support plate 78 and the inclined substrate 77 are integrally formed at both ends in the width direction of the support plate 78. Further, in the paper discharge tray 44, a side plate 88 for closing a gap between the front end of the support plate 78 and the inclined substrate 77 is integrally formed at the front end of the support plate 78. Further, a slit 90 is formed in the inclined substrate 77 so as to engage with the side plates 87, 87, 88 with a gap in order to allow the support plate 78 to swing.
[0053]
Such a configurationExhaustionThe paper tray 44 can prevent the paper dust and foreign matter of the recording sheet P from being caught in the gap between the support plate 78 and the inclined substrate 77, so that the support plate 78 can swing more smoothly and accurately. Thus, the recording sheets P can be stably stacked for a long period of time.
[0054]
[0055]
In the above-described embodiment, the discharge tray 44 does not include the front plate 75 and the bottom plate 76, the inclined substrate 77 is directly attached to the side surface of the copying machine main body 11, and the discharge roller 57 is mounted on the copying machine main body 11 side. It may be configured to be installed. In this way, the structure of the paper discharge tray 44 can be further simplified.
[0056]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where stapling is performed as post-processing has been described. However, as post-processing to which the present invention is applied, there is, for example, a sorting operation. In this sorting operation, before the recording sheets P are discharged to the discharge tray 44, the recording sheets P are sequentially moved in the front-rear direction by an appropriate number of sheets. In this way, the stacking positions of the recording sheets P discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 44 in the front-rear direction for each appropriate number of sheets are different, and the subsequent recording sheets P can be easily sorted. In addition, post-processing includes clipping the recording sheet P, attaching a tape, punching work, and the like.
[0057]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus is an electrophotographic copying machine has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to the copying machine, and the present invention is also applied to a printer, a facsimile, and a multifunction peripheral thereof. The present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus of an electrostatic recording type as well as the electrophotographic type. In addition, the paper discharge tray 44 of the present invention can be used in an ink jet printer or the like.
[0058]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the paper discharge tray 44 exemplifies a configuration in which the support plate 78 is part of the inclined substrate 77 by swingably attaching the support plate 78 to the inclined substrate 77. However, the present invention is not limited to this. A part of the inclined substrate 77 is swingably attached to the other part of the inclined substrate 77 without using the support plate 78, and a part of the inclined substrate 77 is attached to a spring member (not shown). ) May be elastically supported, and the entire inclined substrate 77 is swingably attached to a frame (not shown) attached to the copying machine main body 11 and the entire inclined substrate 77 is spring-loaded. You may make it support elastically.
[0059]
In the above embodiment, the compression coil spring 82 is exemplified as the spring member for elastically supporting the support plate 78. However, as long as the operation and effect of the above embodiment can be obtained, a leaf spring or a tension spring may be used. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which various spring members such as are appropriately used.
[0060]
In the above-described embodiment, the installation location and the installation number of the spring member (compression coil spring 82) are appropriately changed in consideration of the size of the support plate 78, the allowable loading capacity of the paper output tray 44, and the like. May be.
[0061]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the paper discharge tray according to the present invention, the recording sheet discharged from the paper discharge roller and the contact position between the paper discharge tray or the paper discharged from the paper discharge roller regardless of the stacked state of the recording sheet. The contact position between the recording sheet and the recording sheet stacked on the discharge tray is substantially constant, and the amount of droop of the recording sheet discharged from the discharge roller is substantially the same. Regardless of the amount of recording sheets, the recording sheets can be stacked in a preferable state. As a result, the paper discharge tray of the present invention does not prevent the recording sheets stacked on the paper discharge tray from being pushed out by the recording sheets discharged from the paper discharge rollers, and also prevents the recording sheets discharged from the paper discharge rollers. There is no such a problem that "break" occurs at the leading end of the recording sheet.
[0062]
Further, the paper discharge tray of the present invention can elastically support the swingable portion of the inclined substrate with only the spring member, so that the paper discharge tray of the paper discharge tray can be compared with a conventional motorized lifting mechanism. The structure can be simplified, the size and weight of the discharge tray can be reduced, and the product price can be reduced. Moreover, as described above, the discharge tray of the present invention does not use electric power for the support mechanism of the swingable portion of the inclined substrate, so that it is compared with the case where an electric lifting mechanism constituted by a motor or the like is used. In addition, power consumption of the image forming apparatus can be reduced.
[0063]
In addition, the image forming apparatus of the present invention using the above-described paper discharge tray can not only reduce the size and weight of the apparatus, but also discharge and stack recording sheets onto the paper discharge tray. It can be performed smoothly and reliably.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of a copier as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention as viewed from the front side.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the external shape of the copying machine shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating how a recording sheet after a toner image is fixed is discharged to an intermediate tray.
FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining how a recording sheet after post-processing is discharged from an intermediate tray.
FIG. 5 The present inventionAppliedFIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the discharge tray cut along a discharge direction (X1-X1 direction in FIG. 8), and is a diagram showing a first operation state.
FIG. 6FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the discharge tray cut along a discharge direction (X1-X1 direction in FIG. 8). FIG. 7 is a view showing a second operation state.
FIG. 7FIG. 13 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the discharge tray cut along a discharge direction (X1-X1 direction in FIG. 8), and is a diagram showing a third operation state..
FIG. 8FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of a stacking portion of a paper discharge tray to which the present invention has been applied.
FIG. 9FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the paper discharge tray cut along the X2-X2 direction in FIG. 8 and is a diagram illustrating a deformed state of a recording sheet.
FIG. 10FIG. 14 is an external perspective view of a stacking unit showing a modified example of a paper discharge tray to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 11FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the discharge tray cut along the X3-X3 direction in FIG. 10 and is a diagram illustrating a deformed state of a recording sheet.
FIG.It is a longitudinal section of the conventional paper discharge tray.
[Explanation of symbols]
Reference numeral 10: copying machine (image forming apparatus), 15: paper feeding unit, 16: image forming unit, 44: paper discharge tray, 57: paper discharge roller, 77: inclined substrate, 82: compression coil Spring (spring member), B: Hanging amount, P: Recording sheet

Claims (3)

In a discharge tray configured to support a recording sheet discharged from a discharge roller by an inclined substrate extending obliquely upward in a discharge direction of the recording sheet from below the discharge roller,
At least a part of the inclined substrate is swingable,
The swingable portion is partially formed on the inclined substrate so as to partially support a substantially central portion in the width direction of the recording sheet, and the recording sheet discharged from the discharge roller is partially formed on the inclined substrate. It is lifted by a spring member so that the amount of sag is almost constant,
Side plates for preventing the recording sheet from falling off were formed at both ends in the width direction of the inclined substrate,
An output tray, characterized in that: The swingable portion has, at both ends and the end in the width direction, a side plate that closes a gap generated between the tilted substrate and the side plate,
2. The sheet discharge tray according to claim 1, wherein the inclined substrate is formed with a slit that engages the side plate with a gap. In an image forming apparatus, an image is formed on a recording sheet fed from a paper feeding unit by an image forming unit, and the recording sheet after the image formation is discharged from a discharge roller onto a discharge tray.
An image forming apparatus, wherein the discharge tray is the discharge tray according to claim 1.

Images