JP3738162B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus to which a duplex unit can be retrofitted.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a copying machine, usually, one side of the main body can be opened to form a manual feed tray. The manual feed tray is rotatably held by the main body via, for example, a rotation shaft at the lower end, and a manual feed sheet can be placed in a state where the manual feed tray is pulled down and opened. It is like that. The paper is fed to the pair of registration rollers from the manual paper feed port exposed on the side surface of the main body when the manual tray is opened, and is conveyed to the image forming unit in the main body of the image forming apparatus.
[0003]
The length of the manual feed tray is set to be long to some extent so that paper can be satisfactorily placed when manually feeding paper. For this reason, since the front end of the manual feed tray protrudes greatly from the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body in the opened state, the manual feed tray is closed so as not to interfere with manual feeding.
On the other hand, as an option, a copying machine is known in which a duplex unit can be retrofitted on one side of a main body. The duplex unit is formed with an entrance for the paper that is switched back on the main body side to enter, and the sheet conveyed through the duplex unit enters the registration roller pair from the sheet intake port formed on one side of the main body. Given.
[0004]
Usually, the manual paper feed port and the paper take-in port are arranged at substantially the same position on the same side surface of the image forming apparatus main body. Therefore, when the duplex unit is mounted, the manual sheet feed port is covered by this unit, so that both manual sheet feeding and duplex copying cannot be employed.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When installing the optional duplex unit, open the bypass tray to expose the paper inlet. After the duplex unit is mounted, the duplex unit is positioned above the manual feed tray, so the manual feed tray cannot be closed. That is, a manual feed tray that is not used must be kept open at all times.
[0006]
On the other hand, the thickness of the double-sided unit is made as thin as possible in order to make the entire apparatus compact.
For this reason, when the double-sided unit is mounted, the front end of the manual feed tray greatly protrudes from below the double-sided unit. Accordingly, an extra space is required to install this image forming apparatus.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described technical problem and provides an image forming apparatus that does not require an extra installation space when the duplex unit is mounted.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention]
According to the first aspect of the present invention , a manual feed tray is provided on one side of the main body of the image forming apparatus, and a double-sided unit that transports paper at the time of double-sided copying can be retrofitted as an option to the side. , an image forming apparatus can not be performed is manual paper feed, apertures were made form the one side of the image forming apparatus main body, is rotatably supported in the image forming apparatus main body, the opening in the closed state I have covered, the manual feed tray may be placed on paper for manual feeding in the opened state, and the double-sided unit in which the manual feed tray is attached to the one side face of the image forming apparatus main body is opened, the organic The manual feed tray includes a first placement plate rotatably attached to the image forming apparatus main body and a second placement plate connected to the tip of the first placement plate, and the manual feed tray is opened. the double-sided Uni with him When the bets is mounted, mounting only the second loading plate does not move the first mounting plate is rare tatami folding the duplex unit side, a second mounting plate which is folded in its the outer surface of the duplex unit is an image forming apparatus according to claim Rukoto.
[0008]
According to the configuration of the first aspect of the invention, the second placing plate of the manual feed tray can be folded to the double-sided unit side, and the folded portion (second placing plate) can be attached to the double-sided unit. For this reason, the manual feed tray does not protrude greatly from the image forming apparatus when the duplex unit is mounted. This eliminates the need for extra space for installation.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second mounting plate of the manual feed tray, and wherein Rukoto mounted substantially flush along the outer surface of the duplex unit To do.
[0009]
According to the configuration of the second aspect of the present invention, the thickness of the manual feed tray that protrudes from the outer surface of the duplex unit after installation can be eliminated. Thereby, the installation space can be further reduced.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining the internal structure of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus that can be used as a copying machine, for example. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an image forming apparatus main body 2, an automatic document feeder 3 provided on the top of the main body 2, and a duplex unit 4 mounted on the left side surface 2 a of the main body 2.
[0011]
An image reading unit 5 is provided on the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body 2. Below the image reading unit 5, a paper discharge tray 6 for receiving the copied paper is provided. The paper discharge tray 6 is exposed through a window 7 provided below the image reading unit 5. That is, it is a so-called in-body discharge type device.
A transparent contact glass 9 serving as a document placement table is provided on the upper surface of the main body 2, and the automatic document feeder 3 is attached to the upper surface so as to be able to open and close. Documents placed on the automatic document feeder 3 are fed one by one onto the contact glass 9 and can be automatically conveyed to the document reading position.
[0012]
The image reading unit 5 contains an optical system 11. The optical system 11 includes a light source 12, a reflecting mirror 13, and a lens 14. The reflected light of the original is guided in a predetermined direction by the reflecting mirror 13 and the lens 14, and an original image is formed on the CCD sensor 15. The CCD sensor 15 is long in the main scanning direction (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1), and reflected light is converted into an electric signal by the CCD sensor 15. The signal from the CCD sensor 15 is given to a signal processing unit (not shown). Reading of a document is achieved by a combination of electrical main scanning by the CCD sensor 15 and sub scanning of the document by movement of the light source 12 and the like in the sub scanning direction.
[0013]
A light irradiation unit 16 is disposed below the paper discharge tray 6. The light irradiation unit 16 outputs a predetermined light beam in response to a signal from a signal processing unit (not shown).
A part of the left side surface 2a of the main body 2 can be opened as a manual feed tray 8. That is, the manual feed tray 8 is attached to the main body 2 so as to be openable and closable via the rotating shaft 8a, and can be accommodated in a large opening 69 formed in the lower portion of the left side surface 2a of the main body 2 in the closed state. It has become. A manual paper feed port 70 for performing manual paper feed is formed slightly inward of the lower end of the opening 69. With the manual feed tray 8 open, manual feed paper can be placed, and the paper is fed out from the manual feed port 70 by the manual feed roller 60 one by one. ing. In addition, a paper take-in port 19 is formed slightly above the manual paper feed port 70.
[0014]
The duplex unit 4 is retrofitted as an option, and is attached to the left side surface 2a of the main body 2 with the manual feed tray 8 opened. The duplex unit 4 conveys the sheet to the sheet intake port 19 exposed when the manual feed tray 8 is opened. In this mounted state, since the duplex unit 4 is located above the manual feed tray 8, manual feeding cannot be performed.
As will be described later, the manual feed tray 8 can be folded upward.
[0015]
A sheet cassette 17 that can be pulled out forward is housed below the main body 2. The sheets placed in the sheet cassette 17 are fed upward by the sheet feeding roller 18 one by one. The fed sheet is fed to the registration roller pair 20. The registration roller pair 20 performs a so-called skew correction that bends the leading end of the sheet when the leading end of the sheet is skewed obliquely so that the sheet is fed straight and adjusts the sheet transport timing. Is. Then, the sheet whose conveyance timing is adjusted by the registration roller pair 20 is conveyed upward and is provided between the photosensitive drum 23 and the transfer roller 21. A toner image is formed by the image forming unit 22 including the photosensitive drum 23, and the sheet passes between the photosensitive drum 23 and the transfer roller 21, whereby the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 23 is transferred to the sheet. . In this way, the sheet is conveyed from the lower side to the upper side in the main body 2, and an image is formed on the sheet.
[0016]
The sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to a fixing device 29 disposed above the photosensitive drum 23. The melted toner image is fixed on the paper by being heated and pressurized by the fixing device 29. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed upward through the discharge path 32.
A switchback roller pair 33 is disposed near the outlet of the discharge path 32. A discharge path 47 branched from the discharge path 32 extends substantially horizontally from the switchback roller pair 33 toward the left side of FIG. In the lead-out path 47, a pair of lead-out rollers 48 for conveying the paper to the duplex unit 4 is arranged. A switching claw 43 is disposed at a branching portion 49 between the discharge path 32 and the outlet path 47. The switching claw 43 guides the sheet conveyed through the discharge path 32 to the switchback roller pair 33 and guides the sheet to be switched back to the lead-out path 47. The pair of switchback rollers 33 switch back the paper in the case of double-sided copying in which images are formed on both sides of the paper, and discharge the paper on which the image has been formed to the paper discharge tray 6.
[0017]
An inlet 71 through which the sheet conveyed from the switchback roller pair 33 enters is formed at the upper part of the duplex unit 4, and the circulation extends from the inlet 71 to an outlet 72 formed at the lower part of the duplex unit 4. A path 10 is formed. In the circulation path 10, near the inlet 71 and the outlet 72, first and second transport roller pairs 52 and 53 for transporting paper into the circulation path 10 are arranged.
When performing duplex copying on a sheet, when the sheet conveyed to the discharge path 32 is conveyed to the switchback roller pair 33, the trailing edge of the sheet is disposed in the vicinity of the sheet of the switchback roller pair 33. It is detected by the micro switch 45. Based on the output of the microswitch 45, the switchback roller pair 33 is reversed and the switching claw 43 is displaced. As a result, the sheet can enter the circulation path 10 of the duplex unit 4. Then, the switched-back paper is conveyed to the circulation path 10.
[0018]
The paper transported to the circulation path 10 is transported downward by the first transport roller pair 52, transported to the paper intake port 19 side of the main body 2 by the second transport roller pair 53, and the paper intake port 19 of the main body 2. To the registration roller pair 20. Then, the image is transferred from the registration roller pair 20 to the transfer roller 21, transferred onto the surface of the paper on which no image is formed, and then transferred to the discharge path 32. Thereafter, the sheet is discharged to the discharge tray 6 by the switchback roller pair 33. As a result, images are formed on both sides of the paper.
[0019]
By the way, when the duplex unit 4 is mounted, the duplex unit 4 is positioned above the manual feed tray 8 as described above, and therefore the manual feed tray 8 cannot be closed. That is, the unused manual feed tray 8 must be opened at all times.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 before the duplex unit 4 is mounted. FIG. 2 shows a state where the manual feed tray 8 is opened.
[0020]
A feature of the present invention is that the manual feed tray 8 can be folded, and the folded portion can be attached to the outer surface 83 of the duplex unit 4 mounted on the left side surface 2a of the main body 2.
Hereinafter, the manual feed tray 8 will be specifically described.
The manual feed tray 8 includes a first placement plate 78 attached to the rotation shaft 8 a and a second placement plate 77 connected to the tip of the first placement plate 78.
[0021]
On the left side 78a (the front side shown in FIG. 2) of the first placement plate 78, a first placement plate side rotating portion 62 bulging leftward from the left side 78a is formed. The first placement plate side rotation portion 62 is formed at the center of the left side 78a. Rotating engagement holes (not shown) are formed at both ends of the first mounting plate side rotating portion 62.
In addition, a second placement plate side rotating portion 60 that swells rightward from the right side 77d is formed on the right side 77d (the back side shown in FIG. 2) of the second placement plate 77. The second mounting plate side rotation part 60 is a pair of parts formed at a position excluding the central portion of the right side 77d, and has a predetermined width along the right side 77d. A tray rotation shaft 61 (see FIG. 3) protrudes inward from the inner end of the second placement plate side rotation portion 60. In the above-described coupling state in which the first placement plate side rotation portion 62 and the second placement plate side rotation portion 60 are combined, the tray rotation shaft 61 is fitted into a rotation engagement hole (not shown). ing. For this reason, with the manual feed tray 8 opened as shown in FIG. 2, the second loading plate 77 can be rotated upward about the tray rotation shaft 61, whereby the manual feed tray 8 is moved upward. It can be folded. In this state, the side surface shape formed by the first placement plate 78 and the second placement plate 77 is linear so that the manual feed paper can be favorably supported. That is, the mounting surface becomes flat.
[0022]
In addition, on both sides 77 a and 77 b of the second placement plate 77, guides 74 that extend upward in an open state are raised so that the placed document can be satisfactorily held. The guide 74 extends, for example, from the left side (front side shown in FIG. 2) 77c to the right side 77d of the second mounting plate 77, and its height is constant. The length of the first mounting plate 78 (depth length shown in FIG. 2) is substantially equal to the thickness of the double-sided unit 4 described later, and the length of the second mounting plate 77 (depth length shown in FIG. 2). ) Is set to a length that can satisfactorily hold the paper placed when manually feeding, together with the first placement plate 78.
[0023]
Each guide 74 of the second mounting plate 77 is provided with a protrusion 80 (only one is shown in FIG. 2) protruding from the outer side surface 75 thereof. The pair of protrusions 80 are lightly urged outward, and when the manual feed tray 8 is closed, the pair of protrusions 80 fits into the pair of small holes 76 formed on the side surface defining the opening 69 and to the duplex unit 4. Is fitted into a pair of small holes 89 to be described later. That is, the protrusion 80 serves as both the engaging protrusions when the manual feed tray 8 is closed and attached to the duplex unit 4. However, the engaging member for closing the manual feed tray 8 can be provided separately from the engaging member for attachment to the duplex unit 4.
[0024]
Next, the external configuration of the duplex unit 4 will be described.
The inner surface 87 of the duplex unit 4 is a substantially flat surface, and the lower end portion 87a is inclined downward toward the front side in FIG. Further, the outer surface 83 is constituted by a plane substantially parallel to the flat surface of the inner surface 87, and the lower end portion 83a is inclined downward toward the back side in FIG. A depression 84 is formed in the lower part of the outer surface 83 from the vicinity of one end (right side shown in FIG. 2) 4b to the other end (left side shown in FIG. 2) 4c. The bottom surface 84 a of the recessed portion 84 is parallel to the flat surface of the outer surface 83 of the duplex unit 4.
[0025]
The size of the depression 84 is such that the outer surface 86 of the second mounting plate 77 that is folded upward and attached to the depression 84 and the outer surface 83 of the double-sided unit 4 where the depression 84 is not formed. It is set to be flush. Specifically, the height of the guide 74 of the second mounting plate 77 is substantially the same. Small holes 89 are formed in both side surfaces 85 of the recessed portion 84.
In the vicinity of both ends 4b and 4c of the duplex unit 4, hooks 67 are provided on the inner surface 87, respectively. Attachment of the duplex unit 4 to the left side 2a of the main body 2 is achieved by engaging the pair of hooks 67 with a pair of engagement holes 68 formed near both ends 2b and 2c of the left side 2a. .
[0026]
Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower end surface 4 a of the double-sided unit 4 comes into contact with the first placement plate 78 when the double-sided unit 4 is attached. For this reason, when the second loading plate 77 of the manual feed tray 8 is pushed upward, the first loading plate 78 does not move, and the second loading plate 77 rotates the tray of the first loading plate side rotation unit 62. It is turned upward about the shaft 61 and is folded to the duplex unit 4 side.
When the second placement plate 77 is pressed against the left side surface 2 a of the main body 2, the protrusion 80 fits into the small hole 89, and the second placement plate 77 is attached to the recessed portion 84 of the duplex unit 4. After the mounting, the outer surface 86 of the second mounting plate 77 is substantially flush with the region of the outer surface 83 of the duplex unit 4 where the recessed portion 84 is not formed. The manual feed tray 8 does not protrude in a plan view when the duplex unit 4 is mounted. In particular, in this embodiment, since the outer surface 86 of the second mounting plate 77 after installation is substantially flush with the outer surface 83 of the double-sided unit 4 in which the recess 84 is not formed, manual insertion is performed after the installation. The tray 8 does not protrude from the outer surface 83 of the unit 4.
[0027]
As a result, the installation space of the image forming apparatus 1 can be saved.
In the above description, the size of the recessed portion 84 is set so that the outer surface 83 of the duplex unit 4 is substantially flush after mounting. However, a part of the second mounting plate 77 to be mounted is recessed. It may protrude from the portion 84. Further, the recess 84 may not be formed, and the second mounting plate 77 may be directly attached along the outer surface 83 that is a flat surface.
[0028]
In addition, various modifications can be made within the scope described in the claims.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view for explaining an internal structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view illustrating a configuration of a manual sheet feeding port.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part showing a state where a manual feed tray is folded and attached to an outer surface of a duplex unit.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Image forming apparatus main body 2a Left side surface 3 Automatic document conveying apparatus 4 Duplex unit 8 Manual feed tray 83 Outer surface

Claims (2)

A manual feed tray is provided on one side of the main body of the image forming apparatus. A double-sided unit that transports paper during double-sided copying can be installed as an option on one side of the image forming apparatus. A forming device,
Apertures was made form the one side of the image forming apparatus main body,
Is rotatably supported in the image forming apparatus main body, in the closed state not covered the opening, open the manual feeding tray can be placed on paper for manual feeding state and the manual feed tray, is A duplex unit mounted on the one side of the opened image forming apparatus main body ,
The manual feed tray, the first mounting plate pivotally mounted to the image forming apparatus main body, and a second mounting plate which is connected to the tip of the first loading plate, and manual feed tray is opened above when the duplex unit is installed, only the second loading plate does not move the first mounting plate is rare tatami folding the duplex unit side,
Image forming apparatus to which the folded second loading plate was is characterized Rukoto attached to the outer surface of the duplex unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The second mounting plate of the manual feed tray, an image forming apparatus according to claim Rukoto mounted substantially flush along the outer surface of the duplex unit.

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