JPH08137147A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily restore paper jamming and to shorten the time for recording on a 1st sheet. CONSTITUTION: In what is called a front access type copying machine where a paper ejecting port 4 and a manual paper feeding port 5 are arranged while laminating upper and lower parts on the front surface plate 3 side of a main body 2, a toner image is carried to a forward side from a 1st transfer part 46 provided with a photoreceptor drum 41 by a transfer belt 44 and transferred and fixed on recording papers 6 and 8 by a 2nd transfer part 49 arranged on the forward side and provided with a fixing device 52. A carrying path 7 from the paper ejecting port 4 to the paper feeding port 5 provided on the front surface plate 3 side is made short in length, for example, it is formed to be shorter than the length of the usable recording paper in a carrying direction, and the paper jamming is easily eliminated by pulling the ends of the recording papers 6 and 9 exposed from at least either the paper ejecting port 4 or the paper feeding port 5 even when the paper jamming occurs. Since the toner image is carried by the one-way traveling of the belt 44 from the drum 41, the copying time for the 1st sheet is shortened.

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 suitable for use in a copying machine, a printer or the like, and more particularly to a so-called front access type in which a sheet discharge port and a manual sheet feed port are provided on the front side of the main body. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the front access type copying machine, a manual feed port which is rarely used is arranged in a stack with a discharge port, and a tray or the like is shared so that the size and cost can be reduced. It is suitable for use in small copying machines and printers. Further, with such a configuration, double-sided copying can be performed without using an intermediate tray or the like by replacing the discharged recording paper on the tray from the paper discharge port to the paper feed port.

As described above, the first prior art copying machine in which the manual sheet feeding port is stacked below the sheet discharging port is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-62.
No. 31344. In this prior art, a manual paper feed tray is integrally provided below the paper discharge tray. Therefore, in order to perform double-sided copying, the recording paper on which one-sided copying has been completed must be temporarily taken out from the paper discharge tray and inserted into the narrow gap between the paper discharge tray and the paper feed tray. There is a problem of poor workability.

In order to solve this problem, a second prior art copying machine is proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-286546. In this prior art, a sheet feeding / discharging tray composed of a sheet receiving surface and a guide surface is provided facing the sheet feeding port, and a sheet discharging tray covering the guide surface is provided above the sheet feeding / discharging tray.
The discharged recording paper is held by the paper discharge tray and the receiving surface, and the recording paper to be supplied is held by the guide surface and the receiving surface. However, even with this conventional technique, there is a problem in that the paper feed port and the paper ejection port are close to each other and the operability is poor.

In order to solve this problem, the applicant of the present invention discloses, as a third prior art, Japanese Patent Application No. 6-177287, in which the paper discharge port is arranged inside the main body and the recording paper is conveyed in the conveying direction. On the other hand, the manual paper feed port and the paper ejection port are arranged offset from each other,
We have proposed a copier that can easily perform double-sided copying simply by dropping the recording paper for which single-sided copying has been completed into the lower manual feed tray.

Further, in the printer, as a fourth conventional technique, there is JP-A-5-221057.

[0007]

However, in any of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, since the transfer portion including a large-sized component such as the photosensitive drum or the platen is arranged inside the main body, it is possible to discharge the paper from the manual paper feed port to the paper ejection port. The length of the conveying path to the recording paper becomes longer than the length of the recording paper used in the conveying direction, and the entire recording paper may be hidden in the main body depending on the paper jam condition. In such a case, for example, a complicated work such as dividing the main body into upper and lower parts and opening the transport path is required.

When the length of the transport path is increased, the first
There is also a problem that the copying or printing time of the first sheet becomes long.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily repairing a paper jam and shortening the recording time on the first sheet of recording paper.

[0010]

An image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is provided with a paper discharge port and a manual paper feed port on the front side of a main body, and at least recording paper supplied from the manual paper feed port. An electrostatic image forming apparatus for forming a recorded image, which comprises a photosensitive drum and a developing device, is disposed inside the main body, and visualizes the recorded image as a toner image.
A second transfer unit that includes a transfer unit and a fixing device and has a recording paper conveyance path from the paper feed port to the paper ejection port; and a toner image formed on the photosensitive drum onto the recording paper in the conveyance path. And a transfer means for transferring and transferring.

In the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the length of the conveying path is less than the length of the usable recording paper in the conveying direction.

Further, in the image forming apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention, the paper discharge port is arranged above the paper feed port and inside the main body, and faces the paper feed port, and the paper feed port and the paper discharge port are provided. A tray for opening and closing the paper opening is provided, and the tray is formed in a shape along the front plate, and when the paper feeding opening and the paper ejection opening are closed, the tray is provided on the front plate at the swing side end thereof. It is characterized by covering the input operation means.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the main body is provided with the paper discharge port and the manual paper feed port, and at least the recording paper supplied from the manual paper feed port, that is, the manual paper feed port and the internal tray. In an electrostatic image forming apparatus capable of forming a recorded image on a recording sheet from the above, a large-sized first transfer portion provided inside the main body and provided with a photosensitive drum and a developing device causes toner from an electrostatic latent image. Visualize the image. On the other hand, in the vicinity of the paper feed port and the paper ejection port, a conveyance path of the recording paper from the paper feed port to the paper ejection port is formed, and a second transfer unit having a fixing device is provided in the conveyance path. deep. In the present invention, in the present invention, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred to the recording paper on the upstream side of the fixing device in the conveying path in the conveying direction of the recording paper.

The transfer means is, for example, a first roller facing the photosensitive drum of the first transfer section, a second roller facing the transport path of the second transfer section, and wound between the first and second rollers. And a transfer belt that can be brought into close contact with the photosensitive drum and the recording paper.

Therefore, the toner image visualized at the first transfer portion provided inside the main body including the large-sized parts such as the photosensitive drum is transferred to the paper feed port and the paper discharge port by the transfer means. Since it is transferred to the conveyance path formed in the vicinity and transferred to the recording paper, the length of the conveyance path can be shortened. As a result, even if a paper jam occurs, it is less likely that the entire recording paper will be hidden inside the main body, and the paper jam can be easily repaired.

Further, the recording paper from the paper feed port does not reciprocate to and from the photosensitive drum on which the toner image is formed, but the toner image is one-wayed by the transfer belt or the like, for example. Since it will be transferred to nearby recording paper,
The first image forming operation can be performed quickly.

Preferably, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the length of the transport path is the length of usable recording paper in the transport direction,
For example, it is selected to be less than the length in the long side direction of A5 size. Therefore, even if a paper jam occurs, at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording paper in the conveyance direction is left outside the main body from the paper feed port or the paper ejection port, and the operator By pulling the edge of the remaining recording paper, the paper jam can be easily cleared.

Further preferably, according to the invention of claim 3, the sheet discharge port is arranged above the sheet feed port and inside the main body,
Double-sided copying is possible by simply dropping the discharged recording paper into the manual feed tray. In this case, the tray can be opened and closed with respect to the paper feed port and the paper discharge port. Further, this tray is formed in a shape along the front plate. Therefore, when the tray is closed to close the paper feed port and the paper discharge port, the swinging side end portion of the tray comes into close contact with the front plate, The input operation means provided on the front plate, for example, including a start button for copying operation is covered. Therefore, when the image forming operation in which the paper discharge port is closed is not performed, the input operation means can be protected and the unintentional activation of the image forming operation can be prevented.

[0019]

【Example】

[Embodiment 1] The first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine will be described below with reference to FIG.

In the copying machine 1 according to this embodiment, a paper discharge port 4 is provided on the front plate 3 of the main body 2, and a manual paper feed port 5 is formed below the paper discharge port 4. , A so-called front access type copying machine. In addition, this copier 1
A conveyance path 10 for merging the recording paper 9 from the internal tray 8 is provided in the conveyance path 7 for the recording paper 6 supplied from the paper feed port 5, and the recording paper 6 from the manual paper feed port 5 or the internal tray 8 is provided. It is possible to perform the copying process by selectively using the recording paper 9 from the discharge tray 1, and the upstream end of the recording papers 6 and 9 discharged from the discharge port 4 in the transport direction 11 is set to the discharge tray 1
By dropping the sheet from above 2 onto the tray 13 and introducing it into the manual feed port 5, double-sided copying can be performed without using a dedicated internal tray or the like.

The internal tray 8 has a regulating plate 14 for aligning one end of the recording paper 9, a spring 15 for pushing up the other end of the recording paper 9 to a height corresponding to the remaining number of the recording paper 9, and a push-up. And a piece 16. The recording paper 9 on the internal tray 8 is supplied to the conveyance path 10 by being caught at the other end by the take-out roller 17 and sandwiched between the pair of conveyance rollers 18, and the path switching cam 19 is provided.
Is opened to the side of the transport path 10, the copy process is performed by being introduced from the transport path 10 to the transport roller 20 of the transport path 7. When the path switching cam 19 is open to the manual sheet feeding port 5 side, the tray 1
The recording paper 6 on the sheet 3 is introduced into the conveyance path 7 by the conveyance roller 20 and the copying process is performed.

On the upper surface of the main body 2, a document placing glass 21 is placed.
The document cover 22 is attached to the document placing glass 21 so as to be openable and closable on its rear end side by a hinge or the like so as to face the document placing glass 21. An elastic member 23 such as urethane is attached to the back surface of the original cover 22.
As a result, an original document (not shown) placed on the original placing glass 21 is brought into close contact with the original placing glass 21, and the original image can be read as described later.

A light source lamp 24, a reflecting plate 25, and a mirror 2 are provided on the upper portion of the main body 2 so as to face the original placing glass 21.
An optical system 3 including 6 to 32 and a lens 34.
3 are arranged. A document image read at a desired reduced scale by the optical system 33 is exposed on the photosensitive drum 41 arranged inside the main body 2 to form an electrostatic latent image.

In connection with the photosensitive drum 41, the charger 4
2 and a developing device 43 are provided. The charger 4
On the photosensitive drum 41 whose surface is charged by 2, the original image is exposed by the above-mentioned optical system 33 to form an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image by the developing device 43. Be converted. This toner image is transferred to the transfer belt 44 described later. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 41 after the transfer of the toner image is thus removed by the cleaning device 45. The photosensitive drum 4
1, the charging device 42, the developing device 43, and the cleaning device 45 form a first transfer portion 46.

The transfer belt 44 is a roller 4 having a small diameter.
The roller 47 is wound around 7 and 48, and the transfer belt 44 is brought into close contact with the photosensitive drum 41 to transfer the toner image onto the transfer belt 44. On the other hand, the roller 48 is provided in the conveyance path 7. The toner image is transferred to the recording papers 6 and 9 in close contact with the second transfer portion 49. The transfer belt 44, on which the transfer of the toner image has been completed, is conveyed to the photosensitive drum 41 again after the residual toner is removed by the cleaning device 50. The transfer belt 44 and the rollers 47 and 48 constitute transfer means.

The second transfer portion 49 is provided so as to face the roller 48, and a roller 51 that brings the recording papers 6 and 9 into close contact with the transfer belt 44 between the roller 48 and the fixing device 52.
And a roller 6 for bringing the recording papers 6, 9 into close contact with the fixing device 52.
0. The recording paper 6, which is supplied from the manual paper feed port 5 or the conveyance path 10 to the conveyance path 7,
A toner image is transferred from the transfer belt 44 to the sheet 9, and the toner image is thermally fixed by the fixing device 52 and then discharged from the sheet discharge port 4.

An input operation unit 53, which is realized by a so-called membrane switch or the like and has a start key for copying operation, is provided above the front plate 3. A front substrate 54 for detecting an input operation from the input operation unit 53 is arranged behind the input operation unit 53. In response to an input operation to the input operation section 53 detected by the front substrate 54, a control circuit realized by a microcomputer (not shown) controls the optical system 33 and manually feeds the paper feed port 5 or the internal tray 8. By controlling the copying operation including the selection operation of the recording papers 6 and 9 from the recording papers 6 and 9, it is possible to copy the original image on the original placing glass 21 on the recording papers 6 and 9 in a desired size and density. Become.

The paper discharge port 4 and the manual paper feed port 5 are provided inside the main body 2 rather than the front plate 3, and accordingly, the manual paper feed port 5 is guided by the guide slope 55 to the tray 13. It is connected to the. The tray 13 has its base end side swingably attached to the front plate 3 by a hinge 56, and as shown by reference numeral 13, the tray 13 and the guide slope 55 are attached by a locking means (not shown).
And are substantially in a straight line and are held in the manual feed state in which they are inclined downward toward the sheet feed port 5 and the use state of the substantially horizontal inner tray 8 indicated by reference numeral 13a, and the reference numeral 1
As shown by 3b, it can be set to a storage state when not in use, in which the paper feed port 5 and the paper discharge port 4 are closed. In the storage state, the swing-side end portion 13c of the tray 13 is the handle 5
It is prevented that it abuts the inside of the main body 2 and abuts on the inside of the main body 2.

Further, the front end side of the handle 57 is formed in a locking portion which is bulged downward, and the operator hooks his / her finger on this locking portion and operates an unlock button or the like (not shown) to cause the main body. 2 is a fixing device 52, a cleaning device 50,
Cleaning device 45, charger 42, and optical system 33
Is separated into an upper optical section 38 including a transfer belt 44, a photosensitive drum 41, and a developing device 43.
It is possible to swing and displace with the fulcrum 8 as a fulcrum, and it is possible to repair a paper jam of the recording paper 9 from the internal tray 8.

Furthermore, a stop piece 59 is also provided at the base end of the tray 13, and this stop piece 59 is used for the tray 1.
When the internal tray 8 indicated by reference numeral 13a is in use, it abuts the front plate 3 to prevent the tray 13 from being displaced, and as indicated by reference numeral 13b, closes the paper feed port 5 and the paper discharge port 4. In this state, the fingers of the operator are engaged. As a result, the operator operates the unlock button or the like (not shown) as described above to move the main body 2 to the process section 39 above the guide slope 55 and the conveyance path 7 and the base section 37 including the internal tray 8.
It becomes possible to oscillate and displace around the support shaft 58, so that the recording paper 9 can be replenished in the internal tray 8.

In the copying machine 1 configured as described above, the photosensitive drum 41 and the developing device 4 are particularly preferable in the present invention.
Large parts such as 3 are arranged inside the main body 2, and therefore, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 41 is transferred to the recording papers 6 and 9 of the transport path 7 via the transfer belt 44. The conveyance path 7 from the manual paper feed port 5 to the paper ejection port 4 does not require a long conveyance path for conveying the recording papers 6 and 9 to the photosensitive drum 41 as seen in the prior art.
Is the length of the recording paper in the conveyance direction 11, that is,
For example, the length in the long side direction of the A5 plate can be shortened by 3 cm.

Therefore, at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording paper 6 supplied from the manual paper feed port 5 is exposed from the paper discharge port 4 or the paper feed port 5 in the conveying direction 11. Therefore, even when a paper jam occurs, there is no need to perform a complicated repair work such as grasping the handle 57 to separate the main body 2 into upper and lower parts, and grasp and pull out one end of the exposed recording paper. It can be repaired by just a simple operation. Further, in this case, the paper jam can be eliminated more smoothly by arranging the rollers 20 to be separated from each other and the roller 51 from the roller 48 and the roller 60 from the fixing device 52 by a predetermined width.

Further, as compared with the case where the recording paper 6 from the manual paper feed port 5 reciprocates in the conveying path to the photosensitive drum 41,
Since the toner image on the photosensitive drum 41 is conveyed to the second transfer portion 49 by the one-way running of the transfer belt 44, it is possible to shorten the copying time on the first recording sheet.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
The following is a description with reference to FIG. still,
For convenience of explanation, members (structures) having the same functions as the members (structures) shown in the drawings of the first embodiment will be designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

It should be noted that in the copying machine 61 of this embodiment, the tray 62 includes the paper discharge port 4 and the manual paper feed port 5.
And a closed portion 62a that can cover the
And a covering portion 62b extending to the swing end side of the. The tray 62 is formed so as to follow the shape of the front plate 3, and as shown by reference numeral 62c, when the paper discharge port 4 and the manual paper feed port 5 are closed by the closing part 62a, the covering part is also provided. 62b is the input operation unit 53
To cover. As a result, it is possible to prevent unintentional activation of the copy operation and protect the input operation unit 53.

An open / close detector 63 is provided near the base end of the tray 62. FIG. 3 shows the open / close detector 63.
3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration related to FIG. The open / close detector 63 is realized by, for example, a potentiometer in which the movable piece is oscillated and displaced according to the angular displacement amount of the base end portion of the tray 62. Tray 6 from the open / close detector 63
The voltage corresponding to the displacement amount of 2 is converted into digital data in an analog / digital (hereinafter referred to as A / D) converter 64, and then input to a control circuit 65 realized by a microcomputer or the like. When the control circuit 65 detects from the detection result of the open / close detector 63 that the tray 62 is in the state in which the paper discharge port 4 and the manual paper feed port 5 are closed, the operator of the input operation unit 53 is instructed. The operation input to the start key of the copy operation is invalid.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the control circuit 65 as described above. Input operation unit 5
When the power switch of 3 is turned on, the process moves to step n1.
The output voltage of the open / close detector 63 is converted into a digital value by the A / D converter 64. In step n2, the converted data is read, and the tray 62 is compared with the map value, for example.
Find the angle of. In step n3, it is judged whether or not the obtained angle is the angle in a state in which the paper discharge port 4 and the manual paper feed port 5 are open. If so, in step n4, the input operation section 53 is operated. After accepting the input operation to the copy operation start key, the process proceeds to other processing such as recording paper size selection and density setting. If not, at step n5, the input operation to the copy operation start key is accepted. After prohibiting, move to other processing.

In this way, since the activation of the copying operation is prohibited until the opening of the tray 62 is detected, it is possible to prevent the unintentional activation of the copying operation.

[Embodiment 3] The following description will discuss Embodiment 3 in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. In this embodiment, the tray 71
At the base end part of the shaft 7 is a shaft 7 for swingably supporting the tray 71.
A gear 73 is fixed coaxially with the gear 2. A drive gear 7 fixed to an output shaft 76 of a motor 75 realized by a step motor or the like via a transmission gear 74 is attached to the gear 73.
7 is transmitted, the tray 71 is moved to the arrow 78.
It is displaced in the a and 78b directions and can be opened and closed with respect to the paper discharge port 4 and the manual paper feed port 5. A lock piece 81 driven by an electromagnetic solenoid 80 via a link mechanism 79 meshes with or disengages from the transmission gear 74.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the opening / closing detector 63 is provided in association with the shaft 72, and the detection result is converted into a digital value by an A / D converter 64, It is input to the control circuit 82. As will be described later, the control circuit 82 drives the electromagnetic solenoid 80 via the drive circuit 83 when the tray 71 is closed when the start of the copying operation is input from the input operation unit 53, and the operation shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), attach the claw 81a of the lock piece 81 with the arrow 8
In the 4a direction, that is, in the direction away from the transmission gear 74, the motor 75 is activated to rotate the gear 73 in the arrow 78a direction to open the tray 71. After that, when the completion of opening is detected, the motor 75 is stopped and
As shown in FIG. 5A, the electromagnetic solenoid 80 is driven to displace the claw 81a of the lock piece 81 in the direction of the arrow 84b, that is, mesh with the transmission gear 74 to lock the tray 71.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the above-mentioned control circuit 82.

When the copy operation start key of the input operation unit 53 is operated, the process proceeds to step m1 and the detection result of the open / close detector 63 is A / D converted. In step m2, the converted data is read and the corresponding angle of the tray 71 is obtained. At step m3, the tray 71 is shown in FIG.
It is determined whether or not it is in the closed state as shown in (b). If not, the process proceeds to another process, and if so, the process proceeds to step m4.

In step m4, the electromagnetic solenoid 80 is driven, the pawl 81a of the lock piece 81 is separated from the transmission gear 74 in the direction of the arrow 84a, and the lock is released. In step m5, the motor 75 is activated and the tray 71 is angularly displaced in the opening direction of the arrow 78a. In step m6, similarly to steps m1 to m3 described above, it is determined from the detection result of the open / close detector 63 whether or not the tray 71 is opened, and if opened, the process proceeds to step m7. In step m7, the motor 75 is stopped, and in step m8, the electromagnetic solenoid 80 is driven to lock the lock piece 81.
After the pawl 81a is displaced toward the transmission gear 74 in the direction of the arrow 84b and the tray 71 is locked, another process is performed.

In this way, when the start key for the copying operation is operated while the tray 71 is closed, the tray 71 is opened and then the copying operation is started so that the operator opens the tray 71. As unnecessary
It is possible to improve operability and prevent undesired paper jam at the paper discharge port 4. Such an operation is not limited to the activation key of the copying operation, and may be performed in response to another input operation such as a power switch.

[Embodiment 4] The following description will discuss Embodiment 4 in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine, with reference to FIG. In the copying machine according to the present embodiment, step p1
Then, similarly to steps n1 to n3, it is determined whether or not the tray 71 is in the open state by reading the detection result of the open / close detector 63 shown in FIG. 5, and if not, the process proceeds to step p2 to perform control. A count value T corresponding to a predetermined time limit is set in a timer in the circuit 82. In step p3, the electromagnetic solenoid 80 is driven, the pawl 81a of the lock piece 81 is displaced in the direction of the arrow 84a, the pawl 81a is separated from the transmission gear 74, and the lock is released. In step p4, the motor 75 is driven to swing and displace the tray 71 in the arrow 78a direction, and
And the manual paper feed port 5 is opened.

After the opening operation of the tray 71 is performed in this manner, it is again determined in step p5 whether or not the tray 71 is opened, as in step p1. If not, the process proceeds to step p6 to set the timer. It is judged whether or not the count value T reaches zero after the time limit time has elapsed, and if not, the steps p5 and p6 are performed.
When the time limit is reached, the process moves to step p7. In step p7, the control circuit 82 stops all the operations, and in step p8, the operator is warned that the tray 71 is not operating properly, and then the operation is terminated.

On the other hand, when the tray 71 is opened in step p5, the process moves to step p9 to stop the driving of the motor 75 and then to step p10 to drive the electromagnetic solenoid 80 and lock the lock piece 81. The pawl 81a is displaced in the direction of the arrow 84b and meshes with the transmission gear 74 to lock the transmission gear 74, that is, the tray 71. Further, when the opening of the tray 71 is already detected in the step p1, the step p
Moving to 10, the tray 71 is locked.

Therefore, after the input operation for starting the copying operation is performed, the tray 71 is first opened, and then the copying operation is performed, so that the paper jam of the recording paper 9 in the vicinity of the discharge port 4 is prevented. It can be prevented in advance,
By notifying the operation abnormality of the tray 71, the operator can promptly perform the repair work.

[Embodiment 5] The following description will discuss Embodiment 5 in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine, with reference to FIG. This embodiment is realized by providing a paper jam detector indicated by reference numeral 91 near the paper discharge port 4 in the embodiment shown in FIG.

Further, this embodiment is preferably performed subsequent to the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, that is, when an input operation for activating the copying operation is performed, the tray is processed at the above-mentioned steps p1 to p10. After the opening of 71, the process moves to step p11, and the internal tray 8 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) is opened.
The feeding operation from (see) is started. At step p12, a series of copying operations such as reading the original image on the original placing glass 21 to visualization and fixing are performed. In step p13, it is judged whether or not the copying operation for the set number of copies is completed, and if so, it is judged in step p14 that the electromagnetic solenoid 80 is driven and the electromagnetic solenoid 80 is driven. Claw 81 of lock piece 81
After a is rocked and displaced in the direction of arrow 84a and the locked state of the tray 71 is released, another process is performed.

On the other hand, when the copying operation is not completed in step p13, the process proceeds to step p15, in which the paper jam detector 91 determines whether or not a paper jam has occurred near the discharge port 4, When no jam has occurred, the process returns to step p11 to continue the copying operation, and when a paper jam has occurred, the process proceeds to step p16, the electromagnetic solenoid 80 is driven, and the locked state of the tray 71 is released. Then, after all the operations are stopped in step p17, a warning is displayed in step p18 and the operation ends.

Therefore, after detecting that the tray 71 has been opened in steps p1 to p10, step p1
Since the paper feeding operation is started at 1, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of undesired paper jam due to the paper feeding operation, even if the tray 71 has an abnormal operation.

Further, since the tray 71 is unlocked in advance when the main body 2 is to be separated after the paper jam occurs, the operator can easily repair the paper jam.

Further, in this case, by constructing the vicinity of the tray 92 as shown in FIG. 9, it becomes possible to more easily perform the paper jam restoration work. That is, as shown in FIG. 9 (1), the tray 92, which is swingably supported by the shaft 93, is provided with a handle 95 that abuts near the swing-side end of the tray 92 in the closed state. As shown in FIG. 9 (2), the tray 92 is abutted against the base end portion of the tray 92 with the tray 92 opened to prevent the swing displacement of the tray 92, and the protrusion 94a for the operator to catch his / her finger. Is provided with a handle 94.

The support shaft 58 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
For example, it is composed of two torsion springs, one of which is a torsion twisted by abutting against a base portion 37 having an internal tray 8 and the like, and the other one is a roller 60 and an optical system 33. It is a torsion twisted by abutting against a receiving portion fixed to the optical portion 38 provided, and the fixing device 52, the transfer belt 44, the photosensitive drum 41, and the developing device 43 are provided on the outer periphery of the support shaft 58 which is these shaft portions. The process unit 39 such as is suspended.

The handles 94 and 95 have shafts 94b and 9 respectively.
These handles 94, 9 supported by 5b so as to be swingable about a horizontal axis are attached to the process section 39.
Reference numeral 5 is locked in locking holes formed in the frame of the base portion 37 and the optical portion 38, respectively, and the optical portion 38, the process portion 39, and the base portion 37 are integrally coupled. When the fingers of the operator are hooked on the protrusions 94a and 95a of the handles 94 and 95 and displaced in the arrow 96 direction,
When the locked state is released, the base part 37 and the process part 39 and the process part 39 and the optical part 38 are separated from each other, and the process part 39 and the optical part 38 swing with respect to the base part 37 about the support shaft 58. Become mobile.

At this time, the swing amount of each process unit 39 and the optical unit 38 is, for example, about 20 °,
The support shaft 58 is arranged on the rear end side of the main body 2. Therefore, the length from the support shaft 58 to the front plate 3 is such that the recording paper 9 that can be used in the inner tray 8 can be seen from FIG. For example, since the length is longer than the length of the A3 size recording paper in the longitudinal direction, it is possible to easily perform the paper jam restoration work by inserting the hand from the front plate 3 side. Even in this state, the centers of gravity of the optical unit 38 and the process unit 39 are forward, and the optical unit 38 and the process unit 39 do not fall backward.

[Sixth Embodiment] The sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
In this embodiment, after the input operation for starting the copying operation is performed, step m of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 described above.
1 or the period up to step p1 in the embodiment shown in FIG. In step q1, the detection result of the open / close detector is A / D as in step m1.
Converted, and in step q2, as in step m2 above,
The converted data is read into the control circuit to obtain the tray angle.

At step q3, whether the obtained angle is an angle for manual feeding, that is, whether the tray 62 is in a state shown by a solid line with reference to FIG.
Alternatively, it is determined whether the internal tray 8 is in the state indicated by the phantom line 62d, and when the manual feed mode is set, in step q4, the route switching cam 19 of the transport route 7 is opened to the manual feed port 5 side and manually fed. After the mode is set, the process moves to another process, and if not, step q5
Then, the path switching cam 19 is opened to the side of the internal tray 8 to enter the cassette sheet feeding mode, and then the other processing is performed.

As described above, by detecting from the inclination angle of the tray 62 which of the manual paper feed port 5 or the internal tray 8 the recording paper is to be supplied in advance, the path switching cam 19 is switched to carry the paper as described above. Even if the path length of the path 7 is shortened, it is possible to secure a sufficient switching time before starting the supply of the recording paper.

[Embodiment 7] The following description will discuss Embodiment 7 of the present invention with reference to FIG.
In this embodiment, the fixing device 5 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is used.
No. 2 can be held at two temperatures, a fixable temperature at which the toner images transferred to the recording papers 6 and 9 can be immediately fixed, and a standby temperature lower than the fixable temperature. This operation is performed every predetermined time in a standby state where no copying operation is performed.

In step r1, the detection result of the open / close detector 63 is A / D converted, as in step m1.
In step r2, the converted data is read and the angle of the tray is obtained. At step r3, it is judged whether or not the angle is an angle representing an open state,
If so, the routine proceeds to step r4, where the fixing device 52 is controlled to reach the feasible temperature and the operation is ended. On the other hand, when the tray is closed, the fixing device 52 is carried out at step r5. After the is set to the standby temperature, the operation ends.

In this way, it is judged from the opened / closed state of the tray whether or not the copying operation is immediately performed, and the fixing device 52 is held at the temperature corresponding to the judgment result, so that when the operator desires copying, The copying operation can be promptly performed, and the power consumption during standby can be reduced.

The transfer means is not limited to the transfer belt 44 and the rollers 47 and 48 described above, but may be realized by another structure such as a plurality of transfer rollers for sequentially transferring toner images.

According to the present invention, the open / close detecting means provided on the base end side of the tray for detecting the open / closed state of the tray, and the open / close detecting means in response to the detection result of the open / close detecting means, And a prohibition unit for prohibiting activation input of the image forming operation from the input operation unit.

According to the present invention, open / close detecting means for detecting the open / closed state of the tray is provided on the base end side of the tray, and when the open / close detecting means detects that the tray is closed, it is prohibited. Means prohibits the start input of an image forming operation, for example, a copying operation, from the input operation means. Therefore, it is possible to prevent unintended activation of the image forming operation.

Further, according to the present invention, the open / close detection means provided on the base end side of the tray for detecting the open / closed state of the tray, the internal tray for storing the recording paper, and the recording paper from the internal tray are described above. When the tray is closed in response to the detection result of the opening / closing detection means, the input operation means is an internal recording paper conveyance means that can join the conveyance path, a tray opening means that can open the tray. And a control means for causing the tray opening means to open the tray and for causing the internal recording paper conveying means to supply the recording paper from the internal tray to perform the image forming operation in response to the start input of the image forming operation from It is characterized by

According to the present invention, an internal tray for accommodating recording paper is provided in the main body, and an internal recording paper conveying means capable of merging the recording paper from the internal tray into the conveying path. In an image forming apparatus capable of performing an image forming operation commonly for both the recording paper and the recording paper from the manual paper feed opening, an opening / closing unit for detecting an open / closed state of the tray is provided on the base end side of the tray. A detection means and a tray opening means realized by a motor and a gear train are provided. When an input operation for starting an image forming operation such as a copying operation is performed from the input operation unit, the control unit responds to the detection result of the opening / closing detection unit and causes the tray opening unit to open the tray when the tray is closed.
The internal recording paper feeding means is caused to start supplying the recording paper from the internal tray to perform the image forming operation. by this,
This can save the operator the trouble of opening the tray, and can prevent the paper jam at the discharge port due to forgetting to open the tray.

Further, according to the present invention, an alarm means is provided, and when the opening / closing detecting means does not detect the opening of the tray when a predetermined time elapses from the time when the opening of the tray is started, the control means displays the image. It is characterized in that the forming operation is stopped and the alarm means is caused to perform the alarm operation.

According to the invention, the control means forms an image when the opening of the tray is not detected by the opening / closing detection means when a predetermined time elapses from the time when the tray opening means starts opening the tray. The operation is stopped and the alarm means such as an alarm is caused to perform the alarm operation. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the problem that the recording sheet is jammed in the discharge port because the image forming operation is performed even if the tray is not opened, and the operation is promptly performed when the tray is not properly opened. It is possible to notify the person of the occurrence of the problem.

Further, according to the present invention, the control means starts the image forming operation after the opening / closing detection means detects the opening of the tray.

According to this invention, the control means starts the image forming operation after the opening / closing detection means detects the opening of the tray. Therefore, when an abnormality occurs at the time of opening the tray, the image forming operation is prohibited, and thus it is possible to prevent the unwanted paper jam.

Still further, the present invention comprises a lock means provided in association with the tray opening means, and a discharge completion sensor provided at the discharge port, and the control means locks the lock means at the start of the image forming operation. The tray is locked in the open state, and the lock is released when the completion of discharging the recording paper is detected by the discharge completion sensor.

According to the invention, in relation to the tray opening means, for example, locking means for locking the gear provided at the base end portion of the tray to prevent the swing displacement of the tray is provided, and the control is performed. The means locks the tray in the open state by the locking means when the image forming operation is started, and unlocks when the discharge completion sensor of the discharge port detects that the discharge of the recording paper is completed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a problem that the tray is closed during the image forming operation and the recording paper is jammed in the paper discharge port.

Further, according to the present invention, the internal recording paper conveying means is provided with a paper jam detecting means, and the control means releases the lock of the tray by the locking means when the paper jam detecting means detects the paper jam. Is characterized by.

According to the present invention, the paper jam detecting means is provided in association with the internal recording paper conveying means, and when the paper jam detecting means detects the paper jam, the controller means locks the tray. unlock. Therefore, the recording paper jams from the internal tray,
When it is necessary to perform a repair work such as separating the main body into upper and lower parts, the tray can be swung, and the workability of the repair work can be improved.

Still further, according to the present invention, the paper discharge port is arranged above the paper feed port and inside the main body, and the internal tray for storing the recording paper and the recording paper from the internal tray are joined to the transport path. An internal recording sheet conveying means that can be operated and the sheet feeding port are provided so as to cover the sheet feeding port and the sheet discharging port so as to be openable and closable, and in the opened state, the recording sheet is fed from the manual sheet feeding port. Therefore, at least a first position in which the base end side is lower than the free end part side and a second position in which the base end side for the inner tray to supply the recording paper is higher than the free end part side
A tray attached to the main body so as to be held in two inclined states; and a guide slope formed substantially parallel to the tray at the first position and connecting the paper feed port to the base end of the tray. And

According to the present invention, there is provided an internal tray and an internal recording sheet conveying means capable of merging the recording sheets from the internal tray with the conveying path, and the recording sheet from the internal tray is manually fed. In the image forming apparatus that can be shared with the recording paper from the paper outlet, the paper ejection opening is arranged above the paper feeding opening and inside the main body, and the ejected recording paper is output from the paper ejection opening. Double-sided copying is possible by simply pulling it down to the manual paper feed port. Further, in this image forming apparatus, a tray is provided so as to face the paper feed port and openably and closably cover the paper feed port and the paper ejection port. The tray is attached to the body such that it is held in at least two tilted states.
That is, at the first position, the base end side is lower than the free end side so that the recording paper on the tray is fed to the manual paper feed port by using its own weight, and the paper feed is performed correspondingly. The mouth is connected to the base end of the tray by a guide slope that is substantially parallel to the tray at the first position. On the other hand, at the second position, the base end side of the tray is higher than the free end side, and thus the discharged recording paper is smoothly discharged without being stored in the vicinity of the paper discharge port. . As a result, the recording paper can be smoothly guided to the manual paper feed port only by sliding it into the tray without inserting the recording paper into the manual paper feed port simply by changing the inclined state of the tray.

Further, according to the present invention, the inclination detecting means for detecting whether the tray is at the first position or the second position, the upstream side portion of the conveying path, and the internal recording paper conveying means are selectively used. The present invention is characterized by including connection means for connecting to a downstream side portion of the transport path, and switching control means for switching control of the connection means in response to a detection result of the inclination detection means.

According to this invention, the inclination detecting means for detecting the state of the tray in the above-mentioned invention is provided, and the upstream portion of the transport path on the side of the manual paper feed port and the internal recording paper transport means are selectively transported. The switching control means switches the connection means connected to the downstream side of the, i.e., the side of the fixing roller or the like in accordance with the detection result of the inclination detection means. Therefore,
Even if the transport path is shortened as described above, the connection means can be switched to the manual paper feed port side when the tray is tilted before the recording paper is loaded into the manual paper feed port. A sufficient switching time can be secured.

[0081]

The image forming apparatus according to the invention of claim 1 is
As described above, the first transfer unit including a large-sized component such as the photosensitive drum inside the main body, and the second transfer unit such as the fixing device provided in the transport path between the paper feed port and the paper discharge port. In between, the toner image is transferred by a transfer unit including, for example, two rollers and a transfer belt wound between these rollers, so that the conveying path can be shortened.

Therefore, even if a paper jam occurs, the possibility that the entire recording paper is hidden inside the main body is reduced, and the paper jam can be easily repaired. Further, since the recording paper from the paper feed port does not reciprocate to the photosensitive drum on which the toner image is formed, but the toner image is transferred to the recording paper in one way by the transfer means, the first image formation is performed. The operation can be performed quickly.

Preferably, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention, as described above, the length of the conveying path is selected shorter than the length of usable recording paper in the conveying direction.

Therefore, even if a paper jam occurs, at least one of the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording paper is left outside the main body from the paper feed port or the paper discharge port. By pulling the remaining edge of the recording paper, the operator can easily clear the paper jam without performing the complicated work of separating the main body into upper and lower parts.

Further, preferably, in the image forming apparatus of the third aspect of the invention, as described above, the paper discharge port is arranged above the paper supply port and inside the main body, and the discharged recording paper is stored in the manual feed tray. Double-sided copying is possible simply by dropping the tray, and the tray can be opened and closed with respect to the paper feed port and the paper discharge port, and is formed in a shape along the front plate.

Therefore, when the tray is closed and the paper feed port and the paper discharge port are closed, the swing-side end of the tray comes into close contact with the front plate and covers the input operation means including, for example, a copy operation start button. Therefore, when the image forming operation in which the sheet discharge port is closed is not performed, the input operation means can be protected and the unintentional activation of the image forming operation can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a configuration of a copying machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing the configuration of a copying machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration related to an open / close detector 63 of the copying machine of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control circuit 65 in the configuration shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration related to a tray of a copying machine according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the control circuit 82 in the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the fifth embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of a tray 92 of a further preferred embodiment of the embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Copier 2 Main Body 3 Front Plate 4 Paper Ejection Port 5 Paper Feed Port 6 Recording Paper 7 Transport Route 8 Inner Tray 9 Recording Paper 10 Transport Route 19 Route Switching Cam 33 Optical System 37 Base Unit 38 Optical Unit 39 Process Unit 41 Photosensitive Drum 43 developing device 44 transfer belt 46 first transfer part 47 roller 48 roller 49 second transfer part 52 fixing device 53 input operation part (input operation means) 61 copying machine 62 tray 63 open / closed detector 65 control circuit 71 tray 75 motor 80 electromagnetic Solenoid 81 Lock piece 82 Control circuit 91 Paper jam detector 92 Tray

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Kazunori Aida 22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Within Sharp Corporation (72) Inventor Shigeharu Maehara 22-22 Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka, Osaka Within the corporation

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An electrostatic image forming apparatus having a paper discharge port and a manual paper feed port on the front side of a main body, wherein at least a recording image is formed on a recording paper supplied from the manual paper feed port. And a developing device, which is disposed inside the main body, and which includes a first transfer portion that visualizes the recorded image into a toner image, and a fixing device, and conveys the recording paper from the paper feed port to the paper ejection port. An image forming apparatus comprising: a second transfer unit having a path; and a transfer unit for transferring and transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum onto a recording sheet in the transfer path. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the length of the conveying path is less than the length of usable recording paper in the conveying direction. 3. A tray which is disposed above the paper feed opening and inside the main body, and which is provided with a tray that faces the paper feed opening and covers the paper feed opening and the paper output opening so as to be openable and closable. The tray is formed in a shape along the front plate, and when the paper feed port and the paper discharge port are closed, the swinging side end portion covers the input operation means provided on the front plate. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1 or 2.