JPS6341348A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To guide transfer paper of large size to be surely switched to its stable storage and discharge route, by providing a face-down tray to be built in a fixed state while a face-up tray in a state it can be mounted and removed respectively in a main unit and obtaining a conveying route so as to be switched interlocking to the action mounting and removing the face-up tray. CONSTITUTION:If a face-up tray 37 is mounted, a point end part 37A in the side end portion of the tray 37 is adapted to a lever 41 causing a shaft 40 to turn in the counterclockwise direction against urging force of a spring, consequently a route selector pawl 35 also turns by a predetermined angle to stop. Under this condition, a copying material P, which passes through the bottom of the route selector pawl 35, is introduced to the face-up tray 37 which can store even the copying material of large size. Next a side end rise-up part of the tray 37 is flexed by a finger tip, and the tray 37, after its protrusion part 37B is extracted from a hole 53, is drawn out along a guide groove part 51. And in a condition that the tray 37 is removed, the copying material P, which passes through a fixing device 29 and the upper side of the route selector pawl 35, is introduced to a guide and a discharge roller and contained in a face-down tray 36, thus a switching control is easily, surely and automatically performed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] ・A1 Purpose of the invention [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine.

In particular, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a plurality of copy material discharge paths.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, as shown in FIG. 6, the copying material P that has passed through the fixing device 9 is selectively transferred to the face-down tray 16 provided above the apparatus or to the left side of the apparatus by means of path switching "t215". The face-up tray 17
is configured to have a folding opening function, and is configured to be freely openable and closable with respect to the loading main body with the support shaft 18 as the center of rotation. The path switching means 15 is configured to change its position in conjunction with the opening/closing movement of the tray 17. That is, when the tray 17 is opened, the copy material P is transferred to the tray 17.
When the tray 17 is closed, the copy material P is stored in the tray 1.
6.

[Problems to be solved by the f9J] The prior art device described in 1-1 had a drawback that the face-up tray 17 on the left side of the device was difficult to accommodate dog-sized copy materials P. That is, in order to accommodate large-sized copy materials P,
The tray 17 is attached to the auxiliary tray 17. It is necessary to use a folding or multi-stage structure, store copy paper in the unfolded state, and compactly arrange it on the left side of the device in the folded state.

Therefore, the configuration was complicated and the operability was not good. In addition, in terms of the usage of the device, when using the face-down tray 16, only the tray 16 is often used continuously, and when using the face-up tray 17, only the tray 17 is often used successively. There was little need to frequently switch the discharge route and use both trays.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and has a structure that allows even large-sized copy materials to be reliably and stably accommodated, has a simple configuration, and allows easy and reliable switching of the copy material ejection path, resulting in improved operability. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having a good tray.

Structure of the Invention [Means for solving the gap between points] The present invention has a plurality of ejection paths for copying materials, one of which is a face-up tray (with the image forming surface on the front side), and the other In image forming apparatuses that have a face-down tray (with the image forming side on the back), the face-grain tray is built into the device body as a national standard, and the face-up tray is built into the device body. , an image forming apparatus characterized by comprising means for switching a copy material conveyance path in conjunction with attachment and detachment of a face-up tray.

[For production]

The face-up tray, which can accommodate large-sized copy materials, gets in the way when not in use, so it is better to remove it from the main unit. Automatically switches to the built-in face-down tray.

〔Example〕

A conventional example of a laser printer is shown as an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, a scanning optical system unit 21 including a scanner motor, a polygon mirror, a lens, etc., and a reflecting mirror 22 are arranged in the upper part of a main body 200. A rotating cylindrical photoreceptor 23 is arranged in the middle, and a charger 24, a developer 25, a transfer charger 26, a cleaning device 27, etc. are arranged around it. On the surface of the photoconductor uniformly charged by the charger 24, an image 8 is exposed according to information from the optical system unit to form an electrostatic latent image, and then this latent image is developed by the developer 25. be converted into On the other hand, the copy material P is fed by the cassette 30 onto the surface of the drum 23 by the paper feed roller 32 and feed rollers 33A-33B, and the toner image on the drum is transferred by the transfer charger 26. Thereafter, the copy material sheet is separated from the drum by means 9a (not shown) and passed over guide 28 to fuser 29. The toner image on the sheet is fixed by the fixing device 29, and the sheet is discharged to the outside of the main body. On the other hand, toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 23 without being transferred is collected by a cleaning device 27.

The present invention has a structure in which a tray 37 corresponding to the face-up tray 17 of the conventional example shown in FIG. through the tray 37, the tray 3
The state shown in Figure 2 with 7 removed! At E, the copy material P that has passed through the fixing device 29 passes through the L side of the path switching claw 35 and is transferred to the kite 38.
・Face down tray 36 guided by discharge roller 39
Shiko is accommodated.

The wedge means described above will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 corresponds to FIG. 2 and shows the face-up tray 37 removed from the main body 200. A plurality of path switching pawls 35 are fixed to the shaft 40 in the longitudinal direction f. A lever 41 is fixed to at least one end of the shaft 40, and is biased clockwise by a spring (not shown), and the tip of the lever 41 rests in contact with a stopper 42. In this state 7E, the copy material P passes above the path switching claw 35 and is guided to the guide 38, that is, to the face-down tray 36.

FIG. 4 corresponds to FIG. 1 and shows a state in which the face-up tray 37 is attached to the main body 200. When the face-up tray 37 is attached, the tip 37A of the side end portion of the tray 37 comes into contact with the above-mentioned 8-41,
The lever 41, ie, the shaft 40, is rotated counterclockwise against the biasing force of the spring. Therefore, the path switching pawl 35 also rotates by a predetermined angle and remains stationary. In this state, the copy material P passes under the path switching claw 35 and is guided to the face-up tray 37.

FIG. 5 illustrates a mechanism for attaching the face-up tray 37 to the main body 200. The main body 200 has guide grooves 51 on both sides corresponding to the width of the face-up tray 37.
is provided. A tapered portion 52 is provided at the introduction portion, and a hole 52 deeper than the guide groove portion 51 is provided at the end portion thereof. On the other hand, face up tray 3
A protruding portion 37B is provided on the outside of the side end rising portion 37A of 7. Therefore, by feeding the protrusion 37B along the guide groove 51, the protrusion 37B fits into the hole 53 while the rising portion 37A is bent, and the mounting is completed. To remove the tray 37 from the main body, bend the side edge portion of the tray 37 with your fingertips to pull out the protrusion 37B from the hole 53, and then insert the guide groove i'il! Just pull it out along line 51.

C1 Effects of the invention With the configuration described above, it is possible to reliably selectively switch between the face-up tray and the face-down tray, and even for large-sized copy materials, the face-up tray can be used as shown in the example. It can be formed into a large single plate and accommodated reliably and stably. Furthermore, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus with excellent operability in which the copying material conveyance path switching operation is easily, reliably, and automatically performed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 are views showing one embodiment of the device according to the present invention, Figure 3, Figure 4 is a partial sectional view showing the path switching means, and Figure 5 explains how to attach and detach the tray and the main body. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional device. 35 is a path switching pawl, 4 is a switching lever, 36 is a face down tray, 37 is a face up tray, 51 is a guide groove, 53 is a hole, and 37B is a protrusion.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of copy material discharge paths, one of which has a face-up (image forming surface is on the front side) tray and the other one has a face-down (image forming surface is on the back side) tray, The face-down tray is fixedly built into the main body of the device, and the face-up tray is configured to be detachable from the main body of the device, and is characterized by having means for switching the copy material conveyance path in conjunction with the attachment and detachment of the face-up tray. image forming apparatus.