JPH0757650B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to an image forming means section according to an appropriate image forming principle or method such as electrophotography, electrostatic recording method, magnetic recording method, etc. Material (cut sheet material (sheet) such as transfer paper, electrostatic recording paper, electro-fax paper, photosensitive paper, printing paper) is transferred to one sheet and transferred (indirect) method Alternatively, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer that forms a target image by a direct method and conveys and discharges an image-formed sheet material to a paper discharge unit.

(Prior Art) FIGS. 11 and 12 are schematic views of an example of the image forming apparatus as described above, both of which are laser beam printers (LBP) using a transfer type electrophotographic method.

In the example printer of FIG. 11, reference numeral 100 denotes the printer main body, and the following image forming means devices are housed therein. That is, 101 is a rotating drum type electrophotographic photosensitive pair (hereinafter,
It is referred to as a drum), and is rotationally driven at a predetermined peripheral speed in a clockwise direction indicated by an arrow around a central support shaft. During the rotation of the drum 101, the peripheral surface of the drum 101 is uniformly charged with positive or negative charges on the outer peripheral surface by the primary charger 102, and then output from the laser scanner 103. An electronic computer, a word processor, and an image (not shown) are output. The scanning exposure of the laser beam L modulated corresponding to the time-series electric pixel signals of the target image input from the reader or the like is received to form an electrostatic latent image of the target image. Reference numeral 103a denotes a mirror for deflecting the output laser L from the scanner 103 to the scanning exposure unit of the drum 101. The latent image formed on the drum surface is then visualized by the developing device 104 as a transferable developer image (toner image).

On the other hand, the paper feed port 1 provided on the right side of the printer body 100
Sheet material cassette 106 with the tip inserted in 05
Among the stacked and stored sheet materials P in the inside, only the uppermost sheet material is separated into one sheet by the sheet feeding roller 107 and the separating claw 108 which are intermittently driven by one rotation and supplied to the printer.
The leading edge portion is once received by the nip portion of the register roller pair 110, which has stopped rotating at that time through 9 and then rotationally driven at a predetermined timing synchronized with the rotation angle of the drum 101. The sheet 110 is conveyed through the sheet path 111 to the image transfer unit 113 between the drum 101 and the transfer charger 112 that is arranged so as to face the lower surface of the drum 101 at the same speed as the rotational peripheral speed of the drum 101. The register roller pair 110 plays a role of a sheet material feeding timing to the transfer portion 113 and a skew correction of the sheet material.

The sheet material conveyed to the image transfer unit 113 sequentially receives the transfer of the toner image on the surface side of the drum 101, is separated from both sides of the drum 101, and is conveyed to the fixing device 115 by the conveying device 114 while being subjected to image fixing, and inside the fixing device. Going through.

The sheet material that has left the fixing device 115 is conveyed by the first paper discharge roller 117, and the lower surface side of the movable guide (flapper) 118 that is switched and held in the first posture shown by the solid line is a guide surface and the left side surface of the printer main body machine The image is discharged upward on the image surface onto a face-up sheet discharge tray 119 that is provided outwardly on the side. If the movable guide is switched and held not in the first position shown by the solid line but in the second position shown by the chain double-dashed line, the fixed sheet material exiting the first paper discharge roller 117 is the upper inclined surface of the movable guide 118. The sheet is guided upwards through a substantially vertical sheet path 120 including the intermediate transfer roller pair 120a, and a second sheet discharging roller 121 at the upper end of the sheet path is provided on the upper surface of the printer main body machine face-down sheet discharging. Tray 12
2 The paper is ejected on top with the image surface facing down. Reference numeral 116 denotes a sheet material sensor provided in the sheet path portion of the fixing device 115 and the first paper discharge roller 117. The first or second position of the movable guide 118
The posture is switched in the face-up mode for ejecting the paper, but it is manually operated by levers, knobs or the like depending on whether the face-up mode is selected.

123 is a manual sheet feed port for sheet material provided on the right side of the printer main body 100 above the sheet feed port 105 for inserting the sheet material cassette 106, and 124 is outwardly projected from this sheet feed port. Sheet material guide plate (manual sheet feeding stand for sheet material)
Is. When only one sheet material is placed on the guide plate 124 and slid on the guide plate and the leading edge side is sufficiently inserted into the printer through the paper feed port 123, the sensor 125 indicates that the sheet material has been inserted. The sheet feed roller pair 126 is rotationally driven by the detected signal, the manual sheet material is drawn into the printer, and is conveyed to the register roller pair 110 through the sheet path 127. After that, the above-mentioned sheet material cassette 1
The sheet is conveyed through the printer in the same path as the sheet material separated and fed from 06 to receive the image transfer and fixing, and the face-up discharge tray 119 or the face-down discharge tray 1
It is discharged to 22.

The surface of the drum 101 after the transfer of the toner image to the feeding sheet material is cleaned by a cleaning device 128 to remove residual toner remaining on the transfer and residual contaminants such as paper dust, and is made a clean surface. The target memory is erased and repeatedly used for image formation.

The printer of this example is a so-called process cartridge removable type, and four printers including a drum 101, a primary charging device 102, a developing device 104, and a cleaning device 128 are attached to a common cartridge housing in a predetermined mutual positional relationship, and the printer is attached. The process cartridge 130 is removable from the inside.

Also, maintenance inside the printer, process cartridge
As the internal opening structure of the printer for attaching and detaching 130, taking out and removing the sheet material jammed in the sheet material conveying path (sheet path), the so-called clamshell type or alligator type apparatus opening configuration is adopted. . That is, from the sheet material feeding section on the right side of the printer main body to the first side on the left side
The printer body is separated from the process cartridge 130 by the substantially horizontal sheet path inside the printer that extends to the discharge roller 117.
And a laser beam scanner 103 and the like, and an upper half body including a sheet material cassette 106, a transfer charger 112, a conveying device 114, a fixing device 115, and the like, and the lower half body is divided into two parts. In contrast, the hinge support shaft 131 with the upper half on the left side
The center of the printer can be opened and raised as shown by the chain double-dashed line and rotated X to open the inside of the printer largely.
This opening facilitates maintenance inside the printer, attachment / detachment operation of the process cartridge 130, and jam sheet material / removal operation. Further, the sheet material jammed in the substantially vertical sheet path 120 from the movable guide 118 to the second discharge roller 121 is a two-dot chain line centered on a hinge support shaft 133 provided on the lower side of the left side plate 132 of the printer body 100. This is done by opening and tilting outward and turning Y as shown to open the substantially vertical seat path 120.

The printer shown in FIG. 12 has a sheet material cassette accommodating portion below the image forming process equipment along a substantially horizontal sheet path from the register roller pair 110 to the first paper discharging roller 117, that is, below the image forming means inside the printer. Alternatively, the theta material stacking unit may be provided to mount and incorporate the sheet material cassette 106, or the sheet materials may be stacked and set.
Of the stacked sheet materials P, only the uppermost sheet material is separated by the sheet feeding roller 107 and the separating claw 108 which are intermittently driven by one rotation, and the intermediate transfer roller 134 and the U-turn sheet path 135 are separated.
And is fed to the pair of register rollers 110. The sheet material jammed in the U-turn seat path 135 has the outer guide plate 135a constituting the seat path and the hinge support shaft 13 on the lower side.
This is done by opening the seat path by opening the seat 5b outward and tilting it downward to rotate Z. Printer configurations other than the above
The operation is similar to that of the printer shown in FIG.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) According to the image forming apparatus configurations of the example of FIG. 11 and the example of FIG. 12, the overall sheet path length from the sheet feeding section to the sheet discharging section becomes long. In the case of the image forming apparatus of the example, the U-turn sheet path portion 135 is more likely to cause the sheet material jam than the substantially straight sheet path portion. Then, the jam processing of the sheet material (removal and removal of the jam sheet material) is performed by a substantially horizontal sheet path opening operation X and a U-turn sheet path opening operation Y.
Since Z must be performed, it is difficult for the user to understand and jam processing is difficult.

Further, in any of the image forming apparatuses of FIGS. 11 and 12, the opening of the substantially horizontal sheet path portion of the image forming means is performed by opening the apparatus main body into the upper half body and the lower half body as described above. A clamshell (crocodile) type device configuration that can be opened by opening the upper half from the lower half by splitting is used. In this case, the paper output tray is on the upper side of the device, that is, on the upper half of the device.
If it is equipped with 122, the upper half is carelessly raised and opened to perform a turning operation X, so that the paper ejection tray 122
The discharged sheet material existing above will fall and be scattered. Further, when the upper half is raised and rotated, the main part of the image forming means (process cartridge 13) provided on the upper half is provided.
0, the laser beam scanner 103, etc.) also move upward from the lower half which is the immovable side, but it is difficult to guarantee the accuracy of the device in the structure in which the image forming means or its main part is moved in this way. There was also a risk that the quality would deteriorate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus of this kind which solves the above problems.

(Means for Solving Problems) (1) The present invention, as shown in the configuration model diagram of FIG.
The sheet material is fed from the paper feeding section B to the image forming means section A according to an appropriate image forming principle and method, a target image is formed on the fed sheet material surface, and the image-formed sheet material is discharged to the sheet ejection section C. An image forming apparatus that conveys and discharges the sheet feeding section B to and from one of the upper portion and the lower portion of the image forming section A.
On the other hand, the above-mentioned sheet discharge section C is provided, and a sheet path D in a substantially vertical direction from the sheet feed section B through the image forming means section A to the sheet discharge section C is provided, and the sheet is fed from the sheet feed section B. The sheet material is introduced into the substantially vertical sheet path D and conveyed, and image formation is performed on the sheet material by the image forming unit A, and the sheet discharge unit C
It is configured to be discharged to.

In the configuration model diagram, the paper feed unit B is provided below the image forming unit A, and the paper discharge unit C is provided above the image forming unit A. On the contrary, the paper discharge unit C is provided below and the paper discharge unit C is provided above. The paper feed section B may be provided. Other configuration model diagrams (2) to be described below
The same applies to (4).

Then, as shown in the configuration model diagram of (2), the image forming apparatus is separated from the apparatus section (apparatus main body section) A ₁ on one side with the substantially vertical sheet path D as a boundary with respect to the apparatus section (the other side). The transport unit unit) A ₂ is opened and swung about the lower side so that the sheet path D is exposed so that the sheet path D can be freely swung open / closed, and the main process equipment of the image forming unit is the stationary side. The image forming apparatus is characterized by being incorporated in the apparatus section A ₁ on one side.

(2) Further, as for the image forming apparatus of the item (1), as shown in the configuration model diagram of FIG.
When the paper feed portion of the upper portion or the lower portion has a first sheet feeding unit B _1, apart from the sheet feeding section B ₁ of the first, the transport unit A ₂ side, the vertical sheet path D selective for the branch sheet path D ₁ is provided with a second sheet feeding unit B ₂ communicating via a first or second sheet feeding unit substantially vertical sheet path D from B ₁ · B ₂ for The sheet material can be fed to the sheet feeding member, and the sheet material receiving member of the _second sheet feeding unit B ₂ can be folded in or stored in the transport unit A ₂ or can be detached. It is a forming device.

(3) Further, as for the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, as shown in the configuration model diagram of FIG. 1 (4), the paper discharge section above or below the image forming means A is referred to as the first paper discharge section C ₁ . When I did
Separately from the _first paper discharge section C ₁ , on the side of the transport unit A ₂ ,
A _second sheet discharge section C ₂ that is connected to the substantially vertical sheet path D via a branch sheet path D ₂ is provided, and selection is made for the first or second sheet discharge section C ₁ · C ₂ . Vertical sheet path D
The sheet material can be discharged from the sheet discharge member, and the sheet material receiving member of the _second sheet discharge portion C ₂ can be folded in or stored in the transport unit A ₂ , or can be detachably attached. It is a forming device.

(Working). The image forming apparatus is configured such that the apparatus section A ₁ on one side and the apparatus section A ₂ on the other side can be freely opened and closed centering on the lower side with respect to the substantially vertical sheet path D as a boundary. The main process equipment such as the process cartridge of _{No. 1} is built in the above-mentioned one-side device unit A ₁ that is the stationary side, so that the other-side device A ₂ that is the movable side is the one-side device that is the stationary side. By opening downward from the portion A _{1, the} substantially vertical sheet path D is largely opened, that is, the inside of the image forming apparatus is largely opened at the boundary of the substantially vertical sheet path, and the jam sheet material is taken out from the substantially vertical sheet path. It can be easily removed.

When the device unit A ₂ is opened downward from the device unit A ₁ , it can be easily opened because its own weight acts.

The main process equipment of the image forming means section A is built in the device section A ₁ on the stationary side, and the movement and swing associated with the opening / closing operation of the apparatus section A ₂ on the other side, which is the movable side, do not occur. Since the accuracy guarantee is improved, it becomes easy to maintain the formation and output of high-quality images for a long time. Further, the paper feeding unit B is present in the device unit A ₁ on the stationary side and does not move, rock, or tilt due to opening / closing of the device unit A ₂ on the other side, which is the movable side. Therefore, there is no possibility of accidentally dropping or scattering the sheet material when the device is opened.

． By providing the _second paper feed unit B ₂ , the paper feed unit
Various sheet materials can be fed by selectively using B ₂ and the first paper feed unit B ₁ (in addition to normal transfer paper of various sizes, special paper, thick paper,
Postcards, etc.) are possible. This second paper feed section B ₂ is the first
The sheet feeding section B ₁ has a substantially vertical sheet path D in the middle and is projected to the outside of the image forming apparatus on the opposite side.
Since the protrusion is on only one side surface of the image forming apparatus, the sheet feeding unit 106 and the sheet discharging unit 119 are projected outward on the opposite side surfaces of the image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. The installation area of the image forming apparatus is smaller than that. Further, when the first paper feed unit B ₁ which is the standard paper feed unit is exclusively used and the second paper feed unit B ₂ is not used, the sheet material receiving member of the second paper feed unit is the device unit A. _{When the second} sheet feeding unit B ₂ is folded or stored in or removed from the second sheet feeding unit ₂ , the _second sheet feeding unit B ₂ does not project outward, so that the equipment area of the image forming apparatus can be reduced and used.

． By providing the _second paper discharge unit C ₂ , the paper discharge unit
By selectively using C ₂ and the first paper discharge unit C ₁ , it is possible to select the discharge of the sheet material between the face-down mode discharge and the face-up mode discharge. The second sheet discharging section C ₂ has an outwardly projecting form like the _second sheet feeding section B ₂ , but the projecting is only on one side surface of the image forming apparatus. As described above, the installation area of the image forming apparatus is smaller than that in the configuration in which the protruding portions are present on both opposite side surfaces. Further, when the first sheet discharge section C ₁ which is the standard sheet discharge section is exclusively used and the second sheet discharge section C ₂ is not used, the sheet material receiving member of the second sheet discharge section is the device section A. _By folding in, storing in, or removing the second sheet, the second sheet discharge section C ₂ does not project, so that the installation area of the image forming apparatus can be reduced and used.

． The image forming unit A, the paper feed unit B, and the paper discharge unit C are arranged vertically with respect to each other, and a substantially vertical sheet path D from the paper feed unit B through the image forming unit A to the paper discharge unit C is formed. By adopting an apparatus configuration in which the sheet material surface is fed and conveyed to perform image formation on the sheet material surface, the installation area of the image forming apparatus may be small and a compact image forming apparatus can be obtained.

The substantially vertical sheet path D from the sheet feeding section B to the sheet discharging section C through the image forming section A has a short path length, so that the jam occurrence rate of the sheet material becomes low, and the output of the first print is no longer present. .

． Then, with respect to the device configuration of the above (1), the above (2)
By forming a composite configuration in which the configurations of the items (3) are combined, a convenient image forming apparatus having various functions and advantages as described above can be configured.

(Embodiment) FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a schematic configuration of the inside of a laser beam printer using a transfer type electrophotography as an image forming apparatus of one embodiment.

Reference numeral 50 is a printer main body serving as an image forming unit, and 60 is a cassette feeder serving as a first paper feeding unit provided below the printer main body.

(I) Cassette feeder 60 The cassette feeder 60 serving as the first paper feeding unit may be a built-in device integrated with the printer body 50, or may be a separate unit device separate from the printer body 50, and may be installed on the unit device. Alternatively, the printer main body 50 may be used by being combined with the printer main body by positioning the printer main body 50 at a predetermined position and mounting and setting it.

The cassette feeder 60 of this example has a sheet material cassette insertion / extraction opening on the front surface side (the right end surface side in the drawing), the sheet material cassette 61 is inserted and mounted as shown by the solid line, and the reverse is shown as shown by the chain double-dashed line. Can be removed.

In the sheet material cassette 61, reference numeral 62 designates a vertically swinging middle bottom plate arranged by being constantly lifted and biased by a spring 63 at the bottom portion of the sheet material stacking storage section, P is a sheet material (transfer sheet) stacked and stored in the storage section, 64 Is a sheet material separating claw, 65 is a sheet material conveying roller, and 66 is a cassette insertion / removal finger grip handle portion.

67 and 68 are a sheet feeding roller and a sheet material conveying roller provided on the cassette feeder main body side. The paper feed roller 67 is a half-moon roller that is always in a standby state with a downward rotation angle of the circled portion, and rotates a drive system (not shown) every time a paper feed start signal is issued from a control system (not shown). The force is transmitted through the one-rotation clutch and driven one rotation in the counterclockwise direction indicated by the arrow. The sheet material conveying roller 68 receives rotational force of a drive system (not shown) via a clutch controlled by a control system (not shown), and is rotationally driven counterclockwise as indicated by an arrow for a predetermined time at a predetermined timing. .

Insert the sheet material cassette 61 into the cassette feeder 60 through the opening on the front side, and push the sheet material cassette 61 in until it is inserted by the stopper until further insertion movement is prevented. Cassette feeder 60
It comes into contact with the sheet material conveying roller 68 on the side. The contact state is stably maintained by the pressing force of the spring 65a that contacts the shaft of the roller 65. Further, the half-moon type paper feed roller 67 is positioned above the upper surface of the rear end side of the sheet material P stored in the sheet material stacking storage portion of the cassette 61 in the cassette insertion direction.

When the half-moon type paper feed roller 67 is driven to rotate once, the cassette 61 is set as the uppermost sheet material of the stacked sheet materials P in the cassette 61.
The feeding force in the direction opposite to the insertion and mounting direction of the feeder 60 on the feeder 60 acts to separate only one of the uppermost sheet materials from the separating claw 64.
Then, the sheet material is separated from the next and lower sheet materials and fed from the sheet material stacking and storing section to the right in the drawing.

The fed sheet material is guided by the upper curve guide plate 69 and enters the nip portion between the sheet material conveying roller 68 and the conveying roller 65 which are in contact with each other, and the rotational driving force of the roller 68 and the roller 65 It is intermediately relayed by the driven rotation and conveyed, and is conveyed upward from the upward outlet portion 70 of the cassette feeder 60.

On the bottom surface side of the printer main body 50, a sheet material inlet portion 80 as a first sheet feeding port is provided downward at a position just corresponding to the upward outlet portion 70 on the cassette feeder 60 side,
Therefore, the sheet material carried out upward from the upward outlet portion 70 of the cassette feeder 60 then enters the printer main body 50 through the sheet material inlet portion 80 as the downward first sheet feeding port.

(II) The printer main body 501 is a printer main body machine, and the upper plate surface 2 is a built-in tray as a first paper discharge section, and a required image forming process device as an image forming means is provided in the machine main body. That is, a rotary drum type electrophotographic photosensitive member 3 (hereinafter referred to as a drum), a contact charging roller 4 as a uniform charging means for the drum surface, a laser beam scanner 5, a developing device 6, a transfer roller 7, a cleaning device 8, A sheet material separating / feeding assembly 9 for separating and feeding one sheet of a stacked sheet material on a sheet feeding tray 22 serving as a second sheet feeding unit, which will be described later, and a sheet material conveying roller brought into pressure contact with an idler roller 9c of the assembly 9. 10, a fixing device 11, second and first paper discharge rollers 12 and 13, a conveying sheet material detection lever 14, various electric components such as a drive source and a control system are incorporated.

The sheet material that is conveyed upward from the upward outlet portion 70 of the cassette feeder 60 and enters the downward downward inlet portion 80 as the first paper feed port on the bottom surface side of the printer body 50 and is supplied into the printer body 50 is conveyed by the conveyance rollers. The first paper ejection port 15 is conveyed between the idler roller 10 and the idler roller 9c, the drum 3 and the transfer roller 7, the fixing roller pair of the fixing device 11, the second paper ejection roller 12 and the first paper ejection roller 13. Is discharged onto a tray 2 as a first paper discharging unit on the upper surface of the printer case.

The above-described sheet material conveyance from the downward sheet material inlet portion 80 as the first sheet feeding port on the bottom surface side of the printer main body 50 which is the inlet for the sheet material fed from the cassette feeder 60 side to the first sheet discharging roller 13. The route is inside the printer body and the printer box 1
Is a substantially vertical sheet path that extends from the bottom plate side of the printer case to the top plate side near the front plate 20 (right end plate in the drawing).

Accordingly, the drum 3 is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction indicated by the arrow at a predetermined peripheral speed based on the print start signal, and the surface of the rotating drum is uniformly charged to the positive or negative polarity by the contact charging roller 4. Then, by receiving scanning exposure of the laser beam L output from the laser scanner 5, an electrostatic latent image of the target image information is formed. The formed latent image is then visualized as a toner image by the developing device 6.

On the other hand, in the cassette feeder 60, the paper feed roller 67 is driven to rotate once and the transport roller 68 is driven to rotate so that the uppermost sheet material of the stacked sheet materials P in the cassette 61 is set to 1 as described above.
Only a single sheet is fed from the upward outlet 70 of the feeder 60 and introduced into the printer main body from the downward inlet 80 as the first paper feed port on the bottom surface of the machine body of the printer main body 50, and the above-mentioned substantially vertical sheet path is passed from the bottom to the top. Is transported to.

That is, the conveying roller 10 and the idler roller 9c of the sheet material separating and feeding assembly 9 which are rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction indicated by the arrow.
Is introduced between the drum 3 and the transfer roller 7 by a guide and passes between the drum 3 and the transfer roller 7 to sequentially transfer the toner image formed and carried on the surface of the drum 3. . The sheet material which has undergone image transfer between the drum 3 and the transfer roller 7 is separated from the surface of the drum 3 and is introduced into the fixing device 11 by a guide to be rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction indicated by the arrow. The image is fixed by passing between the pair of rollers.

The sheet material that has passed through the fixing device 11 pushes the sheet material detection lever 14 counterclockwise around the support shaft 14a as shown by the chain double-dashed line, and is driven to rotate in the counterclockwise direction. , The first of the movable guides 16 held in the first posture
The guide surface 16a, the surface of the guide 17 that is curved inward in the direction of the tray 2 as the first paper ejection portion, the path of the first paper ejection roller 13 and the first paper ejection port 15 that are rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction. Then, the sheet is discharged onto the tray 2 serving as the first sheet discharging unit in the face-down mode with the image surface facing downward.

When the rear end of the sheet material exiting the fixing device 11 has passed through the position of the lever 14 and the interference with the sheet material disappears, the sheet material detection lever 14 rotates clockwise about the support shaft 14a by its own weight. It returns to the rotation posture shown by the solid line. The above-described swinging motion of the lever 14 accompanying the passage of the sheet material to the lever position is detected by the sensor 14b such as a photo interrupter, and the sheet material feeding timing control, jam trouble detection, and the like are performed.

Thus, in the printer of this embodiment, the cassette feeder 60 serving as a sheet material feeding unit is disposed in the lower portion of the printer main body 50 serving as the image forming unit, and the sheet material discharging unit serving as the sheet material discharging unit is disposed in the upper portion. The tray 2 is provided, and a sheet path in a substantially vertical direction from the sheet feeding section to the sheet discharging section is provided, and the sheet material fed from the sheet feeding section is introduced into the substantially vertical sheet path to be conveyed. Since the image forming is performed on the sheet material in the forming unit and the sheet is discharged to the discharging unit, the operation and effects described above are obtained.

(II) Opening mechanism inside the printer The printer main body 50 in the example shown in FIG. 2 is the front plate 20 as a transport unit of the machine 1 and is used as a front cover for opening and closing the printer main body with the hinge horizontal axis 90 at the lower side as the center. Main body 1
It is installed so that it can be closed, opened, folded and rotated with respect to the front surface of the. 2 and 3 show the state in which the printer is closed, and FIG. 4 shows the state in which the printer main body is opened to open the printer body.

The image forming process device on the front cover 20 side, that is, the sheet feeding / separating assembly 9 for one sheet material, the transfer roller 7, and the fixing device are bordered by the substantially vertical sheet path in the printer body 50.
11, sheet material detection lever 14, second and first paper discharge roller 12,
13 and the like are assembled and supported on the back side of the front cover 20 in a predetermined arrangement relationship, and the image forming process equipment on the machine main body 1 side, that is, the sheet material conveying roller 10 and the drum, with the substantially vertical sheet path as a boundary. 3, the laser scanner 5, the contact charging roller 4, the developing device 6, the cleaning device 8, the drive source, the main electrical components of the control system, etc. are assembled in the machine main body 1 in a predetermined arrangement relationship.

The closed state of the front cover 20 with respect to the machine main body 1 in FIG. 2 is stably held by a lock mechanism (not shown). In FIG. 5, reference numeral 21 is a lock release knob, and by operating the knob 21, the front cover 20 is opened from the front surface of the machine main body 1 about the hinge horizontal axis 90 as shown in FIG. The printer main body 50 can be in a fully opened state until it is opened, that is, in a state in which the inside of the printer body 50 is largely opened at the boundary of the substantially vertical sheet path.

Therefore, by opening this, it is possible to easily take out and remove the jam sheet material generated in the substantially vertical sheet path, maintenance in the printer, and the like. In the printer of this embodiment, among the image forming process equipment, the drum 3, the primary charging contact roller 4, the developing device 6 and the cleaning device 8 are assembled in a common cartridge housing in a predetermined mutual relationship and the printer is mounted. A removable process cartridge 30 is provided at a predetermined position inside the main body, and the process cartridge 30 can be attached to and detached from the printer main body 50 by opening the front cover 20 as shown in FIG. The attachment / detachment operation is performed at a predetermined position in the housing main body 1.

Thus, the printer of this embodiment has the printer front cover 20 on the other side with respect to the device section on the one side of the printer housing main body 1 which is one side of the substantially vertical sheet path in the printer main body 50 which is the image forming means. Since the apparatus unit on the side is configured to be freely opened and closed and the main process equipment of the image forming unit is built in the printer machine main body 1 side which is the stationary side, it has the above-described action and effect. .

(III) Second Paper Feeding Section, Second Paper Discharging Section In FIG. 2, reference numerals 18 and 19 denote a second paper feeding port provided at the lower side position and the upper side position, respectively, of the front cover 20 described above. It is a laterally long slit opening as a second sheet discharge port.

Reference numeral 22 denotes a paper feed tray serving as a second paper feed unit for the second paper feed port 18, and the paper feed tray is a hinge horizontal axis 90 on the lower side.
From the front of the front cover 20 as shown by the two-dot chain line, and the raised closed position where the front cover 20 is folded and held with respect to the front of the front cover 20 as shown by the solid line centering on (the hinge horizontal axis of the front cover 20 is also used). It is possible to freely rotate and switch to the tilted open position, which is projected outwardly in a predetermined forward inclination angle posture and is held by the opening rotation control member.

Paper feed tray 22 as the second paper feed unit in this embodiment
Is composed of a main tray 22a and a sub-tray 22b that is provided in a telescopic manner so that the main tray 22a can be pulled out and pushed forward and backward with respect to the main tray, and the main tray 22a is tilted outward from the front of the front cover 20 and opened. By pulling out the sub-tray 22b, the length of the entire paper feed tray in the paper feed direction can be increased, and large-sized sheet materials can be stacked and set. FIGS. 5 and 6 show the state in which the paper feed tray is tilted down and opened. 22c and 22d are left and right guides (side pressers) for the stacked sheet materials provided on the main tray 22a.
One of the guides 22c is a stationary guide, and the other 22d is a guide that is movable along the guide groove 22e in the width direction of the main tray 22a. The distance between the guides 22c and 22d is narrowed according to the width of the sheet material P to be used. Widely adjustable.

The sheet material P is loaded and set on the paper feed tray 22 with the leading edge portion being inserted into the paper feed port 18 in a predetermined and sufficient manner, and the left and right portions being regulated by the guides 22c and 22d.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 23 denotes a paper ejection tray as a second paper ejection portion for the second paper ejection port 19, and the paper ejection tray is a front cover 20.
The pin 23a and the hook 20a (the seventh
It can be used by attaching and detaching freely by engaging with (Fig.).

Thus, in FIG. 6, the operation panel (console panel)
When the paper feed mode from the second paper feed unit 22 is designated by 24 and the print start button is pressed, the drum 3 is rotationally driven and the image formation on the surface of the drum 3 is executed as in the case described above.

On the other hand, the sheet feeding roller 9a of the sheet feeding / separating assembly 9
Is driven to rotate clockwise around the shaft 9b, a feeding force acts on the uppermost sheet material of the stacked sheet materials P on the paper feed tray 22, and only the uppermost sheet material mainly includes the friction member. Separation pad 9d separates the second and lower sheet materials, and as shown in FIG.
It is drawn into the printer body through the contact nip with 9a. The drawn sheet material enters the space between the conveying roller 10 and the idler roller 9c and is interlocked to form the image forming means as in the case of the sheet material fed from the side of the cassette feeder 60 as the first sheet feeding section. Sheet is fed to the above-mentioned substantially vertical sheet path and passes between the drum 3 and the transfer roller 7 to receive the formed image on the drum 3 surface side,
The image is fixed by passing through the fixing device 11.

The sheet material that has passed through the fixing device 11 and the second paper discharging roller 12 is moved to the first position of the guide when the movable guide 16 is switched and held in the substantially vertical first position as shown in FIG. 7A. Guide surface
Guided in the direction of the inward curve guide 17 by 16a
Paper is discharged through the path of the paper discharge roller 13 and the first paper discharge port 15 onto the tray 2 on the upper surface of the printer body machine 1 as the first paper discharge unit in the face-down mode with the image surface facing downward.

In addition, the movable guide 16 has a tilted second position as shown in FIG. 7 (b).
When the sheet is switched and held in the posture, the sheet material that has passed through the fixing device 11 and the second paper discharge roller 12 is guided by the second guide surface 16b of the guide 16 and is discharged from the second paper discharge port 19 to the printer front cover 20. The tray 23 serving as the second paper ejection portion that is ejected to the outside of the
The paper is ejected in the face-up mode with the image surface facing upward.

The selection switching between the first posture and the second posture of the movable guide 16 is manually performed by rotating the knob 16c.

In this way, the cassette feeder 60 as the first paper feeding unit,
Paper ejection tray 2 on the upper surface of the printer body as the first paper ejection unit
Separately from the above, by providing the paper feed tray 22 as the second paper feed unit and the paper discharge tray 23 as the second paper discharge unit,
It has the functions and effects described above.

The discharge tray 23 serving as a second discharge unit is removed from the second discharge port 19 of the printer front cover 20 when not in use. When the paper feed tray 22 serving as the second paper feed unit is not used, the sub tray 22b is pushed into the main tray 22a and stored, and then the main tray 22a is hinged to the lower side hinge horizontal axis 9
The front of the printer front cover 20 is folded around 0 as shown by the solid line in FIG. This folded state is stably held by the engagement of the mutual engagement concave and convex portions 20b and 22f (FIG. 5) provided on the front cover 20 side and the main tray 22a side.

When the main tray 22a is folded with respect to the front surface of the front cover 20, the second paper feed port 18 and the second paper discharge port 19 on the lower side and the upper side of the front cover 20 are folded, and the main tray 22a functions as a cover plate. Then, both of them are kept in the closed state to prevent external foreign matter such as dust or dust from entering the printer body through the openings 18 and 19.

The movable guide 16 for switching the path of the sheet material passing through the fixing device 11 and the second paper discharge roller 12 to the first paper discharge unit 2 or the second paper discharge unit 23 is the printer front cover 20 of the main tray 22a. It is also possible to automatically switch to a predetermined first posture or second posture by interlocking with folding the front face of the sheet and mounting the sheet discharge tray 23 to the second sheet discharge port 19.

FIG. 9 shows an example thereof. That is, FIG. 9A shows when the main tray 22a is folded into the front surface of the printer front cover 20. At this time, the movable guide 16 pushes the front surface of the main tray 22a into the sub tray 22b. It is pushed by the inner surface on the side of the tip side and is rotationally held in the first posture state. As a result, the sheet material that has passed through the fixing device 11 and the second paper discharge roller 12 has the first position of the movable guide 16 in the first posture.
The guide surface 16a regulates the path in the direction toward the first paper discharge unit 2. FIG. 9B shows when the main tray 22a is opened and the paper ejection tray 23 is attached to the second paper ejection port 19, and in this case, the movable guide 16 has a protruding portion under the knob 16c. 16d is pushed by the part 23b of the paper discharge tray 23 to which the attached 16d is attached, and the state is changed from the first posture state to the second posture state and held. As a result, the sheet material that has passed through the fixing device 11 and the second paper discharge roller 12 has the second guide surface of the movable guide 16 in the second posture.
The path is regulated in the direction from the second paper discharge port 19 to the paper discharge tray 23 as the second paper discharge portion by 16b.

(IV) Modified Example The printer shown in FIG. 10 has the image forming means 50 in the middle, and the first paper feeding portion 60 is arranged in the upper portion and the first paper discharging portion 2 is arranged in the lower portion to feed the paper. The sheet discharge unit 2 from the unit 60 through the image forming unit 50
The sheet material fed from the sheet feeding section 60 is introduced into the substantially vertical sheet path and conveyed, and the image forming means 50 executes image formation on the sheet material. The paper is discharged to the paper discharge unit 2.

That is, as for the sheet material P in the sheet material cassette 61 of the sheet feeding section 60, the uppermost sheet material is separated and fed by the one rotation drive of the sheet feeding roller 67 and the separating claw 64, and the discharging roller 68 forms the image forming means. The sheet is conveyed downward in the substantially vertical sheet path of the section 50,
By passing between the drum 1 and the transfer charger 7a, the formed image on the surface of the drum 1 is sequentially transferred, and the conveying device 2
7, fixing device 11, movable guide in first position (shown by solid line), first
Paper is discharged in the path of the discharge roller 13 into the tray 2 as the first discharge unit in the face-up mode with the image surface facing upward.

In addition, the second discharge port 19 provided near the lower side of the printer front cover 20
Attach the paper ejection tray 23 as the second paper ejection section to
By switching the movable guide 16 to the second posture (indicated by a chain double-dashed line), the sheet material that has passed through the fixing device 11 is transferred to the second discharge roller 1
2, the tray 2 as the second paper ejection section in the path of the second paper ejection port 19
3 The paper is ejected in face-down mode with the image side facing down. The paper output tray 23 as the second paper output unit is removed out of the way when not in use or the printer front cover 20
Can be folded or stored in front of the.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, there are the following effects.

(1) A compact image forming apparatus having a small installation area can be configured.

(2) By swinging the transport unit downward to open the inside of the apparatus, the jam sheet material can be easily taken out and removed by widely opening the sheet path as a boundary.

In this case, the transport unit can be easily opened because its own weight acts when it is opened downward.

(3) The main process equipment of the image forming means is built in the apparatus main body on the non-opening / closing side (immovable side) so as not to cause movement or rocking accompanying the opening / closing of the apparatus. It is possible to maintain the formation and output of a quality image for a long period of time.

Further, since the sheet feeding section is also mainly present in the apparatus on the non-opening / closing side and does not move, swing or tilt when the apparatus is opened / closed, the sheet material of the sheet feeding section is not opened by inadvertently opening the apparatus. Fall
There is no such thing as scattering.

(4) Due to the configuration including the second paper feed unit and the second paper discharge unit, various sheet materials can be selectively fed and the paper discharge can be performed in the face-down mode or the face-up mode. .

(5) The sheet path from the sheet feeding section to the sheet discharging section can be a substantially vertical sheet path, the path length is short, the occurrence rate of jam of the sheet material is low, and the output of the first print is no longer present. .

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 (1) to FIG. 4 (4) are respectively configuration model diagrams of the device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical side view of a printer of an embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the front side of the printer, FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the printer with the printer front cover folded down to open the inside of the printer, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the printer front side in a state in which the printer is tilted outward and opened and the sub-tray is pulled out.
7A and 7B are vertical cross-sectional side views of the printer in which a detachable paper ejection tray as a paper ejection unit is attached, and FIGS. 7A and 7B show a state in which the movable guide is changed to the first posture and the second posture, respectively. FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged side view showing an enlarged sectional view of an essential part showing a state in which one sheet material is separated and fed by a sheet feeding roller and a separating pad in a sheet material single sheet separating and feeding assembly, FIG. 9A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a state in which the movable guide is changed to the first posture in association with the closing (folding) of the open / close paper feeding tray as the second paper feeding portion. FIG. 10B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a state in which the movable guide is changed to the second posture in association with the mounting of the detachable paper ejection tray, and FIG. 10 is a vertical cross section of the printer of another embodiment. Side views and FIGS. 11 and 12 are vertical side views of a conventional printer, respectively. 50 is a printer main body as an image forming unit, 60 is a cassette feeder as a first paper feed unit, 2 is a built-in paper ejection tray as a second paper ejection unit, 20 is a front cover of the printer main body, and 22 is a cover. An openable and convolutable paper feed tray as a second paper feed unit, 9 is a single sheet separating and feeding assembly for the tray, 23 is a removable paper ejection tray as a second paper ejection unit, and 30 is Detachable process cartridge inside the printer.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Internal reference number FI Technical display location G03G 21/16 (56) References JP 61-114936 (JP, A) JP 61- 56371 (JP, A) JP 62-285842 (JP, A) Actually developed 62-41767 (JP, U)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for feeding a sheet material to an image forming means portion from a paper feeding portion to form a target image on the fed sheet material surface, and for conveying and discharging the image formed sheet material to a paper discharging portion. In the above, the image forming means is disposed inside, and the paper feed section is disposed on one of the upper part and the lower part of the image formation means, and the paper discharge section is disposed on the other side. A sheet path extending in a substantially vertical direction to the paper discharge section and a sheet material conveying means for feeding a sheet material in the sheet path are provided, and the main process equipment of the image forming means section and the paper feeding section are stationary sides. A conveyance unit built in the main body of the apparatus and partially holding the above-mentioned sheet material conveying means,
An image forming apparatus characterized in that the sheet path is supported so as to be openable and closable so that the sheet path is exposed by swinging the lower side of the apparatus main body as a center. 2. When the sheet feeding section above or below the image forming means section is a first sheet feeding section, the sheet is provided on the side of the transport unit separately from the first sheet feeding section. A second sheet feeding unit that communicates with the path via a branch sheet path is provided, and the sheet material can be selectively fed from the first or second sheet feeding unit to the sheet path. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material receiving member of the second paper feeding unit is foldable or housed in or removable from the transport unit. 3. When the paper discharge section above or below the image forming means is used as a first paper discharge section, the sheet is provided on the side of the transport unit separately from the first paper discharge section. A second paper discharge unit that communicates with the path via a branched sheet path is provided, and it is possible to selectively discharge the sheet material from the sheet path with respect to the first or second paper discharge unit. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet material receiving member of the second sheet discharging unit is foldable or housed in or removable from the transport unit.