JP3313554B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a laser printer,
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a plain paper facsimile machine and a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 1 and 2 are side sectional views showing an example of a laser printer, showing a state in which a maintenance opening / closing unit is closed and a state in which maintenance is opened. Reference numeral 1 denotes a printer main body, 2 denotes a base structure part which forms a part of the printer main body 1, 3 denotes a maintenance opening / closing part which forms the printer main body 1 together with the base structure part 2,
The maintenance opening / closing unit 3 is swingably supported by the base structure 2 around the connecting shaft 4 shown in FIG. 2 and is held at a closed position close to the base structure 2 shown in FIG. Allow formation. In addition, when the user, a service person or the like swings the maintenance opening / closing unit 3 from the closed position to the maintenance position shown in FIG. 2, the inside of the printer main body 1 is exposed. Reference numeral 5 denotes a paper feed cassette detachably mounted on the base structure 2, and
The sheet cassette 5 is loaded with a bundle of recording sheets P to be fed to the printer body 1.

Further, reference numeral 6 denotes a manual paper feed unit supported by the maintenance opening / closing section 3 so as to be swingable about a swing shaft 7. When the manual paper feed unit 6 is not used, the manual paper feed unit 6 is held in a storage position where the manual paper feed unit 6 is used. When the manual paper feed unit 6 is used, the user removes the manual paper feed unit 6 from the storage position. By swinging to the operating position, the recording paper P can be loaded on the urging plate 6a of the manual paper feed unit 6. The laser printer shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a configuration in which the manual paper feed unit 6 is in the operating position.
It is possible to feed the recording paper P to the printer main body 1 only from the manual paper feed unit 6, and when the manual paper feed unit 6 is held at the storage position, the paper feed cassette 5
The recording paper P can be fed to the printer body 1 only from the printer 1.

Next, an image forming operation by the above-described laser printer will be described. Here, the laser printer is shown in FIG.
It is assumed that the maintenance opening / closing section 3 is held at the closed position and the manual paper feed unit 6 is opened to the operating position as shown in FIG. The photoreceptor drum 10 rotating in the direction of the arrow is uniformly charged by the charger 11, and the optical writing unit
Reference numeral 12 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 10 by scanning the uniformly charged photosensitive drum 10 with the laser beam L. The developing unit 13 develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 10 into a toner image by transferring and attaching the toner to the photosensitive drum 10.

On the other hand, the recording paper P loaded in the manual paper feed unit 6 is pushed out in the transport direction by rotating the paper feed roller 14 in the direction of the arrow at the start of image formation, and the recording paper P is separated from the separation member 15. Due to the frictional force, only the uppermost sheet is separated and fed into the transport path 16. The recording paper P fed into the conveyance path 16 is timed by a detection signal from the registration sensor 17 and stops at a position where the recording paper P comes into contact with the holding portion of the registration roller pair 18 and the skew is corrected. The registration roller pair 18 starts conveyance of the recording paper P at a timing when the toner image on the photosensitive drum 10 reaches a predetermined position, and the transfer roller 19 moves to the recording paper P started to be conveyed by the registration roller pair 18. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 10 is transferred. The recording paper P is conveyed to the fixing device 20 and the toner image is heated and fixed thereon. Thereafter, the recording paper P is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 22 by the paper discharge roller pair 21. At this time, the paper ejection sensor 23
Detects the trailing edge of the recording paper P at an upstream position of the discharge roller pair 21 and outputs a detection signal for defining the stop timing of the discharge roller pair 21.

Further, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 10 after the transfer of the toner image is removed from the photosensitive drum 10 by the cleaning unit 24 and
Collected inside.

The operation for forming an image on the recording paper P fed from the manual paper feed unit 6 has been described above. However, when the manual paper feed unit 6 is at the storage position, the paper feed cassette is not used. 5 is fed into the transport path 27 by the feed roller 25 and the separating member 26, and this recording paper P is, like the recording paper P from the manual paper feed unit 6, After the image is formed on the printer main body 1, the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 22.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the configuration of another example of a laser printer, wherein 31 is a printer body, and 32 is a printer body.
A base structure part that constitutes a part of 31, 31 is a base structure part 32
And a maintenance opening / closing unit which forms the printer main body 31.The maintenance opening / closing unit 33 is swingably supported by the base structure unit 32 about the connecting shaft 34, and is closed to be in close contact with the base structure unit 32 indicated by a solid line. It is held at the position to enable image formation by the printer body 31. When the user, a service person, or the like swings the maintenance opening / closing unit 33 from the closed position to the maintenance position indicated by a chain line, the inside of the printer main body 31 is exposed. Reference numeral 35 denotes a paper feed cassette detachably mounted on the base structure portion 32. The paper feed cassette 35 is loaded with a bundle of recording papers P to be fed to the printer main body 31.

Reference numeral 36 denotes a discharge tray supported by a maintenance opening / closing section 33 so as to be swingable about a swing shaft 37. When the apparatus is not used, the paper discharge tray 36 is held at a storage position where it is stored in the maintenance opening / closing unit 33 as shown by a dashed line. When an image is formed by the apparatus, the paper discharge tray 36 is discharged from the storage position shown by a dashed line. Rocks.
The recording paper P on which an image is formed and discharged by the apparatus is stacked on a discharge tray 36 at the discharge position.

[0010]

In a conventional laser printer as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a manual paper feed unit 6 opened to an operating position is usually connected to either the maintenance opening / closing section 3 or the printer main body 1. The manual paper feed unit 6 is brought into contact with the maintenance opening / closing unit 3 or the printer main body 1 at a predetermined angle by being brought into contact with the stopper unit provided.
(Hereinafter, referred to as an operation angle). As the operating angle, an angle close to horizontal is generally set such that the recording paper P placed on the urging plate 6a does not slip. In the laser printer having such a configuration, for example, in order to remove the recording paper P jammed inside the printer main body 1 or to remove the toner cartridge of the developing device 13 while the manual paper feed unit 6 is opened to the operating position. Consider a case where the maintenance opening and closing unit 3 is opened to the maintenance position for replacement or the like.

First, the maintenance opening / closing section 3 has a stopper section.
(Not shown), the maintenance opening / closing unit 3 is swung from the closed position to the maintenance position about the connecting shaft 4 to thereby allow the manual sheet feeding unit 6 to be rotated.
Also swings together with the maintenance opening / closing section 3,
When the recording paper P is loaded on the urging plate 6a, there is a problem that the recording paper P on the urging plate 6a falls due to an increase in the inclination angle of the manual paper feed unit 6.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a case where a stopper portion for a manual paper feed unit is provided in a base structure portion in a conventional laser printer. Here, reference numeral 41 denotes a stopper formed integrally with the base structure 2, and the stopper 41 is manually inserted in the state where the maintenance opening / closing section 3 is held at the closed position as shown in FIG. The manual feed unit 6 is held at an operating angle by contacting the front end of the feed unit 6. However, when the maintenance opening / closing unit 3 swings from the closed position to the maintenance position around the connection shaft 4, the manual sheet feeding unit 6 is separated from the stopper unit 41 and becomes integral with the maintenance opening / closing unit 3. Since the recording paper P is loaded on the urging plate 6a, the recording paper P on the urging plate 6a falls due to an increase in the inclination angle of the manual paper feed unit 6. Occurs.

In the conventional laser printer, as described above, the maintenance opening / closing section 3 swings from the closed position to the maintenance position, and the inclination angle of the manual paper feed unit 6 is increased so that recording on the manual paper feed unit 6 is performed. In order to solve the problem of the paper P dropping, there is provided a tilt angle holding means for holding the tilt angle of the manual paper feed unit 6 with respect to the base structure unit 2 at the operation angle without being affected by the opening / closing of the maintenance opening / closing unit 3. There are things. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a tilt angle holding means for a manual paper feed unit in a conventional laser printer. Reference numeral 42 denotes a fixed pin provided upright on the base structure portion 2, reference numeral 43 denotes a rotating pin provided upright on the manual paper feed unit 6, and reference numeral 44 denotes a holding plate provided with an arc-shaped slide groove 44a. The 44 is configured such that one end is fixed to the pivot pin 43 and is rotatably supported, and the slide groove 44a is inserted into the fix pin 42 and moves along the fix pin 42.

When the maintenance opening / closing unit 3 is held in the closed position, the manual feed unit 6 is opened from the storage position to the operating position, and the stopper unit 41 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), the manual paper feed unit 6 is held at an operating angle with respect to the base structure 2 by abutting on the end of the manual paper feed unit 6 on the side close to the swing shaft 7. When the maintenance opening / closing unit 3 swings from the closed position to the maintenance position while the manual paper feed unit 6 is in the operating position, as shown in FIG.
The manual feed unit 6 is lifted up by the holding plate 44 and held at the operating angle.

However, when the laser printer is provided with a tilt angle holding means for the manual paper feeding unit 6 as shown in FIG. 7, the fixing pin 42 provided on the base structure 2 and the manual paper feeding unit 6 are provided. It is necessary to add a plurality of independent members such as a rotatable rotating pin and a holding plate 44, which increases the cost of the apparatus, and further,
Since these members 42, 43, and 44 are provided in the apparatus, there is a problem that the apparatus becomes large.

Also, in the conventional laser printer as shown in FIG. 3, similarly to the laser printer shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the base structure portion 32 or the maintenance opening / closing portion 33 is provided.
The discharge tray 36 is set at a predetermined angle close to horizontal (hereinafter referred to as a discharge angle) only by a stopper portion (not shown) provided at
When the maintenance opening / closing section 33 is pivoted from the closed position to the maintenance position, the inclination angle of the paper discharge tray 36 increases, and the paper
There is a problem that the recording paper P on 36 drops, and it is not affected by the opening / closing of the maintenance opening / closing section 33.
In the case where the inclination angle holding means for holding the sheet discharge tray 36 at the sheet discharge angle with respect to the base structure portion 32 is provided, there is a problem that the apparatus cost increases and the apparatus becomes large.

According to the present invention, the means for holding the manual sheet feeding unit or the discharge tray at a fixed angle in a state where the maintenance opening / closing portion is at an arbitrary position causes a large increase in apparatus cost and an increase in size of the apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide the image forming apparatus without using the image forming apparatus.

[0018]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, comprising: a base structure part forming a part of an apparatus main body; A maintenance opening / closing unit which is held at a closed position close to the unit, and which is openably supported at a maintenance position where the inside of the apparatus main body is exposed around a connection shaft with the base structure unit during non-image formation, and Swingably supported, held in a storage position close to the maintenance opening and closing part when not in use,
In an image forming apparatus comprising: a manual feed sheet feeding unit on which sheets to be fed to the apparatus main body by being swung to an operation position protruding from the maintenance opening / closing unit during use are provided. While supporting the driving shaft and the connection shaft of the maintenance opening and closing unit to be parallel to each other, disposing the shafts at different positions,
The base structure portion is provided with a tilt angle holding surface formed substantially parallel to the movement locus of the manual feed unit when the maintenance opening / closing unit swings from the closed position to the maintenance position, and the manual feed unit is provided. A tilt angle that abuts the tilt angle holding surface in a state where the maintenance opening / closing unit is at any position from the closed position to the maintenance position, and holds the manual feed unit at the operating position at a fixed angle with respect to the base structure unit; It is characterized in that a holding portion is provided.

Further, the image forming apparatus according to claim 2 is
In the manual paper feed unit, a frame portion and the tilt angle holding portion are integrally formed of a resin material.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: a base structure part forming a part of the apparatus main body; and a closed position which is at least close to the base structure part at the time of image formation, and at the time of non-image formation. A maintenance opening / closing unit that is openably supported at a maintenance position that exposes the inside of the device main body around the connection shaft with the base structure unit, and is swingably supported by this maintenance opening / closing unit. And a paper discharge tray on which the paper discharged from the apparatus main body is swung to a paper discharge position protruding from the maintenance opening / closing unit during use. The swinging shaft of the sheet feeding unit and the connecting shaft of the maintenance opening / closing unit are supported so as to be parallel to each other, and the shafts are respectively aligned. Disposing at different positions, the base structure portion is provided with a tilt angle holding surface formed substantially in parallel with a movement trajectory of a sheet discharge tray when the maintenance opening / closing portion swings from the closed position to the maintenance position, When the maintenance opening / closing unit is at an arbitrary position from the closed position to the maintenance position, the maintenance tray is in contact with the inclined angle holding surface, and the paper ejection tray at the paper ejection position is fixed at a certain angle with respect to the base structure. It is characterized in that a tilt angle holding portion for holding is provided.

Further, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention,
The paper discharge tray and the tilt angle holding portion are integrally formed of a resin material.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a main part of a laser printer which is a first embodiment of the electrophotographic recording apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a manual paper feed unit in the laser printer of the first embodiment. The members corresponding to those described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.
Reference numeral 51 denotes a connection shaft between the base structure unit 2 and the maintenance opening / closing unit 3, and reference numeral 52 denotes a swing shaft of the manual sheet feeding unit 6 slidably supported by the maintenance opening / closing unit 3. Connecting shaft 51
And the swing shaft 52 are supported so as to be parallel to each other, and are arranged at different positions. Numeral 54 is a curved plate formed integrally with the base structure portion 2. The lower surface of the curved plate 54 is provided with a movement locus of the manual sheet feeding unit 6 when the maintenance opening / closing portion 3 swings from the closed position to the maintenance position. An inclined angle holding surface 54a formed substantially in parallel is formed. Reference numeral 55 denotes a tilt angle holding portion provided in the manual sheet feeding unit 6. In the manual sheet feeding unit 6, the tilt angle holding portion 55 and the frame portion 6b supporting the urging plate 6a and the like are integrally formed of a resin material. Have been.

Here, the manual paper feed unit 6 at the operating position is separated from the stopper 41 by the maintenance opening / closing unit 3 swinging from the closed position to the maintenance position. At this time, since the center of gravity of the manual paper feed unit 6 is located on the tip end side with respect to the swing shaft 52, a moment is generated so as to swing the tip end downward. On the other hand, when the maintenance opening / closing unit 3 is at an arbitrary position from the closed position to the maintenance position, the inclination angle holding unit 55 abuts the upper end thereof on the inclination angle holding surface 54a.
The manual feed unit 6 is held at an operating angle against a moment that swings the tip of the manual feed unit 6 downward.

As described above, according to the laser printer of the first embodiment of the present invention, the maintenance opening / closing section 3
The manual feed unit 6 in the operating position is maintained at a certain operating angle with respect to the base structure 2 without being affected by the position in the swing direction of When swinging to the maintenance position, it is possible to prevent the recording paper P loaded in the manual paper feed unit 6 from dropping. In addition, the tilt angle holding surface
Since the curved plate 54 having 54a is formed integrally with the base structure portion 2 and the tilt angle holding portion 55 is formed integrally with the frame portion 6b, the operation can be performed without newly adding an independent member. Since the inclination angle holding means for holding the manual feed unit 6 at the position at the operating angle can be provided, it is possible to suppress an increase in apparatus cost and an increase in size of the apparatus when the inclination angle holding means is provided.

Next, a laser printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The laser printer according to the second embodiment is provided with a tilt angle holding means for holding the manual paper output tray 36 at the paper discharge position at a paper discharge angle, and the configuration is the same as that of the laser printer according to the first embodiment. Is basically the same as the inclination angle holding means.

In the second embodiment, the connecting shaft 34 and the swinging shaft 37 are supported so as to be parallel to each other, and are arranged at different positions. The tilt angle holding means is constituted by a curved plate and a tilt angle holding portion, not shown, respectively. The curved plate is formed integrally with the base structure portion 32, and a maintenance opening / closing portion 33 is provided on a lower surface thereof for maintenance from the closed position. Output tray 36 when swinging to position
Are formed substantially parallel to the movement locus of the tilt angle. The tilt angle holding portion is provided on the paper discharge tray 36, and the tilt angle holding portion and the paper discharge tray 36 are integrally formed of a resin material.

Here, the paper discharge tray 36 at the paper discharge position is
Since the center of gravity is located on the tip end side with respect to the swing shaft 37, a moment is generated to swing the tip end downward. On the other hand, when the maintenance opening / closing unit 33 is at an arbitrary position from the closed position to the maintenance position, the inclination angle holding unit of the paper discharge tray 36 is brought into contact with the paper discharge tray 36 by bringing the upper end thereof into contact with the inclination angle holding surface. The paper discharge tray 36 is held at a constant paper discharge angle with respect to the base structure 32 against a moment that swings the tip of the paper 36 downward.

As described above, according to the laser printer of the second embodiment of the present invention, the maintenance opening / closing section 33 is provided.
The discharge tray 36 at the discharge position is held at a fixed discharge angle with respect to the base structure 32 without being affected by the position in the swing direction of The recording paper P stacked on the discharge tray 36 can be prevented from dropping when the recording paper P is swung to the maintenance position. Further, since a curved plate having a tilt angle holding surface is formed integrally with the base structure portion 32 and the tilt angle holding portion is formed integrally with the paper discharge tray 36, an independent member is newly added. The inclination angle holding means for holding the ejection tray 36 at the ejection position at the ejection angle can be provided without increasing the apparatus cost and increasing the size of the apparatus when the inclination angle holding means is provided. it can.

[0029]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the swing shaft of the manual paper feed unit and the connecting shaft of the maintenance opening / closing unit are supported so as to be parallel to each other. The shafts are arranged at different positions, and the base structure has a tilt angle holding surface formed substantially parallel to the movement path of the manual feed unit when the maintenance opening / closing unit swings from the closed position to the maintenance position. The manual feed unit is provided with the maintenance opening / closing unit abutting on the inclined angle holding surface in a state where the maintenance opening / closing unit is at any position from the closed position to the maintenance position, and the manual feed unit at the operating position is attached to the base structure unit. By providing the inclination angle holding portion for holding the maintenance opening portion at a constant angle, the maintenance opening / closing portion is in the operating position without being affected by the position in the opening / closing direction. Since the paper feed unit can be held at a fixed angle with respect to the base structure, when the maintenance opening / closing unit is swung from the closed position to the maintenance position, the recording paper placed on the manual paper feed unit The paper can be prevented from falling.

Further, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, in the manual paper feed unit, the frame portion and the inclination angle holding portion are integrally formed of a resin material, so that an independent member is newly added. Since the tilt angle holding portion for holding the manual sheet feeding unit in the operating position at a fixed angle with respect to the base structure portion can be provided without increasing the cost of the apparatus due to the tilt angle holding portion, Increase in size can be suppressed.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the swinging shaft of the discharge tray and the connecting shaft of the maintenance opening / closing unit are supported so as to be parallel to each other, and the shafts are located at different positions. To the base structure,
When the maintenance opening / closing section swings from the closed position to the maintenance position, an inclined angle holding surface formed substantially in parallel with the movement trajectory of the paper output tray is provided. The maintenance opening / closing part is provided by providing an inclination holding part that contacts the inclination holding surface at an arbitrary position and holds the discharge tray at the discharge position at a certain angle with respect to the base structure. The discharge tray at the discharge position can be held at a fixed angle with respect to the base structure without being affected by the position in the opening / closing direction, so the maintenance opening / closing part swings from the closed position to the maintenance position. In this case, the recording paper placed on the paper discharge tray can be prevented from falling.

Further, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the sheet discharge tray and the inclination angle holding portion are integrally formed of a resin material, the sheet discharge can be performed without newly adding an independent member. Since the tilt angle holding portion for holding the discharge tray at the position at a fixed angle with respect to the base structure portion can be provided, it is possible to suppress an increase in apparatus cost and an increase in size of the device due to the tilt angle holding portion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an example of a conventional laser printer.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing an example of a conventional laser printer.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating the configuration of another example of the laser printer.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a main part of the laser printer according to the first embodiment of the electrophotographic recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a manual paper feed unit in the laser printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram in a case where a stopper portion for a manual sheet feeding unit is provided in a base structure portion in a conventional laser printer.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an example of a tilt angle holding means for a manual paper feed unit in a conventional laser printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

1,31: Printer body, 2,32: Base structure,
3,33… Maintenance opening / closing part, 4,34,51… Connection shaft,
Reference numeral 6: manual feed unit 6a: biasing plate 6b: frame portion 7, 37, 52: swing shaft 36: discharge tray
41: stopper portion, 54: curved plate, 54a: tilt angle holding surface, 55: tilt angle holding portion, P: recording paper.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 1/00-3/68 B65H 11/00-11/02 B65H 31/00-31/40 G03G 15 / 00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a base structure part forming a part of an apparatus main body; and at least a closed position close to the base structure part at the time of image formation and a connection axis with the base structure part at the time of non-image formation. A maintenance opening / closing unit that is openably supported at a maintenance position that exposes the inside of the apparatus main body, and is swingably supported by the maintenance opening / closing unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: a manual paper feed unit on which paper for feeding paper to the apparatus main body is mounted by swinging to an operation position protruding from an opening / closing unit; While supporting the connection shaft of the maintenance opening and closing unit so as to be parallel to each other, disposing those shafts at different positions, The base structure portion is provided with a tilt angle holding surface formed substantially parallel to the movement trajectory of the manual feed unit when the maintenance opening / closing unit swings from the closed position to the maintenance position, and the manual feed unit includes: A tilt angle holding unit that abuts the tilt angle holding surface in a state where the maintenance opening / closing unit is at an arbitrary position from the closed position to the maintenance position, and holds the manual feed unit at the operating position at a fixed angle with respect to the base structure unit. An image forming apparatus, comprising a unit. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the manual sheet feeding unit, a frame portion and the tilt angle holding portion are integrally formed of a resin material. 3. A base structure part constituting a part of the apparatus main body, which is held at a closed position close to the base structure part at least during image formation, and about a connection axis with the base structure part during non-image formation. A maintenance opening / closing unit that is openably supported at a maintenance position that exposes the inside of the apparatus body, and is swingably supported by the maintenance opening / closing unit. In an image forming apparatus provided with a discharge tray on which sheets discharged from an apparatus main body are oscillated to a discharge position protruding from an opening / closing unit, a swing shaft of the discharge tray and the maintenance opening / closing In addition to supporting the connecting axes of the sections so as to be parallel to each other, disposing the axes at different positions, An inclination holding surface formed substantially parallel to the movement trajectory of the discharge tray when the maintenance opening / closing portion swings from the closed position to the maintenance position is provided. A tilt angle holding portion that contacts the tilt angle holding surface at an arbitrary position of the maintenance position and holds the discharge tray at the discharge position at a fixed angle with respect to the base structure is provided. Image forming apparatus. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said sheet discharge tray and said inclination angle holding portion are integrally formed of a resin material.