JP3364067B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer having a large-volume sheet feeding device. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to improve the transport performance of a vertical paper path and facilitate component replacement, one of a pair of vertical transport guides on the side of a large-capacity paper feeder is a movable guide. The other is a fixed guide, and the movable guide and the large-capacity sheet feeding device are respectively rotated around pivots provided on one end side,
An image forming apparatus in which the other end is opened and closed with respect to the image forming apparatus main body has been proposed. However, in the above-mentioned prior art, the opening / closing angle of the large-capacity sheet feeding device is predetermined, and accordingly, the installation space of the image forming apparatus including the maintenance space is set accordingly. The shape and dimensions are determined, and the location of the image forming apparatus must be selected accordingly.
There is a problem that it is very troublesome and inconvenient. Also, if the large-capacity paper feeder is forcibly installed in a place narrower than the shape and dimensions of the desired installation place, the large-capacity paper feeder may hit an obstacle such as a wall when the large-capacity paper feeder is opened and closed, and may be damaged. There is also. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of more freely selecting an installation place in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems. According to the present invention , there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit provided in an image forming apparatus main body;
A paper storage unit for storing paper disposed below the image forming unit, a paper feeding device for feeding paper one by one from the paper storage unit, and a pair of vertical conveyance units for guiding the conveyance of the paper in the vertical direction A vertical paper path for guiding the paper fed from the paper feeding device in a substantially vertical direction toward the image forming unit; and a guide disposed near the vertical paper path and outside the image forming apparatus main body. And one of the pair of vertical conveyance guides located on the side of the large-capacity paper feeder is a movable guide, the other is a fixed guide, and the movable guide and the large-capacity paper supply are provided. In the image forming apparatus in which the apparatus is opened and closed with respect to the image forming apparatus main body, the other end is rotated around a fulcrum of an axis parallel to the transport direction of the vertical paper path provided on one end side, and the movable guide or Open / close angle of the large capacity paper feeder is optional Characterized in that it has an adjustable opening angle adjusting mechanism. Further , for reference, the opening and closing angle adjusting mechanism is provided on a shaft which supports the image forming apparatus main body and the large capacity sheet feeding device. In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention , a fulcrum of the movable guide and the large-capacity paper feeder is provided at one end in the same direction, and the movable guide is opened and closed in conjunction with opening and closing of the large-capacity paper supply. A joint mechanism and a joint guide groove which are connected to each other so as to be able to be connected to each other, and a joint guide range regulating mechanism is provided in the joint guide groove. An embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. A document reading device 2 for optically reading a document is provided on an upper portion of the main body 1 of the illustrated image forming apparatus.
Is provided with an image forming section 3. The image forming section 3 includes a columnar photosensitive member 4 rotatably supported on a shaft.
In FIG. 5, a charging charger 5 for applying a voltage to the photosensitive member 4 to charge the photosensitive member 4 in a clockwise order, and a developing device for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive member 4 using the document reading device 2 6, a transfer charger 7 for transferring the developed image on the photoreceptor 4 to paper, a separation charger for separating the paper from the photoreceptor 4, a cleaning unit 8 for cleaning the photoreceptor 4, and the transfer charger 7 A fixing section 9 for holding the sheet and fixing the transferred image transferred to the sheet is provided. A plurality of sheet cassettes 12 are arranged below the image forming section 3 in the image forming apparatus main body 1 at intervals in the vertical direction.
At one end (the right end in FIG. 5), a paper feed roller 13 and a separation roller 14 are provided rotatably in contact with each other. The vertical paper path 15 through which the paper fed from the lower paper feed cassette 12 passes passes through the paper feed cassette 1.
The longitudinal paper path 15 is provided so as to extend in the vertical direction along one end of the vertical transport guide 1.
8 and 19 and transport roller pairs 16 and 17. On the outer side of the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus, a large-capacity paper feeder 20 is arranged near the vertical paper path 15. The large-capacity paper feeding device 20 includes a lifting platform 22 that is raised and lowered by a belt 21, a paper feeding roller 24 that contacts a sheet 23 stacked on the lifting platform 22, and a regulating plate 25 that aligns the edges of the paper 23. And When the printing operation is started, the photosensitive member 4
5 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 5. First, the surface of the photoconductor 4 is charged by the charging charger 5, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the charged portion by optical writing of the document reading device 2. Thereafter, the latent image is developed by the developing device 6 to form a toner image. Subsequently, the toner image moves to the transfer section. On the other hand, in synchronization with the formation of the toner image, the paper is fed from the paper supply cassette 12 via the registration roller 53, and the toner image is transferred to the paper under the action of the transfer charger 7. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photoreceptor 4 by the separation charger, and is conveyed to the fixing unit 9 where the toner image is fixed on the sheet. After the fixing, the sheet is discharged to a sheet receiving tray 11 by a sheet discharging roller 110. On the other hand, the photoreceptor 4 after the transfer is cleaned by the cleaning unit 8 to remove the remaining toner, and is prepared for the next printing operation. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention in a state where a large-capacity sheet feeding device is in a closed position. FIG. It is a top view shown in a certain state. The vertical paper path 15 is disposed between the vertical transport guide 26 and the vertical transport guide 27,
Numeral 6 is fixed to the image forming apparatus main body 1 (hereinafter, the “vertical transport guide 26” is referred to as “fixed guide 26”), and the vertical transport guide 27 is turned to the image forming apparatus main body 1 via a shaft fulcrum 28. It is movably mounted (hereinafter, “vertical transport guide 27” is referred to as “movable guide 27”). On the other hand, the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 is also rotatably mounted on the image forming apparatus main body 1 via the shaft fulcrum 29. The pivots 28 of the movable guide 27 and the pivots 29 of the large-capacity sheet feeder 20 have their axes extending in the vertical direction in parallel with the transport direction of the vertical paper path 15. It is located on the back side. Therefore, the vertical paper path 15 and the large-capacity paper feeding device 20 can be opened and closed with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 1 on the front side, and can rotate between the closed position shown in FIG. 1 and the open position shown in FIG. At the front side (lower side in FIGS. 1 and 2) of the large-capacity paper feeder 20, the image forming apparatus main body 1 is in the closed position.
And a lock mechanism 30 for locking the lock. The lock mechanism 30 according to the present embodiment is rotatably attached to the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 via a shaft 31, and includes a lock lever 33 provided with a lock portion 32 at one end, and a lock lever 32. A spring 35 that urges the lock lever 33 to rotate in a direction locking the lock pin 34 of the image forming apparatus main body 1 to the lock lever 33, and the lock lever 3 against the action of the spring 35.
3 is provided with a stopper (not shown) for holding the stopper 3 at a predetermined position. On the other hand, the image forming apparatus main body 1 is provided with a lock pin 34 for locking the locking portion 32 of the lock lever 33. The regulating plate 25 of the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 is provided with a leaf spring 38 on a surface facing the movable guide 27. When the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 is in the closed position, the leaf spring 38 comes into contact with the projection 39 fixed to the movable guide 27, and the rotating force moves the movable guide 27 closer to the fixed guide 26, that is, the movable guide 27 Shaft fulcrum 2
A clockwise turning force in FIG. On the other hand, the movable guide 27 is provided with a gap holding member 40 protruding from a surface facing the fixed guide 26. When the gap holding member 40 contacts the fixed guide 26, the fixed guide 26 and the movable guide 2
7 is maintained at a predetermined size, and a vertical paper path 15 at a constant interval is formed. In the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, a detecting means for detecting that the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 is at the closed position is provided. This detecting means is a large-capacity paper feeder 2
0, and a shield plate 37 attached to the image forming apparatus main body 1.
When the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 is in the closed position, the shielding plate 37
Interrupts the sensor light receiving portion (not shown) of the set detection sensor 36, and detects that the large capacity sheet feeding device 20 is at the closed position. In the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, a joint mechanism for connecting the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 and the movable guide 27 to each other is provided. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a joint mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The joint mechanism comprises a guide member 41 and a connecting member 43. The guide member 41 in which the guide groove 42 is formed is provided above the free end of the regulating plate 25 of the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20. A shaft fulcrum 29 is attached to the other end of the regulating plate 25. On the other hand, the movable guide 2
One end of a connecting member 43 is attached by a screw 44 to an upper portion near a free end opposite to the shaft fulcrum 28 of 7.
At the other end of the connecting member 43, a cylindrical member 45 is rotatably supported around its central axis. The cylindrical member 45 is fitted in the guide groove 46 of the guide member 41 and is guided by the guide groove 46 of the guide member 45. Since the guide groove 42 is formed to be inclined with respect to the regulating plate 25, the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 and the movable guide 27 can rotate while maintaining a parallel positional relationship with each other. A claw 46 is screwed at one end to the guide member 41 by a screw 47, and the other end 48 of the claw 46 has a structure capable of closing a part of the guide groove 42. The range in which the cylindrical member 45 can move is limited by the position where the other end of the claw 46 is closed. If the screw 47 is loosened, the position of the other end 48 of the claw 46 can be changed, and the movable range of the columnar member 45 can be adjusted. That is, in the first embodiment, the opening / closing angle of the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 and the movable guide 27 can be set, and the maintenance space for the image forming apparatus can be freely adjusted. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a pivot point of another example of the joint mechanism. The stopper mounting plate 49 is connected to the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 and the shaft fulcrum 2
9 and can rotate around a pivot point 29. A stopper 50 protrudes from one end of the stopper mounting plate 49 and is mounted near the other end of the stopper mounting plate 49. An arc-shaped groove 51 centered on the shaft fulcrum 29 is provided. The stopper mounting plate 49 is screwed to the image forming apparatus main body 1 by a screw 52 penetrating the groove 51. When the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 rotates around the pivot point 29 and reaches a predetermined opening / closing angle, the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20
Abuts against the stopper 50 of the stopper mounting plate 49, so that the opening / closing angle of the large capacity paper feeder 20 is limited. When the screw 52 is loosened, the stopper mounting plate 49 can be rotated around the pivot point 29. Next, when the screw 52 is tightened again at an arbitrary position, the large-capacity sheet feeding device 20 can be rotated.
You can easily change and adjust the setting of the opening and closing angle. According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the opening and closing angle adjusting means for arbitrarily adjusting the opening and closing angle of the movable guide or the large capacity paper feeder is provided, There is an effect that the maintenance space can be freely adjusted. As a reference , a movable guide or a large-capacity paper feeder is provided because it has a stopper that can be rotated about an axis supporting the image forming apparatus main body and the large-capacity paper feeder and fixed at an arbitrary position. The opening and closing angle of the image forming apparatus can be arbitrarily adjusted, and the maintenance space of the image forming apparatus can be freely adjusted. According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the joint guiding groove has the joint guiding range regulating means, the moving range of the joint mechanism guided along the joint guiding groove can be adjusted, and the large capacity can be achieved. It is possible to set the opening and closing angles of the sheet feeding device and the movable guide, and it is possible to freely adjust the maintenance space for the image forming device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention in a state where a large-capacity sheet feeding device is in a closed position. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the large-capacity sheet feeding device in an open position. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a joint mechanism. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another example of the joint mechanism. FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus main body 2 Document reading apparatus 3 Image forming section 4 Photoconductor 12 Paper cassette 15 Vertical paper path 16, 17 Transport roller pair 18, 19 Vertical transport guide 20 Large capacity paper feeder 21 Belt 22 Lifting table 23 Paper 24 Feed roller 25 Restriction plate 26 Vertical transport guide (fixed guide) 27 Vertical transport guide (movable guide) 28, 29 Shaft fulcrum 30 Lock mechanism 31 Axis 32 Lock section 33 Lock lever 34 Lock pin 35 Spring 36 Set detection sensor 37 Shielding plate 38 Leaf spring 39 Projecting part 40 Gap holding member 41 Guide member 42 Guide groove 43 Connecting member 45 Column member 46 Claw 48 Claw other end 49 Stopper mounting plate 50 Stopper 51 Groove 53 Registration roller

Claims (1)

(57) Claims 1. An image forming section provided in an image forming apparatus main body, a sheet storing section for storing sheets disposed below the image forming section, and the sheet storing section And a pair of vertical conveyance guides for guiding the conveyance of the paper in the vertical direction, wherein the paper fed from the paper feeding device is directed to the image forming unit. A vertical paper path for transporting the paper in a substantially vertical direction, and a large-capacity paper feeder disposed near the vertical paper path and outside the image forming apparatus main body; One of the pair of vertical transport guides is a movable guide, the other is a fixed guide, and the movable guide and the large-capacity paper feeder are each provided at one end with a fulcrum of an axis parallel to a transport direction of a vertical paper path provided at one end. The other end rotates to open and close with respect to the image forming apparatus main body. In the image forming apparatus has a freely adjustable opening angle adjustment mechanism opening and closing angle of the movable guides or the large capacity sheet feeding apparatus, said movable guide and supporting the large capacity sheet feeding apparatus
Point at one end in the same direction, and open the large capacity paper feeder.
The movable guides can be opened and closed by interlocking
It has a joint mechanism and a joint guide groove to connect,
And a joint guiding range regulating mechanism in the joint guiding groove.
An image forming apparatus comprising: