JP3451464B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having an opening on one side surface of a housing and a paper discharge section for receiving a sheet after image formation inside the opening.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a digital copying machine, research and development has been actively conducted to minimize the installation occupation area, and as a result, paper sheets are stacked and stocked before image formation. There is one in which a tray and a paper discharge unit that holds the paper after image formation are arranged in the vertical direction with respect to the image forming unit. In this case, on the front side of the image forming apparatus,
An opening for taking out the paper on the paper output unit is formed.

In a conventional image forming apparatus of this type, a paper discharge tray is detachably attached to the upper portion of the paper discharge unit.
In some cases, a multi-bin sorter is configured by providing a mechanism for feeding the paper after image formation onto the discharge tray when the discharge tray is mounted.

[0004]

However, when the multi-bin sorter is not used in the above image forming apparatus,
The upper part of the paper discharge section was a wasted space. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that can effectively use the upper space of the discharge unit and can use the space as a storage place for supplies and the like.

The present invention also makes it unnecessary to add new parts or the like to form a storage place for the above-mentioned supplies and the like by utilizing the discharge tray for the sorter as a shelf even when the multi-bin sorter is not used. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus.

Further, in the image forming apparatus, various paper types and paper sizes are sometimes used, and there are cases in which there are more than the number of paper feed cassettes that can be mounted in the main body. In this case, conventionally, a separate storage location is required to store the spare paper feed cassette. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of storing a paper feed cassette on the upper part of a discharge section.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus according to the first aspect is provided with a paper discharge section which is opened on one side surface of a housing and receives a sheet after image formation inside the opening. In the image forming apparatus, a paper ejection tray is detachably mounted on the paper ejection unit, and means for feeding the paper after image formation onto the paper ejection tray when the paper ejection tray is mounted. It is characterized in that it has a shelf plate detachably provided on the upper portion of the paper discharge section at the time of removal.

In the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the bottom surface side of the paper discharge tray is formed into a flat plate shape, and the paper discharge tray is attached to the upper part of the paper discharge portion so that the bottom surface side faces up. It is characterized in that the shelf board is configured.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus is provided with a paper discharge section which is opened on one side surface of a housing and receives the paper after image formation inside the opening, and a paper discharge tray is provided above the paper discharge section. In the image forming apparatus, which is detachably mounted, and has means for feeding the paper after the image formation onto the paper discharge tray when the paper discharge tray is mounted, a paper is fed to an upper part of the paper discharge unit when the paper discharge tray is removed. It is characterized by having a receiving portion for holding the cassette.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a digital copying machine having an in-body discharge section according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the illustrated digital copying machine, a mounting portion for a paper feed cassette 21, an image forming unit 30 for forming an image on a sheet, an in-body discharge section 1 for holding the sheet after the image formation, and a scanner 15 for reading an image of a document are sequentially arranged. , Provided in the vertical direction of the housing. The paper feed cassette 21 can be mounted in two stages at the bottom of the main body. The sheets P stacked in the sheet feeding cassette 21 are separated and fed by the sheet feeding unit 20 and sent to the image forming unit 30.
The image forming unit 30 transfers the image on the original read by the scanner 15 onto the sheet P. The image on the sheet P is fixed by the fixing unit 4, and then the conveyance guide 3 and the conveyance rollers 6 and 7 are used.
Is guided to the discharge roller 5. The paper P is the scanner 1
The sheet is discharged to the in-body discharge section 1 below 5 from the direction of arrow A in the figure, and is sequentially stacked on the discharge stack section 2. In the digital copying machine, a detachable 1-bin sorter tray 41 can be added to the upper part of the in-body discharging section 40. This will be described later.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the digital copying machine shown in FIG. In the figure, an automatic document feeder 16 is provided above the scanner 15. The front side of the in-body discharge section 1 is opened, and the sheets discharged to the discharge stack section 2 can be taken out from here. As shown in FIG. 3, this digital copying machine is provided with a pair of rails 1a and 1b on the inner side wall of the in-body discharging section 1. The rails 1a and 1b are for holding the sorter tray 41 on the upper part of the in-body discharging section 1.

An example of the sorter tray 41 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 5, the sorter tray 41 is a substantially L-shaped bottom plate 41.
A large number of ribs 41b are provided on a at regular intervals in the sheet feeding direction. The bottom plate 41a is formed with a flat bottom surface side and has guides 41c and 41d on both sides for engaging with the rails 1a and 1b formed in the in-body discharge section 1. The rails 1a and 1b are arranged in different steps as shown in FIG. 3, and the sorter tray 41 is supported horizontally.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a digital copying machine showing an installation mode of the sorter tray 41 when the multi-bin sorter is not used. When the multi-bin sorter is not used, the sorter tray 41 shown in FIG. 5 is turned upside down and installed in the in-body discharging section 1 with the surface of the bottom plate 41a facing upward. That is, FIG.
As shown in, one guide 41d is placed on the rail 1a, and the other guide 41c is placed on the rail 1b.
By arranging the sorter tray 41 in this way, a shelf is formed on the upper part of the in-body discharging unit 1, and it becomes possible to store supplies such as an operation manual and paper.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an installation mode of the sorter tray 41 when a multi-bin sorter is used. When using a multi-bin sorter, 1 bin sorter paper discharge unit 5
0 is installed on the back side of the in-body discharge unit 1. The sheet P conveyed upward by the conveyance guide 3 is not sent to the discharge roller 5 side by the branching claw 53, but is guided to the second discharge roller 52 via the second conveyance guide 51. The sheet P is discharged in the direction of arrow B from the upper part of the in-body discharge section 1. Sorter tray 41
Is installed in the in-body discharge section 1 with its rib 41b side facing up. That is, one guide 41c is placed on the rail 1a, and the other guide 41d is placed on the rail 1b. By arranging the sorter tray 41 in this way, it is possible to sequentially receive the sheets discharged from the 1-bin sorter sheet discharging unit 50 to the upper part of the in-body discharging section 1.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a digital copying machine showing another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment,
A paper feed cassette 22 is housed in the in-body discharge section 1 instead of the sorter tray. The paper feed cassette 22 is a spare cassette compatible with the paper feed cassette 21. A pair of rails (not shown) are provided on both side walls of the in-body discharge section 1 as in the above embodiment. Paper cassette 22
Are held on the rails and used by appropriately replacing the paper feed cassette 21. In this case, it is possible to use it as a place for storing miscopy and the like without setting the paper in the paper feed cassette 22.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings. However, in the present invention, it is not always necessary to use a sorter tray to form a shelf, and a shelf plate is provided separately from the sorter tray, and a supply product is provided here. Etc. may be placed.

[0017]

In the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the shelf plate is detachably provided on the upper portion of the sheet discharge portion when the sheet discharge tray is detached, the space above the sheet discharge portion is provided as a supply product. There is an effect that it can be effectively used as a storage place for etc.

According to another aspect of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the bottom surface side of the paper discharge tray is flat, and the paper discharge tray is attached to the upper part of the paper discharge portion so that the bottom surface side faces up. With this configuration, the paper discharge tray is not wasted even when the multi-bin sorter is not used, and there is no need to secure a storage place.

In the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the receiving section for holding the sheet feeding cassette is provided above the sheet discharging section when the sheet discharging tray is removed, a spare sheet feeding cassette can be stored in the sheet discharging section. This has the effect of eliminating the need to secure a storage space for the spare cassette.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a front side in an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the image forming apparatus in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus showing an installation mode of a sorter tray when a multi-bin sorter is not used.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus showing an installation mode of a sorter tray when a multi-bin sorter is used.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a sorter tray.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention in which a paper feed cassette is held in the in-body discharge section.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 In-body discharge section 1a, 1b rail 2 Output stack section 3 Transport guide 4 fixing section 5 discharge roller 6, 7 Conveyor roller 15 Scanner 16 Automatic document feeder 20 Paper feeding means 21 Paper feed cassette 22 Spare paper feed cassette 30 Image forming means 41 Sorter tray 41a bottom plate 41b rib 41c, 41d guide 50 1-bin sorter paper ejection unit 51 Second Transport Guide 52 Second discharge roller 53 fork

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 31/22 G03G 15/00 530 G03G 15/00 550

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A paper ejection unit for opening a side surface of a housing and receiving paper after image formation is provided inside the opening, and a paper ejection tray is detachably attached to an upper portion of the paper ejection unit. An image forming apparatus having means for sending out a sheet after image formation onto the paper discharge tray when the paper tray is mounted, comprising a detachable shelf plate above the paper discharge section when the paper discharge tray is removed. An image forming apparatus characterized by. 2. The bottom surface side of the paper discharge tray is formed into a flat plate shape,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shelf plate is configured by mounting the paper discharge tray on the upper part of the paper discharge unit so that the bottom surface side faces up. 3. A paper ejection unit is provided on one side of the housing, the paper ejection unit receiving an image-formed paper inside the opening, and a paper ejection tray is detachably attached to an upper portion of the paper ejection unit. An image forming apparatus having means for feeding a paper after image formation onto the paper discharge tray when the paper tray is attached, and a receiving portion for holding a paper feed cassette above the paper discharge portion when the paper discharge tray is removed. An image forming apparatus characterized by the above.