JP3529210B2 - 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 such as a copying machine or a printer, which discharges a sheet, on which an image is formed by being fed from a sheet feeding cassette, to a sheet discharging tray or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or an optical printer, a sheet feeding cassette inserted into a cassette insertion opening formed on the outer surface of the apparatus main body or a sheet feeding cassette housed in the apparatus main body. It is common to feed paper from a paper cassette, form an image on the paper in an image forming unit, and then discharge the paper to a paper discharge tray or the like. In such an image forming apparatus, an operation section in which various operation keys are arranged is arranged on the front surface of the apparatus, and a sheet discharge tray (sheet stacking unit) for discharging the sheet on which the image is formed is provided on the side surface of the apparatus. Generally, it is arranged to be slightly inclined with respect to the horizontal state with the tip rising.

[0003]

However, when the paper discharge tray is arranged on the side surface side of the apparatus main body as described above, the paper discharge tray comes to protrude from the side surface of the apparatus main body. Since the apparatus becomes large in the width direction, it is not suitable to install such an image forming apparatus in a narrow place. Therefore, in order to enable installation in a space-saving manner, the size of the image forming apparatus in the width direction should be reduced, and the discharge tray should be arranged on the rear side with respect to the front side of the apparatus on which the operation section is provided. Can be considered.

However, in this way, the sheet on which the image is formed is discharged to the rear side of the apparatus in a state where the leading end side of the discharged sheet is slightly inclined upward with respect to the horizontal state, and therefore the discharged sheet is discharged. When trying to take out the paper on the tray, it becomes difficult to take out the paper because it is far from the operator. In addition, in the case of a short person, it may be impossible to take out the paper because it is out of reach.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a sheet stacking means such as a sheet discharge tray is provided on the rear side with respect to the front surface of the apparatus on which the operation section is provided, and the width of the apparatus is increased. An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily take out the sheets discharged to the sheet stacking means even if the size in the direction is reduced.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus for ejecting a sheet, on which an image is formed by being fed from a sheet feeding cassette, to the rear portion of the apparatus main body.
A sheet stacking unit is provided for stacking sheets of paper on which images are formed and discharged in a substantially upright state in the rear portion of the apparatus body, and a part of the upper end side of the sheets stacked on the sheet stacking unit is provided on the upper surface of the apparatus body. The main body of the apparatus is provided with an opening that allows the sheet stacking means to project from the lower end of the sheet stacking means to a length smaller than the length of the sheet normally fed from the sheet cassette in the sheet feeding direction. An instruction manual holding member is provided on the back of the means, and the upper end of the sheet stacking means is the instruction manual holding member.
Lower than the top of the instruction manual for the device placed on the
It is configured as follows.

With this arrangement, even if the paper on which the image is formed is discharged to the paper stacking means provided at the rear part of the main body of the apparatus, the paper stacking means loads the paper in a substantially upright state in the rear part of the main body of the apparatus. Since the sheets are stacked, a part of the sheets on the upper end side protrudes from the opening of the apparatus main body, and thus the discharged sheets can be easily taken out.

[0008]

Further, the instruction manual of the apparatus can be held by the instruction manual holding member .

Further, the upper end of the sheet stacking means, so is set to be lower than the upper end of the operating instructions for the respective device placed on the instruction manual holding member, handling on the rear side of the sheet stacking means Even when the instruction manual of the device is stored on the instruction manual holding member, the upper end of the sheet stacking unit is at a position lower than the upper end of the instruction manual placed on the instruction manual holding member.
Therefore , when no paper is loaded on the paper stacking means, the instruction manual
Become. Therefore , it can be taken out easily. In addition, the instruction manual for the instruction manual holding member is received.
The angle of the opening surface with respect to the exterior surface of the rear of the device body is
Make sure that the paper stacking surface of the paper stacking means is not
It should be larger than the angle. That way, the instruction manual
The paper stacker while holding the document on the instruction manual holding member.
Even if paper is stacked on the steps, the upper side of the instruction manual and paper stack
Since the space between the paper and the back of the paper is wide, please read the instruction manual.
Easy to take out.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First of all, the image according to the present invention
A copier having the same basic configuration as the image forming apparatus will be described.
It FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus according to the present invention and basic components.
2 is an overall perspective view showing the same copying machine , and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the same copying machine. In the copying machine as the image forming apparatus, as shown in FIG. 1, a sheet P fed from a sheet feeding cassette 3 and having an image formed thereon is provided at the rear portion (right side in FIG. 1) of the apparatus main body 1. It is discharged to the loading section 10.

The sheet stacking unit 10 has a sheet P ejected after an image is formed in the image forming unit 2 in the apparatus main body 1 on the sheet ejection trays 5 and 9 at the rear end in the apparatus main body 1 with its leading end side. They are loaded in a substantially upright state. And the device body 1
In addition, the opening 4 that allows a part of the upper end side of the sheets P stacked on the sheet discharge trays 5 and 9 to project from the upper surface 1a of the apparatus body 1.
(See also FIG. 2), and the sheet discharge tray 5 of the sheet stacking unit 10 is provided.
The length L from the lower end to the opening 4 is shorter than the length L1 of the paper P normally fed from the paper feed cassette 3 in the paper feed direction.

This copying machine has a drum-shaped photoconductor 11 in an image forming section 2 in a main body 1 of the apparatus, around which a charging device 12, a developing device 16 and a transfer / separation charger 1 are provided.
7 and a cleaning unit 18 are provided respectively. And set on the contact glass 6,
Reflected light emitted from the original pressed by the pressure plate 8 which can be opened and closed in the direction of arrow A is incident on the surface of the photoconductor 11 by the optical system 19, and the charged surface uniformly charged by the charging device 12 is exposed. Then, an electrostatic latent image is formed thereon, and the electrostatic latent image is developed by the toner supplied by the developing device 16 to form a toner image (visible image).

On the other hand, the paper P in the paper feeding cassette 3 is sent out one by one by the paper feeding roller 7 which rotates at a predetermined timing, and is temporarily stopped by the registration roller pair 13 to adjust the timing, and thereafter, is exposed. Transfer / separation charger 1 at the correct timing that matches the toner image on body 11.
The sheet 7 is conveyed toward the transfer portion provided with 7.

The toner image is transferred to the upper surface side of the paper P in FIG. 1, and the toner image is separated from the photoconductor 11 to fix it to the fixing device 1.
5, the toner is fixed there, and then the toner is discharged onto the paper discharge trays 5 and 9 of the paper stacking unit 10 arranged at the rear of the apparatus main body 1 and stacked there. Then, the residual toner remaining on the photoconductor 11 after the completion of the transfer is removed by the cleaning unit 18, the residual potential remaining on the photoconductor 11 is removed by a charge eliminating lamp (not shown), and the next charging device 12 operates. Prepare for charging.

By the way, this copying machine reduces the size of the apparatus in the width direction by discharging the sheet P on which the image is formed to the sheet stacking section 10 provided at the rear portion of the apparatus main body 1 as described above. So that it can be installed in a small space. As described above, when the sheet P is discharged to the rear portion of the apparatus main body 1, the discharged sheet P becomes far from the operator, which makes it difficult to take it out. Since the paper discharge tray 9 is set substantially upright and a part of the upper end side of the sheets P stacked on the paper discharge tray 9 is projected from the upper surface 1a of the apparatus main body 1, the paper discharge tray 9 is It is possible to easily take out the paper P stacked on the paper.

In FIG. 3, the inclination angle of the sheet stacking portion can be changed with respect to the fixed sheet stacking portion in the sheet discharging direction .
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the vicinity of the sheet stacking unit of the copying machine ,
The parts corresponding to those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. this
In the paper stacking unit 20 of the copying machine, a part of the front end side in the paper discharge direction is a movable paper discharge tray unit 21, and the movable paper discharge tray unit 21 is inclined with respect to the paper discharge tray 5 which is a fixed paper stacking unit. The shaft 23 is rotatably supported in the direction of arrow B so that the angle can be changed. With this arrangement, when ejecting a long sheet in the sheet ejection direction or a sheet P'which has a weak stiffness and tends to buckle, the movable sheet ejection tray portion 21 is rotated clockwise in FIG. If the angle is changed as shown in the drawing, the buckling of the paper P in the paper stacking unit 20 can be prevented.

FIG. 4 shows an image forming apparatus according to the present invention .
Schematic diagram showing the vicinity of the sheet stacking portion of the copying machine for explaining an embodiment of a copying machine, FIG. 5 is an external perspective view showing the vicinity of the sheet stacking portion of the copying machine, corresponding to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 The same reference numerals are given to the parts to be marked. The sheet stacking unit 30 according to this embodiment includes a lower end receiver 32 and a holding member 33, which are instruction manual holding members for storing an instruction manual 31 of the copying machine, on the back surface of the paper discharge tray 9 '. An instruction manual holder (manual insert) 29 is provided.

The lower end receiver 32 is a portion for receiving the lower end portion of the instruction manual 31, and the holding member 33 is the operation manual 3
1 is a member formed in a U-shape for holding a substantially middle portion of 1 in the longitudinal direction. Then, the lower end receiver 32 and the holding member 33
Is integrally formed with the discharge tray 9'by resin, for example. Then, the instruction manual holding portion 29 is arranged so as not to project outward from the exterior surface 1b at the rear portion of the apparatus body 1 as shown in FIG.

In this way, the device instruction manual 31
Since it can be stored by holding it in the instruction manual holder 29, it is possible to prevent the instruction manual 31 from being lost or soiled. Also, if it is attempted to make a portion for storing the instruction manual 31 in another portion, the cost will increase and the apparatus will become larger, but by forming it integrally with the paper discharge tray 9'in this way, It can be cheap and compact.

As shown in FIG. 6, the instruction manual holding portion 29 includes an instruction manual 31 for the lower end receiver 32 and the holding member 33.
Exterior surface 1b of the device main body rear portion of the receiving surfaces 32a and 33a
It is preferable that the angle θ1 formed with respect to is larger than the angle θ2 formed with respect to the exterior surface 1b of the surface 21a of the movable discharge tray portion 21 of the paper stacking portion 20 on which the paper P is stacked. By doing so, even if the sheets P are stacked on the sheet stacking unit 20 while the instruction manual 31 is held in the instruction manual holding unit 29, the upper end 31a side of the instruction manual 31 and the sheet stacking unit 20 are placed. Paper P
Since the space between the back surface Pa and the back surface Pa is wide, it becomes easy to take out the instruction manual 31.

Further, the upper end 2 of the movable sheet ejection tray section 21 of the sheet stacking section 20 (similarly in the case of a fixed sheet ejection tray)
1b may be lower than the upper end 31a of the instruction manual 31 of the apparatus held by the instruction manual holder 29. By doing so, even if the instruction manual 31 is stored in a state where it is held in the instruction manual holding unit 29 on the rear side of the sheet stacking unit 20, the upper end 21b of the movable paper discharge tray unit 21 has the instruction manual holding unit 29. Top 3 of the instruction manual 31 held by
Since the position is lower than 1a, the instruction manual 31 projects from the upper end 21b of the movable paper discharge tray portion 21 when the paper P'is not stacked on the paper stacking portion 20, which can be easily performed. You can take it out.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. According to the image forming apparatus of claim 1, even when the size of the apparatus in the width direction is reduced by disposing the sheet stacking means such as the sheet discharge tray on the rear side of the apparatus body, the sheet stacking means is substantially upright. In this state, the sheets are stacked, and the sheets stacked on the upper side partially protrude from the opening of the apparatus main body. Therefore, the discharged sheets can be easily taken out.

[0024]

Further, since the instruction manual for the apparatus can be held by the instruction manual holding member, it is possible to prevent the instruction manual from being soiled or lost. Further, it can be manufactured at a lower cost than the case where a place for storing the instruction manual is formed at a new position, and the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

[0026]

Further, even when stored instruction manual of the device is held by the instruction manual holding member to the rear side of the sheet stacking means, manual upper end of the sheet stacking means which is held in the instruction manual holding member Since it is located at a position lower than the upper end of the sheet stacking means, the instruction manual is projected from the upper end of the sheet stacking means when no sheet is stacked on the sheet stacking means, so that it can be easily taken out. Image formation according to claim 2
According to the device, the instruction manual is held on the instruction manual holding member
Even if paper is stacked on the paper stacking means in this state,
There is a wide gap between the top edge of the document and the back of the paper on the paper stacking means.
This makes it easier to take out the instruction manual.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 illustrates an image forming apparatus according to the present invention and a basic configuration portion.
It is the whole block diagram which shows the same copying machine .

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the external appearance of the copying machine.

[Figure 3] double that of the sheet stacking portion to be changed the inclination angle a portion of the sheet discharge direction to the sheet stacking portion of the fixed
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing the vicinity of a sheet stacking unit of the copying machine .

4 is a schematic diagram showing the vicinity of the sheet stacking portion of the copying machine in order to explain the forms of real <br/> facilities of a copying machine which is an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view showing the vicinity of the sheet stacking unit of the copying machine.

FIG. 6 is an angle of a surface of the instruction manual holding member for receiving an instruction manual with respect to an exterior surface of a rear portion of the apparatus main body with respect to the exterior surface of a paper stacking surface of a paper discharge tray of a paper stacking unit. FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the vicinity of a sheet stacking unit of the copying machine for explaining the embodiment in which the angle is larger than the angle.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: Device body 3: Paper feed cassette 4: Opening 5,9,9 ': Paper ejection tray 10, 20, 30: Paper stacking section 21: Movable paper ejection tray portion 21b, 31a: Upper end 29: Instruction manual holding section 31: Instruction manual 32a, 33a: surface

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Eiji Sawamura 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masahiro Tomita 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo In stock company Ricoh (72) Inventor Kazuyuki Saito 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside company Ricoh (72) Shizuo Kawamura 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Within Ricoh Company (56) Reference JP-A-60-2937 (JP, A) JP-A-1-176777 (JP, A) JP-A-7-252004 (JP, A) JP-A-9-80836 (JP, A) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-110278 (JP, A) Actual development 2-31261 (JP, U) Actual development 4-24559 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) ) B65H 31/00 B41J 13/00 G03G 15/00 530

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for ejecting a paper, which is fed from a paper feed cassette and on which an image is formed, to a rear portion of an apparatus main body, wherein the paper on which the image is formed and ejected is a rear portion of the apparatus main body. In addition to providing a sheet stacking unit that stacks the sheet in a substantially upright state, an opening is provided in the apparatus main body to allow a part of the upper end side of the sheets stacked in the sheet stacking unit to project from the upper surface of the apparatus main body. The length from the lower end of the paper stacking means to the opening is shorter than the length of the paper normally fed from the paper feed cassette in the paper feed direction, and an instruction manual holding member is provided on the back surface of the paper stacking means. The upper end of the sheet stacking means is provided on the instruction manual holding member.
It will be lower than the upper edge of the instruction manual for the mounted device.
Image forming apparatus, characterized in that had Unishi. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The angle of the surface of the instruction manual holding member for receiving the instruction manual with respect to the exterior surface of the rear portion of the apparatus main body is larger than the angle of the surface of the paper stacking unit for loading sheets with the exterior surface. An image forming apparatus characterized by the above.