JP3593040B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a built-in post-processing device that performs post-processing such as stapling on a sheet on which an image is fixed.
[0002]
[Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention]
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 13, a post-processing apparatus 2 that performs post-processing such as stapling is generally mounted externally on the left or right side of the image forming apparatus main body 1. .
However, when the post-processing device 2 is externally attached in this way, the entire device when the image forming apparatus main body 1 and the post-processing device 2 are combined becomes large, and a large installation space is required.
[0003]
Further, in order to secure a space for jam clearance when required, the post-processing apparatus 2 must be configured to be able to be separated from the image forming apparatus main body 1 by a predetermined distance. For that purpose, it is necessary to secure a space for allowing the separation of the post-processing device 2. Further, a mounting base 3 having a guide or the like for guiding the detachment operation of the post-processing device 2 to be stable is also required. From this point, the installation space is widened and the structure is complicated.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having a post-processing function and capable of reducing an installation space.
Further, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which does not need to secure a space around the image forming apparatus main body for jam processing and can substantially reduce the installation space. is there.
[0005]
Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention
In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a post-processing unit for performing post-processing on a sheet on which an image is fixed, and a main body housing having the post-processing unit built therein, The post-processing unit includes a first unit having an intermediate tray for stacking sheets on which images have been fixed, a first conveyance path for conveying the sheets on which images have been fixed to the intermediate tray, and a post-processing unit. A second unit having a second conveying path for conveying the selected sheet from the intermediate tray to the sheet discharging unit, and a second unit having a plurality of supporting mechanisms for the second unit and the main body housing. Wherein the first unit is tilted downward and opened by releasing a support mechanism that supports the front part of the first unit among the plurality of support mechanisms. is there.
[0006]
In the present invention, since the post-processing unit is incorporated in the main body housing of the image forming apparatus, the installation space of the entire apparatus can be reduced as compared with the conventional case where the post-processing apparatus is externally attached.
[0007]
Further, when the paper jams in the main body housing, the main body housing may be opened to eliminate the paper jam, and it is not necessary to separate the post-processing device from the main body housing as in the related art. Therefore, there is no need to worry about the balance of the main body housing being deteriorated at the time of the jam removal processing, and the housing is likely to fall down.
By incorporating the post-processing section in the main body housing, the transport path for guiding the sheet on which the image is fixed to the post-processing apparatus can be freely designed, and the transport efficiency can be improved. Therefore, when an image is formed on a large number of sheets and these are collectively post-processed, an apparatus having a high processing speed can be provided.
Furthermore, in the present invention, the post-processing unit is configured to include the first unit having the intermediate tray and the second unit mainly having the functions of transport and branching, and the first unit is inclined forward and downward. When the jam occurs in the first unit or the second unit, the first unit is inclined downward and opened to facilitate the jam clearing operation. .
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the plurality of support mechanisms include a first support mechanism that supports a second unit-side rear portion of the first unit with respect to the second unit, A second support mechanism for supporting a second unit side front portion of the first unit with respect to the second unit, and supporting a rear portion of the first unit opposite to the second unit side with respect to the main body housing; And a third support mechanism.
[0009]
In the present invention, since the plurality of support mechanisms are configured by three-point support by the first to third support mechanisms, reliable support can be performed with the minimum necessary number of support points. Further, since the first and second support mechanisms support the adjacent edges of the first and second units in association with each other, the positioning accuracy between the two units can be increased.
[0010]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the first support mechanism is an arc-shaped support that opens downward and is provided at a rear portion of an edge of the first unit that faces the second unit. Grooves and
A pin is provided at a rear portion of the edge of the second unit facing the first unit, and the pin is engaged with the support groove.
[0011]
In the present invention, when assembling the first support mechanism, that is, when engaging the pin provided in the second unit with the support groove provided in the first unit, the pin is inserted into the support groove from below. The engagement facilitates the assembly. Further, after the assembly, the first unit can be prevented from moving back and forth with respect to the second unit.
[0012]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the second support mechanism includes a one-touch engagement unit engaged with the insertion of the first unit and an engagement of the one-touch engagement unit. An operation lever for manually releasing the operation lever is provided, and the operation lever is provided so as to protrude forward and outward from the intermediate tray.
[0013]
In the present invention, since the second support mechanism is provided with the one-touch engagement means, the first unit is inclined downward and opened by jamming or the like, or is returned from the opened state to the mounted state. The operation in the case becomes very easy. Further, such an operation can be performed by an operation lever provided to protrude forward and outward from the intermediate tray, so that it becomes extremely easy.
[0014]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the one-touch engaging means of the second support mechanism is provided at a front portion of a second unit side edge of the first unit and operates the operation lever. And a support hole provided at a front portion of the first unit side edge of the second unit and into which the advance / retreat arm can be inserted. is there.
[0015]
According to the present invention, the one-touch engagement means has a main structure including an advance / retreat arm projecting or retracting from the edge of the first unit by operating the operation lever, and a support hole into which the advance / retreat arm can be inserted. Is extremely easy and can be realized with a simple configuration.
[0016]
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the one-touch engaging means further includes an urging member for urging the reciprocating arm in a direction to protrude from the edge of the first unit. The upper surface has an inclined guide surface which is inclined so as to become lower toward the tip.
[0017]
In the present invention, the reciprocating arm is always urged by the urging member in the direction protruding from the edge of the first unit, and the advancing / retracting arm has an inclined guide surface, so that operation is extremely easy. , And can be realized with a simple configuration.
[0022]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a copying machine 10 as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the outer shape of copying machine 10 is partitioned by main body housing 11. A stack space 12 is formed in the main body housing 11 at an intermediate portion in the vertical direction so as to enter the inside of the housing in a substantially horizontal direction from the outer surface of the housing. For this reason, the main body housing 11 has a lower housing 11D, an upper housing 11U, and a connection housing 11C. Reference numeral 81 denotes a tray serving as a bottom of the stack space 12, from which sheets that are not stapled are discharged. Reference numeral 34 denotes an intermediate tray on which sheets to be stapled are stacked, and is disposed above the stack space 12.
[0023]
A reading mechanism for reading a document is built in the upper housing 11U. An operation panel 13 is provided on the front side of the upper housing 11U. Further, in this embodiment, a document feeder 14 for automatically conveying a document is provided above the upper housing 11U.
The lower housing 11D has a built-in paper tray and a built-in transport path for taking out the paper from the paper tray and transporting the paper. Further, an image forming section for forming a toner image and a transfer section for transferring the formed toner image to a sheet are built in. Further, a fixing unit for fixing the toner image transferred to the sheet is built in a portion connecting the lower housing 11D to the connection housing 11C.
[0024]
A paper discharge tray 15 as a paper discharge unit from which a stapled sheet bundle to be described later is discharged is attached to a side surface of the main body housing 11 so as to protrude. The paper discharge tray 15 is configured as a paper discharge unit 71 including a paper discharge roller 70 for discharging paper to the paper discharge tray 15.
A main feature of the copying machine 10 according to the present embodiment is that a staple processing unit 16 for staple-binding a predetermined number of sheets on which images have been fixed as a post-processing unit is built in the main body housing 11 as a post-processing unit. That is. By incorporating the staple processing unit 16 in the main body housing 11, the staple processing unit 16 does not protrude much from the main body housing 11, so that the copying machine 10 with good installation stability can be provided. Further, the external configuration of the copying machine 10 can be reduced.
[0025]
Another main feature is that the staple processing unit 10 is composed of first and second units 41 and 42 shown in FIG. Since each of the units 41 and 42 is relatively lightweight, it is easy to perform the mounting operation while positioning and holding. Further, even if the layout is such that the integrated unit cannot be incorporated in the main body housing, it can be freely incorporated as long as the plurality of divided units 41 and 42 are provided.
[0026]
Referring to FIG. 2, a document reading mechanism 17 is provided at the top of main body housing 11 of copying machine 10. A paper cassette 18 is provided below the main body housing 11. The sheets stored in the sheet cassette 18 are sent out one by one by a feeding roller 19. An openable / closable manual paper feed tray 20 is provided below the left side surface of the main body housing 11, and the sheets set in the manual paper feed tray 20 are also fed out one by one by the feeding roller 21.
[0027]
An image forming unit 22, a laser scanning unit 23, a transfer roller 24, and a fixing device 25 are built in the main body housing 11. The image forming unit 22 includes a photoconductor drum 26 for forming an electrostatic latent image, a main charger 27 for charging the surface of the photoconductor drum 26, and a surface of the photoconductor drum 26 exposed by the laser scanning unit 23. After the electrostatic latent image is formed, the image forming apparatus includes a developing device 28 for developing the electrostatic latent image with toner, and a cleaner 29 for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive drum 26 after the transfer of the toner image. The timing of the paper fed out one by one from the paper cassette 28 or the manual paper feed tray 20 is adjusted by the registration roller 30, and the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 26 is transferred to the paper. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is sent to the fixing device 25, where the toner image is fixed. The fixing device 25 has a heat roller 31 and a pressure roller 32, and heats and presses the sheet with the pair of rollers to fix the toner image.
[0028]
A switching claw 33 is provided on the downstream side of the fixing device 25 (on the downstream side when viewed in the sheet conveyance direction, and on the upper side in FIG. 2). The switching claw 33 guides the sheet sent from the fixing device 25 to the stack space 12 of the main body housing 11 by being switched to the broken line state. On the other hand, when the switching claw 33 is switched to the state shown in FIG. 2, the sheet sent from the fixing device 25 is guided to the staple processing unit 16.
As described above, the staple processing unit 16 includes the first unit 41 and the second unit 42. The first unit 41 includes an intermediate tray 34 for stacking the sheets after the image is fixed, a front shifting member 36 for aligning the sheets along a stopper 35 of a second unit 42 described below, and a sheet. And width adjusting members 37, 38 for moving the width-adjusted sheet forward to the staple processing position on the front side of the main body housing 11 and then retreating to the original sheet conveying position.
[0029]
The second unit 42 includes a first conveyance path 43 (see FIG. 3A) for conveying the sheet on which the image is fixed to the intermediate tray 34 in the casing 51, and a stapled sheet for the intermediate tray 34. And a second transport path 44 (see FIG. 3B) for transporting the paper from the printer to the paper discharge tray 15.
Further, the second unit 42 includes transport rollers 45 and 46 and a pressing roller 47 as transport means for transporting the sheet along the transport paths 43 and 44 in the casing 51, and the transport paths 43 and 44. And branching levers 49 and 50 as branching means for branching the sheet into the respective conveying paths 43 and 44 provided at the intersection 48 of the sheet feeding means, and a rear end of the sheet disposed downstream of the pressing roller 47 in the second conveying path 44. And a stopper 35 for aligning them.
[0030]
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the second unit 42 has a stapler 52 attached to a front portion of an upper surface 53 of the casing 51.
Referring to FIG. 4, a pair of pins 55, 55 used for attaching the second unit 42 to the main body housing 11 project from a rear surface 54 of the casing 51 of the second unit 42. The pair of pins 55 are inserted into and removed from a pair of support holes 9a of the rear lateral frame 9 shown in FIG. Referring again to FIG. 4, an attachment stay 56 used to attach the second unit 42 to the main body housing 11 is formed to project from a front portion of the upper surface 53 of the casing 51. The mounting stay 56 is fastened with screws in a state of being fitted to the front mounting stay 94 shown in FIG.
[0031]
A paper transport opening 58 that allows the first and second transport paths 43 and 44 to communicate with the intermediate tray 34 is formed in an edge 57 of the casing 51 on the first unit 41 side. Further, a pin 60 that fits into the support groove 59 of the first unit 41 and supports the left rear portion of the first unit 41 is provided at a rear portion of the edge portion 57 of the casing 51 so as to protrude therefrom. At the front of the edge 57 of the casing 51, there is formed a support hole 62 for inserting the reciprocating arm 61 of the first unit 41 and supporting the left front of the first unit 41. Reference numeral 77 denotes an operation lever for moving the reciprocating arm 61 forward and backward.
[0032]
An intermediate tray 34 is formed by the upper surface of the casing 63 of the first unit 41. The front edge 79 of the casing 63 has a concave portion 80 with an intermediate portion recessed rearward in the paper transport direction, thereby facilitating removal of the paper discharged to the tray 81 at the bottom of the stack space 12.
The casing 63 of the first unit 41 is provided with a support groove forming body 64 that forms the above-described support groove 59 at the rear of the edge facing the second unit 42. The support groove 59 is formed of a semicircular groove that opens downward, and prevents the second unit 41 from moving back and forth with respect to the second unit 42 in a state where the support groove 59 is engaged with the pin 60. The first support mechanism 65 is formed by the pin 60 and the support groove 59.
[0033]
On the other hand, the above-mentioned reciprocating arm 61 provided in the first unit 41 is included in a second support mechanism 66 (see FIG. 5A) as a touch-engaging means for supporting the left front portion of the first unit 41. ing. Since the first and second support mechanisms 65 and 66 support the adjacent edges of the first and second units 41 and 42 in association with each other, the positioning accuracy between the two units 41 and 42 is improved. can do. Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, second support mechanism 66 is an advance / retreat arm slidably supported in a direction to advance / retreat from opening 68 formed in left edge 67 of casing 63 of first unit 41. 61, and an urging member 72 formed of a compression coil spring that urges the advance / retreat arm 61 in a direction in which it advances.
[0034]
As shown in FIG. 6, the reciprocating arm 61 has upper and lower fitting surfaces 69 that fit into the support holes 62 of the second unit 42. The upper surface of the reciprocating arm 61 is an inclined guide surface 73 which is inclined so as to become lower toward the tip. The inclined guide surface 73 guides the advance / retreat arm 61 into the support hole 62.
The reciprocating arm 61 is integrally provided with an extending portion 74 extending rearward, and a cam surface 75 that is inclined with respect to the front-rear direction is formed on a side surface of the extending portion 74. A cam follower 76 composed of a roller is in rolling contact with the cam surface 75. The cam follower 76 is configured to be displaced back and forth by a substantially L-shaped operation lever 77 disposed at the front end of the second unit 42. The cam follower 76 is rotatably supported at the rear end of an arm 78 provided slidably back and forth on the casing 63 of the second unit 42, and the front end of the arm 78 protrudes outward and forward from the casing 63. Is fixed to the operation lever 77.
[0035]
Therefore, when the operation lever 77 is pulled to the front position as shown in FIG. 5B, the advance / retreat arm 61 is retracted into the opening 68 against the urging member 72, and the engagement with the support hole 62 is stopped as shown in FIG. 6B. It has come off. On the other hand, when the operating lever 77 is released, the urging member 72 causes the reciprocating arm 61 to protrude from the opening 68, whereby the operating lever 77 is returned to the rear position shown in FIG. 5A. Referring again to FIG. 4, reference numeral 82 denotes an oscillator including a pin 83 for supporting the right rear portion of the first unit 41 on the main body housing 11. The oscillating body 82 is supported by the casing 63 of the first unit 41 so as to be able to oscillate about an axis 84 extending in the forward and backward directions. The pin 83 is detachably fitted into the support hole 8a of the support side plate 8 shown in FIG. A third support mechanism 95 as a one-touch engagement means for supporting the right rear portion of the first unit 41 on the main body housing 11 is configured to include the swinging body 82 including the pin 83 and the support hole 8a.
[0036]
That is, the first and second support mechanisms 65 and 66 support the front and rear of the edge of the second unit 42 pre-assembled to the main body housing 11, and the rear of the main unit 11 with respect to the main body housing 11. , And three points. Reliable support can be performed at the minimum necessary support points.
As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, which are views of the casing 63 of the first unit 41 as viewed from the rear, the rocking body 82 is housed in a concave portion 92 provided on the rear surface 91 of the casing 63 and opened to the right side surface 90. ing. The oscillating body 82 has a main body 85, an elastic piece 86 connected to the main body 85 at a lower portion so as to form a substantially U-shape, and a stopper piece 87 extending downward from the main body 85. ing. The above-mentioned pin 83 protrudes from the outer surface of the elastic piece 86.
[0037]
A biasing member 88 is wound around a shaft 89 to bias the rocking body 82 clockwise about an axis 84 in the figure, that is, a torsion spring that rotationally biases the pin 83 in a direction protruding from the right side surface 90 of the casing 63. It is a member.
The first unit 41 is attached to the second unit 42 previously attached to the main body housing 11 by using first and second support mechanisms 65 and 66 at two points before and after the left edge thereof. The rear part of the right edge is assembled at one point by using the third support mechanism 95. As a result, the second unit 41 is supported at three points.
[0038]
The first unit 41 is inserted into the main body housing 11 from the front of the main body housing 11, and at this time, is inserted in a state where the right edge 41b is inclined left and right so as to be higher than the left edge 41a. At this time, as shown in FIG. 7B, the tip of the pin 83 is pushed by the support side plate 8, the swinging body 82 rotates, and the pin 83 retreats into the recess 92. In FIG. 7B, the first unit 41 is shown in a horizontal state in order to make the state of rotation of the oscillating body 82 easier to understand, but in practice, the support side plate 8 shown by a two-dot chain line is vertical. , The first unit 41 is inclined. Reference numeral 96 denotes a stopper surface of the casing 63 which comes into contact with the stopper piece 87, and protects the urging member 88 by suppressing an excessive inclination of the rocking body 82.
[0039]
Then, after the support groove 59 is fitted to the pin 60 of the second unit 42 and the rear portion of the left edge of the first unit 41 is placed on the pin 60, the right edge of the first unit 41 is lowered. So that the first unit 41 is horizontal. Then, by the action of the urging member 88, as shown in FIG. 7A, the swing body 82 rotates, and the pin 83 projects from the right side surface 90 of the casing 63, and fits into the support hole 8a of the support side plate 8. At this time, the stopper surface 97 of the main body 85 contacts the stopper surface 98 of the casing 63 to prevent the pins 83 from excessively protruding from the right side surface 90 of the casing 63.
[0040]
Next, a procedure for incorporating the first and second units 41 and 42 into the main body housing 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9A to 9C. First, referring to FIG. 8 showing a frame configuration of the main body housing 11, the columns 5 and 6 are erected at the rear corner and the front corner of the left edge of the upper surface 4 a of the main body base 4, while the right The base 7 is fixed from the rear to the center of the edge, and a support side plate 8 is provided upright on the upper surface of the base 7 along the right edge of the main body base 4. The rear column 5 and the upper part of the supporting side plate 8 are connected to each other via a connecting frame 9 extending at the rear portion in the lateral direction. Near the left end of the connection frame 9, a support hole 9a into which the above-mentioned pair of pins 55 is fitted is provided. The upper portions of the pair of columns 5 and 6 are connected to each other by a connecting frame 93 extending forward and backward. A mounting stay 94 that is screwed to the mounting stay 56 is fixed to a front end of the connecting frame 93. .
[0041]
In incorporating the staple processing unit 16 into the main body housing 11, first, as shown in FIG. 9A, the second unit 42 is inserted into the main body housing 11 from the front of the main body housing 11, and as shown in FIG. 9B, after abutted against the front surface of the second unit 4 2 of the rear part of the pair of pins 55, 55 to the coupling frame 9 is moved to the left (direction of the white arrow in FIG. 9B). Then, as shown in FIG. 9C, a part of the second unit 42 is overlapped with the support column 6 as viewed from the front of the main body housing 11, and the pair of pins 55 are fitted into the support holes 9 a. Next, the mounting stay 94 is screwed to the mounting stay 56 of FIG. 4, and the assembly of the second unit 42 is completed. The second unit 42 is inserted from the front side of the main body housing 11, and the end on the insertion side is pin-connected with the pin 55, and then the end on the opposite side is screwed via the mounting stay 56. Is easy.
[0042]
Thereafter, as described above, the first unit 41 is inserted into the main body housing 11 from the front in an upwardly inclined state shown in FIG. 10, and the first support mechanism 65 and the third support mechanism 95 shown in FIG. and it is supported in the order of the second support mechanism 66, the first Uni Tsu DOO 41 was supported at three points, assembling the first unit 41 is completed. As described above, it is only necessary to insert the first unit 41 and engage the pin 55 with the second and third support mechanisms 65 and 95 as two one-touch engagement means. 41 can be mounted on the main body housing 11 very easily.
[0043]
On the other hand, at the time of the jam clearance, the operation lever 77 is operated to remove the advance / retreat arm 61 of the second support mechanism 66 from the support hole 62, and as shown in FIG. The first unit 41 is rotated about a rotation axis 99 along the direction to bring the first unit 41 into a forwardly lowered state. Thus, the sheet conveyance opening 58 of the second unit 42, which is normally hidden between the first and second units 41 and 42, is opened, so that the sheet jam can be easily removed.
[0044]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the staple processing unit 16 as the post-processing unit is incorporated in the main body housing 11, the apparatus is compared with a conventional case where the post-processing device is externally attached. The entire installation space can be reduced.
Further, since the staple processing unit 16 is composed of a plurality of relatively lightweight units 41 and 42 and is individually incorporated, it is easy to perform the mounting operation while positioning and holding.
Further, when the paper jams in the main body housing 11, the main body housing 11 may be opened to eliminate the paper jam, and it is not necessary to separate the post-processing device from the main body housing as in the related art. Therefore, there is no worry that the balance of the main body housing 11 is deteriorated during the jam clearing process, and the main body housing 11 is easily fallen.
In addition, the post-processing unit is configured to include the first unit 41 and the second unit 42, and the first unit 41 is configured to be inclined downward and open forward, so that the first unit 41 is opened. Even if a jam occurs in the first unit 41 or the second unit 42, the jam processing operation becomes easy.
[0045]
Further, since the staple processing section 16 is built in the main body housing 11, a transport path for guiding the sheet on which the image is fixed to the staple processing section 16 can be freely designed, and the transport efficiency can be improved. it can. Therefore, when an image is formed on a large number of sheets and these are collectively post-processed, an apparatus having a high processing speed can be provided.
[0046]
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, a third unit 100 used to form an image on both sides of a sheet is adjacent to a second unit 42. Then, it may be externally attached to the side surface of the main body housing 11.
The third unit 100 is used to form an image on both sides of a sheet. The third unit 100 connects the second conveyance path 43 of the second unit 42 to the sheet discharge unit 71, and the third sheet discharge path 101. And a re-conveying path 102 branching from 101 to the image forming section. In particular, the third unit 100 can share the paper discharge unit 71 when the paper discharge unit 71 can be attached, when the third unit 100 is mounted on the side surface of the main body housing 11, and when it is not. And overall costs can be reduced.
[0047]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example of the staple processing unit is described as the post-processing unit, but another type of post-processing unit such as a punching unit may be used. In addition, various changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a copier as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing an internal configuration of the copying machine.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic front views showing an internal configuration of a second unit having a transport and branch function and the periphery thereof, wherein A shows a state in which a first transport path is used, and B shows a second transport. This shows a state where the road is used.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of first and second units constituting the stapling unit.
FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic plan views showing the operation of a second support mechanism.
FIGS. 6A and 6B are schematic side views showing a state in which a reciprocating arm of a second support mechanism advances and retreats to a support hole.
FIGS. 7A and 7B are schematic rear views illustrating the operation of a third support mechanism.
FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a frame configuration of a main body housing of the image forming apparatus.
FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C are schematic plan views sequentially showing a procedure for assembling the second unit to the main body housing.
FIG. 10 is a schematic front view showing a state in which the first unit is assembled to a main body housing in which the second unit is previously assembled.
FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of a staple processing unit showing a state in which the first unit is inclined forward and downward during jam processing.
FIG. 12 is a schematic front view of a main part of a copying machine according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a connection relationship between a conventional stapling apparatus and an image forming apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
5, 6 Post 8 Supporting side plates 8a, 9a Supporting holes 9 Connecting frame 10 Copier 11 Main body housing 12 Stack space 15 Paper discharge tray 16 Staple processing unit (post-processing unit)
34 intermediate tray 41 first unit 42 second unit 43 first transport path 44 second transport path 45, 46 transport rollers (transport means)
47 pressing roller (transportation means)
48 intersection 49,50 branch lever (branch means)
51 Casing 52 Stapler 55 Pin 56 Mounting stay 58 Paper transport orientation 59 Support groove 60 Pin 61 Retractable arm 62 Support hole 63 Casing 64 Support groove forming body 65 First support mechanism 66 Second support mechanism 71 Discharge unit 72 Member 75 Cam surface 76 Cam follower 77 Operating lever 82 Oscillator 83 Pin 88 Urging member 94 Mounting stay 95 Third support mechanism 100 Third unit 101 Paper discharge path 102 Re-conveyance path

Claims (6)

A post-processing unit for performing post-processing on the sheet after the image is fixed, and a main body housing in which the post-processing unit is incorporated,
A first unit having an intermediate tray for stacking sheets after the image is fixed;
A second conveyance path having a first conveyance path for conveying the sheet after the image is fixed to the intermediate tray and a second conveyance path for conveying the post-processed sheet from the intermediate tray to the sheet discharge unit in a crossing manner. Unit and
The first unit is supported by the plurality of support mechanisms with respect to the second unit and the main body housing, and the first mechanism is released by releasing a support mechanism that supports a front portion of the first unit among the plurality of support mechanisms. An image forming apparatus, wherein the unit is opened with a downward inclination. The plurality of support mechanisms,
A first support mechanism for supporting a second unit-side rear portion of the first unit with respect to the second unit;
A second support mechanism for supporting a second unit-side front portion of the first unit with respect to the second unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a third support mechanism that supports a rear portion of the first unit opposite to the second unit side with respect to the main body housing. The first support mechanism includes an arc-shaped support groove that opens downward and is provided at a rear portion of an edge of the first unit that faces the second unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a pin provided at a rear portion of an edge of the second unit facing the first unit and engaging with the support groove. The second support mechanism includes one-touch engagement means engaged with the insertion of the first unit, and an operation lever for manually releasing the engagement of the one-touch engagement means. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming device is provided so as to protrude forward and outward from the intermediate tray. The one-touch engagement means of the second support mechanism includes:
An advancing / retracting arm provided at a front portion of the second unit side edge of the first unit and projecting or retracting from the edge by operating the operation lever;
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: a support hole provided at a front portion of the first unit side edge of the second unit and into which the retreat arm can be inserted. 6. The one-touch engagement means further includes an urging member for urging the reciprocating arm in a direction to project from the edge of the first unit,
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the upper surface of the reciprocating arm has an inclined guide surface that is inclined so as to become lower toward the tip.