JP3606722B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus used as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, or the like. Specifically, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus of a type having a paper discharge unit between an image forming unit and a reading unit provided thereon.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a copying machine, image information of a set original is read by a reading unit and converted into an electric signal, and recording is performed on a recording medium such as paper by an image forming unit based on the electric signal. Was stacked on the paper output section.
[0003]
In recent years, many of such copiers have a configuration in which a paper discharge unit is provided on the image forming unit and a reading unit is provided on the image forming unit in order to reduce the space occupied by the whole during installation. It has become to.
[0004]
By the way, an automatic document feeder may be attached as an option to the reading unit. In such a case, the total weight of the reading unit becomes considerably heavy. Therefore, in this type of copying machine, the reading unit must be firmly supported. did not become.
[0005]
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, support pillars 2 are set up on the four corners of the image forming unit 1, and a reinforcing face plate not shown in the figure is attached between the two support pillars 2 on the rear side not shown in the figure. After reinforcement, the exterior plate 3 was attached around the area except for the front side and covered. Then, the reading unit 4 is supported by the support column 2, and a paper discharge unit 5 is provided while securing a space between the image forming unit 1 and the reading unit 4.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in this type of conventional image forming apparatus, for example, as described above, the four supporting columns 2, the reinforcing face plate, and the plurality of exterior plates 3 are used to support the reading unit 4 to which the automatic document feeder 6 is attached. Since the space for the paper discharge unit 5 is secured, there are problems that the number of parts increases and the total weight also increases.
[0007]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to increase the total weight with a small number of parts while ensuring sufficient strength in an image forming apparatus having a paper discharge unit between an image forming unit and a reading unit provided thereon. In this case, the reading unit is firmly supported and the space for the paper discharge unit is secured.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
Therefore, the invention described in claim 1 is an image forming apparatus for recording black and white, black, red, two colors or colors on a recording medium such as paper, an image forming unit, and a reading unit supported on the image forming unit. And a paper discharge section provided between the image forming section and the reading section, and a hollow for general structure in which both sides of the paper discharge section are bent in an L shape and the base ends are attached to the rear of the image forming section. A steel material is provided, and the reading unit is supported by the general structural hollow steel material together with the operation unit, and a space is provided between the image forming unit and the reading unit to provide the paper discharge unit. Features.
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the invention, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, comprising the adjustable spatial height of the discharge portion, characterized in that.
[0012]
The invention of claim 3 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 2, in one or both of the image forming portion for mounting it with hollow steel for the general structure, to be shifted in the height direction a plurality of mounting A hole is formed, and an attachment member for attaching and fixing the steel material is passed through the attachment hole .
[0013]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first, second, or third aspect , a feed screw for adjusting the mounting height of the general structural hollow steel material is provided.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 shows a perspective view of a digital copying machine which is images forming device. Reference numeral 10 in the drawing denotes a copying machine main body.
[0015]
The apparatus main body 10 is provided with a sheet feeding cassette 11 at the lower part so that it can be pulled out from the front side, and an image forming unit 12 at the upper part. The image forming unit 12 forms a black and white image by an electrophotographic method in the illustrated copying machine. Although not shown, side plates are provided on the front and rear sides of the inside, and are supported between the front and rear side plates, and are arranged around the photoconductor. Is provided with a charger, an optical writer, a developing device, a transfer device, a cleaning device, a static eliminator, and the like, and a fixing device, a paper discharge path, etc. are installed at a position slightly away from the photosensitive member.
[0016]
The apparatus body 10 is placed on the sheet feeding device 13. Similarly, the paper feeding device 13 includes two paper feeding cassettes 14 that can be pulled out from the front side.
[0017]
A paper discharge unit 15 is provided on the apparatus main body 10. A general structural hollow steel material 16 is attached to both sides of the paper discharge unit 15.
[0018]
The general structural hollow steel material 16 is a square steel pipe used as a framework for a personal computer rack, a product display shelf or the like in the copying machine of the illustrated example. It is attached to.
[0019]
The reading unit 17 is supported on the image forming unit 12 by a general structural hollow steel material 16 protruding upward from the image forming unit 12. As a result, the general structure hollow steel material 16 secures a space between the image forming unit 12 and the reading unit 17 and the paper discharge unit 15 is provided.
[0020]
An automatic document feeder 18 is mounted on the paper discharge unit 15. Further, the front of the paper discharge unit 15, providing the operation unit 19.
[0021]
When making a copy using this digital copying machine, the document is set on the automatic document feeder 18 or the automatic document feeder 18 is opened and the document is directly set on the contact glass of the reading unit 17 as is well known. Then, the start switch of the operation unit 19 is pressed.
[0022]
Then, the document is conveyed onto the contact glass and the image information is scanned and read by the reading unit 17, or the image information of the document already set on the contact glass is scanned and read by the reading unit 17, and the reading is performed. The image information is converted into an electric signal and is input to the image forming unit 12 of the apparatus main body 10.
[0023]
On the other hand, the image forming unit 12 uniformly charges the surface with a charger as the photoconductor rotates, and then writes on the photoconductor using an optical writer based on the electrical signal from the reading unit 17. An electrostatic latent image is formed, and then, when passing through the developing position, toner is attached by a developing unit to visualize the electrostatic latent image.
[0024]
Further, by operating the start switch, a recording medium such as a sheet is selectively fed out from one of the plurality of paper feed cassettes 11 and 14 as appropriate, and the recording medium is synchronized with the image on the photosensitive member in time. Send out toward. Then, the image on the photoconductor is transferred to the recording medium by a transfer device.
[0025]
The recording medium after the image transfer is fixed on the transfer image by a fixing device, and then discharged onto a paper discharge unit 15 on the device main body 10 through a paper discharge path in the device main body 10.
[0026]
On the other hand, the surface of the photoreceptor after image transfer is prepared for another image formation by removing residual toner with a cleaning device and then removing electricity with a static eliminator.
[0027]
By the way, in this type of copying machine, when the stack capacity of the paper discharge unit 15 is increased, the reading unit 17 and the operation unit 19 become high and the operability deteriorates. On the contrary, the operability of the reading unit 17 and the operation unit 19 is reduced. When improved, there was a problem that the stack capacity was reduced.
[0028]
Therefore, in the illustrated copying machine, the space height of the paper discharge unit 15 can be adjusted to balance the securing of the capacity of the paper discharge unit 15 and the improvement of the operability of the reading unit 17 and the operation unit 19. It can be so.
[0029]
For example, as shown in FIG. 2, long grooves 16a in the vertical direction are formed at both ends of the general structural hollow steel material 16 bent into a U-shape. Then, the mounting member 21, which is a screw with a head, is completely screwed into the mounting hole formed in the support plate 20 through the long groove 16 a, and the general structural hollow steel material 16 is fixed to the support plate 20 by being pressed by the head 21 a. . In FIG. 2, only the rear end side of the general structural hollow steel material 16 is shown, but the front end side is similarly attached to the support plate.
[0030]
When adjusting the space height of the paper discharge unit 15, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, the head 21a exposed to the outside is turned to loosen the attachment member 21, and the general structural hollow steel material 16 is moved up and down to be attached again. The member 21 is tightened and fixed to the support plate 20.
[0031]
The support plate 20 is formed by bending a vertical plate a having an attachment hole 20a, a horizontal bent portion b formed by bending the lower edge thereof, and bending one edge in the same manner as the following steel material mounting structure shown in FIG. And the vertical bent portion c.
[0032]
Then, the horizontal bent portion b is screwed onto the bottom plate 22 of the image forming unit 12, and the vertical bent portion c is screwed to the rear side plate 23. Similarly, only the rear end side of the general structural hollow steel material 16 is shown in the steel material mounting structure shown in FIG. 3, but the support plate 20 is similarly fixed to the bottom plate 22 and the front side plate 23 on the front end side.
[0033]
In the example shown in FIG. 3, two mounting holes 16 b are opened at both ends of the general structural hollow steel material 16 not in the long grooves 16 a but in the height direction. When adjusting the space height of the paper discharge unit 15, one mounting hole 16 b is appropriately selected from the balance between securing the capacity of the paper discharge unit 15 and improving the operability of the reading unit 17 and the operation unit 19. Is selected and screwed into the mounting hole 20a through the mounting member 21 which is a threaded pin, and the general structural hollow steel material 16 is mounted on the support plate 20 while being pressed by the head 21a.
[0034]
When changing the space height of the paper discharge unit 15, the driver 21 is inserted into the driver groove 21 b of the head 21 a exposed to the outside of the apparatus main body 10, the mounting member 21 is removed, and the general structural hollow steel material 16 is moved up and down. The mounting member 21 is again inserted into the other mounting hole 16b and screwed into the mounting hole 20a to be attached to the support plate 20.
[0035]
In the steel material mounting structure shown in FIG. 2, it is difficult to make the height of the general structural hollow steel material 16 the same in the front, rear, left and right. However, as shown in FIG. 3, by selecting the corresponding mounting holes 16b at the respective end portions of the general structural hollow steel material 16, the height of the general structural hollow steel material 16 is the same in the front, rear, left and right. Thus, the reading unit 17 can be easily held horizontally.
[0036]
In the example shown in FIG. 3, the number of the mounting holes 16b is two, but of course, three or more may be used, and one mounting hole 16b on the steel material 16 side is provided with a plurality of mounting holes 20a on the image forming unit 12 side. Alternatively, a plurality of both the mounting holes 20a and the mounting holes 16b may be provided by shifting in the height direction.
[0037]
By the way, in the steel material mounting structure shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 described above, when changing the space height of the paper discharge unit 15, it is very difficult to perform the change operation unless the reading unit 17 is removed. However, with the configuration as shown in FIG. 4, the change operation can be easily performed without removing the reading unit 17.
[0038]
That is, in this example, the general structural hollow steel material 16 is screwed into the end of the general structural hollow steel material 16 from below and the head 24a is placed on the bottom plate 22 of the image forming section 12 by screwing the height adjusting feed screw 24 from below. 16 is attached. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a part of the head 24 a of the feed screw 24 is exposed to the outside of the apparatus main body 10.
[0039]
Then, when changing the space height of the paper discharge unit 15, the tip of the driver is inserted into the driver groove 21 b of the head 21 a exposed to the outside and the mounting member 21 is removed, as in the steel material mounting structure shown in FIG. 3. Then, the general structural hollow steel material 16 is moved up and down by rotating the feed screw 24, one mounting hole 16b selected as appropriate is aligned with the mounting hole 20a, and the mounting member 21 that is a screwed pin is inserted into the mounting hole 20a through the mounting hole 16b. Then, the general structural hollow steel material 16 is attached to the support plate 20.
[0040]
In all the examples described above, the general structural hollow steel material 16 is bent into a U-shape and both ends are attached to the front and back of the image forming unit 12, respectively. However, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 5, a cantilever structure in which the general structural hollow steel material 16 is bent into an L shape and the base end is appropriately attached to the rear of the image forming unit 12 is adopted .
[0041]
【The invention's effect】
Therefore, according to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus having the paper discharge unit between the image forming unit and the reading unit provided thereon, by using a general-purpose general structural hollow steel material It is possible to secure a sufficient strength with easy-to-obtain materials, and to firmly support the reading unit with an inexpensive configuration without increasing the total weight with a small number of parts, and to secure a space for the paper discharge unit it can.
[0042]
In addition, according to the present invention, it is only necessary to bend the general structural hollow steel material, and only a bending die is required, and it can be manufactured at low cost.
[0043]
By the way, when the stack capacity of the paper discharge unit is increased, the reading unit and the operation unit are increased and the operability is deteriorated. Conversely, when the operability of the reading unit and the operation unit is improved, the stack capacity is decreased. According to the second aspect of the invention, the space height of the paper discharge unit can be adjusted, and a balance can be achieved between securing the capacity of the paper discharge unit and improving the operability of the reading unit and the operation unit.
[0044]
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the mounting member is passed through the corresponding mounting hole of each general structural hollow steel material, so that the height of the general structural hollow steel material is the same in the front, rear, left, and right. It can be easily held.
[0045]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the space height of the paper discharge unit is changed by using the feed screw, the changing operation can be easily performed without removing the reading unit.
[Brief description of the drawings]
1 is an external perspective view of a digital copying machine which is images forming device.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a mounting structure on the rear end side of a U-shaped general structural hollow steel material used in the copying machine.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory perspective view showing another steel material mounting structure.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory perspective view showing still another steel material mounting structure.
FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of a digital copying machine according to the present invention using an L-shaped general structural hollow steel material.
FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of a conventional digital copying machine.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Image forming part 15 Paper discharge part 16 General structural hollow steel materials 16a and 16b Mounting hole 17 Reading part 20a Mounting hole 21 Mounting member 24 Feed screw

Claims (4)

Includes a imaging unit, a reading unit for supporting lifting its image forming unit, and a setting Keru discharge portion between the reading portion thereof imaging unit,
On both sides of the paper discharge part, it is bent in an L shape and the base end is attached to the rear of the image forming part to provide a general structural hollow steel material,
An image forming apparatus in which the reading unit is supported by the general structural hollow steel material together with the operation unit, and a space is provided between the image forming unit and the reading unit to provide the paper discharge unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a space height of the paper discharge unit is adjustable. One or both of the hollow steel material for general structure and the image forming unit side to which it is attached, a plurality of attachment holes are formed by shifting in the height direction, and the attachment member for attaching and fixing the steel material is passed through the attachment holes. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 . Formed by providing a feed screw for mounting the height adjustment of the hollow steel for the general structure, the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3,.

Images