JP3739616B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a small-sized image forming apparatus applied as a facsimile, a printer, and a copying machine, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus capable of transporting a recording medium stored in a cassette of the apparatus main body and a recording medium from a manual sheet feeding unit. .
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a small image forming apparatus capable of transporting a recording medium stored in an apparatus main body and a recording medium from a manual sheet feeding unit has a configuration as shown in FIG.
Explaining this, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a developing device 10, a transfer roller 19, and a photosensitive drum cleaner 11 around the a-Si photosensitive drum 9 that rotates clockwise in FIG. The developing unit 10 is provided with a developing roller 10a, and the surface of the developing roller 10a is separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum 9 by a predetermined distance.
The developing device 10 is configured so that a predetermined amount of toner can be supplied from the toner container 31. An upper door 7 is disposed above the toner container 31 so as to be openable and closable in the arrow direction 53 with the base 7a as a center. 31 is configured to be removable.
[0003]
An optical unit 25 for forming image dots on the surface of the photosensitive drum 9 is provided above the photosensitive drum 9. The optical unit 25 includes a polygon mirror that reflects laser light from a laser light source (not shown), and the laser light. And an optical system that forms an image dot on the surface of the photoreceptor between the charging unit 8 and the developing roller 10a via a reflection mirror.
[0004]
A multiple transfer mechanism 41 is disposed below a path (conveyance path) 36 in which the registration roller 18, the transfer roller 19 and the like are arranged and formed. The multiple transfer mechanism 41 is integrally configured as a unit, and is illustrated with respect to the apparatus main body . 5 It is arranged so that it can be pulled out and attached to the front side.
[0005]
Although not shown, a recording paper cassette storage is detachably provided from the outside below the multiple transfer mechanism 41, and the recording paper is conveyed to the conveyance path 40 by conveyance rollers (not shown) and is conveyed by conveyance rollers 43 and 33. It is configured to be able to be conveyed to the registration rollers 18 and 30 through the passage 34.
[0006]
The manual sheet feeding unit 20 is supported by the pressing member 22 so as to be openable and closable about the shaft core 21, and is configured so that the recording paper can be conveyed to the registration rollers 18 and 30 by the conveyance rollers 37 and 38 by the roller 23.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the apparatus, the recording sheet on the apparatus main body side is conveyed to the registration rollers 18 and 30 by a pair of conveying rollers 43 and 33, and the recording sheet on the manual sheet feeding unit side is conveyed from the pick-up roller 23 to the conveying rollers 37, Since the pair of 38 is transported to the registration rollers 18 and 30, the pair of transport rollers 43 and 33 and the pair of transport rollers 37 and 38 need to be separated from each other and must be separately connected to the drive source. There is a problem that the configuration is complicated.
[0008]
Further, the recording paper transport mechanism inevitably requires measures against jamming of the recording paper, and in order to remove the jammed recording paper, the pair of transport rollers 43 and 33 and the pair of transport rollers 37 and 38 are separated from each other. There is a need to. However, as described above, since these are separately connected to the drive source, the driven rollers that are not connected to the drive source are combined into a unit body, and the unit body is pulled out from the apparatus main body. There is a problem that the unit body configuration becomes complicated.
[0009]
In view of the disadvantages of the prior art, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus capable of transporting a recording medium housed in a recording medium accumulation cassette in the apparatus main body and a recording medium from a manual paper feed unit. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having a simple structure with a reduced number of conveying rollers.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily perform jam processing.
[0010]
[Means for solving the problems]
The first aspect of the present invention includes a recording medium stacking unit located below the apparatus main body and a manual sheet feeding unit located on the side of the apparatus main body. with selectively deliverable feeding path provided medium, a transport unit of the substantially horizontal direction in extraction can configured the recording medium from the recording medium conveying path lower surface side apparatus main body side leading to transcription position A recording medium stacking unit housed in the unit body, wherein the recording medium stacking unit is a recording medium stacking cassette that can be pulled out from the transport unit body in the unit body pulling direction. ,
A first roller provided in the vicinity of the merging position, a second roller provided on the sheet feeding outlet side of the recording medium stacking unit, and a peripheral surface thereof in contact with the first and second rollers, A third roller that functions as a feeding path through which the recording medium drawn from the recording medium stacking unit using the surface is fed to the merging position side, and the first roller on the apparatus main body side, The second roller is provided on the recording medium accumulation cassette side, and the third roller is provided on the transport unit body side.
[0011]
In this case, the recording medium stacking unit may be a paper feed cassette, a multiple transfer mechanism (including a reversing unit), or even a combination of both.
[0012]
According to this invention, the single third roller has the functions of two rollers and the feeding function, and the first roller and the third roller located in the vicinity of the merging position from the manual paper feeding unit to the resist inlet. A pair of feeding rollers to the side is formed, and the recording medium from the manual sheet feeding unit is directly conveyed to the pair of rollers via a manual pickup roller, and is pressed between the driving roller and the first driven roller. It is conveyed to the resist entrance side.
In addition, since the second roller is provided on the sheet feeding outlet side of the recording medium stacking unit, the recording medium stacked in the sheet feeding cassette or the multiple transfer mechanism is moved from these pickup rollers to the second roller. The second roller is sandwiched by the third roller circumferential surface to form a second sheet feeding roller pair, and the third sheet feeding roller uses the circumferential surface. The recording medium drawn from the recording medium stacking unit is fed to the merging position side along the peripheral surface of the third roller while being fed by the second pair of paper feed rollers.
[0013]
In this case, as described in claim 2, before Symbol a first roller is a drive roller, that the driving force of the drive roller is configured to be transmitted to the second roller via a third roller Further, the outer periphery of the registration means, the transfer means, and the components of the feeding path are positioned lower than the outer periphery of the first roller constituting the drive roller so as not to come into contact when the transport unit is pulled out from the apparatus main body. It is good to arrange.
[0014]
Since the drive roller is located on the side of the main body of the apparatus, the drive system can be accommodated only in the apparatus main body, and there is no problem even if the transport unit and the paper feed cassette can be pulled out.
[0015]
In this case, as described in claim 3, when the first roller is divided into the first to fourth quadrants in the counterclockwise direction from the upper right centering on the rotation axis of the third roller, the first roller is in the second quadrant. In addition, the second roller is preferably positioned in the fourth quadrant, which makes it easier to remove the transport unit and the paper feed cassette.
[0016]
According to such a technique, one drive roller, which is the first roller located on the apparatus main body side, is connected to the drive source, and the paper feed path is formed using the peripheral surface of the third roller. Since it is formed, the size is reduced with the reduction in the number of parts as compared with the conventional example, the configuration is simplified, the cost is reduced, and the maintenance is easy.
[0017]
By providing the first roller in the apparatus main body, the third roller in the transport unit, and the second roller in the cassette body, respectively, the following operations can be achieved. Run.
That is, by pulling out the transport unit from the apparatus main body, the pair of paper feed rollers of the manual paper feed unit composed of the first roller and the third roller is separated and jammed to the manual paper feed unit side. The recording medium can be easily removed.
[0018]
Further, by pulling out the cassette body from the transport unit, the pair of paper feed rollers on the cassette side composed of the third roller and the second roller is separated, and a recording medium jammed on the stacker or the cassette side is removed. Can be easily removed.
[0019]
Therefore, according to such technical means, it is only necessary to select and pull out the transport unit or the cassette body at each jam occurrence position, and maintenance is easy, and the burden on the operator is reduced.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified, and are merely illustrative examples. Only.
[0021]
FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of a recording medium conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The same members as those in FIG.
The apparatus main body 6 is provided with a rotation drive source (not shown), and the rigid drive roller 2 disposed in the apparatus main body 6 is connected to the rotation drive source via a clutch mechanism (not shown).
[0022]
The transport unit 5 is arranged in the apparatus main body 6 so as to be able to be pulled out in the direction of arrow 39, and the transport unit 5 is arranged so that a cassette (cassette body) 12 to be described later is detachable in the direction of arrow 39. When the drawer is pulled out, the cassette 12 also moves.
[0023]
The transport unit 5 is provided with a manual paper feed pickup roller 23 that picks up the recording paper of the manual paper feed unit 20 and sends it to the downstream side, and a pressing member 22 that presses the outer periphery of the roller 23 from below. A manual paper feed unit 20 is disposed so as to be openable and closable around an axis 21.
[0024]
Further, the transport unit 5 communicates with the passages 34 and 36 for transporting the recording paper from the manual paper feeding unit 20 to the downstream side, and the transport unit 5 is disposed on the downstream side of the roller 23 with the passage 34 interposed therebetween. An intermediate driven roller (third roller) 3 formed with an elastic member on the outer periphery thereof, which is in pressure contact with the driving roller (first roller) 2, is rotatably disposed at a position where the roller is attached to the roller. 30, a transfer roller 19 is disposed, and a cassette pickup roller 13 for feeding the recording paper stored in the cassette is disposed near the upstream side of the driven roller (second roller) 4 in the rotation direction of the intermediate driven roller 3. ing.
The outer periphery of the registration roller 30 and the transfer roller 19 and the constituent members of the passages 34 and 36 are arranged at positions lower than the outer periphery of the driving roller 2 so as not to come into contact when the transport unit 5 is pulled out from the apparatus body 6. ing.
[0025]
Cassette (recording medium integrated cassette) 12 is detachably disposed in the arrow 39 direction to the conveying unit 5, the driven roller 4 is positioned a rigid rotating intermediate driven roller 3 and the pressing contact with that provided in the transfer unit 5 The driven roller 4 can be fed with a recording paper 16 conveyed through a passage 14 from a recording paper storage (not shown) disposed below the cassette 12 and a recording paper 15 by the cassette pickup roller 13 from the cassette 12. It is configured.
A portion that may come into contact with the outer periphery of the intermediate driven roller 3 when the component of the cassette 12 is pulled out from the transport unit 5 is formed lower than the outer periphery of the intermediate driven roller 3.
[0026]
Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, the recording paper 17 from the manual paper feeding unit 20 is sent out by the roller 23 and is nipped by the driving roller 2 and the intermediate driven roller 3 so as to drive the driving roller 2. Is conveyed to the registration roller 30 through the passage 34 by the driving force. Then, the image is transferred to the transfer roller 19, transferred to the passage 36, and conveyed to a fixing device (not shown).
[0027]
On the other hand, the recording paper 15 or 16 from inside the cassette 12 is nipped by the driven roller 4 and the intermediate driven roller 3 and conveyed to the driving roller 2, and thereafter is nipped by the driving roller 2 and the intermediate driven roller 3. The roller 34 is conveyed to the registration roller 30 by the driving force of the driving roller 2.
[0028]
Next, a case where a recording paper jam process is performed will be described. When the transport unit 5 is attached to the apparatus main body 6, the cassette 12 can be detached and attached in the direction of arrow 39 alone as shown in FIG. 3, and when the cassette 12 is taken out in the right direction, it is attached to the cassette 12. The driven roller 4 is separated from the intermediate driven roller 3, and the recording paper 15 is also separated from the pickup roller 13 and taken out.
Therefore, a jam of the recording paper between the pickup roller 13 and the driving roller 2 can be processed by taking out the cassette 12.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 2, when the transport unit 5 is pulled rightward, the intermediate driven roller 3 drawn out together with the cassette 12 is separated from the driving roller 2, and the manual sheet feeding unit 20, the roller 23, the path (sheet feeding path) ) 34, the passage (conveyance path) 36, the registration roller 30, the transfer roller 19 and the like are taken out integrally.
Therefore, the jammed recording paper in the conveyance path from the roller 23 to the position beyond the transfer roller 19 can be easily removed.
[0030]
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the driven roller 4 is arranged in the fourth quadrant. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the driven roller 4 is arranged in the first quadrant. Also good.
As a result, the manual feed unit 20 and the roller 23 as well as the driven roller 4 may be arranged in the first quadrant.
The drive roller 2, the intermediate driven roller 3, and the driven roller 4 are arranged such that the intermediate driven roller is arranged in a quadrant that does not become an obstacle to the drive roller 2 when the intermediate driven roller 3 is pulled out, and the driven roller 4 is pulled out. In this case, it is a matter of course that the motor can be arranged between any quadrants or adjacent quadrants, provided that the quadrant driven rollers 4 that do not become an obstacle to the intermediate driven roller 3 are arranged.
[0031]
In the present embodiment, the transport unit 5 and the cassette 12 are configured to be able to be pulled out in the same direction, but the pull-out direction of the cassette 12 intersects the pull-out direction of the transport unit 5 with an angle. You may do it.
[0032]
In this embodiment, the driving roller 2 and the driven roller 4 are rigid bodies, and the intermediate driven roller 3 is an elastic body. However, the driving roller 2 and the driven roller 4 are elastic bodies, and the intermediate driven roller 3 is a rigid body. Good.
[0033]
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the case where the manual feed pickup roller 23 is disposed in the transport unit 5 has been described, but it may be disposed in the apparatus main body 6 as shown in FIG. As a result, the drive system can be set in the apparatus main body 6 and the configuration becomes simple, and the pickup roller 23 and the pressing member 22 are separated from each other so that the recording paper can be easily removed.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the present invention is connected to the drive source by a single drive roller, which is the first roller located on the apparatus main body side, and is fed using the peripheral surface of the third roller. Since the paper path is formed, the size is reduced as the number of parts is reduced as compared with the conventional example, the configuration is simplified, the cost is reduced, and the maintenance is easy.
[0035]
Further, by pulling out the transport unit from the apparatus main body, the pair of paper feed rollers of the manual paper feed unit composed of the first roller and the third roller is separated and jammed to the manual paper feed unit side. The recording medium can be easily removed.
Further, by pulling out the cassette body from the transport unit, the cassette-side paper feed roller pair composed of the third roller and the second roller is separated from each other, and the recording is jammed to the multiple transfer mechanism or the cassette side. The medium can be easily removed.
Therefore, it is only necessary to select and pull out the transport unit or the cassette body at each jam occurrence position, so that maintenance is easy and the burden on the operator is reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of a recording medium transport apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a transport unit is pulled out from the apparatus main body.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which only the recording medium accumulation cassette is pulled out from the apparatus main body.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing another embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a recording medium conveyance device of an image forming apparatus according to a conventional technique.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Drive roller (first roller)
3 Intermediate driven roller (third roller)
4 driven roller (second roller)
5 Transport unit 12 Cassette (recording medium stacking unit)
20 Manual Feeder 30 Registration Roller (Registration Unit)

Claims (4)

A recording medium stacking unit located below the apparatus main body and a manual sheet feeding unit located on the side surface of the apparatus main body are provided, and the recording medium can be selectively fed toward the merging position upstream of the registration means from the two parts. provided with a feed path, transcription and transport unit of extraction can configured the recording medium in a substantially horizontal direction from the recording medium conveying path lower surface side apparatus main body side to reach the position, records stored in the unit body An image forming apparatus comprising a medium stacking unit , wherein the recording medium stacking unit is a recording medium stacking cassette that can be pulled out from the transport unit body in the unit body pulling direction;
A first roller provided in the vicinity of the merging position, a second roller provided on the sheet feeding outlet side of the recording medium stacking unit, and a peripheral surface thereof in contact with the first and second rollers, A third roller that functions as a feeding path through which the recording medium drawn from the recording medium stacking unit using the surface is fed to the merging position side, and the first roller on the apparatus main body side, An image forming apparatus, wherein the second roller is provided on the recording medium accumulation cassette side, and the third roller is provided on the transport unit body side.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first roller is a driving roller, and the driving force of the driving roller can be transmitted to the second roller via the third roller. The first roller is in the second quadrant and the second roller is in the fourth quadrant when the first roller is divided into the first to fourth quadrants from the upper right direction around the rotation axis of the third roller. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is positioned.   The outer periphery of the registration means, the outer periphery of the transfer means, and the constituent members of the feeding path are arranged at positions lower than the outer periphery of the first roller constituting the drive roller so as not to come into contact when the transport unit is pulled out from the apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

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