JPH0428620B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a copy paper transport device for a copying machine, and more particularly to a copy paper transport device for a copy machine for copying both sides of a copy paper.

Conventionally, copy paper used to copy materials such as manuscripts is copied only on one side, so it is necessary to save copy paper and reduce the amount of paper used when a large amount of copy paper is consumed. The need for double-sided copying has arisen because it reduces the amount of copy paper by half and makes storage of copy paper more efficient.

This double-sided copying is carried out by the complicated method of copying one side of the copy paper, then artificially turning the copy paper upside down after it is ejected from the output port, placing it in the feed port, and copying again. Therefore, it had the disadvantage of being inefficient.

In order to eliminate these drawbacks, some large-scale copying machines have been developed that automatically flip the copy paper and make double-sided copying possible, but this requires a complicated flipping mechanism and requires equipment. However, it also became larger, and as a result, it had the disadvantage that it could not be adapted to small desktop-type aircraft.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a first guide path in which the copy paper A, which is supplied from the first paper feed cassette 3 and on which an image has been transferred and fixed on one side, is directed toward the copy tray 5 based on a command signal. , a conveying direction switching plate 27 for conveying to either one of the second guiding path branching from the first guiding path; In the copy paper conveying device for a copying machine, which includes a return belt 33 for returning copy paper A toward the second paper feed cassette 4, the second paper feed cassette 4
has a plurality of paper feeding claws 44 and 49 that can feed paper separately, and a single-sided paper feed claw 44 and 49 that can feed the paper separately in order to transfer the transferred image to the other side of at least two different sizes of copy paper and fix the transferred image. Copy paper A on which the image has been transferred and fixed is stacked on one side, and the copy paper A is moved from the loading plate 41 that moves up and down to correspond to the paper feed claws 44 and 49, and from the return belt 33. a transfer tray 61 that can be moved between a first position for receiving copies and a second position adjacent to the loading plate 41 for transferring copy sheets to the loading plate 41; The main object of the present invention is to provide a copy paper conveyance device for a copy machine, which has a simple structure, is low in cost, and can smoothly make copies of various sizes. .

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a copying machine showing an inverted state, and FIG. 2 is a simplified cross-sectional view of a copying machine that makes copies on the other side of the inverted state. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a main machine frame, and a transparent plate 2 on which a document is placed horizontally is provided on the upper part of the frame. The first paper feed cassette 3 that stores the copy paper A is placed in the main machine frame 1 as shown in FIG.
A second paper feed cassette 4, whose structure will be described later, is installed below the first paper feed cassette 3, and the copying is completed. The subsequent copies are discharged onto the copy tray 5 provided at the left end in FIG.

Note that the paper feed cassettes mounted on the main machine frame 1 in this way are not limited to two tiers of the first paper feed cassette 3 and the second paper feed cassette 4, which are installed vertically. A large number of copy sheets of various sizes may be stored in multiple rows, such as three rows in the same direction.

A photosensitive drum 6 whose entire circumferential surface is coated with a photosensitive layer (not shown) is rotatably mounted approximately at the center of the main machine frame 1. The reflected light passes through the movable reflecting mirror 7,
8. The image of the document is projected onto the photosensitive layer through the in-mirror lens 9 and the reflecting mirror 10 to form an electrostatic image on the photosensitive layer. Around the photosensitive drum 6, there is a charging corona discharger 11 that charges the photosensitive layer, a developing device 12 that visualizes the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive layer and converts it into a toner image, and a toner image formed on the photosensitive layer. A transfer corona discharger 13 for transferring a toner image onto copy paper, and a cleaning device 14 for removing toner remaining on the photosensitive layer after transfer are disposed.

Reference numerals 18, 18', 20, 20', 22, and 22' designate a pair of transport rollers for transporting the copy paper A that has been pushed up by the lever 16 and fed by the paper feed roller 15 for single-sided copying. .
Further, 17 and 17' are guide plates provided between the paper feed roller 15 and the conveyance rollers 18 and 18'.
A pair of guide plates 19, 19', 21, and 21' are installed between the rollers and guide the copy paper. A conveyor belt 24 conveys the copy paper transferred by the photosensitive drum 6 to the fixing device 25, and is stretched between belt rollers 23 and 23'.

The copy paper that has been heat-fixed by the fixing device 25 is sent out by delivery rollers 26, 26', and passes through ejection rollers 70, 70' to a first guide path toward the copy tray 5, as shown by the phantom lines in FIG. , as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. 1, is conveyed along a second guide path that branches off from the first guide path in the vertical direction and heads toward the return belt 33.

The conveying direction switching plate 27 transports the copy paper to either the first guide path or a second guide path branching from the first guide path, as shown in FIG. The feed rollers 26, 26' are disposed in the auxiliary machine frame 30, which may be integrally attached to the main machine frame 1, or detachably attached to the main machine frame 1, and provided within the main machine frame 1. and discharge rollers 70, 7 provided in the auxiliary machine frame 30.
0'. This conveyance direction switching plate 27 is pivotally supported by a pivot shaft 27a, and can be rotated as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 about the pivot shaft 27a in response to a command signal. When rotated in the horizontal direction, the feed roller 2
The copy paper sent out from 6, 26' passes over the conveyance direction switching plate 27, passes through discharge rollers 70, 70', and takes a first guide path toward the copy tray 5.
On the other hand, the conveyance direction switching plate 27 rotates upward as shown in FIG.
When rotated in the direction opposite to 6, 26',
The copy paper sent out from the delivery rollers 26, 26' comes into contact with the conveyance direction switching plate 27 and takes a second guide path that is branched in the vertical direction.

Pull-in rollers 29 and 29' are disposed below the conveyance direction switching plate 27.
7 and branched downward from the horizontal direction in the vertical direction, the copy paper with one-sided copying completed is drawn in, and the copy paper is placed on the return belt 33 located below the pull-in rollers 29, 29'. 28, 28'
is a guide plate that guides the copy paper branched from the conveyance direction switching plate 27 onto the return belt 33.

As shown in FIG. 1, this return belt 33 is stretched between a belt roller 31 located at the left end of the auxiliary machine frame 30 and a belt roller 32 located at its right end. . Note that the return belt 33 is not limited to a simple belt, and may be a roller conveyor as long as it can carry the copy paper on it.
A belt roller 34 is disposed on the belt roller 32 with a return belt 33 sandwiched therebetween, and a belt roller 35 is provided obliquely above the belt roller 34 to protrude from the main machine frame 1.
A belt roller 37 is provided below 5 with an auxiliary belt 36 sandwiched between the belt rollers 34 and 35.
An auxiliary belt 36 is stretched between the belt roller 32 and the belt roller 37, and an auxiliary belt 38 is stretched between the belt roller 32 and the belt roller 37, and the copy paper conveyed by the return belt 33 is held between the auxiliary belts 36 and 38. and fed into the second paper feed cassette 4.

The structure of the second paper feed cassette 4 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The second paper feed cassette 4 has a rectangular frame, and a third
A base plate portion 39 is integrally formed vertically to the front wall 4a at the front in the plane of the drawing, and this base plate portion 39 has a plurality of locking holes 40, 40', 4
0'' is bored.These locking holes 40, 40',
Engagement pieces 42, 42', and 42'' formed at one end of the mounting plate 41 on which the copy paper is loaded are engaged with each other, so that the mounting plate 41 is disposed on the base plate portion 39.

As shown in FIG. 4, paper feed claw support plates 43, 43' are provided at both ends of this mounting plate 41, and paper feed claw support plates 43, 43' are provided with paper feed claw support plates 43, 43' at their front ends. Paper feed claw fixing parts 45, 45' forming the first paper feed claws 44, 44' are pivotally supported by a pivoting means 46, and the pair of first paper feed claws 44, 4
The 4' interval is the desired copy paper, such as large size A4
Matched to the size of the edition.

In addition, a notch groove 47 is bored in the mounting plate 41,
A guide plate 48 is fitted into this notched groove 47, and when the mounting plate 41 moves downward, the guide plate 48 protrudes from the mounting plate 41, and when the mounting plate 41 moves upward, the mounting plate 41 ends up climbing over the guide plate 48. A second paper feed claw 49 is formed at the front end of this guide plate 48.
Reference numeral 9 is located inside and below the first paper feed claw 44 (FIG. 3), and on the other hand, at the rear end of the guide plate 48, there is an opening that is widened so that copy paper can easily enter. A guide plate support part 48b is formed which extends from the part 48a toward the paper feed claw support plate 43 along the lower bottom wall of the mounting plate 41, and this guide support plate 48b is connected to the pivoting means 46. It is pivotally supported on the paper feed claw support plate 43 by. Said second paper feed claw 4
9 and the first paper feed claw 44' is made to match the desired copy paper, for example, the B5 size, which is smaller in size than the A4 size. Note that in this embodiment, the first paper feed claw 4
4, 44', and the second paper feed claw 49 are provided, but it is not necessarily limited to these two types of paper feed claws. A third paper feed claw or a fourth paper feed claw may be provided to match the paper feed claw.

In addition, in this embodiment, in order to load two types of A4 size copy paper and B5 size copy paper separately on the mounting plate 41, a second paper feeding claw 49 is provided by moving the mounting plate 41 up and down. The guide plate 48 is made to be able to freely appear and retract from the mounting plate 41, but on the other hand, the mounting plate 41 is fixed and the guide plate 4 is moved by some means.
By raising and lowering the guide plate 48 on the mounting plate 41, two types of A4 size and B5 size can be created.
It is also possible to separately stack copy sheets of the size of the plate on the loading plate 41.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the base plate portion 39 is provided with an opening 50.
A V-shaped push-up lever 51 is positioned at the top, and a push-up portion 51a of this push-up lever 51 is positioned on the mounting plate 41.
The base end 51 is in contact with the bottom wall of the
b is connected to a solenoid 53 via a connecting rod 52. When this solenoid 53 is energized, the connecting rod 52 is pulled in the direction of the arrow, and the push-up portion 51a is displaced to the position of the imaginary line around the pivot shaft 51c, and as a result, the lever in contact with the push-up portion 51a is The mounting plate 41 is pushed upward to the position shown by the imaginary line, and its tip abuts the second paper feed claw 49. At the same time, the loading plate 41 climbs over the guide plate 48, so the loading plate 41 has the first paper feed claw 44,
Large copy paper such as A4 size copy paper having a size equal to the interval of 44' can be loaded.

When the solenoid 53 is de-energized, the connecting rod 52 returns to the return position by the action of the spring 53, and the push-up portion 51a descends to the position indicated by the solid line about the pivot shaft 51c. At the same time, when the mounting plate 41 is lowered, the guide plate 48 fitted into the cutout groove 47 of the mounting plate 41 protrudes above the mounting plate 41. As a result, large-sized copy paper such as the A4 size sheet cannot be loaded on the loading plate 41 because it is blocked by the guide plate 48, and is equal to the spacing between the second paper feed claws 49. For example, copy paper of B5 size, which is smaller than the A4 size, is placed on the guide plate 48.
Guided by the ship, the ship can enter and be loaded.

Adjacent to this mounting plate 41, a pair of rotation shafts 55, 5 are provided on both side walls 4c, 4d of the second paper feed cassette 4.
5' also has a pair of rotation shafts 56, 5 on both side walls 4c, 4d near the rear wall 4b of the second paper feed cassette 4.
6' is fixed.

One end of a rotating lever 57 is pivotally supported on this rotating shaft 55, the other end is pivotally supported on a pivot 59 of a transfer tray 61, and similarly, a rotating lever 57 is attached to a rotating shaft 55'.
7' is pivotally supported, and the other end is pivotally supported on a pivot 59' of the transfer tray 61. Furthermore, one end of a rotating lever 58 is pivotally supported on the rotating shaft 56, and the other end is supported by a pivoting support 6 located at the rear end of the transfer tray 61.
Similarly, one end of a rotating lever 58' is pivoted to the rotating shaft 56', and the other end is pivoted to the transfer tray 6.
It is pivotally supported on the 1st pivot point 60'.

The rotating levers 57, 57', 58, 58' are arranged in parallel in the same direction, that is, the rotating levers 57, 57', 58, 58' are arranged in parallel in the same direction.
7, 57', 58, 58' and the transfer tray 61 constitute a parallel link mechanism, and the rotation axes 55, 55', 56,
56' as the center, it is possible to move from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 3 to the position shown by the imaginary line.
1 can be displaced upward from the solid line position to the phantom line position.

As shown in FIG. 4, this transfer tray 61 has a plurality of notches 61', 61'', 61''', 6
1'''', 61'''''' are formed, and this notch 6
1′,
61'', 61''', 61'''', 61''''''' are fixed to a rotary drive shaft 62 installed between both side walls 4c and 4d of the second paper feed cassette 4. roller 6
3, 63', 63'', 63''', 63''''' are located respectively.
Freely rotating rollers 65, 65', 65'', 65'' are loosely fitted to a support shaft 64 connected to both ends of the rotary drive shaft 62. ',65
′′′′ are in contact with each other.

The copy paper conveyed via the return belt 33 by being sandwiched between the auxiliary conveyor belts 36 and 38 is transferred to the conveyor rollers 63, 63', 63'', 63.
By rotating ``'', 63'''', the support shaft 64 and the transfer tray 6 are rotated.
1, the paper enters the second paper feed cassette 4 from S, and is sequentially loaded onto the transfer tray 61. In this case, the transfer tray 61 is at the first position for receiving the copy paper from the return belt 33, that is, at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. In this way, transfer plate 6
1, when the rotating levers 57, 57', 58, 58' of the parallel link mechanism are rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. , 63″, 63′″, 63″
'' and free rotating rollers 65, 65', 65'', 65''', 6
5′′′′ and displaced upward to the position of the imaginary line,
The transfer tray 61 is close to and at the same level as the loading plate 41, that is, it is in the second position for transferring the copy paper to the loading plate 41, and as a result, the copy paper is transferred to the loading plate 61. It becomes possible to transfer from the board to the board 41.

To explain double-sided copying of a copy paper using the copy paper conveyance device having the above configuration, first, a case will be described when copying a large size copy paper such as an A4 size paper. In Fig. 1, the first paper feed cassette 3 containing A4 size copy paper that has not been copied on both sides is mounted on the main machine frame 1, and below it is an empty paper cassette 3 containing no copy paper. Attach the second paper feed cassette 4. At the same time, the solenoid 53 attached to the second paper feed cassette 4 is energized to displace the push-up portion 51a of the push-up lever 51 upward to the position of the imaginary line as shown in FIG. The plate 41 is raised to the position shown by the imaginary line, and the mounting plate 41 is made to ride over the guide plate 48. In this state, open the first paper cassette 3.
Copy paper A, which has been stored in the holder and pushed up by a lever 16, is fed from a paper feed cassette 3 by a paper feed roller 15. This fed copy paper is transferred to a pair of guide plates 17, 17', transport rollers 18, 1
8', guide plates 19, 19', conveyance rollers 20, 2
0', guide plates 21, 21', and are conveyed by a pair of conveying rollers 22, 22' in close contact with the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive drum 6 facing the transfer corona discharger 13, and are transferred. After the transfer is completed, the copy paper is sent to a fixing device 25 by a conveyor belt 24 and fixed thereon.

The copy paper fixed by the fixing device 25 passes through delivery rollers 26 and 26' and comes into contact with a conveyance direction switching plate 27. As shown in FIG. 1, this conveyance direction switching plate 27 is rotated in advance around a pivot shaft 27a in response to a command signal in a direction in which the upper side, that is, the oblique side 27b faces the delivery rollers 26 and 26'. Therefore, the copy paper fed out horizontally by the feed rollers 26, 26' comes into contact with the conveyance direction switching plate 27 and is guided vertically downward, that is, into the copy tray 5.
The second guide path is branched off from the first guide path leading to The copy paper is then turned over so that the image is transferred to the other side.

That is, one side on which the image has been transferred is in contact with the return belt 33, and the other side on which the image has not been copied is exposed.

The copy paper placed on this return belt 33 is
As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet is conveyed to the right by the movement of the return belt 33, held between the auxiliary belts 36 and 38, and conveyed to the second paper feed cassette 4, and as shown in FIG. Conveyance rollers 63, 63', 63'', 63''', attached to the paper feed cassette 4,
63'''' and free rotating rollers 65, 65', 65'',
65''', 65''''', and the support shaft 64
and the transfer tray 61.
cassettes 4 and are sequentially transferred to the transfer tray 61. In this case, the position of the transfer tray 61 is set so that the copy paper that has entered the second paper feed cassette 4 can be easily loaded.
It is located at the solid line in Figure 3. After a certain amount of copy paper with one side transferred is stacked on the transfer tray 61 in this way, when the rotation levers 57 and 58 are rotated in the direction of the arrow, the transfer tray 61 is moved to a certain extent by the conveyance rollers 63 and 6.
3′, 63″, 63〓, 63〓 and free rotating roller 6
5, 65', 65'', 65〓, 65〓 and is displaced upward to the position of the imaginary line, and the transfer tray 61 approaches and is at the same level as the loading plate 41. In such a state, when the pushing plate 71 standing upright at the rear of the transfer tray 61 is pushed forward, the pushing plate 71 slides on the guides 72 and 72', and the A4 copy paper is pushed forward. The paper feed claw 44 is guided by the claw support plates 43, 43'.
44', its front and both ends will fit.
In this case, since the guide plate 48 does not protrude above the mounting plate 41, there is no problem in the A4 size copy paper entering the mounting plate 41.

In order to copy one side of the copy paper that has been transferred to the mounting plate 41 in this way, which has not yet been copied, the transport direction switching plate 27 is moved in the transport direction of the copy paper about the pivot shaft 27a by a command signal. Rotate parallel to the That is, it is displaced to the position shown in FIG. Then, these paper feed claws 44, 44' and the mounting plate 4
The A4 size copy paper stored between the
The paper is fed from the paper feed cassette 4. This fed copy paper is transferred to guide plates 67, 67', conveyance rollers 68,
68', guide plates 69, 69', and then the conveyor roller 2
0, 20', is transferred and fixed through the above-mentioned path, reaches the delivery rollers 26, 26', passes over the transport direction switching plate 27, and is transferred to the delivery roller as shown in the imaginary line in FIG. 70 and 70', the paper is fed into the copy tray 5 along the first guide path toward the copy tray 5.

Next, if you want to copy B5 size copy paper, which is smaller than the large size copy paper such as the A4 size copy paper, as shown in Figure 1, move the first cassette 3 that stores the A4 size copy paper to the main machine frame. The first paper feed cassette 3 is detachable from 1 and stores B5 copy paper.
Attach it to main engine frame 1. A second paper feed cassette 4 is installed below the first paper feed cassette 3.
is attached to the main machine frame 1 as it is, but as shown in FIG. . When this energization is released, the connecting rod 52 connected to the solenoid 53 moves to the return position, that is, in the opposite direction of the arrow, by the action of the spring 54, and the push-up lever 51, which is pivotally connected to the connecting rod 52, is pushed up. The portion 51a is rotated about the pivot shaft 51c to the position indicated by the solid line. As a result, the loading plate 41 is lowered to the position indicated by the solid line, and a gap is created between the loading plate 41 and the second sheet feeding claw 49 that can accommodate a B5 copy sheet. At the same time, when the mounting plate 41 is lowered,
As shown in FIG. 4, the guide plate 4 is fitted into a notched groove 47 formed in the mounting plate 41.
8 protrudes above the mounting plate 41, and the B5 copy paper comes into contact with this guide plate 48, is guided, and is stored between the mounting plate 41 and the paper feed claws 49, 44'.

In the above state, after de-energizing the solenoid in the second cassette 4, as shown in FIG. A
is transferred to the first paper feed cassette 3 by the paper feed roller 15.
feed the paper from The fed copy paper passes through the same path as the A4 size copy paper, contacts the transport direction switching plate 27, reaches the return belt 33, is placed on the return belt 33, and is reversed. The copy paper is conveyed to the second paper feed cassette 4 while being held between the auxiliary belts 36 and 38, and as shown in FIG. , 63″, 63′″, 63′′″,
and free rotating rollers 65, 65', 65'', 65''', 65
While the cassettes are held between the support shaft 64 and the transfer tray 61, they enter the second cassette 4 from S and are sequentially loaded onto the transfer tray 61. After a certain amount of copy paper is loaded on the transfer tray 61, as described above, rotate the rotating levers 57, 58 in the direction of the arrow to raise the transfer tray 61 to the position shown in the imaginary line.
When the pushing plate 71 is slid on the guides 72, 72', the B5 copy paper is guided while coming into contact with the guide plate 48, and its front ends are accommodated in the paper feeding claws 49, 44'.

In order to copy one side of the copy paper that has not been copied yet, which has been transferred to the loading plate 41 in this way, the transport direction switching plate 41 must be
7 is rotated about the pivot shaft 27a in parallel to the conveyance direction of the copy paper. That is, it is displaced to the position shown in FIG. Then, when the lever 73 pushes up the copy paper and the paper feed roller 66 feeds the B5 copy paper from the second paper feed cassette 4, it passes through the same path as the A4 copy paper, and then passes through the same path as the A4 copy paper. 2
As shown by the imaginary line in the figure, the sheet passes over the transport direction switching plate 27 and is sent to the copy tray 5 by the discharge rollers 70, 70'.

As detailed above, since the present invention has the above configuration, double-sided copying of copy paper, which has been difficult with conventional desktop-type compact copying machines, is possible with a simple configuration. Savings can be made and storage is also efficient.

The second paper feed cassette also includes paper feed claws that feed copy sheets of at least two different sizes separately, and a mounting plate 41 that can be moved up and down to accommodate each of the paper feed claws. Because of this, when copying paper of different sizes, the second paper feed cassette can accommodate the different sizes of copy paper, and there is no need to prepare second paper feed cassettes of various sizes. This has the advantage that parts can be saved, and there is no need to replace the second paper feed cassette depending on the copy paper size of various sizes, making the copying work more efficient.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a simplified sectional view of a copying machine showing an inverted state, and Fig. 2 shows a state in which the other side of the inverted image is copied. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the second paper feed cassette, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 3. 3... First paper feed cassette, 4... Second paper feed cassette, 5... Copy tray, 27... Conveyance direction switching plate, 33... Return belt, 41... Mounting plate,
44, 44', 49...Paper feed claw, 61...Transfer plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Copy paper A supplied from the first paper feed cassette 3, after the image has been transferred and fixed on one side,
A conveyance direction switching plate 27 for conveying to either a first guide path toward the copy tray 5 or a second guide path branching from the first guide path based on a command signal, and this conveyance direction switch. In the copy paper conveying device for a copying machine, the copy paper conveying device for a copying machine is provided with a return belt 33 for returning the copy paper A sent in the direction of the second guide path by the plate 27 toward the second paper feed cassette 4. The second paper feed cassette 4 has a plurality of paper feed claws that can feed the paper separately in order to transfer the image to the other side of at least two sizes of copy paper and fix the transferred image. 44, 49, the copy paper A with an image transferred and fixed on one side is stacked, and this copy paper A is fed to each of the paper feed claws 44, 4.
A board 41 that moves up and down to accommodate 9.
and a first one for receiving from the return belt 33.
and a second position adjacent to the loading plate 41 for transferring copy paper onto the loading plate 41. copy paper conveyance device.