JP2004299214A - Image processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image processor wherein the drawer mechanism of a drawer unit such as a sheet cassette is reduced in size. <P>SOLUTION: A printer 100 having a drawer type sheet cassette 1 has an extension rail 52 slidable against the sheet cassette 1, a rail guide 51 provided on the body side of the printer 100 and guiding and supporting the extension rail 52, and the extension rail 52 is attached to the sheet cassette 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a technique of a draw-out mechanism of various units provided in an image processing apparatus that performs processing such as recording and reading of an image, such as a copier, a printer, a facsimile, and a scanner.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of a conventional fixed rail image processing apparatus, FIG. 12 is an external perspective view showing a state where a sheet cassette is pulled out from the image processing apparatus for explaining a drawer mechanism of the fixed rail type, and FIG. FIG. 14 is an external perspective view showing a state in which a sheet cassette is pulled out from the image processing apparatus in order to explain a drawer mechanism of the conventional extended rail type.
[0003]
In the printer 200 which is a fixed rail type image processing apparatus shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the sheet cassette 201 is pulled out by the fixed rail 250 arranged in the sheet cassette 201 and the rail guide 251 arranged in the printer 200. Stop in state.
[0004]
However, in the fixed-rail printer 200, if the length of the fixed rail 250 is not longer than the depth dimension of the sheet cassette 201, the fixed rail 250 comes off the rail guide 251 when the entire sheet cassette 201 is pulled out. Therefore, since the fixed rail 250 is always held by the rail guide 251, the length of the fixed rail 250 needs to be longer than the depth dimension of the sheet cassette 201 by the length X.
[0005]
Therefore, the fixed rail 250 is provided with a protruding portion 250a protruding in the depth direction of the printer 200, and the printer 200 needs to be provided with a storage portion 200a for storing the protruding portion 250a so as to protrude backward from the printer 200 main body. This is one of the factors that hinder the miniaturization of the device.
[0006]
In contrast to such a fixed rail image processing apparatus, an extended rail image processing apparatus is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0007]
In the printer 300 which is an extension rail type image processing apparatus shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the sheet cassette 301 is fixed by a fixed rail 350 arranged on the sheet cassette 301 and a rail guide 351 and extension rail 352 arranged on the printer 300. Stop when pulled out. Then, when the sheet cassette 301 is removed from the printer 300, for example, during a paper jam, the rail guide 351 and the extension rail 352 are left on the printer 300 side, and the sheet cassette 301 and the fixed rail 350 are removed from the printer 300 side.
[0008]
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a conventional extension rail type drawer mechanism. The bent portions 351a and 351b of the rail guide 351 shown in FIG. 15 are provided so as to surround the extension rail 352 so that the extension rail 352 does not come off.
[0009]
Also, in the printer 400 which is an image processing apparatus of the extension rail type shown in FIG. 16, the sheet cassette 401 is formed by the rail guide 451 arranged on the sheet cassette 401 and the fixed rail 450 and the extension rail 452 arranged on the printer 400. Stop when pulled out. Then, when the sheet cassette 401 is removed from the printer 400, for example, during a jam clearance, the fixed rail 450 and the extension rail 452 are left on the printer 400 side, and the sheet cassette 401 and the rail guide 451 are removed from the printer 400.
[0010]
Therefore, unlike the printer 200 of the fixed rail type, the above-mentioned extension rail type printers 300 and 400 do not need to provide the storage portion 200a for storing the protruding portion 250a of the fixed rail 250, and can reduce the size of the device in the depth direction. Can be planned.
[0011]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2003-1888 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of the above-described conventional technology, the following problems have occurred.
[0013]
That is, in the extension rail type printer 300 shown in FIG. 14, since the extension rail 352 is installed on the printer 300 side, the gap T11 between the rail guide 351 and the extension rail 352, and the extension rail 352 as shown in FIG. A gap T12 with the fixed rail 350 is required.
[0014]
The gap T11 is a gap between the rail guide 351 and the extension rail 352 provided together on the printer 300 side, that is, a gap between components provided in the same unit. The gap T12 is a gap between the extension rail 352 provided on the printer 300 side. And a fixed rail 350 provided on the sheet cassette 301 side, that is, a gap between components provided in different units.
[0015]
The gap T12 between the components provided in the different units is set so that T12> T11 so that the components do not come into contact with each other because the calculated tolerance increases by the amount of the different units. . Therefore, the width R of the rail portion increases accordingly, making it difficult to reduce the size of the device.
[0016]
It is also conceivable to reduce the size of the device by reducing the width and thickness of each component of the rail. However, in this case, the strength of the rail is reduced, and the unit cannot withstand its own weight when pulled out.
[0017]
There is also an example in which the width is reduced by disposing the rail guide 451 on the sheet cassette 401 side as in the printer 400 shown in FIG. 16. However, since the rail guide 451 exerts a force when the sheet cassette 401 is pulled out, the strength is reduced. Needed. However, in the printer 400, since there is no member that receives a force above and below the drawn-out sheet cassette 401, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the rail guide 451. As a result, the height of the sheet cassette 401 increases, and The body height also increases.
[0018]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems of the related art, and has as its object to reduce the size of a drawer mechanism of a drawer unit such as a sheet cassette without affecting the operability of an image processing apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide a processing device.
[0019]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention,
In an image processing apparatus having a drawer-type detachable unit,
A rail member slidable with respect to the unit,
A rail guide member provided on the main body side of the image processing apparatus, for guiding and supporting the rail member;
The rail member is attached to the unit.
[0020]
With such a configuration, the gap between the unit and the rail member slidable with respect to the unit can be set small, and the entire image processing apparatus including the slide mechanism of the unit can be downsized.
[0021]
It is preferable that the rail member has a fixing portion fixed to the unit, and an extension portion that slides in parallel with a direction in which the unit is pulled out.
[0022]
With such a configuration, the length of the rail member in the pull-out direction when the unit is stored in the image processing apparatus can be reduced.
[0023]
It is preferable that the rail guide member has a stopper that limits an amount of movement of the rail member in the pull-out direction.
[0024]
With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the unit from falling off the image processing apparatus.
[0025]
As the unit, a sheet stacking device, a duplex conveying unit, an optional device, an image reading device, and the like can be suitably used.
[0026]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be illustratively described in detail below 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 thereto unless otherwise specified. Absent. The materials, shapes, and the like of the members once described in the following description are the same as those in the first description unless otherwise specified.
[0027]
(First Embodiment)
With reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, a pull-out unit according to a first embodiment and an image processing apparatus including the same will be described.
[0028]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view illustrating a drawer mechanism of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating the drawer mechanism of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a drawer mechanism of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
[0029]
First, the overall configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
[0030]
The image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is a printer 100 that forms an image by an electrophotographic method, and conveys a sheet S to an image forming unit by a conveying unit to transfer a toner image, and transfers the sheet S to a fixing unit. After being conveyed to fix the toner, the sheet is discharged to a discharge section.
[0031]
Specifically, a sheet cassette 1 which is a drawer-type detachable unit for loading and storing sheets S is loaded in the lower part of the apparatus. At the time of image formation, the sheets S are fed by feed rollers 2 and The sheets are separated and fed one by one by the separation roller pair 3 and further conveyed to the image forming unit by the conveyance roller pair 4 and the registration roller pair 5.
[0032]
The image forming means (image processing means) of the present embodiment has a process cartridge 7 in which a photosensitive drum 6 as an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a developing device (not shown) are integrally formed as a cartridge. Has been loaded. Then, by exposing the photosensitive drum 6 to the photosensitive drum 6 in accordance with an image signal in synchronization with the conveyance of the sheet S, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 6, and the electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing device. And develops the toner image into a visible image as a toner image. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 6 is transferred to the transfer roller 9 disposed on the opposite side of the sheet S to be conveyed by applying a transfer bias to the transfer roller 9 to form an image on the sheet S.
[0033]
The sheet S to which the toner image has been transferred as described above is conveyed to the fixing unit 12 while being guided by the conveyance guide 11 by the conveyance belt 10. The fixing unit 12 includes a fixing roller 12a having a built-in heater (not shown) therein, and a pressing roller 12b which presses a sheet S against the fixing roller 12a and rotates by driving. A sheet is formed between the rollers 12a and 12b. The toner image is permanently fixed to the sheet S by heating and pressing when the sheet passes.
[0034]
The sheet S on which the toner has been fixed is discharged to a discharge section 15 in the upper part of the apparatus by conveying rollers 13a and 13b and a discharge roller pair 14.
[0035]
In the printer 100 according to the present embodiment, a duplex conveying unit 16 can be mounted as an option. When recording is performed on both sides of the sheet S, the sheet on which the image has been recorded on the front side after passing through the fixing unit 12 is switched back by driving the discharge roller pair 14 and the transport rollers 13b and 13c in the reverse direction, thereby performing double-side transport. The sheet is conveyed to the unit 16, conveyed again to the image forming section, printed on the back side of the sheet, and discharged to the discharge section 15.
[0036]
In the printer 100 according to the present embodiment, when the sheets S are stacked on the sheet cassette 1, in order to improve the operability of stacking the sheets S, the sheet cassette 1 is stopped while being pulled out from the image processing apparatus.
[0037]
Next, in the printer 100 according to the present embodiment, the sheet cassette 1 which is a drawable detachable unit which is a characteristic part of the invention will be described in detail.
[0038]
A fixed rail 50 and an extension rail 52 are attached to the sheet cassette 1 according to the present embodiment, and a rail guide 51 is attached to the printer 100 side.
[0039]
When replenishing the sheet S, first, when the sheet cassette 1 is pulled out to some extent, the fixed rail 50 attached to the sheet cassette 1 pulls out the extension rail 52, and when the sheet cassette 1 is further pulled out, a stopper 53a at the rear of the extension rail 52 is provided. And the stopper 53b of the rail guide 51 attached to the printer 100 stops the sheet cassette 1 in a state where the sheet cassette 1 is pulled out from the image processing apparatus.
[0040]
Further, when the sheet cassette 1 is removed from the image processing apparatus during the jam clearance, the fixed rail 50 and the extension rail 52 are removed together with the sheet cassette 1.
[0041]
In the printer 100 according to the present embodiment, since the extension rail 52 is attached to the sheet cassette 1, the gap T1 between the fixed rail 50 and the extension rail 52, the extension rail 52 and the rail guide are provided as shown in FIG. A gap T2 between the gap 51 and the gap 51 is required.
[0042]
The gap T1 is a gap between the fixed rail 50 and the extension rail 52 provided together on the sheet cassette 1 side, that is, a gap between components provided in the same unit, and the gap T2 is an extension provided on the sheet cassette 1 side. This is a gap between the rail 52 and the rail guide 51 provided on the printer 100 side, that is, a gap between components provided in separate units.
[0043]
Therefore, as described above, the gap T2 between the components provided in the separate units is set so that T2> T1, and the gap T2 is usually about 2 to 10 times the gap T1.
[0044]
Therefore, the total clearance Tx required in the rail portion of the printer 100 in the present embodiment is:
Tx = 3T1 + T2
In the printer 300 shown in FIG.
Tc = 2T1 + 3T2
It becomes. Here, assuming that 2 × T1 = T2 and comparing the two, Tx = 5T1
Tc = 8T1
Tx = 5 / 8Tc
Thus, the width R1 required by the rail portion can be reduced by using the drawing mechanism of the sheet cassette 1 according to the present embodiment. In addition, because of the extension rail system, the size in the sheet cassette depth direction can be reduced as compared with the fixed rail system. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the sheet cassette and the image processing apparatus including the sheet cassette.
[0045]
(Second embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of an image processing apparatus provided with a double-sided transport unit according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is an external perspective view for explaining a pull-out mechanism of the double-sided transport unit according to the second embodiment. It is. In the following, only portions different from the above-described embodiment will be described, and members having the same functions will be denoted by the same reference numerals.
[0046]
In the above-described first embodiment, an example is shown in which the sheet cassette 1 is pulled out. However, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an extension rail 52 may be provided in the duplex conveying unit 16. With this configuration, when the double-sided conveyance unit 16 is configured to be of a drawer type, the rail portion can be reduced in size, and the size of the image processing apparatus main body can also be reduced.
[0047]
(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of an image processing apparatus provided with an optional device according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 8 is an external perspective view for explaining a drawer mechanism of the optional device according to the third embodiment. .
[0048]
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, an extension rail 52 may be provided on an optional device 54 such as a stacker, a stapler, or a mailbox. With this configuration, when the optional device 54 is configured to be of a drawer type, the rail portion can be reduced in size, whereby the size of the image processing apparatus main body can also be reduced.
[0049]
(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of an image processing apparatus provided with an image reader according to the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 10 is an external perspective view for explaining a drawer mechanism of the image reader according to the fourth embodiment. .
[0050]
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the image reader 55 may be provided with an extension rail 52. With such a configuration, when the image reader 55 is configured to be of a drawer type, the rail portion can be reduced in size, and thereby the size of the image processing apparatus main body can be reduced.
[0051]
The embodiments of the present invention also include the following embodiments.
[0052]
[Embodiment 1]
In an image processing apparatus having a drawer-type detachable unit,
A rail member slidable with respect to the unit,
A rail guide member provided on the main body side of the image processing apparatus, for guiding and supporting the rail member;
An image processing apparatus, wherein the rail member is attached to the unit.
[0053]
[Embodiment 2]
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rail member has a fixing portion fixed to the unit and an extension portion that slides in parallel with a direction in which the unit is pulled out.
[0054]
[Embodiment 3]
The image processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the rail guide member has a stopper that limits an amount of movement of the rail member in the pull-out direction.
[0055]
[Embodiment 4]
The image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third embodiments, wherein the unit is a sheet stacking device.
[0056]
[Embodiment 5]
The image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third embodiments, wherein the unit is a double-sided conveyance unit.
[0057]
[Embodiment 6]
The image processing apparatus according to any one of the first to third embodiments, wherein the unit is an optional device.
[0058]
[Embodiment 7]
The image processing device according to any one of the first to third embodiments, wherein the unit is an image reading device.
[0059]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image processing apparatus having a compact draw-out type unit without affecting the operability of the image processing apparatus.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view for explaining a drawer mechanism of an image processing apparatus according to a first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a side view for explaining a drawer mechanism of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a drawer mechanism of the image processing apparatus according to the first embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the image processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of an image processing apparatus including a double-sided conveyance unit according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 6 is an external perspective view for explaining a drawer mechanism of a duplex conveying unit according to a second embodiment.
FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of an image processing apparatus including an optional device according to a third embodiment.
FIG. 8 is an external perspective view for explaining a drawer mechanism of an optional device according to a third embodiment.
FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of an image processing apparatus including an image reader according to a fourth embodiment.
FIG. 10 is an external perspective view illustrating a drawer mechanism of an image reader according to a fourth embodiment.
FIG. 11 is an external perspective view of a conventional fixed-rail image processing apparatus.
FIG. 12 is an external perspective view showing a state in which a sheet cassette is pulled out from an image processing apparatus (printer) in order to explain a conventional drawer mechanism of a fixed rail system.
FIG. 13 is an external perspective view of a conventional extended rail image processing apparatus.
FIG. 14 is an external perspective view showing a state in which a sheet cassette is pulled out from an image processing apparatus (printer) for explaining a conventional extension rail type drawer mechanism.
FIG. 15 is a sectional view for explaining a conventional extension rail type drawer mechanism.
FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a conventional extension rail type drawer mechanism.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet cassette 2 Feeding roller 3 Separation roller pair 4 Transport roller pair 5 Registration roller pair 6 Photoconductor drum 7 Process cartridge 8 Laser scanner 9 Transfer roller 10 Transport belt 11 Transport guide 12 Fixing means 12a Fixing roller 12b Pressure roller 13a, 13b, 13c Conveying roller 14 Discharge roller pair 15 Discharge unit 16 Double-sided conveying unit 50 Fixed rail 51 Rail guide 52 Extension rail 53a, 53b Stopper 54 Optional device 55 Image reader 100 Printer (image processing device)
200, 300, 400 Printer (image processing device)
200a Storage sections 201, 301, 401 Sheet cassettes 250, 350, 450 Fixed rails 250a Projection sections 251, 351, 451 Rail guides 351a Bend sections 352, 452 Extension rail S sheet

Claims (1)

In an image processing apparatus having a drawer-type detachable unit,
A rail member slidable with respect to the unit,
A rail guide member provided on the main body side of the image processing apparatus, for guiding and supporting the rail member;
An image processing apparatus, wherein the rail member is attached to the unit.

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