JP3466819B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a multi-function peripheral having the functions thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, as shown in FIG. 6, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile is provided with an original placing table 610 disposed on an upper portion of a main body 600 and a document placing table 610 arranged on the left side of the original placing table 610. An original reading unit 620 provided, and an original discharge tray 630 extending to the left outside of the original reading unit 620,
An optical unit 640 arranged below the document reading unit 620 and outputting a document image as laser light;
An image forming unit 650 which is disposed below the optical unit 640 and which has a photoconductor drum 651 which transfers a document image exposed by a laser beam output from the optical unit 640 into a toner image to transfer paper. The sheet feeding cassette 661 is arranged below the image forming unit 650.
And a transfer paper feeding unit 660 including the transfer paper feeding unit 660.
Fixing unit 670 disposed on the downstream side of 0, and the fixing unit 6
The transfer sheet discharge tray 680 is provided on the left side of the sheet 70.

When the image forming apparatus is used as a copying machine, the original placed on the original placing table 610 is fed to the original reading unit 620, and the original reading unit 620 reads the original image. The read document image is recorded in a memory (not shown), and the document is discharged to the document discharge tray 630. On the other hand, the document image stored in the memory is visualized as a toner image after being formed as an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 651 by the laser light output from the optical unit 640 according to the image data, and the toner image The image is transferred onto the transfer paper fed from the paper feed cassette 661.
The transfer paper on which the toner image has been transferred is fixed by the fixing unit 670 and then discharged to the transfer paper discharge tray 680.

When used as a facsimile, the original image stored in the above memory is transmitted to the facsimile of the other party by the telephone line at the time of transmission, and the original image transmitted from the facsimile of the other party is recorded in the memory not shown at the time of reception. After that, the image is transferred onto a transfer paper as in the case of the copying machine.

[0005]

The image forming apparatus having the above-described structure is capable of placing an original on the original placing table 610 during copying of an original or facsimile transmission, and during copying of an original or facsimile reception. The transfer paper collection work and the like in FIG. 1 are performed on the front side of the drawing, and the attachment / detachment work of the paper feed cassette 661 is performed on the left side surface of the drawing. Therefore, it is necessary to secure a work space on at least two sides of the front side and the left side of the drawing, and it is necessary for the worker to move between the two sides to work, which causes a problem of poor operability. It was

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus excellent in operability that can perform work without moving between a plurality of surfaces.

[0007]

In order to achieve such an object, an image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises a main body and a document reading section arranged on the upper part of the main body. The document reading unit includes a first contact glass that forms a stationary document reading area that is provided on the front side of the top of the main body, and a second contact glass that forms a conveyed document reading area that is provided on the rear side of the top of the main body. and of the contact glass, top Symbol first
A document pressing part that covers the upper surface of the contact glass in an openable and closable manner, a document placing part that is located above the document pressing part and integrally attached to a support projecting from the document pressing part, and the document pressing part. Of the document discharge section formed on the upper surface of the document and the second contact glass, and after conveying the document placed on the document placing section to the rear side,
An automatic document feeder having an original conveyance path that is turned to the front side and is guided to the document discharge unit via the upper surface of the second contact glass .
The original placed on the rear side of the contact glass is
Upstream carrier for transporting to the upper surface of the contact glass
The original holding section has a pair of arms extending rearward.
And the pair of arms pivots to the upstream carrier
By being pivotally supported as much as possible,
The upper surface is openably and closably covered, and the main body is arranged below the first contact glass and the second contact so as to be capable of reciprocating between a front side and a rear side. When an original is placed on the upper surface of the first contact glass, it moves between the front side and the rear side to optically read a still original image, and the original is conveyed onto the second contact glass. A common image reading unit that optically reads the conveyed original image and a paper feed cassette containing the transfer paper can be attached / detached from the front side of the main body while being stationary at the position of the second contact glass A paper feed cassette loading section, a paper feed section for feeding the transfer paper from the paper feed cassette loaded in the paper feed cassette loading section, and a transfer paper ejection section for the transfer paper fed from the paper feed section on the front side. Transfer paper carrying to And road, while being disposed in the middle of the transfer paper conveying path is characterized by comprising a photosensitive member to transfer the original image on the transfer sheet.

In the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the front side of the document pressing section is lifted to move the rear side of the document pressing section.
By rotating around the fulcrum in the upstream side carrier , the document pressing portion is separated from the first contact glass, and the document is placed on the upper surface of the first contact glass. afterwards,
The document holder is lowered and closed around the rear fulcrum,
The common image reading means moves between the front side and the rear side to read the still document image. Also, when an original is placed on the original placing section from the front side of the main body, the original is conveyed to the rear side, then inverted and discharged to the original document discharging section on the front side, while the original is conveyed. By passing through the upper surface of the second contact glass on the way, the common image reading means reads the conveyed document image in a state where the common image reading means stands still at the position of the second contact glass. In addition, a paper feed cassette is loaded from the front side of the main body, and the transfer paper sent from the paper feed cassette has a document image transferred during conveyance and is discharged to the transfer paper discharge unit on the front side.

The image forming apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the sheet feeding section feeds the transfer sheet toward the front side, and the transfer sheet conveying path is fed from the sheet feeding section. It is characterized in that after the transfer paper is turned upside down, it is turned upside down.

In the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the transfer sheet in the sheet feeding cassette is sent out to the front side by the sheet feeding section, is inverted and conveyed to the rear side by the transfer sheet conveying path, and then is conveyed to the front side. And is discharged to the transfer paper discharge port.

An image forming apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the photosensitive member integrally includes at least a developing portion to form an image forming portion, and the image forming portion includes the transfer paper. It is characterized in that the transfer sheet is detachably mounted from a front side of the main body at a position on the transfer path where the transfer sheet is being transferred to the rear side.

In the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, when the transfer sheet is jammed during the conveyance, the image forming unit is pulled out from the front side of the main body to perform the jam processing. When the jam processing is completed, the image forming unit is mounted in the main body from the front side of the main body.

An image forming apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the transfer paper discharge portion is formed from a front side of the main body to a middle portion in the depth direction of the main body. Is characterized by.

In the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the transfer sheet onto which the original image is transferred is transferred to the transfer sheet discharging section formed from the front side of the main body to the middle portion in the depth direction of the main body through the transfer paper transport path. Is discharged.

[0015]

1 is an overall perspective view of an image forming apparatus 1 as a multifunction machine having a copying function and a facsimile function according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an internal side view thereof. In these figures, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a main body 1a and a document reading section 1b arranged on the upper portion of the main body 1a.
It consists of

The main body 1a is composed of a document reading means 2, an optical unit 3, an image forming section 4 having a photosensitive drum 41, and a transfer paper transport mechanism 5. Further, the operation panel 6 is arranged at a position on the front side (right side in the figure) of the upper surface of the main body 1a, and the operation panel 6 is located near the upper part of the main body 1a from the front side on which the operation panel 6 is arranged. A transfer paper discharge unit 7 is formed in the depth direction middle portion of 1a. Further, a telephone 8 connected to a telephone line for transmitting / receiving an original image to / from an external facsimile is attached to a side portion of the main body 1a. Since the image forming apparatus of the present invention normally performs a document copy operation, a facsimile transmission operation, and the like on the side of the main body 1a on which the operation panel 6 is arranged, the side on which the operation panel 6 is arranged is arranged. Is called the front side,
The side facing the side on which the operation panel 6 is provided is called the rear side.

The document reading section 1b includes a first contact glass 11 mounted on the top of the main body 1a, a second contact glass 12 mounted on the rear side of the first contact glass 11, and a first contact glass. An original pressing portion 13 which is disposed above the first contact glass 11 and covers the surface of the first contact glass 11 so as to be openable and closable, and a second contact glass 12
It is composed of an automatic document feeding unit 14 disposed above.

The first contact glass 11 constitutes a stationary manuscript reading area for reading an image by scanning a stationary manuscript with a scanner 22 which will be described later, which constitutes the manuscript reading means 2, and a second contact glass 11 is formed. 12
Configures a conveyance document reading area for reading an image by moving the document with respect to the stationary scanner 22. Further, the original document pressing portion 13 has a concave portion formed on the upper surface side thereof and constitutes an original document ejecting portion 17 for receiving the original document ejected from the automatic original document feeding portion 14. In this way, since the document discharging section 17 is formed on the upper surface of the document pressing section 13,
The image forming apparatus can be downsized. Further, at the position on the rear side of the lower surface of the first contact glass 11, the document pressing portion 1
An opening / closing sensor S1 for detecting opening / closing of 3 is provided,
When the document pressing portion 13 is opened when the document is placed on the first contact glass 11, the open / close sensor S1 outputs a detection signal.

The automatic document feeding section 14 is opened on the front side, the document insertion section 141 is also opened on the front side, and is located below the document insertion section 141, and the document ejection section 17 is also provided.
A document discharge path 142 that is located above the document discharge path 142 and a document transport path 14 that transports the document inserted from the document insertion slot 141 to the document discharge port 142 side by reversing the transport direction at an intermediate position.
Equipped with 3. The document table 1 is placed at the document insertion port 141.
Reference numeral 44 is integrally attached to a pair of supporting members 131 projecting to the rear side of the document pressing portion 13 (in the depth direction of the paper surface) so as to be located above the document pressing portion 13. In the document transport path 143, from the upstream side to the downstream side, a forward feed roller 143a, a paper feed roller 143b,
First transport roller pair 143c, second transport roller pair 14
3d and a pair of discharge rollers 143e are arranged in order, and a separating roller 143f is arranged at a position facing the paper feeding roller 143b in a state of being biased toward the paper feeding roller 143b.

The first conveying roller pair 143c is composed of a driving roller 143c 'and a driven roller 143c ",
The second conveying roller pair 143d is composed of a driving roller 143d ′ and a driven roller 143d ″, and the discharging roller pair 14
3e is composed of a drive roller 143e 'and a driven roller 143e ", and includes the forward feed roller 143a, the paper feed roller 143b, the drive roller 143c' of the first transport roller pair 143c, and the second transport roller pair 143d. Driving roller 143d ′ and driving roller 1 of discharge roller pair 143e
Reference numeral 43e 'rotates in the direction of the arrow for transporting the document to the downstream side by the rotational drive of the drive motor M1. Further, the separating roller 143f is provided with a torque limiter, and when the number of originals passing between the paper feeding roller 143b and the separating roller 143f is only one, the torque applied to the separating roller 143f is large, so that it is driven by the paper feeding roller 143b. When a plurality of originals passing between the sheet feeding roller 143b and the separating roller 143f are overlapped with each other, the torque applied to the separating roller 143f is small, so that the torque limiter acts to make the rotation impossible. As a result, the original and the separation roller 1
Since the frictional force between documents is smaller than the frictional force between 43f, only the uppermost document is conveyed to the downstream side by the paper feed roller 143b.

A paper feed roller 143 is provided in the original conveying path 143.
Document sensors S2 and S3 are arranged at a position near the upstream side of b and a position near the downstream side of the second conveying roller pair 143d, and the document placed in the state where the document is stacked with the image forming surface upward. When the document is placed on the sheet 144 and pushed to a position in the vicinity of the upstream side of the sheet feeding roller 143b, the document sensor S2 detects the presence of the document, and the drive motor M1 is driven according to an instruction signal given thereafter, so that the document is scanned. It is transported to the downstream side. When the leading end position of the conveyed original reaches the downstream vicinity of the second conveying roller pair 143d, the original sensor S
3 detects that, and when the leading end position of the document reaches the second contact glass 12, the reading of the document image by the scanner 22 described later is started, and the trailing end position of the document is the second conveyance roller pair 143d. When the position near the downstream side is reached, the document sensor S3 detects it, and when the trailing end position of the document has finished passing through the second contact glass 12, the reading of the document image by the scanner 22 is finished. The original for which the reading of the original image has been completed is conveyed to the original discharge port 142 by the discharge roller pair 143e. The original document placed on the original document table 144 is sequentially conveyed to the downstream side while the original document sensor S2 is ON.

It should be noted that the original is the second conveying roller pair 143d.
The upper and lower surfaces are inverted when passing through the sheet, and when the position of the second contact glass 12 is reached, the image forming surface faces the surface of the second contact glass 12 and the image can be read, and the document discharge port 142 is formed. The originals conveyed to are discharged to the original discharge unit 17, and are sequentially stacked with the image forming surface facing downward. As a result, when the originals are collected from the original discharge unit 17, the originals are stacked in the same order as the original.

Further, the automatic document feeder 14 is provided on the upstream side transport table 1 arranged on the rear side of the second contact glass 12.
45, the downstream side transport base 146 disposed on the front side of the second contact glass 12, the upstream side transport base 145 and the downstream side transport base 146, and the separation roller 14
3f, the driving roller 143 of the first conveying roller pair 143c
c ', the driving roller 143 of the second pair of conveying rollers 143d
d ′ and the driving roller 143e ′ of the discharge roller pair 143e
And a cover 148 for covering the roller housing 147 from above.

Front feed roller 143a and feed roller 14
3b is attached to the outer peripheral surface side of the roller housing 147 via a support shaft (not shown), and the first conveying roller pair 143c.
The driven roller 143c ″ of the second conveyance roller pair 143d ″ is attached to the upstream side conveyance base 145.
The driven roller 143e ″ of the discharge roller pair 143e is attached to the downstream side transport table 146. Further, the document transport path 143 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roller housing 147 and the inner peripheral surface of the cover 148 along the document transport direction. Between the plurality of ribs 148a formed to project at predetermined intervals, between the outer peripheral surface of the roller housing 147 and the upstream side transport base 145,
In addition, it is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the roller housing 147 and the downstream side transport base 146.

As shown in FIG. 3, the document pressing section 13 has a pair of arms 132 formed so as to extend rearward at a rearward facing position (a depth direction of the paper surface). It is rotatably supported by a shaft 145a formed on the table 145, and when a force in the upward direction is applied to the front side of the document pressing portion 13, the shaft 145a is used as a fulcrum as indicated by a chain line. It is lifted up together with the document placing table 144 so that the surface of the first contact glass 11 is opened. Further, when the force in the upward lifting direction is released, the shaft 145a is used as a fulcrum to descend by its own weight, and the surface of the first contact glass 11 is covered.

The document reading means 2 is a guide rail arranged below the first and second contact glasses 11 and 12 and along the side portions of the first and second contact glasses 11 and 12. 21 and a scanner 22 as an image reading unit which is arranged so as to be capable of reciprocating between the front side and the rear side along the guide rail 21. The scanner 22 is provided with a light source 221 such as an LED that illuminates the surface of the original, an image reading unit 222 including a CCD, and a mirror 223 that guides the original image to the image reading unit 222. Usually, the first contact glass 11 is provided. It stands by at the home position which is an intermediate position between the second contact glass 12 and the second contact glass 12.

In the scanner 22, when the document pressing portion 13 is opened and a document is placed on the first contact glass 11, the opening / closing sensor S1 detects opening / closing of the document pressing portion 13 and gives an instruction thereafter. The drive motor M2 is driven in response to a signal (a signal output when a start switch 61, which will be described later, is turned on), whereby the home position is temporarily moved to the leading end position of the document on the operation panel 6 side. Then, after that, the light source 221 is turned on to move from the front side, which is the leading end position of the document, to the rear side, and the document surface is scanned to read an image line by line. The read image data is subjected to predetermined data processing, then converted into a digital signal, and stored in a memory (not shown). When the scanner 22 finishes reading the document image, the light source 221 is turned off and returns to the home position. It should be noted that the drive motor M2 of the scanner 22 places the original on the original placing table 144 of the automatic original feeding unit 14 even if an instruction signal is given after the original is placed on the first contact glass 11. It will not be driven when

Further, the scanner 22 is provided with a document placing section 144.
When an original is placed on the second contact glass 12, the original sensor S2 detects the presence of the original, and the drive motor M2 is driven in response to an instruction signal given thereafter to move the second contact glass 12 from the home position. While moving to the position, when the document is conveyed by the automatic document feeder 14 and passes over the second contact glass 12, the document image is line-by-line in a state of being stationary at the position of the second contact glass 12. read. The read image data is stored in a memory (not shown) in the same manner as above. The light source 221 is turned on before reading the original image,
Turns off after scanning. Further, the scanner 22 returns to the home position when the transportation of all the originals placed on the original placing table 144 is completed. In this way, at the position of the second contact glass 12, the scanner 22 reads the document image being conveyed in a stationary state, so that the moving time of the scanner 22 as in the first contact glass 11 can be reduced, and the document image can be reduced. It is possible to increase the reading amount per unit time of.

The optical unit 3 is disposed below the transfer paper discharge unit 7, and is read from the original image read by the scanner 22 read from the memory not shown or the memory not shown. A light emitting unit 31 and a light emitting unit 31 which expose a document image transmitted from an external facsimile to the photoconductor drum 41 and convert a modulation signal generated based on the image data into laser light and output the laser light. The reflection mirror 32 for reflecting the laser light of (1) toward the photoconductor drum 41 is provided. The optical unit 3 is integrally configured by mounting the respective constituent members in a housing 33, and in a state where the housing 33 is fixed to a main body frame in the main body 1a by means such as screwing or the like, the main body 1a.
It is arranged inside.

The image forming section 4 is provided with a charger 42 along the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 41, a developing section 43 on the front side of the charger 42, and a cleaning section 44 on the rear side of the charger 42. . The photoconductor drum 41 is rotated in the direction of the arrow by the rotational drive of the drive motor M3, and an electrostatic region is formed at a position facing the charger 42. The electrostatic region is statically driven by the laser light output from the optical unit 3. A latent image is formed,
The electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image at a position facing the developing unit 43. A transfer roller 45 is disposed below the photoconductor drum 41, and the photoconductor drum 4 on which the toner image is formed is formed.
In No. 1, the toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper at the position facing the transfer roller 45, and the toner remaining on the surface is removed at the position facing the cleaning unit 44.

Further, the image forming section 4 is integrally constructed by mounting the respective constituent members in a housing 46, and the housing 46 is detachably attached to a body frame 49 (FIG. 4) described later in the body 1a. It is installed. On the front side of the image forming unit 4 of the main body 1a, a door 48 configured to open toward the front side with a shaft body 481 at the lower end as a fulcrum is attached. It can be taken out.

That is, the main body frame 49 to which the image forming section 4 is detachably attached has opposing side walls 49a as shown in FIG. 4, and the front side of each opposing side wall 49a is extended outward. It has a protruding wall 49b.
At the opposing positions of the opposing side wall 49a having the above structure, two vertically extending slide holes 49c and 49d extending horizontally are formed so as to open to the front side. The upper slide hole 49c is shorter than the lower slide hole 49d, and a positioning groove 49e is formed on the lower side of the inner part. The lower slide hole 49d is the upper slide hole 49d.
A positioning groove 49f that is longer than c and extends horizontally along the lower side is formed in the inner part.

On the other hand, the image forming section 4, as shown in FIG.
One set of pins 4 is provided on the outer surface of the opposite side wall 46a of the housing 46.
6b and 46c are projected. The pin 46b is located on the front side of the pin 46c and above the pin 46c. Further, the pin 46c is located rearward of the pin 46b and below the pin 46b. Also, pin 4
The diameters of 6b and 46c are set to values smaller than the vertical width dimension of the slide holes 49c and 49d.

As described above, the image forming portion 4 having the pair of pins 46b and 46c formed on the outer surface of each of the opposed side walls 46a has the pin 4
When 6b is fitted in the slide hole 49c, the pin 46c is fitted in the slide hole 49d, and the body frame 49 is slid from the front side to the rear side and pushed in, the pin 46b fits into the positioning groove 49e and the pin 46c fits into the positioning groove. It will fit in 49f. As a result, the image forming unit 4
The pin 46b cannot be pulled out to the outside because the pin 46b is fitted in the positioning groove 49e only by pulling it toward the front side, and the pin 46b is fixed at a predetermined position in the main body 1a.

When the front side of the image forming section 4 is slightly lifted, the pin 46b is moved to the positioning groove 49 of the slide hole 49c.
Since it is separated from e, the image forming unit 4 can be pulled out from the main body frame 49 by pulling it in this state toward the front side.

The transfer paper transport mechanism 5 is formed in the lower portion of the main body 1a, and also has a paper feed cassette loading section 52 for loading the paper feed cassette 51 in which the transfer papers P are stacked and accommodated. Paper feed cassette 51 loaded in 52
A transfer sheet that is provided with a sheet feeding roller 531 that pulls out the transfer sheet P from the front side, and a transfer sheet that is pulled out from the sheet feeding cassette 51 to the transfer sheet discharge section 7 via the photosensitive drum 41. The transport path 54, and a registration roller pair 55, a fixing unit 56, a transport roller pair 57, and a discharge roller pair 58, which are arranged along the transfer paper transport path 54, are provided.

In the paper feed cassette 51, a lower part on the rear side is a fulcrum of rotation, and a front part is urged upward by a spring 511, and a transfer paper placement table 512 and a transfer paper pulled out by a paper feed roller 531. Is internally provided with a guide 513 for guiding the sheet to the transfer sheet transporting path 54, and is slid from the front side of the main body 1a to the sheet cassette loading section 52 and mounted. Further, the paper feed cassette 51 can be pulled out to the outside of the main body 1a by pulling it toward the front side when replenishing the transfer paper or when a jam occurs near the paper feed roller 531. The guide 513 is
In order to guide the transfer sheet to the upper transfer sheet conveying path 54, the transfer sheet placing table 512 has a curved shape with a concave shape, and a plurality of ribs 513a are provided on the contact surface side with the transfer sheet along the conveying direction. The transfer papers can be smoothly conveyed by being arranged in parallel at intervals of.

In addition to the paper feed roller 531, the paper feed section 53 has a separating means such as a separating claw or a separating roller (not shown) for preventing the double feeding of the transfer paper. The paper feed roller 531 is arranged at an upper position near the front of the paper feed cassette 52, and is rotated in the arrow direction by the rotational driving of the drive motor M3 via a clutch (not shown), and the registration roller pair 55.
Feed the transfer paper to.

The transfer sheet conveying path 54 is a first pre-transfer guide for reversing the transfer sheet pulled out to the front side of the sheet feeding cassette 51 to the rear side and feeding it between the photosensitive drum 41 and the transfer roller 45. 541 and the second pre-transfer guide 542, the post-transfer guide 543 that feeds the transfer paper on which the original image is transferred by the photosensitive drum 41 to the rear fixing unit 56, and the transfer paper that has passed through the fixing unit 56. A first reversing guide 544 and a second reversing guide 545 that reverse the direction and eject the sheet to the transfer sheet ejecting unit 7 on the front side are provided. Each guide 541
542, 543, 544 and 545 are made of resin or the like,
A plurality of ribs are juxtaposed on the contact surface side with the transfer sheet along the conveying direction at predetermined intervals, so that the transfer sheet can be smoothly conveyed.

The registration roller pair 55 is disposed between the first pre-transfer guide 541 and the second pre-transfer guide 542,
It is driven by the rotation drive of a drive motor M3 via a clutch (not shown), and transfers the transfer paper to the photosensitive drum in synchronization with the formation of the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 41 by the optical unit 3. It is fed between 41 and the transfer roller 45. Then, after feeding one sheet of transfer paper, the clutch is released and the driving is stopped. A transfer paper sensor S4 is provided immediately before the registration roller pair 55, and the transfer paper sensor S4 detects the leading end of the transfer paper to turn on the clutch after a predetermined time, whereby the registration roller pair 55 is moved. It is designed to be driven.

The fixing section 56 is provided with a heat roller 561 located above and a pressure roller 562 located below, and is arranged between the post-transfer guide 543 and the first reversing guide 544. There is. A heater is provided inside the heat roller 561, and the pressure roller 562 is urged to the heat roller 561 side by a predetermined spring pressure to fix the toner image transferred to the conveyed transfer paper, while the toner image The fixed transfer paper is conveyed to the first reverse guide 544 side. Also,
The conveying roller pair 57 is disposed between the first reversing guide 544 and the second reversing guide 545, and the discharging roller pair 5 is provided.
8 is disposed at the end position of the second reversing guide 545. Further, a transfer paper sensor S5 is arranged at an intermediate position of the second reversing guide 545 in the carrying direction, and detects a transfer paper carrying abnormality.

As is clear from the above description, the transfer paper transport path 54 is a path in which the transfer paper draws an S-shape when viewed from the paper surface side of FIG. It is configured to be transported to. Therefore, it becomes possible to dispose the image forming unit 4 in the middle of the conveyance path where the transfer paper is conveyed from the front side toward the rear side, and the paper feed roller 531 of the paper feed unit 53 and the like are moved toward the front side. Can be arranged at the position. As a result, the jam processing can be performed on the front side of the main body 1a by taking out the image forming unit 4 or the paper feed cassette 51 on the front side of the main body 1a. Further, since the transfer paper is conveyed in a path that draws an S-shape as described above, the transfer paper on which the original images have been transferred is stacked upward in the transfer order in the transfer paper discharge unit 7 with the transfer surface facing downward. Will be done. As a result, it is not necessary to rearrange the transfer paper discharged to the transfer paper discharging unit 7 in the order of pages, and the transfer paper collecting operation becomes easy.

The operation panel 6 includes a start switch 61,
A mode selection key 62 for selecting a copy mode and a facsimile transmission mode, an enlargement / reduction key 63, a ten key 64 for setting the number of copies and a FAX number of the other party, and other various function keys 65 are provided. At the same time, a display unit 66 for displaying setting contents such as mode selection, the number of copies, and FAX number of the other party is arranged. In addition, a projecting plate 71 is provided on the front side of the transfer sheet discharging section 7 so as to prevent the discharged transfer sheet from falling from the transfer sheet discharging section 7.

The image forming apparatus constructed as described above is
It works as follows. That is, when the copy mode is selected by the mode selection key 62 of the operation panel 6 and the original is placed on the original placing table 144, the original sensor S2 detects it, and the start switch 61 of the operation panel 6 is turned on so that the original is printed. It is conveyed onto the second contact glass 12 by the automatic document feeder 14. At this time, the scanner 22 moved from the home position to the position of the second contact glass 12 reads the original image, and the read original image is stored in a memory (not shown). The document whose image has been read is discharged to the document discharge unit 17. When the original to be copied is bound like a book, the original pressing portion 13 is opened and the original is placed on the first contact glass 11. Then, as a result of the opening / closing sensor S1 detecting the opening / closing of the document pressing portion 13, by turning on the start switch 61, the scanner 22 scans the document surface to read the document image, and the read document image is stored in a memory (not shown). Remember. The original image stored in this memory is then read from the memory and transferred to a transfer paper, and the transfer paper is ejected to the transfer paper ejecting section 7.

Also, by selecting the facsimile transmission mode,
When an original is placed on the original placing table 144 or the first contact glass 11 as in the case of the above copying, the scanner 2
2 reads the original image and sends the read image data to the facsimile of the other party through the telephone line. The original image read by the scanner 22 may be temporarily stored in a memory (not shown), then read from the memory and transmitted to the facsimile of the other party.

When an original image is transmitted from an external facsimile via a telephone line, the signal is detected and the reception mode is automatically set, and the received image data is temporarily stored in a memory (not shown). To do. The original image stored in this memory is then read from the memory and transferred to a transfer paper, and the transfer paper is ejected to the transfer paper ejecting section 7.

That is, in the copying mode or the facsimile receiving mode, the photoconductor drum 41 is charged by the charger 42 and the laser beam corresponding to the image data stored in the memory (not shown) is emitted to cause the photoconductor drum 41 to move. An electrostatic latent image is formed by being exposed. Next, the developing unit 43
The toner supplied from the photosensitive drum 41 to the photosensitive drum 41 adheres to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image.

On the other hand, the transfer paper stored in the paper feed cassette 51 is fed by the paper feed roller 531 to the first pre-transfer guide 54.
The sheet is fed to the registration roller pair 55 side through the registration roller pair 1 and is synchronized with the formation of the electrostatic latent image.
The sheet is conveyed to the gap between the photoconductor drum 41 and the transfer roller 45 via the second pre-transfer guide 542. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 41 is transferred by the transfer roller 45 to which a voltage having a polarity opposite to the polarity of the electrostatic latent image is applied to the transfer sheet conveyed to the gap between the photosensitive drum 41 and the transfer roller 45. After that, the toner image is separated from the photosensitive drum 41 and is conveyed to the fixing unit 56 via the post-transfer guide 543 to fix the toner image. Further, the transfer paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the transfer paper discharge unit 7 by the conveyance roller pair 57 and the discharge roller pair 58 via the first reverse guide 544 and the second reverse guide 545.

In the above embodiment, the transfer paper discharge unit 7 is constructed from the front side of the main body 1a to the middle portion in the depth direction, so that it does not protrude to the front side of the main body 1a, so that the image forming apparatus is compact. However, the discharge port side of the transfer paper transport path 54 may be extended to the front side of the main body 1a, and the transfer paper discharge unit 7 may be formed to project outside the main body 1a.

Further, in the above embodiment, the image forming section 4
Includes a photoconductor drum 41, a charger 42, a developing unit 43, and a cleaning unit 44 integrally in a housing 46. For example, the charger 42 and the cleaning unit 44 are disposed outside the housing 46, and the photoconductor drum It may be provided separately from 41.

Further, although the image forming apparatus in the above-described embodiment is described as a multifunction machine having both a copying function and a facsimile function, it may be a dedicated machine having only the copying function or only the facsimile function. .

[0052]

As described above, according to the first to fourth aspects of the invention, the front side of the document pressing portion that covers the first contact glass is centered on the fulcrum of the rear side upstream transport table. > Since it is configured to rotate in the vertical direction, it is possible to perform the document placement work on the first contact glass on the front side of the main body. Further, the original can be placed on the original placing portion from the front side of the main body, and the original discharged from the front side of the main body to the original discharge portion can be collected. Also, the paper feed cassette can be inserted and removed from the front side of the main body, and the transfer paper on which the original image is transferred is ejected to the transfer paper ejection port on the front side.
The transfer paper can be collected on the front side of the main body. Therefore, it is possible to perform a work such as copying only on the front side of the main body, and it is not necessary to move between a plurality of surfaces of the device to perform the work, and an image forming device having excellent operability can be realized.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the paper feed section sends the transfer paper forward and the transfer paper transport path reverses the transfer paper sent from the paper feed section to the front side. Since it is configured to be inverted, the main constituent members around the transfer paper transport path can be concentratedly arranged on the front side.

Further, according to the third aspect of the invention, since the image forming portion including the photoconductor can be attached / detached from the front side of the main body, when a jam occurs during the conveyance of the transfer sheet conveying path. By pulling out the image forming unit to the front side of the main body, the jam processing can be performed on the front side of the main body.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the transfer paper discharge portion is formed from the front side of the main body to the intermediate portion in the depth direction of the main body, the image forming apparatus can be downsized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an internal configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an opening / closing operation of a document pressing portion of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of a main body frame on which an image forming unit adopted in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is mounted.

5 is a perspective view of an image forming unit adopted in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Image forming device 2 Document reading means 3 Optical unit 4 Image forming section 5 Transfer paper transport mechanism 6 Operation panel 7 Transfer paper ejection section 1a body 1b Document reading section 11 First contact glass 12 Second contact glass 13 Document holder 14 Automatic document feeder 17 Document output section 22 Scanner 41 photoconductor drum 42 Charger 43 Development Department 44 Cleaning section 51 paper cassettes 52 Paper cassette loading section 53 paper feeder 144 Document Placement Section

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Masami Shibahara 1-2-2 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Shinichi Tanaka 1-2-2 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Kogyo Within the corporation (56) Reference JP-A-7-302032 (JP, A) JP-A-7-110647 (JP, A) JP-A-2-287341 (JP, A) JP-A-7-191502 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising a main body and a document reading section arranged on an upper part of the main body, wherein the document reading section has a static document reading area arranged on the front side of the top of the main body. first contact glass and a second contact glass and the upper Symbol first document pressing cover openably the upper surface of the contact glass constituting the fed-document reading area disposed on the top rear side of the main body constituting Department,
A document placing portion that is located above the document holding portion and integrally attached to a support body that projects from the document holding portion, a document discharging portion formed on the upper surface of the document holding portion, and the second The original placed on the contact glass is conveyed to the rear side after the original placed on the original placing section is conveyed, then inverted to the front side and passed through the upper surface of the second contact glass to the original discharging section. An automatic document feeder having a document feed path for guiding the document, and the automatic document feeder has the second contact.
The second contact for the document placed on the rear side of the glass
It has an upstream carrier for transporting onto the upper surface of the glass.
The document pressing section has a pair of arms extending rearward,
The pair of arms are rotatably supported by the upstream carrier.
Open and close the top surface of the first contact glass
Are those capable to cover, the main body has been disposed for reciprocal movement between the front side and the rear side below the first contact glass and the second contact, the first When a document is placed on the upper surface of the contact glass, it moves between the front side and the rear side to optically read a still document image,
When a document is conveyed onto the second contact glass, a common image reading unit that optically reads the conveyed document image while being stationary at the position of the second contact glass, and the transfer paper are stored. A paper cassette loading unit that allows the paper cassette to be inserted and removed from the front side of the main body, a paper feeding unit that feeds the transfer paper from the paper cassette loaded in this paper feeding cassette loading unit, and a paper feeding unit that feeds the transfer paper from this paper feeding unit. The transfer paper transport path for guiding the transferred transfer paper to the transfer paper discharge portion on the front side, and the photoconductor provided in the middle of the transfer paper transport path and transferring the original image to the transfer paper are provided. A characteristic image forming apparatus. 2. The sheet feeding section sends out the transfer sheet to the front side, and the transfer sheet conveying path reverses the transfer sheet sent from the sheet feeding section to the rear side and then to the front side. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is formed. 3. The image forming section is integrally provided with at least a developing section, and the image forming section of the main body is provided at a position where the image forming section is in the middle of conveying the transfer sheet to the rear side of the transfer sheet conveying path. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is arranged so as to be detachable from the front side. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer paper discharge portion is formed from a front side of the main body to a middle portion in a depth direction of the main body.