JP6279701B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to emissions type image forming apparatus in the body, and more particularly, a sheet of paper or the like on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit in a direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction which is the moving direction of the scanning member The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a discharging structure.

In recent years, there is a growing demand for space saving, downsizing, and thinning of image forming apparatuses. For this demand, the emissions type image forming apparatus in the body provided with emissions tray between the image reading portion (scanner portion) and the image forming section is thinned by narrowing the emissions space While it is possible to go, there is a problem when a narrow emissions space sheet becomes difficult to take out.

In particular, when the surface of the apparatus main body which faces the standing position of the user to the front side, open to the front side of the emissions space apparatus main body, toward the rear side of the apparatus main body (back side) on the front side (near side) Te image forming apparatus body discharge out structure as to discharge the sheet, since the visible from the opening of the emissions space is only the distal portion of the sheet to be discharged, when narrowing the emissions space sheet taking the There is a problem that becomes more difficult.

  Therefore, as one method for solving such a problem, image forming apparatuses described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are provided.

The image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is an emissions-type image forming apparatus in the body having an opening space out exhaust to the front side, as shown in Figure 2 of document 1, the recording sheet The creation unit (image forming unit) is arranged to protrude to the front side of the image reading unit (scanner unit), and the lower surface on the front side of the image reading unit is inclined to be inclined so as to spread toward the opening. Is formed.

Similarly, the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 2 is an emissions-type image forming apparatus in the body having an opening space out exhaust to the front side, as shown in Figure 3 of the document 2 An inclined portion (or a step) is provided between the lower front support portion and the lower rear support portion (downward projecting portion support portion) of the top plate that supports the image reading portion (image scanner). Alternatively, an image forming apparatus in which the lower surface front support portion is formed at a position higher than the lower surface rear support portion by a step) is disclosed.

JP 2004-118210 A JP 2006-121721 A

  However, the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a structure in which paper is discharged from the front side (opening side) of the apparatus main body toward the back side (back side) of the apparatus main body. Since the rear end portion of the printed sheet is always located at the opening on the near side, it can be said that the sheet can be easily taken out even if the lower surface on the near side of the image reading unit is not formed on the inclined surface. Further, in the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the recording paper creating unit (image forming unit) is arranged to protrude toward the front side from the image reading unit (scanner unit), which is contrary to the downsizing of the apparatus. .

Further, the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 2, towards the seat from the front right side of the apparatus main body to the front left side of the apparatus main body (i.e., in parallel along the inclined portion and the step) for a structure to discharge, use the sheet size regardless, since it is located always openings across the side ends of the discharged sheets, in this sense, also the front side of the lower surface of the image reading unit is not necessarily formed on the inclined portion and the step, the sheet It can be said that the removal is relatively easy.

On the other hand, opened on the front side of the emissions space apparatus main body, an image forming apparatus body discharge out structure as to discharge the sheet toward the back side of the apparatus main body (back side) on the front side (front side) even provided an inclined surface and the step, as described in Patent documents 1 and 2, since the visible from the opening of the emissions space is only the distal portion of the sheet discharged it is taken out of the sheet The problem of difficulty has not been solved sufficiently. In particular, in a small-sized sheet such as a postcard, since the leading end of the sheet is located on the further back side of the inclined surface, it cannot be said that the problem that it is difficult to take out only with the inclined surface or the step is not sufficiently solved.

  On the other hand, as another method for widening the discharge space, it is conceivable to reduce the thickness of the image reading unit. However, a movable wiring cable (flat cable) connects the scanning body (scanner body) and the circuit board inside the apparatus body. ), It is necessary to secure the thickness of the image reading unit at least by the thickness in the width direction of the wiring cable. In addition, it is necessary to secure an arrangement position of the pulling member that reciprocates the scanning body in the sub-scanning direction. For this reason, the wiring cable and the pulling member pose a problem in reducing the thickness of the image reading unit.

The present invention, emissions space open to the front side of the apparatus main body, an image forming body discharge out structure as to discharge the sheet toward the front side (front side) from the rear side of the apparatus main body (inner side) in the apparatus, it shall be the object of the invention to provide an image forming apparatus and facilitate removal of the discharged onto the discharge tray sheet.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an image reading unit that reads a document placed on a document placing table, an image forming unit that forms an image read by the image reading unit on a sheet, An image forming apparatus comprising: a discharge unit that discharges the sheet on which an image has been formed by an image forming unit; and a discharge tray on which the sheet from the discharge unit is placed, the image reading unit and the image forming unit An in-cylinder discharge space is formed between the front side of the image forming apparatus, the discharge unit and the discharge tray are provided in the in-cylinder discharge space, and a sheet discharge direction of the discharge tray is provided. Wall surfaces are formed on both sides in a direction perpendicular to the inner surface, and a plurality of rib pieces extending in the sheet discharge direction are erected on the surface on the image reading unit side forming the in-cylinder discharge space, The image reader A scanning body moves and scans the document placed on the document placing table in the sub-scanning direction, and the bottom surface of the housing of the image reading unit facing the discharge tray is the sheet discharge of the discharge unit. A front surface in the direction is a first surface that is higher than the discharge tray, and a rear surface in the sheet discharge direction of the discharge unit is lower than the first surface with respect to the discharge tray. One end of the scanning body is fixed to the pulling member and / or the scanning body for reciprocating the scanning body in the sub-scanning direction inside the casing facing the second surface. The movable wiring is arranged.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention forms an image on a sheet by reading an original placed on an original placement table by a scanning body moving and scanning in a sub-scanning direction, and an image read by the image reading unit. An image forming unit that discharges the sheet on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit in a direction orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction, and a discharge tray on which the sheet from the discharge unit is placed. In the image forming apparatus, a cylinder discharge space is formed between the image reading unit and the image forming unit, and the discharge unit and the discharge tray are provided in the cylinder discharge space, and the discharge tray Wall surfaces are formed on both sides in a direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction, and a plurality of surfaces extending in the sheet discharge direction are formed on the front side of the image forming apparatus on the bottom surface of the image reading unit constituting the in-cylinder discharge space. Rib pieces The image reading unit reads the document placed on the document placing table by a scanning body moving and scanning in the sub-scanning direction, and the housing of the image reading unit facing the discharge tray. The bottom surface of the body is a first surface having a front surface in the sheet discharge direction of the discharge portion that is higher than the discharge tray, and a rear surface in the sheet discharge direction of the discharge portion is the discharge tray. A pulling member that reciprocally moves the scanning body in the sub-scanning direction in the housing facing the second surface, and a second surface lower than the first surface. / Or a movable wiring having one end fixed to the scanning body.

According to the present invention, the plurality of rib pieces extending in the sheet discharge direction are erected on the surface constituting the in-cylinder discharge space, so that the leading end of the discharged sheet hits the surface forming the in-cylinder discharge space. As a result, the discharged sheets can be prevented from being stacked unevenly on the discharge tray.

1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus of the present invention as viewed from the side, and is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of an image reading housing | casing part. It is a perspective view of an image reading housing | casing part. It is the perspective view which looked at the image reading housing | casing part from the bottom face side. It is the II-II sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 3A. It is sectional drawing to which the principal part of FIG. 5 was expanded. It is a principal part expanded sectional view which shows the other example of the formation position of a projection part. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part showing an application example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part illustrating another configuration example of the arrangement position of the paper discharge port (discharge roller pair).

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus of the present invention as viewed from the side (schematic cross-sectional view taken along the line II in FIG. 1), FIG. 3A and FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an image reading housing unit. However, in the present embodiment, an illustration of an original reading apparatus that reads an original by automatic feeding is omitted.

  In the image forming apparatus A shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. If the facing surface of the apparatus main body 10 that faces the user's standing position is the front side, the in-cylinder discharge space 13 opens to the front side of the apparatus main body 10. The paper is discharged from the back side (back side) of the apparatus main body 10 toward the front side (front side) (in the Y direction in the figure). The paper feed tray 31 is also structured to be pulled out in the Y direction from the front side of the apparatus main body 10.

A document placing table glass 21 made of transparent glass on which a document is placed is provided at the upper part of the image reading housing unit 11. In the image reading housing unit 11 below the document placing table glass 21, A scanning body (optical unit) 22 for reading a document, a pulling member 23 that reciprocates the scanning body 22 in the sub-scanning direction X (that is, a direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction Y), and one end of the scanning body 22 A movable wiring 24 made of a flat cable or the like that is fixedly connected and whose other end is connected and fixed to a circuit board (not shown) provided in the apparatus main body 10 so as to be bent as a whole is disposed. That is, the image forming apparatus A of the present embodiment, the sub-scanning direction X and the sheet discharge direction Y of the scanning body 22 is arranged so as to be orthogonal.

  The pulling member 23 includes an idler pulley 23a and a driving pulley 23b disposed in the vicinity of both ends in the sub-scanning direction X, and an endless belt 23c passed over the pulleys 23a and 23b. Is fixed to the belt 23c. Although a drive motor (not shown) is linked to the drive pulley 23b via a pulley gear 23d and the like, the configuration of such a pulling member 23 is a well-known configuration, and detailed description thereof is omitted here. To do. Further, since the configuration of the scanning body 22 (integrated assembly structure such as an optical unit and a unit case for housing the optical unit) can be employed in various well-known configurations, details of such an assembly structure will be described here. Description is omitted.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3A, and 3B, a slit 11b for taking out the cable is provided at a substantially central portion in the sub-scanning direction X of the side wall 11a on the back side (back side) in the image reading housing portion 11. A movable wiring (hereinafter referred to as a movable wiring cable) 24 having the other end connected to a circuit board (not shown) is led out laterally from the slit portion 11b so that the flat surface stands vertically. Has been. Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3A, the derived movable wiring cable 24 is routed to the back surface 22a side through the end of the scanning body 22, and is further folded back in a U shape on the back surface 22a side. The folded tip 24a is fixed to the end of the back surface 22a, and is electrically connected to an internal optical unit (CIS: Contact Image Sensor) (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the movable wiring cable 24 wired in this way has its movable wiring cable 24 except for the fixed portion of the folded tip 24a when the scanning body 22 is at the scanning start position Rs. When the scanning body 22 moves in the scanning direction X1 from the scanning start position Rs to the center portion (position indicated by Rm in FIG. 3B), the movable wiring cable 24 draws a large ring. When the scanning body 22 is further moved in the scanning direction X1 and moved to the scanning end position Re, the movable wiring cable 24 extends in a gently curved shape except for the fixed portion of the folded tip 24a. Deform. When the scanning is finished and the scanning body 22 returns to the scanning start position Rs in the scanning direction X2, the movable wiring cable 24 undergoes a deformation process reverse to the above.

  The image forming apparatus A having such a configuration forms a color image for forming multicolor and single color images on a sheet P (hereinafter referred to as a sheet) such as a recording sheet in accordance with image data transmitted from the outside. A document reading device (not shown) is provided on the upper portion of the apparatus body 10. Further, the image forming housing section 12 is provided with an image forming section 20 and a paper transport system 30.

  The image forming unit 20 includes an exposure unit 1, a plurality of developing units 2, a plurality of photosensitive drums 3, a plurality of cleaning units 4, a plurality of chargers 5, an intermediate transfer belt unit 6, a fixing unit 7, and a plurality of toner cartridges. A unit 8 is provided.

  The paper transport system 30 includes a paper transport path S, a paper feed tray 31 that stores the paper P, a paper feed device 32 that supplies the paper P stored in the paper feed tray 31 to the paper transport path S, and a paper discharge tray 40. It has.

  The paper discharge tray 40 is provided above the image forming unit 20 in the apparatus main body 10 and accumulates the sheets P on which image formation (printing) has been completed face-down.

  The sheet feeding device 32 is configured to supply the sheet P stored in the sheet feeding tray 31 to the sheet conveying path S. The sheet feeding roller 33, the separation conveying roller 32 a, the separation member 32 b, and the rotation in the sheet feeding tray 31 are configured. An elevating drive unit (not shown) that drives the plate 34 up and down by an elevating mechanism unit 35, and a sheet supply drive unit (not shown) that rotationally drives the separation conveyance roller 32a and the paper feed roller 33 are provided.

  Image data handled in the image forming apparatus A corresponds to a color image using a plurality of colors (here, black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y)). Accordingly, the developing unit 2, the photosensitive drum 3, the cleaning unit 4, the charger 5, and the toner cartridge unit 8 each have a plurality (here, four types) of images (here, four types) corresponding to each color. Four each are provided and set to black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, respectively, and a plurality (four in this case) of image stations are configured by these.

  The exposure unit 1 is configured as a laser scanning unit (LSU) including a laser emitting unit and a reflection mirror. The exposure unit 1 forms an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data on the surface of each photoconductive drum 3 by exposing the charged photoconductive drum 3 according to the input image data.

  The toner cartridge unit 8 is a unit that stores toner, and is supplied to the developing tank of the developing unit 2.

  The developing unit 2 visualizes the electrostatic latent images formed on the respective photosensitive drums 3 with toners of four colors (Y, M, C, K). The cleaning unit 4 removes and collects toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 after development and image transfer. The charger 5 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 to a predetermined potential.

  The intermediate transfer belt unit 6 disposed above the photosensitive drum 3 includes an intermediate transfer belt 61 that acts as an intermediate transfer member, an intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62, an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, a plurality of intermediate transfer rollers 64, and An intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65 is provided.

  Four intermediate transfer rollers 64 are provided corresponding to each color of Y, M, C, and K. The intermediate transfer belt drive roller 62 stretches the intermediate transfer belt 61 together with the intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63 and the intermediate transfer roller 64 and is driven to rotate, thereby moving the intermediate transfer belt 61 in the moving direction (the direction of arrow M in FIG. 2). ).

  The intermediate transfer belt 61 forms a color toner image (multicolor toner image) on the surface by sequentially transferring the toner images of the respective colors formed on the respective photosensitive drums 3 in a superimposed manner.

  Transfer of the toner image from the photosensitive drum 3 to the intermediate transfer belt 61 is performed by an intermediate transfer roller 64 that is in contact with the back side of the intermediate transfer belt 61.

  As described above, the toner images visualized according to the hues on the photosensitive drums 3 are stacked on the intermediate transfer belt 61. The toner images stacked on the intermediate transfer belt 61 are transferred onto the paper P by the transfer roller 66 disposed at the contact position between the paper P and the intermediate transfer belt 61 by the circumferential movement of the intermediate transfer belt 61.

  The toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 61 is removed and collected by the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65.

  Further, the apparatus body 10 is provided with an S-shaped paper conveyance path S for sending the paper P in the paper feed tray 31 to the paper discharge tray 40 via the image forming unit 20. A pair of conveying members such as a pair of conveying rollers 14, a pair of pre-registration rollers 15, a pair of registration rollers 16, and a heat roller 71 and a pressure roller 72 and a discharge roller pair 41 in the fixing unit 7 are disposed.

  The fixing unit 7 is disposed in the apparatus main body 10 on the back surface 13a side of the in-body discharge space portion 13 formed in a U-shaped cross section. The fixing unit 7 receives the paper P on which the toner image is transferred, and sandwiches the received paper P between the heat roller 71 and the pressure roller 72 and conveys the paper P. The paper P after fixing the toner images of the respective colors is a paper discharge port formed on the back surface 13a of the in-cylinder discharge space portion 13 by a discharge roller pair 41 disposed in the vicinity of the back surface 13a of the in-cylinder discharge space portion 13. The paper is discharged from the (discharge portion) 42 onto the paper discharge tray 40 in the paper discharge direction Y.

  In addition, when performing not only the front (front) surface of the paper P but also double-sided image formation, the image on the front surface of the paper P is fixed by the fixing unit 7 and then the paper P is discharged to the pair of discharge rollers 41 in the paper conveyance path S. In the middle of conveying by the above, the discharge roller pair 41 is stopped and then reversely rotated, the paper P is passed through the front / back reversing path Sr to reverse the front and back of the paper P, and then the paper P is again moved more than the registration roller pair 16. It leads to the upstream side in the supply direction N (in this example, the upstream side of the pre-registration roller pair 15), and records and fixes an image on the back surface of the paper P in the same manner as the front surface of the paper P. Drain to 40.

  The above is the description of the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus A.

  Next, the configuration of the image reading casing 11 which is a feature of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is a perspective view of the image reading casing 11 viewed from the bottom side, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 3A, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. is there.

  In the image forming apparatus A of the present invention, the bottom surface 50 of the image reading housing unit 11 facing the paper discharge tray 40 is a first surface whose front surface in the discharge direction of the paper discharge tray 40 is higher than the paper discharge tray 40. The surface on the rear side in the discharge direction of the discharge tray 40 is a second surface lower than the first surface with respect to the discharge tray 40.

More specifically, in the image reading housing portion 11 of the present embodiment, the bottom surface 50 (see FIG. 4) facing the paper discharge tray 40 is formed by a step portion 53 formed along the sub-scanning direction X. The first surface 51 is divided into a first surface 51 and a second surface 52, and is a first surface 51 on the front side in the discharge direction of the paper discharge port 42 serving as a discharge portion (that is, the front side of the apparatus main body 10 (apparatus housing)). Is higher than the second surface 52 on the rear side in the discharge direction of the paper discharge port 42 which is a discharge portion (that is, the back side of the apparatus main body 10 (apparatus housing)) with respect to the discharge tray 40. Is arranged. That is, the first surface 51 is disposed so as to be farther from the paper discharge tray 40 than the second surface 52. The sheet discharge port 42 (that is, the discharge roller pair 41) is disposed below the second surface 52 and in the vicinity of the step portion 53 (that is, near the step portion 53).

  In the present embodiment, a pulling member 23 and a movable wiring cable (flat cable or the like) 24 that reciprocally moves the scanning body 22 in the sub-scanning direction X within the image reading casing 11 above the second surface 52. Are arranged.

  According to such a configuration, since only the scanning body 22 has to be disposed in the image reading housing portion 11 above the first surface 51, the first surface that is the bottom surface of the image reading housing portion 11. The height of the surface 51 from the paper discharge tray 40 can be raised to a height limited by the scanning body 22. Then, by raising the first surface 51, the in-body discharge space portion 13 on the discharge tray 40 is widened particularly in the height direction, so that a small-sized sheet is discharged onto the discharge tray 40. Even in such a case, it is possible to easily take out the paper discharged to the back side of the paper discharge tray 40 (the back surface 13a of the in-body paper discharge space 13). Also, the device itself can be miniaturized.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus A of the present embodiment, a protrusion 54 protruding inward of the image reading housing unit 11 is formed in the sub-scanning direction X at the end of the first surface 51 near the paper discharge port 42. It is set as the structure provided along. As described above, by providing the projection 54 at the end of the first surface 51 near the paper discharge port 42, the strength of the bottom surface of the image reading housing unit 11 can be further improved.

  Further, the projection 54 also serves as a guide for guiding the scanning body 22 in the sub-scanning direction X. For this reason, the bottom surface 22b (more specifically, the bottom surface of the unit case that houses the optical unit) 22b in the center of the scanning body 22 in the width direction (paper discharge direction Y) is guided by the protruding portion 54 that is a guide portion. A guided portion 26 for reciprocating in the sub-scanning direction X is provided. In the present embodiment, the guided portion 26 is a concave groove portion formed along the sub-scanning direction X that is engaged and slidably engaged with the projection portion 54. According to this configuration, by using the protruding portion 54 as a guide portion, it is possible to serve two functions of preventing the strength of the image reading housing portion 11 from being lowered and the guide function of the scanning body 22. Further, the scanning body 22 can be smoothly guided with a simple engagement structure of the protrusion and the groove.

  In the present embodiment, the first surface 51 is provided with a plurality of rib pieces 56 (see FIG. 4) extending in the paper discharge direction Y perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction X.

  As described above, by providing the plurality of rib pieces 56 on the first surface 51, even when the paper discharged from the paper discharge port 42 hits the first surface 51 and is rubbed, the paper hits the first surface 51. Since it strikes the rib piece 56 before, the rubbing sound can be reduced. Further, by providing the rib piece 56, the leading edge of the paper discharged from the paper discharge port 42 hits the first surface 51, and the discharged paper is stacked unevenly on the paper discharge tray. Can be prevented. In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a paper jam or the like due to the leading edge of the paper hitting the first surface 51 and being caught.

  FIG. 7 shows another example of the positions where the protrusions 54 are formed. That is, in the above example, even if the stepped portion 53 and the protruding portion 54 are arranged close to each other, they are individually formed. However, in the example shown in FIG. The projecting portion 54 is formed by extending so as to protrude into the inside of the portion 11, and then folding back downward in a U shape in a cross section. That is, the stepped portion 53 is used as one side wall of the protruding portion 54. According to this configuration, the strength of the bottom surface of the image reading housing unit 11 is improved by providing the protruding portion 54 on the stepped portion 53 (that is, by forming the protruding portion 54 and the stepped portion 53 integrally). be able to.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the bottom surface side of the protrusion 54 is a concave groove portion 54 a in which the first surface 51 side is recessed upward along the sub-scanning direction X. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, it is possible to employ a structure in which a static eliminating brush 57 is provided in the concave groove portion 54a using the concave groove portion 54a. In this case, the paper discharge port 42 and the discharge roller pair 41 are preferably arranged in the vicinity of the stepped portion 53 (that is, near the stepped portion 53). Further, the distance from the groove 54a to the paper discharge port 42 and the paper so that the paper P discharged from the paper discharge port 42 is securely placed on the discharge tray 40 after coming into contact with the static eliminating brush 57. The discharge direction of the paper P from the discharge port 42 may be designed in advance. According to such a configuration, by providing the static eliminating brush 57 in the concave groove portion 54a, the paper discharged from the paper discharge port 42 can be reliably discharged.

  In the above embodiment, the paper discharge port 42 (that is, the discharge roller pair 41) is disposed below the second surface 52 in the vicinity of the stepped portion 53. However, as shown in FIG. It is also possible to dispose the discharge port 42 (that is, the discharge roller pair 41) below the first surface 51 in the vicinity of the stepped portion 53.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, by providing the stepped portion 53, the first surface 51 and the second surface 52 are provided with a height difference with respect to the discharge tray 40. However, such a stepped portion is not provided. In addition, by forming the first surface 51 and the second surface 52 in a series of inclined surfaces, the surface on the front side in the discharge direction of the discharge tray 40 is a first surface that is higher than the discharge tray 40. The surface on the rear side in the discharge direction of the discharge tray 40 can be a second surface lower than the first surface with respect to the discharge tray 40. Further, the inclination angle may be the same as the discharge tray 40 from the first surface to the second surface, or the inclination angle of the first surface with respect to the discharge tray 40 is large. You may form so that the inclination-angle of a 2nd surface may become small (namely, it may bend at the boundary part of a 1st surface and a 2nd surface).

  In addition, embodiment disclosed this time is an illustration in all the points, Comprising: It does not become the basis of limited interpretation. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not interpreted only by the above-described embodiments, but is defined based on the description of the scope of claims. Moreover, all the changes within the meaning and range equivalent to a claim are included.

A Image forming apparatus 1 Exposure unit 2 Development unit 3 Photosensitive drum 4 Cleaning unit 5 Charger 6 Intermediate transfer belt unit 7 Fixing unit 8 Toner cartridge unit 10 Device main body 11 Image reading housing (housing of image reading unit)
11a Side wall 11b Slit portion 12 Image forming housing (housing of image forming portion)
13 In-body discharge space portion 13a Back surface 14 Conveying roller pair 15 Pre-registration roller pair 16 Registration roller pair 20 Image forming unit 21 Document placement table glass 22 Scanning body 22a Back surface 22b Bottom surface 23 Pulling member 24 Movable wiring cable (movable wiring)
24a Folding tip 26 Guided part (concave groove)
30 Paper transport system 31 Paper feed tray 32 Paper feed device 32a Separation transport roller 32b Separation member 33 Paper feed roller 34 Rotating plate 35 Elevating mechanism 40 Paper discharge tray 41 Paper discharge port 42 Paper discharge port 50 Bottom surface (image reading housing) Bottom)
51 First surface 52 Second surface 53 Step portion 54 Projection portion 54a Concave groove portion 56 Rib piece 57 Static elimination brush 61 Intermediate transfer belt 62 Intermediate transfer belt drive roller 63 Intermediate transfer belt driven roller 64 Intermediate transfer roller 65 Intermediate transfer belt cleaning Unit 66 Transfer roller 71 Heat roller 72 Pressure roller P Paper S Paper transport path Sr Front / back reverse path X Sub-scanning direction Y Paper discharge direction

Claims (5)

An image reading unit for reading a document placed on a document placing table;
An image forming unit that forms an image read by the image reading unit on a sheet;
A discharge unit for discharging the sheet on which an image is formed in the image forming unit;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a discharge tray on which the sheet from the discharge unit is placed;
A cylinder discharge space is formed between the image reading unit and the image forming unit,
In the in-cylinder discharge space, the front side of the image forming apparatus is open, and the discharge unit and the discharge tray are provided.
Wall surfaces are formed on both sides in the direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction of the discharge tray,
A plurality of rib pieces extending in the sheet discharge direction are erected on the surface on the image reading unit side forming the in-cylinder discharge space,
The image reading unit reads the document placed on the document placement table by a scanning body moving and scanning in a sub-scanning direction,
The bottom surface of the housing of the image reading unit facing the discharge tray is a first surface whose front side in the sheet discharge direction of the discharge unit is higher than the discharge tray. The back side surface in the sheet discharge direction is a second surface lower than the first surface with respect to the discharge tray,
A pulling member that reciprocates the scanning body in the sub-scanning direction and / or a movable wiring having one end fixed to the scanning body is disposed inside the casing facing the second surface. An image forming apparatus. An image reading unit that reads the document placed on the document placement table by moving and scanning the scanning body in the sub-scanning direction;
An image forming unit that forms an image read by the image reading unit on a sheet;
A discharge unit that discharges the sheet on which the image is formed in the image forming unit in a direction orthogonal to the sub-scanning direction;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a discharge tray on which the sheet from the discharge unit is placed;
A cylinder discharge space is formed between the image reading unit and the image forming unit,
The discharge section and the discharge tray are provided in the in-cylinder discharge space,
Wall surfaces are formed on both sides in the direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction of the discharge tray,
A plurality of rib pieces extending in the sheet discharge direction are erected on the front side of the image forming apparatus on the bottom surface of the image reading unit constituting the in-cylinder discharge space,
The image reading unit reads the document placed on the document placement table by a scanning body moving and scanning in a sub-scanning direction,
The bottom surface of the housing of the image reading unit facing the discharge tray is a first surface whose front side in the sheet discharge direction of the discharge unit is higher than the discharge tray. The back side surface in the sheet discharge direction is a second surface lower than the first surface with respect to the discharge tray,
A pulling member that reciprocates the scanning body in the sub-scanning direction and / or a movable wiring having one end fixed to the scanning body is disposed inside the casing facing the second surface. An image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of rib pieces extend to a front side of the discharge unit in the sheet discharge direction. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein:
The image forming apparatus, wherein the wall surface is formed from the discharge section to a front side of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein:
The image forming apparatus, wherein the discharge tray is formed on a flat surface having no protrusions.

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