Image forming apparatus

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes: a housing having left and right side surfaces; a manual tray protruding from one of the left and right side surfaces; a manual delivery device that delivers the sheet from the manual tray; a first paper tray disposed inside the housing and facing one end of the manual tray so as to overlap at least a part of the first paper tray in the direction of gravity; a first delivery device that delivers the sheet from the first sheet tray; and a common conveyance roller pair disposed inside the housing and configured to first receive and convey both the sheet fed from the first feeding device and the sheet fed from the manual feeding device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming device. Background Art

[0002] The following patent document 1 describes an image forming device having a paper conveying device, which comprises: a first conveying member that clamps the paper and conveys it; a first guide member that is arranged on the upstream side of the first conveying member and guides the paper toward the first conveying member; a second guide member that is arranged on the upstream side of the first guide member and protrudes from the guide surface of the first guide member into the conveying path; and a third guide member that is arranged on the downstream side of the first conveying member and guides the conveying direction of the paper to a different direction from the guiding direction of the first guide member.

[0003] Furthermore, Patent Document 1 also states that in the above-mentioned paper conveying device, the first guide component comprises: a second conveying member, a conveyor belt is arranged on the downstream side of the third guide component and on the outer peripheral side of the conveying surface, and a roller is arranged at a position opposite to the conveyor belt, thereby clamping and conveying the front end of the conveyed paper with the conveyor belt and the roller; and an anti-vibration component to reduce the contact sound of the rear end of the paper contacting the first guide component in the width direction, and the anti-vibration component is only arranged on both sides in the width direction of the paper.

[0004] Patent Document 2 listed below describes a printing device including a paper feeding mechanism that forms an image on a printing paper conveyed on a conveyance path by an image forming unit.

[0005] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 states that the above-mentioned paper feed mechanism comprises: three or more paper feed paths; and a guide component for limiting the transportation of paper in each paper feed path in a manner such that the confluence points of the paper feed paths are inconsistent with each other, and each of the paper feed paths has a widening portion on the upstream side of the guide component for loosening the printed paper related to the paper feed.

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4555253 (Technical Schemes 1, 3, Figure 1 )

[0007] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2010-89910 (Technical Solution 1, Figure 1 ) Summary of the invention

[0008] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to narrow the left-right width of a frame in an image forming device, the image forming device comprising: a manual tray protruding from one of the left and right sides of the frame; a manual feeding device feeding paper from the manual tray; a first paper tray arranged inside the frame in a state of being at least partially overlapped with one end of the manual tray in the direction of gravity; and a first feeding device feeding paper from the first paper tray.

[0009] To further explain, the above-mentioned problem of the present invention is that, in the above-mentioned image forming apparatus, the left-right width of the frame is narrowed compared with the case where an internal conveying roller pair that first receives and conveys the paper fed from the first feeding device and a manual conveying roller pair that first receives and conveys the paper fed from the manual feeding device are respectively provided.

[0010] A first aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus comprising:

[0011] A frame having left and right sides;

[0012] a manual tray protruding from one of the left and right sides;

[0013] A manual feeding device for feeding paper from the manual tray;

[0014] a first paper tray disposed inside the frame and facing one end of the manual tray so as to overlap at least a portion thereof in the direction of gravity;

[0015] a first feeding device for feeding the paper from the first paper tray; and

[0016] The common conveying roller pair is arranged inside the frame, and first receives and conveys the paper fed from the first feeding device and the paper fed from the manual feeding device.

[0017] A second aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, wherein the common conveying roller pair is disposed between the first feeding device and the manual feeding device and at a position away from and joined to both the first feeding device and the manual feeding device in an obliquely upward direction.

[0018] A third aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the manual feed device is arranged so as to exist inside the housing.

[0019] A fourth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the first feeding device is arranged close to the manual feeding device by a distance corresponding to the left-right width of the common feeding roller pair.

[0020] A fifth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the first paper tray is configured as a tray for accommodating A3-size paper.

[0021] A sixth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the manual tray is configured such that an inclination angle α of a storage surface for storing paper relative to a horizontal line is 5°<α≤8°.

[0022] A seventh aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects,

[0023] The common conveying roller pair is a pair of rollers formed by combining a driving conveying roller that is driven to rotate and a driven conveying roller that contacts and rotates following the driving conveying roller, and the driving conveying roller is arranged on a side farther from the one side surface than the driven conveying roller in the horizontal direction.

[0024] The 8th scheme of the present invention is an image forming device of any one of the above-mentioned 1st to 7th schemes, wherein the manual feeding device comprises: a driving feed roller, which is driven to rotate and feed the paper; and a conveyance stopping roller, which contacts the driving feed roller and stops the conveyance of excess paper that is overlapped and conveyed by the driving feed roller, and the driving feed roller is arranged above the conveyance stopping roller and is close to the driven conveying roller of the common conveying roller pair.

[0025] A ninth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein the first feeding device is disposed adjacent to a side farther from the one side surface than a position directly below the common transport roller pair.

[0026] A tenth aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, comprising:

[0027] a second paper tray disposed below the first paper tray inside the frame;

[0028] a second feeding device for feeding the paper from the second paper tray; and

[0029] The relay conveying roller pair is arranged at a position obliquely away from the second feeding device in a manner close to the one side surface, and receives the first paper fed from the second paper tray and conveys it to the common conveying roller pair in a relay manner.

[0030] The second delivery device is arranged at a position offset from the first delivery device and closer to the one side surface.

[0031] The relay conveyance roller pair is arranged below the common conveyance roller pair at a position offset toward the one side surface relative to the common conveyance roller pair and the second feeding device.

[0032] According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the tenth aspect, a relay conveying path is provided, wherein the relay conveying path guides the paper from the relay conveying roller pair to the common conveying roller pair,

[0033] The relay conveying path is configured as a conveying path including a conveying path that is bent once so as to protrude in a direction away from the one side surface and then extends linearly along the gravity direction relative to the common conveying roller pair.

[0034] A twelfth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the tenth or eleventh aspect, comprising:

[0035] an introduction port provided at a portion of the one side surface that is at least partially overlapped with the second delivery device in the gravity direction, and for introducing paper supplied from outside the frame; and

[0036] an introduction conveying passage, provided between the introduction port and the relay conveying roller pair, for guiding and conveying the paper introduced from the introduction port in such a manner that the paper is first received by the relay conveying roller pair,

[0037] A portion of the introduction conveyance path that reaches the relay conveyance roller pair is formed of a flexible sheet that guides the paper to the relay conveyance roller pair.

[0038] According to the 13th scheme of the present invention, in the image forming device of any one of the above-mentioned 10th to 12th schemes, the relay conveying roller pair is a pair of rollers composed of a driving conveying roller that is driven to rotate and a driven conveying roller that contacts with the driving conveying roller and rotates follower, and the driving conveying roller is arranged on a side farther away from the one side than the driven conveying roller.

[0039] A 14th aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus according to any one of the 1st to 13th aspects, comprising:

[0040] An image forming unit, disposed inside the frame, and forming an image on a paper; and

[0041] The adjusting conveying roller pair is arranged inside the frame body, and adjusts the timing of feeding the paper to the image forming unit and conveys the paper.

[0042] The common conveying roller pair is arranged below the adjustment conveying roller pair at a position offset from the adjustment conveying roller pair toward the one side surface.

[0043] Effects of the Invention

[0044] According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the left-right width of the housing can be narrowed compared to a case where an internal conveying roller pair for first receiving and conveying a sheet fed out from the first feeding device and a manual conveying roller pair for first receiving and conveying a sheet fed out from the manual feeding device are separately provided.

[0045] According to the image forming device of the above-mentioned second scheme, compared with the case where the common conveying roller pair is arranged at a position between the manual feeding device and the first feeding device, the curvature of the paper conveying path between the manual feeding device and the common conveying roller pair and the curvature of the paper conveying path between the first feeding device and the common conveying roller pair can be made smaller.

[0046] According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, the left-right width of the image forming apparatus including the manual feed tray can be narrowed compared to a case where a portion of the manual feed device is exposed to the outside of the housing.

[0047] According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth scheme, it is easier to use a tray with a long length in the left-right direction as the first paper tray than in a case where the first feeding device is arranged at a position away from the manual feeding device by a width wider than the distance corresponding to the left-right width of the common conveying roller pair.

[0048] According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth scheme, although the first paper tray accommodates A3-size paper, the left and right widths of the frame can be narrowed compared to a case where an internal conveying roller pair for first receiving and conveying paper fed from the first feeding device and a manual conveying roller pair for first receiving and conveying paper fed from the manual feeding device are respectively provided.

[0049] According to the image forming apparatus of the sixth aspect, the curvature of the paper conveying path between the manual feed device and the common conveying roller pair can be reduced compared to a case where the inclination angle α of the manual feed tray is larger than 8°.

[0050] According to the image forming apparatus of the seventh aspect, compared with a case where the driving conveying roller of the common conveying roller pair is arranged closer to one side than the driven conveying roller, the paper fed from the manual feeding device is more easily subjected to the conveying force generated by the driving conveying roller of the common conveying roller pair.

[0051] According to the image forming apparatus of the eighth scheme, compared with a case where the drive feed roller of the manual feeding device is arranged below the conveyance prevention roller and away from the driven conveyance roller of the common conveyance roller pair, the paper in the manual tray is easily and well conveyed from the manual feeding device to the common conveyance roller pair.

[0052] According to the image forming device of the above-mentioned ninth scheme, compared with the case where the first feeding device of the first paper tray is arranged at a position not adjacent to a position directly below the common conveying roller pair but away from the one side, the left and right widths of the frame are narrowed, and a tray with a long length in the left and right direction can be easily used as the first paper tray.

[0053] According to the image forming device of the above-mentioned scheme 10, compared with a case where the second feeding device is arranged at a position deviated from the first feeding device to the side away from the one side, and the relay conveying roller pair is arranged at a position deviated from the common conveying roller pair and the second feeding device to the side away from the one side below the common conveying roller pair, the left and right widths of the frame can be narrowed, and a tray whose left-right length is longer than the first paper tray can be used as the second paper tray.

[0054] According to the image forming apparatus of the eleventh scheme, even when the relay conveying path and the common conveying roller pair are arranged at positions deviated in the horizontal direction to the left and right, the paper can be well conveyed from the relay conveying roller pair to the common conveying roller pair, compared with the case where the relay conveying path is configured as a conveying path including a conveying path extending in a straight line from the relay conveying roller pair to the common conveying roller pair.

[0055] According to the image forming apparatus of the twelfth aspect, even when there is no space available for installing the relay conveying roller pair in front of the inlet conveying path, the relay conveying roller pair can receive the paper introduced through the inlet conveying path.

[0056] In the image forming device according to the above-mentioned scheme 13, compared with the case where the driving conveying roller of the relay conveying roller pair is arranged on a side closer to one side than the driven conveying roller, the paper supplied from the external paper supply device is easily affected by the conveying force generated by the driving conveying roller of the relay conveying roller pair and is easily conveyed toward the curved portion of the introduction conveying path.

[0057] According to the image forming apparatus of the above-mentioned 14th scheme, compared with a case where the common transport roller pair and the adjustment transport roller pair are arranged at a position away from one side by the same distance, or a case where the common transport roller pair is arranged at a position deviated from the side away from one side than the adjustment transport roller pair, the left-right width of the frame is narrowed, and a tray with a long length in the left-right direction can be easily used as the first paper tray. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings.

[0059] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0060] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an image forming unit in an image forming apparatus;

[0061] Figure 3 Yes means Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a manual tray, a first paper tray, a paper conveying path, etc. in an image forming apparatus;

[0062] Figure 4 Yes means Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing the configuration of the manual delivery device, the first delivery device, the common delivery roller pair, etc.;

[0063] Figure 5 This means that the external paper supply device is connected to Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a portion including a manual tray, a first paper tray, a second paper tray, a paper conveying path, etc. when an image forming apparatus is connected;

[0064] Figure 6 Yes means Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the configuration of the manual feeding device, the first feeding device, the common feeding roller pair, the second feeding device, the first relay feeding roller pair, etc.;

[0065] Figure 7 Yes means Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a portion of a paper conveying path in FIG.

[0066] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram showing an image forming apparatus as a comparison object.

[0067] Explanation of symbols

[0068] 1-image forming device, 2-image forming unit, 4-paper tray, 4A-first paper tray, 4B-second paper tray, 5-manual tray, 8-external paper feeding device, 9-paper, 10-frame, 11-left side (an example of the left side or one side), 12-right side (an example of the right side), 16-introduction port, 42A-first delivery device, 42B-second delivery device, 51b-one end of the manual tray, 53-manual delivery device , 61-common conveying roller pair, 61a-driving conveying roller, 61b-driven conveying roller, 62-adjusting conveying roller pair, 62a-driving adjusting roller, 62b-driven adjusting roller, 65-the first relay conveying roller pair (an example of a relay conveying roller pair), 65a-driving conveying roller, 65b-driven conveying roller, 6-conveying channel, 6G-the first relay conveying channel (an example of a relay conveying channel), 6K-introduction conveying channel, W1-the left and right widths of the frame. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] Hereinafter, the mode for carrying out the present invention will be described.

[0070] Implementation method 1.

[0071] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of an image forming section in the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0072] In the present specification and the drawings, substantially the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description of the same components will be omitted in the present specification.

[0073] (Overall Overview of Image Forming Apparatus)

[0074] The image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus for forming a desired image on paper.

[0075] The image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is configured to form an image corresponding to image information connected and input from an external device such as a personal computer, an information terminal, an image reader, etc. The image information refers to information related to the image such as characters, graphics, photos, patterns, etc.

[0076] like Figure 1 As shown, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a housing 10 , an image forming unit 2 , a paper tray 4 , a manual feed tray 5 , an image processing unit (not shown), a driving device, a power supply device, a control device, and the like. Figure 1 The dashed lines in FIG. 8 indicate various conveying paths 6 when the paper 9 is conveyed inside the housing 10 or the like.

[0077] The frame 10 is a box-shaped structure manufactured in a desired appearance shape using structural materials such as a frame for a bracket, and exterior materials such as a panel and a shutter.

[0078] The housing 10 in the first embodiment is configured as a housing having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped appearance.

[0079] The frame 10 has left and right side surfaces (left side surface 11 and right side surface 12) forming left and right ends thereof when viewed from the front or front surface facing the user of the image forming apparatus 1. In addition, a paper discharge accommodating portion 13 is provided at the upper end of the frame 10. The paper discharge accommodating portion 13 is provided at the upper end of the frame 10. Figure 1 The frame 10 is formed as a structural portion having a receiving slope 13 a that slopes downward from the right side toward the left side of the upper end of the frame 10 .

[0080] The image forming unit 2 is disposed inside the housing 10 and is a portion that forms an image on the paper 9 .

[0081] The image forming section 2 in the first embodiment adopts the electrophotographic method, and is configured as a section that forms an unfixed image by the electrophotographic method, transfers the unfixed image to the paper 9, and then fixes the image.

[0082] If we explain it in detail, Figure 2As shown, the image forming unit 2 is composed of: an image generating unit 20 for producing an image (toner image) containing a dry developer; an intermediate transfer unit 30 for temporarily holding the image produced by the image generating unit 20 and then transferring it to the paper 9; and a fixing unit 38 for fixing the unfixed image transferred to the paper 9 to the paper 9.

[0083] The image generating unit 20 includes, for example, four image generating units 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K, each of which forms a toner image of four colors, namely, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K).

[0084] The image generating units 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K are arranged in series at regular intervals from the right side toward the left side inside the housing 10 .

[0085] The image generating units 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K are configured in substantially the same manner except that the colors of the developers used are different.

[0086] That is, Figure 2 As shown in the figure, the image generating unit 20K is used as a representative, and the image generating units 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K are configured as units including a photosensitive drum 21, a charging device 22, an image exposure device 23, a developing device 24, a primary transfer roller 25 as a primary transfer device, a drum cleaning device 26, and the like.

[0087] exist Figure 2 1 , only the symbols of the photosensitive drum 21 and the developing device 24 (Y, M, C) are described for the image generating units 20 (Y, M, C) other than the image generating unit 20K, and the other symbols are omitted without description.

[0088] In the image forming operation, the image generating units 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K respectively form toner images including the above-mentioned four colors as necessary.

[0089] If the image generating unit 20K is used as a representative example, first, the photosensitive drum 21 is moved to Figure 2 The photosensitive drum 21 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 2 , and the peripheral surface (image forming surface) of the photosensitive drum 21 is charged by the charging device 22 to form a uniform surface potential. Then, on the peripheral surface of the charged photosensitive drum 21, an electrostatic latent image is formed by exposure based on image information from the image exposure device 23. Next, in the image generation unit 20K, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 is developed by black toner supplied from the developing device 24K, and a black toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 21.

[0090] Regarding the primary transfer device, when the image forming apparatus 1 employs the intermediate transfer unit 30 , the primary transfer roller 25 is employed as a primary contact transfer member and is treated as a part of the intermediate transfer unit 30 .

[0091] like Figure 2 As shown, the intermediate transfer unit 30 is configured as a unit including a support frame (not shown), an intermediate transfer belt 31, belt holding rollers 32, 33, 34, 35, a primary transfer roller 25, a secondary transfer device 36, a belt cleaning device 37, etc.

[0092] The intermediate transfer unit 30 is disposed above the image generating units 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K in the housing 10 .

[0093] In the intermediate transfer unit 30 , positions where the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 pressed by the primary transfer roller 25 contacts the photosensitive drums 21 of the image forming units 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K are primary transfer positions.

[0094] Furthermore, in the intermediate transfer unit 30 , a position where a secondary contact transfer member (secondary transfer roller) of the secondary transfer device 36 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 becomes a secondary transfer position.

[0095] In the intermediate transfer unit 30, when an image is formed, first, the intermediate transfer belt 31 is moved toward Figure 2 After rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow of , the toner image formed by all or part of the image generating units 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20K is primarily transferred to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 by the transfer action of the primary transfer roller 25 at the primary transfer position. Next, in the intermediate transfer unit 30, the toner image primarily transferred to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 is primarily transferred to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 by the transfer action of the secondary transfer device 36 at the secondary transfer position, and is secondarily transferred to the paper 9 supplied from the paper tray 4, the manual tray 5, etc.

[0096] The fixing unit 38 is a unit that fixes the toner image secondarily transferred to the paper 9 at the secondary transfer position of the intermediate transfer unit 30 to the paper 9 .

[0097] Therefore, the fixing unit 38 is arranged inside the housing 10 at a position above the secondary transfer position of the intermediate transfer unit 30 .

[0098] like Figure 2 As shown, the fixing unit 38 is configured as a unit including a unit frame 38a, a heating rotating member 38b including a roller type, a belt type, etc., a pressing rotating member 38c including a roller type, a belt type, etc., and the like.

[0099] Furthermore, the fixing unit 38 includes a contact portion (fixing processing portion) in which the heating rotating member 38 b and the pressing rotating member 38 c are brought into contact with each other substantially along the direction of the rotation axis.

[0100] In the fixing unit 38, during the image forming operation, the paper 9 to which the toner image is secondarily transferred by the intermediate transfer unit 30 is introduced into the contact portion and passes through the contact portion. Thus, the fixing unit 38 heats and melts the unfixed toner image under pressure and fixes it to the paper 9.

[0101] The paper tray 4 is a structure that accommodates the paper 9 on which an image is formed and supplies it to the image forming unit 2 .

[0102] In the first embodiment, three paper trays 4A, 4B, and 4C including a first paper tray 4A, a second paper tray 4B, and a third paper tray 4C are used as the paper tray 4 .

[0103] The three paper trays 4A, 4B, and 4C are configured as a first paper tray 4A, a second paper tray 4B, and a third paper tray 4C which are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction inside the housing 10 .

[0104] Specifically, the first paper tray 4A is arranged at the uppermost position, the second paper tray 4B is arranged at the middle position below the first paper tray 4A, and the third paper tray 4C is arranged at the lowermost position below the second paper tray 4B.

[0105] Furthermore, the three paper trays 4A, 4B, and 4C are arranged relative to the housing 10 so as to be movable from the front side of the housing 10 to the front side ( Figure 1 Install it by pulling it out and holding it (on the front side of the paper surface).

[0106] Furthermore, each of the paper trays 4A, 4B, and 4C includes a tray body 41 , a feeder device 42 , and the like.

[0107] The tray body 41 is a structure that accommodates the paper sheets 9 of a required size in a horizontal or vertical stack. More specifically, the tray body 41 is a box-shaped structure that is open at the top and has a loading plate (not shown) and the like disposed thereon.

[0108] A pair of left and right moving support parts 49A and 49B are provided on the left and right side surfaces of the tray body 41, and the pair of left and right moving support parts 49A and 49B support the movement of the tray body 41 toward the front side and the back side of the image forming apparatus 1 inside the frame 10. The moving support parts 49A and 49B are composed of, for example, slide rails provided to maintain a pair relationship with the frame 10.

[0109] Thereafter, regarding the tray body 41 , the tray body 41 in the first paper tray 4A is referred to as the first tray body 41A, the tray body 41 in the second paper tray 4B is referred to as the second tray body 41B, and the tray body 41 in the third paper tray 4C is referred to as the third tray body 41C.

[0110] Furthermore, regarding the paper 9 , the paper 9 accommodated in the first paper tray 4A is denoted as paper 9A, the paper 9 accommodated in the second paper tray 4B is denoted as paper 9B, and the paper 9 accommodated in the third paper tray 4C is denoted as paper 9C.

[0111] An image containing a developer can be formed on the paper 9. The paper 9 includes other types of media such as coated paper and resin sheets other than pulp paper.

[0112] The delivery device 42 is a device that delivers the paper sheets 9 one by one to the upper left end of the tray body 41 in the left-right direction.

[0113] Furthermore, the delivery device 42 includes a pickup roller 43 , a drive feed roller 44 , and a conveyance prevention roller 45 .

[0114] The pickup roller 43 is a roller that is driven to rotate so as to move downward during paper feeding and contact the topmost paper 9 of the tray body 41 to take out the paper 9 in the delivery direction. The drive feed roller 44 is a roller that is driven to rotate so as to convey the paper 9 taken out from the pickup roller 43 in the delivery direction. The conveyance prevention roller 45 is a roller that has the function of suppressing the conveyance of excess paper 9 located below except for the topmost paper 9 when the paper 9 conveyed by the drive feed roller 44 overlaps, and is sometimes referred to as a delay roller.

[0115] Thereafter, regarding the feeding device 42, the feeding device 42 configured on the first paper tray 4A is set as the first feeding device 42A, the feeding device 42 configured on the second paper tray 4B is set as the second feeding device 42B, and the feeding device 42 configured on the third paper tray 4C is set as the third feeding device 42C.

[0116] The manual feed tray 5 is a plate-like structure for receiving a desired paper 9 from the outside of the housing 10 at a desired timing when necessary and for use in forming an image.

[0117] Thereafter, the paper 9 accommodated in the manual tray 5 is denoted as paper 9D.

[0118] The manual feed tray 5 is disposed so as to protrude from a left side surface 11 which is one side surface of the housing 10 .

[0119] The manual tray 5 includes a tray body 51 having a storage surface 51 a for storing the paper 9D, and a manual feeding device 53 for feeding the uppermost paper 9 among the paper 9D stored in the tray body 51 .

[0120] like Figure 3 As shown, the tray body 51 is a plate-like structure.

[0121] like Figure 1 As shown, the tray body 51 is installed on a part of the left side 11 in a state of protruding from the left side 11 of the frame 10 by a predetermined length (horizontal width in the left-right direction: W2). The horizontal width W2 of the tray body 51 is the distance in the horizontal direction between the end (front end) 51c of the protruding side of the tray body 51 and the left side 11 of the frame 10.

[0122] And, if Figure 3 As shown, the tray body 51 is installed so that the inclination angle α of the storage surface 51a relative to the horizontal line HL is within the range of 5°<α≤8°. When the inclination angle α becomes less than 5°, for example, the rear end side of the paper 9D stored in the manual tray 5 may sag, or the paper 9D may fall.

[0123] The tray body 51 is provided with a pair of guide plates 52 at both left and right ends in the direction of feeding the paper 9D, and the pair of guide plates 52 guide the paper 9D stored in the storage surface 51a in a state where the left and right ends are aligned when feeding. The pair of guide plates 52 are provided in a state where they can be arbitrarily moved inward from both left and right ends in the tray body 51 to adjust the guiding position.

[0124] The manual feed device 53 is substantially similar to the feed device 42 in the paper tray 4 , and includes a pickup roller 54 , a drive feed roller 55 , and a conveyance prevention roller 56 .

[0125] The pickup roller 54 is a roller that is driven to rotate so as to move downward during paper feeding and to contact the topmost paper 9D stored in the tray body 51 to take out the paper 9D in the delivery direction. The drive feed roller 55 is a roller that is driven to rotate so as to convey the paper 9D taken out from the pickup roller 54 in the delivery direction. The conveyance prevention roller 56 is a roller that has the function of suppressing the conveyance of excess paper 9D located below except for the topmost paper 9D when the paper 9D conveyed by the drive feed roller 55 overlaps.

[0126] The manual feed device 53 is disposed in a state where the pickup roller 54 , the drive feed roller 55 , and the conveyance prevention roller 56 are present inside the housing 10 .

[0127] In other words, the manual delivery device 53 at this time is arranged so as to exist inside the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 , or is arranged in a state of not protruding outward from the left side surface 11 .

[0128] In this case, the manual tray 5 is arranged so that one end 51 b of the tray body 51 on the mounting side (strictly speaking, the end of the storage surface 51 a on the mounting side) is present inside the housing 10 .

[0129] Thus, the image forming apparatus 1 and Figure 8 Compared with the case of the image forming apparatus 100 of the comparative object in which a part of the manual feeding device 53X (for example, the pickup roller 54) of the manual tray 5X is exposed outside the housing 10X as shown in the example in FIG. 1 , if the tray main body 51 has the same size as each other, Figure 1 As shown, the left-right width W2 of the image forming apparatus 1 including the manual feed tray 5 can be narrowed.

[0130] On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 100 of the comparison object, since a portion of the manual feeding device 53X is configured to be exposed outside the frame 10X, the manual tray 5X must be staggered so that the tray body 51 protrudes toward the outside of the frame 10X by the amount exposed and protruding from the left side surface 11 of the frame 10X.

[0131] Furthermore, the manual tray 5 is configured so that, when not in use, the tray body 51 can be stored in the storage space 15 (see FIG. 1 ) provided in a recessed shape on the left side surface 11 of the frame 10. Figure 3 ) status.

[0132] Specifically, the manual tray 5 is mounted so as to be rotatable in a direction approaching the left side surface 11 , for example, with a support shaft (not shown) near one end 51 b of the tray body 51 located inside the housing 10 as a fulcrum.

[0133] The manual feed device 53 is a mechanism in which, when the tray body 51 is stored in the storage space 15 , the pickup roller 54 is accommodated in the housing 10 by rotating together with the tray body 51 about the rotation axis of the drive feed roller 55 , for example.

[0134] (Structure of paper conveying path)

[0135] And, if Figure 1 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1B , the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a pair of regulating conveying rollers 62 inside the housing 10 .

[0136] The adjustment conveying roller pair 62 is a pair of rollers that convey the paper 9 fed out from the first paper tray 4A or the like and adjust the timing or conveying posture of the paper 9 fed out to the image forming unit 2 .

[0137] like Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the regulating conveying roller pair 62 is a pair of rollers which is a combination of a driving regulating roller 62 a and a driven regulating roller 62 b .

[0138] The driving adjustment roller 62a has a plurality of roller bodies fixed at intervals on a rotating shaft supported so as to be rotatable. The driving adjustment roller 62a is rotationally driven by transmitting a rotational power from a driving device (not shown) on its rotating shaft. The driven adjustment roller 62b has a plurality of roller bodies fixed at intervals on a rotating shaft supported so as to be rotatable. The driven adjustment roller 62b is driven to rotate by contacting its roller body with the rotating roller body of the driving adjustment roller 62a at a predetermined pressure.

[0139] Regarding the adjustment conveying roller pair 62 in embodiment 1, when an image forming operation is performed, after temporarily stopping the paper 9 fed from the first paper tray 4A or the like to correct the conveying posture, it is rotated and started according to the image forming timing (actually the secondary transfer timing) to thereby feed the paper 9.

[0140] Furthermore, the pair of regulating conveying rollers 62 is disposed between the image forming unit 2 and the first paper tray 4A.

[0141] Moreover, if Figure 3 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1 , the pair of regulating conveying rollers 62 is arranged so that the driving regulating roller 62 a is located on a side farther from the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 than the driven regulating roller 62 b.

[0142] And, if Figure 1 As shown, the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a supply conveying path 6B, an image forming conveying path 6C, and a discharge conveying path 6D inside a housing 10 .

[0143] The supply conveying path 6B is a conveying path for conveying the paper 9 in such a manner as to supply the paper 9 to the pair of regulating conveying rollers 62 .

[0144] The supply conveying path 6B is composed of a pair of first paper guide members 71a and 71b disposed between the regulating conveying roller pair 62 and the common conveying roller pair 61 described later. The first paper guide members 71a and 71b are disposed so as to form a desired conveying space between the first paper guide members 71a and 71b for guiding the conveyed paper 9 to the regulating conveying roller pair 62 of the conveying destination while passing through the conveying roller pair 61.

[0145] The image forming conveying path 6C is a conveying path in which the paper 9 is conveyed from the regulating conveying roller pair 62 until image formation by the image forming section 2 is completed.

[0146] The image forming conveying path 6C in the first embodiment includes a first conveying path from the regulating conveying roller pair 62 to the image forming start position of the image forming section 2 and a second conveying path from the image forming start position to the image forming end position.

[0147] The start position of the image formation is the secondary transfer position in the intermediate transfer unit 30. The end position of the image formation is the position that becomes the contact portion of the fixing unit 38 (fixing position).

[0148] like Figure 3 As shown, the first conveying path of the image forming conveying path 6C is composed of a pair of second paper guide members 72a and 72b disposed between the regulating conveying roller pair 62 and the secondary transfer position in the image forming section 2. The second paper guide members 72a and 72b are disposed so as to form a desired conveying space between the two for guiding the conveyed paper 9 to the secondary transfer position of the conveying destination while passing through the conveying destination.

[0149] like Figure 2 As shown in FIG. 1 , the second conveying path of the image forming conveying path 6C is constituted by a third paper guide member 73 disposed between the secondary transfer position in the image forming section 2 and the fixing position in the image forming section 2. The third paper guide member 73 is disposed in a state capable of guiding the paper 9 that has passed the secondary transfer position to the contact portion in the fixing unit 38. The third paper guide member 73 is disposed so as to guide the paper 9 from the surface opposite to the surface to which the toner image is transferred.

[0150] The ejection conveying path 6D is a conveying path for conveying the paper 9 on which an image is formed to the ejection port 14 provided on the side of the ejection paper accommodating portion 13 .

[0151] The discharge conveying path 6D is composed of a plurality of conveying roller pairs 63 and 64 and a paper guide member (not shown) disposed between the image forming unit 2 and the discharge port 14. The conveying roller pair 63 is disposed, for example, at a position passing through the fixing unit 38. The conveying roller pair 64 is disposed, for example, as a discharge roller pair, at a position close to the discharge port 14.

[0152] And, if Figure 1 As shown, the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a reverse retransmission conveying path 6R inside the housing 10 .

[0153] The reversing and retransmission conveying path 6R is a conveying path in which the paper 9 having an image formed on one side through the image forming conveying path 6C is retransmitted to the supply conveying path 6B in a state where the front and back sides of the paper 9 are reversed and merged at a position in the middle of the supply conveying path 6B. The reversing and retransmission conveying path 6R is also called a double-sided image forming conveying path, for example.

[0154] like Figure 1 As shown, the reverse retransmission conveying path 6R is composed of a plurality of conveying roller pairs 67, 68, 69, a pair of paper guide members 74 (refer to Figure 3 ) and a paper route switching component not shown in the figure.

[0155] Moreover, if Figure 3 As shown, the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a first relay transmission path 6G and a second relay transmission path 6J inside the housing 10 .

[0156] In principle, the first relay conveying path 6G is a conveying path for conveying the paper 9B etc. fed from the second paper tray 4B etc. to the supply conveying path 6B. To further explain, the first relay conveying path 6G is a conveying path for conveying the paper 9 from the first relay conveying roller pair 65 described later to the common conveying roller pair 61 described later.

[0157] The first relay transport path 6G is composed of a first relay transport roller pair 65 and a pair of fourth paper guide members 75 a and 75 b .

[0158] like Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the first relay conveying roller pair 65 is a pair of rollers including a driving conveying roller 65 a and a driven conveying roller 65 b .

[0159] The driving conveying roller 65a has a plurality of roller bodies fixed at intervals on a rotating shaft supported so as to be rotatable. The driving conveying roller 65a is driven to rotate by transmitting a rotational power from a driving device (not shown) on its rotating shaft. The driven conveying roller 65b has a plurality of roller bodies fixed at intervals on a rotating shaft supported so as to be rotatable. The driven conveying roller 65b is driven to rotate by its roller body being in contact with the rotating roller body of the driving conveying roller 65a at a predetermined pressure.

[0160] And, if Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the first relay conveyance roller pair 65 is arranged below a common conveyance roller pair 61 to be described later and is offset toward the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 relative to the common conveyance roller pair 61 and the second delivery device 42B.

[0161] The first relay conveying roller pair 65 is arranged such that the axis of the driving conveying roller 65a and the axis of the driven conveying roller 65b are arranged at approximately the same height in the vertical direction and in the horizontal direction. The first relay conveying roller pair 65 is arranged such that the driving conveying roller 65a is located on the side farther from the left side surface 11 of the frame 10 than the driven conveying roller 65b.

[0162] The fourth paper guide members 75 a and 75 b are arranged so as to form therebetween a conveyance space having a desired shape for guiding the paper 9B to be conveyed and the like to a common conveyance roller pair 61 to be described later as a relay destination while passing through the conveyance space.

[0163] The fourth paper guide members 75a and 75b will be described in detail later.

[0164] The second relay conveying path 6J is a conveying path that relays and conveys the paper 9C and the like fed from the third paper tray 4C and the like to the first relay conveying path 6G. To further explain, the second relay conveying path 6J is a conveying path that conveys the paper 9C from the second relay conveying roller pair 66 described later to the first relay conveying roller pair 65.

[0165] The second relay conveying path 6J is composed of a second relay conveying roller pair 66 and a pair of fifth paper guide members 76 a and 76 b .

[0166] like Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the second relay conveying roller pair 66 is a pair of rollers including a driving conveying roller 66 a and a driven conveying roller 66 b in combination, similarly to the first relay conveying roller pair 65 .

[0167] The fifth paper guide members 76 a and 76 b are arranged to form a conveyance space having a shape extending substantially linearly in the vertical direction therebetween so as to guide the conveyed paper 9C to pass through the first relay conveyance roller pair 65 as a relay destination.

[0168] (Structure of the First Paper Tray, Manual Tray, and Paper Conveying System)

[0169] And, if Figure 3 As shown in the figures, the first paper tray 4A in the image forming apparatus 1 is arranged in the following state: the first tray body 41A thereof is opposite to one end of the manual tray 5 (one end 51b of the tray body 51) in the interior of the housing 10 and overlaps at least partially in the up and down direction along the gravity direction.

[0170] The first paper tray 4A in the first embodiment is arranged such that the upper side surface of the left end of the first tray body 41A and one end 51 b of the tray body 51 as one end of the manual tray 5 overlap and face each other in the vertical direction.

[0171] And, if Figure 3 As shown, the first feeding device 42A and the manual feeding device 53 in embodiment 1 are arranged in the following state: the driving feed roller 44 and the conveying stopping roller 45 of the first feeding device 42A and the driving feed roller 55 and the conveying stopping roller 56 in the manual feeding device 53 are opposite to each other at approximately the same height in the up and down direction.

[0172] As described above, the manual feed tray 5 in the image forming apparatus 1 is arranged in a state where the pickup roller 54 , the drive feed roller 55 , and the conveyance prevention roller 56 are present inside the housing 10 .

[0173] In the image forming apparatus 1 having such a configuration, the first paper tray 4A may be a tray capable of accommodating A3-size paper in a horizontal position.

[0174] Therefore, in the first paper tray 4A, it is required to ensure a dimension that allows A3-size paper to be placed horizontally as the length of the first tray body 41A in the left-right direction.

[0175] Furthermore, in order to ensure this size, in order to avoid the left and right width W1 of the frame 10 (refer to Figure 1 ) is increased, the first feeder 42A of the first paper tray 4A must be arranged as close as possible to the manual feeder 53 of the manual tray 5.

[0176] Since there is such a situation, in the image forming apparatus 1, as Figure 1 , Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the first paper feeder 42A of the first paper tray 4A and the manual feeder 53 of the manual feeder tray 5 cannot be arranged with a wide gap in the horizontal direction of the left and right, and must be arranged in a state close to each other.

[0177] Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. Figure 1 , Figure 3 As shown in the figures, a common conveying roller pair 61 is provided, which first receives and conveys the paper 9A fed out from the first feeding device 42A of the first paper tray 4A and the paper 9D fed out from the manual feeding device 53 of the manual feeding tray 5.

[0178] like Figure 3 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1B , the common conveying roller pair 61 is a pair of rollers that is a combination of a driving conveying roller 61 a and a driven conveying roller 61 b ​​.

[0179] The driving conveying roller 61a has a plurality of roller bodies fixed at intervals on a rotating shaft supported so as to be rotatable. The driving conveying roller 61a is driven to rotate by transmitting a rotational power from a driving device (not shown) on its rotating shaft. The driven conveying roller 61b has a plurality of roller bodies fixed at intervals on a rotating shaft supported so as to be rotatable. The driven conveying roller 61b is driven to rotate by its roller body being in contact with the rotating roller body of the driving conveying roller 61a at a predetermined pressure.

[0180] And, if Figure 3As shown in the figure, the common conveying roller pair 61 is arranged so that the driving conveying roller 61a is located on the side farther from the left side surface 11 of the frame body 10 than the driven conveying roller 61b in the horizontal direction. At this time, the common conveying roller pair 61 is arranged in the following state: the center of the driving conveying roller 61a and the center of the driven conveying roller 61b are arranged in the horizontal direction at approximately the same height in the vertical direction.

[0181] Furthermore, the common conveying roller pair 61 is disposed between the manual feed device 53 and the first feed device 42A and at a position where the manual feed device 53 and the first feed device 42A are separated from each other in an obliquely upward direction and merge with each other.

[0182] The common conveying roller pair 61 in embodiment 1 is configured in the following state: when the straight line connecting the drive feed roller 55 of the manual feeding device 53 and the drive feed roller 44 of the first feeding device 42A is assumed to be the base, for example, there exists (the contact portion between the rollers) at the position that becomes the vertex of the isosceles triangle set as its base.

[0183] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 1, as Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown in the figure, the first feeding device 42A is arranged at a position close to the manual feeding device 53 by a distance corresponding to the left and right width of the common feeding roller pair 61. Here, the left and right width is a dimension obtained by adding the roller diameter of the driving feeding roller 61a and the roller diameter of the driven feeding roller 61b.

[0184] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 1, as Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , it can be said that the first feeding device 42A is arranged at a position adjacent to the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 rather than the position directly below the common transport roller pair 61 .

[0185] Therefore, if Figure 4 As shown, the common conveying roller pair 61 in the image forming device 1 is configured to exist with a small gap on the left and right sides in a separation area S2 sandwiched between a double-dotted line VL1 extending in the up-down direction through the right end of the manual feeding device 53 and a double-dotted line VL2 extending in the up-down direction through the left end of the first feeding device 42A.

[0186] In addition, if Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a first delivery path 6A between the first delivery device 42A of the first paper tray 4A and the common delivery roller pair 61 .

[0187] The first delivery conveying path 6A forms a conveying path that extends while slightly bending diagonally upward to the left from the paper 9A delivered from the first delivery device 42A toward the roller contact portion (nipping portion) where the rollers of the common conveying roller pair 61 contact each other.

[0188] like Figure 4 As shown, the first delivery conveying path 6A is constituted by a pair of paper guide members 46 disposed between the first delivery device 42A and the common conveying roller pair 61 .

[0189] The pair of paper guide members 46 is disposed so as to form a conveying space therebetween that is curved and extends obliquely upward toward the roller contact portion of the common conveying roller pair 61 , so as to guide the paper to pass through the common conveying roller pair 61 at the delivery destination.

[0190] And, if Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a manual feed conveying path 6E between the manual feed device 53 of the manual feed tray 5 and the common feed roller pair 61 .

[0191] The manual feed conveying path 6E is a conveying path that forms a conveying path that extends while slightly curving diagonally upward and rightward toward the roller contact portion of the common conveying roller pair 61 , the paper 9D fed out from the manual feed device 53 .

[0192] like Figure 4 As shown, the manual feed conveying path 6E is composed of a pair of paper guide members 57 arranged between the manual feed device 53 and the common conveying roller pair 61 .

[0193] The pair of paper guide members 57 is disposed so as to form a conveying space therebetween that is curved and extends obliquely upward toward the roller contact portion of the common conveying roller pair 61 , so as to guide the paper to pass through the common conveying roller pair 61 at the delivery destination.

[0194] And, if Figure 3 As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the common conveying roller pair 61 constitutes a point on the conveying start side of the supply conveying path 6B.

[0195] Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 1 , the paper 9A fed from the first feeding device 42A and the paper 9D fed from the manual feeding device 53 first pass through a common feeding roller pair 61 together and are then fed to the regulating feeding roller pair 62 via the supply feeding path 6B.

[0196] Specifically, the paper 9A fed out from the first feeding device 42A is first received by the common feeding roller pair 61 through the first feeding feeding conveying path 6A, and then fed to the regulating feeding roller pair 62 through the supply feeding conveying path 6B by the feeding force of the common feeding roller pair 61 .

[0197] Furthermore, after the paper 9D fed out from the manual feed device 53 is first received by the common feed roller pair 61 through the manual feed feed passage 6E, it is fed to the adjustment feed roller pair 62 through the supply feed passage 6B by the feed force of the common feed roller pair 61 .

[0198] As described above, in the image forming apparatus 1, Figure 8 Compared with the case of the image forming apparatus 100 of the comparison object illustrated in Figure 1 As shown, the left-right width W1 of the frame body 10 can be narrowed.

[0199] like Figure 8 As shown, the image forming apparatus 100 of the comparison object at this time is an image forming apparatus having a structure in which an internal conveying roller pair 61A is firstly provided to receive and convey the paper 9G fed out from the first feeding device 42AX, and a manual conveying roller pair 61B is firstly provided to receive and convey the paper 9D fed out from the manual feeding device 53X.

[0200] The left-right width W10 at this time is defined as a dimension that is a distance between a portion of the left side surface 11 that is located at the far left and a portion of the right side surface 12 that is located at the far right in the left-right horizontal direction.

[0201] To further explain, in the image forming apparatus 100 to be compared, Figure 8 As shown, it is necessary to arrange two conveying roller pairs, namely, an internal conveying roller pair 61A and a manual conveying roller pair 61B, and to arrange an eleventh conveying passage 6AX and a twelfth conveying passage 6EX through which the internal conveying roller pair 61A and the manual conveying roller pair 61B pass, respectively.

[0202] Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 100, the width of the separation area S5 in the left-right direction between the first feeding device 42AX of the first paper tray 4G and the manual feeding device 53X of the manual tray 5X is enlarged by an amount corresponding to the configuration of two conveying roller pairs, the 11th conveying path 6AX and the 12th conveying path 6EX in the separation area S5.

[0203] Figure 8The double-dashed line VL4 in FIG. 5 is an imaginary straight line extending in the vertical direction through the right end of the manual feeding device 53X. In addition, the double-dashed line VL5 is an imaginary straight line extending in the vertical direction through the left end of the first feeding device 42AX. The double-dashed line VL6 is an imaginary straight line extending in the vertical direction through the right end of the adjustment conveying roller pair 62.

[0204] The 11th conveying path 6AX extends from the first feeding device 42AX through the internal conveying roller pair 61A to merge with the supply conveying path 6B at the merging point 6x. The 12th conveying path 6EX extends from the manual feeding device 53X to the manual conveying roller pair 61B.

[0205] The supply conveying path 6B in the image forming apparatus 100 is a conveying path extending from the manual conveying roller pair 61B to the regulating conveying roller pair 62. In the image forming apparatus 100, a first relay conveying path 6GX extending from the first relay conveying roller pair 65X is arranged to reach the manual conveying roller pair 61B.

[0206] In contrast, in the image forming apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown, the width of the separation area S2 between the first feeding device 42A and the manual feeding device 53 in the left-right direction is narrowed by at least the amount corresponding to the width, because only one common conveying roller pair 61 is required to be arranged in the separation area S2.

[0207] Therefore, in the image forming device 1, corresponding to the width of the above-mentioned separation area S2 being narrower than the width of the above-mentioned separation area S5 in the image forming device 100 of the comparison object, at least the left and right width W1 of the frame 10 is also narrower than the left and right width W10 of the frame 10X of the image forming device 100 of the comparison object (W1<W10).

[0208] Figure 4 A two-dot chain line VL3 in FIG. 5 is a virtual straight line extending in the up-down direction through the right end of the adjustment conveying roller pair 62 .

[0209] Incidentally, the regulating conveying roller pair 62 is arranged so as to exist in a region S3 sandwiched between the two-dot chain line VL2 and the two-dot chain line VL3 .

[0210] Furthermore, the adjustment conveying roller pair 62 is arranged so that its right end (two-dot chain line VL3) is located at a position deviated to the right side from the left end (two-dot chain line VL2) of the first delivery device 42A. In this regard, the adjustment conveying roller pair 62 in the image forming apparatus 100 of the comparison object is also arranged so that its right end (two-dot chain line VL6) is located at a position deviated to the right side from the left end (two-dot chain line VL5) of the first delivery device 42AX (reference Figure 8 ).

[0211] In addition, strictly speaking, Figure 8 The image forming apparatus 100 of the comparative object shown is arranged in a state where a part of the manual feed device 53X is exposed from the left side surface 11 of the housing 10X.

[0212] Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 100, the width of the separation area S4 in the left-right direction between the right end of the manual feed device 53X and the left side surface 11 of the housing 10X is larger than the width of the separation area S1 in the left-right direction between the right end of the manual feed device 53 and the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 in the image forming apparatus 1 arranged so that the manual feed device 53 is present in the housing 10 (see FIG. Figure 4 ) is slightly narrower.

[0213] However, the amount by which the separation area S4 in the image forming device 100 is narrower than the width of the separation area S1 in the image forming device 1 is smaller than the amount by which the width of the separation area S2 in the image forming device 1 is narrower than the width of the separation area S5 in the image forming device 100. That is, the difference obtained by subtracting the width of the separation area S4 from the width of the separation area S1 is smaller than the difference obtained by subtracting the width of the separation area S2 from the width of the separation area S5.

[0214] As a result, in the image forming device 1, even when the width of the separation area S1 is slightly wider than the width of the separation area S4 in the image forming device 100, as a whole, the left-right width W1 of the frame 10 is narrower than the left-right width W10 of the frame 10X of the image forming device 100 (W1<W10).

[0215] Furthermore, according to the image forming apparatus 1 , the A3-size paper 9 ( 9A) can be accommodated in the first paper tray 4A for use.

[0216] Thus, the image forming apparatus 1 can narrow the left-right width W1 of the housing 10 even when the first paper tray 4A is configured as a tray capable of accommodating A3-size paper 9 .

[0217] In this regard, when the left-right width (W10) of the frame 10X of the image forming apparatus 100 is set to the same size as the left-right width W1 of the frame 10 in the image forming apparatus 1, it is impossible or technically difficult to configure the first paper tray 4G as a tray capable of accommodating A3-size paper 9G.

[0218] In the image forming apparatus 1, the manual feeding device 53 and the common feeding roller pair 61 are arranged close to each other. Therefore, the manual feeding feeding path 6E in the image forming apparatus 1 is larger than the 12th feeding path 6EX in the image forming apparatus 100 (reference Figure 8) has a small curvature and a curved conveying path so that the manual feed device 53 can reach the common conveying roller pair 61 in a short distance.

[0219] However, in the image forming apparatus 1 , the manual tray 5 is arranged so that the inclination angle α of the storage surface 51 a thereof is within the range of 5°<α≤8°.

[0220] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 1, as Figure 3 , Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the drive feed roller 55 of the manual feed device 53 is arranged above the transport prevention roller 56 and close to the driven transport roller 61 b ​​of the common transport roller pair 61 .

[0221] Thus, in the image forming apparatus 1, the curvature of the conveying path of the manual feed conveying path 6E can be made smaller than when the inclination angle α of the manual feed conveying tray 5 is set to an angle greater than 8°. As a result, the conveying load in the manual feed conveying path 6E is reduced, and the paper 9D accommodated in the manual feed conveying tray 5 is conveyed well.

[0222] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 1, compared with the case where the drive feed roller 55 of the manual delivery device 53 is arranged below the delivery stop roller 56 and away from the driven delivery roller 61b of the common delivery roller pair 61, the paper 9D in the manual tray 5 is easily delivered to the upper right by the winding action of the drive feed roller 55 when the manual delivery device 53 is driven by rotation. As a result, the paper 9D in the manual tray 5 is easily delivered to the common delivery roller pair 61 through the manual delivery delivery path 6E.

[0223] For reference, after the paper 9D in the manual tray 5 is fed out by the manual feeding device 53, it moves forward with its front end contacting the driving conveying roller 61a of the common conveying roller pair 61 existing on the right side of the traveling direction, and then is clamped by the common conveying roller pair 61 and begins to be conveyed. At this time, the paper 9D is easily rolled up by the driving conveying roller 61a of the common conveying roller pair 61 when it is rotated. Figure 3 The right side of the image is bent and transmitted.

[0224] Thus, the paper 9D in the manual tray 5 can be easily transported along the direction including the direction after passing through the common transport roller pair 61. Figure 3 The supply conveying passage 6B is conveyed in the conveying path having a right-side curved shape.

[0225] Furthermore, in the manual tray 5 of the image forming apparatus 1, even if the paper 9D to be accommodated is a paper weight of 250 gsm (g / m 2 ) or thicker, the thick paper can also be well fed to the common conveying roller pair 61.

[0226] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 1, as Figure 3 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1 , the second paper feeder 42B of the second paper tray 4B is arranged at a position offset from the first paper feeder 42A toward the side closer to the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 .

[0227] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 1, as Figure 4 As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the first relay conveyance roller pair 65 is arranged below the common conveyance roller pair 61 and at a position offset from the common conveyance roller pair 61 and the second delivery device 42B toward the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 .

[0228] Thus, according to the image forming apparatus 1, the left-right width W1 of the housing 10 can be narrowed compared to the case where the first relay conveying roller pair 65 is arranged below the common conveying roller pair 61 and at a position offset from the common conveying roller pair 61 and the second delivery device 42B to the side away from the left side surface 11 of the housing 10. In this case, while the left-right width W1 of the housing 10 is kept narrow, a tray having a longer left-right length than the first paper tray 4A can be used as the second paper tray 4B.

[0229] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 1, as Figure 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , the third paper feeder 42C of the third paper tray 4C is also arranged at a position offset from the first feeder 42A toward the side closer to the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 .

[0230] Furthermore, the second paper tray 4B and the third paper tray 4C are both configured as trays capable of accommodating A3 paper as the paper 9B and 9C to be accommodated, respectively.

[0231] Moreover, if Figure 3 As shown, the second relay conveyance roller pair 66 is also arranged below the common conveyance roller pair 61 and at a position offset from the common conveyance roller pair 61 and the second delivery device 42B toward the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 .

[0232] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 1, as Figure 3 As shown in the figures, the first relay transmission channel 6G is constructed as a transmission channel including a transmission path that is bent once in a manner that protrudes in a direction away from the left side surface 11 of the frame 10 and then extends in a straight line in the up and down direction approximately along the direction of gravity relative to the common transmission roller pair 61.

[0233] The first relay conveying path 6G is formed by using a pair of fourth paper guide members 75a and 75b. That is, the first relay conveying path 6G is formed by the fourth paper guide members 75a and 75b. Figure 3The conveying path is a conveying path that inclines to the right in the left-right direction and advances in a straight line, then bends once at its distal end (upper end) and extends in a straight line in the vertical direction toward the common conveying roller pair 61 . Figure 3 Reference numeral 75c in FIG. 7 represents a curved portion in the first relay transmission path 6G.

[0234] Thus, according to the image forming apparatus 1, even when the first relay conveying path 6G and the common conveying roller pair 61 are arranged at positions deviated in the horizontal direction to the left and right, for example, the paper 9B fed from the second paper tray 4B is well conveyed to the common conveying roller pair 61 via the first relay conveying path 6G.

[0235] To further explain, according to the image forming device 1, compared with the case where the first relay conveying path 6G is configured as a conveying path including a conveying path extending in a straight line from the first relay conveying roller pair 65 to the common conveying roller pair 61, for example, the above-mentioned paper 9B is well conveyed from the first relay conveying roller pair 65 to the common conveying roller pair 61 via the first relay conveying path 6G.

[0236] Incidentally, the common conveying roller pair 61 serves as a junction of three conveying paths, namely, the first delivery conveying path 6A, the manual delivery conveying path 6E, and the first relay conveying path 6G.

[0237] Moreover, in the image forming apparatus 1, with respect to the first relay conveying path 6G, the common conveying roller pair 61 and the first relay conveying roller pair 65 are in a positional relationship that is offset in the left-right direction, and therefore, as described above, a curved path is formed that bends once from the first relay conveying roller pair 65 and then reaches the common conveying roller pair 61.

[0238] Therefore, compared with a case where the first relay conveying path 6G is a linear path, when a sheet passes through the first relay conveying path 6G that bends once and extends, the sheet often contacts the first relay conveying path 6G during the passage, and tends to be more susceptible to conveying resistance.

[0239] However, the first relay conveying path 6G in the image forming apparatus 1 includes a portion of the supply conveying path 6B up to the middle of the common conveying roller pair 61, as shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown, the entire transmission path becomes a path with a curved and continuous S-shaped shape.

[0240] Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 1, when the paper 9 is conveyed in the first relay conveying path 6G, it is easily wound by the driving conveying roller 65a in the first relay conveying roller pair 65 to obtain sufficient conveying force, so that the paper 9 is well conveyed in the first relay conveying path 6G without losing to the conveying resistance.

[0241] Furthermore, after the paper 9 reaches the common conveying roller pair 61 at this time, it is also easy to be wound by the driving conveying roller 61 a in the common conveying roller pair 61 to obtain sufficient conveying force, so that it is well conveyed in the supply conveying path 6B.

[0242] (When using with an external paper feeder)

[0243] like Figure 1 As shown, the image forming apparatus 1 can be used by being connected to an external paper feeder 8 that feeds paper 9 from outside a housing 10 .

[0244] Therefore, if Figure 3 , Figure 5 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1 , the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with an introduction port 16 for introducing the paper 9 supplied from the outside of the housing 10 on the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 so as to be connectable to the external paper supply device 8 .

[0245] The introduction port 16 is provided in a portion of the left side surface 11 that faces and overlaps at least partially with the second delivery device 42B in the up-down direction along the gravity direction.

[0246] And, if Figure 5 , Figure 6 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1B , the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with an introduction conveyance path 6K inside the housing 10 , and the introduction conveyance path 6K guides and conveys the paper 9 introduced from the introduction port 16 so as to be first received by the first relay conveyance roller pair 65 .

[0247] like Figure 5 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1B , the introduction conveyance path 6K is composed of a pair of paper guide members 77 a and 77 b disposed between the introduction port 16 and the first relay conveyance roller pair 65 .

[0248] The pair of paper guide members 77 a and 77 b are arranged so as to form a conveying space extending and curving obliquely upward therebetween so as to guide the paper 9 from the introduction port 16 to the first relay conveying roller pair 65 and allow the paper 9 to pass therethrough.

[0249] That is, Figure 5 As shown in the figures, the introduction conveying path 6K is constituted by a pair of paper guide components 77a and 77b as a conveying path including a conveying path having a curved shape that bends once in a manner protruding in a direction away from the left side surface 11 of the frame 10 and rises to reach the first relay conveying roller pair 65.

[0250] And, it is introduced into the transmission channel 6K, such as Figure 7 As shown, the portion that reaches the first relay transport roller pair 65 is composed of a flexible sheet 78 that finally guides the paper 9 ( 9E, 9F) to the roller contact portion of the first relay transport roller pair 65 .

[0251] The flexible sheet 78 is provided so that its lower end is attached to the upper end side of the fifth paper guide member 76b constituting the second relay conveying path 6J and its upper end (free end) is located before the roller contact portion of the first relay conveying roller pair 65. As the flexible sheet 78, for example, a synthetic resin sheet (film) made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or the like is applied.

[0252] Moreover, it is introduced into the transmission channel 6K, as Figure 7 As shown, a rotating body (roller) 79 is provided at a position close to the introduction port 16 of the paper guide member 77 b disposed on the inner side (upper side) of the curve among the pair of paper guide members 77 a and 77 b.

[0253] The rotating body 79 is rotatably provided with a portion thereof protruding into the conveying space of the introduction conveying passage 6K. Thus, the rotating body 79 reduces the conveying resistance caused by the contact between the paper 9 (9E, 9F) passing through the introduction conveying passage 6K and the paper guide members 77a, 77b, thereby ensuring good conveying performance.

[0254] Next, the external paper feeding device 8 will be described.

[0255] The external paper feeding device 8 is a device that feeds desired paper 9 ( 9E, 9F) from the outside to the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0256] And, if Figure 1 or Figure 5 As shown, the external paper feeding device 8 includes a housing 80, a large-capacity paper tray 81, a special paper tray 83, a driving device, a power supply device, a control device, etc. (not shown). Figure 1 or Figure 5 The single-dot chain line of the external paper feeding device 8 indicates a conveying path 88 when the paper 9 is conveyed inside the housing 80 .

[0257] The frame 80 is a box-shaped structure manufactured in a desired appearance shape using structural materials such as a frame for a bracket, and exterior materials such as a panel and a shutter.

[0258] like Figure 1 As shown, the housing 80 in the first embodiment is configured as a housing having an outer shape and a size that allows it to be disposed below the manual feed tray 5 of the image forming apparatus 1 and used.

[0259] If further explanation is given, Figure 5 As shown, the frame body 80 at least has a right side surface 80a, an upper surface 80b and an inclined surface 80c.

[0260] The right side surface 80a is a surface portion extending in the vertical direction opposite to the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 of the image forming apparatus 1. The upper surface 80b is a surface portion extending in the horizontal direction to the left and right below the manual tray 5 of the image forming apparatus 1. The inclined surface 80c is a surface portion extending obliquely upward from the upper end of the right side surface 80a to the right end of the upper surface 80b.

[0261] The right side surface 80a of the housing 80 is provided with a delivery port 87 for delivering the paper 9E or 9F stored in the large-capacity paper tray 81 or the special paper tray 83 toward the image forming apparatus 1. The delivery port 87 is provided at a position on the right side surface 80a that is opposite to the introduction port 16 in the image forming apparatus 1.

[0262] The large-capacity paper tray 81 is a tray that can accommodate a larger number of sheets of paper 9E than the paper trays 4 ( 4A, 4B, 4C) in the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0263] The large-capacity paper tray 81 is composed of a large-capacity tray body, a first external feed-out device 82 , and the like.

[0264] The large capacity tray body is a structure having a loading and lifting plate (not shown) that is loaded with the paper sheets 9E and moves up and down in the vertical direction inside the housing 80 .

[0265] Furthermore, the first external feed-out device 82 is a device that feeds out the topmost sheet of paper 9E accommodated in the large-capacity tray body.

[0266] The first external delivery device 82 includes a pickup roller 82 a , a drive feed roller 82 b , and a conveyance prevention roller 82 c , similarly to the first delivery device 42A and the like in the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0267] The special paper tray 83 is a tray for accommodating special-purpose paper 9F. When the image forming apparatus 1 forms an image on any of the plurality of paper 9A to 9E, the special-purpose paper 9F is fed and inserted into the first, middle, or last of the plurality of paper 9 for use.

[0268] The special paper tray 83 is also provided with a second external feed-out device 84 for feeding out the topmost paper of the stored paper 9F.

[0269] The second external delivery device 84 also includes a pickup roller 84 a , a drive feed roller 84 b , and a conveyance prevention roller 84 c , similarly to the first delivery device 42A and the like in the image forming apparatus 1 .

[0270] And, if Figure 5As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the external paper feeding device 8 is provided with a first external paper delivery path 88A between the first external paper delivery device 82 of the large-capacity paper tray 81 and the delivery port 87 .

[0271] The first external delivery conveying path 88A is composed of the discharge conveying roller pair 85 and a pair of paper conveying members (not shown).

[0272] The first external delivery conveying passage 88A is formed into a conveying path through a pair of paper conveying components not shown in the figure, that is, a conveying path that guides the paper 9E delivered from the first external delivery device 82 to the discharge conveying roller pair 85, and then extends in a roughly horizontal state in the left-right direction toward the delivery outlet 87.

[0273] like Figure 5 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 10 , the discharge conveying roller pair 85 is a pair of rollers in which a driving conveying roller 85 a and a driven conveying roller 85 b are combined.

[0274] The driving conveying roller 85a has a plurality of roller bodies fixed at intervals on a rotating shaft supported so as to be rotatable. The driving conveying roller 85a is driven to rotate by transmitting a rotational power from a driving device (not shown) on its rotating shaft. The driven conveying roller 85b has a plurality of roller bodies fixed at intervals on a rotating shaft supported so as to be rotatable. The driven conveying roller 85b is driven to rotate by its roller body contacting the rotating roller body of the driving conveying roller 85a at a predetermined pressure.

[0275] And, if Figure 5 As shown in FIGS. 1 and 1B , the discharge conveying roller pair 85 is disposed at a portion on the downstream side of the discharge port 87 in the first external discharge conveying path 88A.

[0276] The discharge conveying roller pair 85 is arranged such that the axis of the driving conveying roller 85a and the axis of the driven conveying roller 85b are arranged in the vertical direction at approximately the same position in the horizontal direction of the left and right sides. The discharge conveying roller pair 85 is arranged such that the driving conveying roller 85a is located above the driven conveying roller 85b.

[0277] Moreover, if Figure 5 As shown in the figures, the external paper feeding device 8 is provided with a second external delivery path 88B between the second external delivery device 84 of the special paper tray 83 and the delivery roller pair 85. The second external delivery path 88B is formed so as to merge with the first external delivery path 88A before the delivery roller pair 85.

[0278] The second external delivery conveying path 88B is formed by the external relay conveying roller pair 86 and a pair of paper conveying members (not shown).

[0279] The second external delivery conveying passage 88B becomes a conveying passage that forms the following conveying path through a pair of paper conveying components not shown in the figure, that is, a conveying path that guides the paper 9F delivered from the second external delivery device 84 to the external relay conveying roller pair 86, and then extends in a shape that is slightly bent to the right and downward toward the discharge conveying roller pair 85.

[0280] like Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the external relay conveying roller pair 86 is disposed at a middle position of the second external delivery conveying path 88B and is a pair of rollers composed of a driving conveying roller 86 a and a driven conveying roller 86 b .

[0281] The external relay conveying roller pair 86 is arranged so that the axis of the driving conveying roller 86a and the axis of the driven conveying roller 86b are located on a straight line slightly inclined to the right. The external relay conveying roller pair 86 is arranged so that the driving conveying roller 86a is located above the driven conveying roller 86b.

[0282] Furthermore, when the image forming apparatus 1 is in the period of forming an image on the paper 9 (9E, 9F) supplied from the external paper supply device 8, the paper 9E in the large-capacity paper tray 81 or the paper 9F in the special paper tray 83 is finally delivered from the delivery port 87 of the external paper supply device 8 and supplied to the image forming apparatus 1.

[0283] At this time, the paper 9E accommodated in the large-capacity paper tray 81 is fed to the first external feed-out path 88A by the first external feed-out device 82 , and then is fed to the outside of the housing 80 through the feed-out port 87 by the feed force of the discharge feed roller pair 85 .

[0284] In addition, the paper 9F contained in the special paper tray 83 is sent to the second external feed-in conveying path 88B by the second external feed-in device 84 and merges with the first external feed-in conveying path 88A. Thereafter, it is sent to the outside of the frame 80 through the feed outlet 87 by the feed force of the discharge feed roller pair 85 .

[0285] Next, the sheets 9E and 9F fed out from the feed outlet 87 of the external paper feed device 8 are introduced into the introduction and transport path 6K through the introduction port 16 of the image forming apparatus 1 and transported to the first relay transport roller pair 65 .

[0286] Here, in the image forming apparatus 1 , the first relay conveying roller pair 65 is disposed in a state close to the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 , and is also disposed in a position close to the introduction port 16 .

[0287] Therefore, the introduction conveying path 6K is a conveying path having a small curvature as if the conveying path is steeply curved diagonally upward in a short distance from the introduction port 16 to the first relay conveying roller pair 65 .

[0288] As a result, the conveyance resistance of the sheets 9E and 9F fed from the external sheet feeding device 8 when passing through the introduction conveyance path 6K increases.

[0289] In contrast, in the image forming apparatus 1 , the introduction conveying path 6K is configured as a conveying path including a conveying path that bends once so as to protrude toward the side away from the left side surface 11 of the housing 10 and reaches the first relay conveying roller pair 65 .

[0290] Therefore, according to the image forming device 1, compared with the case where the inlet conveying path 6K is constructed as a conveying path extending in a straight line from the inlet 16 to the first relay conveying roller pair 65, the papers 9E and 9F supplied from the external paper supply device 8 are easily received by the roller contact portion of the first relay conveying roller pair 65 and conveyed well.

[0291] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 1 , a rotating body 79 is provided in the introduction conveying path 6K.

[0292] Therefore, according to the image forming device 1, when the papers 9E and 9F contact and pass through the rotating body 79 at this time, the conveying resistance to the papers 9E and 9F in the introduction conveying channel 6K is reduced compared to the case where the rotating body 79 is not provided, so that the papers 9E and 9F are well conveyed in the introduction conveying channel 6K.

[0293] Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus 1 , a portion before the first relay transport roller pair 65 introduced into the transport path 6K is formed of a flexible sheet 78 .

[0294] Therefore, according to the image forming device 1, even if there is no spare space on the front side of the first relay conveying roller pair 65 in the inlet conveying channel 6K, the paper 9E and 9F introduced through the inlet conveying channel 6K is guided by the first relay conveying roller pair 65 due to the guiding action of the flexible sheet 78, and is thus also smoothly received.

[0295] This point will be further described. First, in the image forming apparatus 1, the first relay conveying roller pair 65 is disposed in a state close to the left side surface 11 of the frame 10, so the interval between the introduction port 16 and the first relay conveying roller pair 65 in the horizontal direction is narrowed. Therefore, there is no space margin for installing the introduction conveying path 6K and the like on the front side of the first relay conveying roller pair 65. In addition, it is difficult to arrange the introduction conveying path 6K including, for example, a plastic molded product on the front side of the first relay conveying roller pair 65.

[0296] Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 1 , the portion on the front side of the first relay transport roller pair 65 introduced into the transport path 6K is formed by the flexible sheet 78 .

[0297] In the external paper feeding device 8 , the discharge conveying roller pair 85 is disposed so that the driving conveying roller 85 a is located above the driven conveying roller 85 b at a position on the front side of the delivery port 87 .

[0298] Thus, the sheets 9E and 9F fed out by the discharge transport roller pair 85 in the external paper feeding device 8 are transported so as to be lifted upward by the winding action of the drive transport roller 85 a when the drive transport roller 85 a is driven to rotate.

[0299] Variation example.

[0300] The present invention is not limited to the configuration exemplified in the above-mentioned first embodiment, and various modifications or changes can be made within the scope of the gist of each invention described in the claims. In addition, the present invention also includes the following modified examples, for example.

[0301] The manual tray 5 in the image forming apparatus 1 may also protrude from the right side surface 12 of the housing 10. In this case, the configuration of components related to the manual tray 5, such as the manual delivery device 53, the first paper tray 4A, the first delivery device 42A, the common conveying roller pair 61, etc., is also adjusted and changed in the left-right direction.

[0302] The image forming unit 2 in the image forming apparatus 1 may also apply an image forming method other than electrophotography. For example, the image forming method other than electrophotography is a droplet jetting method, a thermal method, etc. Furthermore, the image forming unit 2 is not limited to forming a multi-color (color) image, but may also form a monochrome image.

[0303] The image forming apparatus 1 may be used without being connected to the external paper feeding device 8 .

[0304] The number of paper trays 4 in the image forming apparatus 1 is not limited to three, and may be another number.

[0305] (Note) (((1)))

[0307] An image forming device comprising:

[0308] A frame having left and right sides;

[0309] a manual tray protruding from one of the left and right sides;

[0310] A manual feeding device for feeding paper from the manual tray;

[0311] a first paper tray disposed inside the frame and facing one end of the manual tray so as to overlap at least a portion thereof in the direction of gravity;

[0312] a first feeding device for feeding the paper from the first paper tray; and

[0313] The common conveying roller pair is arranged inside the frame, and first receives and conveys the paper fed from the first feeding device and the paper fed from the manual feeding device. (((2)))

[0315] The image forming apparatus according to (((1))), wherein:

[0316] The common conveying roller pair is arranged between the first feeding device and the manual feeding device and at a position where the pair of common conveying rollers is separated from and merged with both the first feeding device and the manual feeding device in an obliquely upward direction. (((3)))

[0318] The image forming apparatus according to (((1))) or (((2))), wherein:

[0319] The manual feeding device is arranged to exist inside the housing. (((4)))

[0321] The image forming apparatus according to any one of (((1))) to (((3))), wherein:

[0322] The first feeding device is disposed at a position close to the manual feeding device by a distance corresponding to the left-right width of the common feeding roller pair. (((5)))

[0324] The image forming apparatus according to any one of (((1))) to (((4))), wherein:

[0325] The first paper tray is configured as a tray for accommodating A3-size paper. (((6)))

[0327] The image forming apparatus according to any one of (((1))) to (((5))), wherein:

[0328] The manual tray is configured such that an inclination angle α of a storage surface for storing paper relative to a horizontal line is 5°<α≤8°. (((7)))

[0330] The image forming apparatus according to any one of (((1))) to (((6))), wherein:

[0331] The common conveying roller pair is a pair of rollers formed by combining a driving conveying roller that is driven to rotate and a driven conveying roller that contacts and rotates following the driving conveying roller, and the driving conveying roller is arranged on a side farther from the one side surface than the driven conveying roller in the horizontal direction. (((8)))

[0333] The image forming apparatus according to any one of (((1))) to (((7))), wherein:

[0334] The manual feeding device comprises: a driving feed roller, which is driven to rotate and feed the paper; and a conveyance stopping roller, which contacts the driving feed roller and stops the conveyance of excess paper that is overlapped and conveyed by the driving feed roller. The driving feed roller is arranged above the conveyance stopping roller and is close to the driven conveying roller of the common conveying roller pair. (((9)))

[0336] The image forming apparatus according to any one of (((1))) to (((8))), wherein:

[0337] The first feeding device is disposed at a position adjacent to a side away from the one side surface relative to a position directly below the common transport roller pair. (((10)))

[0339] The image forming apparatus according to any one of (((1))) to (((9))), comprising:

[0340] a second paper tray disposed below the first paper tray inside the frame;

[0341] a second feeding device for feeding the paper from the second paper tray; and

[0342] The relay conveying roller pair is arranged at a position obliquely away from the second feeding device in a manner close to the one side surface, and receives the first paper fed from the second paper tray and conveys it to the common conveying roller pair in a relay manner.

[0343] The second delivery device is arranged at a position offset from the first delivery device and closer to the one side surface.

[0344] The relay conveyance roller pair is arranged below the common conveyance roller pair at a position offset toward the one side surface relative to the common conveyance roller pair and the second feeding device. (((11)))

[0346] The image forming apparatus according to (((10))) includes a relay conveying path that guides and conveys the paper from the relay conveying roller pair to the common conveying roller pair,

[0347] The relay conveying path is configured as a conveying path including a conveying path that is bent once so as to protrude in a direction away from the one side surface and then extends linearly along the gravity direction relative to the common conveying roller pair. (((12)))

[0349] The image forming apparatus according to (((10))) or (((11))), comprising:

[0350] an introduction port provided at a portion of the one side surface that is at least partially overlapped with the second delivery device in the gravity direction, and for introducing paper supplied from outside the frame; and

[0351] an introduction conveying passage, provided between the introduction port and the relay conveying roller pair, for guiding and conveying the paper introduced from the introduction port in such a manner that the paper is first received by the relay conveying roller pair,

[0352] A portion of the introduction conveyance path that reaches the relay conveyance roller pair is formed of a flexible sheet that guides the paper to the relay conveyance roller pair. (((13)))

[0354] The image forming apparatus according to any one of (((10))) to (((12))), wherein:

[0355] The relay conveying roller pair is a pair of rollers formed by combining a driving conveying roller that is driven to rotate and a driven conveying roller that contacts the driving conveying roller and rotates following the driving conveying roller, and the driving conveying roller is arranged on a side farther from the one side surface than the driven conveying roller. (((14)))

[0357] The image forming apparatus according to any one of (((1))) to (((13))), comprising:

[0358] An image forming unit, disposed inside the frame, and forming an image on a paper; and

[0359] The adjusting conveying roller pair is arranged inside the frame body, and adjusts the timing of feeding the paper to the image forming unit and conveys the paper.

[0360] The common conveying roller pair is arranged below the adjustment conveying roller pair at a position offset from the adjustment conveying roller pair toward the one side surface.

[0361] According to the image forming apparatus of (((1))), the left-right width of the frame can be narrowed compared to a case where an internal conveying roller pair for first receiving and conveying a sheet of paper fed from a first feeding device and a manual conveying roller pair for first receiving and conveying a sheet of paper fed from a manual feeding device are separately provided.

[0362] According to the image forming device involved in (((2))), compared with the case where the common conveying roller pair is arranged at a position between the manual feeding device and the first feeding device, the curvature of the paper conveying path between the manual feeding device and the common conveying roller pair and the curvature of the paper conveying path between the first feeding device and the common conveying roller pair can be made smaller.

[0363] According to the image forming apparatus of (((3))), the left-right width of the image forming apparatus including the manual feed tray can be narrowed compared to a case where a portion of the manual feed device is exposed to the outside of the housing.

[0364] According to the image forming device involved in (((4))), it is easier to use a tray with a long length in the left-right direction as the first paper tray than in a case where the first feeding device is arranged at a position away from the manual feeding device by a width wider than the distance equivalent to the left-right width of the common conveying roller pair.

[0365] According to the image forming apparatus involved in (((5))), although the first paper tray accommodates A3-size paper, the left and right widths of the frame can be narrowed compared to a case where an internal conveying roller pair that first receives and conveys paper fed from the first feeding device and a manual conveying roller pair that first receives and conveys paper fed from the manual feeding device are respectively provided.

[0366] According to the image forming apparatus of (((6))), the curvature of the paper conveying path between the manual feeding device and the common conveying roller pair can be reduced compared to a case where the inclination angle α of the manual feeding tray is larger than 8°.

[0367] According to the image forming apparatus involved in (((7))), compared with a case where the driving conveying roller of the common conveying roller pair is arranged on a side closer to one side than the driven conveying roller, the paper fed from the manual feeding device is more easily subjected to the conveying force generated by the driving conveying roller of the common conveying roller pair.

[0368] According to the image forming device involved in (((8))), compared with the case where the driving feed roller of the manual feeding device is arranged below the conveyance stopping roller and away from the driven conveyance roller of the common conveyance roller pair, the paper in the manual tray is easily and well conveyed from the manual feeding device to the common conveyance roller pair.

[0369] According to the image forming device involved in (((9))), compared with the case where the first feeding device of the first paper tray is arranged at a position that is not adjacent to a position directly below the common conveying roller pair but is away from the one side surface, the left and right widths of the frame are narrowed, and it is easy to use a tray with a long length in the left and right direction as the first paper tray.

[0370] According to the image forming device involved in (((10))), compared with a case where the second feeding device is arranged at a position deviated from the first feeding device toward the side away from the one side and the relay conveying roller pair is arranged below the common conveying roller pair and deviated from the common conveying roller pair and the second feeding device toward the side away from the one side, the left-right width of the frame can be narrowed, and a tray whose left-right length is longer than that of the first paper tray can be used as the second paper tray.

[0371] According to the image forming apparatus involved in (((11))), even when the relay conveying path and the common conveying roller pair are arranged at positions deviated in the horizontal direction to the left and right, the paper can be well conveyed from the relay conveying roller pair to the common conveying roller pair, compared with the case where the relay conveying path is configured as a conveying path including a shape of a conveying path extending in a straight line from the relay conveying roller pair to the common conveying roller pair.

[0372] According to the image forming apparatus of (((12))), even when there is no space available in front of the relay conveying roller pair in the inlet conveying path, the relay conveying roller pair can receive the paper introduced through the inlet conveying path.

[0373] According to the image forming device involved in (((13))), compared with a case where the driving conveying roller of the relay conveying roller pair is arranged on a side closer to one side than the driven conveying roller, the paper supplied from the external paper feeding device is easily affected by the conveying force generated by the driving conveying roller of the relay conveying roller pair and is easily conveyed toward the curved portion of the introduction conveying path.

[0374] According to the image forming device involved in (((14))), the left-right width of the frame is narrowed, and a tray with a long length in the left-right direction can be easily used as the first paper tray, compared with a case where the common transport roller pair and the adjustment transport roller pair are arranged at a position away from one side by the same distance, or a case where the common transport roller pair is arranged at a position deviated from the side away from one side more than the adjustment transport roller pair.

[0375] The above-mentioned embodiments of the present invention are provided for the purpose of illustration and description. In addition, the embodiments of the present invention do not fully and exhaustively include the present invention, and do not limit the present invention to the disclosed methods. Obviously, various modifications and changes are self-evident to those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. The present embodiment is selected and described in order to most easily understand the principles of the present invention and its application. Thus, other technicians in the art can understand the present invention through various variations optimized for specific uses assumed to be various embodiments. The scope of the present invention is defined by the above claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An image forming device comprising: A frame having left and right sides; a manual tray protruding from one of the left and right sides; A manual feeding device for feeding paper from the manual tray; a first paper tray disposed inside the frame and facing one end of the manual tray so as to overlap at least a portion thereof in the direction of gravity; a first feeding device for feeding the paper from the first paper tray; and The common conveying roller pair is arranged inside the frame, and first receives and conveys the paper fed from the first feeding device and the paper fed from the manual feeding device.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The common conveying roller pair is arranged between the first feeding device and the manual feeding device and at a position where the pair of common conveying rollers is separated from and merged with both the first feeding device and the manual feeding device in an obliquely upward direction.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The manual feeding device is arranged to exist inside the housing.

4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The first feeding device is disposed at a position close to the manual feeding device by a distance corresponding to the left-right width of the common feeding roller pair.

5. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The first paper tray is configured as a tray for accommodating A3-size paper.

6. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein: The manual tray is configured such that an inclination angle α of a storage surface for storing paper relative to a horizontal line is 5°<α≤8°.

7. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: The common conveying roller pair is a pair of rollers formed by combining a driving conveying roller that is driven to rotate and a driven conveying roller that contacts and rotates following the driving conveying roller, and the driving conveying roller is arranged on a side farther from the one side surface than the driven conveying roller in the horizontal direction.

8. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein: The manual feeding device comprises: a driving feed roller, which is driven to rotate and feed the paper; and a conveyance stopping roller, which contacts the driving feed roller and stops the conveyance of excess paper that is overlapped and conveyed by the driving feed roller. The driving feed roller is arranged above the conveyance stopping roller and is close to the driven conveying roller of the common conveying roller pair.

9. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The first feeding device is disposed at a position adjacent to a side away from the one side surface relative to a position directly below the common transport roller pair.

10. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, comprising: a second paper tray disposed below the first paper tray inside the frame; a second feeding device for feeding the paper from the second paper tray; and The relay conveying roller pair is arranged at a position obliquely away from the second feeding device in a manner close to the one side surface, and receives the first paper fed from the second paper tray and conveys it to the common conveying roller pair in a relay manner. The second delivery device is arranged at a position offset from the first delivery device and closer to the one side surface. The relay conveyance roller pair is arranged below the common conveyance roller pair at a position offset toward the one side surface relative to the common conveyance roller pair and the second feeding device.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, comprising a relay conveying path for guiding the paper from the relay conveying roller pair to the common conveying roller pair, The relay conveying path is configured as a conveying path including a conveying path that is bent once so as to protrude in a direction away from the one side surface and then extends linearly along the gravity direction relative to the common conveying roller pair.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, comprising: an introduction port provided at a portion of the one side surface that is at least partially overlapped with the second delivery device in the gravity direction, and for introducing paper supplied from outside the frame; and an introduction conveying passage, provided between the introduction port and the relay conveying roller pair, for guiding and conveying the paper introduced from the introduction port in such a manner that the paper is first received by the relay conveying roller pair, A portion of the introduction conveyance path that reaches the relay conveyance roller pair is formed of a flexible sheet that guides the paper to the relay conveyance roller pair.

13. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein: The relay conveying roller pair is a pair of rollers formed by combining a driving conveying roller that is driven to rotate and a driven conveying roller that contacts the driving conveying roller and rotates following the driving conveying roller, and the driving conveying roller is arranged on a side farther from the one side surface than the driven conveying roller.

14. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13, comprising: An image forming unit, disposed inside the frame, and forming an image on a paper; and The adjusting conveying roller pair is arranged inside the frame body, and adjusts the timing of feeding the paper to the image forming unit and conveys the paper. The common conveying roller pair is arranged below the adjustment conveying roller pair at a position offset from the adjustment conveying roller pair toward the one side surface.

Images