Document conveyance unit and image forming device

Abstract

To provide a document conveyance unit equipped with a discharge tray with a stopper from which a document loaded on the discharge tray can be easily taken out.SOLUTION: A document conveyance unit has: a discharge tray 13 on which a document discharged in a predetermined discharge direction is loaded; and a stopper 17 that prevents the document from falling from the discharge tray 13 in the discharge direction. The stopper 17 has: a rotation shaft 41 that is rotatably supported on the discharge tray 13 and extends along a direction intersecting the discharge direction; an abutment piece 43 that is provided on the rotation shaft 41 and against which a tip end of the document in the discharge direction abuts; and a weight piece 45 that is provided on the rotation shaft 41, wherein the document conveyance unit rotates to an erecting posture in which the abutment piece 43 erects due to own weight of the weight piece 45, and can rotate from the erecting posture to a tilting posture tilted in the discharge direction when a predetermined force is applied to the abutment piece 43.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2B

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a document transport unit including a discharge tray with a stopper, and an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] The image forming apparatus includes an original transport unit that transports an original, an image reading unit that reads an image of the transported original, and an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on the read image. The original transport unit includes a paper feed tray on which the original is placed, and a discharge tray that is provided below the paper feed tray and on which the original is stacked after the image has been read by the image reading unit. The discharge tray also includes a stopper that prevents the sheet from falling in the discharge direction.

[0003] The stopper is usually supported in a substantially vertical position so that the leading edge of the discharged sheet hits the stopper, which narrows the gap between the stopper and the paper feed tray provided above the discharge tray, making it difficult to remove documents from the discharge tray.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses a stopper that can be displaced between an upright position and a collapsed position. The stopper is biased to the upright position by a biasing member when the stopper is closer to the upright position than a neutral position between the upright position and the collapsed position, and is biased to the collapsed position by a biasing member when the stopper is closer to the collapsed position than the neutral position. When the stopper is pushed from the upright position toward the collapsed position to remove a document from the discharge tray, the stopper rotates to the collapsed position, making it easy to remove the document. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2021-147119 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, the stopper described in Patent Document 1 is manually displaced between the upright position and the downright position. Therefore, when removing the document, the stopper must be manually rotated from the upright position to the downright position, and after removing the document, the stopper must be manually rotated from the downright position to the upright position. This causes problems such as the stopper being cumbersome to rotate and forgetting to rotate from the downright position to the upright position.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE In consideration of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an original transport unit and an image forming apparatus that are provided with a discharge tray with a stopper that allows the originals loaded on the discharge tray to be easily removed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the document transport unit of the present invention comprises a paper feed tray on which documents are placed, a transport section which transports the documents placed on the paper feed tray, a discharge tray arranged below the paper feed tray and on which documents discharged from the transport section in a predetermined discharge direction are loaded, and a stopper which prevents the documents from falling from the discharge tray in the discharge direction, wherein the stopper has a rotation axis which is rotatably supported on the discharge tray and runs along a direction intersecting the discharge direction, a contact piece provided on the rotation axis against which the tip of the document in the discharge direction abuts, and a weight piece provided on the rotation axis, wherein the contact piece rotates to an upright position in which it stands up due to the weight of the weight piece, and when a predetermined force is applied to the contact piece, the stopper can rotate from the upright position to a tilted position in which it tilts in the discharge direction.

[0009] In the present invention, when the stopper rotates to the tilted position, the weight may protrude from an upper surface of the discharge tray.

[0010] In the present invention, the discharge tray may have a guide groove formed along the discharge direction along which the rotating shaft is guided, and a slit through which the weight piece passes when the rotating shaft is guided along the guide groove, and by moving the rotating shaft along the guide groove in the direction opposite to the discharge direction, most of the stopper is accommodated below the upper surface of the tray.

[0011] The image forming apparatus of the present invention is characterized by comprising the document transporting unit, an image reading unit that reads an image of the document transported by the document transporting unit, and an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on the read image. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the present invention, when a force is applied to the stopper to grab and pull out a document loaded on the discharge tray, the stopper automatically rotates from an upright position to a tilted position, so that the document can be easily removed. In addition, since the stopper automatically returns to the upright position after rotating to the tilted position, there is no need to manually operate the stopper. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a discharge tray of a document transport unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a discharge tray of the document transport unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a stopper in the document transport unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a stopper in a normal state in the document transport unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4B] 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the stopper when removing an original in the original transport unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4C] 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the stopper after removing the document in the document transport unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 5A] 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a stopper when a document of a predetermined size is discharged in the document transport unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 5B] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a stopper when discharging a document larger than a predetermined size in the document transport unit according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a document transport unit and an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a front view showing the image forming apparatus 1. Fr, Rr, L, and R shown in each drawing indicate the front side, rear side, left side, and right side of the image forming apparatus 1, respectively.

[0016] The image forming device 1 includes an image forming unit 3, an image reading unit 5 disposed above the image forming unit 3, and an original transport unit 7 disposed above the image reading unit 5. An internal paper discharge space 9 is formed between the image forming unit 3 and the image reading unit 5.

[0017] The document transport unit 7 includes a paper feed tray 11 on which documents are placed, a discharge tray 13 provided below the paper feed tray 11, and a transport section 15 having a horizontal U-shaped transport path along which the documents are transported from the paper feed tray 11 to the discharge tray 13. The documents placed on the paper feed tray 11 are fed to the transport section 15 and transported along the transport path. At that time, an image on the document is read by the image reading unit 5. The document from which the image has been read is discharged from the transport section 15 to the discharge tray 13 and placed on the discharge tray 13. The image forming unit 3 forms an image on a sheet based on the image read by the image reading unit 5.

[0018] Next, discharge tray 13 will be described with reference to Figures 2A and 2B. Figure 2A is a perspective view showing discharge tray 13, and Figure 2B is a cross-sectional view showing discharge tray 13. In this example, a case will be described where the maximum size of the document to be discharged is A4 portrait size.

[0019] The discharge tray 13 is formed in a flat, hollow rectangular parallelepiped shape and has a top plate 13a, front and rear side plates 13b, and an end plate 13c, with an open bottom. An original stacking surface 13x on which an original is placed is formed on the top surface of the top plate 13a. The original stacking surface 13x is slightly inclined upward toward the leading edge (downstream side, right side in Figs. 2A and 2B) in the discharge direction of the original from the conveying section 15. A stopper 17 is supported on the end of the leading edge in the discharge direction of the discharge tray 13. The stopper 17 prevents the original from falling from the original stacking surface 13x in the discharge direction.

[0020] At the corner between the upper plate 13a and the end plate 13c of the discharge tray 13, a notch 21 having a predetermined width is formed in the center in the width direction intersecting with the discharge direction. Slits 23 are formed in the upper plate 13a on both sides of the width direction of the notch 21 along the direction opposite to the discharge direction. A support piece 25 is formed between the two slits 23. The support piece 25 does not reach the end plate 13c by the amount of the notch 21. The upper surface of the support piece 25 forms a part of the document loading surface 13x, and is inclined slightly upward toward the downstream side in the discharge direction.

[0021] In addition, guide side walls 27 are formed on the rear surface of the upper plate 13a along both sides of the slits 23 in the width direction. Furthermore, an end wall 29 is formed between the upstream ends of the guide side walls 27 in the discharge direction. The end wall 29 is inclined upward toward the upstream side in the discharge direction. A hollow storage section 31 is formed between the guide side walls 27 and the end wall 29, the downstream side of the discharge direction being open. In both guide side walls 27, a guide groove 33 is formed that is approximately parallel to the document stacking surface 13x and is inclined slightly upward toward the upstream side in the discharge direction. The downstream end 33a of the guide groove 33 in the discharge direction is bent so as to extend approximately horizontally.

[0022] Next, the stopper 17 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the stopper 17.

[0023] The stopper 17 has a rotating shaft 41 having a predetermined length, and an abutment piece 43 and a weight piece 45 fixed to the rotating shaft 41. The abutment piece 43 is substantially L-shaped in side view, and has a rectangular frame-shaped abutment portion 51 and a rectangular plate-shaped fixed portion 53 bent at an obtuse angle to the abutment portion 51. The weight piece 45 has a rectangular plate-shaped fixed portion 61 and a pair of side wall portions 63 fixed to both side surfaces of the fixed portion 61 in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 41. The side wall portions 63 are formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape in side view. The fixed portion 53 of the abutment piece 43 and the fixed portion 61 of the weight piece 45 are fixed to the rotating shaft 41 along the axial direction so as to extend in opposite directions along the radial direction of the rotating shaft 41. Both ends of the rotating shaft 41 extend outward in the axial direction beyond the abutment piece 43 and the weight piece 45. The weight of the weight piece 45 is set to be heavier than the weight of the contact piece 43 .

[0024] 2A and 2B, the stopper 17 is accommodated in the notch 21 of the discharge tray 13 with the abutment piece 43 facing downstream in the discharge direction and the weight 45 facing upstream. Both ends of the rotating shaft 41 are inserted into guide grooves 33 formed in both guide side walls 27 of the discharge tray 13. Most of the weight 45 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 31, and both side wall portions 63 are inserted into the slits 23 of the upper plate 13a of the discharge tray 13.

[0025] When both ends of the rotating shaft 41 are inserted into the downstream end 33a of the guide groove 33, the stopper 17 takes an upright position in which the abutting portion 51 of the abutting piece 43 becomes substantially vertical (inclined at an obtuse angle with respect to the document stacking surface 13x of the discharge tray 13) and the weight piece 45 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 31 of the discharge tray 13. In detail, the stopper 17 tries to rotate counterclockwise around the rotating shaft 41 in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B due to the weight of the weight piece 45. Then, the weight piece 45 abuts against the end plate 13c of the discharge tray 13 from the inside and the rotation is prevented. As a result, the stopper 17 rotates to the upright position. In addition, since the downstream end 33a of the guide groove 33 is formed substantially horizontal as described above, the movement of both ends of the rotating shaft 41 in the direction opposite to the discharge direction along the guide groove 33 is restricted. A predetermined gap G is provided between the upper end of the contact piece 43 of the stopper 17 and the paper feed tray 11.

[0026] On the other hand, when a force toward the downstream side in the discharge direction is applied to the contact piece 43, the stopper 17 rotates around the rotation shaft 41 in the clockwise direction in Fig. 2A and Fig. 2B and takes a tilted posture (see the two-dot chain line in Fig. 2B). At this time, both side wall parts 63 of the weight piece 45 pass through the slit 23 of the upper plate 13a of the discharge tray 13 and protrude above the document stacking surface 13x. The stopper 17 can rotate in the clockwise direction until the fixing part 53 of the contact piece 43 abuts against the end face of the notch 21 (the upper surface of the end plate 13c) or the fixing part 61 of the weight piece 45 abuts against the lower surface of the support piece 25. When the stopper 17 rotates to the tilted posture in this way, the gap G between the upper end of the contact piece 43 of the stopper 17 and the paper feed tray 11 widens.

[0027] 4A to 4C, 5A, and 5B, a description will be given of the operation of stopper 17 when a document is discharged onto discharge tray 13 having the above configuration. FIGS. 4A to 4C, 5A, and 5C are cross-sectional views showing stopper 17.

[0028] As shown in Fig. 4A, in the normal state, stopper 17 is rotated to an upright position. When a document is discharged from transport section 15, the leading edge of the document hits contact piece 43 (contact portion 51) of stopper 17. Then, a force in the discharge direction is applied to contact piece 43, and stopper 17 tries to rotate to an inclined position. However, the force applied from the document to contact piece 43 is smaller than the force due to the weight of weight piece 45, so stopper 17 is maintained in the upright position.

[0029] When removing the document D discharged onto the document stacking surface 13x, the document D is grasped and pulled out downstream in the discharge direction. Then, the document D or the user's hand hits the contact piece 43 of the stopper 17, and the stopper 17 rotates from the upright position to the laid-down position as shown in Fig. 4B. This widens the gap G between the upper end of the contact piece 43 of the stopper 17 and the paper feed tray 11, and the document D can be removed through this gap G.

[0030] When the force applied to the abutting piece 43 is released, the stopper 17 returns to the standing position due to the weight of the weight 45 as shown in Fig. 4C. Alternatively, there are cases where the stopper 17 does not automatically return to the standing position from the laid-down position. In such a case, when the next document is discharged onto the document stacking surface 13x, the side wall portion 63 of the weight 45 protruding from the document stacking surface 13x is pressed down by the document. This causes the stopper 17 to rotate counterclockwise and take the standing position.

[0031] Also, when a document (e.g., A3 portrait size) longer than a predetermined length (A4 portrait size in this example) is transported, if the stopper 17 is rotated to an upright position, it will interfere with the discharge of the document. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 5A, the rotation shaft 41 of the stopper 17 is moved along the guide groove 33 in the direction opposite to the discharge direction. At this time, both side wall portions 63 of the weight piece 45 of the stopper 17 move along the slit 23. Then, the abutment piece 43 eventually abuts against the end surface of the support piece 25 of the discharge tray 13. As a result, the abutment piece 43 is pushed by the support piece 25, and the stopper 17 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5A around the rotation shaft 41. If the stopper 17 is moved in this state, the end surface (lower surface) of the side wall portion 63 of the weight piece 45 eventually abuts against the end wall 29 of the storage section 31, as shown in FIG. 5B. This restricts the rotation of the stopper 17.

[0032] 5B, most of the stopper 17 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 31, and only parts of the side walls 63 of the weight piece 45 and the tip of the contact portion 51 of the contact piece 43 protrude upward from the document stacking surface 13x. Therefore, the ejection of a large document is not hindered.

[0033] As described above, according to the present invention, when a force is applied to the stopper 17 when grasping and pulling out a document loaded on the discharge tray 13, the stopper 17 automatically rotates from the upright position to the inclined position, so that the document can be easily removed. In addition, since the stopper 17 automatically returns to the upright position after rotating to the inclined position, there is no need to manually operate the stopper 17. Furthermore, there is no need to increase the height of the document transport unit 7 in order to widen the gap G between the stopper 17 and the paper feed tray 11.

[0034] Furthermore, when the stopper 17 rotates to the inclined position, the weight 45 protrudes upward from the document stacking surface 13x of the discharge tray 13. If the stopper 17 does not return to the upright position after rotating to the inclined position, the next document discharged will press down the weight 45 protruding from the document stacking surface 13x, causing the stopper 17 to automatically return to the upright position.

[0035] Furthermore, by moving the rotating shaft 41 along the guide groove 33 in the direction opposite to the discharge direction, most of the stopper 17 is accommodated in the accommodation section 31 below the document stacking surface 13x, so that discharge of documents larger than a predetermined size is not hindered.

[0036] Although the present invention has been described with respect to a specific embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The above embodiment may be variously changed, substituted, or modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention, and the claims include all embodiments that may be included within the scope of the technical idea. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1. Image forming device 3 Image forming unit 5 Image reading unit 7 Document transport unit 11 Paper feed tray 13 Output tray 15 Conveyor section 17 Stopper 23 Slit 33 Guide groove 41 Rotation axis 43 Contact piece 45 Weight piece

Claims

1. a paper feed tray on which documents are placed; a conveying unit that conveys the document placed on the paper feed tray; a discharge tray disposed below the paper feed tray, on which documents discharged from the conveying unit along a predetermined discharge direction are stacked; a stopper that prevents the document from falling from the discharge tray in the discharge direction, The stopper is a rotation shaft rotatably supported by the discharge tray and aligned along a direction intersecting the discharge direction; a contact piece provided on the rotation shaft and contacting the leading end of the document in the discharge direction; A weight piece provided on the rotating shaft, A document transport unit characterized in that the abutment piece rotates into an upright position due to the weight of the weight piece, and when a predetermined force is applied to the abutment piece, the abutment piece can rotate from the upright position to a tilted position inclined in the discharge direction.

2. 2. The document transport unit according to claim 1, wherein the weight protrudes from an upper surface of the discharge tray when the stopper rotates to the inclined position.

3. The discharge tray is a guide groove formed along the discharge direction in which the rotation shaft is guided; a slit through which the weight passes when the rotating shaft is guided along the guide groove, 2. The document transport unit according to claim 1, wherein the rotation shaft is moved along the guide groove in a direction opposite to the discharge direction, so that a majority of the stopper is accommodated below an upper surface of the tray.

4. The document transport unit according to claim 1 ; an image reading unit for reading an image of the document conveyed by the document conveying unit; and an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on the read image.

Images