Image forming apparatus

Abstract

The horizontal machine footprint of the image forming apparatus, as viewed from the front during operation, is reduced compared to conventional designs. [Solution] The image forming apparatus 1 comprises an apparatus body (100) and a document reading device (200) that reads a document placed on the apparatus body (100). The document reading device (200) includes a document reading placement section (210), a document reading section (220), a document output port (229), and an output document placement section (230). The document reading placement section (210), the document reading section (220), and the output document placement section (230) are arranged in this order horizontally when viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus. The document output port (229) is located towards the center of the apparatus body (100) from both ends in the horizontal direction, and at least a part of the output document placement section (230) is provided to overlap the apparatus body (100) in the vertical direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an image forming apparatus is known which includes an apparatus main body provided with an image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium, and an original document reading device provided on the apparatus main body for reading an original document. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses such an image forming apparatus in which the original document reading device has a read original document placement unit, an original document reading unit, and a discharged original document placement unit arranged in this order in the horizontal direction as viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] However, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the discharged original document placement unit for placing the original document discharged from the original document discharge port of the original document reading unit protrudes greatly outward from the main body of the image forming apparatus in the horizontal direction as viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus, so that the mechanical occupancy dimension in the horizontal direction during operation becomes large.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] To solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus comprising: an apparatus body equipped with an image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium; and an object reading device provided on the apparatus body for reading an object, wherein the object reading device comprises: a reading object placement unit for placing an object before reading; an object reading unit for reading an object; an object discharge port for discharging an object after it has been read by the object reading unit from the object reading unit; and an ejected object placement unit for placing an object discharged from the object discharge port, wherein the reading object placement unit, the object reading unit, and the ejected object placement unit are arranged in this order in the horizontal direction when viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus, the object discharge port is located towards the center of the apparatus body from both ends in the horizontal direction, and at least a part of the ejected object placement unit is provided to overlap the apparatus body in the vertical direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0005] According to the present invention, the horizontal machine footprint of the image forming apparatus when viewed from the front during operation can be reduced compared to conventional designs. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0006] [Figure 1] A front view illustrating the general configuration of a photocopier. [Figure 2] Diagram illustrating the manual feed tray and opening / closing cover of the copier. [Figure 3] A schematic front view illustrating the configuration of the document reading device of the copier. [Figure 4] A front view showing the various parts of the document reading device. [Figure 5] This diagram illustrates the positional relationship between the document output tray and the internal paper output section of the document scanner. [Figure 6] Another diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the document output tray and the internal paper output section of the paper cylinder. [Figure 7] This diagram illustrates the positional relationship between the document output port and the paper discharge section inside the cylinder of the document scanner. [Figure 8] This diagram illustrates the positional relationship between the document placement section and the manual feed tray of the document scanner. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0007] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a copier as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic front view illustrating the configuration of the copier 1. The copier 1 has a copier body 100, which is the main body of the apparatus equipped with an image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium, and a document reading device 200 that reads a document placed on the copier body 100. In Figure 1, the X direction is the horizontal direction (left-right direction or width direction) when viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus, the Y direction is the depth direction of the apparatus, and the Z direction is the vertical direction. First, an example of the configuration of the internal structure of the copier body 100 and the document reading device 200 will be described.

[0008] The copier body 100 includes an image forming unit 10. It also includes a paper feeding unit 20, a scanner unit 30, and a paper reversal unit 40.

[0009] The image forming unit 10 includes four process cartridges 11 (Y, M, C, K), an intermediate transfer belt 12, an optical writing unit 13, a fuser 14, a paper discharge roller 15, etc. Between the image forming unit 10 and the scanner unit 30, there is a so-called internal paper discharge section 50 which is open to the outside on the front and left side and is used to load recorded paper discharged from the paper discharge roller 15.

[0010] The intermediate transfer belt 12 is an intermediate transfer body that is stretched over multiple tension rollers and moves counterclockwise across the surface in Figure 1. The symbols Y, M, C, and K of the four process cartridges 11 indicate the toner cartridges for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively. The four process cartridges 11 have almost identical configurations, except that they use different toner colors.

[0011] The process cartridge 11 has a unit-like structure in which a photoreceptor, which is a latent image carrier, is integrally supported around a charging means, a developing means, and other components.

[0012] The optical writing unit 13 forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor based on image information from the original document image scanned by the scanner unit 30 or the document reading device 200, or image information input from an external device such as a personal computer. This electrostatic latent image is converted into a toner image by the developing means, and the toner images are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 12 to form a full-color image on the intermediate transfer belt 12.

[0013] The scanner unit 30 reads image information by scanning a document placed on a contact glass located on the top of the copier body 100 in a left-right direction. The document reading device 200 is mounted so as to be able to open and close over the contact glass by oscillating around a rotation axis that extends left and right at the rear of the copier body 100. If the copier body 100 is configured to form an image using only the image information of the document image read by the document reading device 200, the scanner unit 30 can be omitted.

[0014] The full-color image on the intermediate transfer belt 12 is transferred to the transfer paper, which is a recording medium fed and transported from the paper feeding unit 20. The full-color image on the transfer paper is fixed by heating and pressurizing in the fixing device 14, and the image-fixed transfer paper is discharged from the paper discharge port (formed in the wall) by the paper discharge roller 15. The transfer paper discharged from the paper discharge port is stacked on the paper discharge receiving section 51 provided in the paper discharge section 50 inside the cylinder.

[0015] In Figure 1, the copier body 100 has toner bottles 16 for each color of toner detachably positioned above the intermediate transfer belt 12. A retractable manual feed tray 60 is provided on the right side of the copier body 100, and a paper feeding means 61 for feeding transfer paper from the manual feed tray 60 is also provided inside the copier body 100.

[0016] The transport rollers, guide plates that constitute the paper inversion unit 40, the manual feed tray 60, and the paper feeding means 61 are held by an opening / closing cover portion 71 provided so as to be openable / closable by a rotating shaft 70 provided at the lower right portion of the copying machine main body 100. By opening this opening / closing cover portion 71, the delivery path from the paper feeding unit 20 to the paper discharge roller 15 is opened, enabling jam processing and the like.

[0017] FIG. 2(a) is an explanatory view of the state where the manual feed tray 60 is open, and FIG. 2(b) is an explanatory view of the state where the opening / closing cover portion 71 is open. The above is a configuration example of the copying machine main body 100 when the electrophotographic method is adopted as the recording method. However, instead of this, other recording methods such as the inkjet method may be adopted.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a front view for schematically explaining the configuration of the document reading device 200. The document reading device 200 includes a document placement section 210 for reading, a document reading section 220, and a discharged document placement section 230. The document placement section 210 for reading, the document reading section 220, and the discharged document placement section 230 are arranged in this order in the horizontal direction as viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus, and the document conveyance path is a so-called straight path.

[0019] The document placement section 210 for reading includes a document table 211 and a pull-out document table 212 that can be pulled out and stored from the document table 211. Instead of being able to be pulled out and stored, a swing shaft or the like may be provided at the right end portion of the document table 211 in the drawing so that it can be folded and extended. The document table 211 includes a chute roller 214 that contacts the lower surface of the document and applies a conveyance force.

[0020] The document reading section 220 is arranged along a conveyance path (indicated by a broken line in the drawing) through which the document from the document placement section 210 for reading is conveyed, and includes a pick roller 221, a brake roller 222, a document detection sensor 223, conveyance rollers 224 (224a, 224b), a lighting device 225 composed of LEDs (a back surface lighting device 225a, a front surface lighting device 225b), and discharge rollers 226 (226a, 226b). And a back surface reading optical device 227a and a front surface reading optical device 227b are provided.

[0021] The original document reading unit 220 includes an upper housing 228a and a lower housing 228b that supports the upper housing 228a in an openable and closable manner with the conveyance path therebetween. The lower surface of the upper housing 228a forms an upper guide for the original document conveyance path, and the upper surface of the lower housing 228b forms a lower guide for the original document conveyance path.

[0022] The discharged original document placement unit 230 is provided with an original document discharge tray 231.

[0023] The original document placed on the original document table 211 (when two or more are placed, the bottommost original document) is conveyed between the upper guide and the lower guide in the original document conveyance direction from right to left in the figure as the chute roller 214 and the pick roller 221 rotate respectively. When a plurality of original documents are placed on the original document table 211, only the original document in contact with the pick roller 221 among the original documents placed on the original document table 211 is separated by the brake roller 222.

[0024] The original document is fed between the driving roller 224a and the driven roller 224b of the conveyance roller 224 while being guided by the upper guide and the lower guide. The original document is fed between the back surface illumination device 225a and the front surface illumination device 225b as the conveyance roller 224 rotates, and the back surface and the front surface are read by the back surface reading optical device 227a and the front surface reading optical device 227b. The read original document is discharged onto the original document discharge tray 231 through the original document discharge port 229 as the discharge roller (226a, 226b) 226 rotates.

[0025] This original document reading device 200 has only a straight reading path (straight path) from the original document table 211 to the original document discharge tray 231, rather than an original document inversion path or a U-turn path. Therefore, it is possible to save space in the original document reading unit and improve the visibility of the original document after reading.

[0026] Next, the arrangement of the document reading device 200, which is a feature of this embodiment, will be described. Figure 4 is a front view showing the parts of the document reading device 200 and the copier body 100 that are noteworthy in the arrangement of the document reading device 200. Of particular note are the document reading place section 210, the document reading section 220, the document discharge place section 230 of the document reading device 200, and the paper discharge section 50 inside the cylinder of the 100. In the figure, reference numeral 10 indicates the image forming section 10.

[0027] Figure 5 is a perspective view taken from slightly above the front, showing the positional relationship between the document output tray 231 of the document reader 200 and the internal paper output section 50 of the copier body 100. Reference numeral W1 indicates the width region (X direction region) of the internal paper output section 50, with the right end of this region W1 being the paper output opening formed in the inner wall of the internal paper output section 50 and the left end being the left side surface 100a of 100. Reference numeral W2 indicates the width region (X direction region) of the document output placement section 230, with the right end being the document output opening 229 formed in the cover of the document reader 220 and the left end being the front of the document output tray 231.

[0028] Figure 6 is a schematic front view illustrating the positional relationship between the original document (after scanning) and the internal paper output section 50 of the copier body 100. It shows the stack of ejected original documents D piled on the original document tray 231 of the original document placement section 230, and the stack of image-formed transfer paper P piled on the paper receiving section 51 of the internal paper output section 50. This internal paper output section 50 has a width (length in the X direction) that can accommodate A3 paper ejected in the longitudinal direction, and the illustrated transfer paper stack P shows paper ejected in the A4 short direction. The stack of original documents D on the original document tray 231 also shows paper ejected in the A4 short direction.

[0029] As shown in Figures 4 to 6, in this embodiment, in a copier 1 equipped with a document reader 200 that transports documents in a straight path, the document output port 229 is located towards the center of the copier body 100, rather than at both ends in the left-right direction (X direction), and at least a portion of the document output placement section 230 is positioned to overlap the copier body 100 in the vertical direction (Z direction). More specifically, the document output tray 231 and the internal paper output section 50 of the copier body 100 are in a positional relationship that overlaps in the vertical direction (Z direction).

[0030] This reduces the amount by which the document output tray 231 protrudes outward from the copier body 100 (from the left side 100a) in the left-right direction of the copier body 100. Therefore, the total area occupied in the width direction (X direction) when the copier 1, including the document reader 200, is reduced.

[0031] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the direction in which the original document is transported from the reading document placement section 210 to the output document placement section 230 is the same as the direction in which the transfer paper is discharged to the internal paper discharge section 50, and the original document discharged to the output document placement section 230 overlaps with the internal paper discharge section 50. Therefore, when reading the original document and forming the image at the same time, the user's hand movements are reduced when collecting both the image-formed transfer paper discharged to the internal paper discharge section 50 and the original document after reading, thereby improving usability.

[0032] Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the document output port 229 of the document reader 200 and the internal paper discharge section 50 of the copier body 100. In a copier 1 equipped with a document reader 200 that transports documents in a straight path, it is preferable that the document output port 229 be located at least 1 / 3 of the left-right dimension X of the internal paper discharge section 50 from the left-right end of the copier body 100, towards the center of the copier body 100. In the figure, x indicates the width W1 of the internal paper discharge section 50. The symbol y indicates the distance from the left side 100a of the copier body 100 to the document output port 229. The document placement area W3 of this dimension y is the area in the document placement area 230 that overlaps with the copier body 100 in the vertical direction (Z direction). An auxiliary line indicates the location at a dimension (1 / 3)x from the left side 100a of the copier body 100. The document output port 229 is positioned closer to the center of the copier body 100 than this point.

[0033] This allows the amount by which the document output tray 231 protrudes outward from the copier body 100 (from the left side 100a) in the left-right direction of the copier body 100 to be sufficiently small. Furthermore, when the document scanning operation and the printing operation are performed at the same time, the document output tray 231 and the internal paper output section 50 (especially the output port) are brought close together, which reduces the travel distance (path) when collecting the original document and the transfer paper after image formation, making the collection work easier.

[0034] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the copier body 100 has a manual feed tray 60 as a recording medium holder that can be positioned to protrude from the side wall surface, and the document holder 210 is provided on the same side as the manual feed tray 60 in the left-right direction (X direction). Moreover, the document holder 210 protrudes from the side wall surface of the copier body 100 by a smaller amount than the amount that the manual feed tray 60 protrudes from the copier body 100 in the left-right direction.

[0035] Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the positional relationship between the document scanning area 210 of the document scanning device 200 and the manual feed tray 60 of the copier body 100. The document scanning area 210 is located on the same side as the manual feed tray 60 of the copier body 100, and the total protrusion amount a of the document tray 211 and the pull-out document table 212 relative to the copier body 100 is smaller than the protrusion amount b of the manual feed tray 60 (including the pull-out tray portion 62 from the tip of the manual feed tray 60) protruding from the copier body 100. This reduces the widthwise footprint of the entire device, including the document scanning device, during operation.

[0036] Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 8, there is an operation panel 300 that serves as an operation unit for the user to decide on the scanning operation, and the operation panel 300 and the document placement unit 210 are located on the same side relative to the copier body 100 in the left-right direction. As a result, when the user performs the scanning operation using the operation panel 300 after loading a document onto the document tray 211, the distance the hand has to move is reduced, making the work easier.

[0037] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the spirit of the invention as described in the claims, unless otherwise specifically limited in the above description. The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are merely a list of the most preferred effects arising from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0038] The above description is merely an example, and the present invention provides specific effects for each of the following embodiments. In the description of the embodiments, the symbols in parentheses after the component names are examples of corresponding components and are not limited to these examples. (Aspect 1) An image forming apparatus comprising an apparatus body (100) equipped with an image forming unit (10) for forming an image on a recording medium, and an image reading device (200) provided on the apparatus body (100) for reading an image, wherein the image forming apparatus (200) includes an image reading unit (210) for placing the image before reading, an image reading unit (220) for reading the image, an image reading device (200) for discharging the image after it has been read by the image reading unit (220), and an image reading device (229) for discharging the image after it has been read by the image reading unit (220), and an image reading device (220) The image forming apparatus comprises a document output section (230) on which documents discharged from (229) are placed, and the document reading section (210), document reading section (220), and document output section (230) are arranged in this order horizontally when viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus, the document output port (229) is located towards the center of the apparatus body (100) from both ends in the horizontal direction, and at least a part of the document output section (230) is provided to overlap the apparatus body (100) in the vertical direction. According to this, the horizontal machine footprint of the image forming apparatus when viewed from the front during operation can be reduced compared to conventional designs. Furthermore, the straight path improves the visibility of the original document. The overlapping device body refers to the portion of the device body up to the side of the device body downstream in the document output direction of the document reader. The side of the device body does not include temporarily protruding parts, such as a manual feed tray in a protruding position, or a paper output tray that partially protrudes from the side of the device body.

[0039] (Aspect 2) In the image forming apparatus described in Embodiment 1, the apparatus body (100) is provided with an internal paper discharge section (50) that has an opening for external access and from which a recording medium on which an image has been formed is discharged, and the discharged document placement section (230) is provided such that at least a part of itself and at least a part of the document discharged to the discharged document placement section (230) overlap the internal paper discharge section (50) in the vertical direction. According to this, the user's hand movements can be reduced when scanning a document and forming an image in a single operation, thereby improving usability.

[0040] (Aspect 3) In the image forming apparatus described in Embodiment 2, the direction in which the original document is transported from the reading original document placement section (210) to the discharge original document placement section (230) is the same as the direction in which the recording medium is discharged to the internal paper discharge section (50). According to this, the user's hand movements will be reduced when scanning a document and forming an image at the same time, thereby improving usability.

[0041] (Aspect 4) In the image forming apparatus described in any one of embodiments 1 to 3, the document reading device (200) does not have a document inversion transport path that inverts and overlaps in the vertical direction. According to this, compared to the document reading device of Patent Document 1, which has a document reversal transport path that overlaps vertically in addition to a straight path, the document reading unit can be made more space-saving.

[0042] (Aspect 5) In the image forming apparatus described in any one of embodiments 1 to 4, the apparatus body (100) has a recording medium mounting section (60) that can be positioned to protrude from the side wall surface of the apparatus body (100), and the document to be read (210) is provided on the same side as the recording medium mounting section (60) in the horizontal direction. According to this, the area occupied during use can be reduced compared to the case where the document reading area and the recording medium area protrude on the opposite side from the main body of the device.

[0043] (Aspect 6) In the image forming apparatus described in Embodiment 5, the document reading section (210) protrudes from the side wall surface of the apparatus body (100) by a smaller amount than the amount by which the recording medium section (60) protrudes in the horizontal direction. According to this, by making the protrusion of the document scanning area smaller than that of the recording medium area, the area occupied during use can be further reduced.

[0044] (Aspect 7) In the image forming apparatus according to any one of embodiments 1 to 6, there is an operating unit (300) for which the user performs an operation to determine the reading operation, and the operating unit (300) and the document to be read (210) are located at the same side relative to the apparatus body (100) in the horizontal direction. According to this, after placing the document on the document placement area, the distance the hand has to move when performing the scanning operation is reduced, making the work easier. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0045] 1: Photocopier 10: Image forming unit 11: Process Cartridge 12: Intermediate transfer belt 13: Optical writing unit 14: Fixing device 15: Paper output roller 16: Toner bottle 20:Paper feed section 30: Scanner section 40: Paper inversion section 50: Paper discharge section inside the cylinder 51: Paper output tray 60: Manual feed tray 61:Paper feeding means 62: Drawer Tray Section 70: Rotation axis 71: Opening / closing cover section 100: Copy machine body 100a: Left side 200: Document scanning device 210: Reading Manuscript Placement Section 211: Manuscript stand 212: Drawer Document Table 214: Shoot Roller 220: Manuscript reading unit 221: Pick Roller 222: Brake Roller 223: Document detection sensor 224: Conveyor roller 224a: Drive roller 224b: Driven roller 225: Lighting device 225a: Rear illumination device 225b: Surface illumination device 226: Discharge Roller 227a: Backside reading optical device 227b: Surface reading optical device 228a: Upper enclosure 228b: Lower enclosure 229: Original output port 230: Discarded document placement section 231: Document output tray 300: Control Panel D: Document stack P: Transfer paper bundle W1: Same area W3: Ejected document placement area X: Left-right dimension a:Protrusion amount b:Protrusion amount y: dimension [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0046] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2010-119080

Claims

1. The apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, An image forming apparatus having a document reading device that reads a document placed on the main body of the apparatus, The aforementioned document reading device, A document placement section for placing the document before scanning, A document reading unit that reads the document, A document output port for ejecting the document after it has been read by the document reading unit, A document placement section for placing documents discharged from the document discharge port, Equipped with, The document reading unit, the document reading unit, and the document output unit are arranged in this order horizontally when viewed from the front of the image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus characterized in that the document output port is located towards the center of the apparatus body in the horizontal direction, and at least a portion of the document output placement area is provided to overlap the apparatus body in the vertical direction.

2. In the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, The device body is provided with an internal paper discharge section that has an opening for external access and from which a recording medium on which an image has been formed is discharged. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the output document placement section is provided such that at least a part of it and at least a part of the document discharged to the output document placement section overlap vertically with the internal paper discharge section.

3. In the image forming apparatus according to claim 2, An image forming apparatus characterized in that the direction in which the original document is transported from the reading original document placement section to the output original document placement section is the same as the direction in which the recording medium is discharged to the paper discharge section inside the cylinder.

4. In the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the document reading device does not have a document inversion transport path that inverts and overlaps in the vertical direction.

5. In the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The device body has a recording medium mounting section that can be positioned to protrude from the side wall surface of the device body, The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the document reading placement section is provided on the same side as the recording medium placement section in the horizontal direction.

6. In the image forming apparatus according to claim 5, The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the document reading portion protrudes from the side wall surface of the apparatus body by a smaller amount than the amount by which the recording medium portion protrudes in the horizontal direction.

7. In the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, It has an operating unit that allows the user to perform an operation to determine the reading operation, The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the operating section and the document placement section are located on the same side relative to the main body of the apparatus in the horizontal direction.

Images