Sheet conveying device and image forming system

Abstract

To improve relative position accuracy of a sheet conveyance device connected to an image formation device.SOLUTION: A support frame body of a sheet conveyance device and a positioning member, having an engagement hole for positioning the sheet conveyance device in a back and forth direction by engaging with a protrusion member provided in an image formation device, are separately constituted, and a relative position of the sheet conveyance device in the back and forth direction can be adjusted by attaching the positioning member to the support frame body in a second attitude.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sheet transporting device that transports a sheet and an image forming system that forms an image on a sheet. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, facsimiles, etc. are provided with a sheet transport device having a sheet transport path for transporting sheets. In recent years, image forming apparatuses have become faster and more sophisticated, and as a result of this increased speed and sophistication, there are cases where a sheet transport device is connected to the downstream side of the image forming apparatus main body in the sheet transport direction.

[0003] In this way, when connecting a sheet transport device to an image forming apparatus, if there is a misalignment between the sheet transport device and the image forming apparatus in the direction of the rotation axis of the sheet transport device, transport problems may occur when transferring sheets between the devices.

[0004] In Patent Document 1, a positioning protrusion that is inserted into a positioning hole provided in the image forming device is provided on the sheet conveying device, and when the sheet conveying device is connected to the image forming device, the sheet conveying device is positioned by inserting the protrusion into the positioning hole. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-177188 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, when positioning the image forming device and the sheet conveying device by inserting a protrusion into the positioning hole as in Patent Document 1, the position of the positioning hole relative to the image forming device and the position of the protrusion relative to the sheet conveying device may be misaligned due to manufacturing errors, etc. In this case, there is a risk that misalignment will occur between the image forming device and the sheet conveying device even if the protrusion is inserted into the positioning hole.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to improve the positional accuracy of a sheet transport device connected to an image forming apparatus with respect to the image forming apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The present invention Sheet transport A typical configuration of the device is a sheet transport device connected to an image forming device that forms an image on a sheet, and includes a support frame that supports a transport roller that transports a sheet, and a positioning member that is fixed to the support frame and has an engagement hole that engages with a protrusion member provided on the image forming device, and that positions the sheet transport device relative to the image forming device by engaging the protrusion member with the engagement hole, the support frame has a first boss and a second boss, the positioning member has a hole that engages with the first boss, a first long hole that engages with the second boss, a second long hole that engages with the first boss, and a third long hole that engages with the second boss, the first long hole, the second long hole, and the third long hole each have a long hole shape that is long in a rotational axis direction of the conveying roller, The positioning member is configured to be fixed to the support frame. a first position in which the first boss and the second boss engage with the hole and the first long hole, respectively, and do not engage with the second long hole and the third long hole; and a second position in which the first boss and the second boss engage with the second long hole and the third long hole, respectively, and do not engage with the hole and the first long hole. selectively securable to The positioning member is configured such that, when the positioning member is fixed to the support frame in the second attitude, the position of the positioning member in the direction of the rotation axis can be adjusted and fixed, and, when the positioning member is fixed to the support frame in the first attitude, the position of the positioning member in the direction of the rotation axis cannot be adjusted. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the positional accuracy of a sheet transport device connected to an image forming apparatus with respect to the image forming apparatus. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] Schematic cross-sectional view of an image forming system [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a detailed configuration of a reading unit of an image reading device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus; [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image reading device; [Diagram 5]1A is a perspective view of the image reading device and the image forming device in the middle of being connected to each other, and FIG. 1B is a view showing the image reading device and the image forming device after being connected to each other. [Figure 6] 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating a state in which the positioning member is fixed to a support frame, in which (a) the positioning member is fixed in a first posture, and (b) the positioning member is fixed in a second posture. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] <First embodiment> In the following, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, unless otherwise specified, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions, and the like of the components described in the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0012] (Sheet conveying device) FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an image forming system according to the present embodiment. The image forming system 1000 of this embodiment includes an image forming apparatus 300 that forms an image on a sheet, an external sheet feeding apparatus 400 connected to the upstream side of the image forming apparatus 300 in the sheet conveying direction (arrow Y direction in the figure) of the image forming system 100, an image reading apparatus 500 connected to the downstream side of the image forming apparatus 300, and a sheet processing apparatus 600 connected to the downstream side of the image reading apparatus 500. The image reading apparatus 500 is a sheet conveying apparatus that conveys a sheet discharged from the image forming apparatus 300 to the sheet processing apparatus 600. The sheet processing apparatus 600 includes a binding unit 200 that staples the sheets on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus 300 with a stapler 270. The external feeding apparatus 400 as a sheet feeding apparatus is connected to the upstream side of the image forming apparatus 300 in the sheet conveying direction. The external feeding apparatus 400 includes a sheet deck 345 on which the sheets P are stacked.

[0013] The image forming apparatus 300 is provided with an image forming section 100. The image forming section 100 has a charging unit 108, an exposure section 101, a cylindrical photosensitive drum 102, a developing unit 103, a transfer section 104, a cleaning member 109, and a fixing device 150. A straight conveying path 160 having a discharge roller 180 is provided downstream of the image forming section 100 in the sheet conveying direction. The image forming apparatus 300 is provided with an image reading device 120. The image reading device 120 includes a platen glass 121 as a document placement table, a scanner unit 123, and a document feeding device 129 that feeds a document to the platen glass 121.

[0014] The image forming apparatus 300 is provided with an operation panel (not shown) having a display unit (not shown) that displays information indicating various mode settings and operation states. The display unit of the operation panel displays to the user the work to be done when an abnormality such as a sheet jam occurs. The image forming apparatus 300 is also provided with a control unit (not shown) that controls the image forming unit 100 and the sheet processing apparatus 600 according to a predetermined program in accordance with the set operation mode.

[0015] (Image reading operation, image forming operation, and sheet processing operation) Next, an image reading operation by the image reading device 120, an image forming operation by the image forming device 300, and a sheet processing operation by the sheet processing device 600 will be described. When a start button (not shown) is pressed, documents (not shown) loaded on a document tray 129a of the document feeding device 129 are conveyed one by one onto the platen glass 121 by the document feeding device 129. When the documents are conveyed, a lamp of the scanner section 122 is turned on, and a scanner unit 123 equipped with the scanner section 122 moves to illuminate the documents.

[0016] The reflected light from the original is reflected by mirrors 124, 125, and 126, passes through a lens 127, and is input to a CCD image sensor 128. The reflected light is photoelectrically converted by the CCD image sensor 128 into an electric signal (image data). The electric signal is subjected to various image processing and input to an exposure unit 101 provided in the image forming apparatus 300. In this embodiment, the electric signal is input from the image reading device 120 to the exposure unit 101. However, this embodiment is not limited to this, and the electric signal as image data may be input to the exposure unit 101 from a personal computer. The exposure unit 101 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 102 with light according to an image signal modulated according to the electric signal (image data), and forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 102. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 102 is developed with toner by a developing device 103 to become a toner image.

[0017] Meanwhile, in parallel with the image forming operation, for example, the sheets P stored in the feeding cassette 145 are sequentially fed by the feeding roller 146. The sheets P are conveyed to the registration roller 148 by the vertical path roller 147. When the sheets P are fed from the sheet deck 345 of the external feeding device 4, the sheets P stored in the sheet deck 345 are sequentially fed by the feeding roller 340. The sheets P are conveyed to the registration roller 148 by the conveying rollers 347 and 348. The leading edge of the sheet P hits the registration roller 148 that is stopped, and the sheet P forms a loop. By forming the loop, the leading edge of the sheet P becomes parallel to the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 102, and the skew of the sheet P is corrected. By rotating the registration roller 148 at a predetermined timing, the sheet P is conveyed to the transfer unit 104 so that the leading edge of the sheet P coincides with the leading edge of the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 102.

[0018] The transfer unit 104 includes an endless transfer belt 105 stretched around a drive roller 106 and a driven roller 107, and a corona charger 110 disposed inside the transfer belt 105 facing the photosensitive drum 102. In the transfer unit 104, the sheet P is attracted to the transfer belt 105 and conveyed. A transfer voltage is applied to the corona charger 110, so that the toner image on the photosensitive drum 102 is transferred to the sheet P. The cleaning member 109 comes into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 102 to clean toner and paper powder remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 102. The cleaning member 119 comes into contact with the surface of the transfer belt 105 to clean toner and paper powder remaining on the surface of the transfer belt 105.

[0019] The sheet P onto which the toner image has been transferred is transported to the fixing device 150. The fixing device 150 applies heat and pressure to the sheet P to fix the toner image onto the sheet P. This forms an image on the sheet P. The sheet P on which the image has been formed passes through a straight transport path 160 and is discharged to the sheet cooling device 1 by discharge rollers 180.

[0020] When the sheet P is turned over and discharged to the sheet cooling device 1, the destination of the sheet P discharged from the fixing device 150 is switched to the reversing path 170 by a switching member (not shown) downstream of the post-fixing roller 151. The sheet P is conveyed to the reversing path 170, and the first reversing roller 171 and the second reversing roller 172 are stopped so that the rear end of the sheet P is positioned upstream of the first reversing roller 171 by a predetermined amount. Thereafter, the first reversing roller 171 and the second reversing roller 172 are rotated in the reverse direction, whereby the sheet P is conveyed to the discharge roller 180. The sheet P, whose front and back have been turned over, is discharged to the sheet cooling device 1 by the discharge roller 180.

[0021] When images are formed on both sides of the sheet P, the destination of the sheet P discharged from the fixing device 150 is switched to the reversing path 170 by a switching member (not shown) downstream of the post-fixing roller 151. The sheet P is conveyed to the reversing path 170, and the first reversing roller 171 and the second reversing roller 172 are stopped so that the rear end of the sheet P is located at a position upstream from the second reversing roller 172 by a predetermined amount. Next, the destination of the sheet P is switched to the re-conveying path 174 by a switching member (not shown) provided between the second reversing roller 172 and the re-conveying path 174. By reversing the second reversing roller 172, the sheet P is conveyed to the re-conveying path 174, and is conveyed again to the vertical path roller 147 by the double-sided roller 173. Thereafter, the sheet P is conveyed to the transfer unit 104, and an image is formed on the rear side of the sheet P. The sheet P having images formed on both sides in this manner passes through the straight conveying path 160 and is discharged to the image reading device 500 by the discharge rollers 180. Note that, although the configuration of the image forming device that forms an image on a sheet using toner of one color has been described in this embodiment, it may be configured to form an image using toner of multiple colors.

[0022] The image reading device 500 is a device for reading image information of the sheet P on which an image is formed by the image forming device 100, and outputting the reading result to a control unit (not shown) of the image forming device 100. The control unit (not shown) of the image forming device 100 detects the difference between the image position of the first surface (front surface) relative to the leading edge of the sheet P and the image position of the second surface (back surface) opposite to the first surface based on the reading result of the image reading device 500, and can adjust the image formation timing so as to reduce the deviation of each of the image positions of the first surface and the second surface relative to the leading edge of the sheet P. To enable such adjustment, the image reading device 500 has a reading unit 700 for reading the shape and image information of the sheet P.

[0023] In addition, in the image reading device 500, inlet conveying rollers 501 for receiving and conveying the sheet P discharged from the image forming device 100, a reading unit 700, and a branching flapper 502 are provided along the conveying direction of the sheet P. The inlet conveying rollers 501 convey the sheet P conveyed from the image forming device 100 to the reading unit 700. Here, the inlet conveying rollers 501 are an example of a conveying roller.

[0024] The branching flapper 502 is configured to be able to switch the transport path between a through path 530 for transporting the sheet P that has passed through the reading section 700 from the image reading device 500 to the sheet processing device 600, and a discharge path 532 for discharging the sheet P to a fixed tray 523 provided on the upper surface of the image reading device 500.

[0025] When the sheet P is conveyed to the through path 530, the branching flapper 502 moves to the upper position. Then, the sheet P is discharged to the outside of the image reading device 500 by the exit conveying rollers 503, and is delivered to the sheet processing device 600.

[0026] When the sheet P is conveyed to the discharge path 532, the branching flapper 522 moves to the lower position. Then, the sheet P is discharged to a fixed tray 523 by a plurality of conveying roller pairs 515, 516, 517, and 518.

[0027] Next, a detailed configuration of the reading unit 700 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a detailed configuration of the reading unit 700. The reading unit 700 is for acquiring the shape and image information of the sheet P in order to output a reading result corresponding to the image information formed on the sheet P to the image forming apparatus 100 as described above.

[0028] The reading section 700 is capable of reading images formed on the front and back sides of the sheet P, using a first reading unit 701a and a second reading unit 701b provided on the opposite side of the conveying path from the first reading unit 701a. By arranging the first reading unit 701a and the second reading unit 701b in this manner, images on both sides of the sheet P can be read while the sheet P is being conveyed, thereby shortening the time required to read both sides of the sheet P.

[0029] In this embodiment, when images are formed on both sides of the sheet P, the first reading unit 701a reads the back side of the sheet P, and the second reading unit 701b reads the front side of the sheet P. Here, the front side of the sheet P is the surface that faces the photosensitive drum 102 when the sheet P passes through the transfer unit 104 for the first time, and the back side of the sheet P is the surface that faces the photosensitive drum 102 when the sheet P passes through the transfer unit 104 for the second time.

[0030] In addition, the reading section 700 has a conveying roller pair 702 provided between the entrance conveying roller pair 501 and the first reading unit 701a in the conveying direction of the sheet P, a conveying roller pair 703 provided between the first reading unit 701a and the second reading unit 701b, and a conveying roller pair 704 provided between the second reading unit 701b and the branching flapper 422.

[0031] In this way, the sheet P conveyed to the reading section 700 has its image information read by the first reading unit 701a and the second reading unit 701b while being sandwiched and conveyed between pairs of conveying rollers 702, 703, and 704 that are driven to rotate by a drive section (not shown). Therefore, it is possible to suppress fluttering of the ends of the sheet P during conveyance, and the first reading unit 701a and the second reading unit 701b can read the image satisfactorily.

[0032] In this embodiment, the first reading unit 701a and the second reading unit 701b have the same configuration and are arranged upside down with the sheet transport path as the boundary. Therefore, in order to make the explanation easier to understand, the following explanation will be given by taking the first reading unit 701a as an example unless otherwise specified.

[0033] The first reading unit 701a has a transparent member 705a that also serves as a transport guide, a contact image sensor (hereinafter referred to as CIS) 706a as a reading sensor that reads image information of the sheet P transported through the transparent member 705a, and a housing 707a that forms a storage space for storing the CIS 706a together with the transparent member 705a. In this embodiment, glass is used for the transparent member 705a.

[0034] In addition, a backing roller 708a is provided at a position facing the transparent member 705a in the transport path. The backing roller 708a is colored black to clearly contrast with the edge of the sheet P.

[0035] The backing roller 708a is provided with a gap between it and the transparent member 705a. The first reading unit 701a reads an image formed on the front side of the sheet when the sheet passes through the gap formed between the transparent member 705a and the backing roller 708a. The second reading unit 701b reads an image formed on the back side of the sheet when the sheet passes through the gap formed between the transparent member 705b and the backing roller 708b.

[0036] The backing rollers 708a and 708b are driven by a backing motor (not shown) and rotate at the same peripheral speed as the pairs of conveying rollers 702, 703, and 704. In this way, no speed difference occurs between the backing rollers 708a and 708b and the conveyed sheet, thereby preventing the image on the sheet from being rubbed. In addition, the backing rollers 708a and 708b can change the distance from the transparent members 705a and 705b depending on the thickness of the sheet being conveyed by a moving mechanism (not shown).

[0037] In the reading section 700 in this embodiment, the first reading unit 700a is configured to be provided upstream of the second reading unit 700b in the sheet transport direction, but the second reading unit 700b may be configured to be located upstream of the first reading unit 700a as long as the configuration is such that image information on both sides of the sheet P can be obtained by transporting in one direction.

[0038] Then, the sheet P discharged from the image reading device 500 to the sheet processing device 600 is conveyed to the first conveying path 210 by the entrance rollers 201 when post-processing such as stapling is not set by the operation unit (not shown). The sheet P is discharged to the first sheet stacking tray 230 with the image forming surface facing up by the first discharge rollers 220 and stacked thereon. When post-processing such as stapling is set by the operation unit (not shown), the sheet P is conveyed to the second conveying path 240 and stacked on the sheet processing tray 260 by the second discharge rollers 250 to form a sheet bundle. The sheet bundle is stapled by the stapler 270, discharged by the sheet bundle discharge rollers 280, and stacked on the second sheet stacking tray 290.

[0039] (Connection structure between image forming apparatus and sheet conveying apparatus) Next, a connection structure between the image forming apparatus 300 and the image reading apparatus 500 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3 to Fig. 6. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 300 as viewed from the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the image reading apparatus 500 as viewed from the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction.

[0040] 3, a discharge port 300a through which a sheet is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus 300 by a discharge roller 180 is provided on a side surface downstream in the sheet conveying direction of the image forming apparatus 300. The sheet discharged from the discharge port 300a is conveyed into the image reading apparatus 500 by an entrance conveying roller 501 of the image reading apparatus 500.

[0041] In addition, the downstream side of the image forming device 300 in the sheet conveying direction is provided with a positioning protrusion member 70 having a positioning pin 71, and latch members 72a, 72b respectively provided on both ends of the discharge outlet 300a in the front-to-rear direction (arrow X direction) of the image forming device 300.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 4, the image reading device 500 has exterior covers 501 and 502 that form the exterior, and a support frame 40 that supports the above-mentioned reading unit 700 and each transport roller.

[0043] The support frame 40 includes a bottom plate 43 to which casters 45 are attached, a front plate 41 fixed to the bottom plate 43, a rear plate 42 fixed to the bottom plate 43 and supporting the reading unit 700 and the pair of transport rollers together with the front plate 41, and a plurality of stays 44 connecting the front plate 41 and the rear plate 42. Note that the reading unit 700 and the inlet transport rollers 501 are not shown in FIG.

[0044] A positioning member 50 having a positioning hole 51 into which a positioning pin 71 is inserted is provided on a side surface of the support frame 40 of the image reading device 500 on the upstream side in the sheet conveying direction. Here, the positioning pin 71 is an example of a protruding member, and the positioning hole 51 is an example of an engaging hole that engages with the protruding member. The positioning member 50 is fixed to the rear plate 42 of the support frame 40. In addition, the front plate 41 and the rear plate 42 of the support frame 40 are provided with hook members 61a and 61b that respectively engage with the latch members 72a and 72b of the image forming device 500 described above.

[0045] The hook members 61a, 61b are fixed to a hook shaft 60 that is held rotatably relative to the front plate 41 and the rear plate 42, and are rotatable together with the hook shaft 60 relative to the front plate 41 and the rear plate 42.

[0046] Next, the details of the connection portion between the image forming device 300 and the image reading device 500 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the positioning member 50 of the image reading device 500, where (a) shows a state during connection and (b) shows a state after connection. Note that in Fig. 5, for the sake of explanation, the configuration of the image forming device 300 other than the latch member 72a and the positioning protrusion member 70 is omitted.

[0047] The above-mentioned hook members 61a, 61b are biased by a spring (not shown) so as to maintain the state shown in FIG. 5(b).

[0048] When connecting the image reading device 500 to the image forming device 300, first, the image reading device 500 is roughly aligned in the front-to-rear direction (arrow X direction) with respect to the image forming device 300. Then, the image reading device 500 is moved in the direction opposite to the arrow Y direction so as to approach the image forming device 300.

[0049] Then, the tip of a positioning pin 71 provided on a positioning protrusion 70 of the image forming device 300 engages with a positioning hole 51 provided in a positioning member 50 fixed to a support frame 40 of the image reading device 500. Here, by engaging the positioning pin 7 with the positioning hole 51, the image reading device 500 is positioned relative to the image forming device 300 in the front-rear direction (the direction of the arrow X and the direction of the rotation axis of an inlet conveying roller 501 in the image reading device 500).

[0050] Thereafter, when the image reading device 500 is further moved in a direction approaching the image forming device 300, the latch shaft 73a provided on the latch member 72a comes into contact with the inclined portion 61aa of the hook member 61a, causing the hook member 61a to rotate against the bias of a spring (not shown). Here, Fig. 5(a) shows the hook member 61 in a state where the latch shaft 73a of the latch member 72a comes into contact with the inclined portion 61aa of the hook member 61a, although the hook member 61a and the latch member 72a are separated for the sake of explanation.

[0051] In this manner, when the image reading device 500 is further moved in a direction approaching the image forming device 300 with the latch shaft 73a in contact with the hook member 61a, the latch shaft 73a pushes up the inclined portion 61aa and reaches the groove portion 61ab of the hook member 61a, causing the hook member 61a to return to the state biased by a spring (not shown), and to the state shown in Fig. 5(b). As a result, the image reading device 500 is connected to the image forming device 300. Here, the latch member 72a and the hook member 61a have been described, but the latch member 72b and the hook member 61b are also configured to engage (connect) in a similar manner.

[0052] In this way, the image reading device 500 is positioned and connected to the image forming device 300 by engaging the hook members 61a, 61b with the latch members 72a, 72b in a state where the position in the front-rear direction is determined with respect to the image forming device 300 by the positioning pin 71 and the positioning member 50. Here, a configuration in which the latch members 72a, 72b are provided on the image forming device 300 and the hook members 61a, 61b are provided on the image reading device 500 has been described, but the reverse configuration may also be used. Also, while the hook members 61a, 61b are rotated by pressing the latch shafts 73a, 73b against the hook members 61a, 61b, a configuration in which a lever operated by a serviceman or the like is provided and the hook members 61a, 61b are rotated by operating the lever may also be used.

[0053] The position of the image reading device 500 in the up-down direction (arrow Z direction, vertical direction) of the image forming device 300 can be adjusted using casters 45 provided on the main frame 40 or adjusters 74 provided on the image forming device 300.

[0054] (Method of attaching positioning member 50) Generally, due to manufacturing errors or the like, the position of the positioning pin 71 relative to the image forming device 300 and the position of the protrusion positioning member 50 relative to the support frame 40 (rear side plate 42) may be misaligned. In this case, even if the protrusion is inserted into the positioning hole, there is a possibility that the positions of the image forming device and the image reading device may be misaligned.

[0055] For example, when the image reading device 500 and the image forming device 300 as the sheet conveying device are positioned in the above-mentioned configuration as in this embodiment, if the position of the image reading device 500 in the front-rear direction is misaligned with respect to the image forming device 300, the sheet may fall outside the reading range of the reading sensor due to manufacturing errors in the reading unit 700, and the image may not be read. Also, if the edge of the sheet falls outside the edges of the backing rollers 708a and 708b, the edge of the sheet may not be read, and the position of the image relative to the sheet may not be detected.

[0056] In view of this, in this embodiment, the positioning member 50 can be selectively fixed in two different postures, and the position of the positioning member 50 can be adjusted with a simple configuration. Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the positioning member 50 is fixed to the support frame 40 (rear side plate 42) of the image reading device 500, where (a) is a diagram showing a state in which the positioning member 50 is fixed in a first posture, and (b) is a diagram showing a state in which the positioning member 50 is fixed in a second posture.

[0057] In the first posture of the positioning member 50 shown in Fig. 6(a), positioning is performed in the directions of the arrows X and Z by engaging the positioning holes 52a and 52b of the positioning member 50 with the positioning bosses 62a and 62b provided on the rear plate 42. In this state, the positioning member 50 is firmly fixed to the rear plate 42 with the screws 63a and 63b. Here, the positioning hole 52a is a through hole having substantially the same diameter as the boss 62a, and the positioning hole 52b is a through hole having an elongated shape that is long in the direction of the arrow X. In this way, by making the positioning hole 52b an elongated hole shape, it is possible to prevent the positioning member 50 from rotating about the positioning hole 52a before the screws 63a and 63b are fastened.

[0058] 6(b), the positioning member 50 is fixed in a state rotated 180° up and down with respect to the first posture. In this case, the hole shapes of the positioning member 50 that engage with the bosses 62a, 62b are both elongated holes 53a, 53b.

[0059] Since the long holes 53a, 53b are both through holes that are long in the front-rear direction (arrow X direction), the position of the positioning member 50 in the front-rear direction (arrow X direction) with respect to the rear side plate 42 can be adjusted in the second posture before the screws 63a, b are fastened. In addition, the long holes 53a, 53b are adjustment holes for adjusting the positioning member 50, and a scale 54 is provided on the edge of the long hole 53b.

[0060] When installing the image forming system 1000, if it becomes necessary to adjust the position of the image reading device 500 in the front-rear direction, an operator such as a serviceman adjusts the position of the positioning member 50 relative to the rear plate 42 using the scale 54 as a guide. After the adjustment, the positioning member 50 is fixed to the rear plate 42 with screws 63a and 63b. Here, since the holes 64a and 64b through which the screws 63 are inserted are both elongated in the front-rear direction (the direction of the arrow X), the positioning member 50 can be fixed at the adjusted position relative to the rear plate 42.

[0061] 6, the positioning member 50 has a substantially rectangular shape, and a long hole 53a is formed near the first corner where the positioning hole 52a is provided, and near the second corner diagonally opposite the first corner. With this configuration, the positioning member 50 can be fixed to the support frame 40 even when the positioning member 50 is rotated 180 degrees to change its attitude relative to the support frame 40. Furthermore, by providing a scale 54 in the long hole 52b provided at the third corner adjacent to the second corner, adjustment can be easily performed without requiring special tools.

[0062] In this manner, by adjusting the positioning member 50 relative to the rear side plate 42, the position of the positioning hole 51 provided in the positioning member 50 can be changed relative to the rear side plate 42. This allows the position of the positioning pin 71 of the image forming device 300, which is inserted into the positioning hole 51, relative to the image reading device 300 to be adjusted, so that the relative positions of the image reading device 500 and the image forming device 300 in the front-to-rear direction can be adjusted.

[0063] Therefore, it is possible to suppress misalignment in the front-rear direction between the image forming device and the image reading device. As a result, even if the sheet falls outside the reading range of the reading sensor of the reading unit 700 due to manufacturing errors or the like, it is possible to adjust the positions between the devices so that the image can be read. Also, even if the edge of the sheet falls outside the edges of the backing rollers 708a and 708b, it is possible to adjust the positions between the devices so that the edge of the sheet can be read, and it is possible to suppress the inability to detect the position of the image relative to the sheet.

[0064] In this manner, in this embodiment, the positioning member 50 can be attached with high precision to the image reading device 500 without any special assembly tools. Also, since the position of the positioning member 50 can be adjusted simply by changing the orientation (rotating) of the positioning member 50, the positions between the devices can be adjusted with a simple configuration, and the serviceability can be improved when position adjustment is required in the market.

[0065] <Other embodiments> In the above embodiment, the image reading device 500 having the reading unit 700 as the sheet conveying device has been described as an example, but the above-mentioned positioning configuration may be used for other devices as long as they are devices connected to the image forming device 300. For example, the above-mentioned positioning member 50 may be provided in the external paper feeding device 400 shown in FIG. 1, and the positioning may be performed with the positioning protrusion member 70 provided in the image forming device 300. In addition, when an external cooling device for cooling a sheet heated by the fixing device 150 is connected downstream of the image forming device 300, the positioning member 50 may be provided in the external cooling device, and the positioning may be performed with a pin provided in the image forming device 300. Here, the external cooling device may be, for example, a cooling unit supported by the above-mentioned support frame 41, and may include a first conveying belt provided downstream of the inlet conveying roller 501 in the sheet conveying direction, a second conveying belt that forms a conveying nip with the first conveying belt to sandwich and convey a sheet, a heat sink that abuts on the inner circumferential surface of the first conveying belt, and a fan that forms an air flow to cool the heat sink.

[0066] In the above-described embodiment, the image reading device 500 is provided with the positioning member 50, and the image forming device 300 is provided with the positioning protrusion member 70. However, the configuration may be reversed so long as the positioning member 50 is provided on either the image reading device 500 or the image forming device 300, and the positioning protrusion member 70 is provided on the other. For example, the image reading device 500 may be provided with the positioning protrusion member 70, and the image forming device 300 may be provided with the positioning member 50. Even in this configuration, by making the positioning member 50 adjustable with respect to the image forming device 300, it is possible to change the relative positions of the image forming device 300 and the image reading device 500.

[0067] In the above embodiment, the bosses 62a, 62b are provided on the rear plate 42 of the support frame 40, and the positioning holes 52a, 52b and the long holes 53a, 53b are provided on the positioning member 50. However, the reverse may be true. In this case, it is sufficient that the positioning holes 52a, 52b are provided at positions on the rear plate 42 corresponding to the bosses 62a, 62b when the positioning member 50 is in the first position, and the long holes 53a, 53b are provided at positions corresponding to the bosses 62a, 62b when the positioning member 50 is in the second position. Even with this configuration, the relative positions of the image forming device 300 and the image reading device 500 can be changed by making the positioning member 50 adjustable with respect to the image forming device 300. [Explanation of symbols]

[0068] 40 Support frame 50 Positioning member 51 Positioning hole 52a, 52b Positioning holes 53a,53b long hole 54 scale 62a,62b Boss 63a,b Bis 64a,64b hole 70 Positioning protrusion 300 Image forming device 500 Image reader 501 Entrance conveying roller 700 Reading unit 1000 Image forming system

Claims

1. A sheet conveying device connected to an image forming device that forms an image on a sheet, a support frame that supports a conveying roller that conveys a sheet; a positioning member that is fixed to the support frame and has an engagement hole that engages with a protrusion member provided on the image forming apparatus, and that positions the sheet conveying device relative to the image forming apparatus by the protrusion member engaging with the engagement hole, the support frame has a first boss and a second boss, the positioning member has a hole that engages with a first boss, a first elongated hole that engages with the second boss, a second elongated hole that engages with the first boss, and a third elongated hole that engages with the second boss, the first elongated hole, the second elongated hole, and the third elongated hole each have an elongated hole shape that is long in a rotation axis direction of the conveying roller, the positioning member is selectively fixable with respect to the support frame to a first position in which the first boss and the second boss engage with the hole and the first elongated hole, respectively, and do not engage with the second elongated hole and the third elongated hole, and a second position in which the first boss and the second boss engage with the second elongated hole and the third elongated hole, respectively, and do not engage with the hole and the first elongated hole, The positioning member is configured such that, when the positioning member is fixed to the support frame in the second attitude, the position of the positioning member in the direction of the rotation axis can be adjusted and fixed, and, when the positioning member is fixed to the support frame in the first attitude, the position of the positioning member in the direction of the rotation axis cannot be adjusted. A sheet conveying device comprising:

2. The second attitude is a position in which the positioning member is rotated 180° with respect to the first attitude.

2. The sheet transport device according to claim 1.

3. the positioning member is substantially rectangular, the hole is formed in the vicinity of a first corner, and the second slot is formed in the vicinity of a second corner diagonally opposite to the first corner; 3. The sheet conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet conveying device is a sheet conveying device.

4. A scale is provided on the edge of the third long hole of the positioning member.

4. The sheet transport device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet transport device is a sheet conveying device.

5. One of the image forming device and the support frame body is provided with a hook member that is rotatably provided, the other of the image forming device and the support frame includes an engaged portion with which the hook member engages; The hook member is engaged with the engaged portion to connect the image forming apparatus.

5. The sheet transport device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet transport device is a sheet conveying device.

6. The first boss and the second boss are arranged apart in the direction of the rotation axis, The second elongated hole and the third elongated hole are disposed on an opposite side of the engagement hole from the hole and the first elongated hole in the vertical direction.

6. The sheet transport device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet transport device is a sheet conveying device.

7. The positioning member has a fourth long hole through which a screw is inserted for fixing the positioning member to the support frame in the first attitude or the second attitude, The fourth elongated hole has an elongated hole shape that is long in the rotation axis direction.

7. The sheet transport device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet transport device is a sheet conveying device.

8. a reading unit supported by the support frame, the reading unit being provided downstream of the conveying roller in a sheet conveying direction and configured to read an image formed on the sheet by the image forming device; 8. The sheet transport device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet transport device is a sheet conveying device.

9. a cooling unit supported by the support frame, the cooling unit including a first conveyor belt provided downstream of the conveyor roller in a sheet conveying direction, a second conveyor belt forming a conveying nip with the first conveyor belt capable of nipping and conveying a sheet, and a heat sink in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the first conveyor belt; 8. The sheet transport device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet transport device is a sheet conveying device.

10. an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet; a sheet transport device according to claim 1 , the sheet transport device being connected to the image forming apparatus on a downstream side in a sheet transport direction; An image forming system comprising:

Images