Manual paper feeder and image forming apparatus

Abstract

To enable cleaning a paper-feeding rotary body at a manual paper-feeding part from outside, without using a configuration of pulling out the manual paper-feeding part from a device body.SOLUTION: A manual paper-feeding device 70 is provided on a front face of a device body in an image forming apparatus in an openable and closable manner. The manual paper-feeding device 70 comprises a feed roll 72 for separately feeding recording paper sheets placed on a manual paper-feeding tray 71 one by one, an opening for exposing at least part of the feed roll 72 to an outside, an inner cover 74 for covering an outer side face of the feed roll 72, and an opening / closing cover 75 for opening / closing the opening of the inner cover 74.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manual paper feeder and an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, techniques relating to manual paper feeders have already been proposed, for example, as disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

[0003] Patent document 1 describes a cleaning tool for a paper feed and transport device having a paper feed roller that transports the printing medium and a retard roller that moves in response to the paper feed roller to handle the printing medium, and is configured to include a cleaning holder that is detachably fitted to cover the paper feed roller, and a cleaning member attached to the outer surface of the cleaning holder.

[0004] Patent document 2 discloses a cleaning means for cleaning the first roller, which comprises a first cleaning means provided on a holding member supported by the device body and a second cleaning means provided on the guide member, and the holding member is formed with a plurality of divided openings through which the objects removed by the first cleaning means pass, upstream of the cleaning position of the first cleaning means in the direction of rotation of the first roller, and one of the openings overlaps on an extension in the conveying direction with a frictional separation member of a paper separation mechanism provided in the paper feed section, which is formed to have a width smaller than the full width of the paper to be conveyed, and is formed wider than the frictional separation member. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-150845 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 4478639 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to make it possible to clean the paper feed rotor of the manual paper feed unit from the outside without adopting a configuration in which the manual paper feed unit is pulled out from the main body of the apparatus. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The invention described in claim 1 comprises a paper feed rotating body that separates and feeds recording media placed on a manual paper feed section one by one; a shielding means for covering an outer surface of the paper feed rotor, the shielding means having an opening for exposing at least a portion of the paper feed rotor to the outside; an opening / closing means for opening and closing the opening of the shielding means; Equipped with picture, The opening / closing means is disposed so as to be openable and closable along a width direction intersecting with a paper feed direction of the recording medium fed by the paper feed rotating body. It is a manual paper feed device.

[0008] A second aspect of the present invention is the manual paper feeder according to the first aspect, wherein the opening and closing means is provided so as to be openable and closable along the horizontal direction.

[0009] A third aspect of the present invention is the manual paper feeder according to the second aspect, wherein the opening and closing means has a latch mechanism that holds the closed position.

[0010] The invention described in claim 4 is a manual paper feed device described in claim 2 or 3, in which the opening and closing means is located above the paper feed rotor and has a canopy portion that prevents powder falling from above from adhering to the paper feed rotor.

[0011] The invention described in claim 5 is the manual paper feeder according to claim 1, wherein an openable and closable manual paper feed section is provided on the outer surface of the shielding means.

[0012] The invention described in claim 6 is characterized in that the manual paper feed unit The tilting mechanism is attached to the inner surface of the front cover so as to move inclinedly in accordance with the opening and closing operation of the front cover, and when the front cover is opened, the tilting mechanism moves to a position tilted by an angle greater than the opening angle of the front cover. It is set Claim 5 2. A manual paper feeder according to claim 1.

[0013] The invention described in claim 7 is characterized in that the paper feed rotor includes a separating rotor disposed so as to come into contact with the paper feed rotor, 2. The manual paper feeder according to claim 1, wherein the paper feed rotor rotates intermittently to separate the recording media one by one, the recording media having their leading ends in contact with a nip portion between the feeding rotor and the separating rotor.

[0014] The invention described in claim 8 comprises an image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium; a manual paper feed means for manually feeding the recording medium toward the image forming means; Equipped with The image forming apparatus uses the manual paper feeder according to any one of claims 1 to 7 as the manual paper feeder. The invention described in claim 9 is the image forming apparatus described in claim 8, in which a transport path for transporting the recording medium fed from the manual paper feed means to the image forming means is fixed to the main body of the image forming apparatus. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the invention described in claim 1, it is possible to clean the paper feed rotor of the manual paper feed unit from the outside without adopting a configuration in which the manual paper feed unit is pulled out from the device main body.

[0016] According to the invention described in claim 2, compared to when the opening / closing means is provided so as to be openable and closable in the vertical direction, it is possible to prevent foreign matter adhering to the opening / closing means from falling onto the paper feeding rotor.

[0017] According to the invention described in claim 3, the opening / closing means can prevent the opening from being unintentionally opened, compared to a case where there is no latch mechanism for maintaining the closed position.

[0018] According to the invention as set forth in claim 4, the opening and closing means can prevent powder falling from above from adhering to the paper feed rotor, compared to when no overhanging portion is provided.

[0019] According to the invention described in claim 5, compared to when the manual paper feed section is not provided on the outer surface of the shielding means so as to be able to open and close, the paper feed rotor and the like are not exposed to the outside.

[0020] According to the invention described in claim 6, the manual paper feed unit It can be moved to a position tilted at an angle greater than the opening angle of the front cover.

[0021] According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the paper feed mechanism of the manual paper feeder can be simplified.

[0022] According to the invention described in claim 8, the paper feed rotor of the manual paper feed unit can be cleaned from the outside without adopting a configuration in which the manual paper feed unit is pulled out from the device main body, making it possible to reduce the size of the image forming device. According to the invention described in claim 9, the paper feed rotor of the manual paper feed unit can be cleaned while ensuring the rigidity of the transport unit, compared to when the manual paper feed unit is pulled out from the device main body. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an image forming apparatus to which a manual paper feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied; [Figure 2] 1 is an external perspective view showing an image forming apparatus to which a manual paper feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied; [Figure 3] 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a manual paper feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a main part of an image forming apparatus to which a manual paper feeder in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention is applied, with a front cover open; [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the opening / closing cover. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the inner surface of the inner cover; [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the left and right frame members together with the opening and closing cover. [Figure 8]1 is a perspective view of the manual sheet feeder according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, showing a state in which an access cover is closed; [Figure 9] 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing a main part of an image forming apparatus to which a manual paper feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0025] [Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus to which a manual paper feeder according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[0026] <Overall configuration of image forming apparatus> The image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is configured as, for example, a color printer. This image forming apparatus 1 is capable of forming full-color images and is significantly smaller than conventional models, making it compatible with A4-sized recording media. The image forming apparatus 1 includes multiple image creating devices 10 that form toner images developed with toner constituting a developer; an intermediate transfer device 20 that holds the toner images formed by each image creating device 10 and transports them to a secondary transfer position where they are finally secondarily transferred onto recording paper 5 (an example of a recording medium); a paper feed device 30 that stores and feeds the required recording paper 5 to be supplied to the secondary transfer position of the intermediate transfer device 20; and a fixing device 40 that fixes the toner image on the recording paper 5 secondarily transferred by the intermediate transfer device 20. Note that 1a in the figure indicates the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, which is formed by supporting structural members, an exterior cover, etc. In this embodiment, the multiple image creating devices 10 and the intermediate transfer device 20 constitute an image forming means.

[0027] As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 is significantly smaller than conventional models. The device body 1a of the image forming apparatus 1 is significantly smaller in height, depth, and width than conventional full-color models that are compatible with A4-size recording paper 5, and is approximately the same size as conventional monochrome devices.

[0028] The image forming apparatus 1 is mainly composed of a plurality of image forming devices 10, an intermediate transfer device 20, and a paper feed device 30. In order to reduce the size of the device body 1a of the image forming apparatus 1, it is necessary to reduce the height, depth, and width of each of the plurality of image forming devices 10, the intermediate transfer device 20, and the paper feed device 30.

[0029] The image forming device 10 is composed of four image forming devices 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K that are dedicated to forming toner images of four colors, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), respectively. These four image forming devices 10 (Y, M, C, K) are arranged in a horizontal row in the internal space of the device main body 1a.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 1, each of the image forming devices 10 (Y, M, C, K) includes a rotating photosensitive drum 11 as an example of an image carrier. Around the photosensitive drum 11, the following devices as an example of a toner image forming means are mainly arranged. The main devices are a charging device 12 that charges the peripheral surface (image bearing surface) of the photosensitive drum 11, on which an image can be formed, to a required potential; an exposure device 13 that irradiates the charged peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 11 with light based on image information (signal) to form an electrostatic latent image (for each color) with a potential difference; developing devices 14 (Y, M, C, K) that develop the electrostatic latent image with developer toner of the corresponding color (Y, M, C, K) to form a toner image; primary transfer devices 15 (Y, M, C, K) that transfer each toner image to an intermediate transfer device 20; and drum cleaning devices 16 (Y, M, C, K) that remove and clean any toner and other deposits that remain on the image bearing surface of the photosensitive drum 11 after the primary transfer.

[0031] The photoreceptor drum 11 has an image bearing surface formed on the circumferential surface of a grounded cylindrical or columnar substrate, the peripheral surface of which has a photoconductive layer (photosensitive layer) made of a photosensitive material. The photoreceptor drum 11 is supported so that it rotates in the direction indicated by arrow A by power transmitted from a drive device (not shown).

[0032] The charging device 12 is composed of a contact-type charging roll that is placed in contact with the photosensitive drum 11. The charging device 12 has a cleaning roll 121 that cleans its surface. A charging voltage is supplied to the charging device 12. If the developing device 14 performs reversal development, the charging voltage supplied is a voltage or current of the same polarity as the charging polarity of the toner supplied from the developing device 14. Note that the charging device 12 may also be a non-contact charging device such as a scorotron that is placed in a non-contact state on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11.

[0033] The exposure device 13 uses an LED print head that uses multiple light-emitting diodes (LEDs) arranged along the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 11 to irradiate the photosensitive drum 11 with light corresponding to image information, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 1, each of the developing devices 14 (Y, M, C, K) is configured such that, inside a housing 140 formed with an opening and a developer storage chamber, there is a developing roll 141 that holds the developer and transports it to a development area facing the photosensitive drum 11, two agitating and transporting members 142 and 143 such as screw augers that agitate the developer while transporting it past the developing roll 141, and a layer thickness regulating member 144 that regulates the amount (layer thickness) of developer held on the developing roll 141. A power supply (not shown) supplies a development voltage between the developing roll 141 and the photosensitive drum 11 to the developing device 14. The developing roll 141 and the agitating and transporting members 142 and 143 are rotated in the required direction by power transmitted from a drive device (not shown). The four color developers 4 (Y, M, C, K) are each a two-component developer containing a non-magnetic toner and a magnetic carrier. The developing device 14 is supplied with developer containing at least the corresponding color toner from a toner cartridge (not shown) disposed at one end of the agitating / conveying member 143 along the axial direction.

[0035] The primary transfer device 15 (Y, M, C, K) is a contact type transfer device equipped with a primary transfer roll that rotates in contact with the periphery of the photosensitive drum 11 via the intermediate transfer belt 21 and is supplied with a primary transfer voltage. As the primary transfer voltage, a DC voltage showing a polarity opposite to the charge polarity of the toner is supplied from a power supply device (not shown).

[0036] As shown in FIG. 1, the drum cleaning device 16 is composed of a container-shaped main body 160 with a portion open, a cleaning plate 161 that is positioned to contact the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 11 after primary transfer with a required pressure to remove and clean any remaining toner and other adhering matter, and a delivery member 162 such as a screw auger that collects the toner and other adhering matter removed by the cleaning plate 161 and transports it to a collection system (not shown). The cleaning plate 161 is a plate-shaped member (e.g., a blade) made of a material such as rubber. The toner and other adhering matter transported by the delivery member 162 of the cleaning device 16 is collected in a first toner collection bottle (not shown) that is located at one end of the delivery member 162 along the axial direction. The first toner collection bottle is located at the end in the same direction as the toner cartridge.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 1 , the intermediate transfer device 20 is positioned above each of the image forming devices 10 (Y, M, C, K). The intermediate transfer device 20 mainly comprises an intermediate transfer belt 21 that rotates in the direction indicated by arrow B while passing through a primary transfer position between the photosensitive drum 11 and the primary transfer device 15 (primary transfer roll); multiple belt support rolls 22-25 that rotatably support the intermediate transfer belt 21 while maintaining a desired state from its inner surface; a secondary transfer device 26, an example of a secondary transfer unit, that is positioned on the outer peripheral surface (image bearing surface) of the intermediate transfer belt 21 supported by the belt support roll 24 and performs a secondary transfer of the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 21 to the recording paper 5; and a belt cleaning device 27 that removes and cleans toner, paper dust, and other deposits that remain on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 after passing through the secondary transfer device 26. The intermediate transfer belt 21 is stretched mainly by the belt support rolls 22 and 24, which have relatively large outer diameters, so that they form a movement path that is approximately parallel to each other.

[0038] An endless belt made of a material in which a resistance adjuster such as carbon black is dispersed in a synthetic resin such as polyimide resin or polyamide resin is used as the intermediate transfer belt 21. The belt support roll 22 is configured as a tensioning roll that applies tension to the intermediate transfer belt 21, the belt support roll 23 is configured as a surface finishing roll that forms the image forming surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21, the belt support roll 24 is configured as a drive roll that is rotated by a drive device (not shown) and also serves as a back support roll for secondary transfer, and the belt support roll 25 is configured as an opposing roll that faces a cleaning plate 271 of the belt cleaning device 27.

[0039] 1, the secondary transfer device 26 is a contact-type transfer device that includes a secondary transfer roll 261 that rotates in contact with the circumferential surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 and is supplied with a secondary transfer voltage at a secondary transfer position, which is the outer circumferential surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 supported by the belt support roll 24 of the intermediate transfer device 20. A DC voltage having the same polarity as or opposite to the charge polarity of the toner is supplied as a secondary transfer voltage from a power supply device (not shown) to the secondary transfer roll 261 or the belt support roll 24 of the intermediate transfer device 20.

[0040] The belt cleaning device 27 includes a container-shaped main body 270 with a portion open, a cleaning plate 271 as an example of a contact member that is arranged to contact the peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 after secondary transfer with a required pressure to remove and clean residual toner and other adhering matter, and a delivery member 272 such as a screw auger that collects the toner and other adhering matter removed by the cleaning plate 271 and transports it to a collection system (not shown). The cleaning plate 271 is a plate-shaped member (e.g., a blade) made of rubber or other material. The toner and other adhering matter transported by the delivery member 272 of the belt cleaning device 27 is collected in a second toner collection bottle (not shown) located at one end of the delivery member 272 along the axial direction. The second toner collection bottle is located at the end in the same direction as the toner cartridge and the first toner collection bottle.

[0041] The fixing device 40 is configured by arranging, inside a housing (not shown) in which an inlet and an outlet for the recording paper 5 are formed, a heating rotor 41 in the form of a roll or belt that rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow and is heated by a heating means so that the surface temperature is maintained at a predetermined temperature, and a pressure rotor 42 in the form of a belt or roll that rotates in contact with the heating rotor 41 at a predetermined pressure and is driven to rotate substantially along the axial direction of the heating rotor 41. In this fixing device 40, the contact area where the heating rotor 41 and the pressure rotor 42 come into contact is the fixing processing section where the required fixing process (heating and pressurizing) is performed.

[0042] The paper feeder 30 is disposed so as to be located vertically below the imaging devices 10 (Y, M, C, K). The paper feeder 30 is mainly composed of one (or more) paper containers 31 that store stacks of recording paper 5 of desired sizes, types, etc., and a feeder 32 that separates and feeds the recording paper 5 one sheet at a time from the paper container 31. The paper container 31 is attached so that it can be pulled out, for example, from the front of the device main body 1a, that is, from the side that the user faces during operation (in this embodiment, the left side in FIG. 1).

[0043] Examples of the recording paper 5 include plain paper used in electrophotographic copiers, printers, etc., thin paper such as tracing paper, and overhead projector sheets. To further improve the smoothness of the image surface after fixing, it is preferable that the surface of the recording paper 5 is as smooth as possible, and for example, coated paper in which the surface of plain paper is coated with a resin or the like, or so-called thick paper with a relatively large basis weight such as art paper for printing, can also be suitably used.

[0044] Between the paper feed device 30 and the secondary transfer device 26, there is provided a transport device 50 that transports the recording paper 5 sent out from the paper feed device 30 to the secondary transfer position. In addition to the recording paper 5 sent out from the paper feed device 30, this transport device 50 transports to the secondary transfer position recording paper 5 fed from a manual paper feed device 70 as an example of a manual paper feed means, as will be described later, recording paper 5 that has an image formed on one side and is transported through a double-sided transport path 61 in an inverted state, or recording paper 5 sent out from an auxiliary paper feed device (not shown) that is arranged as an optional device below the device main body 1a of the image forming apparatus 1.

[0045] The conveying device 50 has a plurality of paper feed conveying paths made up of one or more paper conveying roll pairs 51 and a plurality of conveying guides. As described above, the plurality of paper feed conveying paths are made up of a first paper feed conveying path 52 that conveys the recording paper 5 fed from the paper feeder 30, depending on the paper feeder 30 that feeds the recording paper 5, a second paper feed conveying path 53 that conveys the recording paper 5 fed from the manual paper feeder 70, as will be described later, a third conveying device 54 that conveys the recording paper 5 that has been inverted through a double-sided conveying path 61, and a fourth conveying device 55 that conveys the recording paper 5 fed from an auxiliary paper feeder (not shown). The first to fourth paper feed conveying paths 52 to 55 are arranged so that a portion of them form a common conveying path.

[0046] A pair of paper transport rolls 51 arranged in a position immediately before the secondary transfer position in each of the first to fourth paper feed transport paths 52 to 55 is configured as, for example, a roll (registration roll) that adjusts the transport timing of the recording paper 5. In addition, a paper transport path 56 is provided between the secondary transfer device 26 and the fixing device 40 for transporting the recording paper 5 after the secondary transfer, which is sent out from the secondary transfer device 26, to the fixing device 40. Furthermore, a discharge transport path 59 provided with a pair of paper discharge rolls 58 for discharging the recording paper 5 after the fixing, which is sent out from the fixing device 40, to a paper discharge section 57 at the top of the image forming device main body 1a, is provided near an outlet for the recording paper 5 formed in the device main body 1a of the image forming device 1.

[0047] A switching gate 60 for switching the paper transport path is provided between the fixing device 40 and the paper discharge roll pair 58. The paper discharge roll pair 58 is configured so that its rotation direction can be switched between a forward direction (discharge direction) and a reverse direction. When forming images on both sides of the recording paper 5, the rotation direction of the paper discharge roll pair 58 is switched from the forward direction (discharge direction) to the reverse direction after the rear end of the recording paper 5 with an image formed on one side passes the switching gate 60. The recording paper 5 transported in the reverse direction by the paper discharge roll pair 58 has its transport path switched by the switching gate 60, and is transported to a double-sided transport path 61 formed in a substantially vertical direction along the side of the device body 1a of the image forming apparatus 1. The double-sided transport path 61 includes a paper transport roll pair 62 and transport guides 63 and 64 that transport the recording paper 5 to the paper transport roll pair 51 in an inverted state.

[0048] 1, reference numeral 100 denotes a control device that comprehensively controls the operation of the image forming apparatus 1. The control device 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), or a bus and communication interface that connect these CPUs, ROMs, etc. (not shown).

[0049] Further, reference numerals 101 and 102 denote operation buttons for operating the image forming apparatus 1, and 103 denotes a display panel for displaying the operating state of the image forming apparatus 1.

[0050] <Operation of image forming device> The basic image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described below.

[0051] Here, we will explain the operation in full-color mode, in which the four image forming devices 10 (Y, M, C, K) are used to form a full-color image composed of a combination of toner images of four colors (Y, M, C, K).

[0052] When the image forming apparatus 1 receives command information requesting a full-color image forming operation (printing) from a user interface or printer driver (not shown), the four image forming devices 10 (Y, M, C, K), the intermediate transfer device 20, the secondary transfer device 26, the fixing device 40, etc. start up.

[0053] 1, in each imaging device 10 (Y, M, C, K), first, each photosensitive drum 11 rotates in the direction indicated by arrow A, and each charging device 12 charges the surface of each photosensitive drum 11 to a required polarity (negative polarity in the first embodiment) and potential. Next, exposure device 13 irradiates the surface of the charged photosensitive drum 11 with light emitted based on an image signal obtained by converting image information input to image forming device 1 into each color component (Y, M, C, K), and forms an electrostatic latent image of each color component composed of a required potential difference on the surface.

[0054] Next, each image forming device 10 (Y, M, C, K) supplies toner of the corresponding color (Y, M, C, K) charged to the required polarity (negative polarity) from the developing roll 141 to electrostatically adhere to the electrostatic latent image of each color component formed on the photosensitive drum 11, thereby developing it. Through this development, the electrostatic latent image of each color component formed on each photosensitive drum 11 is visualized as a toner image of four colors (Y, M, C, K) developed with the toner of the corresponding color.

[0055] Next, when the toner images of each color formed on the photosensitive drum 11 of each image forming device 10 (Y, M, C, K) are transported to the primary transfer position, the primary transfer device 15 (Y, M, C, K) performs primary transfer of the toner images of each color so that they are superimposed in order onto the intermediate transfer belt 21 rotating in the direction indicated by arrow B of the intermediate transfer device 20.

[0056] Furthermore, in each imaging device 10 (Y, M, C, K) where the primary transfer has been completed, the drum cleaning device 16 scrapes off any adhering matter to clean the surface of the photosensitive drum 11. This makes each imaging device 10 (Y, M, C, K) ready for the next image formation operation.

[0057] Next, in the intermediate transfer device 20, the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 21 holds the primarily transferred toner image and transports it to the secondary transfer position. Meanwhile, the paper feeder 30 sends out the required recording paper 5 to the first paper feed transport path 52 in accordance with the image creation operation. In the first paper feed transport path 52, a pair of paper transport rolls 51, which serve as registration rolls, feeds and supplies the recording paper 5 to the secondary transfer position in accordance with the transfer timing.

[0058] At the secondary transfer position, the secondary transfer device 26 performs secondary transfer of the toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 21 all at once onto the recording paper 5. After the secondary transfer is completed in the intermediate transfer device 20, the belt cleaning device 27 removes and cleans the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 21 to remove any toner or other adhering matter remaining thereon after the secondary transfer.

[0059] Next, the recording paper 5 onto which the toner image has been secondarily transferred is peeled off from the intermediate transfer belt 21 and then transported to the fixing device 40 via a paper transport path 56. In the fixing device 40, the recording paper 5 after the second transfer is introduced into and passes through the contact area between the rotating heating rotor 41 and pressure rotor 42, whereby the necessary fixing process (heating and pressure) is performed to fix the unfixed toner image onto the recording paper 5. Finally, in the case of an image forming operation in which an image is only formed on one side of the recording paper 5 after fixing, the recording paper 5 is discharged by a paper discharge roll pair 58 to, for example, a paper discharge section 57 installed at the top of the device main body 1a.

[0060] Furthermore, when forming images on both sides of the recording paper 5, when the recording paper 5 with an image formed on one side is transported to the paper discharge section 57 by the paper discharge roll pair 58, the rotation direction of the paper discharge roll pair 58 is switched to the reverse direction while the paper discharge roll pair 58 is holding the rear end of the recording paper 5. The recording paper 5 transported in the reverse direction by the paper discharge roll pair 58 has its transport direction switched to the double-sided transport path 61 side by a switching gate 60. The recording paper 5 is then transported upside down via the double-sided transport path 61, which includes a transport roller pair 62, to the paper transport rollers 51. The paper transport rollers 51 feed the recording paper 5 to the secondary transfer position in accordance with the transfer timing. The toner image is secondarily transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 21 to the back side (second side) of the recording paper 5, which is then fixed by the fixing device 40, and the recording paper is discharged by the paper discharge roll pair 58 with the second side facing down into the discharge storage section 57 located at the top of the device main body 1a.

[0061] By the above operation, a recording sheet 5 is output on which a full-color image formed by combining four color toner images is formed. When forming a monochrome image in the image forming apparatus 1, only the black imaging device 10K is used to form a monochrome image made of a black (K) toner image.

[0062] <Configuration of manual paper feeder> FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the manual paper feeder of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

[0063] 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a manual paper feeder 70 that manually feeds desired recording paper 5 on the front side of the apparatus main body 1a, that is, the front surface that the user faces when operating the apparatus (in this embodiment, the left side in FIG. 1). The manual paper feeder 70 is disposed inside the front surface of the apparatus main body 1a.

[0064] As shown in Figure 3, the manual paper feed device 70 includes a feed roll 72 as an example of a paper feed rotating body that separates and feeds recording paper 5 placed on a manual paper feed tray 71 as an example of a manual paper feed section, an inner cover 74 as an example of a shielding means that has an opening 73 that exposes at least a portion of the feed roll 72 to the outside and covers the outer surface of the feed roll 72, and an opening / closing cover 75 as an example of an opening / closing means that opens and closes the opening 73 of the inner cover 74.

[0065] As shown in FIG. 1, a recess 76 for accommodating the manual feed tray 71 is formed on the front surface of the device body 1a of the image forming apparatus 1 by an inner cover 74. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the recess 76 of the device body 1a is covered by a front cover 77. The front cover 77 is attached to the device body 1a so that it can be opened and closed by a required angle θ around a rotation fulcrum 78 (see FIG. 1) provided at its lower end. The front cover 77 is formed in a flat, generally rectangular shape facing forward. The opening and closing angle θ of the front cover 77 can be set arbitrarily, but in this embodiment, it is set to a required angle less than 90 degrees. By setting the opening and closing angle θ of the front cover 77 to an angle less than 90 degrees, the installation area of the image forming apparatus 1 is prevented from unintentionally increasing when the user opens the front cover 77 when using the manual feed device 70.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 3, the manual feed tray 71 is attached to the inner surface of the front cover 77 so as to move at an angle in response to the opening and closing of the front cover 77. The lower end of the manual feed tray 71 is supported by the apparatus main body 1a so as to be able to move at an angle. The upper end of the manual feed tray 71 is supported by the front cover 77 so as to be able to move at an angle. When the front cover 77 is opened, the lower end of the manual feed tray 71 rotates together with the front cover 77 in the opening direction, and the upper end of the manual feed tray 71 moves at an angle that is larger than the opening angle of the front cover 77. As a result, when the front cover 77 is opened, the manual feed tray 71 moves to a position tilted by an angle θ' that is larger than the opening angle θ of the front cover 77, as shown in FIG.

[0067] On the upper surface of the manual paper feed device 71, side guides 79 are provided that guide both ends of the recording paper 5 in the width direction along the surface of the recording paper 5, which intersects with the paper feed direction, and are movable according to the size of the recording paper 5. The recording paper 5 is placed on the manual paper feed tray 71 with the center of the width direction, which intersects with the paper feed direction, as the reference (so-called center register).

[0068] A removable extension tray 80 is built into the manual feed tray 71. The extension tray 80 can be used by the user manually pulling it out diagonally upward with the front cover 77 open, as shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 4. The extension tray 80 is built into the manual feed tray 71 so that the extension tray 80 can be further extended as the manual feed tray 71 rotates. After the user pulls out the extension tray 80, the extension tray 80 can be rotated (inclined) relative to the manual paper feed tray 71, allowing it to be used according to the size of the recording paper 5.

[0069] 4, a guide member 81 is provided at the bottom end of the manual feed tray 71 to guide the recording paper 5 placed on the manual feed tray 71 to the feed rolls 72, and an introduction member 82 is provided at an angle to the tip of the guide member 81 and is made of a metal plate or the like and introduces the leading edge of the recording paper 5 into the nip portion of the feed rolls 72. A paper sensor actuator 83 that detects the leading edge of the recording paper 5 is rotatably arranged on the side of the introduction member 82.

[0070] 1, a feed roll 72 that rotates intermittently by a predetermined angle at a predetermined timing is provided inside the device body 1a of the image forming apparatus 1. A retard roll 84, which is an example of a separating rotor, is arranged to come into contact with the feed roll 72. The feed roll 72 is composed of a roll body 721 made of an elastic material such as rubber and formed into a substantially semi-cylindrical shape with a central angle greater than 180 degrees, two auxiliary rolls 722 that are integrally arranged at both ends of the roll body 721 along the axial direction, and a rotary shaft 723 that has a substantially rectangular cross section.

[0071] The retard roll 84 is formed as a cylindrical body made of rubber or the like, having a length equal to the combined length of the roll body 721 of the feed roll 72 and the two auxiliary rolls 722. The retard roll 84 is a roll that comes into contact with the leading edge of the recording paper 5 fed by the feed roll 72, and prevents any recording paper 5 other than the uppermost recording paper 5 from being fed out.

[0072] 1, the feed roll 72 is normally stopped with a tip 721a along the rotation direction of a roll body 721 made of an elastic material such as rubber and formed into a roughly semi-cylindrical shape, positioned upstream along the rotation direction by a required angle from the nip portion with the retard roll 84. During paper feeding, the feed roll 72 rotates counterclockwise in the drawing, and the roll body 721 contacts the surface of the topmost recording sheet 5 to begin transporting that recording sheet 5, while the retard roll 84 rotates counterclockwise in the drawing to prevent the second and subsequent sheets of recording paper 5 from being fed. The feed roll 72 makes one or more rotations before stopping at the position shown in FIG.

[0073] 1 and 4, a manual feed transport path 85 is provided in a substantially horizontal direction downstream of the feed roll 72 in the paper feed direction, which transports the recording sheets 5 separated one by one by the feed roll 72 and the retard roll 84 to the paper transport roll pair 51. The manual feed transport path 85 is equipped with guide members 86 and 87 that guide the front and back sides of the recording sheets 5, and multiple transport roll pairs 88, 89 and 90 that transport the recording sheets 5 along the manual feed transport path 85. As shown in FIG. 3, the guide member 87 is provided with multiple ribs 871 that contact the back side of the recording sheets 5 along the transport direction. As described above, image forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment 1 has been significantly downsized compared to conventional models, and since the height of apparatus main body 1a is set low, it is necessary to configure thin guide members 86, 87 that constitute manual paper feed transport path 85. As a result, guide members 86, 87 have low rigidity and need to be fixed to apparatus main body 1a of image forming apparatus 1, making it difficult to adopt a configuration in which guide members 86, 87 are provided in a state fixed to inner cover 70 and configured to be removable integrally from apparatus main body 1a, so that feed roll 72 is exposed to the outside for cleaning.

[0074] 1, in order to achieve a compact image forming apparatus 1, the end of the movement path of the intermediate transfer belt 21 is located near the top of the feed roll 72. Therefore, as the intermediate transfer belt 21 rotates, cloud toner floating around the intermediate transfer belt 21 and paper dust from the manually fed recording paper 5 adhere to the feed roll 72. If cloud toner (an example of powder) or paper dust from the recording paper 5 adheres and accumulates on the feed roll 72, the feed roll 72 may slip when feeding the recording paper 5 placed on the manual paper feed tray 71, which may result in poor transport of the recording paper 5.

[0075] Therefore, in order to eliminate poor transport of the recording paper 5 by the feed roll 72, at least the end 721a along the rotation direction of the roll body 721 made of rubber or the like of the feed roll 72 is cleaned by wiping with water or the like.

[0076] Conventionally, feed roll 72 was covered by inner cover 74 and was not exposed to the outside. Therefore, in order to clean feed roll 72, manual paper feed tray 71 was configured to be removable from device main body 1a, and manual paper feed tray 71 was removed from device main body 1a to expose feed roll 72 to the outside, and then feed roll 72 was cleaned.

[0077] However, if the manual paper feed tray 71 is configured to be removable from the device main body 1a, a guide mechanism such as a guide rail is required to enable the manual paper feed tray 71 to be attached and detached to the device main body 1a, which increases the height and width of the manual paper feed device 70 and makes it difficult to achieve a compact device.

[0078] In addition, in order to make the feed roll 72 cleanable, it is also conceivable to leave the inner cover 74 cut out and expose the feed roll 72 to the outside.

[0079] However, in this case, the feed roll 72 is always exposed to the outside, and when the front cover 77 is opened, the paper feeding mechanism of the manual paper feed device 70 is exposed to the outside, which creates new technical issues such as a poor appearance of the device and insufficient consideration for safety.

[0080] 3, manual paper feeder 70 according to the first embodiment has opening 73 that exposes at least a portion of feed roll 72 to the outside, and is configured to include inner cover 74 that covers the outer surface of feed roll 72, and opening / closing cover 75 that opens and closes opening 73 of inner cover 74. Here, exposing at least a portion of feed roll 72 to the outside means that at least tip portion 721a along the rotation direction of roll body 721 of feed roll 72 is exposed to the outside.

[0081] That is, in this embodiment 1, as shown in Fig. 3, a generally rectangular opening (cutout) 73 is provided on the front of the inner cover 74 at a position corresponding to the feed roll 72 so that the front area of the feed roll 72 is exposed to the outside. The opening 73 extends to the lower edge of the inner cover 74. The opening 73 of the inner cover 74 has a height that positions it above the upper end of the feed roll 72. The opening 73 of the inner cover 74 is also set to be slightly longer than the entire length of the feed roll 72 in the axial direction. Therefore, when the front cover 77 is opened, the user can access approximately half of the area of the feed roll 72 from the upper end to the front side, which is exposed to the outside, through the opening 73.

[0082] An opening / closing cover 75 for opening and closing the opening 73 is provided in the opening 73 of the inner cover 74 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. As shown in Fig. 5, the opening / closing cover 75 is configured to include a cover portion 751 formed in a substantially rectangular flat plate shape on the front side, a guide rail portion 752 provided to extend in the horizontal direction on one side (the left side in the figure) of the upper end of the cover portion 751, and a substantially rectangular eaves portion 753 provided in the middle of the back side of the cover portion 751 so as to extend in the horizontal direction toward the back side. Although the cover portion 751 is in the form of a substantially rectangular flat plate on the front side, it is not a completely flat plate, but rather has a shape in which its lower end protrudes slightly toward the front side via a bent portion in accordance with the shape of the lower end of the inner cover 74.

[0083] A narrow slit-like guide groove 754 is provided in the opening / closing cover 75, extending from the upper end of the cover portion 751 to the guide rail portion 752, for mounting the opening / closing cover 75 on the inner cover 77 so that the opening / closing cover 75 can be moved horizontally. As shown in Fig. 6, a protrusion 771 provided to protrude from the rear surface of the inner cover 77 is inserted into the guide groove 754 of the opening / closing cover 75. Furthermore, a grip portion 755 (see Fig. 5) for opening and closing the opening / closing cover 75 is provided along the vertical direction at one end of the cover portion 751 of the opening / closing cover 75 along the width direction.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 5, the guide rail portion 752 of the opening / closing cover 75 has a recess 756 formed at its upper edge, extending one step lower than the cover portion 751, to restrict the movement range of the opening / closing cover 75. A small, convex stopper portion 757 that holds the opening / closing cover 75 in the closed position is provided at one end of the recess 756 in the guide rail portion 752 along its longitudinal direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the stopper portion 757 of the guide rail portion 752 holds the opening / closing cover 75 in the closed position by riding over a protrusion 772 that protrudes from the back surface of the inner cover 74. The stopper portion 757 of the guide rail portion 752 and the protrusion 772 of the inner cover 74 form a latch mechanism.

[0085] As shown in FIG. 1, the canopy portion 753 of the opening / closing cover 75 extends above the feed roll 72 to a position corresponding to the end of the intermediate transfer belt 21, and is set to a length that reaches near the developing device 14 of the yellow image forming device 10Y.

[0086] As shown in FIG. 7 , left and right frame members 92, 93 are attached to the back surface of the inner cover 74, respectively, to guide the open-close cover 75 horizontally. The left frame member 92 has a ceiling portion 921 having the same length as the eaves portion 753 of the open-close cover 75, and an attachment portion 922 provided on the front side of the ceiling portion 921 for attaching the frame member 92 to the back surface of the inner cover 74. The ceiling portion 921 of the left frame member 92 is provided with holding portions 923, 924 that clamp and hold the guide rail portion 752 of the open-close cover 75. A shielding plate 925 is also provided on the outer edge of the ceiling portion 921 of the left frame member 92 in an upright position to prevent floating toner and other particles from getting into the frame. A paper sensor actuator 83 is rotatably attached to the back surface of the attachment portion 922 of the left frame member 92.

[0087] On the other hand, the right-side frame member 93 has a ceiling portion 931 having the same length as the overhang portion 753 of the opening-closing cover 75, and an attachment portion 932 provided on the front side of the ceiling portion 931 for attaching the frame member 93 to the back surface of the inner cover 77. The attachment portion 932 of the right-side frame member 93 has a plurality of ribs 933 provided horizontally to guide the opening-closing cover 75 so that it can slide. In addition, a shielding plate 934 is provided in an upright position on the outer edge of the ceiling portion 931 of the right-side frame member 93 to prevent floating toner and the like from getting into the frame. The ceiling portion 931 of the right-side frame member 93 is positioned so as to face the overhang portion 753 of the opening-closing cover 75 with a small gap therebetween and in a non-contact manner.

[0088] <Operation of the manual paper feeder> In an image forming apparatus that employs the manual paper feed device of this embodiment 1, the feed roll 72 of the manual paper feed device 70 can be cleaned from the outside without adopting a configuration in which the manual paper feed tray 71 is pulled out from the device main body 1a, as follows.

[0089] In the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, when a user uses the manual paper feeder 70 to feed recording paper 5, the front cover 77 covering the front surface of the apparatus main body 1a is opened.

[0090] When the front cover 77 of the image forming apparatus 1 is opened, the manual paper feed tray 71 attached to the inner surface of the front cover 77 is tilted by a predetermined tilt angle θ' in conjunction with the opening operation of the front cover 77.

[0091] The user pulls out the extension tray 80 as needed and places recording paper 5 on the manual paper feed tray 71. When the control device 100 detects that the front cover 77 has been opened, it determines that the manual paper feed device 70 is being used, and when a print start button or the like is pressed and a print instruction is output, it starts rotating the feed roll 72, transport rolls 88-90, etc., and feeds the recording paper 5 placed on the manual paper feed tray 71 one sheet at a time.

[0092] 9, cloud toner floating around the intermediate transfer belt 21 as the intermediate transfer belt 21 rotates and paper dust from the manually fed recording paper 5 adhere to the feed roll 72 of the manual paper feed device 70. If cloud toner or paper dust from the recording paper 5 adheres and accumulates on the feed roll 72, the feed roll 72 may slip when feeding the recording paper 5 placed on the manual paper feed tray 71, which may result in poor transport of the recording paper 5.

[0093] In this embodiment 1, as shown in FIG. 7, the opening / closing cover 75 is provided with a visor portion 755, and the left and right frame members 92, 93 are also provided with ceiling portions 921, 931 equivalent to the visor portion 753 of the opening / closing cover 75. However, cloud toner may get around the visor portion 755 of the opening / closing cover 75 or the ceiling portions 921, 931 of the left and right frame members 92, 93 and adhere to the feed roll 72, and it is not possible to prevent paper dust from the recording paper 5 from adhering to the feed roll 72.

[0094] Therefore, in the manual paper feeder 70 according to the first embodiment, in order to resolve the problem of the feed rolls 72 not transporting the recording paper 5, the user or an engineer opens the opening / closing cover 75 when the image forming apparatus 1 is stopped. The opening of the opening / closing cover 75 may be performed after a series of printing operations by the image forming apparatus 1 has been completed, or may be performed when the feed rolls 72 are not transporting the recording paper 5 properly.

[0095] When the user opens the front cover 77, the inner cover 74 is exposed to the outside, as shown in Fig. 8. At this time, the user opens the opening / closing cover 75 of the inner cover 74 by placing their hand on the grip portion 755, thereby opening the opening 73 of the front cover 77 and exposing the feed roll 72, which is normally not exposed to the outside.

[0096] Next, the user can open the opening / closing cover 75 and wipe the exposed feed roll 72, mainly the front part of the feed roll 72, with a wet cloth or the like to remove cloud toner and paper dust from the recording paper 5 that have adhered to and accumulated on the surface of the feed roll 72.

[0097] Thereafter, the user closes the open / close cover 75, so that the feed roll 72 is not exposed to the outside, and the external appearance of the device is kept in good condition and the drive unit is kept inaccessible.

[0098] In this way, in the image forming apparatus 1 to which the manual paper feed device 70 according to this embodiment 1 is applied, the feed roll 72 of the manual paper feed device 70 can be cleaned from the outside without adopting a configuration in which the manual paper feed tray 71 is pulled out from the device main body 1a.

[0099] In the above embodiment, the image forming apparatus is described as being applied to a full-color image forming apparatus, but it is not limited to this and can of course also be applied to a monochrome image forming apparatus.

[0100] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the application is described as an image forming apparatus that forms images by an electrophotographic method, but this is not limited to this, and it is of course also applicable to apparatuses that form images by an inkjet method or other methods.

[0101] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the miniaturization of the image forming device was mentioned, and although this invention is a technology that is particularly effective for small image forming devices, it goes without saying that a small image forming device is not a requirement for applying this invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0102] 1...Image forming device 1a...Device body 70...Manual paper feeder 71...Manual feed tray 72...Feed roll 73...Opening 74...Inner cover 75...Opening and closing cover

Claims

1. a paper feed rotating body that separates and feeds the recording media placed on the manual paper feed unit one by one; a shielding means for covering an outer surface of the paper feed rotor, the shielding means having an opening for exposing at least a portion of the paper feed rotor to the outside; an opening / closing means for opening and closing the opening of the shielding means; Equipped with The opening / closing unit is a manual paper feeder that is disposed so as to be openable and closable along a width direction that intersects with a paper feed direction of the recording medium fed by the paper feed rotor.

2. 2. The manual paper feeder according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing means is provided so as to be openable and closable in a horizontal direction.

3. 3. A manual paper feeder according to claim 2, wherein said opening and closing means has a latch mechanism for holding said opening and closing means in a closed position.

4. 4. The manual paper feeder according to claim 2, wherein the opening / closing means is located above the paper feed rotor and has a canopy portion for preventing powder falling from above from adhering to the paper feed rotor.

5. 2. The manual paper feeder according to claim 1, wherein an openable and closable manual paper feed section is provided on the outer surface of said shielding means.

6. The manual paper feed device according to claim 5, wherein the manual paper feed unit is attached to the inner surface of the front cover so as to move at an angle inclined in accordance with the opening and closing operation of the front cover, and when the front cover is opened, the manual paper feed unit is set to move to a position inclined at an angle greater than the opening angle of the front cover.

7. the paper feed rotor includes a separating rotor arranged to contact the paper feed rotor, 2. The manual paper feeder according to claim 1, wherein the paper feed rotor rotates intermittently to separate the recording media one by one, the recording media having their leading ends in contact with a nip portion between the paper feed rotor and the separating rotor.

8. an image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium; a manual paper feed means for manually feeding the recording medium toward the image forming means; Equipped with 8. An image forming apparatus using the manual paper feeder according to claim 1 as the manual paper feed means.

9. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a conveying path for conveying the recording medium fed from the manual paper feed means to the image forming means is fixed to the main body of the image forming apparatus.

Images