Image forming device

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus that can reduce the size of the apparatus while ensuring the operability of an operation unit operated by a user and accessibility to a recording material ejected onto an ejection tray.SOLUTION: A top cover 85 is provided with an ejection guide 100. The ejection guide 100 is arranged between an operation unit 4 and an ejection tray 51 with respect to the vertical direction, and is formed over the entire width area of the ejection tray 51 with respect to the transverse direction. The ejection guide 100 is provided extending with respect to an ejection direction such that a downstream side leading end 100a is located on the downstream side of a second straight line 202. A recording material ejected from an ejection unit 70 does not hit on the operation unit 4 but hits on the ejection guide 100 and is guided to the ejection tray 51. The operation unit 4 can thus be disposed at a lower part in the vertical direction without the need to separate the operation unit 4 toward an upper part in the vertical direction. Consequently, the size of the apparatus can be reduced, and the operability of the operation unit 4 operated by a user and accessibility to the recording material ejected onto the ejection tray 51 can be ensured.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine. [Background technology]

[0002] In image forming devices such as printers, copiers, facsimiles, and multifunction devices, devices have been proposed that discharge recording materials with images formed thereon toward the front of the device in order to make it easier for users to remove the recording materials. In these devices, an output tray for stacking the discharged recording materials is disposed on the top surface of the device. Furthermore, the operating unit operated by the user is equipped with a display with a large display surface that is easy for the user to see, large buttons that are easy for the user to operate, and the like. Such operating units are disposed so that the orientation of the display surface can be changed by adjusting the angle.

[0003] Conventionally, in order to reduce the size of the device, the operating unit is provided so that a part of it overlaps with the discharge tray. Then, in order to achieve both operability of the operating unit and accessibility to the recording material discharged to the discharge tray, the operating unit is disposed above the discharge path of the recording material so that the movable range of the operating unit does not intersect with the discharge path of the recording material to the discharge tray (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-217551 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Incidentally, curled recording materials may be discharged onto the discharge tray. If the curled recording materials hit the operating unit, the recording materials stacked on the discharge tray may not be aligned, which may reduce the stackability of the recording materials. Therefore, in the device described in Patent Document 1, the operating unit is positioned far away from the discharge path to prevent curled recording materials from hitting the operating unit. However, in such a case, the operating unit would protrude significantly upward from the top surface of the device, which goes against the desire for a more compact device, making it difficult to adopt.

[0006] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to provide an image forming apparatus that can be made smaller while ensuring user operability of the operating section and accessibility to recording material discharged to the discharge tray. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material, and includes: an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material; a housing that houses the image forming unit; a first roller; and a second roller that contacts the first roller to form a nip portion that can pinch and convey the recording material, and includes a discharge portion that discharges the recording material, the image formed by the image forming unit, from inside the housing obliquely upward along a second line that is perpendicular to a first line that passes through the rotation center of the first roller and the rotation center of the second roller; a stacking portion that is provided on an upper surface of the housing and has a stacking surface on which the recording material discharged by the discharge portion is stacked; and an operation portion that has a display screen, the stacking portion having a display screen that is partly inclined in a width direction that intersects a vertical direction and the discharge direction of the recording material, and ... front side of the operation portion. an operation unit arranged higher than the discharge unit in the vertical direction so as to overlap with the stacking surface as viewed in the vertical direction; a support unit provided on an upper surface of the housing unit and supporting the operation unit so that one end on a lower side in the vertical direction is located below the second straight line as viewed in the width direction when the display surface is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction; and a suppression unit arranged between the operation unit and the stacking unit in the vertical direction so that at least a part of the width direction as viewed in the vertical direction overlaps with the operation unit and the stacking surface, intersects the second straight line as viewed in the width direction, and has a downstream tip located downstream of the second straight line as viewed in the discharge direction, to suppress obliquely upward movement of the recording material discharged by the discharge unit. The downstream end of the suppression unit is located upstream of the downstream end of the operation unit in the discharge direction. It is characterized by: Further, an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention is an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material, the image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material; a housing that houses the image forming unit; a first roller; and a second roller that contacts the first roller to form a nip portion that can pinch and transport the recording material, the image forming unit comprising: a discharge portion that discharges the recording material, the image formed by the image forming unit, from inside the housing obliquely upward along a second line that is perpendicular to a first line that passes through the rotation center of the first roller and the rotation center of the second roller; a stacking portion that is provided on an upper surface of the housing and has a stacking surface on which the recording material discharged by the discharge portion is stacked; and an operation portion that has a display surface and is configured so that a part of a width direction that intersects a vertical direction and the discharge direction of the recording material overlaps with the stacking surface when viewed from the vertical direction. the recording material ejected by the ejection unit includes an operation unit arranged above the ejection unit in the vertical direction, a support unit provided on the upper surface of the housing unit and supporting the operation unit such that, when the display surface is inclined relative to the horizontal direction, one end on the lower side in the vertical direction is located below the second straight line as viewed in the width direction, and a suppression unit arranged between the operation unit and the loading unit in the vertical direction so that at least a portion of the width direction as viewed in the vertical direction overlaps with the operation unit and the loading surface, intersects the second straight line as viewed in the width direction, and has a downstream tip located downstream of the second straight line as viewed in the ejection direction, and suppresses diagonally upward movement of the recording material ejected by the ejection unit, and the suppression unit is provided across the entire width of the loading surface in the width direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve a compact device with a simple configuration while ensuring the operability of the operation unit by the user and the accessibility to the recording material discharged onto the discharge tray. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a front view showing an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a top view showing an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view showing the operation unit when it is in a substantially horizontal position. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view showing the operating unit when it is in the upright position. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a front view showing an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a top view showing an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of the operation unit in the comparative example when it is in a substantially horizontal position. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of the operating unit in the comparative example when it is in the upright position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] [First embodiment] <Image forming device> The present embodiment will be described below. First, an overview of the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is a top-discharge type apparatus that roughly comprises a housing 1A and an operation unit 4, and has a discharge opening 5 formed on the top surface of the housing 1A as a space for discharging recording materials from within the housing 1A. A discharge tray 51 is disposed in the discharge opening 5 as a stacking unit having a stacking surface for stacking recording materials discharged from within the housing 1A (inside the housing). In the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, recording materials on which an image has been formed are discharged from within the housing 1A to the discharge tray 51 in a discharge direction from the back (rear) side toward the front (front) side.

[0011] In this specification, the side on which a user stands when operating the operation unit 4 to operate the image forming apparatus 1 is referred to as the "front (or front)," the opposite side as the "back (or rear)," the right side as viewed from the front as the "right," and the left side as viewed from the front as the "left." Also, the upper side as viewed from the front as the "top," and the lower side as viewed from the front as the "bottom." Therefore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the operation unit 4 is located above the housing 1A and to the right of the center as viewed from the front.

[0012] Although not shown, the housing 1A is composed of a plurality of metal plates, such as left and right plates that are provided on the left and right sides and support each unit, and stays that connect these left and right plates, and the outer periphery and top surface are covered by an exterior cover that constitutes the exterior of the image forming apparatus 1. The housing 1A has a front cover 81 and a cassette cover 84 on the front side as exterior covers. As shown in the figure, the front cover 81 is disposed above the cassette cover 84 in the vertical direction. The front cover 81 is detachably provided on the housing 1A, and the cassette cover 84 is attached to a cassette 40 (see FIG. 2) described below and is provided so that it can be pulled out from the housing 1A toward the front together with the cassette 40.

[0013] The housing 1A also has, as exterior covers, side covers 82 that cover the left and right sides, and a rear cover 83 that covers the rear. The housing 1A also has, as exterior covers, a top cover 85 and a support cover 86, which form the top surface (top surface) of the housing 1A. The top cover 85 is integrally provided with a discharge tray 51, and the support cover 86 is provided with an operation unit 4 via a support unit 90. The top cover 85 and the support cover 86 may be integrally provided, or the top cover 85, the support cover 86, and the discharge tray 51 may be integrally provided. The above-mentioned covers and the discharge tray 51 are made of resin.

[0014] Next, the configuration for image formation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment is an electrophotographic full-color printer equipped with yellow, magenta, cyan, and black image forming units Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd along an intermediate transfer belt 15. The image forming apparatus 1 receives image information from an external device (not shown) such as a personal computer, and forms a toner image on a recording material P based on the received image information. Examples of the recording material P include various types of sheet materials such as plain paper, cardboard, rough paper, textured paper, coated paper, plastic film, and cloth.

[0015] In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, an intermediate transfer device 60 is provided below the image forming stations Pa to Pd. The intermediate transfer device 60 is configured such that an endless intermediate transfer belt 15 is stretched around a plurality of rollers (31, 32, 33) and moves in the direction of arrow R1. An outer secondary transfer roller 16 is provided at a position facing the roller 31 that stretches the intermediate transfer belt 15, with the intermediate transfer belt 15 sandwiched therebetween, forming a secondary transfer section N2 that transfers a toner image carried on the intermediate transfer belt 15 to a recording material P. The secondary transfer section N2 is a transfer nip formed by the roller 31 and the outer secondary transfer roller 16, and the toner image is secondarily transferred onto the recording material P, for example, in response to a secondary transfer voltage being applied to the outer secondary transfer roller 16 by a power source (not shown).

[0016] The following describes a process for forming, for example, a four-color full-color image using the image forming apparatus 1. However, the four image forming units Pa to Pd provided in the image forming apparatus 1 have substantially the same configuration except for the different developing colors. Therefore, the black image forming unit Pd will be described as a representative, and descriptions of the other image forming units Pa to Pc will be omitted.

[0017] The image forming station Pd has a photosensitive drum 10d as a photosensitive member. The photosensitive drum 10d is rotated in the direction of arrow R2 by a drum drive motor (not shown). Around the photosensitive drum 10d, a charging device 11d, a developing device 12d, a primary transfer roller 14d, and a cleaning device 13d are provided.

[0018] When the image forming operation starts, first, the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 10d is uniformly charged by the charging device 11d. Next, the charged surface of the photosensitive drum 10d is exposed to laser light Ld corresponding to an image signal emitted from the exposure device 2. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image signal is formed on the photosensitive drum 10d. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 10d is developed into a toner image by a developer contained in the developing device 12d. In this embodiment, one exposure device 2 is provided above the image forming units Pa to Pd, and only one exposure device 2 exposes the multiple photosensitive drums 10a to 10d. In other words, one exposure device 2 is shared by the multiple image forming units Pa to Pd for exposure.

[0019] The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 10d is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 15 at a primary transfer portion N1d formed between primary transfer rollers 14d arranged on either side of the intermediate transfer belt 15. At this time, a primary transfer voltage is applied to the primary transfer roller 14d from a power source (not shown). The intermediate transfer belt 15 carries and transports the toner image transferred from the photosensitive drum 10d. Note that any toner or other deposits remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10d after the primary transfer are removed by a cleaning device 13d.

[0020] Such operations are performed sequentially at the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black image forming units Pa to Pd, and the four color toner images are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 15. Thereafter, the recording material P stored in the cassette 40 is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit N2 in accordance with the timing of the toner image formation.

[0021] The cassette 40 is provided below the housing 1A and can store a large number of recording materials P. A feeding roller 901 feeds the recording materials P one by one from the cassette 40 toward the registration roller 902. The registration roller 902 corrects skew of the recording material P and transports the recording material P to the secondary transfer portion N2 in synchronization with the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 15. Then, the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 15 is secondarily transferred onto the recording material P in response to a secondary transfer voltage being applied to the outer secondary transfer roller 16 by a power source (not shown).

[0022] The recording material P onto which the toner image has been secondarily transferred is transported to the fixing device 50. The fixing device 50 heats and pressurizes the recording material P while transporting it, fixing the toner image to the recording material P. The recording material P with the toner image fixed by the fixing device 50 is transported upward (i.e., vertical transport) and discharged from the housing 1A toward the front by the discharge unit 70 to the outside, where it is stacked on a discharge tray 51 (see FIG. 1). The discharge unit 70 has a first roller 71 and a second roller 72, which abut against each other to form a discharge nip N3 that can nip and convey the recording material P. In this embodiment, the discharge unit 70 discharges the recording material P from the housing 1A obliquely upward along a second straight line 202 that is perpendicular to a first straight line V that passes through the rotation centers of the first roller 71 and the second roller 72 (see FIG. 5, described later). The recording material P discharged obliquely upward is discharged from the rear side (rear) toward the front side (front) due to its own weight.

[0023] In this embodiment, the image forming units 300 that form a toner image on the recording material P are configured by the image forming sections Pa to Pd, the intermediate transfer device 60, the outer secondary transfer roller 16, etc. The exposure device 2, the image forming unit 300, the fixing device 50, the feed roller 901, the registration roller 902, the discharge section 70, and the cassette 40 are housed in the housing 1A (see FIG. 1).

[0024] <Operation section> Next, the operation unit 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 3 to 6. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the operation unit 4, which the user can operate to operate the image forming apparatus 1, is provided in the housing 1A so that it faces the front. The operation unit 4 has a large display 41 (for example, a 3- to 6-inch LCD monitor) for improved visibility for the user, and an input unit 42 with enlarged buttons and switches for improved operability for the user. The display 41 may be a touch panel that allows the user to perform operations similar to those of the input unit 42, such as inputting an image formation job or selecting a recording material P, in response to touch operations on the screen by the user.

[0025] The operation unit 4 is provided in the housing 1A so that the angle can be adjusted up and down about the left-right direction (the width direction intersecting the vertical direction and the discharge direction of the recording material P) to change the orientation of the display surface of the display 41. The operation unit 4 is provided so that it can be rotated to any tilt angle (for example, 0° to 40°) with respect to the horizontal direction to accommodate the eye height of a wide range of users, from tall users to users sitting in wheelchairs. Figure 1 shows the operation unit 4 rotated to the maximum tilt angle and in an upright position.

[0026] <Support part> To adjust the operating unit 4 to any angle within the range of a minimum tilt angle of 0° to a maximum tilt angle of 40° according to the user's eye level, the user can grasp and rotate the operating unit 4. To enable this, the operating unit 4 is supported by a support part 90 whose angle can be freely adjusted.

[0027] 1, the support unit 90 has a housing fixing unit 93 that is fixed to the housing unit 1A, and a rotation holding unit 92 that rotatably holds the operation unit 4 and is attached to the housing fixing unit 93. Although not shown, the rotation holding unit 92 is provided with a free stop hinge that holds any angle by friction. There are several types of free stop hinges, but one example is a pipe type in which a metal shaft is press-fitted into a resin pipe.

[0028] The support part 90 supports the operation part 4 so that it can rotate by changing the angle in the vertical direction between a first position (substantially horizontal position) where the display surface of the display 41 is at the minimum inclination angle with respect to the horizontal direction by the rotation holding part 92, and a second position (upright position) where the display surface is at the maximum inclination angle with respect to the horizontal direction. Note that in this specification, the substantially horizontal position also includes a state in which the operation part 4 is tilted substantially at "0°±5°" with the horizontal direction being "0°" as the reference.

[0029] <Location of the control panel> Next, the left-right arrangement of the operation unit 4 will be described. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, a discharge opening 5 is formed on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1, and a discharge tray 51 is disposed in this discharge opening 5. As shown in Figure 3, the user can remove the recording material P loaded on the discharge tray 51 from the space of the discharge opening 5 surrounded by the top cover 85 and the discharge tray 51.

[0030] In this embodiment, in order to achieve a reduction in size of the image forming apparatus 1 in the left-right direction, the operation unit 4 is disposed so as not to protrude beyond the wall surface of the side cover 82 on the right side of the image forming apparatus 1, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. However, in such a case, because the operation unit 4 is large, a part of the operation unit 4 (referred to as the protruding portion 54) overlaps with the loading surface 51a of the discharge tray 51 in the left-right direction. The support portion 90 is disposed so as not to overlap with the discharge tray 51 in the left-right direction.

[0031] Next, the up-down (vertical) arrangement of the operating unit 4 will be described with reference to a comparative example. Comparative examples are shown in Figures 9 and 10. Figure 9 is an enlarged side view of the operating unit 4 in the comparative example when it is in a substantially horizontal position, and Figure 10 is an enlarged side view of the operating unit 4 in the comparative example when it is in an upright position.

[0032] In order to achieve a vertically compact image forming apparatus 1, it is preferable to position the operation unit 4 as low as possible in the vertical direction. However, as described above, since the protruding portion 54 of the operation unit 4 overlaps with the stacking surface 51a of the discharge tray 51 in the left-right direction, if the operation unit 4 is positioned low, there is a risk that the recording material P will hit the operation unit 4 (more specifically, the protruding portion 54) when it is discharged onto the discharge tray 51. In the comparative example, the operation unit 4 is positioned in a position in the vertical direction where the discharged recording material P will not hit the protruding portion 54.

[0033] 9 and 10 , in the comparative example, a portion of the operation unit 4 in the vertical direction is not located below the second straight line 202 in both the substantially horizontal position and the vertical position. In other words, when the operation unit 4 is in the vertical position, one end 4a on the lower side in the vertical direction is not located below the second straight line 202, and when the operation unit 4 rotates between the vertical position and the substantially horizontal position, the rotation path described by the one end 4a does not intersect with the second straight line 202 but occurs above the second straight line 202. In other words, the operation unit 4 is disposed above the discharge path so that the movable area of ​​the operation unit 4 does not intersect with the discharge path of the recording material P onto the discharge tray 51. Therefore, when the recording material P is discharged onto the discharge tray 51 by the discharge unit 70, the recording material P does not come into contact with the operation unit 4. Note that a portion of the operation unit 4 is disposed downstream of the discharge unit 70 in the discharge direction.

[0034] However, in the comparative example, when the recording material P is discharged in a curled state, the curled recording material P may hit the operation unit 4, and to prevent this, the operation unit 4 is actually disposed at a position further above the second straight line 202 than shown in Figures 9 and 10. However, doing so goes against the goal of downsizing the image forming apparatus 1 in the vertical direction, and is therefore difficult to adopt as it is not suited to achieving downsizing.

[0035] In this embodiment, too, a portion of the operation unit 4 is disposed downstream of the discharge unit 70 in the discharge direction. To achieve a more compact image forming apparatus 1 in the vertical direction, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 , at least a portion of the operation unit 4 is positioned below the second straight line 202 when the operation unit 4 is in the upright position. That is, when the operation unit 4 is in the upright position, one end 4 a on the lower side in the vertical direction is positioned below the second straight line 202, and when the operation unit 4 rotates between the upright position and the substantially horizontal position, the rotation path traced by the one end 4 a intersects with the second straight line 202. In other words, the operation unit 4 is disposed below a position where the movable range of the operation unit 4 intersects with the discharge path of the recording material P onto the discharge tray 51. In this manner, the operation unit 4 is supported by the support 90 such that the one end 4 a is positioned below the second straight line 202 when viewed from the left and right with the display surface of the display 41 tilted relative to the horizontal direction. This makes it possible to ensure ease of operation of the operation unit 4 by the user and accessibility to the recording material P discharged onto the discharge tray 51, while also achieving a reduction in the size of the apparatus.

[0036] However, as described above, this may cause, for example, curled recording material P to come into contact with the operating unit 4 (more specifically, the protruding portion 54) when the recording material P is discharged onto the discharge tray 51 by the discharge unit 70. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the recording material P is curled, the discharge guide 100 is provided as a prevention unit to prevent the recording material P from coming into contact with the operating unit 4. The discharge guide 100 will be described below.

[0037] <Discharge Guide> 3 and 4, the top cover 85 is provided with a discharge guide 100. In this embodiment, the discharge guide 100 is disposed between the operation unit 4 and the discharge tray 51 in the vertical direction, and is formed across the entire width of the discharge tray 51 in the left-right direction. Therefore, a portion of the discharge guide 100 in the left-right direction when viewed vertically overlaps with the protrusion 54 of the operation unit 4 and the loading surface 51a of the discharge tray 51.

[0038] 3, the discharge guide 100 is preferably provided with a plurality of ribs 100b spaced apart in the left-right direction and extending in the discharge direction on the surface facing the discharge tray 51 (specifically, the stacking surface 51a). Providing the ribs 100b reduces the contact area between the discharged recording material P and the discharge guide 100, making it difficult for the recording material P to stick to the discharge guide 100 due to static electricity, and allowing the recording material P to be discharged smoothly.

[0039] 5 and 6, the discharge guide 100 extends from the top cover 85 in the discharge direction so as to intersect with the second straight line 202 as viewed from the left and right, and so that the downstream tip 100a is located downstream of the second straight line 202. In other words, the discharge guide 100 is provided so that a third straight line 203 connecting the discharge nip portion N3 and the downstream tip 100a is located below the second straight line 202 in the vertical direction.

[0040] As described above, in this embodiment, the operation unit 4 is disposed so that at least a portion of the operation unit 4 is located below the second straight line 202 when the operation unit 4 is in the upright position. Accordingly, the ejection guide 100 is disposed so that at least a portion of the operation unit 4 is located above the third straight line 203 when the operation unit 4 is in the upright position. In other words, when the operation unit 4 is in the upright position, one end 4a on the lower vertical side is located above the third straight line 203, and when the operation unit 4 rotates between the upright position and the substantially horizontal position, the rotation path of the one end 4a does not intersect with the third straight line 203. In other words, the ejection guide 100 is disposed so that the movable range of the operation unit 4 does not intersect with the third straight line 203.

[0041] However, it is preferable that the discharge guide 100 be formed so that its downstream tip 100a in the discharge direction is located more upstream than the downstream tip 4b of the operation unit 4. This is to prevent the discharge guide 100 from reducing the number of sheets that can be loaded on the discharge tray 51 when the discharge tray 51 is provided with the loading surface 51a tilted so that the downstream side of the loading surface 51a in the discharge direction is located higher in the vertical direction than the upstream side, as in this embodiment. In other words, if the discharge guide 100 is formed so that its downstream tip 100a is located more downstream than the downstream tip 4b of the operation unit 4, the distance between the discharge guide 100 and the loading surface 51a of the discharge tray 51 becomes narrower downstream, making it difficult to load the desired number of sheets on the discharge tray 51.

[0042] In this embodiment, the discharge guide 100 may be formed integrally with the top cover 85. For example, the discharge guide 100 may be formed by extending a part of the top cover 85 in the discharge direction so as to cover a part of the discharge tray 51 at the discharge opening 5 when viewed vertically.

[0043] As described above, in this embodiment, the discharge guide 100 is provided on the top cover 85. The discharge guide 100 is disposed between the operation unit 4 and the discharge tray 51 in the vertical direction and is formed across the entire width of the discharge tray 51 in the left-right direction. The discharge guide 100 also extends from the top cover 85 so that its downstream end 100a is located downstream of the second straight line 202 in the discharge direction. With this discharge guide 100, even if the recording material P discharged from the discharge unit 70 curls, it will not strike the operation unit 4 (specifically, the protrusion 54) but will strike the discharge guide 100 and be guided to the discharge tray 51. Therefore, the operation unit 4 can be positioned lower in the vertical direction without being positioned significantly above the operation unit 4 to prevent the recording material P from striking it. In this way, the device can be made more compact while ensuring the user's operability of the operation unit 4 and accessibility to the recording material P discharged to the discharge tray 51.

[0044] Furthermore, when the recording material P hits the operating unit 4, the discharge direction of the recording material P changes depending on the tilt angle of the operating unit 4, which may change the stacking capacity of the discharge tray 51. However, when the recording material P hits the discharge guide 100, the discharge direction of the recording material P is less likely to change. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the stacking capacity of the discharge tray 51.

[0045] [Second embodiment] Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. 7 is a front view showing an image forming apparatus 1B according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8 is a top view showing an image forming apparatus 1B according to the second embodiment. Note that the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the discharge guide 200 is provided on the support cover 86, but the other configurations may be similar. Therefore, in FIGS. 7 and 8, the same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be simplified or omitted.

[0046] 7 and 8, in the second embodiment, a discharge guide 200 serving as a suppression unit is provided on the support cover 86. The discharge guide 200 may be formed integrally with the support cover 86. In this embodiment, the discharge guide 200 is disposed between the operation unit 4 and the discharge tray 51 in the vertical direction, and is provided in a range overlapping with the protrusion 54 of the operation unit 4 in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 8, the discharge guide 200 is provided on the support cover 86 such that the position of the end 4c of the operation unit 4 on the discharge tray 51 side is positioned more inward of the housing 1A than the position of the end 200c of the discharge guide 200 on the discharge tray 51 side.

[0047] The configuration of the discharge guide 200 in the discharge direction is the same as that of the discharge guide 100 of the first embodiment described above. That is, the discharge guide 200 extends in the discharge direction along the support cover 86 so that it intersects with a second straight line 202 (see FIG. 6) when viewed from the left and right, and its downstream tip 200a is located downstream of the second straight line 202. In the second embodiment, the discharge guide 200 is provided so that the movable area of ​​the operation unit 4 does not intersect with the straight line connecting the discharge nip N3 (see FIG. 6) and the downstream tip 200a.

[0048] By providing such a discharge guide 200, even if the recording material P discharged from the discharge section 70 curls, it will not hit the operation unit 4 (more specifically, the protrusion 54) but will hit the discharge guide 200 and be guided to the discharge tray 51. Therefore, the operation unit 4 does not need to be placed far above in the vertical direction so that the recording material P does not hit the operation unit 4, and the operation unit 4 can be disposed lower in the vertical direction. In this way, the device can be made smaller while ensuring the operability of the operation unit 4 by the user and accessibility to the recording material P discharged to the discharge tray 51.

[0049] Furthermore, as described above, the ejection guide 200 is provided so that the position of the end 4c of the operating unit 4 is located inside the housing unit 1A more than the position of the end 200c of the ejection guide 200, thereby improving the operability for the user when changing the angle of the operating unit 4.

[0050] In the above embodiment, the case where the operation unit 4 is rotatable has been described as an example, but this is not limited to this, and the present invention can also be applied to a case where the operation unit 4 is fixed in an upright position (i.e., immovable).

[0051] The above-described embodiment is not limited to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms a toner image on a recording material using a developer containing toner and carrier, but may also be applied to image forming apparatuses using other methods, such as an inkjet image forming apparatus that forms an image by ejecting ink onto a recording material. [Explanation of symbols]

[0052] 1 (1B)...image forming apparatus, 1A...casing section, 4...operation section, 51...loading section (discharge tray), 70...discharge section, 71...first roller, 72...second roller, 82...side cover, 85...top cover, 86...support cover, 90...support section, 100 (200)...control section (discharge guide), 300...image forming unit, N3...nip section (discharge nip section), P...recording material

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material; a housing portion that houses the image forming unit; a discharge section that includes a first roller and a second roller that contacts the first roller to form a nip portion that can sandwich and convey a recording material, and that discharges the recording material, on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit, from inside the housing section obliquely upward along a second straight line that is perpendicular to a first straight line that passes through a rotation center of the first roller and a rotation center of the second roller; a stacking section provided on an upper surface of the housing section and having a stacking surface on which the recording material discharged by the discharge section is stacked; an operation unit having a display surface, the operation unit being disposed above the discharge unit in the vertical direction so that a part of the operation unit in a width direction intersecting the vertical direction and the discharge direction of the recording material overlaps with the stacking surface when viewed from the vertical direction; a support portion provided on an upper surface of the housing portion, the support portion supporting the operation portion such that one end portion on a lower side in the vertical direction is positioned below the second straight line as viewed in the width direction when the display surface is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction; a suppression section that is disposed between the operation section and the stacking section in the vertical direction so that at least a part of the width direction overlaps with the operation section and the stacking surface as viewed from the vertical direction, that intersects with the second straight line as viewed from the width direction, and that has a downstream tip located downstream of the second straight line in the discharge direction to suppress obliquely upward movement of the recording material discharged by the discharge section, a downstream end of the suppression portion is located upstream of a downstream end of the operation portion in the discharge direction; An image forming apparatus characterized by:

2. the support portion rotatably supports the operation portion between a first position at which the display surface is tilted at a minimum angle with respect to the horizontal direction and a second position at which the display surface is tilted at a maximum angle with respect to the horizontal direction; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

3. The suppression portion is provided across the entire width of the loading surface in the width direction.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

4. the housing portion has a top cover that covers the top and forms a top surface, The suppression portion is integrally formed with the top cover.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

5. the suppression portion is provided in a range overlapping with the operation portion in the width direction when viewed from the vertical direction, 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

6. the housing unit has a top cover that forms a top surface, and a support cover that forms the top surface of the housing unit together with the top cover and to which the support unit is attached, The suppression portion is integrally formed with the support cover.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5,

7. the housing has a side cover in the width direction, The operation portion does not protrude beyond the side cover in the width direction.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

8. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording material; a housing portion that houses the image forming unit; a discharge section that includes a first roller and a second roller that contacts the first roller to form a nip portion that can sandwich and convey a recording material, and that discharges the recording material, on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit, from inside the housing section obliquely upward along a second straight line that is perpendicular to a first straight line that passes through a rotation center of the first roller and a rotation center of the second roller; a stacking section provided on an upper surface of the housing section and having a stacking surface on which the recording material discharged by the discharge section is stacked; an operation unit having a display surface, the operation unit being disposed above the discharge unit in the vertical direction so that a part of the operation unit in a width direction intersecting the vertical direction and the discharge direction of the recording material overlaps with the stacking surface when viewed from the vertical direction; a support portion provided on an upper surface of the housing portion, the support portion supporting the operation portion such that one end portion on a lower side in the vertical direction is positioned below the second straight line as viewed in the width direction when the display surface is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction; a suppression section that is disposed between the operation section and the stacking section in the vertical direction so that at least a part of the width direction overlaps with the operation section and the stacking surface as viewed from the vertical direction, that intersects with the second straight line as viewed from the width direction, and that has a downstream tip located downstream of the second straight line in the discharge direction to suppress obliquely upward movement of the recording material discharged by the discharge section, The suppression portion is provided across the entire width of the loading surface in the width direction. An image forming apparatus characterized by:

9. The support portion rotatably supports the operation portion between a first position where the display surface is at a minimum inclination angle with respect to the horizontal direction and a second position where the display surface is at a maximum inclination angle with respect to the horizontal direction.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8,

10. The suppression unit has a downstream tip located upstream of the downstream tip of the operation unit in the discharge direction.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

11. The housing part has an upper cover that covers the upper part and forms an upper surface, The suppression portion is integrally formed with the top cover.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

12. The suppression portion is provided in a range overlapping with the operation portion in the width direction when viewed from the vertical direction.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

13. The housing part has an upper surface cover that forms an upper surface, and a support cover that forms the upper surface of the housing part together with the upper surface cover and to which the support part is attached, The suppression portion is integrally formed with the support cover.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12.

Images