JP2019099307A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: There is a possibility that the vibration due to the movement of the abutment member is transmitted to and amplified by an exterior member which is a part of the exterior of the image forming apparatus, resulting in noise.
SOLUTION: In an image forming apparatus 10, a moving means 52 movable to a projecting position which protrudes from a separating means toward a conveyance path of a sheet S fed by a feeding means 24, and at least a bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 10. And a compressible elastic body 70 disposed between the moving means 52 and the bottom surface.
[Selected figure] Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  Some conventional image forming apparatuses are equipped with a feeding device for separating sheets, which are a plurality of recording mediums stored in a stacked manner in a feeding tray, one by one. As one of the sheet separation methods by the feeding device, there is known a slope separation method in which the leading end of the sheet is brought into contact with an inclined surface inclined with respect to the transport direction. Also, as another paper separation method, a separation roller method is known that includes a feed roller, which is a conveyance roller that rotates in the same direction as the pickup roller, and a separation roller that is in pressure contact with the feed roller with a predetermined pressure. ing.

  Patent Document 1 relates to a feeding device adopting a slope separation method, in which the position of the leading end of a sheet is reduced in order to suppress damage to the sheet and a feeding failure that is generated by pressing the sheet too much when inserting the sheet. An arrangement is disclosed comprising an abutment member for regulating. The abutment member is capable of protruding from the conveyance path, and is configured to be movable between the protruding position and the retracted position.

JP, 2016-052950, A

  In recent years, when attempting to miniaturize the image forming apparatus, the vibration due to the movement of the abutment member may be transmitted to the exterior member which is a part of the exterior of the image forming apparatus and amplified, resulting in noise.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is an image forming apparatus for forming a toner image on a recording medium, comprising: a loading means on which the recording medium is loaded, and the loading means In order to form a toner image on the recording medium separated by the separating means, the separating means for separating the recording medium fed by the feeding means, the feeding means for feeding the recording medium, and the feeding means An image forming portion, moving means capable of moving to a projecting position projecting from the separating means toward the transport path of the recording medium fed by the feeding means, and an exterior constituting at least a bottom surface of the image forming apparatus A member, and a compressible elastic body disposed between the moving means and the bottom surface.

  An object of the present invention is to suppress transmission of vibration due to movement of a moving means to an exterior member which is a part of an exterior of an image forming apparatus by an elastic body.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the whole of the image forming apparatus of the embodiment. A perspective view of the feeding device of the embodiment Explanatory drawing of the separation means of the embodiment Sectional view of the separating means of the embodiment The perspective view explaining the relationship between the feeding means of the embodiment and the moving means Sectional view for explaining the relationship between the butting member and the elastic body of the embodiment The perspective view explaining the moving means of an example Explanatory drawing explaining the relationship between the movement means of an Example, and an exterior member Sectional view according to the portion of the elastic body of FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining the relationship between the elastic body of an Example, and an exterior member Explanatory drawing explaining the modification of a movement means

Example 1
Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, modes for carrying out the present invention will be exemplarily described in detail based on examples. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, etc. of the components described in this embodiment should be changed as appropriate depending on the configuration of the apparatus to which the invention is applied and various conditions. That is, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to the following embodiments.

  In this embodiment, as an image forming apparatus, an image forming apparatus for electrophotography in which one process cartridge can be attached and detached is illustrated. However, the number of process cartridges to be mounted is not limited to this. It is appropriately set as needed. For example, in the case of an image forming apparatus that forms a full color image, the number of process cartridges mounted is four. Further, according to the embodiment described below, the printer is illustrated as one aspect of the image forming apparatus. However, it is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to another image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine, or another image forming apparatus such as a multifunction peripheral combining these functions.

(Description of schematic configuration of the entire image forming apparatus)
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the entire image forming apparatus of the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 10 includes a process cartridge 11 as an image forming unit, and the process cartridge 11 includes a drum-shaped electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter referred to as a photosensitive drum) 1.

  The photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity and potential by a charging roller (not shown), and then subjected to image exposure by the image exposing unit 3. Thereby, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the target image is formed. Next, the electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing device (not shown) at a development position and visualized as a toner image.

  The surface of the recording medium (hereinafter referred to as a sheet) S fed by the feeding device 13 in the process of passing the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 through the transfer nip portion between the photosensitive drum 1 and the transfer roller 12. Transferred to the In the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the feeding device 13 is provided as a part of the image forming apparatus.

  The sheet S is stacked on a sheet feeding tray portion 8 which is a stacking means, and the sheet S is separated by a separating member 50 provided in the separating means after being fed by the feeding roller 26 provided in the feeding means. The sheet S separated from the sheet bundle stacked on the feeding tray unit 8 by the separating member 50 is conveyed by the conveyance roller 17 toward the transfer nip portion. Thereafter, the sheet S on which the toner image has been transferred in the transfer nip portion as described above is then introduced into the fixing unit 14 where the toner is melted and fixed to the sheet S by being heated and pressed. By the above operation, a monochrome print image is formed and discharged to the discharge tray. The exterior cover 60 which is an exterior member and the moving means 52 will be described later.

(Details of feeding means)
Next, the feeding means will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a perspective view of the feeding device 13, FIG. 3 is a detail of the separating means provided in the feeding device 13, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the separating means. The feeding device 13 includes a feeding tray portion 8 capable of stacking a plurality of sheets S stacked on one another. In the present embodiment, an exterior cover 60, which is an exterior member that constitutes the external appearance of the image forming apparatus 10, constitutes a part of the feeding device 13. That is, the exterior cover 60 forms a part of the feeding tray portion 8. In the feed tray unit 8, the side surface of the sheet S in the width direction which is a direction intersecting the sheet conveyance direction is regulated by the side regulation 61 which is a regulation member. A transport guide 21 is provided in front of the transport direction D of the sheet S with respect to the feeding tray portion 8, and the transport guide 21 has an inclined surface 21a which is an inclined surface portion for separating the sheet S one by one. It is arranged. The separation means includes at least the inclined surface 21 a, the separation member 50, and the inclined surface cover 49. A feeding unit 23 is disposed above the feeding tray unit 8. The feeding means 23 comprises a feeding arm 24. The feed arm 24 can rotate in accordance with the stacking height of the sheets S stacked on the feed tray 8 by rotating around the rotation shaft 25. At the front end of the feeding arm 24, a feeding roller 26 which is a feeding member for feeding the uppermost sheet S is attached. The feed roller 26 is driven by the power transmitted through the rotation shaft 25 and the feed idler gear train 27. The rotating shaft 25 is driven by a feed driving unit 40 described later. When the feed roller 26 is driven, the frictional force between the feed roller 26 and the sheet S causes the sheet S to be delivered in the transport direction D. Thereafter, the sheets S are separated one by one when passing through the inclined surface 21a. Details of the separating means will be described later.

  Here, since the abutment member 52a provided in the moving means 52 is retracted so as to be accommodated in the inclined surface 21a, the conveyance of the sheet S is not disturbed.

(Details of feeding drive means)
Next, the feed driving means 40 will be described with reference to FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. The feed drive means 40 is held by a side plate member (not shown), receives power from a motor (not shown), and the drive is transmitted to the toothless gear 42. The missing tooth gear 42 is disposed at a position engaging with the shaft gear 43. However, at the time of non-feeding operation, the missing tooth portion of the missing tooth gear 42 is located at the engaging position, and they are not engaging each other. When the solenoid 44 is pulled to start the feeding operation by the control means (not shown), the gear portion of the missing tooth gear 42 and the shaft gear 43 mesh, power from the motor is transmitted to the feeding shaft gear 43, and the final The drive is transmitted to the feed roller 26 in a similar manner. When the toothless gear 42 makes one rotation, the feeding operation for one sheet is completed, and the home return lever 45 and a lever spring (not shown) return to the state of the non-feeding operation.

As shown in FIG. 5, the feed driving means 40 and the abutting member 52a are interlocked via a link member 53 which is an interlocking member. As shown in FIG. 3, two openings 21b are formed in the inclined surface 21a substantially symmetrically with respect to the center of the product S in the left-right direction, and a plurality of abutment members 52a provided in each opening 21b. Can be projected. In the non-feeding operation, the abutting member 52a protrudes from the inclined surface 21a, and in this state, the user sets the sheet S. (In this state, the abutment member 52a has moved to the projecting position where it projects from the slope cover 49 toward the transport path of the sheet S fed by the feeding roller 26.)
When the user inserts the sheet S in the direction of the conveyance guide 21 with the abutment member 52a positioned at the projecting position, the leading end of the sheet S abuts on the abutment member 52a, so that the leading end of the sheet S can be aligned. In addition, it is possible to suppress a feeding failure due to the user pushing the sheet S too much and the leading edge of the sheet S leaning against the inclined surface 21 a.

(Details of separation means)
Next, the separating means for separating the sheets S one by one will be described with reference to FIGS. The inclined surface 21 a is inclined at an obtuse angle with respect to the transport direction D in order to facilitate separation of the uppermost sheet S. A slope cover 49 is provided for introduction to the transport roller pair 17 when transporting the sheet S along the slope 21 a. A separating member 50 protrudes from the inclined surface 21 a and the inclined surface cover 49. The separating member 50 is in contact with the sheet S and has a surface substantially parallel to the inclined surface 21a, and a plurality of protrusions are arranged on the surface along the inclined direction. The separation member 50 is pressed toward the sheet S by the spring 51 which is a biasing member, and the projection position where the separation member 50 abuts and separates from the sheet S and the conveyance force from the sheet S retracts with respect to the inclined surface 21a. By taking the retracted position, the sheet S is effectively separated.

  Next, the abutment member 52a provided in the moving member 52 will be described in detail. FIG. 6 is a detail of the abutment member 52a of the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. FIG. 6A shows a state in which the abutment member 52a is held at the projecting position where it abuts on the leading end of the sheet S. FIG. FIG. 6 (b) shows a state in which the abutment member 52a is retracted from the leading end of the sheet S with respect to the inclined surface 21a and is held at the feedable retracted position. The abutment member 52a is held at the projecting position in the non-feeding state by the link member 53, and transitions to the retracted position when the feeding operation is started. Then, when the feeding operation is finished, it returns to the projecting position again. The surface of the abutting member 52a is formed in a step shape having a plurality of curved surfaces, and is held at an acute angle with respect to the stacking surface of the sheet S when in the projecting position of the abutting member 52a.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the moving means 52. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, the details of the engagement portion between the abutment member 52 a and the conveyance guide 21 are described. (FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the bottom side.) In the conveyance guide 21, an engaging portion 21c rotatably supporting a pivot 52b of the abutment member 52a. Is arranged.

  The engaging portion 21c is opened downward (upward in FIG. 7) in the product body. The pivot shaft 52 b is supported by a support portion 60 b of the exterior cover 60 described later. Further, the moving means 52 is provided with a positioning rib 52c which engages with the engaging portion 21c of the conveyance guide 21 and positions the abutment member 52a in the width direction.

  FIG. 8 is a detail of the moving means 52 and the exterior cover 60. As shown in FIG. In the exterior cover 60, a plurality of support portions 60b are disposed at positions corresponding to the engagement portions 21c of the conveyance guide 21 described above. Here, the exterior cover 60 of the present embodiment is an integral component that constitutes the bottom and the side of the image forming apparatus 10. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the abutment member 52a around the rotation shaft 52b. As shown in FIG. 8, the pivot shaft 52b is rotatably supported by the engaging portion 21c of the transport guide 21 and the support portion 60b of the exterior cover 60, and the butting member 52a and the pivot shaft 52b are integrally rotated. Move.

  Next, the buffer member 70 which is a compressible elastic body will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 8, the cushioning member 70 is provided on the surface covering the product bottom of the exterior cover 60. In the present embodiment, the material of the buffer member 70 is a sponge member, and is attached to the exterior cover 60 by an adhesive tape (not shown). The buffer member 70 is disposed at a position in contact with the pivot shaft 52b of the abutment member 52a in the front-rear direction of the main body. Further, the buffer member 70 is disposed in the left-right direction of the main body, between the portions where the abutment members 52a project from the two openings 21b of the inclined surface 21a. That is, the buffer member 70 is provided between the support portion 60b provided corresponding to the abutment member 52a and the support portion 60b. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10, the buffer member 70 is disposed inside a figure formed by a straight line connecting each of the plurality of provided legs 71 disposed on the outer surface of the bottom surface. Here, the legs 71 are provided on the outer surface of the bottom surface to support the image forming apparatus 10.

  Since the buffer member 70 is a sponge member, as shown in FIG. 6, when the abutment member 52a is attached, it is compressed to a shape along the outer shape of the pivot shaft 52b of the moving means 52, and the projection of the abutment member 52a It does not disturb the movement between the position and the retracted position.

  As described above, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the buffer member 70 is disposed between the moving means 52 and the exterior cover 60. Thereby, it is possible to suppress propagation of vibration generated by the movement interlocked with the feeding operation of the abutment member 52a shown in FIG. 6 to the exterior cover 70.

  Further, according to the present invention, the material of the shock absorbing member 70 is not limited to the sponge member as long as it is a member that absorbs the propagation of vibration from the striking member 52 a to the exterior cover 60 without inhibiting the operation of the striking member 52 a. For example, a rubber material or the like may be used.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the moving means 52 which moves in conjunction with the feeding operation has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the moving unit 52 may be configured to move by transmitting the driving force from the individual drive sources without being interlocked with the feeding operation.

  Moreover, a modification is demonstrated using FIG. The present invention is also applicable to a configuration using a separation roller 104 as the separation means as shown in FIG. The feeding means includes a feeding roller 102 and a conveying roller 103. Further, the separating means is provided with a separating roller 104 disposed on the downstream side of the feeding roller 102 and facing the conveying roller 103. A sponge 120 is provided as an elastic body on an exterior cover 110 which is an exterior member and constitutes the bottom of the image forming apparatus. The pivot shaft 105 a is disposed so as to compress the sponge 120, and the abutment member 105 is rotatably provided about the pivot shaft 105 a. The pivoting shaft 105a and the abutment member 105 constitute a moving means, and as shown in FIG. 12 (b), the abutment member 105 of the moving means is at a position of retracting from the conveyance path of the sheet S in FIG. It can be retracted from the protruding position shown.

  The abutment member 105 is operated in conjunction with an operation of separating the separation roller 104 from the conveyance roller 103 by a feed driving unit (not shown), and the leading end of the second and subsequent sheets entering toward the separation roller 104 is specified. I'm returning to the position. FIG. 12A shows a state in which the abutting member 105 is held at the projecting position in which the leading end of the sheet S is returned to the predetermined position. FIG. 12B shows a state in which the abutting member 105 is retracted with respect to the transport path of the sheet S and is held at the transportable retracted position. Also in such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the operation noise generated by the movement interlocking with the feeding operation of the abutment member 105 from propagating to the exterior cover 110. In the modification, the configuration other than the moving means and the separating means is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore the description thereof is omitted.

S recording medium 10 image forming apparatus 11 process cartridge 13 feeding device 21a inclined surface 21b opening 23 feeding means 26 feeding roller 29 feeding roller 40 feeding drive means 49 slope cover 50 separating member 52 moving means 52a butting member 52b Rotary shaft 52c Positioning rib 60 Exterior cover 70 Elastic body 71 Product foot

Claims (17)

An image forming apparatus for forming a toner image on a recording medium, comprising:
Loading means on which the recording medium is loaded;
Feeding means for feeding the recording medium loaded on the loading means;
Separating means for separating the recording medium fed by the feeding means one by one;
An image forming unit for forming a toner image on the recording medium separated by the separating unit;
Moving means movable to a projecting position projecting from the separating means toward a transport path of the recording medium fed by the feeding means;
An exterior member constituting at least a bottom surface of the image forming apparatus;
An image forming apparatus having a compressible elastic body disposed between the moving means and the bottom surface.   The separating means includes an inclined surface portion in contact with the recording medium fed by the feeding device, a separating member having a surface parallel to the inclined surface, and a biasing member for biasing the separating member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,   3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the moving means includes an abutment member moving from the inclined surface toward the projecting position, and the abutment member is provided in an opening provided in the inclined surface. Image forming apparatus as described.   4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said moving means comprises a pivot shaft extending in a width direction intersecting the transport direction of said feeding means, and said abutment member is pivotable about said rotary shaft. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   5. The image according to claim 4, wherein the pivot shaft is supported by a support provided on the bottom surface in a state where the elastic body is compressed between the pivot shaft and the bottom surface. Forming device.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the moving unit includes a plurality of the abutment members in the width direction, and the plurality of abutment members move integrally.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of abutment members move in conjunction with the feeding operation of the feeding unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the elastic body is disposed between the abutment member and the abutment member in the width direction.   The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the exterior member is an exterior member in which a side surface is integrally formed with the bottom surface.   The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the exterior member comprises a plurality of legs for supporting the image forming apparatus on an outer surface of the bottom surface.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the number of the legs is three.   The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the elastic body is a sponge member. The separation unit includes a separation roller disposed downstream of the feeding unit in the conveyance direction,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving unit includes a butting member for returning the recording medium, which has entered between the feeding unit and the separation roller, to the stacking unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the exterior member is an exterior member in which a side surface is integrally formed with the bottom surface.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the exterior member includes a plurality of legs for supporting the image forming apparatus on an outer surface of the bottom surface.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the number of the legs is three.   The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein the elastic body is a sponge member.

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