Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6470160
-
Patent Number
6,470,160
-
Date Filed
Friday, March 9, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, October 22, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Chen; Sophia S.
- Tran; Hoan
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 399 107
- 399 124
- 399 125
- 399 392
- 399 405
- 271 81
- 271 909
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An image-forming apparatus employs a manual sheet feeder tray that overlaps a part of a side wall of an upper main body portion to be in contact therewith in a non-working mode irrespective of an opener assembly being open or closed. A guide member can be provided to prevent contact of the manual sheet feeder tray with the upper main body portion. Further, an image-forming apparatus employs a discharged-sheet selectively positionable for a working mode or a non-working mode, where the discharged-sheet tray overlaps a part of a side wall of the upper main body when in the non-working mode, irrespective of an opener assembly being opened or closed. A guide member can be provided to prevent contact of the discharged-sheet tray with the upper main body portion.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an image-forming apparatus such as copying machines, printers, and plotters.
BACKGROUND TECHNIQUE
As an output apparatus for computers and workstations, there are known ink-jet type image-forming apparatuses which form an image by ejecting an ink on a recording sheet, and electrophotography type image-forming apparatuses which form an image with a developer on a recording sheet. Such an image-forming apparatus has an image formation unit for forming an image. Usually, the image-forming apparatus has a sheet feeder unit which feeds a recording sheet to the image formation unit, and a sheet discharge unit equipped opposite to the sheet feed unit with interposition of the image formation unit. Thereby, a recording sheet delivery path is formed for delivering the recording sheet from the sheet feed unit to the sheet discharge unit.
Some image-forming apparatuses are of a two-separation type (so-called clamshell type) which is separable into an upper main body portion and a lower main body portion around a turning axis at the one end side (rear side of the main body) across the recording sheet delivery path to be openable from the side opposite to the turning axis (front side of the main body). The clamshell type image-forming apparatus is designed to be openable widely to expose the recording sheet delivery path, whereby the user can readily deal with sheet clogging (jamming).
Of the above clamshell type of image-forming apparatuses, an electrophotography type one has an optical system and a photosensitive drum in the upper main body portion, and has a cassette tray and a fixation unit in the lower main body portion. The lower main body portion is set unmovably, and the openable upper main body portion is constituted to be capable of being pushed up from the front side by a damper charged with air or a like matter.
Some of the aforementioned type of the image-forming apparatuses have a manual sheet feeding unit having a manual feeder tray in the lower main body portion. The manual feeder tray, which is usually rectangular in shape, is hinged turnably at a first side edge to the side wall of the lower main body, and a second side edge opposite thereto is turnable around the first side edge as the tuning axis. The manual feeder tray is foldable to come to be in close contact with the side walls of both the lower main body and the upper main body. The folded manual feeder tray is energized inward to the side wall by a spring or the like not to leave the side walls by its own gravity when it is not used. The manual feeder tray, when it is used, is opened by pulling out the second side edge around the first side edge as the turning axis.
The sheet discharge unit has usually a discharged-sheet tray for holding image-carrying discharged sheets. This discharged-sheet tray can holds various size of recording sheets, from a small size sheet to a large size sheet. The large sheet size herein means an A3 size or a B4 size, and the small size means a calling card size or a postcard size. A discharged-sheet tray is known which is folded up into the main body wall when the image is formed on a recording sheet of a small size or the image forming-apparatus is not used.
Many image-forming apparatuses have a flat side face having a depression formed on a part of the side walls of the upper and lower main bodies for fitting the manual feeder tray. The depth of the depression is approximate to the thickness of the manual feeder tray for compactness of the image-forming apparatus.
However, with such an insufficient depth of the depression, a part of the folded manual feeder tray may come to be inclined into the main body when the upper main body portion is opened. In this state, if the upper main body portion is brought down to close, the part of the manual feeder tray can be broken by collision against the upper main body portion owing to dimensional variations of the manual feeder tray or variation in the assemblage thereof. Such a damage may occur with the discharged-sheet tray.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Under the aforementioned circumstances, the object of the present invention is to provide an image-forming apparatus which does not cause damage of a manual feeder tray or a discharged-sheet tray regardless of a dimensional variation in parts of the manual feeder tray or of the discharged-sheet tray or in assemblage thereof, when the upper main body portion is opened or closed.
A first embodiment of the image-forming apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object has a recording sheet-delivery path for delivering a recording sheet from a sheet feed unit to a sheet discharge unit in an opposite side; and is separable into two portions of an upper main body portion and a lower main body portion by opening an opener assembly from one side edge of the upper main body portion around a turning axis provided at the other side edge thereof across the recording sheet delivery path,
the image-forming apparatus comprising:
a nearly rectangular manual sheet feeder tray having
(1) a first edge portion extending in a direction crossing the recording sheet delivery path, and being hinged turnably to the lower main body portion at the side of the sheet feed unit, and
(2) a second edge portion being positioned near a space between the upper main body portion pushed up by the opener assembly and the lower main body portion on a sheet feed unit side and extending at the side opposite to the first edge portion and in the crossing direction,
(3) the manual sheet feeder tray being positioned selectively for a working mode by bringing down the second edge portion by turning around the first edge portion, or for a non-working mode by turning up the second edge portion around the first edge portion as the turning axis to be fixed; and
(4) the manual sheet feeder tray overlapping a part of a side wall of the upper main body portion to be in contact therewith in the non-working mode irrespective of the opener assembly being open or close.
A second embodiment of the image-forming apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object has a recording sheet-delivery path for delivering a recording sheet from a sheet feed unit to a sheet discharge unit in an opposite side; and is separable into two portions of an upper main body portion and a lower main body portion by opening an opener assembly from one side edge of the upper main body portion around a turning axis provided at the other side edge thereof across the recording sheet delivery path,
the image-forming apparatus comprising:
a nearly rectangular manual sheet feeder tray having
(5) a first edge portion extending in a direction crossing to the recording sheet delivery path, and being hinged turnably to the lower main body portion at the side of the sheet feed unit, and
(6) a second edge portion being positioned near a space between the upper main body portion pushed up by the opener assembly and the lower main body portion on a sheet feed unit side and extending at the side opposite to the first edge portion and in the crossing direction,
(7) the manual sheet feeder tray being positioned selectively for a working mode by bringing down the second edge portion by turning around the first edge portion, or for a non-working mode by turning up the second edge portion around the first edge portion as the turning axis to be fixed; and
(8) comprising a guide member for guiding the manual sheet feeder tray temporarily outside the upper main body portion in dosing the upper main body portion from an open state to prevent contact of the manual sheet feeder tray with the upper main body portion.
A third embodiment of the image-forming apparatus of the present invention for achieving the object of the present invention has a recording sheet-delivery path for delivering a recording sheet from a sheet feed unit to a sheet discharge unit in an opposite side; and is separable into two portions of an upper main body portion and a lower main body portion by opening an opener assembly from one side edge of the upper main body portion around a turning axis provided at the other side edge thereof across the recording sheet delivery path,
the image-forming apparatus comprising:
a discharged-sheet tray having
(9) a first edge portion extending in a direction crossing the recording sheet delivery path, and being hinged turnably to the lower main body portion at the side of the sheet discharge unit, and
(10) a second edge portion being positioned near a space between the upper main body portion pushed up by the opener assembly and the lower main body portion on a sheet feed unit side and extending at the side opposite to the first edge portion and in the crossing direction,
(11) the discharged-sheet tray being positioned selectively for a working mode by bringing down the second edge portion by turning around the first edge portion, or for a non-working mode by turning up the second edge portion around the first edge portion as the turning axis to be fixed, and
(12) the discharged-sheet tray overlapping a part of a side wall of the upper main body portion to be in contact therewith in the non-working mode irrespective of the opener assembly being open or close.
A fourth embodiment of the image-forming apparatus of the present invention for achieving the object of the present invention has a recording sheet-delivery path for delivering a recording sheet from a sheet feed unit to a sheet discharge unit in an opposite side; and is separable into two portions of an upper main body portion and a lower main body portion by opening an opening assembly from one side edge of the upper main body portion around a turning axis provided at the other side edge thereof across the recording sheet delivery path,
the image-forming apparatus comprising:
a discharged-sheet tray having
(13) a first edge portion extending in a direction crossing the recording sheet delivery path, and being hinged turnably to the lower main body portion at the side of the sheet discharge unit, and
(14) a second edge portion being positioned near a space between the upper main body portion pushed up by the opener assembly and the lower main body portion on a sheet feed unit side and extending at the side opposite to the first edge portion and in the crossing direction,
(15) the discharged-sheet tray being positioned selectively for a working mode by bringing down the second edge portion by turning around the first edge portion, or for a non-working mode by turning up the second edge portion around the first edge portion as the turning axis to be fixed; and
(16) comprising a guide member for guiding the discharged-sheet tray temporarily outside the upper main body portion in closing the upper main body portion from an open state to prevent contact of the discharged-sheet tray with the upper main body portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view showing external appearance of a copying machine of an embodiment of the image-forming apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2
illustrates schematically a structure of the inside of the copying machine of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 3
is a perspective view of a copying machine with the front door opened.
FIG. 4
is a perspective view of a copying machine having the front door opened and the upper main body portion pushed up.
FIG. 5
is an enlarged side view of a part of the opened upper main body portion and the manual feeder tray in a non-working mode.
FIG. 6
is a side view of a guide member.
BEST MODE FOR PRACTICING THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the image-forming apparatus of the present invention is explained by reference to drawings.
FIG. 1
is a perspective view showing external appearance of a copying machine of an embodiment of the image-forming apparatus of the present invention.
On the top face of the copying machine
10
(an example of the image-forming apparatus of the present invention), there is placed an openable document-pressing plate
12
. An operation panel display
14
is placed at the front side of the top face for inputting a reproduction copy number, and other operation conditions. The copying machine
10
is provided with a universal cassette
16
demountable from the front face side of the copying machine
10
. On the right wall of the copying machine
10
, there is provided a rectangular manual feeder tray
18
(see
FIG. 2
) for feeding a small-sized recording sheet like a postcard. This manual feeder tray
18
can be turned outside around the lower side edge portion (a first side edge portion)
18
a
as the turning axis in the arrow-C direction to be opened for loading a recording sheet (the position indicated by the two-dot chain line). The state of the opened manual tray
18
is a working mode. On the other hand, the state of the tray with the second side edge portion opposite to the first edge portion
18
a
turned upward is a non-working mode. On the left wall of the copying machine
10
, a discharged-sheet tray
20
is provided for receiving the recording sheets.
The copying machine
10
has a rectangular front door
22
on the front side to be openable frontward around the lower side edge portion
22
a
as the turning axis. The interior of the copying machine
10
can be observed by opening this front door
22
. With this front door
22
opened, the front side portion of the upper main body portion (portion housing an optical system
28
, a photosensitive drum
32
, etc. as shown in
FIG. 2
) of the copying machine
10
can be pushed up by a repulsion force of a pair of dampers
60
,
62
(
FIGS. 3
, and
4
) when a pair of hooks
50
,
52
(
FIGS. 3 and 4
) disposed near the front door
22
are disengaged. Thereby the copying machine
10
is separated into two portions of the upper main body portion and the lower main body portion (the lower portion incorporating the universal cassette
16
, etc.).
The process for forming an image with the copying machine
10
of
FIG. 1
is explained by reference to FIG.
2
.
FIG. 2
illustrates schematically a structure of the interior of the copying machine
10
. In
FIG. 2
, the same reference numbers are used for corresponding elements as in FIG.
1
.
Under the document-pressing plate
12
, a document-supporting glass plate
26
is provided for supporting an original document
24
. The original document
24
is placed with the image face directed downward on the document-supporting glass plate
26
, and is fixed by pressing by the document-pressing plate
12
. The image recorded on the original document
24
is read by an optical system
28
, and the light introduced is modulated (broken line A) to carry the information of the image recorded on the original document. This light is projected to a photosensitive drum
32
having been uniformly electrified by an electrifier
30
to form an electrostatic latent image. This electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing agent (toner) supplied from development unit
34
. Separately, a recording sheet like recording paper sheet is sent out from the universal cassette
16
, and is delivered in an arrow-B direction. The developed image is transferred by an image transfer unit
36
onto the recording sheet.
The recording sheet having received a transferred developed image is delivered by a delivery unit
38
to the fixation unit
40
. The fixation unit
40
comprises a heat roller
42
and a pressure roller
44
. The recording sheet is nipped and delivered by the two rollers
42
,
44
, thereby the developed image being fixed on the recording sheet. The recording sheet having the developed image fixed thereon is discharged and is place on the discharged-sheet tray
20
. Incidentally, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum
32
after the image transfer is scraped by a cleaning unit
46
. Otherwise, the recording sheet can be fed from the manual feeder tray
18
, and the image formation can be conducted in the same manner as above onto the recording sheet fed from the manual feeder tray
18
.
The copying machine can be separated into two portions of the upper main body and the lower main body by pushing up the upper main body portion of the copying machine. This separation is explained by reference to
FIGS. 3 and 4
.
FIG. 3
is a perspective view of a copying machine with the front door opened
FIG. 4
is a perspective view of a copying machine with the front door opened and with the upper main body portion pushed up. In these drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the corresponding constitutional element as in
FIGS. 1 and 2
.
In a copying machine
10
, the recording sheet sent out from the universal cassette
16
is delivered through a sheet feeder unit
70
at the right side as shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4
to the inside of the copying machine
10
. The recording sheet having received the formed image in the copying machine
10
is discharged through a discharge unit
72
onto the discharged-sheet tray
20
. Thus, a recording sheet delivery path is constituted for delivering the recording sheet from the sheet feeder unit
70
to the sheet discharge unit
72
in the copying machine
10
.
The copying machine
10
is separable into two portions of the upper main body portion
100
(the portion incorporating an optical system
28
, a photosensitive drum
32
, etc. as shown in
FIG. 2
) and the lower main body portion
200
(the portion incorporating a universal cassette
16
, etc.). The opener assembly
74
opens the copying machine
10
from the front side by pushing the front portion of the upper main body portion
100
by a pair of dampers
60
,
62
. The damper
60
is placed near the sheet feed unit
70
in the front side of the copying machine
10
. The damper
62
is placed near the sheet discharge unit
72
in the front side of the copying machine
10
.
The opener assembly
74
conducts opening and closing around a turning axis
76
as the turning center provided at a rear wall (not shown in the drawing) of the main body of the copying machine
10
. The opener assembly
74
and the turning axis
76
are located at the side across the aforementioned recording sheet delivery path. A pair of dampers
60
,
62
are fixed at predetermined positions. The manual feeder tray
18
is rectangular in shape as shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4
. The one side edge
18
a
extends nearly perpendicularly to the recording medium delivery path, and is fixed rotatably at the side wall on the side of the sheet feed unit
70
in the lower main body portion
200
. The other side edge
18
b
opposite to the side edge
18
a
of the manual feeder tray
18
also extends nearly perpendicularly to the recording sheet delivery path.
The side walls of the upper main body portion
100
and of the lower main body portion have a depression
102
for fitting the manual feeder tray
18
therein. When the upper main body portion
100
is opened fully, a part
102
a
of the side wall (corresponding to the bottom wall of the depression
102
) overlaps the manual feeder tray
18
. Thereby, the manual feeder tray
18
is prevented from inclining into the inside of the upper main body portion
100
. Therefore, in closing the upper main body
100
, the second side edge
18
b
of the manual feeder tray
18
is prevented from colliding against the upper main body portion
100
, whereby breakdown of the manual feeder tray can be prevented and the upper main body portion
100
can be closed smoothly.
The discharged-sheet tray
20
is also rectangular in shape as shown in
FIGS. 3 and 4
. The one edge
20
a
thereof extends nearly perpendicularly to the recording sheet delivery path, and is fixed turnably to the side wall of the side of the discharge unit
72
of the lower main body portion
200
. The other edge
20
b
of the discharged-sheet tray opposite to the edge
20
a
also extends nearly perpendicularly to the recording sheet delivery path.
The discharged-sheet tray
20
is fold up, when the upper main body portion
100
is opened fully, when a small-sized recording sheets are discharged and stored on the discharged-sheet tray
20
, or when the discharged-sheet tray
20
is not used (examples of the non-working mode), a part of the side wall (outside wall) of the discharge unit
72
overlaps the discharged-sheet tray
20
. Therefore, in closing the upper main body
100
, the other edge
20
b
of the discharged-sheet tray
20
is prevented from inclining into the inside of the upper main body portion
100
, and is prevented from colliding against the upper main body portion
100
, whereby breakdown of the discharge-sheet tray
20
can be prevented and the upper main body portion can be closed smoothly.
Another example is explained of prevention of the breakdown of the manual feeder tray in dosing the upper main body portion
100
by reference to
FIGS. 5 and 6
. In this example, being different from
FIG. 4
, a part
102
a
of the fully opened upper main body portion
100
does not overlap partially a manual feeder tray
18
. Therefore the manual feeder tray
18
can incline into the inside of the upper main body portion
100
.
FIG. 5
is an enlarged side view of a part of the opened upper main body portion and the manual feeder tray in a non-working mode.
FIG. 6
is a side view of a guide member.
To a turning axis
76
of the upper main body
100
, a guide arm
104
extending in the direction perpendicular to the turning axis
76
toward the manual feeder tray
18
is fixed at one end
104
a
. On the other hand, a guide rib
18
c
is formed at the end portion of the manual feeder tray
18
in the breadth direction so as to protrude toward the inside of the main body. The guide arm
104
and the guide rib
18
c
constitute a guide member of the present invention.
When the upper main body portion
100
is open, the other end
104
b
of the guide arm
104
is positioned above the guide rib
18
c
of the manual feeder tray
18
. Therefore, the end
104
b
and the guide rib
18
c
do not interfere with each other. When the upper main body portion
100
is closed, if the manual feeder tray
18
is inclined into the inside of the upper main body portion
100
, a part
106
of the upper main body portion
100
can collide against the second edge
18
b
of the manual feeder tray
18
to damage the manual feeder tray
18
.
In this example, however, as shown in
FIG. 6
, when the upper main body portion is closed, the second edge
104
b
of the guide arm
104
pushes out the guide rib
18
c
of the manual feeder tray
18
to shift temporarily the second edge
18
b
of the manual feeder tray
18
outside to the position shown by two-dot chain line. The shift (distance) is designed not to cause contact of a part
106
of the upper main body
100
with the second edge
18
b
of the manual feeder tray
18
. With the guide rib
18
c
pushed outside, the part
106
of the upper main body portion
100
will not be brought into contact with the second edge
18
b
of the manual feeder tray
18
in the operation of dosing the upper main body portion
100
. Consequently, the upper main body portion can be closed smoothly without damaging the manual feeder tray
18
. When the part
106
of the upper main body portion
100
has been dosed, the second end
104
b
of the guide arm
104
leaves the guide rib
18
c
of the manual feeder tray
18
to restore the manual feeder tray
18
to the original position.
A discharged-sheet tray
20
provided with a similar guide rib and a guide arm attains the object of the present invention.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
As explained above, in the first embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the manual feeder tray comes into contact with the side wall of the upper main body portion when the upper main portion is opened, so that the manual feeder tray is prevented from entering the inside of the upper main body portion. Therefore, even with small dimensional variation of the manual feeder tray parts or in assemblage, the manual feeder tray will not be damaged by collision against the upper main body portion in the operation of dosing the upper main body portion.
In the second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the manual feeder tray is temporarily guided outside the upper main body portion by the guide member during operation of dosing the upper main body portion to prevent the manual feeder tray from entering the inside of the upper main body portion. Therefore, even with a small dimensional variation of the manual feeder tray parts or variation in assemblage, the manual feeder tray will not be damaged by collision against the upper main body portion in the operation of closing the upper main body portion.
In the third embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the discharged-sheet tray overlaps the side wall of the upper main body portion when the upper main portion is opened, so that the discharged feeder tray is prevented from entering the inside of the upper main body portion. Therefore, even with a small dimensional variation of the discharged-sheet tray parts or variation in assemblage, the discharged-sheet tray will not be damaged by collision against the upper main body portion in the operation of closing the upper main body portion.
In the fourth embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the discharged-sheet tray is temporarily guided outside the upper main body portion by the guide member during operation of dosing the upper main body portion to prevent the discharged-sheet tray from entering the inside of the upper main body portion. Therefore, even with dimensional variation of the discharged-sheet tray parts or variation in assemblage, the discharged-sheet tray will not be damaged by collision against the upper main body portion in the operation of dosing the upper main body portion.
Claims
- 1. An image-forming apparatus having a recording sheet-delivery path for delivering a recording sheet from a sheet feed unit to a sheet discharge unit in an opposite side; and being separable into two portions of an upper main body portion and a lower main body portion by opening an opener assembly from one side edge of the upper main body portion around a turning axis provided at the other side edge thereof across the recording sheet delivery path,said image-forming apparatus comprising: a nearly rectangular manual sheet feeder tray having a first edge portion extending in a direction crossing the recording sheet delivery path, and being hinged turnably to the lower main body portion at the side of the sheet feed unit, and a second edge portion being positioned near a space between the upper main body portion pushed up by the opener assembly and the lower main body portion on a sheet feed unit side and extending at the side opposite to the first edge portion and in the crossing direction, the manual sheet feeder tray being positioned selectively for a working mode by bringing down the second edge portion by turning around the first edge portion, or for a non-working mode by turning up the second edge portion around the first edge portion as the turning axis to be fixed; and the manual sheet feeder tray overlapping a part of a side wall of the upper main body portion to be in contact therewith in the non-working mode irrespective of the opener assembly being open or close.
- 2. An image-forming apparatus having a recording sheet-delivery path for delivering a recording sheet from a sheet feed unit to a sheet discharge unit in an opposite side; and being separable into two portions of an upper main body portion and a lower main body portion by opening an opener assembly from one side edge of the upper main body portion around a turning axis provided at the other side edge thereof across to the recording sheet delivery path,said image-forming apparatus comprising: a nearly rectangular manual sheet feeder tray having a first edge portion extending in a direction crossing the recording sheet delivery path, and being hinged turnably to the lower main body portion at the side of the sheet feed unit, and a second edge portion being positioned near a space between the upper main body portion pushed up by the opener assembly and the lower main body portion on a sheet feed unit side and extending at the side opposite to the first edge portion and in the crossing direction, the manual sheet feeder tray being positioned selectively for a working mode by bringing down the second edge portion by turning around the first edge portion, or for a non-working mode by turning up the second edge portion around the first edge portion as the turning axis to be fixed; and comprising a guide member for guiding the manual sheet feeder tray temporarily outside the upper main body portion in losing the upper main body portion from an open state to prevent contact of the manual sheet feeder tray with the upper main body portion.
- 3. An image-forming apparatus having a recording sheet-delivery path for delivering a recording sheet from a sheet feed unit to a sheet discharge unit in an opposite side; and being separable into two portions of an upper main body portion and a lower main body portion by opening an opener assembly from one side edge of the upper main body portion around a turning axis provided at the other side edge thereof across the recording sheet delivery path,said image-forming apparatus comprising: a discharged-sheet tray having a first edge portion extending in a direction crossing to the recording sheet delivery path, and being hinged turnably to the lower main body portion at the side of the sheet discharge unit, and a second edge portion being positioned near a space between the upper main body portion pushed up by the opener assembly and the lower main body portion on a sheet feed unit side and extending at the side opposite to the first edge portion and in the crossing direction; the discharged-sheet tray being positioned selectively for a working mode by bringing down the second edge portion by turning around the first edge portion, or for a non-working mode by turning up the second edge portion around the first edge portion as the turning axis to be fixed; and the discharged-sheet tray overlapping a part of a side wall of the upper main body portion to be in contact therewith in the non-working mode irrespective of the opener assembly being open or close.
- 4. An image-forming apparatus having a recording sheet-delivery path for delivering a recording sheet from a sheet feed unit to a sheet discharge unit in an opposite side; and being separable into two portions of an upper main body portion and a lower main body portion by opening n opener assembly from one side edge of the upper main body portion around a turning axis provided at the other side edge thereof across the recording sheet delivery path,said image-forming apparatus comprising: a discharged-sheet tray having a first edge portion extending in a direction crossing the recording sheet delivery path, and being hinged turnably to the lower main body portion at the side of the sheet discharge unit, and a second edge portion being positioned near a space between the upper main body portion pushed up by the opener assembly and the lower main body portion on a sheet feed unit side and extending at the side opposite to the first edge portion and in the crossing direction; the discharged-sheet tray being positioned selectively for a working mode by bringing down the second edge portion by turning around the first edge portion, or for a non-working mode by turning up the second edge portion around the first edge portion as the turning axis to be fixed; and comprising a guide member for guiding the discharged-sheet tray temporarily outside the upper main body portion in closing the upper main body portion from an open state to prevent contact of the discharged-sheet tray with the upper main body portion.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
10-205525 |
Jul 1998 |
JP |
|
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/JP99/03893 |
|
WO |
00 |
Publishing Document |
Publishing Date |
Country |
Kind |
WO00/05627 |
2/3/2000 |
WO |
A |
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Number |
Name |
Date |
Kind |
4583844 |
Honda |
Apr 1986 |
A |
4835567 |
Ogata |
May 1989 |
A |
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Number |
Date |
Country |
60-149052 |
Aug 1985 |
JP |
1-140551 |
Sep 1989 |
JP |
3-38859 |
Apr 1991 |
JP |
7-44082 |
Feb 1995 |
JP |