This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the corresponding Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-114191, filed Apr. 24, 2008, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to manual feed trays and image forming apparatus including the manual feed trays.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatus such as copying machines, facsimile apparatus, printers, and combinations thereof include, apart from a main body feeding cassette for feeding paper that is frequently used, mechanisms including a tray for allowing for the manual feed of paper. The manual feed tray can be used for feeding paper sheets of a size that is not frequently used or special kinds of paper sheets such as postcards and envelopes. In the above-mentioned image forming apparatus such as copying machines, facsimile apparatus, printers, and combinations thereof, one of the goals is to reduce the size of the apparatus so as to provide for space saving.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned goal, when the manual feed tray is not used, the tray is located within the image forming apparatus main body to define a side surface of the image forming apparatus main body, and when the tray is used, the manual feed tray is moved to a sheet feeding position by pulling out the forward end thereof. In order to provide a sufficient stacking surface for supporting the paper, it is common practice to pull out an extension member from the manual feed tray. Since the forward end of the manual feed tray is upwardly inclined, the extension member has a lock mechanism for retaining the extension member at the pulled-out position so as to prevent the extension member from falling off.
In the manual feed tray 101 disclosed in the first prior art example, each time the manual feed tray 101 is closed, the user has to move the second tray 106 and the first tray 104 into the storage position, resulting in a bother. When the manual feed tray 101 is moved to the storage position, with the second tray 106 and the first tray 104 being left unmoved, the side surface 102 of the image forming apparatus main body 100 and the first tray 104 abut each other or the side surface 102 and the second tray 106 abut each other, and there is a possibility that the first tray 104, the second tray 106 or the side surface 102 of the image forming apparatus main body 100 can be damaged.
Referring to
In view of this, it is an advantage of the present invention to eliminate the trouble of storing the extension tray each time the operator stores the manual feed tray into the image forming apparatus main body. Additionally, an advantage is to prevent damage to the tray extensions and the image forming apparatus main body when the operator forgets to store the tray extensions.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, a manual feed tray is provided comprising a cover member pivotably supported at a lower end and having a storage position and a sheet feeding position; a sheet feeding platform located at the lower end side of the cover member in the sheet feeding position, and mounted to the cover member so as to be capable of sliding toward the upper end side of the cover member and so as to leave a gap between the sheet feeding platform and itself; and an extension member assuming a storage position in which the extension member is stored in the gap between the sheet feeding platform and the cover member and a pulled-out position wherein, in the pulled-out position, a locking protrusion formed on the back surface on a distal end side of the extension member is hooked on an end edge of the upper end side of the cover member, and is pivotally retained so as to move away from the cover member. In the process in which the cover member is pivoted from the sheet feeding position to the storage position, the sheet feeding platform is moved to the upper end side of the cover member by an extension member lock releasing mechanism interlocked with the pivoting of the cover member, pivots the extension member, and separates the locking protrusion of the extension member from the end edge of the upper end side of the cover member, with the extension member moving into the gap between the cover member and the sheet feeding platform so as to be positioned therein.
Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will be apparent from the following Detailed Description and the figures.
In the accompanying drawings:
In the following embodiments of the present invention, reference is made to the drawings. In the drawings, the same members are denoted by the same reference symbols, and a redundant description thereof is omitted as appropriate. Further, in the drawings, some members may be irrelevant to the description and are omitted as appropriate.
(General Construction of Image Forming Apparatus)
Examples of the image forming apparatus 1 include a copy machine, facsimile apparatus, printer, and combinations thereof. In the specific example described below, the image forming apparatus 1 is a printer, however, the present invention is, of course, not limited thereto. The image forming apparatus 1 illustrated in the example
Referring to
An operation panel 10 is provided at the upper end of the front cover 2. On the operation panel 10, a touch-panel type liquid crystal displays and various buttons can be provided. An operator (e.g., user or serviceman) can operate the image forming apparatus 1 by using the operation panel 10.
Further, the front cover 2 has a cover member 3 pivotally mounted in a front-side (outer side) recess 11 thereof. The cover member 3 located in the recess 11 of the front cover 2 can be pulled out by being pivoted from a storage position A1 indicated by the solid line of
Next, the inner construction of the image forming apparatus 1 is described with reference to
As illustrated in
A sheet feeding cassette 20 is located in the sheet accommodating portion 14. One of a plurality of sheets stacked in the sheet feeding cassette 20 is fed into the sheet conveying path 21.
In the board accommodating portion 15, boards (not shown) for controlling the entire image forming apparatus 1 are provided as well as electrical equipments (not shown). The image forming portion 16 is located above the board accommodating portion 15.
In the image forming portion 16, there are arranged an endless intermediate transferring belt 22, and four (four-color) image forming stations aligned in the running direction (indicated by the arrow R1) of the intermediate transferring belt 22, that is, image forming stations 23, 24, 25, and 26 for forming toner images with magenta (M), cyan (C), yellow (Y), and black (K) toners. In the image forming portion 16, the toner images formed by the image forming stations 23 through 26 undergo primary transfer onto the surface of the running intermediate transferring belt 22, and are superimposed one upon the other. Further, the superimposed toner images that have undergone primary transfer onto the intermediate transferring belt 22 undergo secondary transfer onto the sheet at a secondary transfer position 27.
In the toner supply portion 17, there are arranged four toner containers 30, 31, 32, and 33 individually containing the toners of the different colors, e.g., magenta, cyan, yellow, and black.
In this embodiment, the sheet conveying portion 18 includes the sheet conveying path 21 provided between the front side of the main body 4 and the front cover 2 and adapted to guide the sheet conveyed upwards from below, and the sheet conveying path 5 located on the front side of the sheet conveying path 21 and adapted to guide the sheet conveyed downwards from above. Further, the sheet conveying portion 18 includes a manual feeding portion 34. Further, in the sheet conveying path 21, there is provided a fixing device 35 at a position on the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction of the secondary transfer position 27. The sheet conveying path 21 guides the sheet S, to which the toner images have been fixed by the fixing device 35, onto the discharge tray 8, or guides the sheet S into the sheet conveying path 5 (the sheet re-conveying path for double-side printing). When performing double-side printing, a flapper 36 rotates to the position where double-side printing can be performed from the position where single-side printing can be performed, so as to guide the sheet S to the reverse rollers 37. So, the sheet S is conveyed through the sheet conveying path 21 to the reverse rollers 37. Before the front edge of the sheet S reaches the nip potion of the reverse rollers 37, the reverse rollers 37 begin to rotate so that the sheet S is conveyed in the direction of the discharge tray 8 in
(Structure of Manual Feed Tray)
The manual feed tray 42 will now be described with reference to
The cover member 3 is described with reference to
The engagement recess 44 is integrally formed with the cover member 3 near the center of the width of the forward end side (upper end side) of the surface 3c of the cover member 3. The engagement recess 44 engages the cover member 3 to the front cover 2.
The forward end wall 45 extends across the cover member 3. The height of the forward end wall 45, as measured from the surface 3c of the cover member 3, is smaller than the height of the guide plates 46.
The guide plates 46 extend integrally with both side end portions of the cover member 3. Each guide plate includes a cover member support shaft 13, a sheet feeding platform guide groove 48, and an extension-guide guide groove 50. In the following, the cover member support shaft 13, the sheet feeding platform guide groove 48, and the extension-guide guide groove 50 of the guide plate 46 extending on the left-hand side end of the cover member 3 are described. The cover member support shaft 13 is formed integrally with the proximal end side 3a of the guide plate 46 (The proximal end means the end portion on the opposite side of the distal (other) end with respect to the longitudinal direction). The cover member 3 is supported at the proximal end side (lower end side) 3a by the cover member support shaft 13 so as to be pivotable with respect to the main body 4. The cover member 3 can be placed in the storage position A1 (position indicated by the solid line of
The sheet feeding platform guide groove 48 includes a sheet feeding platform proximal end side guide groove 51 for guiding a proximal end side 43a of the sheet feeding platform 43 (see
In the sheet feeding position A2, the sheet feeding platform proximal end side guide groove 51 is an elongated hole gently curved so as to be downwardly convex. The sheet feeding platform proximal end side guide groove 51 is formed so as to extend from the proximal end side 3a of the guide plate 46 to a portion near the center in the longitudinal direction of the guide plate 46 and penetrates the guide plate 46. In the sheet feeding position A2, the sheet feeding platform distal end guide groove 52 is an elongated hole gently curved so as to be upwardly convex. The sheet feeding platform distal end guide groove 52 extends at a portion near the center in the longitudinal direction of the guide plate 46 and extends through the guide plate 46. The extension-guide guide groove 50 is an elongated hole. In the sheet feeding position A2, the proximal end 50a of the extension-guide guide groove 50 is located below the proximal end 52a of the sheet feeding platform distal end guide groove 52. In the sheet feeding position A2, the distal end 50b thereof is located below a portion, generally in the center, of the sheet feeding platform distal end guide groove 52. The extension-guide guide groove 50 is formed of a portion extending along the lower end of the guide plate 46 from the proximal end 50a up to a portion, generally in the center of the extension-guide guide groove 52, and a portion extending from the portion mentioned above along the sheet feeding platform distal end guide groove 52. The distal end 52b of the sheet feeding platform distal end guide groove 52 and the distal end 50b of the extension-guide guide groove 50 are of the same height as measured from the surface 3c of the cover member 3. The proximal end 50a of the extension-guide guide groove 50 is in close proximity to the surface 3c of the cover member 3. Like the guide plate provided at the left-hand end, the guide plate 46 provided at the right-hand end has the cover member support shaft 13, the sheet feeding platform guide groove 48, and the extension-guide guide groove 50 at positions corresponding to those of the guide plate 46 provided at the left-hand end.
The sheet feeding platform 43 is described with reference to
When the cover member 3 is in the sheet feeding position A2, the sheet stacking surface 43c forms a stacking surface that defines the stacking surface on the front end with respect to the sheet feeding direction.
The side plate 53 on the left-hand side of the sheet feeding platform 43 has a hook-shaped protrusion 54 and a sheet feeding platform support protrusion 55 formed integrally therewith. The hook-shaped protrusion 54 is formed integrally with the upper portion of the side plate 53, and its forward end is formed in a hook-like configuration. The sheet feeding platform support protrusion 55 includes a sheet feeding platform proximal end side support protrusion 56 supporting the proximal end side 43a of the sheet feeding platform 43 and a sheet feeding platform distal end side support protrusion 57 supporting the distal end side 43b of the sheet feeding platform 43. The sheet feeding platform distal end support protrusion 57 is formed integrally with the side plate 53 at the distal end side of the side plate 53 of the sheet feeding platform 43, and the sheet feeding platform proximal end side support protrusion 56 is formed integrally with side plate 53 at the lower end of the side plate 53 below the hook-shaped protrusion 54. Similarly, the side plate 53 on the right-hand side of the sheet feeding platform 43 has a hook-shaped protrusion 54, the sheet feeding platform proximal end side support protrusion 56, and the sheet feeding platform distal end side support protrusion 57 at positions corresponding to those of the side plate 53 on the left-hand side.
Further, because the sheet feeding platform proximal end side support protrusions 56 are loosely fitted into the sheet feeding platform proximal end side guide grooves 51 described above and the sheet feeding platform distal end side support protrusions 57 are loosely fitted into the sheet feeding platform distal end guide grooves 52 described above, the sheet feeding platform 43 can move forward and back while maintaining a gap between itself and the surface 3c of the cover member 3.
Here, as described above, in the sheet feeding position A2, the sheet feeding platform proximal end side guide grooves 51 formed in the guide plates 46 of the cover member 3 are gently curved so as to have a downwardly convex. Further, in the sheet feeding position A2, the sheet feeding platform distal end guide grooves 52 are gently curved so as to have an upwardly convex. Thus, when the sheet feeding platform 43 slides in the longitudinal direction of the cover member 3, the back surface 43d of the sheet feeding platform 43 slides while the angle of incline with respect to the surface 3c of the cover member 3 is changed.
When the manual feed tray 42 is in sheet feeding position A2, the sheet feeding platform proximal end side support protrusions 56 are located at the proximal ends 51a of the sheet feeding platform proximal end side guide grooves 51, and the sheet feeding platform distal end side support protrusions 57 are located at the proximal ends 52a of the sheet feeding platform distal end guide grooves 52 (see
When the sheet feeding platform proximal end side support protrusions 56 and the sheet feeding platform distal end side support protrusions 57 slide along the sheet feeding platform guide grooves 48 toward the distal end side 3b of the cover member 3, the back surface 43d of the sheet feeding platform 43 is inclined such that the back surface 43d is spaced apart from the surface 3c of the cover member 3 on the distal end side 43b and in close proximity thereto on the proximal end side 43a. Further, near the center in the longitudinal direction of the sheet feeding platform guide grooves 48, the angle of incline of the back surface 43d of the sheet feeding platform 43 with respect to the cover member 3 is its greatest. Near the center, in a longitudinal direction of the sheet feeding platform guide grooves 48, the curvature of the sheet feeding platform guide grooves 48 is small, and hence the sheet feeding platform 43 slides while substantially maintaining an incline. Further, after the sheet feeding platform proximal end side support protrusions 56 and the sheet feeding platform distal end side support protrusions 57 have passed the position near the longitudinal center of the sheet feeding platform guide grooves 48, the back surface 43d of the sheet feeding platform 43 slides so as to be close to the surface 3c of the cover member 3 on the distal end 43b side and spaced apart therefrom on the proximal end 43a side. When the sheet feeding platform proximal end side support protrusions 56 and the sheet feeding platform distal end side support protrusions 57 slide toward the distal end side of the sheet feeding platform guide grooves 48, the back surface 43d of the sheet feeding platform 43 is substantially parallel to the surface 3c of the cover member 3. The sheet feeding platform 43 assumes this position when the cover member 3 is in position A1.
The extension guide 41 will now be described with reference to
When the manual feed tray 42 is used, the upper surface side of the extension guide 41 defines the sheet support surface 41c. When the cover member 3 is in the sheet feeding position A2, the upper surface side of the extension guide 41 defines a rear end side support surface with respect to the sheet feeding direction.
The pair of extension guide support protrusions 58 are formed integrally with the extension guide 41 on the side surfaces of the extension guide 41 between the proximal end 41a side and the longitudinal center of the side surfaces of the extension guide 41. When the extension guide 41 is mounted to the cover member 3, the extension guide support protrusions 58 are loosely received in the extension-guide guide grooves 50 of the cover member 3. The extension guide support protrusions 58 slide within the extension-guide guide grooves 50, whereby the extension guide 41 can be pulled out in a direction longitudinal to the cover member 3. When the extension guide support protrusions 58 are positioned at the proximal ends 50a of the extension-guide guide grooves 50, the extension guide 41 is in the storage position, and when the extension guide support protrusions 58 are located at the distal ends 50b of the extension-guide guide grooves 50, the extension guide 41 assumes the pulled-out position.
The opening 60 is located near the center of the distal end side of the extension guide 41 so as to penetrate the extension guide 41. When pulling out the extension guide 41 to the pulled-out position, the operator can grasp the opening 60. Further, the opening 60 also functions as an opening through which an engagement protrusion 64 (see
The pair of semi-circular plate protrusions 61 are extended from and are integral with the extension guide 41. When a sheet, having a length in the sheet feeding direction greater than the length between the distal end 41b of the extension guide 41 and the proximal end 43a of the sheet feeding platform 43, is placed on the sheet supporting surface 41c, the sheet is retained with its proximal end portion in the sheet feeding direction, being held by the semi-circular plate protrusions 61, while being upwardly biased due to its stiffness. Thus, it is possible to prevent the sheet from drooping and falling from the sheet supporting surface 41c.
The hooking portions 62 have a triangular sectional configuration. A pair of the hooking portions 62 extend from and are integral near the distal end 41b of the back surface 41d of the extension guide 41. Due to the triangular sectional configuration thereof, the inclined surfaces 62a of the hooking portions 62 are brought into sliding contact with the upper end edge 45a of the distal end wall 45 of the cover member 3 when the extension guide 41 is pulled out. Further, immediately before the hooking portions 62 reach the pulled-out position, the triangular inclined surfaces 62a move over the upper end edge 45a of the distal end wall 45, and vertical surfaces 62b of the hooking portions 62 are located on the side surface 45b of the distal end wall 45 (see
(Relationship between Front Cover and Manual Feed Tray)
As illustrated in
The connection members 63 will be described with reference to
Of the right-hand and left-hand side connection members 63, the left-hand side connection member 63 is illustrated in
Next, engagement/disengagement of the front cover 2 and the cover member 3 will be described with reference to
The operation of opening the cover member 3 will now be described. First, the pulling out the cover member 3 until the cover member 3 assumes the sheet feeding position A2 will be described. When the operation of opening the cover member 3 is started, the hook-like protrusions 54 of the sheet feeding platform 43 move along the elongated holes 65 of the connection members 63, and the connection members 63 are pivoted, causing the hook-like protrusions 54 to abut the distal ends 65a of the elongated holes 65. When the hook-like protrusions 54 abut the distal ends 65a of the elongated holes 65, a tensile force in the longitudinal direction of the cover member 3 is applied to the sheet feeding platform 43 from the connection members 63.
Then, as the connection members 63 are pivoted, the sheet feeding platform proximal end side support protrusions 56 slide from the distal ends 51b to the proximal ends 51a of the sheet feeding platform proximal end side guide grooves 51, and at the same time, the sheet feeding platform distal end side support protrusions 57 slide from the distal ends 52b to the proximal ends 52a of the sheet feeding platform proximal end side guide grooves 52, causing the sheet feeding platform 43 to slide from the distal end side 3b to the proximal end side 3a of the cover member 3. When the cover member 3 is pulled out and the sheet feeding platform proximal end side support protrusions 56 abut the proximal ends 51a of the sheet feeding platform proximal end side guide grooves 51 and/or the sheet feeding platform distal end side support protrusions 57 abut the proximal ends 52a of the sheet feeding platform distal end side guide grooves 52, the cover member 3 cannot be opened any further. At this time, the cover member 3 assumes the sheet feeding position A2. When the cover member 3 is in the sheet feeding position A2, the sheet feeding platform 43 defines the supporting surface for the sheet leading ends. Further, when the operator grasps the opening 60 to pull the extension guide 41 to the pulled-out position, and the hooking portions 62 formed on the back surface 41d of the extension guide 41 are hooked on the side surface 45b of the distal end wall 45 of the cover member 3, the extension guide 41 is supported by the cover member 3 to define the supporting surface for the end of the sheets. As a result, the manual feed tray 42 is in the sheet feeding position A2 illustrated in
(Extension Guide Accommodation Operation)
When the cover member 3 is pivoted from the sheet feeding position A2 to the storage position A1, the sheet feeding platform 43 pivots the extension guide 41. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 includes the extension member lock releasing mechanism which releases the locked status of the hooking portions 62 of the extension guide 41 and the distal end wall 45 of the cover member 3. The extension guide 41 can then be stored in the storage position, due to its own weight, through the storage operation of the manual feed tray 42. Here, the extension member lock releasing mechanism is formed of the connection members 63 described above, the sheet feeding platform 43 connected to the connection members 63, the sheet feeding platform support protrusions 55 formed on the sheet feeding platform 43, and the sheet feeding platform guide grooves 48.
When the hooking portions 62 of the extension guide 41 are detached from the distal end wall 45 of the cover member 3, the cover member 3 is almost upright. Thus, the extension guide support protrusions 58 freely fall along the extension-guide guide grooves 50, and the extension guide 41 is stored in the gap between the sheet feeding platform 43 and the cover member 3.
Here, pursuant to the present invention, the extension guide support protrusions 58 slide along the extension-guide guide grooves 50, and hence, as compared with the construction of the second conventional technology in which the guide rib 115 is fitted into the guide rail 113 (see
After this, the sheet feeding platform 43 slides toward the distal end side 3b of the cover member 3 along the sheet feeding platform guide grooves 48. When the cover member 3 is in the storage position A1, the back surface 43d of the sheet feeding platform 43 becomes substantially parallel to the surface 3c of the cover member 3. Thus, it is possible to achieve space saving in terms of storage space of the manual feed tray 42.
As described above, the image forming apparatus 1, in an embodiment, has a mechanism which automatically releases the retention state of the extension guide 41 through interlock with the operation by which the manual feed tray 42 is stored in the main body 4 from the sheet feeding position A2. Thus, in the course of the operation of storing the manual feed tray 42, the retention of the extension guide 41 with respect to the cover member 3 is released, and the extension guide 41 falls due to its own weight to be moved to the storage position. As a result, the front cover 2 and the sheet stacking surface 41c of the extension guide 41 cannot abut each other because of the extension guide 41 being left unstored, thus preventing damage of the front cover 2 and the sheet support surface 41c of the extension guide 41. Further, because the extension guide 41 is stored through an interlocking with the operation of storing the manual feed tray 42, it is possible to eliminate the need to store the extension guide 41 each time the manual feed tray 42 is stored.
In an embodiment, the sheet feeding platform guide grooves 48 defining the extension member lock releasing mechanism include the sheet feeding platform proximal end guide grooves 51 are downwardly convex and the sheet feeding platform distal end guide grooves 52 are upwardly convex, however, the present invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, any other construction may be used as long as, in the process in which the cover member 3 is pivoted from the sheet feeding position A2 to the storage position A1, it is possible to pivot the extension guide 41 as the extension member by the sheet feeding platform 43, and to release the lock state (hooked state) of the hooking portions 62 of the extension guide 41 and the distal end wall 45 of the cover member 3, thereby allowing the extension guide 41 to fall due to its own weight and be stored between the sheet feeding platform 43 and the cover member 3. For example, the sheet feeding platform guide groove 48 may be parallel to the surface 3a of the cover member 3. That is, even when the back surface 43d of the sheet feeding platform 43 moves parallel to the surface 3c of the cover member 3, it is possible to pivot the extension guide 41 through abutment of the distal end side 43b of sheet feeding platform 43 against the proximal end side 41a of the extension guide 41 so as to release the retention of the extension guide 41 at the pulled-out position through interlock with the storing operation of the manual feed tray 42 when, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
Further, as illustrated in
Although, in the embodiment described above the sheet feeding platform 43 and the extension guide 41 are directly brought into contact with each other, the invention is not limited thereto. Any other structure may be used as long as it is also possible, in the process of pivoting cover member 3 from the sheet feeding position A2 to the storage position A1, to pivot the extension guide 41 as the extension member by the sheet feeding platform 43, and to release the lock state (hooked state) of the hooking portions 62 of the extension guide 41 and the distal end wall 45 of the cover member 3, thereby allowing the extension guide 41 to fall due to its own weight and be stored between the sheet feeding platform 43 and the cover member 3. For example, it is also possible to position a third member on the sheet feeding platform 43, and to bring the third member into contact with the extension guide 41.
The present invention is applicable to a variety of image forming apparatus including those having a manual feed tray which is supported by an openable/closable cover member covering a side surface of the main body and which is used by pulling out an extension tray.
It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2008-114191 | Apr 2008 | JP | national |