U.S. patent number RE39,168 [Application Number 10/436,000] was granted by the patent office on 2006-07-11 for image forming apparatus in use with a sheet post-processing apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Konica Corporation. Invention is credited to Kazuhiro Hirota, Hisao Hosoya, Yuji Kanazawa, Shogo Kato, Masanobu Kawano, Yukihiko Nishimoto, Naoki Otomo, Mamoru Tomotsune, Takanori Yoshida.
United States Patent |
RE39,168 |
Hirota , et al. |
July 11, 2006 |
Image forming apparatus in use with a sheet post-processing
apparatus
Abstract
An image forming apparatus, having a sheet ejection section,
provided in an upper portion of the image forming apparatus, for
ejecting a recording sheet onto an upper surface portion of the
image forming apparatus; a sheet post-processing apparatus for
receiving the recording sheet, ejected from the sheet ejection
section, so as to perform a post-processing operation upon the
recording sheet; and a coupler for coupling the sheet
post-processing apparatus with the image forming apparatus so that
at least a part of the post-processing apparatus is located on the
upper surface portion of the image forming apparatus.
Inventors: |
Hirota; Kazuhiro (Hachioji,
JP), Hosoya; Hisao (Hachioji, JP), Kawano;
Masanobu (Hachioji, JP), Kato; Shogo (Hachioji,
JP), Otomo; Naoki (Hachioji, JP), Kanazawa;
Yuji (Musashino, JP), Yoshida; Takanori (Toda,
JP), Nishimoto; Yukihiko (Akiruno, JP),
Tomotsune; Mamoru (Asaka, JP) |
Assignee: |
Konica Corporation (Tokyo,
JP)
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Family
ID: |
17384329 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/436,000 |
Filed: |
May 12, 2003 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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Reissue of: |
09394846 |
Sep 13, 1999 |
06233427 |
May 15, 2001 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Sep 17, 1998 [JP] |
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10-263062 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
399/407;
399/405 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G03G
15/6538 (20130101); G03G 15/6541 (20130101); G03G
2215/00818 (20130101); G03G 2215/00827 (20130101); G03G
2215/0089 (20130101); G03G 2215/00936 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G03G
15/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;271/3.03,207,279,287,301 ;399/107,401,403,405,407,408,409,410 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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60-142359 |
|
Jul 1985 |
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JP |
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60-158463 |
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Aug 1985 |
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JP |
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62-239169 |
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Oct 1987 |
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JP |
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62-288002 |
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Dec 1987 |
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JP |
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63-267667 |
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Nov 1988 |
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JP |
|
2276691 |
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Nov 1990 |
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JP |
|
541991 |
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Jun 1993 |
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JP |
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5-313428 |
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Nov 1993 |
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JP |
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8319054 |
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Dec 1996 |
|
JP |
|
9309655 |
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Dec 1997 |
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JP |
|
1179540 |
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Mar 1999 |
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JP |
|
Primary Examiner: Ngo; Hoang
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Lucas & Mercanti LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming device
which includes a sheet ejection section, provided in an upper
portion of said image forming device, for finally ejecting a
recording sheet onto an upper surface portion of said image forming
device; a first coupling member; a sheet post-processing apparatus
selectively coupled with said sheet ejection section for performing
a post-processing operation on said recording sheet ejected from
said image forming device, a second coupling member for coupling
with said first coupling member; wherein said sheet post-processing
apparatus is selectively coupled with said sheet ejection section
by said first and section coupling members so that at least a part
of said post-processing apparatus is located on said upper surface
portion of said image forming device.
2. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sheet
post-processing apparatus includes a sheet conveyance section
wherein said sheet conveyance section is provided substantially
horizontal and on said upper surface portion of said image forming
apparatus when said sheet post-processing apparatus is coupled with
said image forming apparatus.
3. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sheet
post-processing apparatus is capable of performing at least one of
staple processing and shift sorting processing.
4. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sheet
post-processing apparatus includes a sheet post-processing section
and said sheet post-processing apparatus is coupled with said image
forming device so that at least a part of said sheet
post-processing section is located on said upper surface portion of
said image forming device.
5. The image forming apparatus of claim 4, wherein said sheet
post-processing section is for performing staple processing.
6. The image forming apparatus of claim 4, wherein said sheet
post-processing section includes: a sheet stacking section for
stacking a plurality of recording sheets so that said plurality of
recording sheets are subjected to post-processing; a sheet
conveyance section for conveying a recording sheet to said sheet
stacking section; wherein said sheet stacking section and sheet
conveyance section are located on said upper surface portion of
said image forming device.
7. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sheet
post-processing apparatus includes: a plurality of movable sheet
ejection trays capable of moving vertically when said sheet
post-processing apparatus is coupled with said image forming
device; wherein said sheet post-processing apparatus is coupled
with said image forming device so that said plurality of movable
sheet ejection trays are projected from said image forming device
at a side thereof.
8. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, comprising: an image
reading device for reading an image; wherein said image reading
device is located upper than said upper surface portion of said
image forming device.
9. The image forming apparatus of claim 8, wherein said sheet
post-processing apparatus is inserted between said image reading
device and said upper surface portion of said image forming device
so as to be coupled with said image forming apparatus.
10. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein said
post-processing apparatus is capable of being drawn to the front
side of said image forming apparatus.
11. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein said upper
surface portion of said image forming device apparatus has a
concave space section.
12. The image forming apparatus of claim 1 wherein said image
forming device comprises: an image forming section for forming an
image on said recording sheet; a sheet-feeding section for feeding
said recording sheet toward said image forming section; and a
conveyance path for conveying said recording sheet from said
sheet-feeding section to said sheet ejection section through said
image-forming section; wherein said image forming section is
located lower than said sheet ejection section, said sheet-feeding
section is located lower than said image forming section, and said
conveyance path is provided substantially vertical in said image
forming apparatus.
13. The image forming apparatus of claim 1 wherein said image
forming device further comprises a sheet ejection tray selectively
coupled with said sheet ejection section for receiving said
recording sheet ejected from said image forming device, said sheet
ejection tray being located on said upper surface portion of said
image forming device when said sheet rejection tray is coupled with
said image forming device; and wherein said sheet ejection tray and
said sheet post-processing apparatus are selectively coupled with
said image forming device.
.Iadd.14. An image forming apparatus comprising: (a) an image
forming device comprising: (a1) a main body having a space formed
in an upper portion of the main body; (a2) an image forming section
for forming an image on a sheet, the image forming section located
in the main body; and (a3) a sheet ejection section for ejecting
the sheet into the space, the sheet ejection section located in the
main body; (b) an image reading device for reading an image on a
document, the image reading device mounted to the main body so that
the space is located beneath the image reading device; and (c) one
of a sheet post-processing apparatus for performing a
post-processing operation on the sheet ejected from the sheet
ejection section, or a sheet ejection tray for stacking the sheet
ejected from the sheet ejection section, wherein the sheet
post-processing apparatus and the sheet ejection tray are removably
installed in the space..Iaddend.
.Iadd.15. The image forming apparatus of claim 14, wherein the
space is open through at least two sides of the main
body..Iaddend.
.Iadd.16. The image forming apparatus of claim 14, wherein the
space is open to at least two sides of the main body..Iaddend.
.Iadd.17. The image forming apparatus of claim 16, wherein the
upper portion of the main body includes an upper housing portion
located laterally adjacent to the space and a lower housing portion
located beneath the space, and wherein the upper housing portion
has a width smaller than that of the lower housing
portion..Iaddend.
.Iadd.18. The image forming apparatus of claim 17, wherein the
upper housing portion has a side wall facing the space and the side
wall has a sheet ejection outlet through which the sheet is ejected
to the one of the sheet post-processing apparatus or the ejection
tray..Iaddend.
.Iadd.19. The image forming apparatus of claim 18, wherein the
upper housing portion is stepped..Iaddend.
.Iadd.20. The image forming apparatus of claim 19, wherein the
image forming device comprises: a sheet feeding section for feeding
the sheet towards the image forming section; the sheet feeding
section located in the main body below the image forming section
and the image forming section is located below the sheet ejection
section; and a conveyance path for conveying the sheet from the
sheet feeding section to the image forming section and to the
ejection section, and the conveyance path having a substantially
vertical orientation in the main body..Iaddend.
.Iadd.21. An image forming apparatus comprising: (a) an image
forming device comprising: (a1) a main body having a space formed
in an upper portion of the main body; (a2) an image forming section
for forming an image on a sheet, the image forming section located
in the main body and (a3) a sheet ejection section for ejecting the
sheet into the space, the sheet ejection section located in the
main body; (b) an image reading device for reading an image on a
document, the image reading device mounted to the main body so that
the space is located beneath the image reading device; and (c) a
sheet post-processing apparatus for performing a post-processing
operation on the sheet ejected from the sheet ejection section,
wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus is removably installed
in the space..Iaddend.
.Iadd.22. The image forming apparatus of claim 21, wherein the
space is open through at least two sides of the main
body..Iaddend.
.Iadd.23. The image forming apparatus of claim 21, wherein the
space is open to at least two sides of the main body..Iaddend.
.Iadd.24. The image forming apparatus of claim 23, wherein the
upper portion of the main body includes an upper housing portion
located laterally adjacent to the space and a lower housing portion
located beneath the space, and wherein the upper housing portion
has a width smaller than that of the lower housing
portion..Iaddend.
.Iadd.25. The image forming apparatus of claim 24, wherein the
upper housing portion has a side wall facing the space and the side
wall has a sheet ejection outlet through which the sheet is ejected
to the sheet post-processing apparatus..Iaddend.
.Iadd.26. The image forming apparatus of claim 25, wherein the
upper housing portion is stepped..Iaddend.
.Iadd.27. The image forming apparatus of claim 25, wherein the
post-processing apparatus includes a sheet post-processing section
for performing the post-processing operation, and wherein the sheet
post-processing section is located in the space..Iaddend.
.Iadd.28. The image forming apparatus of claim 27, wherein the
post-processing apparatus includes a sheet stacking section for
stacking a plurality of the sheets, and wherein the sheet stacking
section is located in the space..Iaddend.
.Iadd.29. The image forming apparatus of claim 28, wherein the
post-processing apparatus is capable of performing at least one of
staple processing and width adjusting to the sheets on the stacking
section..Iaddend.
.Iadd.30. The image forming apparatus of claim 27, wherein the
post-processing apparatus comprises a sheet ejection tray section
for receiving the sheet from the sheet post-processing
section..Iaddend.
.Iadd.31. The image forming apparatus of claim 30, wherein at least
a part of the sheet is conveyed to the sheet ejection tray section,
before the sheet had been stacked in the stacking
section..Iaddend.
.Iadd.32. The image forming apparatus of claim 31, wherein the
sheet ejection tray section has a bin for stacking the sheet, which
is movable in a vertical direction..Iaddend.
.Iadd.33. The image forming apparatus of claim 32, wherein the
sheet ejection tray section is located adjacent one of the two
sides of main body open to the space..Iaddend.
.Iadd.34. The image forming apparatus of claim 32, wherein the
upper portion of the main body has a back wall facing the
space..Iaddend.
.Iadd.35. The image forming apparatus of claim 34, wherein the
image forming device comprises: a sheet feeding section for feeding
the sheet towards the image forming section; the sheet feeding
section located in the main body below the image forming section
and the image forming section is located below the sheet ejection
section; and a conveyance path for conveying the sheet from the
sheet feeding section to the image forming section and to the
ejection section, and the conveyance path having a substantially
vertical orientation in the main body..Iaddend.
.Iadd.36. An image forming apparatus comprising: (a) an image
forming device comprising: (a1) a main body having a space formed
in an upper portion of the main body; (a2) an image forming section
for forming an image on a sheet, the image forming section located
in the main body and (a3) a sheet ejection section for ejecting the
sheet into the space, the sheet ejection section located in the
main body; (b) an image reading device for reading an image on a
document, the image reading device mounted to the main body so that
the space is located beneath the image reading device; and (c) a
sheet ejection tray for stacking the sheet ejected from the sheet
ejection section, wherein the sheet ejection tray are removably
installed in the space..Iaddend.
.Iadd.37. The image forming apparatus of claim 36, wherein the
space is open through at least two sides of the main
body..Iaddend.
.Iadd.38. The image forming apparatus of claim 36, wherein the
space is open to at least two sides of the main body..Iaddend.
.Iadd.39. The image forming apparatus of claim 38, wherein the
upper portion of the main body includes an upper housing portion
located laterally adjacent to the space and a lower housing portion
located beneath the space, and wherein the upper housing portion
has a width smaller than that of the lower housing
portion..Iaddend.
.Iadd.40. The image forming apparatus of claim 39, wherein the
upper housing portion has a side wall facing the space and the side
wall has a sheet ejection outlet through which the sheet is ejected
to the one of the sheet post-processing apparatus or the ejection
tray..Iaddend.
.Iadd.41. The image forming apparatus of claim 40, wherein the
upper housing portion is stepped..Iaddend.
.Iadd.42. The image forming apparatus of claim 41, wherein the
image forming device comprises: a sheet feeding section for feeding
the sheet towards the image forming section, the sheet feeding
section located in the main body below the image forming section
and the image forming section is located below the sheet ejection
section; and a conveyance path for conveying the sheet from the
sheet feeding section to the image forming section and to the
ejection section, and the conveyance path having a substantially
vertical orientation in the main body..Iaddend.
.Iadd.43. An image forming apparatus comprising: (a) an image
reading device for reading an image on a document; (b) an image
forming device located in a main body located beneath the image
reading device, the main body having an upper protruded portion
which extends towards the image reading device, an image forming
section for forming on a sheet and sheet ejection section located
in the upper protruded portion and a space defined by the main
body, the upper protruded portion and the image reading device; (c)
a sheet post-processing apparatus for performing a post-processing
operation on the sheet ejected from the sheet ejection section; and
(d) a guide member for guiding the sheet post-processing apparatus
into the space to a position adjacent a side of the upper protruded
portion of the main body and beneath the image reading device,
wherein the sheet post-processing apparatus is removably installed
in the position utilizing the guide member..Iaddend.
.Iadd.44. The image forming apparatus of claim 43 wherein the
post-processing apparatus comprising a sheet ejection tray section
for stacking the sheets after the post-processing operation, and
the sheet ejection tray is located at a side of the main
body..Iaddend.
.Iadd.45. The image forming apparatus of claim 44, wherein the
image forming device comprises: a sheet feeding section for feeding
the sheet towards the image forming section, the sheet feeding
section located in the main body below the image forming section
and the image forming section is located below the sheet ejection
section; and a conveyance path for conveying the sheet from the
sheet feeding section to the image forming section and to the
ejection section, and the conveyance path having a substantially
vertical orientation in the main body..Iaddend.
.Iadd.46. An image processing system, comprising: an image forming
apparatus for forming an image on a sheet, the image forming
apparatus having a cavity in an upper portion thereof and an outlet
for ejecting a sheet from the image forming apparatus; and a sheet
post-processing apparatus for performing at least one
post-processing operation on the sheet from the outlet, at least a
portion of the sheet post-processing apparatus being removably
installed in the cavity of the image forming
apparatus..Iaddend.
.Iadd.47. The image processing system of claim 46, further
comprising a guide rail for positioning the portion of sheet
post-processing apparatus in the cavity..Iaddend.
.Iadd.48. The image processing system of claim 47, further
comprising a roller for engaging the guide rail when positioning
the portion of the post-processing apparatus in the
cavity..Iaddend.
.Iadd.49. The image processing system of claim 47, further
comprising an image reading device positioned above the
cavity..Iaddend.
.Iadd.50. The image processing system of claim 47, wherein the
sheet post-processing apparatus has at least one sheet ejection
tray for receiving the sheet..Iaddend.
.Iadd.51. The image processing system of claim 47, wherein the
image forming apparatus has a generally vertical sheet conveyance
path therein..Iaddend.
.Iadd.52. The image processing system of claim 47, wherein the
post-processing operation on the sheet comprises stapling the
sheet..Iaddend.
.Iadd.53. The image processing system of claim 47, wherein the
post-processing operation on the sheet comprising stacking the
sheet..Iaddend.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable
of being mounted with a sheet post-processing apparatus which
conducts post-processing such as staple processing, or shift
sorting processing, on a sheet ejected out of an image forming
apparatus such as an electrophoto-graphic copying machine, a
printer and a facsimile machine.
There is used a sheet post-processing apparatus called a finisher
as an apparatus which conducts collating and stapling with a
stapler for the number of sets of copies for plural recording
sheets which have thereon recorded images and are ejected out of an
image forming apparatus. Further, some of the sheet post-processing
apparatuses have functions of shift sorting processing, collating
processing, punching processing and bookbinding processing, in
addition to the aforesaid staple processing.
This finisher is connected to an image forming apparatus such as a
copying machine and a printer in terms of function, and it is
driven in accordance with sequence operations of copy process or
print process.
There is an image forming apparatus wherein a sheet ejection
section is provided on the upper portion of the image forming
apparatus, and a sheet having thereon formed images is ejected out
of the sheet ejection section onto the top face of the apparatus to
be stacked thereon, in the case of ordinary sheet ejection.
In TOKKAIHEI No. 9-309655, there is disclosed image forming
apparatus 1 wherein image forming section 62 is arranged under
sheet ejection section 61 and sheet-feeding section 63 is arranged
under the image forming section 62, and a sheet is conveyed
vertically.
Sheet S fed from sheet-feeding tray 631 of the sheet-feeding
section 63 is fed to paired registration rollers 65 on sheet
conveyance path 64. On the other hand, in synchronization with a
toner image formed by writing unit 66 on photoreceptor drum 621 of
the image forming section 62, the sheet S is conveyed from the
paired registration rollers 65 to transfer section 622 where the
toner image is transferred onto the sheet S. The sheet S carrying
thereon the toner image is conveyed to fixing section 67 where the
toner image is fixed, and then is conveyed to the sheet ejection
section 61. Then, the sheet S is conveyed through horizontal
conveyance path 681 of relay conveyance unit 68 provided on the
upper portion of the image forming apparatus 1, to be fed into
sheet post-processing apparatus FS.
The sheet post-processing apparatus FS conducts sheet
post-processing such as staple processing, shift sorting and
collating for the sheet S accepted by the sheet post-processing
apparatus FS, and then, ejects the sheet S on a sheet ejection
tray.
FIG. 7(b) shows an another example of a conventional image forming
apparatus wherein sheet conveyance in an image forming section is
made to be in the vertical direction. On the upper portion of image
forming apparatus 1, there is mounted sorter (mail box) ST having a
sheet ejection tray with four bins.
Incidentally, sheet post-processing apparatuses are already
disclosed in TOKKAISHO Nos. 60-142359, 60-158463, 62-239169,
62-288002, 63-267667, TOKKAIHEI Nos. 2-276691, 8-319054 and
TOKKOHEI No. 5-41991.
In image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 7(a), sheet
post-processing apparatus FS is connected to the side of image
forming apparatus 1. Therefore, horizontal conveyance path 681 of
relay conveyance unit 68 is made to be long and large and
conveyance processing after sheet ejection is made to take a long
time accordingly, which is a disadvantage, and sheet conveyance
efficiency is lowered. Further, a housing which houses therein a
staple processing section, a shift sorting processing section and a
sheet intermediate stacking section (intermediate stacker section)
is protruded bulkily from the side of image forming apparatus 1,
which causes a disadvantage of increase in a floor space.
In image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 7(b), the total height
as a system is increased, because sorter (mail box) ST as a sheet
post-processing apparatus is connected to the top surface of image
forming apparatus 1. In particular, if an image reading device
(scanner) is provided on the upper portion of image forming
apparatus 1, the scanning plane of the scanner is heightened to
make an operation difficult. In addition to that, the number of
bins in the sorter and the number of sheets to be stacked are
restricted.
An object of the invention is to correct the aforesaid disadvantage
in an image forming apparatus equipped with a conventional sheet
post-processing apparatus and to attain the following objects.
(1) To improve copying productivity by shortening a sheet
conveyance path in the image forming apparatus and in the sheet
post-processing apparatus and thereby by reducing sheet conveyance
time, and to improve sheet conveyance efficiency and lower the cost
by simplifying the sheet conveyance mechanism. (2) To offer a
compact system by reducing the floor space of the image forming
apparatus equipped with a sheet post-processing apparatus. (3) To
offer a sheet post-processing apparatus capable of being provided
with multi-deck sheet ejection tray (for example, sheet ejection
tray with 10-20 bins) or with a movable sheet ejection tray having
a long distance to go up and down on which a large number of sheets
(for example, 2000 sheets) can be stacked.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object stated above can be attained by an image forming
apparatus having on the upper portion thereof a sheet ejection
section which ejects a sheet having thereon formed images onto the
top face of the image forming apparatus, wherein a sheet
post-processing apparatus having a sheet conveyance section capable
of being connected to the sheet ejection section is installed
removably on the top face of the image forming apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a diagram of the total structure of an image forming
apparatus equipped with a sheet post-processing apparatus and an
automatic document feeder.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of the upper
portion of the image forming apparatus from which the sheet
post-processing apparatus has been removed.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the sheet post-processing
apparatus.
Each of FIGS. 4(a)-4(c) is an illustrative diagram showing how a
sheet is conveyed by the sheet post-processing apparatus.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an image forming apparatus showing
how a sheet ejection tray is mounted.
FIG. 6 is a side view of the left side of an image forming
apparatus from which a sheet post-processing apparatus and a sheet
ejection tray have been removed.
FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) represent a structure diagram of an image
forming apparatus equipped with a conventional sheet
post-processing apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the image forming apparatus equipped with a
sheet post-processing apparatus will be explained based on the
diagrams attached hereto.
FIG. 1 is a diagram of the total structure of image forming
apparatus 1 equipped with sheet post-processing apparatus
(finisher) FS, automatic document feeder DF and image reading
device (scanner) Y.
The illustrated image forming apparatus 1 is equipped with image
processing section 2, image writing section 3, image forming
section 4, high voltage power supply sections 5A and 5B, cassette
sheet-feeding section 6, fixing unit 7, sheet ejection section 8
and automatic duplex copy sheet-feeding section (ADU) 9.
On the upper portion of the image forming apparatus 1, there are
mounted image reading device Y and automatic document feeder DE. On
the part of sheet ejection section 8 on the illustrated left side
of the image forming apparatus 1, there is connected sheet
post-processing apparatus (finisher) FS.
Document d placed on a platen of automatic document feeder DF is
conveyed in the arrayed direction, and images on one side or on
both sides are read by an optical system of image reading device Y,
and then are read onto CCD image sensor Y1.
Analog signal obtained through photoelectric transfer by CCD image
sensor Y1 are subjected to analog processing, A/D transfer, shading
correction, and image compression processing at the image
processing section, and then, signals are sent to image writing
section 3.
In the image writing section 3, light outputted from a
semiconductor laser is irradiated on a photoreceptor drum of image
forming section 4, and a latent image is formed. In the image
forming section 4, processing operations such as charging,
exposure, developing, transfer, separation and cleaning are
conducted, and images are transferred onto sheet S conveyed from
cassette sheet-feeding section 6. The sheet S carrying images is
subjected to fixing by fixing unit 7, and is fed into sheet
post-processing apparatus FS from sheet ejection section 8. Or,
sheet S on which image processing has been finished on one side
thereof fed into automatic duplex copy sheet-feeding section 9 by
conveyance path switching plate 8A is subjected again to duplex
image forming at image forming section 4, and then is fed into
sheet post-processing apparatus FS from sheet ejection section
8.
The sheet post-processing apparatus FS is removably installed on
the upper portion of the main body of image forming apparatus 1. In
the sheet post-processing apparatus FS, sheet conveyance section
10, sheet stacking section 20, sheet post-processing section 30 and
movable sheet ejection tray section 40 are arranged to be almost in
the horizontal direction.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the structure of the upper
portion of image forming apparatus 1 from which sheet
post-processing apparatus FS is removed.
In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, on the right side in the image forming
apparatus main body, image forming section 4 is provided at the
center, cassette sheet-feeding section 6 is provided under the
image forming section 4 in the direction of the height of the
apparatus main body, and fixing unit 7 and sheet ejection section 8
are provided above the image forming section 4. Due to this
vertical arrangement, sheet conveyance path (1) which is almost in
the vertical direction is formed. Sheet S fed out of cassette
sheet-feeding section 6 is conveyed along this vertical upper sheet
conveyance path (1) to be ejected out of the apparatus main
body.
Sheet conveyance path (2) formed by automatic duplex copy
sheet-feeding section 9 is formed to be almost in parallel with
this vertical sheet conveyance path (1).
Owing to these vertical sheet conveyance paths (1) and (2) thus
formed, there is structured a shortest sheet conveyance path from
cassette sheet-feeding section 6 to sheet ejection section 8. By
opening one side of the apparatus main body, it is possible to make
the sheet conveyance paths (1) and (2) to be exposed easily.
In the vertical conveyance system like this, main structural means
can be concentrated on one side of the apparatus main body.
Therefore, it is possible to form concave space section 1A on the
top surface section of the apparatus main body and to form concave
space section 1B at the central section of the apparatus main body.
These concave space sections 1A and 1B are formed to be lower in
terms of position than a sheet ejection outlet of sheet ejection
section 8.
When sheet post-processing apparatus FS is mounted on image forming
apparatus 1, sheet conveyance section 10 of the sheet
post-processing apparatus FS is housed in the aforesaid concave
space section 1A. In this case, sheet inlet section 10A of
the-sheet conveyance section 10 is connected with sheet ejection
outlet 8B of sheet ejection section 8 in image forming apparatus 1.
Further, under this state of mounting, sheet stacking section 20
and sheet post-processing section 30 of sheet post-processing
apparatus FS are housed in the aforesaid concave space section 1B.
Movable sheet ejection tray section 40 composed of plural sheet
ejection trays and means to move up and down is positioned on the
side of the apparatus main body.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of sheet post-processing apparatus
FS.
In FIG. 3 sheet post-processing apparatus FS is composed of sheet
conveyance section 10, sheet stacking section 20, sheet
post-processing section 30 and movable sheet ejection tray 40 to be
unitized as a unit which can be mounted on and dismounted from the
apparatus main body, and it can be drawn out along a guide rail
toward this side of the drawing.
The positioning of the post-processing apparatus, in relation to
the apparatus main body, is carried out by, for example, inserting
a roller, provided in the post-processing apparatus, to the dent
portion provided in the apparatus main body. Therefore, a coupling
member is configured with such guide rail, roller or the like.
The sheet conveyance section 10 is composed of sheet conveyance
guide plate 11 which is connected with inlet section 10A facing
sheet ejection outlet 8B of sheet ejection section 8 and guides
ejected sheet S to sheet stacking section 20 and of sheet
conveyance paired rollers 12 which nip sheet S to convey it. The
sheet conveyance guide plate 11 forms a conveyance path which is
mostly horizontal.
The sheet stacking section 20 is composed of conveyance belt 21,
driven rollers 22A and 22B which come in pressure contact with the
conveyance belt 21 to be driven to rotate, guide plate 22C located
on the upper side of the conveyance belt 21, driving roller 23A
which is arranged at the down-stream side of the conveyance of the
conveyance belt 21 and is connected with a driving source to rotate
regularly and reversely, driving roller 23B which is swung to be
capable of coming in contact with or parting from the driving
roller 23A, stacking stand 24 on which the sheet S ejected from the
conveyance belt 21 is stacked, width adjusting means 25 which
regulates a width of sheet S stacked on the stacking stand 24 to
true up the sheet edge, stopping means (stopper) 26 which is hit by
the leading edge in the advancement direction of sheet S stacked on
the stacking stand 24 to determine the position in the conveyance
direction, and ring-shaped auxiliary conveyance member 27 which
feeds sheet S stacked on the stacking stand 24 into the stopper
26.
The sheet post-processing section 30 is composed of stapling means
(stapler) 31 which forces staple SP into a bundle of sheets and
moving means 32 which moves the stapler 31 to the prescribed
position to rotate it.
The movable sheet ejection tray 40 is composed of plural bins 41
which are arranged obliquely, and elevator means 42 which moves the
bins 41 up and down in the vertical direction.
Incidentally, through the illustrated sheet post-processing
apparatus FS is equipped with bins 41 of four steps, there are
margin spaces at the lower portion and the upper portion of the
movable sheet ejection tray 40. Therefore, it is possible to
install sheet post-processing apparatus FS having the greater
number of bins (for example, the sheet post-processing apparatus
with 10-20 bins). Further, this sheet post-processing apparatus FS
can also have a function for sorting such as a mail box.
Each of FIGS. 4(a)-4(c) is an illustration showing how sheet S is
conveyed in sheet post-processing apparatus FS.
(1) First conveyance path (3) (see FIG. 4(a))
Sheet S having thereon formed images ejected from sheet ejection
outlet 8B of sheet ejection section 8 in image forming apparatus 1
is led to inlet section 10A of sheet conveyance section 10 in sheet
post-processing apparatus FS, then, it passes through a conveyance
path in sheet conveyance guide plate 11, and is nipped by rotating
sheet conveyance paired rollers 12 and is conveyed to be fed into
sheet stacking section 20.
The sheet S fed into the sheet stacking section 20 is conveyed by
rotating conveyance belt 21 and by driven rollers 22A and 22B which
are in pressure contact with the conveyance belt 21. The leading
edge section of the sheet S is nipped between driving roller 23A
which is located at the downstream side in conveyance and rotates
in the regular direction and driving roller 23B to pass, and goes
up along the inclined face of bin 41 of the movable sheet ejection
tray 40. When the trailing edge section of the sheet S passes
through the nipping position between the conveyance belt 21 and
driven roller 22B, the trailing edge section of the sheet S is
lowered by gravity and it touches the inclined face of the stacking
stand 24.
(2) Second conveyance path (4) (see FIG. 4(b))
After the passage of the trailing edge of sheet S is detected by
sensor PSI provided in the vicinity of conveyance belt 21, the
prescribed time is measured by the timer, and driving roller 23B is
driven to rotate reversely, and thereby, rotation of driving roller
23A driven by the same driving source is stopped through a one-way
clutch. Incidentally, driving roller 23B is made of soft foamed
material such as a sponge roller, and it comes in slight pressure
contact with sheet S on driving roller 23A.
Due to switching to the reverse rotation of driving roller 23B,
sheet S which is in slight pressure contact with driving roller 23B
rotating reversely and driving roller 23A which stops at the
nipping position is conveyed downward obliquely on stacking stand
24, and then is stopped when the trailing edge of the sheet S hits
stopper 26. When the sheet is conveyed downward obliquely,
auxiliary conveyance member 27 conveys the sheet while preventing
that the sheet is lifted.
Paired width adjusting means 25 provided rotatably on both sides of
the stacking stand 24 can move in the direction perpendicular to
the sheet conveyance direction, and they are opened to be broader
than the sheet width when they accept the sheet conveyed on the
stacking stand 24, and they rap the side of sheet S in its lateral
direction and conduct truing up of a bundle of sheets (width
adjustment) when the sheet is conveyed on the stacking stand 24 and
is stopped by stopper 26.
Succeeding sheet S also passes through the first conveyance path
(3) and the second conveyance path (4) in the same way, and is
stacked successively on the preceding sheet S on the stacking stand
24, and it is adjusted in terms of width each time it is stacked
and comes in contact with the stopper to be stopped.
After trailing edges of all sheets S equivalent to one copy come in
contact with stopper 26, staple SP is forced into a bundle of
sheets by stapler 31, thus, a booklet is formed.
(3) Third conveyance path (5) (see FIG. 4(c))
After completion of the staple processing, the suspended driving
roller 23A is switched to the regular rotation, and a bundle of
sheets nipped between the driving roller 23A and the driving roller
23B which has been switched to strong pressure contact by a cam and
others is conveyed upward obliquely to be housed in bin 41.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of image forming apparatus 1 showing how
sheet ejection tray (fixed sheet ejection tray) 50 is mounted.
Positioning of unitized sheet post-processing apparatus FS is
released, and it is drawn out of image forming apparatus 1 through
a guide rail by pulling toward this side in FIG. 1.
Next, sheet ejection tray 50 is inserted into concave space
sections 1A and 1B on the upper portion of the image forming
apparatus by pushing it from this side to the back side on the
page, and the sheet ejection tray 50 is fixed. The sheet S
requiring no post-processing can be ejected from sheet ejection
section 8 to be stacked on the sheet ejection tray 50.
FIG. 6 is a side view of the left side of image forming apparatus 1
from which sheet post-processing apparatus FS and sheet ejection
tray 50 have been removed.
It is possible to get an unbroken view of sheet ejection outlet 8B
of sheet ejection section 8 and an sheet ejection roller from the
left side of image forming apparatus 1. Below the sheet ejection
outlet 8B, the concave space section 1A on the upper step and the
concave space section 1B on the lower step are arranged to be
opened. In the convex section on the illustrated left side of the
concave space sections 1A and 1B, there are housed driving
mechanism, a power supply section and control sections.
In the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, a sheet
feeding means of cassette sheet feeding section 6, image forming
section 4, fixing unit 7 and sheet ejection section 8 are provided
upward in this order vertically in the main body of the image
forming apparatus 1 as stated above. Therefore, it is possible to
minimize the number of reversing sections in the conveyance path
for sheet S, and thereby to restrain occurrence of problems such as
conveyance troubles (occurrence of jam).
Incidentally, automatic duplex copy sheet feeding section (ADU) 9
is arranged on the side (right side in FIG. 1) which is opposite to
that where a sheet-feeding cassette of cassette sheet feeding
section 6, high voltage power supply sections 5A and 5B and image
writing section 3 are provided.
Further, since the image forming apparatus 1 is structured as
stated above, concave space sections 1A and 1B are formed on the
other side of the fixing unit 7 and sheet ejection section 8. In
the present embodiment, in particular, a useless space is formed
between the image forming apparatus 1 and image reading device Y,
because the image reading device Y is provided on the top surface
of the main body of the image forming apparatus 1.
In the present embodiment, therefore, sheet post-processing
apparatus FS is provided removably in that space. In the structure
in this case, a part of the sheet post-processing apparatus FS
(including sheet conveyance section 10, sheet stacking section 20
and sheet post-processing section 30) is arranged on the upper
portion (above the sheet-feeding cassette of cassette sheet feeding
section 6 and image writing section 3) of the image forming
apparatus 1, and movable sheet ejection tray section 40 wherein a
large number of bins are arranged vertically is arranged to be
protruded from the side of the main body of the image forming
apparatus 1.
Therefore, it is possible to shorten the conveyance path for sheet
S ejected from sheet ejection section 8 of the image forming
apparatus 1 and thereby to reduce the sheet conveyance time to
improve copying productivity, and it is also possible to simplify
the sheet conveyance structure for improvement of sheet conveyance
and reduction of manufacturing cost.
It is further possible to reduce a floor space for the image
forming apparatus 1 equipped with sheet post-processing apparatus
FS, and thereby to attain a compact system. Further, the movable
sheet ejection tray section 40 can be made to be one with multiple
steps (having the steps in quantity not less than four steps in the
present embodiment illustrated), or to be one on which a large
number of sheets can be stacked.
In the present embodiment, it is further possible to install sheet
ejection tray 50 or sheet post-processing apparatus FS in concave
space sections 1A and 1B. Namely, sheet ejection tray 50 and sheet
post-processing apparatus FS are made to be replaceable each other
so that either one of them may be installed. It is therefore
possible to establish a necessary system simply without increasing
a floor space, in compliance with user's demands.
Through the sheet post-processing apparatus connected to a copying
machine is shown in the present embodiment, the invention can also
be applied to a sheet post-processing apparatus used through
connection to an image forming apparatus such as a printer and a
facsimile machine or to a printing machine of a popular type. For
example, it is also possible to apply to one which is made to be of
printer specifications by removing the image reading device Y
installed removably on the image forming apparatus 1.
In the image forming apparatus of the invention, owing to the
structure wherein a concave space section is formed on the upper
surface section of the apparatus, and a sheet post-processing
apparatus equipped with a sheet conveyance section having a
horizontal conveyance path, a sheet stacking section and with a
sheet post-processing section is utilized to be capable of being
installed on the concave space section, it is possible to minimize
a floor space of an image forming apparatus equipped with a sheet
post-processing apparatus.
In addition, by making a sheet conveyance path from a sheet
ejection section to a post-processing section to be shortened, an
improvement of efficiency of sheet conveyance is attained.
Further, due to the fixed sheet ejection tray which can be mounted
on the concave space section stated above, it is possible to
minimize a floor space to attain compactness by eliminating the
protruded portion on the main body of the image forming apparatus,
even when a sheet post-processing apparatus is not mounted, and to
improve sheet handling efficiency.
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