JP2000177909A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a device small-sized and compact providing a recorded sheet mount section for mounting an image-recorded sheet on the opposite side to a document mount. SOLUTION: A discharge section 4 having a discharge port where the sheets 18 recorded and printed at a record section 2 are discharged is located at the rear upper section of the platen 5 of a readout section 1. The platen 5 has a function to cover document sheets and a function as a recorded sheet mount section for mounting recorded sheets 18 on the opposite side to a document mount. Tips of the recording sheets 18 image-printed at the record section 2 and discharged to the discharge section 4 droop on the platen 5 and proceed as shown by an arrow A along a rib 8. When rear ends of the recording sheets 18 pass through a paper discharge roller 24, they are dropped on the platen 5 by the tare weight, and the whole recording sheets 18 are loaded on the platen 5, thereby no special paper discharge tray is required, and a device can be made compact.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus having a function of reading a document image of a document sheet placed on a document table and a function of recording an image on a conveyed sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of image recording apparatus,
For example, there are a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction peripheral.

[0003] Among these image recording apparatuses, there is known an apparatus provided with a flat bed type image reading means (flat bed scanner) for scanning a manuscript image of a manuscript placed on a manuscript table and reading the image.

In such an apparatus, a pressure plate for holding a document placed on a document table or the like is rotatably opened and closed.

In view of the above, as a whole configuration of the apparatus, a reading section is arranged at the top of the apparatus main body, and in order to make the apparatus main body integral, a recording section is arranged below the reading section. The recording paper outlet is also arranged below the reading unit.

[0006]

However, in the case of the above-described prior art, the following problems have occurred.

In the above-described prior art configuration, when the recording paper printed by the recording unit is to be ejected by shortening the paper path, after using the apparatus, the recording paper is disposed below the reading unit. Either make the paper ejection tray protrude from either side of the device, or make the U-turn pass the recording paper discharged from the recording unit, and place the paper discharge stacking unit under the wingless under the reading unit in a considerable space. Because of the secured configuration, there is a drawback that the size of the apparatus becomes large both in the former case and in the latter case in the vertical direction.

Further, in general, during maintenance of the recording unit, it is common to operate replacement of the toner cartridge or the ink cartridge from the upper part of the recording unit.
Therefore, it is necessary to replace the cartridge or the like by sliding or tilting the recording unit and the reading unit to a position where the recording unit and the reading unit do not interfere with each other. There was also a disadvantage of becoming.

Therefore, a compact and compact device which is installed on a personal desk and used personally has not been realized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a small and compact device that can be easily used on a desk while sitting down.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus excellent in operability.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image reading means for reading a document image of a document placed on a document table, and recording the image on a sheet to be conveyed. An image recording device comprising: a cover member provided so as to be capable of changing a position for pressing the original toward the original platen in accordance with the thickness of the original placed on the original platen. And a recording sheet stacking section for stacking a sheet on which an image is recorded by the image recording means is provided on a surface of the cover member opposite to the platen.

Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a loading section for loading the recorded sheets on the side surface of the apparatus or inside the apparatus.

The image reading means may be a flatbed scanner for reading a document image while moving substantially horizontally.

The cover member is preferably supported by a link mechanism so that the distance from the surface of the document table can be changed.

[0015] Even when the cover member is located at the highest position, it is preferable that the cover member is located at a position lower than a discharge port from which a sheet on which an image is recorded by the image recording means is discharged.

Preferably, the link mechanism has a plurality of link members, and at least one link member also has a function of pressing a document sheet.

Preferably, the link mechanism has a plurality of link members, and at least one link member is detachably provided.

The cover member is preferably supported so as to be moved while maintaining a substantially horizontal state.

It is preferable that an unrecorded sheet stacking section for stacking an image recording sheet is provided on the side opposite to the cover member via the arrangement section of the image reading means.

Preferably, the pre-recording sheet stacking section is a drawer type storage cassette.

It is preferable that the image recording means is detachably provided at a position where the image recording means does not interfere with the cover member and the image reading means.

[0022]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions of the components described in this embodiment,
The materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them unless otherwise specified.

An image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of the configuration of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG.
An original reading unit 1 of a flatbed scanner type, a recording unit (recording and printing unit) 2 arranged at the upper rear part of the reading unit 1,
Consists of

Below the reading section 1, there is provided a cassette (storage cassette) 3 which stores recording sheets and constitutes a pre-recording sheet stacking section which can be pulled out to the front side of the apparatus.

The discharge unit 4 having a discharge port from which the recording sheet printed by the recording unit 2 is discharged is provided to the reading unit 1.
Is located at the upper rear part of the pressure plate 5.

The reading section 1, the recording section 2, the cassette 3 and the discharge section 4 are arranged at substantially the same position in the lateral direction of the apparatus.

Here, the pressure plate 5 has a function for covering the original sheet, and also has a function as a recording sheet stacking section for stacking the recorded sheets on the opposite side to the original table. Have.

Hereinafter, this point will be described in detail.

In order to support the pressure plate 5, links 31a,
31b is a platen 5 at each end thereof.
And the reading unit 1.

A handle 6 is provided in front of the pressure plate 5. When the handle 6 is lifted, the upper surface of the pressure plate 5 is opened and closed while the horizontal surface of the pressure plate 5 is kept by the rotation of the link 31. .

The arm length of the link is set so that the height h1 on the back side of the pressure plate at the maximum opening time is not higher than the height h2 of the recording / discharging section 4.

Further, a plurality of ribs 8 are formed on the upper surface of the pressure plate 5 so as to be arranged in the lateral direction of the pressure plate 5 so that the rib height increases from the back side to the front side of the pressure plate 5.

The height of the rib 8 on the front side is higher than the height of the handle 6.

In the document reading section 1, an image sensor 14 as image reading means is fixed to a belt 15, and the image sensor 14 is indicated by an arrow 16 as the belt 15 is driven by a reading drive section (not shown). The device is driven horizontally in the front-rear direction.

A contact glass 17 as a document table is provided on the image sensor 14.
The document is set downward on the document placing surface of No. 7, and the image information of the document is obtained by reading scanning of the image sensor 14 in the direction of arrow 16.

The surface of the pressure plate 5 which is located above the contact glass 17 and can be rotated by the link 31 and which is in contact with the contact glass 17 is usually made of sponge or urethane foam. Pressed uniformly.

The recording sheets 18 stored in the recording sheet cassette 3 are picked up one by one by the rotation of a pickup roller 19 driven by a recording driving unit (not shown), and are further fed by a feeding roller 20 driven by the recording driving unit. To the recording unit 2.

In the recording unit 2, an ink jet cartridge 21 as an image recording unit is driven by a carriage driving unit (not shown) on a platen roller 22 in the lateral direction of the apparatus, and printhead 23 prints a recording sheet conveyed by a feed roller 20. The image is printed.

On the downstream side of the print head 23, the paper discharge roller 2
The printed recording sheet is discharged from the paper discharge unit 4 to the front side of the apparatus by the rotation of the platen roller 22 and the paper discharge roller driven by the recording drive unit.

The loading and replacement of the ink jet cartridge 21 can be easily performed by opening and closing the recording cover 12 by the operator since the recording cover 12 is located at the top of the apparatus.

That is, as shown in the figure, the recording cover 12 can be opened and closed so as not to interfere with the pressure plate 5 and the reading section 1, and the ink jet cartridge 21 can be freely attached and detached for maintenance. Improve the quality.

Further, as described above, replenishment of the recording sheets can be easily performed by pulling out the recording sheet cassette 3 toward the apparatus.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a flatbed scanner for reading A4 size originals is placed on a cassette containing 100 sheets of A4 size plain paper as recording sheets, and an ink jet recording unit is arranged at the upper rear part. If it is configured, the size of the apparatus main body is 300
mm, 400 mm in width on the back side, 450 mm in depth, 130 mm in height front side pressure plate part, and about 250 mm in the back side recording part, and the installation surface area requires almost only A3 size, so it is on the personal desk. It is possible to operate the camera while sitting down.

In the above configuration, the operation of the recording sheet in actual use in this embodiment will be described in more detail.

As described above, this apparatus is provided with a document reading section and a recording section, and further provided with an apparatus operation section (not shown) and a control section for transmitting and receiving image information to and from a telephone line or a computer. .

That is, the present apparatus has functions as a copier, a facsimile, a printer, and a scanner.

First, when the pressure plate 5 of the reading unit 1 is closed, that is, when the image sensor 14 of the reading unit 1 is closed.
During the reading operation of the original or when the reading unit 1 is not used, the recording sheet 18 on which the image is printed by the recording unit 2 and is discharged to the discharge unit 4 immediately after the discharge is subjected to the rigidity of the recording sheet and the discharge unit 4. Due to the difference between the height of the recording sheet and the pressure plate 5, the leading end of the recording sheet is in the space above the pressure plate 5.

When the trailing edge of the recording sheet passes through the discharge roller 24, the trailing edge falls on the pressure plate 5 by its own weight, and the entire recording sheet is stacked on the pressure plate 5.

Here, although the maximum reading original size and the maximum recording sheet size of the apparatus are usually the same, even if the maximum recording sheet size is larger, the left and right front sides of the pressure plate 5 are open. It is only loaded with the tip protruding forward along the slope of the rib 8.

If the height difference h2 between the discharge section 4 and the pressure plate 5 is made larger than the maximum storage height of the recording sheet cassette 3, even if a plurality of sheets are printed and recorded, the sheet is already stacked on the pressure plate 5. Only the recording sheets are stacked one after another on the recording sheets, and no jam or the like due to the recording sheets already stacked in the discharge unit 4 occurs.

Therefore, the recording sheet to be printed and discharged is properly stacked on the pressure plate 5, so that a special discharge tray or the like is not required.

Next, in a case where the pressure plate 5 is opened upward while the recording sheets are stacked on the pressure plate 5, that is, a recording sheet which has been printed when a plurality of copies are made is placed on the pressure plate 5. A case where the original is replaced while the original is loaded or a case where a thick original such as a book is read will be described.

As described above, the pressure plate 5 is connected to the link 31a,
Since the arm length of the links 31a and 31b is set such that the maximum height hl on the back side of the pressure plate is lower than the height h2 of the discharge portion 4 even if the pressure plate 5 is moved upward while maintaining the horizontal position at 31b, the pressure plate 5 There is no interference with the discharge unit 4.

The maximum height on the front side of the rib 8 is the handle 6.
Therefore, even if the recording sheet is stacked on the pressure plate 5 and the handle 6 is grasped for operating the pressure plate 5, the recording sheet does not disturb the recording sheet.

Therefore, even if a recording sheet is stacked on the pressure plate 5, the operation of opening and closing the pressure plate 5 can be performed normally, and the pressure plate 5 moves while maintaining the horizontal state, so that the sheet may fall. Therefore, the loading performance of the loaded recording sheets is ensured.

Next, when the recording unit 2 is operating while the pressure plate 5 is being lifted, that is, the second document is set during the discharge of the first recording sheet in copying a plurality of documents. If you are copying a thick manuscript like a book,
Alternatively, when a document is set to read a transmission document in memory during facsimile reception and recording, furthermore,
A case in which the scanner function is used during recording and discharging by the printer function will be described.

In this case, since the recording sheet is only discharged from the discharge section 4 with the pressure plate 5 in the state of 5b, the recording sheet being read is discharged onto the pressure plate 5b as shown by the arrow C. In addition, the discharge stacking performance is kept good.

As described above, the same is true whether or not a recording sheet has already been stacked on the pressure plate 5.

Therefore, when the reading unit 1 is operated, the recording unit 2
The operation of (1) does not need to be considered, and a reliable recording sheet stacking performance can always be obtained.

In the above example, the case where the lengths of the arms of the link 31a and the link 31b are the same has been described. However, in practice, the link 31a is longer than the arm length of the link 31a.
b, increase the arm length, or press platen back side link 31
The same effect as described above can be obtained by using only a, and the operability of setting a document can be improved.

Further, the link 31a and the link 31b may have not only the function of supporting the pressure plate 5 but also the function of holding the sheet together with the pressure plate 5.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, such a configuration will be described.

As shown in the figure, the coil spring 4 is attached to the link 31 and the spring hooks 41 and 42 of the apparatus main body.
3 (FIG. 2) or hinge spring 44 (FIG. 3).

With this structure, the lifted pressure plate 5b receives a force for returning to the position 5 in the initial state.

That is, since the function of pressing the sheet to be read by the pressure plate 5 works, it is possible to reliably press the wavy sheet or the spread book original on the contact glass 17.

Further, the link 31a and the link 31b may be made detachable to facilitate cleaning and maintenance. In particular, the link 31b on the front side is made detachable so that it can be easily seated. Work becomes possible.

The link 31a on the back side of the pressure plate may be configured such that a part of the hinge and the pressure plate 5 is made thin and bendable, or may be connected to the second pressure plate by a hinge. .

Further, in the above-described example, the case where the reading unit uses a contact image sensor has been described, but a flatbed scanner of a type that moves an optical mirror may be used.

Further, the recording system of the recording section uses an ink jet, but the recording system uses an electrophotographic recording system using a toner cartridge, a thermal transfer recording system using an ink sheet, or a thermal recording system using a thermal paper. I do not care.

[0072]

As described above, according to the present invention, a cover member provided so as to be capable of changing a position for pressing the document toward the platen in accordance with the thickness of the document placed on the platen. Since the recording sheet stacking section is provided on the surface opposite to the table, it is possible to read document images of document sheets of various thicknesses, and a stacking section for stacking recorded sheets, There is no need to provide it on the side surface of the device or inside the device, and the device can be reduced in size and size.

If the cover member is supported so as to be moved while maintaining a substantially horizontal state, even if the cover member is moved while the recorded sheets are stacked, the sheet may not fall. Operability is improved.

If the stacking section for pre-recording sheets provided on the opposite side of the cover member via the arrangement section of the image reading means is a drawer type storage cassette, replenishment of pre-recording sheets can be easily performed, and operability can be improved. Is improved.

If the image recording means is configured to be detachable at a position which does not interfere with the cover member and the image reading means,
Maintenance can be easily performed, and operability is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration sectional view of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram when a link member has a function of pressing a document sheet.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram when a link member has a function of pressing a document sheet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reading part 2 Recording part 3 Cassette 4 Ejection part 5 Pressure plate 6 Handle 8 Rib 14 Image sensor 17 Contact glass 20 Feeding roller 21 Ink-jet cartridge 31a, 31b Link

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Nobuo Matsuoka 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yoshihiko Yokota 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F term (reference) 3F054 AA01 AC02 AC03 BA02 BC14 BD02 DA12 5C062 AB17 AB22 AB29 AB30 AB35 AD00 AD02 AD05 AD06 BA00 BA02

Claims (10)

[Claims] An image recording apparatus comprising: image reading means for reading a document image of a document placed on a document table; and image recording means for recording an image on a sheet to be conveyed. A cover member provided so as to be capable of changing a position for pressing the document toward the document table in accordance with the thickness of the document to be placed, and the image recording means on a surface of the cover member opposite to the document table. An image recording apparatus provided with a recorded sheet stacking section for stacking sheets on which images have been recorded. 2. An image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image reading means is a flatbed scanner which reads a document image while moving substantially horizontally. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cover member is supported by a link mechanism so that the distance from the surface of the document table can be changed. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, even when the cover member is located at the highest position, the cover member is located at a position lower than a discharge port from which a sheet on which an image is recorded by the image recording means is discharged. , 2 or 3. 5. The link mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the link mechanism has a plurality of link members, and at least one link member also has a function of pressing a document sheet.
Or the image recording device according to 4. 6. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said link mechanism has a plurality of link members, and at least one link member is detachably provided. 7. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cover member is supported so as to be moved while maintaining a substantially horizontal state. 8. A pre-recording sheet stacking section for stacking an image recording sheet is provided on a side opposite to the cover member via the arrangement section of the image reading means. The image recording device according to any one of the above. 9. An image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said pre-recording sheet stacking section is a drawer type storage cassette. 10. The image recording device according to claim 1, wherein the image recording device is configured to be detachable at a position that does not interfere with the cover member and the image reading device. Image recording device.