CN100524057C

CN100524057C - Image forming apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN100524057C
Application number: CNB2006100578144A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 秋山滋美; 石田博; 秋山卓也
Original assignee: Kyocera Mita Corp
Current assignee: Kyocera Document Solutions Inc
Priority date: 2005-02-28
Filing date: 2006-02-27
Publication date: 2009-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 2026-02-27
Also published as: CN1828438A

Abstract

An image forming apparatus has a main body ( 11 ). A side wall ( 12 ) extends up at one side of the main body ( 11 ) while a rear wall ( 13 ) extends up at the rear of the main body ( 11 ). A document reader ( 14 ) is disposed atop the side wall ( 12 ) and the rear wall ( 13 ), and a discharging unit is defined between the document reader ( 14 ) and the main body ( 11 ). A discharge tray ( 16 ) is provided in the discharging unit for receiving recording sheets after printing, and a sheet storing portion ( 18 ) is formed between the upper surface of the main body ( 11 ) and the discharge tray ( 16 ). The sheet storing portion ( 18 ) has an opening at least at the front opposite to the rear wall ( 13 ), and the recording sheet is held to project out through the opening upon being stored into the sheet storing portion ( 18 ).

Description

Image forming apparatus with a toner supply device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system such as a copier, a printer, or a facsimile machine, and more particularly to a structure of a paper discharge unit that discharges a post-printing recording paper.

Background

Generally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, or a facsimile, a printed (image-formed) recording sheet (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as a sheet) is fed to a sheet discharge unit such as a sheet discharge tray, and a user discharges the sheet from the sheet discharge unit after printing. However, when the number of sheets to be printed is large, since a certain time is required for printing, the user often leaves the image forming apparatus temporarily during printing and performs other operations, and when it is estimated that printing is to be completed, the user goes to the image forming apparatus and takes out paper from the paper discharge unit.

However, if the image forming apparatus is temporarily separated from the printing apparatus and another operation is forgotten, the printed paper may be left in the paper discharge unit even after the printing is completed. If the paper is still placed on the paper discharge portion, it becomes troublesome for other users who perform printing thereafter to distinguish their own paper from the paper placed on the paper discharge portion.

Further, although it is not necessary to perform a distinction or the like when the paper placed on the paper discharge unit is removed and the printing itself is performed, it is often confusing where the paper taken out of the paper discharge unit is placed, and it is sometimes difficult to handle the paper without knowing who the paper taken out of the paper discharge unit is.

Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2001-206609 discloses that a sheet discharge unit is provided in a space formed between a scanner unit and a main body unit of an image forming apparatus, and a box-shaped sheet discharge cassette having no cover is provided in the sheet discharge unit. The box-shaped paper output box rotates around a specified support column in forward and reverse directions, and can change the state between the state of being put into the paper output part and the state of being pulled out from the paper output part. The side wall facing the outside of the box-shaped paper output box is made of transparent material, and the inside of the box-shaped paper output box can be seen through the transparent side wall.

The image forming apparatus disclosed in japanese patent laid-open No. 2001-206609 is only to adopt a transparent material for the side wall of the sheet discharge tray to improve visibility, and to make the sheet discharge tray movable to facilitate only the removal of the recording sheet set in the sheet discharge tray. Therefore, as described above, if the printed paper is left in the paper discharge unit after printing is completed, the user who performs printing thereafter will be confused as to how the paper is to be handled, and the problem of being unable to properly perform his/her printing cannot be solved.

Further, it is conceivable that an appropriate table is disposed beside the image forming apparatus, and the printed sheets placed in the sheet discharge unit are transferred to the table while the printed sheets are still placed in the sheet discharge unit. However, this requires a dedicated table top, which increases the cost of the office equipment, and requires an extra space, and a new problem has been proposed to solve the problem of a narrow working space.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which even if a sheet after printing is set in a sheet discharge unit, a user who performs printing thereafter can perform printing directly, and the user who sets the sheet in the sheet discharge unit can easily know that there is a sheet of his own.

To achieve the object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention includes: a main body part at least provided with an image forming unit and a fixing unit; a sheet discharge unit including a sheet discharge tray on which a recording sheet discharged after an image is formed in the main body unit is placed; a sheet discharge port located above the sheet discharge tray, through which the recording sheet is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray; and a paper storage unit formed between the upper surface of the main body and the paper output tray and capable of storing and holding at least a part of the recording paper; the paper storage unit has a predetermined opening on at least one of a front surface side and a side surface side opposite to the paper discharge port, and the recording paper can be put in or taken out from the paper storage unit through the opening.

Since the image forming apparatus of the present invention has the above-described paper storage unit, even when the preceding user still places the recording paper on the paper discharge tray (discharge tray), the next user can place the recording paper that the preceding user has forgotten to take away into the paper storage unit, and cause the apparatus to perform an image forming operation such as copying. Therefore, it is possible to improve operability without requiring a lot of time for sorting recording sheets. In particular, if a state in which a part of the recording paper is allowed to protrude from the opening of the paper storage portion can be maintained, the presence of the recording paper in the paper storage portion can be easily seen with the naked eye. As a result, it is also desired to have such an effect that the former user easily notices forgetting to take away the recording paper.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view in the direction A-A of FIG. 2, showing the state of the sheet discharge tray set to the horizontal state;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 2, showing the state of the sheet discharge tray changed to the inclined state;

fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to embodiment 3 of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to embodiment 4 of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a side view showing an image forming apparatus according to embodiment 5 of the present invention;

fig. 8A and 8B are perspective views showing an image forming apparatus according to embodiment 6 of the present invention, and each of them is: fig. 8A shows a state where the sheet discharge tray height is set at the lower level, and fig. 8B shows a state where the sheet discharge tray height is set at the upper level;

fig. 9 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to embodiment 7 of the present invention;

fig. 10 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to embodiment 8 of the present invention;

fig. 11 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to embodiment 9 of the present invention;

fig. 12 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to embodiment 10 of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to embodiment 11 of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the members described in the embodiment are merely illustrative examples, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto unless otherwise specified.

Embodiments 1 and 2

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus 10 (copying machine) according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, and fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus 10a according to embodiment 2 of the present invention. Fig. 3 and 4 are sectional views in the direction a-a of fig. 2, respectively, fig. 3 showing that the state of the sheet discharge tray 16 is set to the horizontal state, and fig. 4 showing that the state of the sheet discharge tray 16 is changed to the inclined state. As shown in these figures, the

image forming apparatuses

10 and 10a according to embodiments 1 and 2 include a main body 11 that performs an image forming operation, an original reading unit 14 disposed above the main body 11, and a paper discharge unit provided between the main body 11 and the original reading unit 14 and having an open portion for discharging paper.

The main body 11 houses an image forming unit (not shown), a fixing unit (not shown), and the like. The side wall portion 12 extending upward is integrally attached to the left side surface (one side surface) of the main body portion 11 in fig. 1 and 2, and the back surface portion 13 is integrally attached to the back surface of the main body portion 11. Further, a paper discharge path (not shown) from the main body 11 to a document reading unit 14 described later is formed in the side wall portion 12.

Document reading unit 14 is disposed on side wall portion 12 and back surface portion 13, and operation panel 15 is attached to the front surface side of document reading unit 14. Therefore, as shown in fig. 1, in image forming apparatus 10 according to embodiment 1, original reading portion 14 automatically draws out originals one by one from a stack of originals by using an automatic original feeding device, and sequentially reads the originals, whereas as shown in fig. 2, in image forming apparatus 10a according to embodiment 2, instead of the automatic original feeding device, original cover 14c is provided in original reading portion 14, and only the original is pressed against a contact glass, which is omitted from the drawing, to complete the job.

Since the side wall portion 12 and the back surface portion 13 are present between the document reading portion 14 and the main body portion 11, a space is formed in the center portion, and this space serves as a sheet discharge portion for receiving the sheet P fed from the main body portion 11 through the side wall portion 12. In these embodiments, the front surface side facing the back surface portion 13 and the right surface side facing the side wall portion 12 form open portions for taking out the paper. That is, each of the

image forming apparatuses

10 and 10a according to embodiments 1 and 2 is a so-called in-body paper ejection type in which a paper ejection portion is formed between the main body portion 11 and the document reading portion 14. In such a sheet discharge unit, a sheet discharge tray 16 is disposed. That is, the sheet discharge tray 16 is provided on the upper surface side of the main body 11, and the sheet P is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 16 through the sheet discharge port 17 provided in the side wall portion 12.

A sheet storage unit 18 is provided between the sheet discharge tray 16 and the upper surface of the main body 11. The sheet storage section 18 is formed by a space between the upper surface of the main body 11 and the sheet discharge tray 16, which is obtained by bending and extending the sheet discharge tray 16 obliquely upward from the lower portion of the side wall portion 12. The printed paper is stored in the paper storage 18.

In the image forming apparatus 10 according to embodiment 1, when an image is formed (that is, copied), a stack of documents is set in the document tray 14a of the document reading portion 14, and a copy button on the operation panel 15 is pressed, so that the documents are automatically drawn out one by one from the stack of documents on the document tray 14a, and the image is sequentially read. The original after the image reading is sent to an original discharge tray 14b located below the original tray 14 a.

In contrast, in image forming apparatus 10a according to embodiment 2, document cover 14c provided on the upper surface of document reading unit 14 so as to be openable and closable is opened, a contact glass, which is not shown, is exposed, and the document cover 14c is closed after the document of the document is placed on the contact glass so as to face down, and the image of the document is read in this state.

On the other hand, paper is fed from a paper feed cassette 19 provided in a lower portion of the main body 11 to the image forming unit through a paper feed path (not shown). In accordance with image data obtained by reading a document, a toner image obtained by an electrophotographic method is transferred onto a sheet fed to an image forming unit. The sheet on which the toner image transfer process has been completed passes through the sheet conveyance path, reaches the fixing unit, where the fixing process is performed on the sheet on which the toner image is printed, and then the sheet is conveyed from the sheet discharge port 17 to the sheet discharge tray 16 through the sheet discharge path.

However, as described above, after the previous user performs copying or the like in the

image forming apparatuses

10 and 10a, if the previous user does not take out the paper from the paper output tray 16, that is, if the previous user forgets to take out the paper, the next user needs to put the paper set in the paper output tray 16 at a certain place. This is because, if copying is performed in a state where paper is set in the paper output tray 16, it may become troublesome to distinguish the paper from the paper. Therefore, in a case where the next user performs copying while the sheet P printed by the previous user remains on the sheet discharge tray 16, the user takes out the sheet P from the sheet discharge tray 16 and can temporarily store the sheet P in the sheet storage portion 18 located below the sheet discharge tray 16 as indicated by the hollow arrow in fig. 2.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the paper storage 18 is opened at both the front side facing the back surface 13 and the right side (the other side) facing the side wall 12 in accordance with the open portion of the paper output portion for outputting paper. So that the next user can simply insert the sheet P on the sheet discharge tray 16 into the sheet storage portion 18 through this opening. Further, the previous user can simply take out the paper P from the paper storage 18 through this opening.

In image forming apparatus 10a according to embodiment 2, a plurality of ribs 16a extending in the sheet discharge direction as shown in fig. 2 to 4 are provided on the upper surface of sheet discharge tray 16 in a protruding manner. By providing such ribs 16a, when the paper P is taken out from the paper output tray 16 by hand, the fingers can be inserted into the gap formed between the paper P and the upper surface of the paper output tray 16 via these ribs 16a, and the ease of taking out the paper P from the paper output tray 16 can be improved.

The paper storage 18 is configured to hold a part of the paper P protruding from the opening. That is, the block 20 is disposed on the upper surface of the main body 11 at a position facing the front opening of the paper storage 18 (on the rear surface 13 side). The block 20 is provided to protrude from the lower portion of the rear surface portion 13 toward the sheet discharge tray 16, and extends toward the side wall portion 12 with its upper surface flush with the upper surface of the sheet discharge tray 16. When the sheet P is fed to the sheet discharge tray 16, the front end (the side facing the sheet P itself in fig. 2) of the sheet P is located on the rear surface portion 13 side of the front end of the operation panel 15.

On the other hand, when the paper P is stored in the paper storage 18 and the rear end of the paper P is brought into contact with the block 20, the front end of the paper P projects forward from the main body 11. Therefore, as shown in fig. 3, the distance (interval) X between the front surface of the back surface portion 13 and the front surface of the block 20 is set so that the front end of the paper P protrudes (protrudes) forward from the main body portion 11 in a state where the paper P is put into the paper storage portion 18 and the rear end of the paper P is in contact with the block 20.

When the paper P is stored in the paper storage 18 in this way, the front end of the paper P is in a state of protruding forward from the upper surface of the main body 11, so that the presence of the paper in the paper storage 18 can be easily seen, and as a result, the previous user can easily notice that the removal of the paper is forgotten. Further, if the sheet discharge tray 16 is made of a transparent material, and the front side and the right side of the sheet storage 18 are opened, it can be easily known that the sheets P are stored in the sheet storage 18.

As shown in fig. 3, a sensor switch 21 (detection sensor) for detecting the presence or absence of paper and a notification device for performing a predetermined notification operation based on the detection result of the sensor switch 21 may be provided on the upper surface of the main body 11. For example, whether or not paper is stored in the paper storage section 18 is detected by on-off information of the sensor switch 21, and when the on information is output, an unillustrated controller turns on an unillustrated lamp (notification device) provided at an appropriate portion of the operation panel 15, the lamp being left behind. With this configuration, the recording paper that has been left behind can be seen more easily.

As shown in fig. 1, 3, and 4, the end portion of the sheet discharge tray 16 on the rear surface portion 13 side is axially supported by the shaft member 22 so as to be rotatable about the shaft member 22 with respect to the block 20. That is, the sheet discharge tray 16 is rotatably supported at an end portion facing the front-side opening of the sheet storage portion 18. Therefore, when the sheet discharge tray 16 is held on its side (right side in fig. 4) and the sheet discharge tray 16 is lifted upward, the sheet discharge tray 16 rotates about the shaft member 22 in the counterclockwise direction in fig. 4. In this way, when the sheets stored in the sheet storage section 18 are taken out, the front side of the sheet discharge tray 16 is lifted up, the sheet discharge tray 16 is rotated about the shaft member 22 as a rotation fulcrum, the sheet storage section 18 is completely exposed, and the sheets can be easily discharged from the sheet storage section 18.

When the paper P is taken out from the paper storage 18, as schematically shown in fig. 4, if the user inserts the handle from the front opening (inserts the finger tip between the upper surface of the paper P and the lower surface of the paper output tray 16) and pinches the end of the paper P, the paper output tray 16 is rotated upward due to interference of the hand with the paper output tray 16, and the front opening is enlarged. Therefore, the operation of opening the sheet discharge tray 16 and taking out the sheet P from the sheet storage section 18 can be performed with only one hand without using both hands.

By supporting the sheet discharge tray 16 at the end facing the opening so as to be freely rotatable in this manner, when the recording sheet is taken out from the sheet storage portion 18, if the sheet discharge tray 16 is rotated upward, the opening is enlarged, and the sheet P can be easily taken out from the sheet storage portion 18.

Embodiment 3

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus 10b according to embodiment 3 of the present invention. As shown in fig. 5, the image forming apparatus 10b according to embodiment 3 includes a pair of guide portions 23 extending from the back surface side to the front surface side (extending in the opening direction of the front surface side of the paper storage portion 18) and stoppers 24 disposed so as to be movable along the pair of guide portions 23, respectively, on the upper surface of the main body portion 11. The rear end of the paper contacts this catch 24.

On the other hand, a guide long hole 25 extending from the back surface side to the front surface side is provided through the right side surface of the main body portion 11 in fig. 5, and an operation lever 26 (rod) is disposed in the guide long hole 25 so as to be movable along the guide long hole 25. When the operating lever 26 is moved along the guide long hole 25, the stopper 24 is guided by the guide portion 23.

A symbol 27 indicating the paper size (A3, a4, etc.) is attached to a position above the long guide hole 25. When the operation lever 26 is brought into alignment with the symbol 27 of the size of the paper to be inserted and the paper is inserted into the paper storage 18, the rear end of the paper abuts against the stopper 24, and the front end of the paper is in a state of protruding forward (facing the side close to itself in fig. 5) from the main body 11. Thus, if the operation lever 26 is operated in accordance with the size of the paper to move the stopper 24 (to set the position of the stopper 24), the leading end of the paper can be projected forward from the upper surface of the main body portion 11 when the paper is loaded into the paper storage portion 18 regardless of the size of the paper, and the presence of the paper can be easily seen by the user.

Embodiment 4

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus 10c according to embodiment 4 of the present invention. As shown in fig. 6, in the image forming apparatus 10c according to embodiment 4, a paper tray 28 is disposed at the bottom of the paper storage 18. The sheet tray 28 is disposed on the upper surface of the main body 11, is movable relative to the upper surface, and can be drawn out in the opening direction on the front surface side of the sheet storage 18 (the side facing the sheet of fig. 6 close to itself).

In this way, even if the sheet discharge tray 16 is not freely rotatable, when the sheet P is discharged from the sheet storage portion 18, the sheet tray 28 may be pulled out from the front side or the right side in fig. 6, and the sheet P can be easily discharged from the sheet storage portion 18 with a simple configuration.

Embodiment 5

Fig. 7 is a side view showing image forming apparatus 10d according to embodiment 5 of the present invention. In the image forming apparatus 10d of embodiment 5, as shown in fig. 7, the operation panel 15 is provided on the main body 11 so as to protrude forward (to the left in fig. 7). In this case, the opening of the paper storage 18 is formed only on the right side surface side (outside the paper surface of fig. 7) of the image forming apparatus 10d, and the paper P can be taken out while being put into the paper storage 18 through this opening.

In this case, the block (omitted from the drawing) is preferably provided as follows: when the paper P is loaded into the paper storage 18, the leading end (insertion) of the paper P contacts the side wall 12 of the paper storage 18, and the trailing end protrudes (protrudes) from the right side of the paper storage 18. Thus, the sheets P placed in the sheet storage portion 18 can be easily seen.

Embodiment 6

Fig. 8A and 8B are perspective views showing an image forming apparatus 10e according to embodiment 6 of the present invention, and each of them is: fig. 8A shows a state where the height of the sheet discharge tray 16 'is set at the lower height, and fig. 8B shows a state where the height of the sheet discharge tray 16' is set at the upper height. In embodiment 6, a quadrangular coupling structure 30 (coupling mechanism) is provided between the sheet discharge tray 16' and a bottom plate 18a of the sheet storage 18 (which is the upper surface of the main body 11, but is expressed as a bottom plate 18a when the sheet storage 18 is considered as a main body). By the action of the quadrangular link structure 30, the height position of the discharge tray 16' is changed between the lower height and the upper height while being kept horizontal.

The quadrangular link structure 30 has a pair of front and rear links 31, which are disposed in parallel with each other between the bottom end side (left side in fig. 8) of the sheet discharge tray 16' and the bottom plate 18a of the sheet storage section 18, and have the same effective length (in fig. 8, only the pair of links 31 near the side thereof are shown, and the pair of links 31 disposed on the rear side are omitted).

Therefore, in the state where the sheet discharge tray 16 ' is set to the lower height shown in fig. 8A, the links 31 are erected by pushing the sheet discharge tray 16 ' in the direction of the side wall portion 12, and the sheet discharge tray 16 ' is set to the upper height shown in fig. 8B by rotating counterclockwise about the fulcrums of the links 31. In a state where the sheet discharge tray 16 'is set to the upper level as shown in fig. 8B, by pulling the sheet discharge tray 16' in a direction away from the side wall portion 12, the links 31 of the sheet discharge tray 16 'are rotated clockwise about the supporting points, and the sheet discharge tray 16' returns to the lower level as shown in fig. 8A.

In the present embodiment, a stopper 32 that receives the discharge tray 16 ' is provided at an appropriate position on the bottom plate 18a so as to protrude upward, and the discharge tray 16 ' is stopped by the stopper 32 so as not to be lowered to a lower position in a state where the discharge tray 16 ' is set to a lower height. In general, as shown in fig. 8A, the sheet discharge tray 16' is set at a lower level, and is changed to an upper level when inserting or discharging sheets into or from the sheet storage unit 18 or when a large amount of sheets are stored in the sheet storage unit 18.

According to image forming apparatus 10e of embodiment 6, paper output tray 16' is kept in a horizontal state regardless of whether the height is changed. Therefore, by changing the height position of the paper output tray 16 ', it becomes easy to take out the paper put in the paper storage section 18, and even if the height is changed in this way, the paper P fed to the paper output tray 16 ' can be effectively prevented from slipping off from the paper output tray 16 '.

Embodiments 7 and 8

In embodiments 7 and 8, examples are shown in which the bottom plate portion of the paper storage 18 has an inclined surface that is inclined downward from the opening of the paper storage 18 toward the back. First, fig. 9 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus 10f according to embodiment 7 of the present invention. In embodiment 7, the bottom plate 18 a' of the paper storage 18 is formed as an inclined surface inclined downward from the front opening of the paper storage 18 toward the back surface 13 and the front end. With this configuration, since the paper P inserted into the paper storage portion 18 is drawn toward the back surface portion 13, the paper P can be reliably prevented from sliding forward from the paper storage portion 18.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus 10g according to embodiment 8 of the present invention. In embodiment 8, the bottom plate 18a ″ of the paper storage 18 is formed as an inclined surface inclined downward from the front side and one side opening of the paper storage 18 toward the intersection of the side wall 12 and the back surface 13 and the front end. By adopting such a configuration, since the paper P inserted into the paper storage portion 18 goes toward the side wall portion 12 and the back surface portion 13, the paper P can be reliably prevented from sliding off the paper storage portion 18 in the forward and rightward directions.

Embodiment 9

Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing image forming apparatus 10h according to embodiment 9 of the present invention. In embodiment 9, a storage recess 18b for storing office small articles (small articles) such as a stapler or scissors is provided in a recessed portion on the side of the bottom plate 18a of the paper storage 18 close to the user.

An opening/closing cover 18c made of a transparent material such as glass or transparent synthetic resin is provided on an upper opening of the storage recess 18b, and small objects placed in the storage recess 18b can be seen. By providing such a storage recess 18b in the bottom plate 18a of the paper storage 18, the printed paper P output by the user can be immediately subjected to stapling processing or the like, which is very convenient.

Embodiment 10

Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing image forming apparatus 10i according to embodiment 10 of the present invention. In the image forming apparatus 10i of embodiment 10, instead of the paper tray 28 placed only on the main body portion 11 in embodiment 4 (fig. 6), a paper tray 28' that is guided by a guide member (not shown) and moves in the front-rear direction in a slip-off prevention state is used.

The movable range of this paper tray 28' is set as: the drawing end of the operation panel is drawn out from the front opening of the paper storage 18 to a position forward of the front edge of the operation panel 15 protruding from the front of the image reading unit 14.

According to the image forming apparatus 10i of embodiment 10 having such a paper tray 28 ', in a state where the paper tray 28' is pulled out forward to the maximum, the user can use a portion protruding forward from the operation panel 15 as, for example, a table for adjustment processing, and can use it for adjustment processing of a bundle of paper, which is very convenient.

Embodiment 11

Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing image forming apparatus 10j according to embodiment 11 of the present invention. In the image forming apparatus 10j according to embodiment 11, a partition 18d is provided to divide the storage space of the paper storage 18 into a plurality of spaces in the height direction. Because of the presence of such a partition 18d, it is possible to separate the paper placed in the paper storage portion 18 up and down, which is very convenient.

In embodiment 11, the front edge portion of the partition plate 18d is formed in a shape (concave-convex shape) in which a concave portion having an arc shape in plan view is connected to a convex portion having an arc shape. By adopting such a concave-convex shape at the front end edge portion of the partition 18d, the position where the fingers are inserted above and below the partition 18d can be separated, and the operation of lifting up the sheet discharge tray 16 and the operation of loading and unloading the sheets P can be facilitated.

Other embodiments

In the above-described embodiment, a copy machine is used as the

image forming apparatuses

10, 10a to 10j, but the present invention is not limited to the

image forming apparatuses

10, 10a to 10j being copy machines, and may be a facsimile machine, a printer without an image reading unit, or the like.

It is also preferable that the sheet discharge tray 16 is a transparent member as described above, or that a window for observation be formed at an appropriate position of the sheet discharge tray 16 so that the sheets placed in the sheet storage portion 18 can be easily seen. The window is preferably a through hole penetrating the sheet discharge tray 16, or is preferably constituted by a partially embedded transparent plate, or the like. This makes it easier to notice that paper is stored in the paper storage 18.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, characterized by comprising:

a main body part at least provided with an image forming unit and a fixing unit;

a sheet discharge unit including a sheet discharge tray on which a recording sheet discharged after an image is formed in the main body unit is placed;

a sheet discharge port located above the sheet discharge tray, through which the recording sheet is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray; and

a paper storage unit formed between the upper surface of the main body and the paper output tray and configured to store and hold at least a part of the recording paper; wherein,

the paper storage unit has a predetermined opening on at least one of a front surface side and a side surface side opposite to the paper discharge port, and the recording paper can be put in or taken out from the paper storage unit through the opening.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising,

a document reading section disposed above the main body section,

the paper discharge portion is formed between the main body portion and the original reading portion so as to have an opening portion for discharging the paper,

the paper storage portion has an opening facing the open portion for taking out the paper, through which the recording paper can be put into or taken out of the paper storage portion.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, characterized by further comprising:

a side wall portion disposed on one side of one side surface of the main body portion, extending upward, and having a sheet discharge opening through which a recording sheet on which an image is formed is discharged; and

a rear surface portion disposed on a rear surface side of the main body portion and extending upward; wherein,

the document reading unit is disposed on the side wall portion and the back surface portion, the sheet discharge tray is configured to receive a recording sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port, and,

the paper storage unit has an opening formed in at least one of a front surface side thereof facing the back surface portion and the other side surface side thereof facing the one side surface side.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper storage portion can hold a state in which a part of the recording paper is projected from the opening.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, characterized by further comprising,

and a block disposed at a position facing the opening of the paper storage unit, wherein when the recording paper is loaded into the paper storage unit, the block contacts one end of the recording paper to protrude the other end of the recording paper from the opening.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, characterized by further comprising:

a guide portion formed on an upper surface of the main body portion in an opening direction of the paper storage portion;

a stopper disposed movably along the guide portion and abutting an end of the recording paper; and

a lever mounted on the main body for moving the stopper along the guide portion; the lever sets the position of the stopper according to the size of the recording paper.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, characterized by further comprising,

and a paper tray disposed on an upper surface of the main body in the paper storage unit and movable relative to the upper surface in an opening direction of the paper storage unit.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein in a case where an operation panel of the image forming apparatus is provided so as to protrude in an opening direction of the paper storage portion, a pull-out end of the paper tray can be pulled out from the opening to a length longer than a protruding length of the operation panel.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet discharge tray is supported at an end portion facing the opening in a freely rotatable manner.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the sheet discharge tray is rotated upward by interference when a user's hand is inserted through the opening, thereby enlarging the opening.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined link mechanism is attached to the sheet discharge tray, and the height of the sheet discharge tray can be changed between a lower height and an upper height while the height position of the sheet discharge tray is kept horizontal by the link mechanism.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an upper surface of the main body in the paper storage portion has an inclined surface inclined downward from the opening toward a back surface thereof.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the paper storage portion has an opening on the front surface side, and an upper surface of the main body portion in the paper storage portion has an inclined surface that is inclined downward from the opening on the front surface side toward a rear surface.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the paper storage portion has openings on the front surface side and one side surface side, and an upper surface of the main body portion in the paper storage portion has an inclined surface inclined downward from the openings on the front surface side and one side surface side toward a crossing portion between the side surface and the back surface.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a storage recess for storing small articles is provided in an upper surface of the main body in the paper storage portion.

16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a partition plate dividing a storage space of the paper storage into a plurality of parts in a height direction.

17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein a leading edge portion of the separator is convexo-concave.

18. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a window is provided in the sheet discharge tray so that the recording sheet loaded in the sheet storage portion can be seen.

19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet discharge tray is made of a transparent material, and the recording sheet loaded in the sheet storage portion is visible.

20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

the paper storage unit includes a detection sensor that detects whether or not recording paper is stored in the paper storage unit, and a notification device that performs a predetermined notification operation when the recording paper is detected by the detection sensor.