Image forming apparatus

• US 20060127149A1
• Filed: 12/05/2005
• Published: 06/15/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ricoh Company Limited
• Inventors: Nonaka, Manabu, Togashi, Toshifumi
• Granted Patent: US 7,515,866 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 399/392
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2407/21 Manual feeding
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 5/36 Article guides or smoothers, e.g. movable in operation
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6514 Manual supply devices
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00392 Manual input tray
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00603 Control of other part of the apparatus according to the state of copy medium feeding
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2215/00713 Lock related to feeding device

Abstract

An image forming apparatus is disclosed that includes an image forming part configured to form an image on a recording medium, a feed part for feeding the recording medium, a manual feed part for manually feeding the recording medium, and a shutter member configured to open and close a manual feed opening from the manual feed part. The shutter member is provided so as to be swingable.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:

an image forming part configured to form an image on a recording medium;

a feed part for feeding the recording medium;

a manual feed part for manually feeding the recording medium; and

a shutter member configured to open and close a manual feed opening from the manual feed part,

wherein the shutter member is provided so as to be swingable.

2. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a swingable opening and closing guide member for providing slackness to the recording medium in a conveyance path of the recording medium from the feed part to the image forming part,

wherein the manual feed opening is disposed on a downstream side of the swingable opening and closing guide member; and

swinging of the swingable opening and closing guide member is interlocked with opening and closing of the shutter member.

3. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the shutter member is provided so as to be switchable between a first position where the shutter member is prevented from being interlocked with the swingable opening and closing guide member and a second position where the shutter member is interlocked with the swingable opening and closing guide member.

4. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

a switch part configured to displace the shutter member from the first position to the second position.

5. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the switch part comprises an electric drive part.

6. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the switch part comprises a tray of the manual feed part, the tray being attached to a main body of the image forming apparatus so as to be openable and closable with respect thereto.

7. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the opening and closing guide member guides the recording medium fed from the manual feed part.

8. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shutter member comprises:

an inclination part extending upward at an angle to a direction in which the recording medium is fed.

9. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein if the recording medium is remaining inside the image forming apparatus when the manual feed part is in a position where the manual feed part is ready to perform manual feeding, the shutter member is kept in a position where the shutter member is closed until outputting of the recording medium is completed.

10. An image forming apparatus, comprising:

a single-sheet manual feed part for manually feeding a recording medium one sheet at a time; and

a part configured to prevent, when the recording medium is remaining inside a main body of the image forming apparatus, the feeding from the single-sheet manual feed part from being started until output of the recording medium remaining inside the main body is completed.

11. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

a straight output tray to which the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is conveyed straight and output; and

a part configured to prevent the feeding from the single-sheet manual feed part from being started when the recording medium output onto the straight output tray is remaining thereon.

12. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 11, further comprising:

a branch detection part configured to detect the recording medium, the branch detection part being provided at a branch part switching output to the straight output tray and output to an output tray onto which the recording medium with an image formed thereon is reversed and output,

wherein the branch detection part also serves as a part to detect remaining of the recording medium output onto the straight output tray.

13. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 10, further comprising:

a shutter member configured to open and close a conveyance path from the single-sheet manual feed part,

wherein the shutter member closes the conveyance path when the single-sheet manual feed part is prevented from starting feeding.

14. An image forming apparatus, comprising:

a single-sheet manual feed part for manually feeding a recording medium one sheet at a time;

a straight output tray onto which the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is output straight, the straight output tray being provided so as to be openable and closable; and

a part configured to output, in a case of performing the feeding from the single-sheet manual feed part, information encouraging an operation to open the straight output tray to a position where the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is outputtable onto the straight output tray.

15. The image forming apparatus as claimed in claim 14, further comprising:

a shutter member configured to open and close a conveyance path from the single-sheet manual feed part,

wherein the shutter member opens the conveyance path when the straight output tray is opened to the position where the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is outputtable onto the straight output tray.

16. An image forming apparatus, comprising:

a single-sheet manual feed part for manually feeding a recording medium one sheet at a time,

wherein the recording medium is fed from the single-sheet manual feed part, and is output onto the single-sheet manual feed part after an image is formed on the recording medium; and

a feed speed at a time of starting to feed the recording medium from the single-sheet manual feed part and a feed speed at a time of outputting the recording medium onto the single-sheet manual feed part are lower than a feed speed at a time of forming the image on the recording medium.

17. An image forming apparatus, comprising:

a single-sheet manual feed part for manually feeding a recording medium one sheet at a time; and

a straight output tray onto which the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is output straight, the straight output tray being provided so as to be openable and closable,

wherein when the recording medium is fed from the single-sheet manual feed part and an image is formed on the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part, the recording medium is output onto the straight output tray when the straight output tray is in a position where the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is outputtable onto the straight output tray, and the recording medium is output onto the single-sheet manual feed part when the straight output tray is in a position where the recording medium fed from the single-sheet manual feed part is prevented from being output onto the straight output tray.