Image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10180657-B2
Application number	US-201715491356-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 19, 2017
Priority date	Apr 27, 2016
Publication date	Jan 15, 2019
Grant date	Jan 15, 2019

Abstract

A sheet discharge port is provided with a guide piece extending obliquely downward in a discharge direction from an upper edge of the sheet discharge port to oppose an outlet port. The guide piece blocks flow of cooling air, which has been blown out from the outlet port, into the sheet discharge port and also abuts the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port to guide the sheet obliquely downward in the discharge direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image formation section for forming an image on a sheet;
a sheet discharge port for discharging the sheet to a discharge tray;
a discharge path communicating with the sheet discharge port; and
a cooling section including a cooling fan and a cooling duct having one end part coupled to the cooling fan and another end part having at least one outlet port discharging cooling air generated by the cooling fan, wherein
the at least one outlet port opens downward at a position located above the sheet discharge port and on a downstream side in a discharge direction of the sheet,
the sheet discharge port is provided with a guide piece extending obliquely downward in the discharge direction from an upper edge of the sheet discharge port to oppose the outlet port, and
the guide piece includes a downstream surface that faces the downstream side in the discharge direction and an upstream surface that faces an upstream side in the discharge direction, the downstream surface blocking flow of the cooling air, which has been blown out from the outlet port, into the sheet discharge port and the upstream surface abutting the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port to guide the sheet obliquely downward in the discharge direction.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
a fixing section fixing a toner image on the sheet, wherein
the discharge path connects the sheet discharge port and the fixing section with each other.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the guide piece is arranged so as to cover a part of the sheet discharge port from the above in viewed from an outside of the sheet discharge port in the discharge direction of the sheet.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the sheet discharge port is provided with at least one pair of discharge rollers discharging the sheet, the at least one pair of discharge rollers including an upper discharge roller and a lower discharge roller abutting each other to form a nip part therebetween, and
the at least one pair of discharge rollers includes a tangent line passing through the nip part and extending obliquely upward towards the downstream side in the discharge direction, the at least one pair of discharge roller discharges, obliquely upward, a tip of the sheet.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
the at least one pair of discharge roller includes a plurality of discharge roller pairs arranged at an interval therebetween in a width direction of the sheet discharge port intersecting the discharge direction, and
the at least one outlet port of the cooling duct includes a plurality of outlet ports, the plurality of outlet ports are respectively arranged between the plurality of discharge roller pairs.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
in an obliquely upward direction that is a direction in which the pair of discharge rollers discharges the tip of the sheet obliquely upward, a tip part of the guide piece is arranged at a position lower than the nip part and on a tangent line extending vertically and touching an outer circumferential surface of the lower discharge roller on a downstream side in the discharge direction.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising
a sheet pressing member being provided at a position located on a downstream side of the guide piece in the discharge direction, the sheet pressing member abutting the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port to press the sheet.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the guide piece comes in contact with the tip of the sheet being discharged from the sheet discharge port and guides the tip of the sheet obliquely downward.

Assignees

• Kyocera Document Solutions Inc

Inventors

• Arata Tatsuro

Classifications

• G03G15/6573

  Feeding path after the fixing point and up to the discharge tray or the finisher, e.g. special treatment of copy material to compensate for effects from the fixing · CPC title

• G03G15/234

  by inverting and refeeding the image receiving material with an image on one face to the recording member to transfer a second image on its second face, e.g. by using a duplex tray; Details of duplex trays or inverters · CPC title

• B65H29/247

  blowing on upperside of the sheet · CPC title

• G03G15/6552

  Means for discharging uncollated sheet copy material, e.g. discharging rollers, exit trays · CPC title

• G03G21/206 Primary

  Conducting air through the machine, e.g. for cooling, filtering, removing gases like ozone · CPC title