Abstract: A front access type image forming apparatus includes an image scanning section located at an upper part of a housing of the apparatus for obtaining image information from an original, a sheet feeding section located at a lower part of the housing, and an image forming section disposed between the image scanning section and the sheet feeding section at one side of the housing. The image scanning section, the image forming section and the sheet feeding section together form a generally U shape in frontal cross section, a sheet delivery portion being formed between the image scanning section and the sheet feeding section. The length of a sheet delivery tray as measured along a sheet transport direction is made smaller than the length of a maximum printable sheet size so that large-sized printed sheets discharged onto the sheet delivery tray stick out from one side of the apparatus.

Abstract: A sheet delivery mechanism designed to discharge successive sheets to different delivery positions includes offset rollers, an offset unit, an offsetting force generator and an offset unit swinging mechanism. The offset rollers is rotatably supported by the offset unit to discharge each sheet in a sheet transport direction. The offsetting force generator produces a driving force for shifting the offset unit back and forth along a direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction between a reference position and offset positions. The offset unit swinging mechanism swings the offset unit about an axis parallel to rotary shafts of the offset rollers in such a manner that a sheet output direction in which the offset rollers eject each sheet varies to a direction pointing away from a sheet delivery tray when the offset unit is shifted along the direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction by the offsetting force generator.

Abstract: A roller turning force generator is connected to a driving gear which is mounted on a shaft. The shaft is connected to offset roller assemblies disposed in an offset mechanism via connecting gears. The offset roller assemblies rotatably supported inside the offset mechanism are turned by a driving force transmitted from the roller turning force generator to discharge individual sheets of a printing medium in a sheet transport direction. The offset mechanism is linked to an offsetting force generator so that the offset mechanism can be shifted along a direction perpendicular to the sheet transport direction.

Abstract: A pair of drive conveyer rollers are provided for a platen that guides recording media. The follower conveyer roller is supported by a roller support plate which is coupled at its side with a lever so that the rotation of this lever is able to press the platen downward. When the paired drive conveyer rollers hold recording paper between them, the follower conveyer roller moves upward, which causes the roller support plate to rotate. This rotational force is transmitted to the lever so that the platen is pressed down to thereby adjust the gap between the printer head and the platen appropriately.

Abstract: An image-forming apparatus is provided which includes a document reading section for reading image information from a document, and an image-forming section for forming an image on a sheet of paper based upon the image information of the document read by the document reading section. A space section is formed below the document reading section, which accommodates the image-forming section and serves as a discharge section to which the sheet of paper bearing the image formed in the image-forming section is discharged. The space section is surrounded by peripheral walls of an apparatus main body including the image-forming section. The image-forming apparatus further includes a paper post-treatment section that subjects the sheet of paper bearing the image to post-treatments, such as an adjustment process and a stapling process, in a virtually horizontal state, and that is placed between the document reading section and the space section.

Abstract: A pair of drive conveyer rollers are provided for a platen that guides recording media. The follower conveyer roller is supported by a roller support plate which is coupled at its side with a lever so that the rotation of this lever is able to press the platen downward. When the paired drive conveyer rollers hold recording paper between them, the follower conveyer roller moves upward, which causes the roller support plate to rotate. This rotational force is transmitted to the lever so that the platen is pressed down to thereby adjust the gap between the printer head and the platen appropriately.

Abstract: Front and side surfaces of an image forming device are provided with a front cover and a side cover, respectively, which cover an image forming section, and which can be opened and closed. A supporting hinge of the side cover is provided along a lateral edge thereof toward the rear of the main body of the device, and the side cover opens to widely expose a lower portion of the image forming section. Further, by means of an obstructing body provided integrally with the front cover, the front and side covers are given an order of opening and closing.

Abstract: A document platen driving device is provided with an endless gear connected to a document platen, whereon a document is placed, which reciprocates. A sun gear is secured to a fixed station within a space surrounded by the endless rack, and a planetary gear meshing with the endless rack and with the sun gear is also provided within the space. The planetary gear is a double gear composed of a large gear and a small gear having different pitch circle diameters. It is arranged such that the document platen is moved forward by meshing the small gear with the endless rack, and moved backward by meshing the large gear with the endless rack. In this arrangement, the backward moving speed of the document platen can be set faster than the forward moving speed, thereby permitting a reduction of the entire time required for a copying process, especially for a successive copying process.