Patent Publication Number: US-2005135855-A1

Title: Printing apparatus having function of scanner

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
      This application claims the priorities of Korean Patent Application Nos. 2003-92507, filed on Dec. 17, 2003 and 2004-47645, filed on Jun. 24, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein in their entirety and by reference.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present general inventive concept relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly, to a printing apparatus having an image reading function (a scanner function) and an image reproducing function (a printing function).  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      A printing apparatus may have at least one additional function, such as a scanner function, capable of reading image information, a copying function, a facsimile function, or the like in addition to a principal printing function. In this case, although the apparatus may be called a combined printing apparatus, the apparatus will be called a printing apparatus hereinafter since the name of the combined printing apparatus is not clearly defined yet. A printing apparatus having a printing unit and a scanning unit basically has functions of a printer, a scanner, and a copier. Since the scanning unit can function as an input portion of a facsimile and the printing unit can function as an output portion of the facsimile, the printing apparatus can have a function of the facsimile when further comprising a line control unit (LCU).  
      Since such a printing apparatus has the printing unit and the scanning unit, the size thereof is relatively great. Since, until now, the printing apparatus has been mainly used in an office, there is almost no need to be concerned about the size of the printing apparatus. Recently, the printing apparatus tends to be used for personal use, and therefore the necessity of downsizing the printing apparatus is increasing. When the printing apparatus is used for personal use, it is necessary to reduce the footprint of the printing apparatus as much as possible, and it is also necessary to make the operation space thereof be within the footprint.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      Accordingly, the present general inventive concept provides a printing apparatus having a scanner function, which is improved so that a small footprint and a small operation space can be realized.  
      Additional aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the general inventive concept.  
      The foregoing and/or other aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept are achieved by providing a printing apparatus including: a printing unit to print an image onto a recording sheet; a discharged sheet stacker positioned on the printing unit, in which sheets discharged from the printing unit may be stacked; and a scanning unit positioned at the upper side of the discharged sheet stacker and moveable from a first position to a second position to enlarge a stacking height of the discharged sheet stacker.  
      When the scanning unit is positioned at the first position, the stacking height of the discharged sheet stacker may be set to be 30 mm or less.  
      The printing apparatus may further comprise a sheet feed unit in which recording sheets to be supplied to the printing unit may be stacked, and the stacking height of the discharged sheet stacker may be greater than a maximum sheet stacking capacity of the sheet feed unit when the scanning unit is positioned at the second position.  
      The printing apparatus may further comprise a locking unit to lock the scanning unit at the second position.  
      The printing unit may discharge a recording sheet from a first end portion to a second end portion thereof in a lengthwise direction, and the scanning unit may be installed to be pivoted with respect to the printing unit, and the pivot center of the scanning unit may be positioned adjacent to the first end portion. The scanning unit may have a plurality of pivot positions, and the locking unit may be configured to lock the scanning unit at one of the plurality of pivot positions.  
      The printing unit may discharge a recording sheet from a first end portion to a second end portion in a lengthwise direction, and the scanning unit may be supported by an ascending and descending device positioned adjacent to the first end portion and may be installed to ascend and descend in a vertical direction.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
      These and/or other aspects and advantages of the present general inventive concept will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:  
       FIG. 1  is a structural diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept;  
       FIG. 2  is a front view illustrating the printing apparatus of  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 3  is a structural diagram illustrating the printing apparatus of  FIG. 1  in a state in which a scanning unit is pivoted;  
       FIG. 4  is a front view illustrating the printing apparatus of  FIG. 1  in a state in which the scanning unit is pivoted;  
       FIG. 5  is a structural diagram illustrating an embodiment of a locking unit;  
       FIG. 6  is a section view illustrating an operation of the locking unit of  FIG. 5 ;  
       FIG. 7  is a structural diagram illustrating another embodiment of a locking unit;  
       FIG. 8  is a section view illustrating an operation of the locking unit of  FIG. 7 ;  
       FIGS. 9 and 10  are respectively an exploded perspective view and an engaged perspective view illustrating a printing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present general inventive concept; and  
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view illustrating the printing apparatus of  FIGS. 9 and 10  in a state in which the scanning unit is positioned at a second position. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present general inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order to explain the present general inventive concept by referring to the figures.  
       FIG. 1  is a structural diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept, and  FIG. 2  is a front view of the printing apparatus of  FIG. 1 .  
      Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a printing unit  100  to print an image on a recording sheet and a scanning unit  200  to read image information are shown.  
      The printing unit  100  may print an image by using an electro-photographic method. Referring to  FIG. 1 , a developing device  110 , an exposure device  120 , a transfer device  130 , and a fixing device  140  are also shown. A photosensitive drum  112 , a charging device  113 , and a developing roller  114  may be integrated into the developing device  110 . The charging device  113  uniformly charges a surface of the photosensitive drum  112  to a predetermined potential. The exposure device  120  scans the photosensitive drum  112  with light corresponding to image information. Then, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum  112  according to potential differences between portions scanned and not scanned. The developing roller  114  forms a toner image by supplying toner onto the electrostatic latent image. A recording sheet fed from a sheet feeding unit  300  is moved between the photosensitive drum  112  and the transfer device  130 . A transfer bias is then applied to the transfer device  130 . The toner image is then separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum  112  and is attached to the recording sheet due to the transfer bias. The fixing device  140  may then apply heat and pressure to the toner image to cause the toner image to be fused and fixed onto the recording sheet. The printing unit  100  is not limited to the electro-photographic printing unit described, and may be applied to various printing units such as an inkjet printing unit, a thermal transfer printing unit, and the like.  
      The scanning unit  200  may have a reading unit  210  to read image information by illuminating light on a document sheet and detecting reflected light. A contact image sensor (CIS), a charge coupled device (CCD), or the like may be used as the reading unit  210 . The scanning unit  200  may be a flat bed type scanning unit in which the reading unit  210  may be moved to read a document sheet. Reference numeral  220  denotes a document sheet bed  220  which is made of a transparent material and on which a document sheet is laid. Reference numeral  230  denotes a cover to cover the document sheet bed  220 . The reading unit  210  may read image information from the document sheet while moving in the directions of arrow  201  of  FIG. 2 . The scanning unit  200  is not limited to a flat bed type one, and may be a sheet feed type one in which the reading unit  210  may be fixedly installed, and the document may be moved.  
      In order to reduce a footprint of the printing apparatus, the scanning unit  200  is positioned at the upper side of the printing unit  100 . Reference numeral  400  denotes a discharged sheet stacker in which sheets discharged from the printing unit  100  may be stacked. The discharged sheet stacker  400  is positioned between the printing unit  100  and the scanning unit  200  so that a space required for an operation of the printing apparatus can be limited within the footprint of the printing apparatus. The sheet feeding unit  300  in which the recording sheets to be fed to the printing unit  100  may be stacked may be installed at the lower side of the printing unit  100 .  
      With the above configuration, a recording sheet which may be fed from the sheet feeding unit  300  to the printing unit  100  and on a surface of which an image is printed may be discharged to the discharged sheet stacker  400 . The printing unit  100  may discharge the printed sheet from a first end portion  101  to a second end portion  102  in a horizontal direction. The discharged sheet stacker  400  may be configured to have an ascending slope from the first end portion  101  to the second end portion  102 , as shown in a dotted line in  FIG. 1 .  
      Since about 200˜250 recording sheets can be stacked in the sheet feeding unit  300 , the discharged sheet stacker  400  requires a space having a height of at least about 30 mm so as to accommodate all of the sheets, and when taking into consideration a space required for a user to remove printed sheets, the height of the discharged sheet stacker  400  may need to be greater than 50 mm.  
      A stacking height of the discharged sheet stacker  400  is indicated by a height h 1  or h 2  between the scanning unit  200  and the printing unit  100 . If the height h 1  or h 2  is designed to be relatively large, even though the stacking height can be greater, it may be disadvantageous to downsize the printing apparatus since the overall height H of the printing apparatus becomes greater. In contrast, if the height h 1  or h 2  is designed to be relatively small, it is advantageous to downsizing the printing apparatus since the overall height H of the printing apparatus becomes smaller, but if a sheet jam occurs during sheet discharge, it may be very difficult to remove the jammed sheet. In addition, aside from a standard sheet having a predetermined standard length, it may not be easy for the user to remove a small sheet, such as a postal card, having a short length from the discharged sheet stacker  400 .  
      In the printing apparatus of this embodiment, the height h 1  or h 2  ( FIG. 1 ) between the scanning unit  200  and the printing unit  100  may be set to be 30 mm or less. In addition, taking into consideration a facility of removing the jammed sheet and users&#39; conveniences that may be necessary when a small sheet is printed, the printing apparatus is characterized in that the scanning unit  200  can be moved from a first position to a second position where the stacking height of the discharged sheet stacker  400  is enlarged. The scanning unit  200  may be able to ascend and descend in a vertical direction, or pivot on the first end portion  101  which can be a pivot center.  
      The scanning unit  200  can be installed to be able to pivot on a hinge  500 , which can be a pivot center, from the first position shown in  FIG. 1  and the second position shown in  FIG. 3 . The hinge  500  may be positioned at a side of the first end portion  101  of the printing unit  100 . When the scanning unit  200  is positioned at the second position, the scanning unit  200  is moved far from the printing unit  100 , and the stacking height of the discharged sheet stacker  400  becomes h 1 ′ (or h 2 ′). The stacking height h 1 ′ or h 2 ′ of the discharged sheet stacker  400  may be the same as or greater than a maximum stacking capacity of the sheet feeding unit  300  when the scanning unit  200  is positioned at the second position.  
      The printing apparatus of this embodiment may further comprise a locking unit to temporarily fix the scanning unit  200  at a pivoted position. The locking unit may include a support member  600  (See  FIG. 2 ). The support member  600  may be pivoted at a third position (see  FIG. 2 ) to support the scanning unit  200  when the scanning unit  200  is positioned at the first position, and at a fourth position (see  FIG. 4 ) to support the scanning unit  200  when the scanning unit  200  is positioned at the second position. The support member  600  may be installed at any one or both side portions of the discharged sheet stacker  400 . The locking unit may further include an elastic element  610  to apply an elastic force in a direction where the support member  600  is pivoted at the fourth position. With the above-described configuration, when the scanning unit  200  is pivoted at the second position, the support member  600  may be pivoted at the fourth position by an elastic force of the elastic member  610  to support the scanning unit  200 . When the scanning unit  200  is returned to the first position, the support member  600  may be pushed and is returned to the third position. Then, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the scanning unit  200  may be supported by the support member  600  at the first position.  
      The scanning unit  200  may have a plurality of pivoted positions, and the locking unit may be configured so as to lock the scanning unit  200  at each of the plurality of pivoted positions, respectively.  FIG. 5  is a structural diagram schematically illustrating a locking unit according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept, and  FIG. 6  is a section view illustrating an operation of the locking unit of  FIG. 5 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 5 , a first member  510  having a plurality of engagement grooves  511  may be joined to the scanning unit  200 . The plurality of engagement grooves  511  may be provided on an arc being concentric with the hinge  500 . A second member  520  to be elastically engaged with any one of the engagement grooves  511  may be joined to the printing unit  100 . Referring to  FIG. 6 , the second member  520  may be supported by an elastic member  530  in a direction in which the second member  520  can be caused to engage with any one of the engagement grooves  511 . The elastic force of the elastic member  530  may be set to be able to bear a rotational moment due to a weight of the scanning unit  200 . Therefore, as long as the user does not pivot the scanning unit  200 , the second member  520  will be maintained in a state in which the second member  520  is inserted in one of the engagement grooves  511 . When the user pivots the scanning unit  200 , the second member  520  may be pushed by the first member  510  according to a pivoting force of the user in a direction of arrow A of  FIG. 6 , and may be again engaged with one of the engagement grooves  511  by the elastic force of the elastic member  530 . With the above-described configuration, the scanning unit  200  can be locked at a desired pivot position.  
       FIG. 7  is a structural diagram illustrating a locking unit according to another embodiment of the present general inventive concept, and  FIG. 8  is a section view illustrating an operation of the locking unit of  FIG. 7 .  
      Referring to  FIG. 7 , a first member  540  having a plurality of engagement grooves  541  arranged in a vertical direction may be joined to the scanning unit  200 . A guide rail  570  to guide the vertical movement of the first member  540  and a second member  550  to be elastically engaged with one of the plurality of engagement grooves  541  may be provided at the printing unit  100 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the second member  550  may be elastically supported by an elastic member  560  in a direction in which the second member  550  is caused to engage with one of the engagement grooves  541 . An elastic force of the elastic member  560  may be set to be able to bear a rotational moment due to the weight of the scanning unit  200 . Therefore, as long as the user does not pivot the scanning unit  200 , the second member  550  may be maintained in a state in which the second member  550  is inserted in one of the engagement grooves  541 . The locking unit may be configured so that the first member  540  can move only in the vertical direction when the scanning unit  200  is pivoted. To this end, as shown in  FIG. 7 , an engagement portion  542  having an elongated-horizontal-hole shape may be provided at the first member  540 . A boss  201  which can be inserted into the engagement portion  542  may be provided at the scanning unit  200 . When a user pivots the scanning unit  200 , the second member  550  may be pushed by the first member  540  according to the pivoting force of the user in a direction of arrow B of  FIG. 8  while passing through a bottle neck portion  543  of the first member  540 , and will again be engaged with one of the engagement grooves  541  by the elastic force of the elastic member  560 . With the above-described configuration, the scanning unit may be locked at a desired pivot position.  
      In order to enlarge the stacking height of the discharged sheet stacker  400 , the scanning unit  200 , according to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept, can ascend and descend in a vertical direction. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the printing apparatus may comprise an ascending and descending device  700 . The ascending and descending device  700  may include a guide groove  710  and an insertion portion  720  inserted into the guide groove  710 . The guide groove  710  may be positioned at the side of the first end portion  101  of the printing unit  100  and is formed in a vertical direction. The insertion portion  720  may be provided in the scanning unit  200 . With the above-described configuration, the printing apparatus in which the scanning unit  200  ascends and descends in the vertical direction can be implemented. The support member  600  may be provided at the side portion of the discharged sheet stacker  400 . The support member  600  may be the same as those shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 . As shown in  FIG. 10 , when the scanning unit  200  is mounted in the printing unit  100 , the scanning unit  200  may be supported by the support member  600 . In order to enlarge the stacking height of the discharged sheet stacker  400 , as shown in  FIG. 11 , the scanning unit  200  may be lifted upwards. Then, the support member  600  may be pivoted by the elastic element  610  ( FIG. 2 ) at the fourth position to support the scanning unit  200 .  
      With the above-described configuration, the space required for the operation of the printing apparatus can be within the footprint of the printing apparatus by disposing the discharged sheet stacker  400  between the scanning unit  200  and the printing unit  100 . In addition, since the overall height H of the printing apparatus can be reduced by minimizing the stacking height of the discharged sheet stacker  400 , the printing apparatus can be downsized. When the user is going to take the printed sheets, and in particular small sheets such as postal cards, photographs, or the like, out of the discharged sheet stacker  400 , the printed sheets can be taken out of the discharged sheet stacker  400  after the scanning unit  200  is moved to the second position. Further, if a sheet jam occurs while a printed sheet is being discharged, the jammed sheet can be removed after the scanning unit  200  is moved to the second position.  
      As described above, with the printing apparatus having a function of a scanner according to the present general inventive concept, it is possible to realize a downsized printing apparatus which has a scanner function and a small footprint by configuring the printing apparatus to have a changeable stacking height of a discharged sheet stacker.  
      Although a few embodiments of the present general inventive concept have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the general inventive concept, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.