Image forming apparatus and method thereof

摘要

An image forming apparatus having an improved structure to enable a user to conveniently operate the image forming apparatus at a front of the image forming apparatus, and a method thereof. The image forming apparatus includes a main body formed with a discharge port at a front portion, a printing unit mounted inside the main body and disposed adjacent to a front panel of the main body, a feeding unit to feed paper printed by the printing unit toward a rear panel of the main body, and a discharge reversal unit to reverse a moving direction of the paper fed by the feeding unit to feed the paper to the discharge port. A sensor to detect a moving position of the paper and a paper guide guiding movement of the paper is mounted between the feeding unit and the discharge reversal unit.

主权项

1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a discharge port facing towards a front portion of a main body; a discharge tray disposed adjacent to the discharge port; a printing unit mounted inside the main body to perform a printing operation on a print medium, the printing unit including a plurality of developing devices mounted in a stacked arrangement in the main body to form an image on the print medium and a transfer belt arranged between the plurality of developing devices and a front panel of the main body; a fixing unit configured to fix the image formed on the print medium by the printing unit; and a discharge reversal unit configured to receive the print medium from the printing unit and including at least one roller arranged in a rear region of the main body that is configured to be rotatable in both a forward direction and a reverse direction, wherein the discharge tray is formed on a top surface of the main body between the discharge port and the front panel, and the transfer belt and a duplex-print circulation path are disposed in the main body at positions at least partially overlapping the discharge tray with respect to a vertical direction of the main body, and wherein, in a duplex printing mode, after the printing unit performs a printing operation on a first surface of the print medium, the print medium is refed to the printing unit via the duplex-print circulation path to perform a printing operation on a second surface of the print medium, and after the printing unit performs a printing operation on the second surface of the print medium, then a moving direction of the print medium passing through the discharge reversal unit is subsequently reversed, and the print medium is fed to the discharge port.