JP2001100474A - Base structure of image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of reducing the height of the image forming device by shortening legs. SOLUTION: The legs 4 are separately arranged near in four corners of a resin baseplate 3 constituting the nearly rectangular base 2 of the image forming device 1. Among four legs 4, two legs 4 arranged along one side are elastic legs 4B. The elastic legs 4B are integrally molded with the baseplate 3 of the image forming device 1, and each leg 4B is provided with a pad arrangement part 5 projecting from the baseplate 3. A recessed part 6 opening downwards is formed in the pad arrangement part 5. An elastic pad 7 formed of rubber and urethane, etc., is arranged in the recessed part 6. Plural oblong holes 8 passing through the baseplate 3 are formed around the pad arrangement part 5 of the base plate 3. In the case of placing the image forming device on a desk and the like, the elastic pad 7 and also the pad arrangement part 5 are elastically shifted, then, the image forming device 1 is elastically supported by both the pad 7 and the part 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a bottom structure of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Legs are provided at four corners on the bottom of an image forming apparatus. Each leg is formed integrally with the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus, and a pad arrangement portion protruding from the bottom surface,
It has an elastic pad made of urethane, rubber, or the like, which is arranged in the pad arrangement section. When the image forming apparatus is placed on a desk or the like, the elastic pads are elastically displaced by absorbing the weight of the image forming apparatus, and the image forming apparatus is elastically supported by the elastic pads. Thus, the image forming apparatus can be stably mounted on a desk or the like.

[0003]

Incidentally, a so-called desktop type image forming apparatus mounted on a desk or the like preferably has a small height. Therefore, we want to keep the legs as low as possible. However, if an elastic pad having a small thickness is used, the elastic force is insufficient, and the image forming apparatus cannot be stably mounted. Therefore, the elastic pad needs a certain thickness. That is, a thin elastic pad could not be used, and the height of the image forming apparatus could not be sufficiently reduced.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to lower the legs,
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can reduce the height of the image forming apparatus.

[0005]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pad arranging portion formed integrally with a bottom surface of an image forming apparatus and protruding from the bottom surface, and a pad. A bottom structure of an image forming apparatus, comprising a concave notch formed on a bottom surface around a pad arrangement portion so that the arrangement portion can be elastically displaced with respect to the bottom surface. According to the first aspect, since the pad disposing portion can be elastically displaced with respect to the bottom surface, even if a thin elastic pad is disposed on the pad disposing portion, the image is formed by the elastic pad and the elastically displaced pad disposing portion. The forming device is elastically supported. Therefore, a thin member can be used for the elastic pad to be arranged, for example, rubber or urethane.

Further, the height of the legs formed by the pad arrangement portion and the elastic pad can be reduced, and the overall height of the image forming apparatus can be reduced. Such a configuration is useful for a so-called desktop image forming apparatus. Further, conventionally, the image forming apparatus is elastically supported only by the elastic pad. However, since the pad arrangement section is elastically displaced in addition to the elastic pad, the image forming apparatus is elastically supported by both. Therefore, there is also an effect that the life of the elastic pad is extended.

In the case of an image forming apparatus having a substantially square bottom as in claim 2, legs are provided near four corners of the image forming apparatus, but two legs are arranged along a predetermined side. And the remaining two legs may be projections formed integrally with the bottom surface. In this case, the number of the elastic pads is reduced, the assembling work of disposing the elastic pads is simplified, and the number of parts is small, so that a low-cost bottom structure can be obtained. The leg provided with the pad disposition portion and the elastic pad elastically supports the image forming apparatus. Therefore, even if the remaining two legs are small projections (fixed legs) formed integrally with the bottom surface, the image forming apparatus can be used. Can be stably placed on a desk or the like.

In this configuration, it is preferable that the leg including the pad arrangement portion and the elastic pad be provided on the bottom surface side of the heavy portion where the functional component is arranged in the image forming apparatus.
Most of the weight of the image forming apparatus is supported by the elastically displaced legs, and the image forming apparatus can be stably arranged. When the concave portion for accommodating the elastic pad is provided in the pad disposing portion, the elastic pad can be easily arranged and the elastic pad is hard to come off.

When the recessed portion is constituted by a plurality of long holes, sufficient elasticity can be given to the pad arrangement portion. As in claim 5, the concave notch may be a groove,
By making the depth of the groove, in other words, the thickness of the bottom surface of the portion where the groove is formed, appropriate, it is possible to give sufficient elasticity to the pad arrangement portion.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a bottom structure of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment. This image forming apparatus 1 is a so-called desktop type placed on a desk or the like, and is an apparatus that can be used as a copying machine. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a paper cassette, an imaging device for forming an image on paper fed from the paper cassette, a fixing device for fixing an image formed by the imaging device on the paper, and the like. ing.

The substantially square bottom surface 2 of the image forming apparatus 1 is constituted by a resin bottom plate 3. Legs 4 are provided near the four corners of the bottom plate 3 respectively. Of the four legs 4, two legs 4 along one (right side in FIG. 1) side are fixed legs 4A. These fixed legs 4A are
Each of them is formed integrally with the bottom plate 3, and is constituted by a small rectangular tube-shaped projection projecting from the bottom plate 3. 2 along the other two legs, the other (left side in FIG. 1)
One leg 4 is an elastic leg 4B.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the elastic leg 4B taken along the line AA in FIG. The elastic leg 4B will be described with reference to FIGS. The elastic leg 4 </ b> B is formed integrally with the bottom plate 3 of the image forming apparatus 1 and includes a pad arrangement portion 5 protruding from the bottom plate 3. A concave portion 6 which is opened downward is formed in the pad disposing portion 5, and this pad disposing portion 5 has a cylindrical shape as a whole. Recess 6
Inside, an elastic pad 7 made of rubber, urethane or the like is arranged.

A plurality of long holes 8 (four in this embodiment) penetrating the bottom plate 3 are formed in the bottom plate 3 around the pad arrangement portion 5. Therefore, the pad arrangement portion 5 can be elastically displaced with respect to the bottom surface 2. When the image forming apparatus 1 is placed on a desk or the like, in addition to the elastic pad 7, the pad disposition portion 5 is also elastically displaced, and the image forming apparatus 1 is elastically supported by both. Therefore, even if the thickness of the elastic pad 7 is thin, the image forming apparatus 1 is elastically supported. Therefore, a thin member can be used for the elastic pad 7 to be arranged. Thereby, the height of the elastic leg 4B composed of the pad arrangement portion 5 and the elastic pad 7 can be reduced, and the overall height of the image forming apparatus 1 can be reduced.

By the way, among the components housed in the image forming apparatus 1, for example, functional parts such as an imaging apparatus have a relatively large weight, and these functional parts are shifted from the center of the image forming apparatus 1 in plan view. When the image forming apparatus 1 is accommodated in the position where the functional components are arranged, it is necessary to support most of the weight of the image forming apparatus 1 with the two legs 4 arranged on the side where the functional components are arranged. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
Are arranged on one side (left side in FIG. 4) of the image forming apparatus 1 in plan view, at least two legs 4 arranged along one side of the image forming apparatus 1 may be elastic legs 4B.
If a low-priced bottom structure is desired, the remaining two legs 4 are used as the fixed legs 4A. Even in this case, the image forming apparatus 1 can be sufficiently supported stably. This allows
Since the number of the elastic pads 7 is reduced, the assembling work of disposing the elastic pads 7 is simplified, and the number of parts can be reduced. Further, the fixed leg 4A may have a shape other than a rectangular tube shape, or may have a configuration having an adjuster for adjusting the height.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the above-described embodiment, the concave portion 9 is formed on the upper surface of the pad arrangement portion 5 as shown in FIG. 2, but the concave portion 9 is not formed as shown in FIG. The bottom surface of the recess 6 may be substantially flush with the bottom surface 2. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the plurality of long holes 8 are formed in the bottom plate 3 around the pad arrangement portion 5, but as shown in FIG. 4B, the bottom plate around the pad arrangement portion 5 is formed. 3, in place of the plurality of long holes 8,
A groove 11 surrounding the pad arrangement portion 5 may be formed. The groove 11 may be formed on the entire periphery of the pad arrangement portion 5 or may be partially formed in plural. By making the depth of the groove 11, in other words, the thickness of the bottom plate 3 at the portion where the groove 11 is formed, appropriate, it is possible to impart sufficient elasticity to the pad arrangement portion 5. The groove 11 may be formed on the bottom surface 2 as shown in FIG. 4B, or may be formed on the upper surface of the bottom plate 3.

Further, in the above description, the pad arrangement section 5
Although the configuration in which the concave portion 6 is formed in the concave portion and the elastic pad 7 is accommodated in the concave portion 6 has been described, the configuration is not limited to this configuration.
As shown in FIG. 4C, the configuration may be such that the concave portion 6 is not formed in the pad arrangement portion 5 and the elastic pad 7 is arranged on the lower surface 12 of the pad arrangement portion 5 which is a flat surface. As shown in FIG.
A configuration in which a concave portion 14 that fits with 3 may be formed. In addition, the external shape of the pad arrangement section 5 can be arbitrary.

Furthermore, all of the legs 4 provided at the four corners may be elastic legs 4B. In this case, since the image forming apparatus 1 is elastically supported by the elastic pads 7 and the pad arrangement portions 5 at all four corners, the image forming apparatus 1 is more stably
Can be placed on a desk or the like. In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a bottom structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the elastic leg taken along a cutting line AA in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing an arrangement configuration of legs of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 3 Bottom plate 4 Leg 5 Pad arrangement part 6 Concave part 7 Elastic pad 8 Slot 11 Slot

Claims (5)

[Claims] An image forming apparatus is formed integrally with a bottom surface of the image forming apparatus.
A pad disposing portion protruding from the bottom surface, and a concave notch formed on a bottom surface around the pad disposing portion so that the pad disposing portion can be elastically displaced with respect to the bottom surface. Bottom structure. 2. A bottom structure of an image forming apparatus, wherein a bottom surface is substantially rectangular, and legs are provided near four corners of the image forming device. 1. A configuration having a pad arrangement part whose periphery is surrounded by a concave notch part and an elastic pad arranged in the pad arrangement part, wherein the remaining two legs are formed integrally with the bottom surface and project from the bottom surface. A bottom structure of the image forming apparatus, wherein the bottom structure is constituted by small projections. 3. The bottom structure of an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pad arrangement portion has a concave portion for receiving an elastic pad. 4. The image according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion formed on the bottom surface around the pad arrangement portion is a plurality of long holes penetrating the bottom surface. The bottom structure of the forming device. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the concave portion formed on the bottom surface around the pad arrangement portion is a groove surrounding the pad arrangement portion. Bottom structure.