JP2001105687A - Opening mechanism of image-forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make an opening mechanism of an image-forming apparatus compact and low-cost which operates light when an upper unit such as a scanner part or the like is opened to a lower unit and operates slowly when the upper unit is closed to the lower unit. SOLUTION: A scanner part 1 is set freely rotatably to an ink-jet part 2 via a rotary supporting part 3 in the opening mechanism of the image-forming apparatus. A rod-shaped movable shaft 10 to which either of the scanner part and the ink-jet part is coupled, and a rod-shaped fixed shaft 11 to which the other is coupled are set in series in a longitudinal direction within a cylindrical sleeve 14 of the rotary support part. A clutch spring 9 has one end set to interlock with the rotation of the rotary shaft and the other end set to interlock with the rotation of the sleeve, with having a wind part wound via a gap to the fixed shaft. The clutch spring 9 is arranged to the side of an inner circumferential face of the sleeve. A torque grease 15 is applied to the sleeve to obstruct the rotation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer as an image forming unit, and a lower unit, for example, an image forming unit such as an ink jet printer, provided below an upper unit, for example, a flatbed type image reading scanner. The present invention relates to a technique relating to an opening / closing mechanism of a copying apparatus in which an upper unit is provided to be capable of opening and closing via a rotation support shaft, and more particularly to a one-way clutch technique using a clutch spring and grease for the opening / closing mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a copying apparatus using an ink jet printer as an image forming section has a structure in which an image reading scanner section is provided above the ink jet section. For this reason, when the ink in the ink jet unit is depleted or when maintenance of the ink jet unit becomes necessary, the scanner unit is rotated around the rotation support unit in the depth direction, the upper part of the ink jet unit is opened, and the ink cartridge is opened. It is necessary to perform replacement, maintenance, removal of paper jams, and the like.

FIG. 6 schematically shows an opening and closing operation of a scanner unit when an ink cartridge is replaced in an ink-jet copying apparatus. In order to replace the ink cartridge 4 in the ink jet unit 2, the ink jet copying apparatus that opens and closes the scanner unit 1 rotates the scanner unit 1 with the rotation support unit 3b as a fulcrum to open and close the scanner unit 1. The ink cartridge 4 is replaced with the scanner unit 1 opened. When the scanner unit 1 is closed, there is a possibility that a finger or the like is pinched between the ink jet unit 2 and the scanner unit 1 due to the free fall 5 of the scanner unit 1 or a failure of the copying apparatus itself due to an impact. Therefore, in general, in an ink jet copying apparatus, a damper or a one-way clutch described below is introduced as an opening / closing mechanism for slowly closing the scanner unit 1.

FIG. 7 shows an ink jet copying apparatus using a damper 6 as an opening / closing mechanism. The scanner unit 1 is openably and closably mounted at an appropriate position of the scanner unit 1 and the ink jet unit 2 at the end of the damper 6. In this case, since the damper 6 has a mechanism that generates a load when it expands and contracts, a load is applied when the scanner unit 1 is closed and opened, and the opening and closing operation is performed slowly, thereby solving the above-described problem. .

FIG. 8 shows an ink-jet copying apparatus in which a conventional one-way clutch is used for a rotation supporting portion. The one-way clutch 8b is incorporated into the rotation support 3c. The one-way clutch 8b rotates lightly in a certain rotation direction, and performs a rotation operation in which a stop or load is applied in the opposite direction.
Taking advantage of this characteristic, the one-way clutch 8b is incorporated in the rotation support part 3c in the rotation direction that generates light load in the direction of opening operation of the scanner unit 1 lightly in the direction of opening operation of the scanner unit 1. Can be opened lightly and can be operated slowly during the closing operation. This solves the problem at the time of opening and closing.

[0006]

The ink-jet copying apparatus incorporating the damper mechanism shown in FIG. 7 has a movable portion of the damper 6 and a space for the movable range in the ink-jet portion 2, and requires a large-sized ink-jet portion. did. Further, since the damper 6 seals oil or air to generate a load by its reaction force, there is a problem that the sealing structure 7 is costly.

In addition, the ink-jet copying apparatus incorporating the one-way clutch 8b in FIG. 8 has a smaller mechanism occupied area than the damper mechanism by incorporating a one-way clutch mechanism in the rotation support portion 3c, thereby reducing the size of the ink-jet section. . However, such a one-way clutch 8b that generates a load rotation in one direction uses a high-strength clutch spring in order to use, as a load, a frictional resistance of a clutch spring wound around an internal shaft that is a source of the rotation. It is necessary to maintain the state before it is completely wound around the shaft, and to generate a constant load when the scanner is closed, it is necessary to create the clutch spring inner diameter and shaft outer diameter with high accuracy. This has led to an increase in the size and cost of the clutch spring. Further, the clutch spring needs to be wound around the shaft to some extent, and the structure is difficult to assemble. As another method, there is a method of omitting an auxiliary mechanism that generates a load when the scanner is closed, but
Although it is small in size and inexpensive, there is a problem that a pinch accident occurs between the scanner unit and the ink jet unit when the scanner is closed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problem, and is an opening / closing mechanism for an image forming apparatus which operates lightly when an upper unit such as a scanner unit is opened relative to a lower unit and operates slowly when closed. It is intended to realize miniaturization and low cost.

[0009]

The present invention has the following configuration to achieve the above object. A first gist of the present invention is an opening / closing mechanism of an image forming apparatus in which a lower unit is provided below an upper unit, and the upper unit is provided to be openable and closable via a rotation support shaft with respect to the lower unit. The rotation support shaft is provided with a rod-shaped rotation shaft in which one of the upper unit and the lower unit is connected, and a rod-shaped fixed shaft in which the other unit is connected, and is provided in series in a longitudinal direction in a cylindrical sleeve. One end side is provided so as to interlock with the rotation of the rotation shaft, and has a winding portion that winds with a gap between the fixed shaft and the other end side so as to interlock with the rotation of the sleeve. Is provided on the inner circumferential surface side of the sleeve, and grease is applied to the sleeve so as to prevent the sleeve from rotating.

A second gist of the present invention is characterized in that the grease is applied to a gap between a peripheral surface of the fixed shaft where the clutch spring is not wound and an inner peripheral surface of the sleeve facing the peripheral surface. An opening and closing mechanism for an image forming apparatus according to Summary 1.

[0011] A third gist of the present invention is that the coating gap is 0.1 mm.
The opening and closing mechanism for an image forming apparatus according to the first or the second aspect, wherein the opening and closing mechanism is provided to be not less than 2 mm and not more than 0.3 mm.

According to the present invention, the clutch spring is provided so that one end thereof is interlocked with the rotation of the rotating shaft, is wound around the fixed shaft with a gap, and the other end is interlocked with the rotation of the sleeve. , The clutch spring rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating shaft, but the rotation of the clutch spring is transmitted as it is as the torque of the sleeve because the fixed shaft is wound with a gap.

On the other hand, in order to hinder the rotation operation, for example, in order to apply grease to an application gap between a peripheral surface portion where the clutch spring of the fixed shaft is not wound and an inner peripheral surface of the sleeve opposed to the peripheral surface portion, The sleeve to which the rotational force is transmitted by the clutch spring receives a resistance force in a direction that hinders rotation by grease.

The resistance of the sleeve received from the grease is transmitted to the clutch spring, but since the clutch spring is wound around the fixed shaft with a gap, the resistance depends on the direction of action of the resistance. It acts in either the direction of expanding or narrowing the gap with the fixed shaft.

When acting in the direction of increasing the gap between the clutch spring and the fixed shaft, the rotating shaft rotates with the resistance of the sleeve received from the grease. On the other hand, when acting in the direction of narrowing the gap between the clutch spring and the fixed shaft, the rotating shaft is rotated by the amount of the sleeve received from the grease because the clutch spring is wound around the fixed shaft by an amount corresponding to the resistance force of the clutch spring. In order to receive winding resistance in addition to resistance,
It becomes a slow rotation.

Accordingly, when the upper unit is opened with respect to the lower unit, the opening operation can be performed lightly with little resistance by acting so as to act in a direction to widen the gap between the clutch spring and the fixed shaft. Conversely, when closed, it acts in a direction to narrow the gap between the clutch spring and the fixed shaft, so that a slow closing operation can be realized.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the ink jet copying apparatus. The inkjet copying apparatus is roughly divided into a scanner unit 1 located above and an inkjet unit 2 located below, and a turning support unit is provided on the back side (rear side) in the operation direction of the scanner unit 1 and the inkjet unit 2. The scanner unit 1 is opened and closed by incorporating a rotation mechanism into the rotation support unit 3.

By incorporating the one-way clutch 8 according to the embodiment of the present invention into the rotating mechanism, the opening and closing operation of the scanner unit 1 is lightly opened by human power when the opening and closing operation is performed, and the scanner unit 1 is slowly lowered when closed. I do.

The operation of the one-way clutch 8 according to the embodiment of the present invention is realized by using a clutch spring, a cylindrical sleeve, and torque grease. The one-way clutch 8 has columnar shafts 10 and 11 having substantially the same diameter that operate independently on the left and right. The shaft 10 is a movable shaft, and the shaft 11 is a fixed shaft. Incorporated in When the movable shaft 10 of the one-way clutch 8 is rotated with no load in the rotation direction 12 (no-load rotation), and the resistance is applied in the rotation direction 13 (rotation with load), In the one-way clutch 8 incorporated in the dynamic support unit 3, the movable shaft 10 is joined to the scanner unit 1, and the fixed shaft 11 is joined to the ink jet unit 2. By incorporating the scanner unit 1 in this manner, the opening and closing operation of the scanner unit 1 is lightly opened by human power when opened, and is slowly closed by resistance when closed.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a partial cross section of the structure of the one-way clutch 8, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. The one-way clutch 8 is provided with a cylindrical sleeve 14 in which a movable shaft 10 and a fixed shaft 11 are provided in series in a longitudinal direction, and one end is provided so as to be interlocked with the rotation of the movable shaft 10 and fixed. Wind with a gap around the shaft 11,
A clutch spring 9 provided at the other end so as to be linked with the rotation of the sleeve 14, a peripheral surface portion 11a where the clutch spring of the fixed shaft 11 is not wound, and a sleeve facing the peripheral surface portion 11a. And a torque grease 15 applied and filled in the application gap SP with the peripheral surface.

The movable shaft 10 and the fixed shaft 11 are arranged in series so that their central axes in the longitudinal direction are substantially on the same straight line, and the clutch spring 9 extends over both shafts 10 and 11 as shown in FIG. It is wound in a shape. Regarding the winding direction of the clutch spring 9, the direction in which the movable shaft 10 rotates with load is the direction in which the spiral is wound, and the direction in which the movable shaft 10 rotates with no load is the direction in which the spiral is unwound.

The clutch spring 9 is formed by shaping a single metal rod-shaped material into a coil shape (spiral shape) in the same direction so as to have a predetermined diameter. I just need.

The method of mounting the clutch spring 9 is as follows. The spiral portion of the clutch spring 9 on the movable shaft 10 side is completely wound around and fixed to the peripheral surface of the movable shaft 10, while the spiral portion on the fixed shaft 11 side is fixed on the fixed shaft 11. Not fixed to the peripheral surface of, for example, 0.025 mm
Is wound around with a gap. Further, the clutch spring 9
Is inserted into the hole 14a of the sleeve 14, and the clutch spring 9 and the sleeve 14 are linked.

The sleeve 14 comprises a movable shaft 10 and a fixed shaft 11
And the clutch spring 9 and the movable shaft 1
0, the inner diameter of the fixed shaft 11 and the outer diameter of the clutch spring 9 so as not to contact the outer circumference of the clutch spring 9. As shown in FIG. 3, the inner diameter of the sleeve 14 is different between the portion facing the clutch spring 9 and the portion facing the peripheral surface portion 11a where the clutch spring 9 of the fixed shaft 11 is not spirally wound. And torque grease 1
5 is adjusted. Specifically, the sleeve 1
4 is 0.3 m between the inner peripheral surface and the peripheral surface 11 a of the fixed shaft 11.
m, and the gap is filled with the torque grease 15.

Grease is generally composed of a thickener and an additive for giving various properties to oil (base oil), and has less oil leakage and excellent confidentiality than oil.
It has a long service life, easy maintenance, and a simple sealing device.

The base oil (base oil) contains 7 grease.
It accounts for ~ 80%, and synthetic, mineral and vegetable oils can be used.

As the thickener, metal soaps, composite soaps and non-soaps can be used. As a metal soap-based thickener, for example, there is titanium soap, which has advantages of excellent heat resistance, water resistance, and mechanical stability, and has a dropping point in the range of 180 to 210 ° C. As a composite soap-based thickener, for example, there is an aluminum complex, which has advantages of excellent heat resistance, mechanical stability, water resistance, and adhesion, and the drop point is in the range of 200 to 270 ° C. Non-soap thickeners include, for example, bentonite, fine silica, and urea. Bentonite has characteristics of excellent non-melting and shear stability, and has no dropping point. Fine silica is excellent in heat resistance and has no dropping point. In the case of urea,
Excellent heat resistance, with a dropping point in the range of 230 to 280 ° C.
The drop point refers to the temperature at which the grease becomes liquid by application of heat and drops when heat is applied. Generally, the use temperature limit is 40 to 50 ° C. lower than the drop point.

The additives are used to further improve the properties of the grease, and (a) an antioxidant for suppressing the oxidative deterioration of the base oil, and (b) for preventing corrosion (oxidation / sulfurization) of the metal surface. Corrosion inhibitor, (c) an oiliness improver that increases the oil film strength of the base oil to prevent oil shortage, (d) a thickener that improves the viscosity of the oil and improves the feeling, (e) forms a film on the lubricated surface A solid lubricant that helps to make and lubricate the base oil, (f) a pour point depressant that lowers the pour point of the base oil and improves low-temperature characteristics, and (g) adsorbs a strong oil film on the metal surface, There are extreme pressure agents and the like that prevent image sticking and are selectively used according to the purpose.

The torque grease 15 of the present embodiment uses GP-501MR manufactured by Kanto Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd., and uses synthetic oil as the base oil that accounts for 70 to 80% of the torque grease 15, and increases the degree of penetration by 370. Silica, a temperature range of -10 to 150 ° C, and a slightly high torque value (middle of a medium torque and a high torque) were used as a thickener. However, the present invention is not limited to this grease, and an optimal grease can be appropriately selected according to the operator's preference, the characteristics of the apparatus, the use environment conditions, and the like. The tightness is a specification of the hardness of the grease, and is a numerical value representing a distance settled when a cone is dropped into a predetermined container and left for 5 seconds, as 10 times the millimeter. Therefore, the higher the value, the softer the grease.

Next, the inside of the one-way clutch 8 is simply shown in FIG. 4, and the principle of operation of the one-way clutch 8 of the present invention will be described. As described above, the movable shaft 10 and the fixed shaft 11 are arranged in series on the same straight line, and the clutch spring 9 is
0 and wound around the fixed shaft 11 at 0.025 mm.
It is wound with a gap. In FIG. 4, the helical winding direction of the clutch spring 9 is referred to as a direction 13 for the helical rotation toward the movable shaft 10, and the helical rotation direction for the fixed shaft 11 is referred to as a direction 12.

First, considering the state of FIG. 4 without the sleeve 14, when the movable shaft 10 rotates in the direction 13, the clutch spring 9 fixed to the movable shaft 10 rotates in synchronization. The movable shaft 10 idles without winding around the fixed shaft 11 because of having a space with the fixed shaft 11. However, at this time, the clutch spring 9 is
When the clutch spring 9 is slightly rotated in the direction 16 (the same direction as the direction 12) which is the reverse rotation direction, the clutch spring 9 is blocked from rotating and slightly wound around the fixed shaft 11, and the clutch spring 9 and the fixed shaft 11 are rotated. The question arises. This fixed shaft 1
1 causes the clutch spring 9 to rotate with the load, and the movable shaft 10 connected to the clutch spring 9 also slowly rotates with the load.

On the other hand, when the movable shaft 10 rotates in the direction 12, the movable shaft 10 idles. If the clutch spring 9
Is slightly rotated in the direction opposite to the direction 12 so that the clutch spring 9 does not wind around the fixed shaft 11 and the diameter of the helical winding of the clutch spring 9 increases (the reverse of winding). The movable shaft 10 rotates with no load because the clutch spring 9 does not wind around the fixed shaft 11. The rotation of the clutch spring 9 in the direction 16 is performed by the torque grease 15.

Next, the case where the sleeve 14 is provided as shown in FIG. 2 will be described. When the movable shaft 10 starts rotating in the direction 13 and the clutch spring 9 turns the sleeve 14, the sleeve 14 generates a rotation resistance due to the load of the torque grease 15 with the fixed shaft 11. . The sleeve 14 that has generated the rotation resistance suppresses the rotation of the clutch spring 9 on the fixed shaft 11 side, and generates a rotating force in the direction 16 with respect to the clutch spring 9. Try to wrap around. When the sleeve 14 receives a certain amount of rotational power, the resistance of the torque grease 15 is lost. Therefore, the sleeve 14 rotates while maintaining a predetermined winding within the resistance range of the torque grease 15. The clutch spring 9 maintaining the predetermined winding by the sleeve 14 rotates while generating resistance between the clutch spring 9 and the fixed shaft 11, and as a result, the movable shaft 10 slowly rotates with a load.

On the other hand, when the clutch spring 9 rotates the sleeve 14 while the movable shaft 10 rotates in the direction 12, the sleeve 14 rotates in the direction 13 due to the load of the torque grease 15 on the fixed shaft 11. Even if resistance is generated, the spiral spring of the clutch spring 9 acts to increase the diameter (the opposite operation to the winding), and the clutch spring 9 does not wind around the fixed shaft 11. Therefore, in the rotation of the clutch spring 9 in the direction 12, a resistance force acts on the movable shaft 10 via the sleeve 14 by the torque grease 15 between the fixed shaft 11 and the sleeve 14, and the clutch spring 9 has such resistance. Rotation of low resistance is realized.

The above is the principle of operation of the one-way clutch 8 of this embodiment. The difference from the conventional one-way clutch is that the winding method of the clutch spring is managed by the inner diameter of the clutch spring, and the one-way clutch 8 of the present embodiment mechanically closes the spring. The conventional one-way clutch is difficult to assemble, but the one-way clutch 8 of the present embodiment is easy to assemble and can be adjusted.
Further, the state before the complete winding is performed by the strength of the clutch spring in the conventional one-way clutch, but is realized by the torque grease in the one-way clutch 8 of the present embodiment.
In the conventional one-way clutch, the strength of the clutch spring is required. However, the one-way clutch 8 of this embodiment uses a normal clutch spring 9 and can be closed and adjusted by the characteristics of the torque grease 15.

Next, the opening / closing operation in which the one-way clutch 8 of the present embodiment is incorporated in the rotation support portion 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (d).
It will be explained in. 5 (a) to 5 (d) show side views of the ink jet copying apparatus for each operation on the left side of the drawing, and on the right side thereof, the rotary support section 3 using the one-way clutch 8 in a corresponding state. FIG.

FIG. 5A shows a state in which the scanner unit 1 is closed. The winding of the clutch spring 9 around the fixed shaft 11 is adjusted by an operation projection 17 from the movable shaft 10 and a receiving projection 18 from the fixed shaft 11, and the clutch spring 9 always acts in the rotation direction 19.

FIG. 5B shows a state where the scanner unit 1 is opened. In this state, the movable shaft 10 and the clutch spring 9 rotate in the direction 12, the clutch spring 9 does not wind around the fixed shaft 11, and the torque between the fixed shaft 11 and the sleeve 14 passes through the sleeve 14. A resistive force is applied by the grease 15, and the movable shaft 10 rotates under such a low-resistance rotating load.

FIG. 5C shows the scanner unit 1 in an open state. There is no change in the one-way clutch 8.

FIG. 5D shows a state in which the scanner unit 1 is closed. When the movable shaft 10 rotates downward (direction 13) and the clutch spring 9 rotates the sleeve 14, the sleeve 14 receives a rotating force 16 in the opposite direction by the torque grease 15 between the sleeve 14 and the fixed shaft 11. The clutch spring 9 is wound around the fixed shaft 11 with a certain strength by the rotating force 16. The winding of the clutch spring 9 around the fixed shaft 11 generates a predetermined resistance force between the clutch spring 9 and the fixed shaft 11, and the clutch spring 9 rotates in the direction 13 while generating a load. Movable axis 1 in conjunction with it
0 also rotates the load, and the scanner unit 1 is gradually closed.

In the above-described one-way clutch 8 of the present embodiment, the winding amount and strength of the clutch spring 9 are selectively adjusted by selecting the type of the torque grease 15, for example, by selecting the viscosity (high or low of the torque value). The load rotation adjustment of the direction clutch can be easily adjusted to a desired response as appropriate.

In a state where the sleeve 14 is not provided, the clutch spring 9 is designed so that the load due to the winding does not occur between the clutch spring 9 and the fixed shaft 11, and the closing degree of the clutch spring 9 is set mechanically later. Therefore, the closing of the clutch spring 9 and the fixed shaft 11 can be freely adjusted at the time of assembling, and a desired load rotation can be generated. Since there is a gap between the clutch spring 9 and the fixed shaft 11, the assembly is easy, and the closing can be adjusted, so that the load rotation after the assembly can be adjusted.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in the above embodiment, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this. For example, even if the fixed shaft 11 is connected to the scanner unit 1 and the movable shaft 10 is connected to the inkjet unit 2,
For example, by changing the winding direction of the clutch spring 9 in the reverse direction, the resistance of the opening operation when the scanner unit 1 is opened with respect to the ink jet unit 2 is reduced. It can also be achieved.

In this embodiment, the torque grease 15 is applied to the gap between the peripheral surface of the fixed shaft 11 where the clutch spring 9 is not wound and the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve 14 facing the peripheral surface. , But is not limited to this.
What is necessary is just to apply to the position which hinders the rotation operation of the sleeve. For example, a cylindrical body is separately provided on the peripheral surface of the fixed shaft 11 where the clutch spring 9 is not wound, and the cylindrical body and the sleeve 14 are provided.
Even if the torque grease 15 is applied and filled in the gap, the same effect can be exerted. The opening / closing mechanism can be configured with a simple configuration by applying and filling torque grease 15 into the gap between the fixed shaft 11 and the sleeve 14 as in the above embodiment.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, the winding state of the clutch spring is controlled by the inner diameter of the clutch spring, unlike the conventional method. is there. In addition, the conventional one-way clutch performs the state before complete winding with the strength of the clutch spring. However, according to the present invention, an ordinary clutch spring is used to perform the selection by selecting the grease viscosity or the like. This enables the closing adjustment. Therefore, adjustment of the opening / closing mechanism of the image forming apparatus at the time of shipment or maintenance can be performed by simple means of selecting grease, as compared with the case where the clutch spring needs to be attached and detached. An excellent image forming apparatus can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of an ink jet copying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure of a one-way clutch 8 according to the embodiment of the present invention in a partial cross section.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an operational explanatory view of the inside of a one-way clutch 8 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a side view of the ink jet copying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention and a cross-sectional view of the corresponding rotation support section 3 for each operation.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an opening and closing operation of a scanner unit when an ink cartridge is replaced in a conventional inkjet copying apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a conventional inkjet copying apparatus using a damper as an opening / closing mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional inkjet copying apparatus using a damper using a conventional one-way clutch for an opening / closing mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Scanner part 2 Ink-jet part 3 Rotation support part 8 One-way clutch 9 Clutch spring 10 Movable shaft 11 Fixed shaft 11a Peripheral surface part 14 Sleeve 15 Torque grease

Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Tatsuya Ogawa 22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka F-term (reference) 2C061 AQ05 BB17 CD07 CD13

Claims (3)

[Claims] An opening / closing mechanism for an image forming apparatus, wherein a lower unit is provided below an upper unit, and the upper unit is provided to be openable and closable via a rotation support shaft with respect to the lower unit. The shaft is provided with a rod-shaped rotating shaft to which one of the upper unit and the lower unit is connected, and a rod-shaped fixed shaft to which the other unit is connected in series in a longitudinal direction in a cylindrical sleeve. Is provided so as to be interlocked with the rotation of the rotating shaft, and
A clutch spring having a winding portion for winding with a gap between the sleeve and a fixed shaft, and a clutch spring having the other end provided so as to be interlocked with the rotation of the sleeve, provided on an inner peripheral surface side of the sleeve; An opening / closing mechanism of the image forming apparatus, wherein grease is applied to the lug so as to hinder the rotation operation. 2. The grease is applied to a gap between a peripheral surface portion of the fixed shaft where the clutch spring is not wound and an inner peripheral surface of the sleeve opposed to the peripheral surface portion. An opening and closing mechanism for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The coating gap is not less than 0.2 mm and not more than 0.2 mm.
The opening / closing mechanism for an image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing mechanism is provided at 3 mm or less.