JP2001281771A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a platen cover formed at the upper part of a reading unit from being, simultaneously opened at the time of opening the reading unit in an image forming device where the reading unit and the platen cover are provided to be opened/closed with respect to an image forming unit. SOLUTION: In this image forming device having an image forming unit 2, a reading unit 3 freely opened/closed with respect to the unit 2 and a platen cover 5 opened/closed in the same direction as the reading unit 3, the opening/ closing of the cover 5 with respect to the unit 2 is regulated by connecting the cover 5 and the hinge 4 side of the unit 2 through a wire 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a flat bed type reading unit such as a facsimile machine, a copying machine, or a multifunction machine thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an image forming apparatus in which a flat bed type reading unit is disposed on an upper part of an image forming unit so as to be openable and closable and a platen cover is provided on the reading unit so that the platen cover is openable and closable, It is used in machines and facsimile machines. In the image forming unit of the image forming apparatus, the image information of the document read by the reading unit is recorded on the recording medium by using a recording unit that records on a recording medium using an electrophotographic method. When the reading unit is configured as a flatbed scanner, a document set on a platen glass is pressed by a platen cover (document pressing plate) to perform reading, and the platen cover is opened when the document is replaced.
A reading unit is arranged above the image forming unit, and is configured to open the reading unit at a predetermined angle when simple maintenance such as jamming of recording paper or replacement of toner in the image forming unit is performed. ing.

A platen cover that opens and closes in the same direction is provided above the reading unit that can be opened and closed with respect to the image forming unit. In an image forming apparatus in which the reading unit and the platen cover open in the same direction, an image forming apparatus is used. In some cases, the opening of the reading unit with respect to the image unit and the opening of the platen cover with respect to the reading unit are independently controlled.

[0004]

When a platen cover which can be opened and closed in the same direction is provided above the reading unit, an operator does not notice that the platen cover is open due to maintenance work inside the image forming unit. When the unit is opened, the platen cover unintentionally opens widely with respect to the image forming unit. If there is a wall in the opening direction of the platen cover, the platen cover may collide with the wall and be damaged.

[0005] In particular, when a heavy object such as an automatic document feeder (ADF) is provided on the platen cover, when reading a document on a flat bed,
An auxiliary means such as a spring may be provided at a hinge portion supporting the platen cover so that the platen cover can be maintained at a desired position.

However, if the reading unit that can be opened and closed in the same direction is opened while the platen cover is open, the reading unit is opened and the angle of the platen cover with respect to the image forming unit increases. When the angle of the platen cover with respect to the image forming unit is increased, the counter spring force of a spring serving as an auxiliary means for the hinge portion of the platen cover acts to open the platen cover vigorously, and the platen cover and the A formed thereon are formed.
Problems such as the DF colliding with the rear wall and being damaged may occur.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned conventional problem. When the reading unit is opened by an operator, the platen cover is unexpectedly opened, and the platen cover collides with a rear wall and is damaged. The purpose is to eliminate.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having an image forming unit, a reading unit that can be opened and closed with respect to the image forming unit, and a platen cover that opens and closes in the same direction with respect to the reading unit. Things.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a regulating member for regulating the opening and closing of the platen cover is provided between the platen cover and the image forming unit. Accordingly, the maximum opening of the platen cover with respect to the image forming unit is regulated by the regulating member regardless of whether the reading unit is opened or closed.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the maximum opening of the image reading unit is regulated. Therefore, the range in which the image reading unit can be opened from the image forming unit is restricted.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the regulating member is a cable (preferably a wire) connecting the image forming unit and the platen cover. With a simple structure, the opening of the platen cover with respect to the image forming unit can be regulated.

The invention according to a fourth aspect is characterized in that the cord is hung on the reading unit in the middle. The opening of the platen cover is regulated according to the opening of the image reading unit.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an electrophotographic facsimile apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state where the platen cover 5 is closed.

An image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 has an image forming unit 2, a reading unit 3 disposed above the image forming unit 2, and a hinge 4 which is attached to the image forming unit 2 by the reading unit 3. It can be opened and closed as a fulcrum. In addition, a paper cassette (not shown) capable of storing recording papers of various sizes is provided at a lower portion of the image forming unit 1 so as to be removable therefrom. Recording unit (not shown) fed out of the paper cassette and formed inside the image forming unit 2
The recording medium (paper) recorded by is discharged to a discharge tray 7 formed between the reading unit 2 and the image forming unit 1.

On the upper surface of the reading unit 2, a flatbed reading mechanism (FBS) and a platen cover (document pressing plate) 5 are formed. The FBS includes a platen glass provided on the upper surface of the platen cover 5 and the reading unit 2 and a scanner movable along the lower surface of the platen glass, as in the conventional image reading apparatus. The image of the original is read while the original set above is pressed by the platen cover 5. The platen cover 5 includes a general platen cover in which an elastic body that presses a document is arranged on the platen glass side, and an automatic document feeder (ADF).
Are arranged so that the FBS and the function of the ADF can be arbitrarily used by an operator.

The ADF includes a separating unit for separating the originals one by one, a transporting unit for transporting the separated originals by making a U-turn, a reading unit for reading an image of the original being transported, , Which are not shown in the drawings. When a document is read using the ADF, the reciprocating scanner is driven by an A / D converter.
It reads the image of the continuously fed document by moving immediately below the reading position of F and stopping, and converts this to an electric signal. The image information converted into the electric signal is transmitted to a facsimile apparatus or a communication device (including a personal computer or the like) at a remote location by a transmitting unit (not shown), or is recorded on a recording medium by the recording unit.

In the recording section formed in the image forming unit 2,
The image information read by the reading unit 3 or a facsimile machine at a remote place or other image information sent from a communication device is recorded on a recording medium.

The recording unit is configured as an apparatus capable of recording on a recording medium by using an electrophotographic system, but may be configured by arranging a known copy creation mechanism having an arbitrary configuration. Can also.

The reading unit 3 disposed above the image forming unit 2 is supported via a hinge 4 provided above the image forming unit 2, and connects the reading unit 3 to the image forming unit 2.
It is provided so that it can be opened and closed. The hinge 6 is
An upper bracket 4b provided on the upper part of the image forming unit 2 and a lower bracket 4a provided on the lower surface of the reading unit 3 are connected to a shaft 4c.
Are connected by. The platen cover 5
The reading unit 3 is provided to be openable and closable in the same direction as the reading unit 3 via a hinge 6. The hinge 6 is provided with an auxiliary means using an elastic member such as a spring so that the heavy platen cover 5 can be easily opened and closed. Although the configurations of these auxiliary units are omitted, they are the same as those of the conventional general image forming apparatus. As described above, the platen cover 5 provided to be openable and closable by using the hinge 6 provided with the auxiliary means can easily perform the opening and closing operation even when configured to be relatively heavy.

Opening of the reading unit 3 with respect to the image forming unit 2 is performed, for example, when maintenance of a copy creating function of the image forming unit 2 is performed, and when the reading unit 3 is to be opened, the platen cover 5 is opened. Should not be opened in response to the opening of the reading unit 3.

However, there is a case where the reading unit 3 is opened in a state where the platen cover 5 is opened by carelessness of the operator, and the platen cover 5 largely falls down behind, so that the reading unit 3 may hit the wall or other objects behind the apparatus. Problems such as collision and damage are assumed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the platen cover 5 is connected to the image forming unit 2 with the wire 30.
The maximum opening of the platen cover 5 with respect to the image forming unit 2 is regulated by the connection.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the reading unit 3 and the platen cover 5 are both closed, the locking pin 20 formed on the side surface of the reading unit 3 is formed above the image forming unit 2. The reading unit 3 is fixed to the image forming unit 2 by engaging the main body fixing hook 10. By tilting the opening / closing lever of the reading unit 3 (not shown) interlocked with the main body fixing hook 10,
The engagement state between the locking pin 20 and the main body fixing hook 10 is released, and the reading unit 3 can be opened.

Incidentally, the operator sometimes tries to open the reading unit 3 without noticing that the platen cover 5 is open with respect to the reading unit 3. At this time, as the operator opens the reading unit 3, the opening / closing fulcrum 6 of the platen cover 5 also moves rearward.
In this case, the force acting to hold the platen cover 5 at a predetermined position by a spring (not shown) serving as the auxiliary means supporting the platen cover 5 is:
Although it changes according to the open / closed state of the platen cover 5, the open / closed state of the platen cover 5 with respect to the reading unit 3 does not change, and the opening / closing fulcrum 6 of the platen cover 5 moves rearward by opening the reading unit. Only.
At this time, as the reading unit 3 is opened, the platen cover 5 becomes almost vertical, so that the moment force for closing the platen cover 5 becomes small, and the moment force for closing the platen cover 5 becomes smaller. On the other hand, the force of the spring is relatively higher and the platen cover 5 opens with momentum.
May hit the rear wall and be damaged.

Therefore, the platen cover 5 and the image forming unit 2 are connected by the wire 30 so that the maximum opening of the platen cover 5 is restricted so as not to open to a predetermined position, that is, a position where the platen cover 5 does not hit the rear wall. . Further, by adjusting the length of the wire 30, the maximum open position of the platen cover 5 can be arbitrarily adjusted. It should be noted that the length of the wire is such that even when the platen cover 5 is maximally opened, the reading unit 3 is opened so that the wire 30 has a sufficient length so that the wire 30 is not strained.

The positions of the wires 30 of the image forming unit 2 and the platen cover 5 are set so as to be inconspicuous in appearance and at a position that is not inconvenient for maintenance work. In this embodiment, the wire 30 is provided only on one side surface of the image forming apparatus on the hinge 6 side, but it goes without saying that the wire 30 may be provided on both side surfaces of the apparatus.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 has an image forming unit 2 having a recording unit therein and a reading unit 3 having a scanner mechanism therein.

The wire 30 for regulating the maximum opening of the platen cover 5 is connected to the ring-shaped hook 8 formed on the lower bracket 4a of the reading unit 3 halfway from the image forming unit 2.
And is attached to the platen cover 5. As shown in FIG. 4, the ring-shaped engaging portion 8 has an L-shape, and its horizontal portion 8a has a hole 8 through which the wire 30 passes.
c is formed, and a vertical portion 8b extending from the horizontal portion 8a is formed. The vertical portion 8b is attached to the lower bracket 4a. Since the platen cover 5 is not disposed at a position connecting the image forming unit 2 and the wire 30 of the platen cover 5, the platen cover 5 is pulled toward the reading unit 3, so that the opening of the platen cover 5 with respect to the reading unit 3 is restricted. You.

The platen cover 5 can be opened and closed in the same direction with respect to the reading unit 3. If the reading unit 3 is to be opened with the platen cover 5 being fully opened, the platen cover 5 is also opened. But wire 3
Since 0 is hooked on the ring-shaped hook 8 of the reading unit 3, the opening of the platen cover 5 with respect to the reading unit 3 is restricted. Therefore, when the reading unit 3 is opened while the platen cover 5 is opened, the platen cover 5 is accordingly opened, as compared with the case where the platen cover 5 connects the image forming unit 2 and the platen cover 5.
Is closer to vertical, but the wire 30 connecting the platen cover 5 and the image forming unit 2 does not become straight as described above when the hook is hooked compared to the case where the wire 30 is not hooked on the ring-shaped hooking portion 8. Therefore, the opening degree of the platen cover 5 with respect to the reading unit 3 can be reduced, so that the hinge 6
The difference between the force for opening the platen cover 5 and the force for closing the platen cover 5 due to the auxiliary member provided in the first and second members is reduced. Therefore, the platen cover 5 can be prevented from falling backward more than in the above embodiment.

Therefore, when the reading unit 3 is to be opened for maintenance work of the image forming unit 2 with the platen cover 5 opened, even if the platen cover 5 is slightly opened, the reading unit 3 is opened. Then, since the opening of the platen cover 5 is suppressed, the platen cover 5 falls down backward, and it is possible to prevent the platen cover 5 from reaching the maximum open position and colliding with a rear object.

In this embodiment, a wire is used as the cord, but a stranded wire, a piano wire, a chain, and other various kinds of strongly tensile cords are used in addition to the wire.

[0031]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the maximum opening degree of the platen cover with respect to the image forming unit can be regulated by the regulating member, and the platen cover is opened when the reading unit is opened. Can be prevented from falling back and directly hitting the wall and breaking.

According to the second aspect of the invention, by restricting the maximum opening of the image reading unit, the range in which the reading unit can be opened can be restricted.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the regulating member is a cable connecting the image forming unit and the platen cover, the platen cover can be effectively prevented from being damaged with a simple structure and the cost is reduced. Can also be reduced.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the reading unit is opened with the platen cover open, the opening of the platen cover can be regulated with respect to the reading unit. It can be prevented from opening wide.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state where a reading unit and a platen cover of the image forming apparatus are opened.

FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory view of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of a ring-shaped engaging portion shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Image forming unit 3 Reading unit 5 Platen cover 8 Ring-shaped hooking part 30 Cord

Continued on front page F-term (reference) 2H012 CB01 CB12 2H071 AA02 AA46 DA01 DA05 5C062 AA02 AA05 AB17 AD02 AD06 BA00 5C072 AA01 BA02 BA20 LA02 LA08 XA01

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit; a reading unit that can be opened and closed with respect to the image forming unit; and a platen cover that is disposed above the reading unit and that can be opened and closed in the same direction as the reading unit. An image forming apparatus, wherein a regulating member for regulating the maximum opening of the platen cover is provided between the platen cover and the image forming unit. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a maximum opening of said reading unit is regulated. 3. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said regulating member is a cable connecting the image forming unit and a platen cover. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cable body is hung on a reading unit in the middle.