JP2002162797A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a cartridge extruded from a set position to a retreated position by opening a cover in image forming devices such as a printer. SOLUTION: This imaging forming device has a linking means which links an opening operation of a cover 5 and an unlock operation to cancel the locked condition of a cartridge 1 with a lock means 4. The linking means has a hooking body 6 which consists of a hook installed to the cover 5 and a hooking part 18 which lifts up the cartridge 1 from the set position by hooking of the hooking body 6. The rock means 4 has a pressuring member 42. The hooking body 6 is released from the hooking part 18 by the opening operation of the cover 5 after canceling the locking condition of the cartridge 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus in which a cartridge containing a material for forming an image such as toner or ink is detachably mounted.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Examples of this type of image forming apparatus include a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile.

In a conventional image forming apparatus, when a cartridge mounted at a set position is to be retracted from the set position and taken out, after opening a cover covering the retracted position of the cartridge, a lever operation or other operation is performed as a first step. The user needs to perform the necessary operations to release the locked state of the cartridge at the set position, and then, as a second step, take the cartridge out of the set position by hand to take it out.

On the other hand, JP-A-4-260076 and JP-A-10-198145 describe means for preventing toner contained in a cartridge from spilling out of a cartridge prior to an operation of removing the cartridge. is there.

[0005]

It is troublesome and troublesome for the operator to carry out the first and second two-stage operations when the cartridge is removed from the set position as in the conventional image forming apparatus described above. Because of the operation, it has been desired to improve the operability at the time of taking out the cartridge.

Further, in recent image forming apparatuses, the cartridge mounted at the set position often appears to be incorporated as a unit with other components in appearance, and such an image forming apparatus is often used. In the apparatus, even if the lock is released by the above-described first-stage operation, there are many cases where the operator cannot easily determine where to grasp and remove the cartridge by hand. It was also desired to improve such a condition.

[0007] With the techniques described in the above-mentioned JP-A-4-260076 and JP-A-10-198145, it is impossible to satisfy the above-mentioned demands or to improve the above-mentioned state.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has been devised to open the cover from the closed position to the open position so that the cartridge is pushed from the set position to the retracted position behind the cartridge. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of improving operability for an operator by taking measures.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive image forming apparatus which can improve the operability for an operator.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: a spring for urging a cartridge mounted at a set position in a retreating direction; and a spring mounted on the cartridge mounted at the set position. A locking means for locking to the set position against the urging, between a closed position for covering the retracted position of the cartridge pushed to the retracted position by the urging of the spring body and an open position for opening the retracted position; And a cover that can be opened and closed with the cover.

According to this image forming apparatus, when removing the cartridge locked at the set position by the locking means, the locked state by the locking means may be released. Then, when the locked state by the locking means is released, the cartridge is pushed to the retracted position by the urging force of the spring body. For this reason, even if the cartridge mounted at the set position appears to be incorporated as a unit with other components in appearance, the cartridge pushed out to the retracted position may be replaced by another component. , And the operator can easily take out the cartridge by grasping the cartridge pushed out to the retracted position by hand.

In the present invention, there is provided interlocking means for interlocking the opening movement of the cover from the closed position to the open position and the unlocking operation of releasing the locked state of the cartridge by the locking means. According to the present invention, the locked state of the cartridge is released only by opening the cover without performing a special opening lock operation. for that reason,
When removing the cartridge mounted at the set position, the operator only has to perform the operation of opening the cover.

In the present invention, the cartridge is provided with projections at the front and rear thereof, and the front engagement groove for locking the projection at the front side of the cartridge mounted at the set position and the projection at the rear side of the cartridge. The front and rear engagement grooves are provided at front ends of a front guide surface for guiding the front projection and a rear guide surface for guiding the rear projection when the cartridge is mounted. It is desirable to have them separately. According to this configuration, the front and rear protrusions of the cartridge are slid on the front guide surface and the rear guide surface and pushed forward, whereby the protrusions engage with the front engagement groove and the rear engagement groove, and Is properly installed in the set position, and at the same time, when the front and rear projections engage the front engagement groove and the rear engagement groove, an appropriate click feeling is transmitted to the hand, and the operability when mounting the cartridge Is improved.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the hook is attached to a connecting member connecting the swing center shaft that supports the cover so that the cover can be opened and closed and the cover. When the cover is opened, the hooks do not become noticeable and unsightly.

In the present invention, the interlocking means is provided on the cover and engages with the engaged portion provided on the cartridge when the cover is opened to lift the cartridge from the set position. An engaging body, wherein the locking means has a pressing member which resiliently engages with an engaging surface of the cartridge mounted at the set position to lock the cartridge at the set position, and A guide surface for releasing the pressing member from the engaging surface by a force urged in the direction in which the cartridge is lifted from the set position by the operation of the interlocking means to release the locked state; and A configuration in which the cartridge is detached from the engaged body with an opening operation of the cover after the locked state of the cartridge is released. It is possible to employ. Also,
The engaged portion is a lateral projection provided on the cartridge, the engaging body is a hook attached to the cover so as to be able to swing back and forth on the cover, and the hook protrudes forward to form the projection. It is desirable to have a projecting piece that can be engaged and disengaged, and that this hook is always elastically urged in the forward swinging direction.

When these configurations are adopted, the above-described image forming apparatus, that is, the front engaging member which is provided with the projections at the front and rear of the cartridge and which locks the projection at the front side of the cartridge mounted at the set position. A mating groove and a rear engagement groove for locking the above-mentioned projection on the rear side of the cartridge are provided, and each of the front and rear engagement grooves forms a front guide surface and a rear projection that guide the front projection when the cartridge is mounted. In an image forming apparatus provided separately at each front end with a rear guide surface for guiding, operability by an operator is improved. Further, the image forming apparatus can be provided at low cost.

[0017]

1 to 5 are explanatory views showing the operation of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a part of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. It is explanatory drawing which expanded other parts.

The image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows a state where the cartridge 1 is mounted at the set position. In this state, the front projection 1 laterally protruding from the front side of the cartridge 1
2 is positioned in the front-rear direction by engaging with a V-shaped front engagement groove 21 provided in a casing (not shown), and a rear side which is also laterally protruded from a rear side of the cartridge 1. The projection 13 is engaged with a rear engagement groove 22 provided in a housing (not shown) and is positioned in the front-rear direction. Each of the front engagement groove 21 and the rear engagement groove 22 includes a front guide surface 14 extending horizontally in the front-rear direction for guiding the front protrusion 12 when the cartridge is mounted or the cartridge is removed. Rear guide surface 1 extending horizontally in the front-rear direction for guiding rear projection 13
5 are continuously formed.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the cartridge 1 mounted at the set position, a spring body 3 composed of a coil spring disposed at the front side at the set position is compressed against its elastic force. Therefore, the cartridge 1 is in a state of being pressed and urged in the retreating direction by the spring body 3 at the set position. On the other hand, the cartridge 1 mounted at the set position is locked at the set position by the lock means 4 against the urging by the spring body 3.

The locking means 4 has a pressing member 42 which is a plate piece and is attached to an attaching member 41 fixed to the housing side so as to be able to swing back and forth. As shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 7, the pressing member 42 is always resiliently clockwise as shown by an arrow a in the figure by a spring body 44 formed of a torsion coil spring held on a swing center shaft 43 thereof. And the swing limit position is regulated by the stopper 45. The distal end surface of the pressing member 42 is formed as a curved surface 46. On the other hand, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, on the upper surface of the cartridge 1, an engagement surface 16 inclined upward and a guide surface 17 inclined upward continuously from the rear end of the engagement surface 16 are provided. Is formed. As shown in FIG. 1, when the cartridge 1 is mounted at the set position, the distal end of the pressing member 42 urged in the direction of the arrow a resiliently engages with the engagement surface 16 of the cartridge 1. The cartridge 1 is locked at the set position.

The cover 5 is connected to a swing center shaft 52 by a connecting member 51 provided on the back side. An engaging body 6 formed of an L-shaped hook is attached to an intermediate portion of the connecting member 51 in the front-rear direction. As shown in an enlarged manner in FIG. 6, the engaging body 6 is rotated clockwise (forward swinging direction) as shown by an arrow b in the figure by a spring body 62 formed of a torsion coil spring held on the swinging center shaft 61. And the swing limit position thereof is regulated by the stopper 63. The engaging body 6 has a protruding piece 64 protruding forward. On the other hand, the cartridge 1 is provided with an engaged portion 18 formed of a lateral projection. When the cartridge 1 is mounted at the set position as shown in FIG.
Projecting piece 64 is inserted below the engaged portion 18. The cover 5 is opened and closed between a closed position that covers a retreat position (described later) of the cartridge 1 and an open position that opens the retreat position.

With the above configuration, when the cover 5 is rotated from the closed position covering the retracted position of the cover 1 to the open position above it as shown in FIG.
As described above, the projecting piece 64 of the engaging body 6 engages with the engaged portion 18 on the cartridge 1 side to slightly lift the rear end side of the cartridge 1 from the set position. Therefore, as shown in the figure,
The rear projection 13 of the cartridge 1 faces the rear guide surface 15, and the distal end of the pressing member 42 is guided by the action of the curved surface 46 at the distal end of the pressing member 42 and the guide surface 17 of the cartridge 1. It escapes behind the surface 17. By this operation, the locked state by the lock means 4 is released.

In this manner, when the lock state of the cartridge 1 is released (unlocked state), and the cover 5 is further opened in the next stage, the urging force of the spring body 3 causes the cartridge 1 to be opened as shown in FIG. The front projection 12 comes out of the front engagement groove 21, the rear projection 13 moves toward the rear guide surface 15, and the cartridge 1 is pushed back to the set position as shown by the arrow c in FIG. Therefore, in the next stage, the cartridge 1 is pushed to the retracted position by the bias of the spring body 3 as shown in FIG.

When the cartridge 1 is pushed out to the retracted position in this manner, even if the cartridge 1 mounted at the set position appears to be incorporated as a unit with other components in appearance, for example. , The pushed-out cartridge 1 can be clearly distinguished from other parts, and as shown in FIG. 5, the operator can easily grasp the pushed-out cartridge 1 to the retracted position by hand. Can be taken out.

When the cartridge 1 is mounted at the set position, the procedure is the reverse of that in taking out the cartridge. In this case, after the cartridge 1 is mounted in the set position, the cover 5 in the open position is
Is closed to the closed position, the engaging piece 6 hits the engaged portion 18 as shown in FIG. 4, for example, and then the protruding piece 64 of the engaging body 6 is covered as shown in FIG. It fits beneath the engaging portion 18 and then enters the state of FIG.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, by opening the cover from the closed position to the open position, the cartridge is pushed out from the set position to the retracted position behind the cartridge. The cartridge pushed to the retracted position can be clearly distinguished from other parts, and the cartridge can be easily removed. Further, the operator only needs to grasp the cartridge retreated to the retracted position by hand and remove it, and it is not necessary to grasp and remove the cartridge mounted at the set position by hand. Is convenient. Furthermore, since there is no need to adopt a complicated mechanism,
Thus, the image forming apparatus can be configured at a lower cost.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is intended for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile in which a cartridge containing a material for forming an image such as toner or ink is detachably mounted. I have.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram when a cartridge is mounted at a set position.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an initial stage of a cover opening operation.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the cartridge is being pushed backward.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a state where the cartridge is pushed to a retracted position.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a state where the cartridge is grasped by hand and taken out.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram in which a part of the image forming apparatus is enlarged.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram in which the other part of the device is enlarged.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cartridge 3 Spring body 4 Lock means 5 Cover 6 Engagement body (hook: interlocking means) 12 Front projection 13 Rear projection 14 Front guide surface 15 Rear guide surface 16 Engagement surface 17 Guide surface 18 Engaged part (Interlocking means : Lateral projection) 21 front engagement groove 22 rear engagement groove 42 pressing member 64 protrusion

Claims (6)

[Claims] A spring for urging the cartridge mounted at the set position in a retreating direction, and a lock for locking the cartridge mounted at the set position to the set position against the urging by the spring body. Means, and an image forming apparatus having a cover that is opened and closed between a closed position that covers a retracted position of the cartridge pushed out to a retracted position by the bias of the spring body and an open position that opens the retracted position. Interlocking means for interlocking the opening movement of the cover from the closed position to the open position and the unlocking operation of releasing the locked state of the cartridge by the locking means, and the interlocking means is provided on the cover, and When the cover is opened, the cartridge is engaged with the engaged portion provided on the cartridge to lift the cartridge from the set position. Has a combined, together with the locking means comprises a pressing member for locking the cartridge to the set position engages resiliently engaged with the engaging surface of the cartridge attached to the set position,
A guide surface for releasing the pressing member from the engagement surface by a force urged in the direction in which the cartridge is lifted from the set position by the operation of the interlocking means to release the locked state; An image forming apparatus configured to be detached from the engaged body with an opening operation of the cover after the locked state of the cartridge is released. 2. The engaged portion comprises a lateral projection provided on the cartridge, and the engaging member comprises a hook attached to the cover so as to swing back and forth on the cover, and the hook is directed forward. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a projecting piece projecting and being disengageable from said projection, and wherein said hook is constantly elastically urged in a forward swinging direction. 3. A front projection groove is provided on each of the front and rear of the cartridge, and a front engagement groove for engaging the front projection of the cartridge mounted at the set position and the projection on the rear side of the cartridge. The front and rear engagement grooves are respectively provided at front ends of a front guide surface for guiding the front projection and a rear guide surface for guiding the rear projection when the cartridge is mounted. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. A spring for urging the cartridge mounted at the set position in a retreating direction, and a lock for locking the cartridge mounted at the set position to the set position against the urging by the spring. Means, and an image forming apparatus having a cover that is opened and closed between a closed position that covers a retracted position of the cartridge pushed out to a retracted position by the bias of the spring body and an open position that opens the retracted position. An image forming apparatus comprising: an interlocking unit that interlocks an opening operation of the cover from a closed position to an open position with an unlocking operation of releasing the locked state of the cartridge by the locking unit. 5. A front projection groove is provided on each of front and rear sides of the cartridge, and a front engagement groove for engaging the front projection of the cartridge mounted at the set position and the projection on the rear side of the cartridge are engaged. The front and rear engagement grooves are respectively provided at front ends of a front guide surface for guiding the front projection and a rear guide surface for guiding the rear projection when the cartridge is mounted. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising: 6. The connecting member for connecting the cover to the swing center shaft that supports the cover so that the cover can be opened and closed, and the hook is attached to the connecting member. 2. The image forming apparatus according to 1.