JP2002247262A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an in-drum paper discharge type image forming device with excellent outer appearance, which is arranged tightly closed to a wall, etc., without a protrusion such as a connector or a peripheral unit so as to prevent clothing, etc., from being caught or broken by the protrusion part. SOLUTION: The in-drum paper discharge type image forming device is equipped with a shift tray 9 and a relay unit 10 inside a space which constitutes the paper discharge part 4 of a device main body 1. A recessed part 12 is formed in a depth side wall part 11 constituting the paper discharge part 4 and a main body power source connecting part 13 is disposed inside it. When the shift tray 9 and the relay unit 10 are set to the paper discharge part 4 of the device main body 1, the connectors of respective unit power source boxes 14 and 15 are simultaneously connected to the connector of the main body power source connecting part 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved image forming apparatus such as a copying machine and a facsimile, which has an improved connection form of peripheral units such as a relay unit and a shift tray.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Document reading units (hereinafter, referred to as copiers and facsimile machines)
In many image forming apparatuses having a scanner, a scanner is disposed at an upper position of the apparatus. In particular, this type is mostly used in a model that forms an image by an electrophotographic method widely used in offices.

In such copying machines and facsimile machines, since a scanner is provided at the upper part of the apparatus, a paper discharge tray cannot be provided on the upper surface of the apparatus. Either eject the paper on which the received contents are recorded, or place the scanner and image forming unit separately, and form a discharge unit space between them so that the discharge tray does not protrude to the side of the device. (See Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-339105).

FIG. 1 shows an example of this type of image forming apparatus. In the illustrated image forming apparatus, an automatic document feeder (ADF) 3 is optionally mounted on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 1. Although not shown, a scanner section is built in the uppermost section 1a of the apparatus main body 1 and the uppermost section is provided. An operation unit 1b is provided on the front side of 1a.
And an image forming unit is built in a lower part 1c of the apparatus main body 1.

[0005] A space is provided between the scanner unit and the image forming unit to constitute the paper discharge unit 4. In the paper discharge unit 4, other devices (not shown), for example, a relay unit to a post-processing unit and the like, peripheral devices such as the shift tray 5, and the like are set.

The relay unit to the post-processing unit and the peripheral equipment such as the shift tray 5 need to be supplied with power, so that the cable 7 and the connector 8 are provided so as to be led out from the side as shown in the figure. The connector 8 attached to the end of the cable 7 is connected to a connector on the main body provided on the side surface of the apparatus main body 1 to supply power.

That is, in such a connection form, at least the connector 8 inevitably protrudes to the side surface of the apparatus main body 1. Although not shown, a connector on the main body side may be provided on the rear side of the apparatus main body 1, in which case the cable 7 and the connector 8 protrude from the rear side of the apparatus main body 1.

In recent years, however, the image forming apparatus has been designed on the premise that the image forming apparatus is used in such a manner that it can be fitted to a wall or the like or can be arranged so as to fit into a recess of the wall so that the installation space of the image forming apparatus can be reduced. Things that have increased.

Therefore, with the arrangement of the cable 7 and the connector 8 and the shape of the peripheral device as described above, the protrusion from the rear surface or the side surface of the apparatus main body interferes with the protruding portion when approaching a wall or the like. The apparatus main body 1 must be set apart from the partition wall or the like, and the space saving may be insufficient.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention has no protruding connectors and peripheral devices, and does not cause any problem even when installed close to a wall or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is free from being caught or damaged, and has an excellent appearance.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: an image reading unit disposed above the apparatus; and an image forming unit disposed below the image reading unit. An image forming apparatus in which a paper discharge unit space is provided in an apparatus main body between the image reading unit and the image forming unit. A main body side connector for setting a peripheral device is provided on the device main body wall exposed to the device, and a peripheral device side connector for connecting to the main body side connector is provided at a portion of the peripheral device corresponding to the main body side connector. It is characterized by becoming.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, in the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, a portion where the main body side connector of the apparatus main body is provided is a concave portion. It is characterized by being provided with the main body side connector.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, in the image forming apparatus of the first or second aspect, the peripheral device side connector is tapered.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, a portion of the apparatus main body provided with the main body side connector is provided outside the main body. It is characterized in that it can be opened and closed from.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following, description will be made by assigning common reference numerals to parts common to the related art. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part. The illustrated image forming apparatus includes a sheet feed table 6 as an option below the apparatus main body 1, and a shift tray 9 and a relay unit 10 can be mounted in a space constituting the sheet discharge unit 4.

The back wall 1 that forms the paper discharge unit 4 of the apparatus body 1
In FIG. 1, a concave portion 12 is formed on the left side surface side, and a main body power supply connection portion 13 is disposed inside the concave portion 12. On the other hand, the shift tray 9 and the relay unit 10 are located at the back of the unit
It has.

The main body power supply connection section 13 and the unit power supply boxes 14 and 15 have connectors 16 and 17, respectively. Therefore, the shift tray 9 and the relay unit 1
When “0” is set in the paper discharge section 4 of the apparatus main body 1, the connectors 17 of the unit power supply boxes 14 and 15 are connected to the connector 16 of the main body power supply connection section 13 at the same time.

That is, since the connectors 16 and 17 are connected at the same time as the mounting, the installation procedure can be reduced. Further, since the connector 17 and its cable 18 do not stick out of the apparatus main body 1, the appearance is simplified, and the left side and the rear side of the apparatus main body 1 can be installed by being fitted to a wall. It is difficult for an operator or the like to hook clothes or tools, or to hook a fixture such as a cabinet or a desk while moving the apparatus to cause breakage or breakage. Moreover, the cable 18 can be wired to the apparatus main body 1 with the shortest length, and can be wired without putting a hand in a narrow place at the time of installation.

Each unit power supply box 14, 15
If the connector 17 is tapered, it can be set with rough positioning even if the connector 16 of the main body power supply connection part 13 is not firmly seen. Further, the connector 16 of the main body power supply connection portion 13 and the corresponding unit power supply box 1
The positions of the connectors 17 of 4 and 15 are not limited to the example shown in the figure, and can be appropriately set on the rear wall portion 11 of the apparatus main body 1, so that the layout can be freely designed. Furthermore, the connectors 17 of the unit power supply boxes 14 and 15 are connected to the cable 1
The structure may be one that is directly attached to the unit power supply boxes 14 and 15 without using the unit 8.

Although not shown, the power supply connecting portion 1 of the main body is provided.
If the bottom surface of the concave portion 12 provided with 3 is made detachable from the outside of the apparatus main body 1, after setting the shift tray 9 and the relay unit 10 in the paper discharge section 4, the exterior is opened and the connector on the apparatus main body side is connected. It can be connected, which also has excellent appearance and workability.

[0021]

As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the peripheral unit such as the relay unit and the shift tray is set in the paper output space and the connector is connected at the same time. Does not protrude to the outside, the appearance is simple and the impression of the appearance is good, and the side can be installed with the back fitted exactly to the wall, etc., so that the installation is improved, and there is no hooking on clothes etc. It is hard to occur, safety is improved, the installation procedure is small, the connectivity is good, and the wiring can be connected to the device with the shortest length, which can contribute to cost reduction, and it is not necessary to perform wiring work in narrow places, so work is done Therefore, there is an effect that the degree of freedom in designing the layout is increased because restrictions on connector positions for connection are small.

In the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, as described above, the peripheral device side connector has a tapered shape. Even if the person does not look firmly, it can be set with rough positioning, and there is an effect that the connectivity becomes very good.

Further, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, as described above, the portion of the apparatus main body where the connector is provided can be opened and closed from the outside. After setting, it is possible to open the exterior of the apparatus main body and connect the connector on the apparatus main body side, and this also has the effect that the appearance and workability are improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a conventional internal discharge type image forming apparatus as viewed from the left side.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention as viewed from the front side.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 3 Automatic document feeder (ADF) 1a Top part of apparatus main body 1b Same operation part 1c Lower part 4 Paper discharge part 5 Shift tray 6 Feeding table 7 Cable 8 Connector 9 Shift tray 10 Relay unit 11 Wall 12 Recess 13 Body power supply connection 14, 15 Unit power supply box 16, 17 Connector 18 Cable

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image reading unit disposed at an upper portion of an apparatus; and an image forming unit disposed below the image reading unit, wherein an apparatus main body is provided between the image reading unit and the image forming unit. In the image forming apparatus of the paper discharge type in the body, which has a paper discharge unit space in
A body-side connector for setting a peripheral device is provided on the apparatus body wall exposed in the back of the paper discharge unit space, and a portion of the peripheral device corresponding to the body-side connector is connected to the body-side connector. An image forming apparatus comprising a peripheral device side connector. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the apparatus main body where the main body side connector is provided is a concave portion, and the main body side connector is provided in the concave portion. apparatus. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said peripheral device-side connector has a tapered shape. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a portion of the apparatus main body where the main body side connector is provided can be opened and closed from outside the main body of the apparatus.