JP2005239390A - Cassette, recording medium supply device, and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cassette, in which width of an outer plate is matched to width of one surface of a case of an image forming device to improve appearance of the image forming device without greatly increasing production cost, and a recording medium carrying device and an image forming device using the cassette. <P>SOLUTION: A left end of a front surface part 25a composing a center of the outer plate of the cassette is set as a thin part 201 formed as a cut in the form of a step from the front surface side. In a right end surface of a left side extended part 25c, a thin wall part 202 is protruded along the front surface in similar size to the cut in the front surface part 25a. The front surface part 25a and the left side extended part 25c are combined with each other to put the thin wall parts 201 and 202 to each other, and screws 203 are driven into screw holes 201a and 202a to form the outer plate in such size that the front surface part 25a and the left side extended part 25c are continuous. By changing the left side extended part 25c, the width of the outer plate can be varied to apply to model change. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention includes a cassette for storing recording media on which images are formed by an image forming apparatus, a recording medium supply device that includes the cassette and supplies the recording medium from the cassette, and the cassette. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium supplied from the cassette.

Conventionally, in a case of an image forming apparatus having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped casing, the recording medium that can be pulled out from one side of the casing and on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus is stacked and stored. 2. Description of the Related Art A cassette is known that includes an accommodating portion that covers and an exterior plate that covers one side of the housing in the accommodating portion. Further, in this type of cassette, it is desirable to keep the exterior plate and the one surface flush with each other when the housing portion is housed in the housing of the image forming apparatus in order to maintain the appearance of the image forming apparatus. . Therefore, it has been proposed that the mounting position of the exterior plate with respect to the housing portion can be adjusted in the pulling direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent No. 2798145

  In the above technique, it is possible to prevent the unevenness on the one surface, but when the width of the exterior plate is smaller than the entire width of the one surface, when the exterior plate is tilted even slightly, the width direction edge and the exterior plate A wedge-shaped gap may be formed vertically between the housings on both sides. This wedge-shaped gap impairs the appearance of the image forming apparatus. In order to solve this, the width of the exterior plate may be the same as the width of the one surface, but in this case, the following problems arise.

  That is, the width of the storage portion is determined according to the size of the usable recording paper and the like, and does not change so much. However, the width of the one surface of the image forming apparatus varies depending on the type of motor and substrate used. To do. For this reason, in order to make the width of the exterior plate coincide with the width of the one surface, it is necessary to recreate a cassette for each model of the image forming apparatus.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides a cassette capable of improving the appearance of the image forming apparatus by matching the width of the exterior plate with the width of the one surface without significantly increasing the manufacturing cost, and a cover using the cassette. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording medium conveying apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

  The cassette of the present invention made to achieve the above object is housed in a housing of an image forming apparatus having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing so that it can be pulled out from one side of the housing. A storage unit configured to stack and store the recording mediums to be formed; and an exterior plate that has the same width as one surface of the housing and covers the one surface side of the housing in the housing portion. The exterior plate is configured to be detachable with respect to the portion.

  In the cassette configured as described above, the exterior plate is configured to be detachable with respect to the accommodating portion. Therefore, when the width of the one surface changes, the exterior plate is removed from the accommodating portion, and is the same as the width of the one surface. What is necessary is just to replace with the exterior board which has the width | variety. Thus, according to the present invention, the appearance of the image forming apparatus is improved by making the width of the exterior plate of the cassette the same as the width of the one surface while suppressing an increase in manufacturing cost by using the housing portion as a common part. Can be made.

  The cassette of the present invention is housed in a housing of an image forming apparatus having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing so that the cassette can be pulled out from one side of the housing, and an image is formed by the image forming apparatus. A main housing plate that has a width smaller than the entire width of one surface of the housing, covers the one surface side of the housing in the housing portion, and the width according to the width of the one surface. The main exterior plate or the sub exterior plate that is attached to the housing portion and fills the space between the main exterior plate and the one surface may be used.

  In this case, the width of the entire exterior plate (main exterior plate + sub-exterior plate) is obtained by using the housing portion and the main exterior plate as a common component and attaching the sub exterior plate to the main exterior plate according to the width of the one surface. Can be made the same as the width of the one surface to improve the appearance of the image forming apparatus. Further, in this case, the main exterior plate can also be a common part, and the number of parts that can be used as the common part increases, so that an increase in manufacturing cost can be suppressed more satisfactorily.

  The above inventions do not limit the presence or absence of the handle or the position where it is provided, but when the handle for pulling out the accommodating portion is provided only on the main exterior plate and does not reach the sub exterior plate, The following additional effects occur. That is, a force is applied to the handle when pulling out the accommodating portion, but the handle is provided only on the main exterior plate, and the main exterior plate does not need to be detachable from the accommodating portion. It is easy to give strength. Therefore, in this case, the durability of the cassette can be further improved.

  Further, when the sub exterior plate is attached to one end in the width direction of the main exterior plate so as to extend in the width direction from the housing portion, the sub exterior plate that is not a common component can be manufactured with a small mold. Become. Therefore, in this case, even when a plurality of types of sub-exterior plates are prepared, an increase in manufacturing cost can be satisfactorily suppressed.

  In addition, when the image forming apparatus has a driving system that applies a driving force for transporting the recording medium in the housing on one side adjacent to the housing portion, the width of the one surface of the image forming apparatus is It varies greatly depending on what type of drive system the model has. Therefore, in this case, the change in the width of the image forming apparatus can be dealt with better by setting the side on which the sub exterior plate is attached to the side on which the drive system of the image forming apparatus is disposed.

  Further, each cassette displaces in accordance with the remaining amount of the recording medium in the housing portion, and the remaining amount of the recording medium in the housing portion in accordance with the displacement of the displacement portion. In the case of further including a display unit that can be viewed from outside the body, the remaining amount of the recording medium can be known by viewing the display unit from outside the housing of the image forming apparatus. In this case, when the display unit is provided on the main exterior plate, the following further effects are produced.

  That is, the display unit is closely linked to various configurations in the housing unit including the displacement unit, and thus the configuration becomes extremely complicated if it can be attached to and detached from the sub exterior plate. As described above, when the display unit is provided on the main exterior plate, the main exterior plate does not need to be attached to or detached from the housing unit, so that the configuration relating to the display unit can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be further reduced. .

  The recording medium supply apparatus of the present invention supplies any one of the above cassettes or a cassette with the sub exterior plate removed from the cassette and the recording medium accommodated in the accommodating portion of the cassette to the image forming apparatus. And a supply means. Therefore, in the present invention, the recording medium accommodated in the accommodating portion can be supplied to the image forming apparatus via the supply unit. In the present invention, as described above, the width of the exterior plate of the cassette can be made the same as the width of the one surface of the image forming apparatus to improve the aesthetics of the image forming apparatus, and the housing portion and the like can be shared. As a result, an increase in manufacturing cost can be satisfactorily suppressed. Note that the recording medium supply device of the present invention is sold with the sub-exterior plate removed, as can be seen from the description of the claims, and the sub-exterior plate may be retrofitted as an option. Good.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is housed in any one of the above cassettes or a cassette obtained by removing the sub exterior plate from the cassette, an image forming unit that forms an image on the recording medium, and the housing unit of the cassette. And a supply means for supplying the recorded medium to the image forming unit. For this reason, in the present invention, the recording medium accommodated in the accommodating portion can be supplied to the image forming portion via the supplying means to form an image. In the present invention, as described above, the width of the exterior plate of the cassette can be made the same as the width of the one surface of the image forming apparatus to improve the aesthetics of the image forming apparatus, and the housing portion and the like can be shared. As a result, an increase in manufacturing cost can be satisfactorily suppressed. As can be seen from the description of the claims, the image forming apparatus of the present invention may be sold with the sub-exterior plate removed, and the sub-external plate may be retrofitted as an option.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention may be provided with only one mounting position where the cassette can be mounted. However, the image forming apparatus includes a plurality of mounting positions where the cassette can be mounted, depending on the mounting position. When the width of the one surface is different, the exterior plate or the sub exterior plate is exchanged for each cassette, the attachment position of the sub exterior plate to the main exterior plate is changed, or the sub exterior plate is removed. Thus, it is desirable that the mounting position of the cassette is changed. In this case, even if the cassette mounted at the desired mounting position becomes unusable due to overuse, etc., the exterior plate or sub exterior plate can be replaced, the attachment position of the sub exterior plate relative to the main exterior plate can be changed, or By removing the exterior plate, it is possible to move and use the cassette mounted at the other mounting position at the desired mounting position.

Embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external view of a laser printer 1 as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a central sectional view of the laser printer 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the laser printer 1 includes an image forming unit 3 for forming an image on a paper P in a main body case 2.
The image forming unit 3 includes a scanner unit 4 as an exposure unit, a photosensitive drum 5 as an image carrier, a development roller 6 as a development unit, a transfer roller 7 as a transfer unit, a heating roller 8a, and a pressure. And a fixing device 8 as a fixing means having a roller 8b.

The photosensitive drum 5 and the developing roller 6 are accommodated in a process cartridge 9 that is detachably attached to the main body case 2.
On the other hand, the laser printer 1 includes a front cover 11 on the front surface of the main body case 2 as shown in FIG.

  The front cover 11 has a front surface portion 11a that forms the upper front portion of the laser printer 1, and an upper surface portion 11b that forms the upper front portion of the laser printer 1 continuously from the front surface portion 11a. Further, the front cover 11 includes a rotation shaft 11c (see FIG. 8) horizontally disposed at the lower end portion of the front surface portion 11a of the front cover 11, and as shown in FIG. The upper end of the front cover 11, that is, the upper surface 11 b side can be opened and closed in the direction of arrow A, thereby opening and closing the opening 2 a formed on the front surface of the main body case 2. Then, by opening the front cover 11 (the state shown in FIG. 3), the process cartridge 9 (see FIG. 2) can be attached and detached from the opening 2a formed in the main body case 2. .

  Further, the laser printer 1 is provided with an operation button 20 on the upper surface portion 11 b of the front cover 11 for performing an external operation for opening and closing the front cover 11. That is, the laser printer 1 includes an engagement mechanism (not shown) that engages the main body case 2 and the front cover 11. When the front cover 11 is closed (the state shown in FIG. 1), the front cover 11 is held in the closed state, and movement in the opening direction is prohibited. In this state, when the user presses the operation button 20 (external operation), the front cover 11 is disengaged and can be moved in the opening direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a sheet cassette 24 that stores stacked sheets of sheets P to be supplied to the image forming unit 3 is provided below the front cover 11. An exterior plate 25 that covers the front surface of the paper cassette 24 is provided in the paper cassette 24.

  The exterior plate 25 includes a front surface portion 25a that covers the front surface of the paper cassette 24, and a right side extension portion 25b and a left side extension portion 25c that are continuous to the left and right of the front surface portion 25a. In addition, the shape of the front surface portion 25 a and the left and right side extension portions 25 b and 25 c are configured to be continuous with the lower portion of the front cover 11.

  In this way, when the paper cassette 24 is mounted, the front cover 11 of the apparatus main body and the exterior plate 25 give a continuous impression, and the appearance from the front when the paper cassette 24 is mounted becomes clear. Further, a display unit 26 is provided at the right end of the front surface portion 25a so that the remaining amount of the paper P can be viewed from the outside, and the paper P is placed inside the paper cassette 24 as shown in FIG. The paper base 27 is provided so as to be swingable. The paper base 27 is urged by a spring (not shown), and swings so that the paper P stacked on the top always contacts the paper feed roller 28. As is well known, the paper feed roller 28 sends the paper P in contact with the paper toward the image forming unit 3 described above.

  The movement of the paper table 27 is transmitted to the display unit 26 via a link mechanism (not shown) provided on the right side of the paper cassette 24 and the remaining amount of paper corresponding to the inclination of the paper table 27 is displayed. For this reason, the right side extension 25b extends as shown in FIG. 4 by an amount corresponding to the size of the link mechanism and the thickness of the right side cover 2b (see FIG. 1) of the main body case 2. Yes.

  Conversely, a drive system as described below is provided on the left side of the paper cassette 24, and the left side extension 25c has a size of the drive system and a thickness of a left side cover (not shown) of the main body case 2. As shown in FIG. 4, an amount corresponding to the length is extended.

  As shown in FIG. 5, on the left side surface of the main body frame 30 that supports the components of the laser printer 1 such as the image forming unit 3, a gear unit 40 that transmits a rotational driving force to each unit including the photosensitive drum 5. , A low-voltage power supply board unit 70 for inputting AC commercial power and converting it to a DC power supply, an engine board 90 for controlling the image forming operation, a main board unit 100 for processing image data, and a mounting plate 60 for attaching the low-voltage power supply board unit 70 Is attached.

  Of the low-voltage power supply board unit 70, the engine board 90, and the main board unit 100, the low-voltage power supply board unit 70 is the heaviest, and the mounting position is determined so that the low-voltage power supply board unit 70 faces the lower part of the gear unit 40. ing. The engine board 90 is attached to a position facing the upper part of the gear unit 40.

  The low-voltage power supply board unit 70 includes an electromagnetic shield cover 72, an electromagnetic shield plate 74, a low-voltage power supply board (not shown) stored therein, and the like, and the main board unit 100 is stored in the cover 102. The main board (not shown) etc. were comprised. The electromagnetic shield cover 72 and the electromagnetic shield plate 74 suppress the electromagnetic noise generated outside the low-voltage power supply board unit 70 from affecting the low-voltage power supply board, and the electromagnetic noise generated at the low-voltage power supply board is external. This is to suppress the influence on the equipment.

  Next, the arrangement and configuration of the gear unit 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of the gear unit 40, and FIG. 7 is a view showing a BB cross section of FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the gear unit 40 is fixed to one side surface of the main body frame 30 with screws. The gear unit 40 is connected to a main motor 48 for rotationally driving the photosensitive drum 5 and a drive shaft (not shown) of the photosensitive drum 5, and the driving force from the main motor 48 is applied to the photosensitive drum 5. And a gear 46 for transmitting the driving force from the main motor 48 to the gear 44, and these are supported by the gear frame 42.

  The main motor 48 is the heaviest among the gears 44, 46, and main motor 48, and the mounting position is determined so that the main motor 48 is located below the gear unit 40.

  Further, the low-voltage power supply board unit 70 is partially opposed to the gear unit 40 (see FIG. 5), and a mounting plate 60 for fixing the non-opposed part is provided on one side surface of the main body frame 30. It is fixed so as to be the same height as the gear frame 42.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the gears 44 and 46 are rotatably supported by gear shafts 50 and 52 fixed to the gear frame 42, respectively, and the main motor 48 is attached to a mounting plate 54 fixed to the gear frame 42. It is supported by.

  Further, the gear 44 is configured such that a large-diameter gear 44a and a small-diameter gear 44b, which are gears having different diameters, are arranged coaxially and rotate integrally. Similarly, the gear 46 includes a large-diameter gear 46a and a large-diameter gear 46a. The small-diameter gear 46b is arranged coaxially and is configured to rotate integrally.

  The motor pinion 48a of the main motor 48 meshes with the large diameter gear 46a of the gear 46, the small diameter gear 46b of the gear 46 meshes with the large diameter gear 44a of the gear 44, and the small diameter gear 44b of the gear 44 is the photosensitive drum. 5, and the rotational driving force generated by the main motor 48 is transmitted to the driving shaft of the photosensitive drum 5.

  As shown in FIG. 7, there is a hole in the side surface of the main body frame 30 so that the small-diameter gear 44b of the gear 44 protrudes on the side surface of the main body frame 30 opposite to the surface on which the gear unit 40 is attached. Is provided. This is because the process cartridge 9 is detachably mounted on the side surface of the main body frame 30 opposite to the surface on which the gear unit 40 is attached, and the drive shaft of the photosensitive drum 5 in the process cartridge 9 meshes with the small diameter gear 44b. This is to make it happen. In conjunction with the photosensitive drum 5, other parts are also driven through a gear (not shown).

  Further, on one side surface inside the main body case 2 (above the paper cassette 24), as shown in FIG. 8, there is a link mechanism 110 for interlocking the opening of the front cover 11 and the release of the pressure roller 8b. Is provided. As shown in FIG. 8, the fixing device 8 includes a release lever 130 and an urging support portion 140 in addition to the heating roller 8a and the pressure roller 8b described above.

  The urging support portion 140 includes a support portion main body 141, a rotating shaft 142, a spring 143, and a support portion 144. The support portion main body 141 includes a recess for placing the shaft of the pressure roller 8b, and a rotation shaft fixed to a fixing frame 8c (see FIG. 2) that supports the components of the fixing device 8 such as the heating roller 8a. 142 is rotatably supported. The spring 143 has one end fixed to the support portion 144 fixed to the fixing frame 8c, and urges the support portion main body 141 from below. By this urging force, the support portion main body 141 is urged counterclockwise (counterclockwise in FIG. 8) about the rotation shaft 142, and presses the pressure roller 8b against the heating roller 8a.

  One end of the release lever 130 is rotatably supported by a rotation shaft 132 fixed to the fixing frame 8c above a contact portion 141a described later. A cam 131 is provided at a support end supported by the rotation shaft 132. As will be described later, when the front cover 11 is opened, the release lever 130 rotates clockwise (clockwise in FIG. 8), and the cam 131 pushes the contact portion 141a from above.

  In other words, the abutting portion 141 a is provided at one end on the opposite side of the urging support portion 140 from the rotating shaft 142. Therefore, when the free end of the release lever 130 (the side opposite to the support end of the rotating shaft 132) is operated and displaced upward in the figure, the cam 131 pushes the contact portion 141a from above to apply pressure. When the pressure contact of the roller 8b is released and the operation is released, the release lever 130 is returned to the original position by the urging force of the spring 143, and the pressure roller 8b returns to the state of being in pressure contact with the heating roller 8a.

  On the other hand, the link mechanism 110 includes connecting arms 111 and 112, a connecting sector 113, and rotating shafts 114 and 115. A connecting arm 112 is connected to one end of the connecting arm 111, and a connecting sector 113 is connected to the other end via a hinge. In FIG. 8, the intermediate portion of the connecting arm 111 is omitted, but has a length from the vicinity of the front cover 11 to the vicinity of the fixing device 8.

  The connection arm 112 is rotatably supported by a rotation shaft 114 at the center thereof, and a front surface projecting from the upper end of the rotation shaft 11c at the lower end of the front cover 11 at one end where the connection arm 111 is not connected. A part of the cover 11 is connected via a hinge.

  That is, when the front cover 11 is opened, the connecting arm 112 rotates counterclockwise around the rotating shaft 114, and in conjunction with this, the connecting arm 111 moves to the right in FIG. When the connecting arm 111 moves to the right, the connecting sector 113 rotates about the rotating shaft 115, and the projection 116 provided on the connecting sector 113 pushes the free end of the release lever 130 upward. It comes to move.

  The aforementioned release lever 130 is rotated about the rotation shaft 132 in conjunction with opening and closing of the front cover 11 by the link mechanism 110, and when the front cover 11 is fully closed, the contact portion 141a and the cam 131 are connected. It arrange | positions so that it may become non-contact.

  Further, one end of a spring 120 is fixed to an intermediate portion between one end of the connection arm 112 to which the connection arm 111 is connected and the rotation shaft 114, and the connection arm 112 is attached in a direction to rotate counterclockwise. It is fast. That is, the front cover 11 is urged in the opening direction in the fully closed state. One end of the spring 120 that is not fixed to the connecting arm 112 is fixed to the main body frame 30. Further, the biasing force of the spring 143 is set larger than the biasing force of the spring 120.

  For this reason, when the operation button 20 is pressed while the front cover 11 is fully closed, the engagement between the main body case 2 and the front cover 11 is released, and the front cover 11 is displaced in the opening direction by the biasing force of the spring 120. . Then, the displacement is transmitted through the link mechanism 110, and when the protrusion 116 pushes the free end of the release lever 130 upward, the release lever 130 rotates clockwise, and the cam 131 contacts the contact portion 141a. Touch. At this time, since the urging force of the spring 143 is larger than the urging force of the spring 120, the displacement of the front cover 11 in the opening direction by the urging force of the spring 120 stops when the cam 131 abuts against the abutting portion 141a.

  When the front cover 11 is further displaced in the opening direction, the displacement is transmitted through the link mechanism 110, and the cam 131 pushes the contact portion 141a downward. Thereby, the support part main body 141 rotates downward, the pressure roller 8b supported by the support part main body 141 is displaced downward, and the pressure contact with the heating roller 8a is released.

  By the way, in the laser printer 1 configured as described above, the size of the drive system including the gear unit 40 changes variously due to a model change or the like, and each time the left side extension 25c of the paper cassette 24 is changed. It is necessary to change the size. Therefore, in the laser printer 1 of the present embodiment, as will be described below, the left side extending portion 25c is formed as a separate member, and the other portion of the paper cassette 24 can be used as a common part corresponding to each model. I did it.

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a connection mechanism between the front surface portion 25a and the left side extension portion 25c of the exterior plate 25. FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the left end of the front surface portion 25a is cut into a stepped shape from the front surface side to form a thin portion 201, and the front surface portion 25a is notched on the right end surface of the left side extending portion 25c. A thin portion 202 having a size equal to the projected size protrudes along the front surface. For this reason, by combining the front surface portion 25a and the left side extension portion 25c so that the thin-walled portions 201 and 202 overlap each other, the continuous exterior plate 25 can be formed.

  In addition, two thin screw holes 201a and 202a are formed in the thin portions 201 and 202 so as to overlap each other at a position where they are overlapped in this way. Furthermore, screw holes 202b and 202b are drilled in the thin portion 202 at positions closer to the right than the screw holes 202a and 202a in parallel with them.

  For this reason, when the thin portions 201 and 202 are overlapped as described above and the screws 203 are respectively screwed into the two sets of screw holes 201a and 202a that overlap each other, the front surface portion 25a and the left side extension portion 25c Can be obtained. Further, when the two sets of screw holes 201a and 202b are overlapped and the screws 203 are respectively screwed together, the exterior plate 25 longer than that can be obtained.

  As described above, in the laser printer 1, the attachment position of the left side extension 25c with respect to the front face 25a is changed, the left side extension 25c is prepared for each model and replaced, or the left side extension By removing 25c, even if the width of the main body case 2 changes due to a model change or the like, the width of the exterior plate 25 can be adjusted to that. That is, the width of the exterior plate 25 is set to the width of the main body case 2 while the configuration of the housing portion of the paper cassette 24 provided with the paper base 27, the front surface portion 25a of the exterior plate 25, and the right side extension portion 25b is made common. Can be adapted to Therefore, in the present embodiment, the appearance of the laser printer 1 can be improved by matching the width of the exterior plate 25 with the width of the main body case 2 without significantly increasing the manufacturing cost.

  In the laser printer 1, as shown in FIG. 1, the handle 25d of the paper cassette 24 is formed only on the front surface portion 25a and does not reach the left and right side extension portions 25b and 25c. Therefore, the handle 25d can be easily given sufficient strength, and the durability of the paper cassette 24 can be further improved.

  In the above embodiment, the laser printer 1 is the image forming apparatus, the paper P is the recording medium, the main body case 2 and the front cover 11 are the housing, the front side of the laser printer 1 is the one side, and the paper cassette 24 is the paper cassette 24. In the cassette, the front surface portion 25a and the right side extension portion 25b are the main exterior plate, the left side extension portion 25c is the sub exterior plate, the paper cassette 24 near the paper base 27 is the storage portion, and the paper base 27 is the displacement portion. Further, the paper feed roller 28 corresponds to a supply unit, and the paper cassette 24 and the paper feed roller 28 correspond to a recording medium supply device.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, various connection mechanisms between the front surface portion 25a and the left side extension portion 25c can be considered in addition to the example of FIG.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, a cross-section in which a T-shaped engagement protrusion 211 is formed on the left end surface of the front surface portion 25 a so as to project, and the right end surface of the left side extension portion 25 c is engaged with the engagement protrusion 211. A T-shaped engagement groove 212 is formed. Although the engagement protrusion 211 and the engagement groove 212 are both formed up to the lower end of the front surface portion 25a or the left side extension portion 25c, they are interrupted at the same location at the upper end portion. For this reason, the left side extension part 25c can be attached to the left end of the front part 25a by engaging the engagement groove 212 of the left side extension part 25c with the engagement protrusion 211 of the front part 25a from above. Further, screw holes 211 a and 212 a are formed at positions where the engagement protrusion 211 and the left side extension portion 25 c overlap at this time, and both can be fixed with a screw 203.

  In the example shown in FIG. 11, a rectangular parallelepiped protrusion 221 is formed on the left end surface of the front surface portion 25a so as to protrude, and a rectangular relief hole into which the protrusion 221 can be inserted on the right end surface of the left side extension portion 25c. 222 is bored. For this reason, the left side extension part 25c can be attached to the left end of the front part 25a by inserting the protrusion 221 of the front part 25a into the relief hole 222 of the left side extension part 25c. Further, screw holes 221a and 222a are formed at positions where the protrusion 221 and the left side extending portion 25c overlap at this time, and both can be fixed with a screw 203.

  Furthermore, in each of the embodiments described above, the left side extension 25c is attached to the front face 25a, but it may be attached to the outer periphery of the accommodating portion of the paper cassette 24. Moreover, in each said embodiment, although the left side extension part 25c is replaceable, you may replace the exterior plate 25 whole. However, when the left side extending portion 25c is replaced, the front portion 25a can also be a common component, so that an increase in manufacturing cost can be further suppressed. Moreover, since the left side extension 25c is a portion extending from the paper cassette 24, it can be manufactured with a small mold, and even when a plurality of types of the left side extension 25c are prepared according to the model, the manufacturing cost is reduced. Can be suppressed more satisfactorily.

  Moreover, since the left side extension part 25c is small in this way, it can suppress well that a curvature generate | occur | produces at the time of manufacture of the part. That is, in order to replace the entire exterior plate 25, it is necessary to form a thin large member (the exterior plate 25), and warpage is likely to occur, but if only the left side extension portion 25c is formed, the warp is generated. This problem is solved. Further, in each of the above embodiments, the display unit 26 is provided on the front surface 25a as a common part, so that the configuration of a link mechanism or the like from the paper board 27 to the display unit 26 can be simplified.

  Further, as indicated by phantom lines in FIG. 1, when the lower tray LT can be mounted under the main body case 2, the casing of the lower tray LT can be narrowed because there is no gear unit 40 or the like. In addition, by doing so, the ground contact area of the laser printer 1 can be reduced. In this case, as illustrated in the top view of FIG. 12, the width of the housing changes according to the mounting position of the paper cassette 24, and the width desirable as the exterior plate 25 also changes. Therefore, in such a case, replacement of the left side extension 25c as illustrated in FIG. 12 or change of the attachment position of the left side extension 25c to the front surface 25a (see FIG. 9), extension of the left side It is preferable that the paper cassette 24 can be used also as a paper cassette for the lower tray LT by removing the protruding portion 25c.

  Even when the lower tray LT is mounted, the paper cassette 24 on the main body side may be more convenient for reasons such as a short paper feed path. In such a case, even if the paper cassette 24 on the main body side becomes unusable due to overuse or the like, the upper and lower paper cassettes 24 are replaced by replacement of the left side extension portion 25c, and the main body side can be used again. be able to.

  Furthermore, the substantially rectangular parallelepiped referred to in the present invention may be any shape that can define six front, rear, left, right, and upper surfaces, and the present invention can be applied to various image forming apparatuses other than a laser printer.

1 is an external view of a laser printer according to an embodiment. It is a center sectional view of the laser printer of an embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the state which opened the front cover. It is a perspective view of the paper cassette in the embodiment. It is a perspective view explaining arrangement of a circuit board unit in an embodiment. It is a perspective view explaining arrangement of a gear unit in an embodiment. It is a schematic sectional side view of the gear unit in an embodiment. It is a side view which shows the state of the link mechanism at the time of opening-and-closing cover full closure in embodiment. It is a perspective view showing typically the connection mechanism of the exterior board in an embodiment. It is a perspective view which represents typically the other form of the connection mechanism of an exterior board. It is a perspective view showing still another form of the connection mechanism of an exterior board typically. FIG. 6 is a top view schematically illustrating use of the sheet cassette for the lower tray in the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Laser printer 2 ... Main body case 3 ... Image formation part 11 ... Front cover 24 ... Paper cassette 25 ... Outer plate 25a ... Front part 25b ... Side extension part 25b ... Right side extension part 25c ... Left side extension part 25d ... handle 26 ... display section 27 ... paper base 28 ... paper feed roller 30 ... main body frame 40 ... gear unit 48 ... main motor 90 ... engine board 100 ... main board unit 201, 202 ... thin wall parts 201a, 202a, 202b, 211a, 212a, 221a, 222a ... Screw hole 203 ... Screw 211 ... Engagement projection 212 ... Engagement groove 221 ... Projection 222 ... Elongation hole P ... Paper LT ... Lower tray

Claims (9)

An accommodating portion that accommodates a recording medium that is housed in a housing of an image forming apparatus having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing so that it can be pulled out from one side of the housing and on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus. When,
An exterior plate having the same width as one surface of the housing and covering one surface side of the housing in the housing portion;
With
A cassette characterized in that the exterior plate can be attached to and detached from the housing portion. An accommodating portion that accommodates a recording medium that is housed in a housing of an image forming apparatus having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing so that it can be pulled out from one side of the housing and on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus. When,
A main exterior plate having a width smaller than the entire width of one surface of the housing and covering one surface of the housing in the housing portion;
A sub-exterior plate that is attached to the main exterior plate or the accommodating portion according to the width of the one surface, and fills between the main exterior plate and the width of the one surface,
A cassette characterized by comprising: 3. The cassette according to claim 2, wherein a handle for pulling out the housing portion is provided only on the main exterior plate and does not reach the sub exterior plate. The cassette according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the sub exterior plate is attached to one end in the width direction of the main exterior plate so as to extend in the width direction from the housing portion. The image forming apparatus has a drive system for providing a drive force for transporting the recording medium in a housing on one side adjacent to the housing portion,
5. The cassette according to claim 4, wherein the side on which the sub exterior plate is attached is the side on which the drive system of the image forming apparatus is disposed. A displacement portion that is displaced according to the remaining amount of the recording medium in the housing portion;
A display unit that displays the remaining amount of the recording medium in the storage unit so as to be visible from outside the housing in accordance with the displacement of the displacement unit;
The cassette according to claim 2, further comprising: the display unit provided on the main exterior plate. A cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 6, or a cassette obtained by removing the sub exterior plate from the cassette according to any one of claims 2 to 6,
Supply means for supplying a recording medium accommodated in the accommodating portion of the cassette to the image forming apparatus;
A recording medium supply apparatus comprising: A cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 6, or a cassette obtained by removing the sub exterior plate from the cassette according to any one of claims 2 to 6,
An image forming unit for forming an image on the recording medium;
Supply means for supplying the recording medium accommodated in the accommodating portion of the cassette to the image forming portion;
An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, comprising a plurality of mounting positions in which the cassette can be mounted, and the width of the one surface varies depending on the mounting position.
The mounting position of the cassette can be changed by exchanging the exterior plate or sub-exterior plate for each cassette, changing the attachment position of the sub-exterior plate to the main exterior plate, or removing the sub-exterior plate. An image forming apparatus that is replaced.

Images