JP2007183320A - Electronic equipment, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide electronic equipment without influencing a card provided on the front side of the equipment by attachment and detachment of a unit of a toner bottle, a process unit or the like, and to provide an image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: A face plate 16 is provided so as to be rotated, opened and closed in the same direction as a front cover 11 inside of the front cover 11 opened so as to operate the toner bottle 10 from outside of the equipment, and when the face plate 16 is opened, the process unit 8 is operated from outside of the equipment. A plurality of card holding members 17 are provided outside (front side of equipment) of the face plate 16, and the card 18 is held by inserting the card 18 between the card holding members 17 and the face plate 16. During an exchange of the toner bottle 10 and maintenance of the process unit 8, even when toner is leaked, the card 18 is not soiled. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus suitable for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile.

  In order to maintain the device of the electronic device, the cover that is an opening / closing body is opened by tilting it toward the front side of the device, and the unit inside the device is exposed, and the unit is pulled out to the front side of the device. In particular, it is widely used in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines. In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, examples of such a unit include a toner bottle and a process unit.

By the way, in the image forming apparatus having such a configuration, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a card holding unit that holds corners of a card such as a business card is provided outside or inside the exterior cover of the image forming apparatus main body, An exterior cover structure is disclosed in which the card can be written in a held state.
JP-A-11-78165

  However, in the case of the configuration of Patent Document 1, since the card holding member is located on the inner side surface of the opened exterior cover (the surface facing upward in the opened state), the toner leaking from the drawn unit is exposed. The card surface may be dropped, the card may become dirty, and it may be difficult to read the card description (for example, contact information of a business card).

  In addition, image forming apparatuses are becoming space-saving, and an increasing number of apparatuses are configured to attach optional devices to the side of the apparatus. Then, it becomes difficult to provide a card holding part on the side of the device, and considering this restriction and maintainability, it is inevitably necessary to attach the card holding part on the front side of the device. The solution of was strongly desired.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an electronic apparatus and an image forming apparatus having a card holding structure that do not affect the attachment / detachment of a unit such as a toner bottle or a process unit even if a card holding unit is provided on the front side of the apparatus. Objective.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention, wherein a first opening / closing body that is exposed to the front of the apparatus and provided to be openable / closable is provided inside the first opening / closing body. A second opening / closing body that can be opened and closed in a direction, and a first unit that is disposed on the upper side of the second opening / closing body and is detachable from the front of the device, and is located on the inner side of the outer surface of the second opening / closing body. A card storage section is provided that can hold at least a part of the card surface so as to be exposed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device of the first aspect, the card storage portion is provided at a position directly below the first unit.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to the first or second aspect, the first unit is slidable and detachable.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to any one of the first to third aspects, the electronic device further includes a second unit that is provided inside the second opening / closing body and is detachable from the front of the apparatus. And

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device of the fourth aspect, the second unit is slidable and detachable.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in the electronic device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, a space is provided between the two opening / closing bodies in a state where the first opening / closing body and the second opening / closing body are opened. It is characterized by forming.

  An image forming apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the electronic apparatus according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the electronic apparatus is an image forming apparatus, and the first unit is a toner bottle. To do.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the seventh aspect, the second unit is a process unit.

  In the present invention, when the first opening / closing body is opened, the card can be visually recognized from the same side as the first unit pulling direction (from the front side of the apparatus), and the card surface becomes dirty when the first unit is pulled out. There is an effect that can be prevented.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. In the following,

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image forming apparatus as an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1B, this image forming apparatus is a tandem type color copying machine of the indirect transfer type. Reference numeral 1 in the figure denotes a copying machine main body, which includes a paper feed cassette 2 at the lower portion of the copying machine main body 1, a scanner 3 on the copying machine main body 1, and a duplex unit 4 on the right side in the figure. An automatic document feeder (ADF) may be mounted on the scanner 3. An operation unit 5 is provided at a position in front of the scanner 3, and a discharge space 6 is provided below the scanner 3.

  An intermediate transfer belt 7 having an endless belt is provided inside the copying machine main body 1 and is wound around a plurality of support rollers as shown in the drawing so that it can be rotated and conveyed clockwise in the drawing. Further, on the lower side of the intermediate transfer belt 7 stretched between the supporting rollers, each color process unit 8... Is formed as an image forming means for four colors, for example, black, cyan, magenta, and yellow along the conveying direction. Are arranged side by side, and an exposure device 9 is arranged on the lower side, and four toner bottles 10 of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow are provided on the upper side of the intermediate transfer belt 7 in correspondence with the process unit 8. It is.

  The process unit 8 and the toner bottle 10 are detachable from the front of the apparatus of the copying machine main body 1. Therefore, the front cover 11 of the copying machine main body 1 is rotated to the front side of the apparatus as shown in FIG. The inside of the apparatus can be opened. In the figure, 12 is a secondary transfer unit, 13 is a fixing device, and 14 is a paper discharge unit.

  When the image forming operation is started, a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 15 of each of the process units 8 based on the electrophotographic process, and the toner image is sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 7 by a transfer unit, and is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 7. A full-color toner image is carried on the surface of the transfer belt 7. On the other hand, a transfer material made of paper, a resin sheet or the like is fed from the paper feed cassette 2 to the secondary transfer unit 11 in synchronization with the toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 7. At this time, a transfer voltage having a polarity opposite to the toner charging polarity of the toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 7 is applied to the secondary transfer device 12, whereby the full-color toner images on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 7 are collectively collected on the transfer material. Transcribed. When the transfer material to which the toner image has been transferred passes through the fixing device 13, the toner image is fixed by applying heat and pressure. Then, the transfer material on which the image is fixed is discharged from the paper discharge unit 14 outside the image forming apparatus main body 1 to the paper discharge space 6. Note that any one of the image forming units 8 can be used to form a single-color image or a two-color or three-color image.

  As described above, in order to make the process unit 8 and the toner bottle 10 detachable from the front side of the copying machine main body 1, the front cover 11 of the copying machine main body 1 is rotated to the front side of the front side of the apparatus. The toner bottle 10 is opened so that it can be operated from outside the apparatus. Further, a face plate 16 is provided inside the front cover 11 so that the face plate 16 can be opened and closed in the same direction as the front cover 11. When the face plate 16 is turned to the front side, as shown in FIG. It is opened so that it can be operated from outside the device.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a card holding portion 17 is provided on the outer side (front side of the apparatus) of the face plate 16. As shown in FIG. 4A, the card holding portion 17 is formed by a plurality of holding members 17a provided on the surface of the face plate 16, and as shown in FIG. 4B, these holding members 17a. By inserting the card 18 between the face plate 16 and the face plate 16, the card 18 is held. The face plate 16 and the holding member 17a may be formed integrally or may be formed separately and combined.

  In the illustrated example, the face plate 16 is L-shaped when viewed from the front of the apparatus, and the manner of mounting can be changed according to the notation format, size, shape, etc. of the card. For example, when the card 18 is vertical and rectangular, the card can be inserted in the range indicated by ab in FIG. 4A, and when the card 18 is horizontal, the card can be similarly inserted in the range cd. Further, the card 18 can be inserted and held in substantially the same shape as the face plate 16.

  Here, a case where the toner bottle 10 is replaced will be described. First, when the toner bottle 10 is replaced, the front cover 11 is rotated to the front side to open the inside of the apparatus as shown in FIG. In this state, the toner bottle 10 is pulled out toward the front of the apparatus, and a new toner bottle 10 is inserted and replaced.

  Next, a case where maintenance of the process unit 8 is performed will be described. Although detailed illustration is omitted, as shown in FIG. 4 (C), the process unit 8 has a rotating shaft 8a of a rotating body inside the unit extending from the front side of the apparatus to the back side of the apparatus. A part of it protrudes. Therefore, in order to align the positions of the four process units 8, a face plate 16 for adjusting the position of the rotating shaft 8a is provided. That is, the rotary shaft 8 a can be positioned on the inner surface of the face plate 16 by closing the face plate 16. The process unit 8 can also be pulled out toward the front side of the apparatus, like the toner bottle 10.

  In such an image forming apparatus, even if the toner bottle 10 is pulled out in the direction of the arrow x in the drawing with the face plate 16 closed as shown in FIG. 4B, the card 18 is more than the card holding member 17a. Since it is located on the inner side (the back side of the apparatus), it is possible to substantially prevent the leaked toner from adhering to the exposed surface of the card 18.

  When the process unit 8 is pulled out, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the face plate 16 is opened to the front side of the apparatus, the surface of the card 18 faces downward, so that the toner leaked when the process unit 8 is pulled out It does not adhere to the surface.

  Here, since the front cover 11 is configured to be longer than the face plate 16 in the drawing direction x of the process unit 8, the toner leaked when the process unit 8 is drawn is removed from the back surface of the front cover 11 (FIG. 4C). There is a risk of adhering to the upper surface. If the front cover 11 is closed while the toner is still attached, the attached toner will slide down below the front cover 11, and therefore, when the front cover 11 and the face plate 16 are repeatedly opened and closed, the space between the face plate 16 and the front cover D is reduced. And may adhere to the cover 18. However, in this embodiment, since a space (indicated by reference numeral 19 in FIG. 4C) is formed between the front cover 11 and the face plate 16 in an open state, the card is secondarily provided. It is possible to prevent toner from adhering to the surface of 18.

  The case where the present invention is used in an image forming apparatus has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this form and may be provided in a general electronic device. At that time, when a unit corresponding to a toner bottle or a process unit is pulled out, powder or dust in the unit can be prevented from adhering to the card surface.

  That is, by opening the first opening / closing body that is exposed to the front of the apparatus and that can be opened and closed, the card held by the second opening / closing body that can be opened and closed in the same direction as the first opening / closing body can be visually recognized. When the unit is pulled out, the card surface can be prevented from becoming dirty. Also, if the card storage portion is provided at a position directly below the first unit, the card surface can be prevented from becoming dirty because the card surface faces downward when the second unit is pulled out. The first unit is slidable and detachable. Furthermore, when the first opening / closing body and the second opening / closing body are opened and a space is formed between both opening / closing bodies, the first opening / closing body is interposed between the first opening / closing body and the second opening / closing body. Since the space is formed, it is possible to prevent dirt from being transferred from the first opening / closing body to the second opening / closing body even if the first opening / closing body is repeatedly opened and closed.

1A and 1B are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view showing an image forming apparatus as an embodiment to which the present invention is applied. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the front cover is opened in the embodiment of FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state where both the front cover and the face plate are opened in the embodiment of FIG. A perspective view (A) showing the face plate and the card holding member, a conceptual side view (B) when replacing the toner bottle, and a conceptual side view (C) when performing maintenance of the process unit 8

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Copy machine main body 2: Paper feed cassette 3: Scanner 4: Duplex unit 5: Operation part 6: Paper discharge space 7: Intermediate transfer belt 8: Process unit 8a: Rotating shaft of process unit 9: Exposure device 10: Toner bottle 11: Front cover 12: Secondary transfer unit 13: Fixing device 14: Paper discharge unit 15: Photosensitive drum 16: Face plate 17: Card holding unit 17a: Holding member 18: Card 19: Space between the face plate and the front cover

Claims (8)

A first opening / closing body that is exposed to the front of the apparatus and that can be opened and closed;
A second opening / closing body provided inside the first opening / closing body and capable of opening and closing in the same direction as the first opening / closing body;
It is arranged on the upper side of the second opening and closing body, and consists of a first unit that can be detached from the front of the device,
An electronic device comprising a card storage portion that can hold at least a part of the card surface in an exposed manner inside the outer surface of the second opening / closing body. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the card storage portion is provided at a position immediately below the first unit. 3. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first unit is detachable by sliding. 4. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second unit that is provided inside the second opening / closing body and is detachable from the front of the apparatus. 5. The electronic apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second unit is detachable by sliding. 6. The electronic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a space is formed between both the opening and closing bodies in a state where the first opening and closing bodies are opened. . 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electronic apparatus is an image forming apparatus, and the first unit is a toner bottle. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the second unit is a process unit.