JP2007316438A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an inner paper ejection type image forming apparatus where an image reading part is arranged above an image forming part across inner paper ejection space, and which enables a user to visually confirm presence or no presence of paper in the inner paper ejection space in a standing attitude without requiring user's action such as bending down. <P>SOLUTION: A first set part 10 to which an operation unit 7 is attached is formed at the front part of the image reading part 5, and a second set part 11 to which the operation unit 7 is attached is formed at the front part of the image forming part 3, and the operation unit 7 can be attached to/detached from the first set part 10 and the second set part 11. When the operation unit 7 is attached to the second set part 11 on the lower side, failure that user's obliquely downward visual field from the upper part on a front side with respect to the inner paper ejection space 4 is interrupted by the operation unit 7 is prevented, so that excellent visibility in the inner paper ejection space 4 is secured. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus in which an image reading unit for reading a document image is disposed above an image forming unit via a in-cylinder discharge space.

  In this type of in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus, when a user stands on the front of the apparatus body and performs a desired operation such as a copy operation or a facsimile operation, an in-cylinder discharge space (hereinafter referred to as appropriate) The visibility of the paper discharge space is likely to be poor. That is, since the user looks down obliquely from the upper front side of the apparatus main body, the operation unit blocks the field of view over almost the entire width of the paper discharge space, and there is paper in the paper discharge space. In many cases, it is difficult to see whether or not the paper in the paper discharge space is forgotten.

  Such forgetting to remove the paper can be avoided by looking into the paper discharge space from the front side of the apparatus main body, such as when the user bends down, and checking for the presence of paper in the paper discharge space. However, such an operation is troublesome for the user, and when the user keeps an eye on the operation unit, an erroneous operation such as pressing the operation button is likely to occur.

For this reason, conventionally, various attempts have been made to ensure the visibility of the in-body discharge space. For example, in Patent Document 1, a lateral space without an operation panel is provided in the upper front portion of the apparatus body. Through the space, the inside of the paper discharge space can be seen from above.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-325548

  However, since the width dimension of the side space that can be formed on the front surface of the apparatus main body is limited in the form of the above-mentioned patent document, the user can surely visually recognize the inside of the paper discharge space through the side space. Standing position, eye height, etc. must be limited, and it is difficult or impossible to ensure good visibility even for users with general height. The defect was recognized.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and it is possible to ensure the presence or absence of paper in the in-cylinder discharge space in a standing posture without requiring the user to bend down. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can be visually recognized and is excellent in practical convenience.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus in which an image reading unit for reading a document image is disposed above the image forming unit via a in-cylinder discharge space. An operation unit for operating the image reading unit and the image forming unit is provided on the front surface of the image reading unit, and the operation unit is provided for the purpose of ensuring the visibility of the in-cylinder discharge space. Is configured to be movable.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the operation unit is unitized as an operation unit including at least an operation button on the upper surface of the housing. A first set unit on which the operation unit can be mounted is formed at the front of the image reading unit, and a second set unit on which the operation unit can be mounted is formed at the front of the image forming unit. Yes. And the said operation unit can be comprised so that attachment or detachment is possible with respect to these 1st set parts and 2nd set parts.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the operation unit is unitized as an operation unit having at least an operation button on the upper surface of the housing. The operation unit is moved back and forth by a slide mechanism between a rearward first operation position whose rear edge is close to the front edge of the image reading unit and a front second operation position far from the image reading unit. When the operating unit is moved to the second operating position, a facing gap is formed between the operating unit and the image reading unit, and the cylinder is discharged through the facing gap. The visibility of the paper space can be ensured.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the slide mechanism is preferably a pair of left and right slide units that connect the left and right ends of the casing of the operation unit and the image reading unit.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the operation unit has a wireless communication function, and can transmit and receive operation signals and the like by wireless communication with the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus. be able to.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the operation unit is configured to be movable, the user's visual field from the upper position on the front side of the image forming apparatus toward the in-body discharge space is blocked by the operation unit. Is recognized, it is possible to easily and surely ensure good visibility of the paper discharge space simply by moving the operation unit. As a result, it is possible to visually recognize the presence or absence of the paper discharged into the in-cylinder paper discharge space in a standing position, effectively preventing forgetting to remove the paper in the paper discharge space and excellent in practical convenience. An image forming apparatus can be obtained.

Specifically, as in the present invention described in claim 2, it is possible to adopt a form in which a set portion to which an operation unit can be attached is formed at two front portions of the apparatus main body. In this form, if the operation unit is mounted on the lower second set portion, the operation unit does not cause a problem that obstructs the user's view obliquely downward from the front upper side with respect to the in-cylinder discharge space, Good visibility of the in-body discharge space can be secured. This makes it possible for the user to reliably see the presence or absence of paper in the in-cylinder delivery space without standing down, and to forget to remove the paper. Can do.
In addition, when the second set unit is mounted, if the distance to the operation unit is long and it is difficult to see the display contents or it is difficult to operate the operation unit, remove the operation unit from the second set unit, What is necessary is just to change to one set part. As a result, it is possible to immediately respond to changes in the usage mode of the user, and it is possible to contribute to improving the practical convenience of the image forming apparatus.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the operation unit is separated from the image reading unit with a first operation position closer to the rear, the rear end edge of which is close to the front end edge of the image reading unit, with an opposing gap. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the slide mechanism is configured to be slidable with the second operation position closer to the front. In this mode, the problem that the operation unit obstructs the view of the obliquely downward user from the front upper side with respect to the in-cylinder discharge space can be solved by simply sliding the operation unit forward to the second operation position. Therefore, it is possible to ensure good visibility of the in-cylinder sheet discharge space through the facing gap. As a result, it is possible to visually recognize the presence or absence of paper discharged into the in-cylinder paper discharge space in a standing position, effectively preventing forgetting to remove paper in the space, and excellent in practical convenience. An image forming apparatus can be obtained.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the slide mechanism is a pair of left and right slide units mounted so as to connect the left and right ends of the operation unit casing and the image reading unit, The effective area of the facing gap that can visually recognize the paper discharge space can be made as large as possible. In other words, the invention according to claim 4 has a problem in the case of adopting a configuration in which the slide unit is provided in the central portion of the opposed gap, and the visibility due to the slide unit blocking the opposed gap. Is less likely to occur, and therefore it is possible to ensure good visibility of the in-cylinder sheet discharge space through the facing gap.

  In a mode in which transmission / reception of operation signals and the like between the operation unit and the apparatus main body is performed by wire such as a harness or a cord, troublesome wiring work such as connector joining work is indispensable every time the operation unit is replaced. In this regard, as in the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the operation signal and the like are transmitted and received between the operation unit and the apparatus main body by wireless communication, the troublesome wiring work is completely eliminated, and the practical convenience is eliminated. Can be obtained.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment in which an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a multifunction machine will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are overall perspective views of the multifunction machine 1. In the following, the upper and lower directions in the normal use state of the multifunction machine are referred to as upper and lower directions, respectively. In FIG. 1, the direction in which the operation unit 7 is arranged (the direction of the white arrow Y1) is defined as “front”, and the opposite direction is defined as “rear”. Further, a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the horizontal direction is defined as a left-right direction.

  This multifunction machine is a so-called in-body discharge type image forming apparatus, and includes a plurality of paper feed cassettes 2 arranged at the lower part of the apparatus main body 1 and an image forming unit arranged above the paper feed cassettes 2. 3 and an image reading unit 5 disposed above the image forming unit 3 via the in-body discharge space 4. Reference numeral 5 a denotes an automatic document feeder that is assembled above the image reading unit 5. The paper sent out from the paper feed cassette 2 is sent out onto the bottom surface 6 of the in-body paper discharge space 4 after the toner image is fixed by the image forming unit 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an operation unit (operation unit) 7 is disposed on the front side of the apparatus main body 1. The operation unit 7 has a flat rectangular box-shaped plastic casing 15 formed by joining upper and lower cases 13 and 14 (see FIG. 4) in a lid-like manner as a base, and has display means and operation means on its upper surface. A functioning touch panel type liquid crystal screen 8, a numeric keypad 9 for inputting the number of copies, and the like are provided.

  The operation unit 7 has a wireless communication function, and an operation signal and the like are transmitted and received between the operation unit 7 and the apparatus main body 1 by wireless communication.

  For the purpose of ensuring visibility with respect to the in-body discharge space 4, set portions 10 and 11 for mounting the operation unit 7 are provided at two positions on the front surface of the apparatus main body 1, and between these set portions 10 and 11. The user can arbitrarily change the mounting position of the operation unit 7. Specifically, the first set unit 10 is formed in the front part of the image reading unit 5, and the second set unit 11 is formed in the front part of the image forming unit 3, and the first set unit 10 and the second set unit are formed. 11, the operation unit 7 is configured to be detachable. In the following, as shown in FIG. 2, the state in which the operation unit 7 is attached to the first set unit 10 will be referred to as “upper set state”, and as shown in FIG. The state in which 7 is attached is referred to as “lower set state”.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the engagement pin 20 is formed to project from the left and right side surfaces of the operation unit 7 in the left-right direction. Each engagement pin 20 has a vertically long vertical shape in which the vertical direction in the vertical direction is long, the horizontal direction in the front and back directions is set short, and the width dimension in the longitudinal direction in the central portion in the vertical direction is small. The width dimension of the upper and lower central portions of the engagement pin 20 is thus reduced by reducing the sliding area with the front and rear surfaces 32 and 32 (described later) of the guide groove 30 on the apparatus main body 1 side. This is to improve the attachment / detachment workability.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first set unit 10 is a concave portion having a rectangular shape with a horizontally long cross section formed in a notch directed rearward in the center portion in the left and right direction of the front edge of the image reading unit 5. It has a pocket shape with the upper and lower surfaces and the front surface open. The width dimension in the left-right direction of the first set unit 10 is set slightly larger than that of the operation unit 7.

  A guide groove 30 for dropping and guiding the engagement pin 20 is formed in each of the inner wall surfaces 31 in the left-right direction of the first set portion 10 so as to be long in the vertical direction. Specifically, the guide groove 30 is a vertically long groove having openings on the left and right inner sides and upward. In FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, reference numerals 32 and 32 denote front and rear surfaces of the guide groove 30, and 33 denotes A back surface in the left-right direction of the guide groove 30, a bottom surface forming the lower end of the guide groove 30, and an upper opening of the guide groove 30. The width dimension before and after the guide groove 30 defined by the facing distance between the front and rear surfaces 32 and 32 is set slightly larger than the width dimension before and after the engagement pin 20.

  An engagement mechanism E is provided between the first set unit 10 and the operation unit 7 in order to prevent the operation unit 7 from being inadvertently detached when the operation unit 7 is attached to the first set unit 10. . As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the engagement mechanism E is formed in the engagement recess 21 provided in the engagement pin 20 on the operation unit 7 side and the first set portion 10. And a stopper claw 36 that engages.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the engagement recess 21 is a square hole formed in the vicinity of the lower end portions of the left and right outer surfaces of the engagement pin 20. As shown in FIG. 4, the stopper claw 36 is formed in an elastic arm 37 that is elastically deformable in the vertical direction and bulges at the free end of the elastic arm 37, and is formed in the engagement recess 21 of the engagement pin 20. It is a resin molded product formed integrally with a hemispherical locking piece 38 to be engaged, and the base end side of the elastic arm 37 faces the guide groove 30 inside the housing of the apparatus main body 1 (image reading unit 5). These are fixed with screws 39. The locking piece 38 projects from the rectangular opening 40 provided in the inner surface 33 of the guide groove 30 toward the inside of the first set portion 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the second set unit 11 is a left-right laterally long concave section formed in a cutout at the center in the left-right direction of the front edge of the image forming unit 3. It differs from the previous first set portion 10 in that it has a pocket shape with an open L-shaped cross section, and other structures (such as points having the guide groove 30 and the engagement mechanism E) are the first set portion 10. It is the same. The upper and lower depth dimensions of the guide groove 30 are set to be the same as or slightly larger than the thickness dimension of the operation unit 7. In the state where the operation unit 7 is mounted on the second set portion 11, that is, the bottom surface of the guide groove 30. In a state where the lower surface of the engagement pin 20 is received by 34, the upper surface of the operation unit 7 is flush with the bottom surface 6 that divides the lower part of the in-body discharge space 4 or slightly sinks below ( (See FIG. 1).

  The operation unit 7 can be attached to and detached from the first and second set parts 10 and 11 in the following procedure. First, after aligning the lower ends of the corresponding left and right engaging pins 20 and 20 in the upper openings 35 of the left and right guide grooves 30 and 30, the operation unit 7 is dropped and mounted together with the engaging pins 20 and 20, respectively. Then, the lower surface 23 of each engagement pin 20 is received by the bottom surface 34 of the guide groove 30. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the front and rear side surfaces of the engagement pin 20 are received in a sandwiched manner by the front and rear surfaces 32 and 32 of the guide groove 30, so that the first set portion 10 or the second set portion 11 The operation unit 7 can be mounted and held in a substantially horizontal posture in a non-movable manner. Further, in this mounting and holding posture, the previous engagement mechanism E acts. In other words, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation piece 7 is held by the left and right stopper claws 36 by the locking pieces 38 of the stopper claws 36 dropping into the engagement recesses 21 by the elastic restoring force of the elastic arms 37. Therefore, the operation unit 7 is not inadvertently detached from the set portions 10 and 11.

  From the mounting and holding posture with respect to the set portions 10 and 11 as described above, the operation unit 7 is pulled upward while resisting the elastic deformation force of the elastic arm 37, whereby the concave and convex portions of the engaging concave portion 21 and the locking piece 38 are engaged. The combined state can be released. Further, by pulling out the engaging pin 20 from the guide groove 30, the operation unit 7 can be removed from the set portions 10 and 11.

  In the MFP having the above-described configuration, in the lower set state (FIG. 1) in which the operation unit 7 is mounted on the second set unit 11, the operation unit 7 is positioned at substantially the same height as the bottom surface 6 of the in-body discharge space 4. It is in. Therefore, in such a lower set state, when the user stands on the front surface of the apparatus main body 1 and performs a desired operation such as a copy operation or a facsimile operation, the operation unit 7 moves from the upper front side to the in-cylinder discharge space 4. There is no problem that obstructs the view of the obliquely downward user, and good visibility of the in-body discharge space 4 can be secured. Accordingly, the user can surely visually recognize the presence or absence of the paper in the in-cylinder paper discharge space 4 while keeping the standing posture without requiring an operation such as bending down.

  When the first set unit 10 has a shape in which not only the upper surface and the front surface but also the lower surface is opened, the field of view from the upper front side with respect to the in-body discharge space 4 can be increased as much as the lower surface is opened. Thereby, since the visibility with respect to the in-body discharge space 4 when the operation unit 7 is mounted on the second set unit 11 can be improved, it is possible to contribute to the improvement of practical convenience of the multifunction peripheral.

  Further, when the user is far away from the operation unit 7 in the lower set state and the display content is difficult to see or the operation unit 7 is difficult to operate, the operation unit 7 is removed from the second set unit 11. This may be replaced with the first set unit 10. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain a multifunction device excellent in practical convenience that can respond quickly to changes in the usage mode of the user.

  In a mode in which transmission / reception of operation signals and the like between the operation unit 7 and the apparatus main body 1 is performed by wire such as a harness or a cord, troublesome wiring work such as connector joining work is indispensable every time the operation unit 7 is replaced. . In this regard, when the operation signal and the like are transmitted and received between the operation unit 7 and the apparatus main body 1 by wireless communication as in this embodiment, the complicated wiring work is eliminated and the composite is excellent in practical convenience. You can get a chance.

(Second Embodiment)
6 to 10 show a second embodiment in which the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a multifunction machine. 6 and 7 are overall perspective views of the multifunction machine, and FIGS. 8 to 10 are views for explaining the structure of a slide mechanism, which is a main part of the embodiment. In the following description, the upper and lower directions in the normal use state of the multifunction machine 1 are referred to as upper and lower directions, respectively. In FIG. 6, the direction in which the operation unit 7 is arranged (the direction of the white arrow Y1) is defined as “front”, and the opposite direction is defined as “rear”. Further, a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the horizontal direction is defined as a left-right direction.

  This multifunction device is a so-called in-body discharge type image forming apparatus, and its basic configuration is the same as that of the multifunction device according to the first embodiment. Therefore, the same members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

In addition, in the second embodiment, the operation unit 7 attached to the front edge of the image reading unit 5 can be slid in the front-rear direction for the purpose of ensuring the visibility with respect to the in-body discharge space 4. It is composed. Specifically, the operation unit 7 includes a first operation position (FIG. 7) in which the rear edge is close to the front edge of the image reading unit 5, and a second operation in which the rear edge is separated from the front edge of the image reading unit 5. Between the position (FIG. 6), the slide mechanism can be slid in the front-rear direction.
During normal use, the operation unit 7 is located at the first operation position (FIG. 7). As shown in FIG. 6, when the operation unit 7 is moved to the second operation position, a counter gap 50 is formed between the control unit 7 and the image reading unit 5, and the counter gap 50 is interposed therebetween. Thus, the visibility of the in-body discharge space 4 is ensured.

  As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a laterally long recess 51 is formed in the center of the front end edge of the image reading unit 5 in the left-right direction by notching in the rearward direction. The width dimension of the recess 51 in the left-right direction is set slightly larger than that of the operation unit 7. Between these recesses 51 and the operation unit 7, there is a slide mechanism for sliding the operation unit 7 back and forth between the first operation position (FIG. 7) and the second operation position (FIG. 6). Is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the slide mechanism includes a pair of left and right slide units 52 and 52 that connect the left and right ends of the casing 15 of the operation unit 7 and the image reading unit 5.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, each slide unit 52 has an outer rail 53 fixed to the side surface in the left-right direction of the concave portion 51 of the image reading unit 5, and can be moved forward and backward with respect to the outer rail 53. 3 composed of an intermediate rail 54 configured, and an inner rail 55 fixed to the side surface in the left-right direction of the casing 15 of the operation unit 7 and configured to be able to advance and retract in the front-rear direction with respect to the intermediate rail 54. It is a slide rail for stepping. The outer rail 53 is mounted and fixed to the left and right side surfaces of the recess 51 by screws 60. The inner rail 55 is mounted and fixed to the operation unit 7 with screws 61.

The intermediate rail 54 is guided and supported by a pair of front and rear guide rollers 56 and 56 attached to the front end portion of the outer rail 53, and is housed in the outer rail 53 and pulled forward from the outer rail 53. It is possible to move back and forth in the horizontal direction between the pulled out postures (see FIGS. 9 and 10). Similarly, the inner rail 55 is guided and supported by a pair of front and rear guide rollers 57 and 57 attached to the front end portion of the intermediate rail 54, and the inner rail 55 is accommodated in the intermediate rail 54 and the front position from the intermediate rail 54. It is possible to move forward and backward in the front-rear horizontal direction with respect to the drawing posture drawn in the direction (see FIGS. 9 and 10).
When the operation unit 7 is pulled forward from the first operation position (FIG. 7) closer to the rear, the inner rail 55 is pulled out from the intermediate rail 54, and then the intermediate rail 54 is pulled out from the outer rail 53. In particular, the operation unit 7 can be slid to the second operation position as shown in FIG.

  In the MFP having the above-described configuration, when the operation unit 7 is moved to the second operation position (FIG. 6), a facing gap 50 is formed between the operation unit 7 and the image reading unit 5, and the facing gap The in-body paper discharge space 4 can be seen through 50. That is, in a state where the operation unit 7 is slid to the second operation position (FIG. 6), when the user stands on the front surface of the apparatus body 1 and performs a desired operation such as a copy operation or a facsimile operation, There is no inconvenience that the operation unit 7 blocks the view of the user obliquely downward from the upper front side with respect to the in-cylinder sheet discharge space 4, and good visibility of the in-cylinder sheet discharge space 4 can be ensured. As a result, the user can surely visually recognize the presence or absence of the paper in the in-cylinder discharge space 4 through the facing gap 50 without requiring an operation such as bending down.

  In addition, since operation signals and the like are transmitted and received between the operation unit 7 and the apparatus body 1 by wireless communication, troublesome wiring work such as connector joining work and harness replacement work is completely abolished, Contributes to improving the practical convenience of multifunction devices.

  In the said 1st Embodiment, although the 1st set part 10 and the 2nd set part 11 were made into the recessed part of cross-sectional square shape of right and left horizontally long, this invention is not limited to this. In the first embodiment, the operation pin 7 of the operation unit 7 is dropped into and engaged with the vertically long guide groove 30 provided in the first set unit 10 or the second set unit 11. 7 is mounted on the apparatus main body 1, but the mounting structure of the operation unit 7 on the apparatus main body 1 is not limited to this. In the first embodiment, the engagement mechanism E having the stopper claw 36 as a constituent element is provided between the guide groove 30 and the engagement pin 20, but the structure of the engagement mechanism E is the same. The engagement mechanism E is not necessary when the operation unit 7 can be firmly attached and fixed to the apparatus main body 1 without rattling.

  In the second embodiment, a so-called three-stage slide rail is shown as the slide unit 52, but a two-stage slide rail or the like may be used. The detailed structure of the slide unit 52 is not limited to that shown in the above embodiment.

1 is an overall perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which an operation unit is mounted on a lower second set unit. 1 is an overall perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which an operation unit is mounted on an upper first set unit. It is a vertical side view of a set part. It is a vertical front view of a set part. It is a figure for demonstrating the mounting method of the operation unit with respect to a set part. FIG. 10 is an overall perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state where the operation unit is pulled out in the forward direction (second operation position). FIG. 10 is an overall perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state where the operation unit is pushed closer to the image reading unit (first operation position). It is a vertical front view of the slide unit which comprises a slide mechanism. It is a cross-sectional top view of the slide unit which comprises a slide mechanism. It is a side view of the slide unit which comprises a slide mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 2 Paper feed cassette 3 Image formation part 4 In-cylinder discharge space 5 Image reading part 7 Operation unit 10 1st set part 11 2nd set part 15 Case of operation unit 50 Opposite gap 52 Slide unit

Claims (5)

In a cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus in which an image reading unit for reading a document image is arranged above the image forming unit via a cylinder discharge space,
An operation unit for operating the image reading unit and the image forming unit is provided on the front surface of the image reading unit,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the operation unit is configured to be movable for the purpose of ensuring visibility of the in-body discharge space. The operation unit is unitized as an operation unit including at least an operation button on the upper surface of the housing.
A first set unit on which the operation unit can be mounted is formed at the front of the image reading unit, and a second set unit on which the operation unit can be mounted is formed at the front of the image forming unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is configured to be detachable from the first set unit and the second set unit. The operation unit is unitized as an operation unit including at least an operation button on the upper surface of the housing.
The operation unit is moved back and forth by a slide mechanism between a rearward first operation position whose rear edge is close to the front edge of the image reading unit and a front second operation position far from the image reading unit. It is configured to be slidable in the direction,
When the operation unit is moved to the second operation position, a facing gap is formed between the operation unit and the image reading unit, and visibility of the in-cylinder discharge space is ensured through the facing gap. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is configured as described above.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the slide mechanism is a pair of left and right slide units that connect the left and right ends of the casing of the operation unit and the image reading unit.   5. The operation unit according to claim 2, wherein the operation unit has a wireless communication function, and can transmit and receive an operation signal and the like by wireless communication with the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus described.

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