JP2008055616A - Cover opening and closing mechanism, covering apparatus, and electronic instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cover opening and closing mechanism capable of preventing the half-opening condition of a freely openable and closeable cover from occurring, a covering apparatus equipped with the cover opening and closing mechanism, and an electronic instrument equipped with the covering apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The energizing means for the opening and closing mechanism 10 for the cover 121 which is provided so as to be freely openable and closeable to an apparatus main body 101 and whose closed condition or opened condition is kept by the energizing means 11, is arranged so that it is energized always in the closing direction when the cover becomes conditions other than a fully opened condition of the cover. Thereby, as the cover is forcibly made to the closed condition under conditions other than the fully opened condition of the cover, it is possible to prevent that the cover is under the half-opening condition as it is. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a cover opening / closing mechanism that is provided so as to be openable / closable with respect to the apparatus main body and is maintained in a closed state or an open state by a biasing means, a cover device including the cover opening / closing mechanism, and an electronic device including the cover device Regarding equipment.

  For example, a protective cover that covers a card slot provided in a printer, which is one of electronic devices, prevents dust and dust from entering in the closed state and smoothes the user's operation in the open state. Need to be locked. For this reason, for example, a torsion coil spring is used as a so-called bi-stable spring in the protective cover opening and closing device. While the protective cover is rotating between the closed state and the open state, one end of the torsion coil spring is locked to the printer body and the other end is locked to the protective cover so that the torsion coil spring takes maximum deflection. Yes. According to this, the protective cover is urged in the closing direction or the opening direction by the torsion coil spring and locked in the closed state or the open state at the turning position of the protective cover where the torsion coil spring is maximum bent (Patent Document). 1).

JP 2005-59295 A

  The protective cover described above may stop in a half-open state in order to take a stable posture at a so-called neutral point where the torsion coil spring of the switchgear is at its maximum deflection, but in such a case, the user shall close the protective cover. There is a risk of misunderstanding and leaving it alone. For example, when the user's hand with static electricity comes close to the protective cover, the static electricity may fly from the gap of the protective cover to the memory card inserted into the card slot, and adversely affect the written data. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cover opening / closing mechanism capable of preventing a half-open state of an openable / closable cover, a cover device including the cover opening / closing mechanism, and An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device including a cover device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the cover opening / closing mechanism of the present invention is a cover opening / closing mechanism which is provided so as to be openable / closable with respect to the apparatus main body, and is maintained in a closed state or an open state by the urging means. Is characterized in that when the cover is in a state other than the fully open state, the cover is always biased in the closing direction. As a result, the cover is forcibly closed when it is in a state other than the fully open state, so that the cover can be prevented from remaining in the half open state.

  Further, the cover opens and closes by rotating with respect to the apparatus main body, and the biasing means has one end locked to the apparatus main body and the other end when the cover is open. When the direction of the urging force acting by the other end of the urging means is located close to one side with respect to the neutral point passing through the rotation center of the cover, and the cover is in the closed state, the neutral point It is characterized by being locked to the cover so as to be remotely located on the other side. Thereby, when the cover is in a state other than the fully opened state, the cover can always be urged in the closing direction. One end side of the urging means formed by the other end of the urging means when the cover is in an open state and a straight line passing through the locking point of the other end and the rotation center point of the cover. Is characterized by an obtuse angle. Thereby, when the cover is in a state other than the fully open state, it is possible to determine the arrangement of the urging means that can always urge the cover in the closing direction.

  Further, the neutral point is a position that is a maximum value in a range in which the other end of the urging means is displaced. As a result, the cover is urged in the closing direction or the opening direction by the urging means at the turning position of the cover where the urging means is maximum bent, and the cover can be locked in the closed state or the open state. The biasing means is a torsion coil spring. Thereby, a cover opening / closing mechanism can be made into a simple structure. Further, the torsion coil spring is biased in the spreading direction. This facilitates application to a cover that rotates obliquely downward from the horizontal.

  In order to achieve the above object, a cover device of the present invention is characterized by including the above cover opening / closing mechanisms. In order to achieve the above object, an electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes the cover device. Thereby, it is possible to provide the cover apparatus or electronic device which exhibits said each effect.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention. Absent.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire external configuration of a recording apparatus which is an electronic apparatus provided with a cover opening / closing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. This recording apparatus is an ink jet printer 100 and has a function capable of recording on, for example, business cards, cards, L / 2L size, postcards, six cuts, and JIS standard A6 size to A4 size cut paper. I have. The ink jet printer 100 is entirely covered with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing (apparatus main body) 101. An operation unit 110 is disposed on the front surface side of the upper surface of the housing 101, and a memory card slot portion having a cover opening / closing mechanism 10 (see FIG. 2), which is a characteristic part of the present invention, at the center upper portion of the front surface. A (cover device) 120 is provided, a paper supply unit 130 is provided on the back side of the upper surface, and a paper discharge unit 140 is provided on the front side.

  The operation unit 110 is provided with a liquid crystal display panel 112 that displays an operation state or the like at the upper center of a substantially long rectangular operation panel 111, and a power system that turns power on / off on both sides of the liquid crystal display panel 112, the head of paper. A plurality of buttons 113 such as an operation system for operating ejection and the like, an operation system for performing ink flushing, and a processing system for performing image processing and the like are provided. Since the user can operate the various buttons 113 while checking the liquid crystal display panel 112 for confirmation, erroneous operation can be prevented.

  The memory card slot 120 is provided with a plurality of slots into which a plurality of types of memory cards can be inserted and removed. The memory card slot portion 120 is covered with a cover 121 that rotates in the direction of the arrow a in the figure to open and close the slot placement portion. The cover 121 is attached to the housing 101 via the cover opening / closing mechanism 10 shown in FIG. The details of the cover opening / closing mechanism 10 will be described later. Even if the user does not connect the ink jet printer 100 to a personal computer, the user simply inserts the memory card into the memory card slot 120 in a state of the ink jet printer 100 alone, and records an image or the like stored in the memory card. be able to.

  The paper feed unit 130 includes a paper support 132 having both a function of opening and closing a paper feed port 131 that is opened upward in a rectangular shape and a function of supporting one or a plurality of papers to be fed. The paper support 132 is attached so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow b shown in the figure around the rotation axis at the rear end. When using or not using the ink jet printer 100, the user can open and close the paper support 132 by placing his / her fingers on both sides of the paper support 132, so that the user can easily insert and feed paper. Intrusion of dust into the paper mouth 131 can be prevented.

  The paper discharge unit 140 has a function of opening and closing a paper discharge port 141 that opens in a rectangular shape toward the front, and a function of covering a stacker 143 that stacks one or more sheets to be discharged. A cover stacker 142 is provided. The cover stacker 142 is attached so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow c in the figure around the rotation shaft at the lower end. When the user uses or does not use the ink jet printer 100, the user can open and close the cover stacker 142 by placing his / her finger on the top of the cover stacker 142. Intrusion of dust into 141 can be prevented. Further, since the recorded paper is always discharged from the front side, the user can easily take out the paper. Next, the cover opening / closing mechanism 10 which is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  2A to 2C are schematic side views showing the operation state of the cover opening / closing mechanism 10 when the cover 121 shifts from the closed state to the open state. The cover opening / closing mechanism 10 includes a torsion coil spring (biasing means) 11, a spring one end locking portion 12 where the tip of the spring one end portion 11 a of the torsion coil spring 11 is locked, and the other end of the spring of the torsion coil spring 11. A spring other end locking portion 13 is provided to which the tip of 11b is locked. The torsion coil spring 11 is a general torsion coil spring in which both ends of a linear spring material are left in a straight line and the center is wound in a screw shape into a cylindrical shape, and includes a spring one end portion 11a, a spring other end portion 11b, and a spring. A main body 11c is provided. The spring one end locking portion 12 is integrally formed with the housing 101 at the upper rear portion of the cover 121 in the housing 101. The spring other end locking portion 13 is integrally formed with the cover 121 at the lower rear portion of the cover 121.

  The torsion coil spring 11 is bent so that a biasing force acts in the spreading direction, and the tip of the spring one end portion 11a and the tip of the other spring end portion 11b are connected to the spring one end locking portion 12 and the spring other end locking. It is latched to each part 13. This facilitates application to the cover 121 that rotates obliquely downward from the horizontal. The cover 121 is opened / closed by rotating or rotating around the rotation center axis 121b by the user pushing down or pushing it up, but the torsion coil spring 11 of the cover opening / closing mechanism 10 is in a state other than the fully open state. When it becomes, it always biases in the closing direction. This point will be further described in detail.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing the operation state of the cover opening / closing mechanism 10 of FIGS. The rotation center point P1 of the rotation center axis 121b of the cover 121 is the inner center back side of both outer side surfaces 121a and 121a of the cover 121 shown in FIG. 2, that is, the spring of the spring other end locking portion 13 shown in FIG. It is integrally formed at a position displaced by a predetermined distance d from the end locking point P2. Therefore, when the cover 121 rotates about the rotation center point P1 of the rotation center shaft 121b, the spring other end locking point P2 of the spring other end locking portion 13 rotates on an arc having a predetermined distance d as a radius. Will move.

  The urging force F by the torsion coil spring 11 acts on the spring other end locking portion P2 of the spring other end locking portion 13 in a direction perpendicular to the spring other end portion 11b. When the cover 121 rotates between the closed state and the open state, the position of the spring other end portion 11b of the torsion coil spring 11 changes, so that the direction in which the biasing force F by the torsion coil spring 11 acts also changes. When the direction in which this urging force F acts passes through the rotation center point P1 of the rotation center axis 121b of the cover 121, it is referred to as a neutral point N. At this neutral point N, the torsion coil spring 11 has a maximum value within a range of displacement. The maximum deflection will be taken. Accordingly, the cover 121 can be urged in the closing direction or the opening direction by the torsion coil spring 11 with the neutral point N as a boundary, and can be locked in the closed state or the open state.

  In the cover opening / closing mechanism 10, the tip of the spring other end 11b of the torsion coil spring 11 (the spring other end locking point P2 of the spring other end locking portion 13) is the neutral point when the cover 121 is open. The cover 121 is positioned as close as possible to the left side in the figure with respect to N, and as far as possible to the right side in the figure with respect to the neutral point N when the cover 121 is closed. The other end of the spring is latched to the latching portion 13. Thereby, when the cover 121 is in a state other than the fully open state, the cover 121 is forcibly closed, so that the cover 121 can be prevented from being in a half-open state.

  Further, the other end 11b of the torsion coil spring 11 when the cover 121 is in the open state, the tip of the other end 11b of the spring (the spring other end locking point P2 of the spring other end locking portion 13), and the rotation of the cover 121 are rotated. The tip of the spring one end 11a and the other end 11b of the spring 11b are set so that the angle θ on the spring one end 11a side of the torsion coil spring 11 formed with the straight line L passing through the rotation center point P1 of the dynamic center shaft 121b becomes an obtuse angle. The distal ends are respectively engaged with the spring one-end engaging portion 12 and the spring other-end engaging portion 13. Thereby, when the cover 121 is in a state other than the fully open state, the arrangement of the torsion coil spring 11 that can always be urged in the closing direction can be determined.

  In the present embodiment, one spring other end locking portion 13 is formed on one outer surface 121a of the cover 121, and one spring one end locking portion 12 is associated with the spring other end locking portion 13. The one torsion coil spring 11 is locked to the spring one end locking portion 12 and the spring other end locking portion 13, but the spring other end locking portion 13 is attached to both outer surfaces 121 a of the cover 121. Two spring end locking portions 12 are formed in correspondence with each spring other end locking portion 13, and two torsion coil springs 11 are respectively connected to each spring one end locking portion 12 and each spring other end. You may make it latch to the latching | locking part 13, respectively. Moreover, you may make it provide the cover latching | locking part which maintains the open state of the cover 121. FIG. As described above, when the cover 121 is in a state other than the fully open state, the cover 121 is forcibly closed. Therefore, by keeping the cover 121 locked by the cover locking portion, the open state of the cover is reliably maintained. be able to.

  The present invention can be applied not only to a cover that opens and closes by rotating, but also to a cover that opens and closes by sliding. Further, as long as it is an electronic device provided with a cover device having a cover that can be freely opened and closed, it can be applied to general electronic devices including a recording device such as a facsimile device, a copy device, and a scanner.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall appearance configuration of a recording apparatus that is an electronic apparatus including a cover opening / closing mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing an operating state of a cover opening / closing mechanism when a cover of the printer of FIG. 1 is shifted from a closed state to an open state. It is a schematic side view which shows the operation state of the cover opening / closing mechanism of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Cover opening / closing mechanism, 11 Torsion coil spring, 11a Spring one end part, 11b Spring other end part, 11c Spring main-body part, 12 Spring one end latching part, 13 Spring other end latching part, 100 Inkjet printer, 101 housing, 110 Operation , 120 Memory card slot part, 121 Cover, 121b Rotation center axis, 130 Paper feed part, 140 Paper discharge part

Claims (8)

An opening / closing mechanism of the cover that is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the apparatus main body and is maintained in a closed state or an open state by an urging means,
The cover opening and closing mechanism characterized in that the biasing means biases the cover in the closing direction whenever the cover is in a state other than the fully opened state. The cover is opened and closed by rotating with respect to the apparatus main body, and the urging means has one end locked to the apparatus main body, and the other end when the cover is open. The direction of the urging force acting by the other end of the urging means is located close to one side with respect to the neutral point passing through the rotation center point of the cover, and when the cover is in the closed state, the neutral point is The cover opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the cover opening / closing mechanism is locked to the cover so as to be remotely located on the other side. An angle on one end side of the urging means formed by the other end of the urging means when the cover is in an open state, and a straight line passing through a locking point of the other end and the rotation center point of the cover The cover opening / closing mechanism according to claim 2, wherein is an obtuse angle. 4. The cover opening / closing mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the neutral point is a position having a maximum value within a range in which the other end portion of the urging means is displaced. 5. The cover opening / closing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the biasing means is a torsion coil spring. The cover opening / closing mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the torsion coil spring is urged in an expanding direction. A cover device comprising the cover opening / closing mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6. An electronic apparatus comprising the cover device according to claim 7.

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