JP2008139603A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus 100 designed such that an image reading section 10 can be steadily used in a horizontally installed position with an image forming section 20 placed in contact with a ground and the image reading section 10 can be conveyed steadily in a vertical position. <P>SOLUTION: The image reading section 10, which is a flat bed scanner, is rotatable to the image forming section 20, and reads a document by horizontally positioning the image reading section 10. A handle member 40 is slidably attached to the bottom of the image reading section 10. By vertically positioning the image reading section 10 and pulling the handle member 40 out, the image reader 10 can be suspended and supported by the handle 41. In synchronization with the pulling out of the handle member 40, the image reading section 10 is fixed to the image forming section 20. This prevents the image reading section 10 from being moved unsteadily when being conveyed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which an image reading unit is movably connected to an image forming unit, and the image reading unit can be raised and carried from a stationary state in which the image forming unit is laid down.

  2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses for various processes and various uses that include a so-called flatbed image reading unit that can read a document placed on a reading surface have been put into practical use.

  Patent Document 1 discloses an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a reading surface is horizontal and an image reading unit is fixed to an image forming unit. Here, four grip members that are pulled out and used when the image forming apparatus is transported are arranged on the side surface of the apparatus main body. In addition, a fixing mechanism is provided for fixing the pullable paper cassette to the main body of the apparatus, and the fixing mechanism is operated in conjunction with the pulling operation of the handle member, so that the paper feeding cassette jumps out of the main body of the apparatus when it is transported. To prevent.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an image forming apparatus in which an image reading unit is assembled so as to be developed laterally with respect to an image forming unit that performs image formation by an ink jet method. Here, when the reading surface is positioned horizontally, the image reading unit whose plane area becomes large can be erected and stored compactly in the plane of a small image forming unit. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the packing form of shipping, transportation, and warehouse storage, and even after installation, the floor area can be effectively utilized by folding the image reading unit when not in use.

JP-A-8-44272 JP 2003-134285 A

  In the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, when the apparatus is moved after installation, if the hand is lifted by placing the hand in the bottom of the elongated machine body in which the image reading unit is folded, the center of gravity of the machine body becomes higher than the support position and the elongated machine body Can not be supported stably. If the airframe tilts or shakes during movement, the image reading unit may fall down and come into contact with the operator or the airframe may fall down.

  Therefore, as disclosed in Patent Document 2, it has been proposed to provide a grip member that can pull out the grip portion to the side surface of the image forming portion. However, in this case, a plurality of handle members are required, and the handle members that are taken in and out perpendicularly to the plane of the image forming unit affect the arrangement of components inside the machine body, thereby obstructing the downsizing of the machine body.

  In addition, the image reading unit (flatbed scanner) can only be disposed above the image forming unit for handling the document even though the plane area cannot be reduced due to the limitation of the document size. For this reason, with the downsizing of the image forming unit, the image forming unit is hidden under the image reading unit, and if the operation unit is arranged in the image forming unit, the operation is frustrated. Therefore, a structure has been proposed in which the operation unit is arranged in the image reading unit and stands up integrally with the image reading unit, but the operation unit is further increased in height by the operation unit, and is arranged on the side surface of the image forming unit. The handle cannot lift the aircraft stably.

  The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that can be stably used in an installation state in which the image forming unit is grounded and the image reading unit is horizontal, and can be stably transported in a state in which the image reading unit is vertical. It is aimed.

  An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an image reading unit that can read a document placed on a reading surface, and an image forming unit that is disposed below the image reading unit and forms an image on a recording material. It is. The image reading unit is movably connected to the image forming unit from a first position for reading a document to a second position where the reading surface is raised. A grip member is provided that lifts and supports the entire machine body by a grip portion that is taken upward while the image reading portion is moved to the second position.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the image reading unit reads a document placed on the reading surface in an installed state in which the image forming unit is grounded and the image reading unit is positioned at the first position. Then, in a state where the image forming unit is erected from the installed state at the first position and is positioned at the second position, a person grasps the gripping unit to lift the entire body and transport it like a suitcase or a bucket. Since the entire body is suspended and supported by the gripping part, the center of gravity of the body is lower than the support position, and even a single gripping part can be transported, and the image forming apparatus can be used while avoiding overturning of the body and unintended contact. It can be carried stably.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The image forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the limited configuration of the embodiments described below. As long as an image reading unit that is movable with respect to the image forming unit is provided, another embodiment in which a part or all of the configuration of each embodiment is replaced with the alternative configuration can be realized.

  In the first embodiment, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus will be described. However, the image forming apparatus of the present invention can use various image forming processes including an ink jet method, various printing methods, and an ink ribbon method. The image forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to a printer, and can be implemented as an image forming apparatus for various uses such as various printing machines, copiers, FAX machines, and multifunction machines.

  It should be noted that the details of the configuration and operation of each part of the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are omitted and detailed description is omitted in order to avoid repeated complications.

<First Embodiment>
1 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment in use, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment being transported, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus. . FIG. 4 is a side view of the usage state, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the transportation state.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 is an MFP (multifunction printer) in which an image reading unit 10 that is a so-called flatbed scanner is disposed above an image forming unit 20 that is a laser beam printer. A pair of bearings 15 formed integrally with the housing 12 of the image reading unit 10 and projecting downward sandwich the housing 22 of the image forming unit 20 in a direction perpendicular to the recording material conveyance direction. The bearing portion 15 is assembled so as to be rotatable about the rotation shaft 16. The image reading unit 10 is rotated with respect to the image forming unit 20 while being supported at both ends by the pair of bearing units 15.

  On the upper surface of the image reading unit 10, a document cover 11 that is opened upward by the joint unit 13 and can be opened and closed is disposed. The document cover 11 can be fixed in a closed state by an open / close fixing member (hook) 14. On the front side of the image reading unit 10, an operation panel 17 in which a liquid crystal screen and operation buttons are arranged is arranged upward.

  A recording material supply tray 24 and a recording material discharge tray 23 are mounted on the front side of the image forming unit 20 so as to be opened and opened in the front side. A recording material (P: FIG. 3) on which an image is to be formed is set in an opening formed by developing the recording material supply tray 24 forward. The recording material on which an image is formed in the image forming unit 20 is discharged onto a stacking surface (31: FIG. 3) formed by developing the recording material discharge tray 23 forward.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the recording material discharge tray 23 is rotated rearward with the image reading unit 10 tilted rearward about the rotation shaft 16, the recording material discharge tray 23 is integrated with the housing 22 to be stacked (31: The opening in FIG. 3) can be closed. When the recording material supply tray 24 is rotated rearward, the opening for setting the recording material (P: FIG. 3) can be closed.

  A handle member 40 is disposed on the bottom surface of the image reading unit 10 that is erected. The grip portion 41 of the handle member 40 is stored in a recess (19: FIG. 2) on the bottom surface at the first position where the image reading portion 10 shown in FIG. 1 is positioned horizontally. In the second state in which the image reading unit 10 is erected, the grip unit 41 is positioned above the image reading unit 10 to suspend and support the entire image forming apparatus 100.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the image reading unit 10, a document is placed on the glass plate 18 (reading surface) at a first position positioned horizontally. The read head 45 supported so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface is driven by a motor 46 and moves along the glass plate 18. The reading head 45 projects the image of the illuminated lower surface of the document onto the light receiving element array by the microlens array, and reads the line image by the light receiving element array. The reading head 45 moves in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface and reads an image on the entire lower surface of the document.

  The image forming unit 20 accommodates a cartridge 25 that is integrated into a unit including a photosensitive drum 27, a transfer roller 28, a laser light source, a polygon mirror, and the like in a replaceable manner. In addition to various power supply units (not shown) and a control circuit for controlling the image forming process, a telephone circuit for receiving FAX data is also provided.

  The image forming unit 20 records not only the image of the original surface read by the image reading unit 10 but also image data and FAX data input from an external computer or a telephone line through a communication terminal (44: FIG. 4, connection unit). An image can be formed on P.

  The recording material P set in the opening obtained by rotating the recording material supply tray 24 to the position of the broken line is separated one by one by the paper feeding unit 26 in parallel with the progress of the image forming process in the cartridge 25, and the photosensitive member. It is fed into a transfer nip between the drum 27 and the transfer roller 28.

  The cartridge 25 uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 27, scans and exposes a laser beam to form an electrostatic latent image, and supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image. The recording material P is transferred to the fixing device 29 after the toner image is transferred at the transfer nip between the photosensitive drum 27 and the transfer roller 28, and is heated and pressed by the fixing device 29 to fix the toner image. .

  The recording material P on which the toner image is fixed is discharged onto the stacking surface 31 by the paper discharge roller 30. The stacking surface 31 is formed by unfolding the recording material discharge tray 23 to the front side in a state where the image reading unit 10 is positioned at the second position shown in FIG.

  A handle member 40 is slidably attached to the bottom surface of the image reading unit 10 located on the opposite side of the glass plate 18 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. The handle member 40 connects the grip portion 41 and the fixed hook 42 together, and moves the handle member 40 in the direction along the glass plate 18. The handle member 40 is pulled upward with the image reading unit 20 positioned in the second state shown in FIG. 2, and functions as a handle when the image forming apparatus 100 is transported in a suspended state.

  As shown in FIG. 4, on the back surface of the image forming unit 20, a locking groove 43 in which a fixing hook (locking structure) 42 is slidable with the image reading unit 20 positioned in the second state shown in FIG. Is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the handle member 40 is pulled upward, the fixing hook 42 moves in the locking groove 43 and restrains the distal end portion to the upper end portion of the locking groove 43. As a result, the image reading unit 10 is fixed to the image forming unit 20 and cannot be relatively moved. At the same time, the fixing hook 42 lifts the locking groove 43 so that the handle member 40 directly suspends and supports the weight of the image forming unit 20.

  Therefore, when the image forming apparatus 100 is lifted and supported by holding the grip portion 41, a hanging load does not act on the image reading portion 10. The image reading unit 10 is supported by the image forming unit 20 via the rotation shaft 16 in the same manner as when positioned at the first position shown in FIG. As a result, the load at the time of hanging and transporting is reduced, so that the image reading unit 10 that has many hollow portions and is difficult to reinforce can be configured to be lightweight, and the gripping unit 41 with reduced load resistance can be reduced in weight. The carrying work performed with 41 is further facilitated.

  A communication terminal in which a communication cable or a telephone line is connected to the rear position (side surface portion) of the image forming unit 20 that does not contact the image reading unit 10 with the image reading unit 10 positioned at the second position shown in FIG. 44 is arranged.

  Therefore, the image forming apparatus 100 can also be used as a FAX receiver or a printer by positioning the image reading unit 10 at the second position with the communication cable or telephone line connected to the communication terminal 44. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the recording material supply tray 24 and the recording material discharge tray 23 are developed to the front side. Thus, the communication terminal 44 connected to an external device such as a computer is provided, and the external device can use the image forming unit 20 even when the image reading unit 10 is in the second position. Even when the image reading unit 10 is in the vertical position, the external device can use the image forming unit 20, so that the printer function can be used in the stored state, and user convenience is improved.

<Comparison with the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2>
The image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 is premised on a wall hanging apparatus that uses an apparatus main body fixed to a wall surface or the like. However, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment is a portable device that normally uses the image reading unit 10 in a horizontal position and reduces the storage space by storing the image reading unit 10 in a vertical position when stored.

  The image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment includes a rotation shaft 16 that moves the image reading unit 10 to a first position parallel to the horizontal plane and a second position substantially perpendicular to the horizontal plane. When the image reading unit 10 is in the first position, the image forming unit 20 is disposed below the center of gravity of the image reading unit 10. A handle member 40 for carrying the entire image forming apparatus 100 is provided, and when the image reading unit 10 is in the second position, the image reading unit 10 is fixed at the second position by setting the handle member 40 to the use state. The The handle member 40 is provided at the upper end of the image reading unit 10 with the image reading unit 10 in the second position.

  The image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 has no support below the image reading unit in a state where the image reading unit is in a horizontal position. For example, when reading a thick book, the apparatus main body may fall down. . When the image reading unit is in the horizontal position, the installation state is more unstable than when the image forming unit is stored in the vertical position.

  However, in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3, with the image reading unit 10 positioned at the first position, the image reading unit 10 is located immediately above the center of the ground contact area of the image forming unit 20. The center of gravity is located. In the state in which the image reading unit 10 is positioned at the first position, the center of gravity of the image reading unit 10 is brought closer to the center of the ground contact region than in the case where the image reading unit 10 is positioned at the second position, thereby increasing stability. The grounding area is actually a rectangle connecting rubber feet (not shown) arranged at the four corners.

  Therefore, the image forming apparatus 100 does not fall over even if a heavy original book is placed on the glass plate 18. Even when the operation button of the operation panel 17 protruding to the front side is operated, the image forming apparatus 100 does not fall down.

  In the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the image reading unit and the image forming unit are not fixed in a state where the image reading unit is in the vertical position, the image reading unit and the image reading unit are unintentionally transported. There is a possibility that the image forming unit moves and the conveyance state becomes unstable.

  However, in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, since the fixing hook 42 of the handle member 40 fixes the image reading unit 10 to the image forming unit 20, the conveyance state is extremely stable. Therefore, it can be used in a stable state, and can be transported and stored more safely. Accordingly, the image reading unit 10 can be stably transported in a vertical state, and when the image reading unit 10 is in a horizontal position, the image forming unit 20 is disposed below the center of gravity of the image reading unit 10, Can be used in a stable state. Further, when the image reading unit 10 is in the transporting / accommodating state in the vertical position, the image reading unit 10 is fixed at the vertical position and can be safely transported / stored.

  During transportation, the document cover 11 is fixed in the closed state by the opening / closing fixing member (hook) 14 shown in FIG. 1, so that the document cover 11 is not opened during transportation. In the state where the image reading unit 20 is positioned at the first position shown in FIG. 1, the gripping unit 41 is not conspicuous because it is stored in the plane of the image reading unit 10, and does not increase the installation area of the image forming apparatus 100. .

<Second Embodiment>
In the second embodiment, the shape and attachment position of the handle member 40 of the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 are changed. That is, the handle member 40 is not disposed in the image reading unit 10, and the handle member is provided on the upper surface of the image forming unit 20 exposed to the front side of the image reading unit 10 with the image reading unit 10 positioned at the second position. It is done.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the handle member is a U-shaped member supported at both ends in the shape of a bucket handle by the rotating shaft 16, and a portion beyond the rotating shaft 16 is slightly extended. Thus, the side surface of the housing 22 is reached. Further, a groove is provided on the side surface of the housing 22 and the side surface of the bearing portion 15 at a position indicated by a broken line 15M in FIG. 2 so that the side portion of the handle member rotated in the vertical direction falls.

  Accordingly, when the handle member is set to the use state with the image reading unit 10 positioned at the second position, the side portion of the handle member falls into the groove, and the image reading apparatus 10 is fixed to the image forming unit 20.

<Third Embodiment>
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a fixing mechanism in the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, the handle member 40 in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment is not provided with the fixing hook 42, and the image reading apparatus 10 is linked to the storing operation of the recording material discharge tray 23. And a fixing mechanism for fixing to. Since the other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment, common components are denoted by common reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the recording material discharge tray 23 is closed with the image reading unit 10 positioned at the second position, the actuator 51 disposed in the image forming unit 20 is pushed, and the pin 52 at the leading end is a bearing. It moves to a position that prevents free rotation of the part 15. In a state where the actuator 51 is not pushed, the pin 52 is guided by the arc portion 53 a of the guide groove 53 formed in the bearing portion 15 and does not obstruct the rotation of the bearing portion 15. When the actuator 51 is pushed, the pin 52 enters the linear portion 53b of the guide groove 53 and prevents the bearing portion 15 from freely rotating.

  Therefore, when the recording material discharge tray 23 is closed with the image reading unit 10 positioned at the second position, the image reading unit 10 is fixed at the second position where the image forming unit 20 is kept upright. As a result, when the image forming apparatus 200 is transported with the grip 41, the image reading unit 10 does not wobble and is stable.

<Fourth embodiment>
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a fixing mechanism in the image forming apparatus of the fourth embodiment. The image forming apparatus 300 according to the fourth embodiment diverts the fixing mechanism in the image forming apparatus 200 according to the third embodiment to the recording material supply tray 24 as it is. That is, the image reading apparatus 10 is fixed to the image forming unit 20 in conjunction with the storing operation of the recording material supply tray 24.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the recording material supply tray 24 is closed with the image reading unit 10 positioned at the second position, the actuator 51 disposed in the image forming unit 20 is pushed, and the pin 52 at the leading end is a bearing. It moves to a position that prevents free rotation of the part 15. In a state where the actuator 51 is not pushed, the pin 52 is guided by the arc portion 53 a of the guide groove 53 formed in the bearing portion 15 and does not obstruct the rotation of the bearing portion 15. When the actuator 51 is pushed, the pin 52 enters the linear portion 53b of the guide groove 53 and prevents the bearing portion 15 from freely rotating.

  Accordingly, when the recording material supply tray 24 is closed with the image reading unit 10 positioned at the second position, the image reading unit 10 is fixed at the second position where the image forming unit 20 is kept upright. As a result, when the image forming apparatus 300 is transported with the grip 41, the image reading unit 10 does not wobble and is stable.

<Correspondence with Invention>
The image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment includes an image reading unit 10 that can read a document placed on a glass plate 18 and an image forming unit that is disposed below the image reading unit 10 and forms an image on a recording material P. Part 20. The image reading unit 10 is movably connected to the image forming unit 20 from a first position for reading a document to a second position where the glass plate 18 is raised. A grip member 40 is provided that lifts and supports the entire machine body by a grip portion 41 that is stored at the first position and is taken out upward at the second position.

  In the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment, the center of gravity of the body of the image forming unit 20 continues to be located in the ground contact area of the image forming unit 20 through the process of moving the image reading unit 10 from the first position to the second position. The center of gravity of the body at the first position is closer to the center of the ground contact area of the image forming unit 20 than the center of gravity of the body at the second position.

  The image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment includes a fixing hook 42 and a locking groove 43 that fix the image reading unit 10 to the image forming unit 20 in a state where the image reading unit 10 is moved to the second position. The fixing hook 42 and the locking groove 43 fix the image reading unit 10 in conjunction with the take-up of the handle member 40 upward.

  In the first embodiment, the handle member 40 is attached to the surface of the image reading unit 10 opposite to the glass plate 18 and moves in a direction along the glass plate 18. The handle member 40 is housed within the contour of the image reading unit 10 at the first position. The handle member 40 has a fixing hook 42 that directly supports the weight of the image forming unit 20 in a state where the entire body is lifted and supported by the grip unit 41.

  In the second embodiment, the handle member is positioned below the image reading unit 10 at the first position, and is taken out to the upper surface of the image forming unit 20 positioned on the near side of the image reading unit 10 at the second position.

  The image forming apparatus 300 according to the fourth embodiment includes the recording material supply tray 24 that can be stored in the outline of the image forming unit 20 and the image reading unit 10 in the state where the image reading unit 10 is moved to the second position. A pin 52 and a guide groove 53 are provided to fix the image reading unit 10 to the image forming unit 20 in a state of being moved to the second position. The pin 52 and the guide groove 53 fix the image reading unit 10 in conjunction with the storing operation of the recording material supply tray 24.

  The image forming apparatus 200 according to the third embodiment includes the recording material discharge tray 23 that can be stored in the outline of the image forming unit 20 and the image reading unit 10 in the state where the image reading unit 10 is moved to the second position. A pin 52 and a guide groove 53 are provided to fix the image reading unit 10 to the image forming unit 20 in a state of being moved to the second position. The pin 52 and the guide groove 53 fix the image reading unit 10 in conjunction with the storing operation of the recording material discharge tray member 23.

  The image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment includes a communication terminal 44 that connects communication wiring to an external device on the back surface portion of the image forming unit 20 that is not buffered in the image reading unit 10 at both the first position and the second position. Arranged.

  The grip member 40 of the image forming apparatus 100 of the first embodiment can take out the grip portion 41 to the highest position when the image reading unit 10 is moved to the second position.

  The image reading unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment includes a pair of bearing units 15 that sandwich the image forming unit 20 in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording material P, and the pair of bearing units 15 includes an image. The reading unit 10 is rotated in a both-end holding state.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment in use. It is a perspective view of the conveyance state of the image forming apparatus of 1st Embodiment. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus. FIG. It is a side view of a use state. It is a side view of a conveyance state. It is explanatory drawing of the fixing mechanism in the image forming apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the fixing mechanism in the image forming apparatus of 4th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image reading part 15 Bearing part 16 Rotating shaft 18 Reading surface (glass plate)
20 Image forming unit 23 Recording material discharge tray member (recording material discharge tray)
24 recording material supply tray member (recording material supply tray)
40 grip member 41 gripping portion 42, 43, 52, 53 locking structure, fixing mechanism (fixing hook, locking groove, pin, guide groove)
44 Connection (communication terminal)
100, 200, 300 Image forming apparatus P Recording material

Claims (10)

An image reading unit capable of reading a document placed on a reading surface;
An image forming unit that is disposed below the image reading unit and forms an image on a recording material,
In the image forming apparatus movably connected to the image forming unit from a first position for reading a document to a second position where the reading surface is raised,
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a grip member that lifts and supports the entire machine body by a grip portion that is taken upward while the image reading portion is moved to the second position. Through the process of moving the image reading unit from the first position to the second position, the center of gravity of the body continues to be located in the ground contact area of the image forming unit, and
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the center of gravity of the machine body at the first position is closer to the center of the ground contact area than the center of gravity of the machine body at the second position. A fixing mechanism for fixing the image reading unit to the image forming unit in a state where the image reading unit is moved to the second position;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixing mechanism fixes the image reading unit in conjunction with the take-up of the handle member upward. The handle member is attached to a surface opposite to the reading surface of the image reading unit and moves in a direction along the reading surface;
The handle member is accommodated in the outline of the image reading unit in the first position,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the grip member has a locking structure that directly supports the weight of the image forming unit in a state where the entire body is lifted and supported by the grip unit.   The grip member is positioned below the image reading unit in the first position, and is taken out to an upper surface portion of the image forming unit positioned on the near side of the image reading unit in the second position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3. A recording material supply tray member that can be stored within the contour of the image forming unit in a state where the image reading unit is moved to the second position;
A fixing mechanism for fixing the image reading unit to the image forming unit in a state where the image reading unit is moved to the second position;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the fixing mechanism fixes the image reading unit in conjunction with a storing operation of the recording material supply tray member. A recording material discharge tray member that can be stored in the contour of the image forming unit in a state where the image reading unit is moved to the second position;
A fixing mechanism for fixing the image reading unit to the image forming unit in a state where the image reading unit is moved to the second position;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the fixing mechanism fixes the image reading unit in conjunction with a storing operation of the recording material discharge tray member.   2. A connection unit for connecting communication wiring to an external device is disposed on a side surface portion of the image forming unit that is not buffered in the image reading unit at both the first position and the second position. 8. The image forming apparatus according to any one of 7 to 7.   8. The image formation according to claim 1, wherein the grip member is capable of taking out a grip portion to a position that is highest when the image reading portion is moved to the second position. apparatus. The image reading unit has a pair of bearings that sandwich the image forming unit in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the recording material,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pair of bearing units rotate the image reading unit in a both-end holding state.

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