JP2010039391A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a user and an opening/closing cover from contacting a movable operation panel during the user's operation in an image forming device equipped with the movable operation panel. <P>SOLUTION: An operation panel is equipped with: an opening/closing cover 18 for exposing a paper conveying mechanism 11 and the inside of the paper conveying mechanism 11; on operation panel 20 including at least one of the functions of operation acceptance and device information display, and movable in a region including an interference region that interferes with at least either the region where the opening/closing cover 18 is movable or the region above that region; a lock mechanism 50 for regulating and locking the opening/closing movement of the opening/closing cover 18; a panel position detection part 40 for detecting the position of the operation panel 20; and a control part 100 for causing the locking mechanism 50 to lock the opening/closing cover 18 in a closed state when the position of the operation panel 20 detected by the panel position detection part 40 is in the interference region. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a movable operation panel.

In conventional image forming devices, when a large document that exceeds the scanning size is placed on the platen and scanned, the document that protrudes from the platen is covered on the operation panel, eliminating the difficulty of operation. In order to do this, a movable operation panel is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-143346 A

  However, when the operation panel is movable, a new problem occurs. For example, depending on the position of the operation panel, when opening / closing covers at necessary places for jam clearing operation and exposing the paper transport mechanism and the paper transport mechanism inside to remove the paper causing the jam, The operation panel may be located at a position that interferes with the user's head or the movable range of the opening / closing cover, which may hinder the user's operation.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems of a conventional image forming apparatus having a movable operation panel. The user can operate the opening / closing cover and the movable operation panel. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing contact with the image forming apparatus.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a paper transport mechanism, an open / close cover that is opened and closed to expose the inside of the paper transport mechanism, and an operation panel that includes at least one of an operation reception function and a device information display function. An operation panel movable in an area including an interference area that interferes with at least one of the movable area of the opening / closing cover or the area above the movable area, a lock mechanism that restricts and locks the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing cover, and the operation panel A panel position detection unit that detects the position of the operation panel; and a control unit that causes the lock mechanism to lock the open / close cover in a closed state when the position of the operation panel detected by the panel position detection unit is in the interference region; (Claim 1).

  According to this configuration, when the position of the operation panel detected by the panel position detection unit is in the interference region, the control unit causes the lock mechanism to lock the open / close cover in a closed state. Therefore, when the position of the operation panel detected by the panel position detection unit is in the interference area, even if the user tries to expose the paper transport mechanism and the interior of the paper transport mechanism for a jam clearing operation or the like. Since the open / close cover cannot be opened, the user cannot perform an operation such as a jam clearing operation. Therefore, when the position of the movable operation panel is in a position that hinders the user's operation, the opening / closing cover and the user can move the movable cover when the user operates. It is possible to prevent contact with the type operation panel.

  In the above configuration, when the opening / closing cover is locked and the panel position detection unit detects that the position of the operation panel has been moved out of the interference area, the control unit is connected to the lock mechanism. It is desirable to release the lock of the opening / closing cover.

  According to this configuration, even when the user cannot open the opening / closing cover because the position of the operation panel is in the interference area, the user moves the position of the operation panel out of the interference area, so that the user can It is possible to perform an operation such as a jam clearing operation by opening the opening / closing cover.

  In the above-described configuration, the information processing apparatus further includes a notification unit that notifies a user whether or not the opening / closing cover is locked, and the opening / closing cover is locked when the control unit causes the locking mechanism to lock the opening / closing cover. It is desirable that the control unit alerts the user to the warning that the user is informed (Claim 3).

  According to this configuration, when the opening / closing cover is locked because the position of the operation panel is in the interference area, the user can know from the warning that the opening / closing cover is locked. Therefore, the user can change the position of the operation panel in advance to release the lock, thereby opening the opening / closing cover and performing operations such as a jam clearing operation.

  The above configuration further includes a jam detection unit that detects the occurrence of a jam and the occurrence position of the jam, and the control unit detects the occurrence of the jam and the occurrence position of the jam when the jam detection unit detects the occurrence of the jam. It is determined whether or not the jam occurrence position is a position where the opening / closing cover needs to be opened in order to eliminate the jam, and the jam generation position needs to be opened in order to eliminate the jam. When the position of the operation panel detected by the panel position detection unit is in the interference area with respect to the movable area of the opening / closing cover when the position is determined, the opening / closing cover is locked in the closed state by the lock mechanism. (Claim 4).

  According to this configuration, a jam occurs, the jam occurrence position is at a position where the opening / closing cover needs to be opened for the jam clearing operation, and the position of the operation panel is relative to the movable area of the opening / closing cover. The opening / closing cover is locked in the closed state only when it is in the interference area. In this case, even if the user tries to expose the paper transport mechanism and the inside of the paper transport mechanism for the jam clearing operation, the user cannot perform the jam clearing operation because the opening / closing cover cannot be opened. Therefore, when jamming occurs, when the position of the movable operation panel is in a position that hinders the user's jam clearing operation, the jam clearing operation that can be performed only by opening the opening / closing cover is restricted. It is possible to prevent the opening / closing cover and the user from coming into contact with the movable operation panel.

  In the above configuration, when the open / close cover is locked when a jam occurs, the control unit warns the user that the jam clearing operation cannot be performed because the open / close cover is locked. (Claim 5).

  According to this configuration, when the user cannot open the opening / closing cover and perform the jam clearing operation because the position of the operation panel is in the interference area, the user can know that fact by the warning. Therefore, the user can change the position of the operation panel in advance and release the lock, thereby opening the open / close cover and performing a jam clearing operation.

  The said structure WHEREIN: The said alerting | reporting part can be made to alert | report a warning of the said warning content to a user (Claim 6).

  According to this configuration, when the user opens the open / close panel and performs an operation such as a jam clearing operation, the user knows that the open / close cover is locked before checking the device information display. Can do. Therefore, the user can change the position of the operation panel in advance to release the lock.

  In the above-described configuration, the notification unit can cause the user to warn the warning content with visual information.

  According to this configuration, when the user knows in the device information display by visual information that the opening / closing panel needs to be opened for jam clearance operation or the like when the opening / closing cover is locked, You can also know at the same time that the open / close cover is locked. Therefore, the user can change the position of the operation panel in advance to release the lock.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, when the position of the operation panel is in the interference area, even if the user tries to expose the inside of the paper transport mechanism and the paper transport mechanism for jam clearance operation or the like, Since the opening / closing cover cannot be opened, the user is restricted from performing operations such as jam clearing operations that cannot be performed unless the opening / closing cover is opened. Therefore, the opening / closing cover and the user can be prevented from coming into contact with the operation panel. Therefore, the possibility that the movable operation panel is damaged can be reduced.

<Embodiment 1>
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front sectional view for explaining the internal structure. 1 and 2, the XX direction is referred to as the left-right direction, and the Y-Y direction is referred to as the front-rear direction. In particular, the -X direction is leftward, the + X direction is rightward, the -Y direction is frontward, and the + Y direction is rearward. That's it.

  The image forming apparatus 1 is used as a copying machine for color printing. As shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 1, an apparatus main body 10 having a box shape and an original image provided on the upper part of the apparatus main body 10 are displayed. The basic configuration includes an image reading unit 16 to be read and an operation panel 20 for inputting various conditions for image forming processing and displaying device information.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus main body 10 has an image forming unit 12 that forms an image based on image information of a document read by the image reading unit 16, and is formed on the paper P by the image forming unit 12. A fixing unit 13 that performs a fixing process on the transferred image and a sheet storage unit 14 that stores a transfer sheet are provided. The paper is transported to each unit in the apparatus main body 10 by a paper transport mechanism 11.

  As shown in the functional block diagram of FIG. 4, the image forming apparatus 1 further includes a jam detection unit 30, a lock mechanism 40, an operation panel position detection unit 50, and a control unit 100.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image reading unit 16 is disposed so as to face the document retainer 161 via the contact glass 163 in the upper housing of the apparatus main body 10 and the document retainer 161 provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 10 so as to be opened and closed. The optical system unit 162 is provided. The contact glass 163 is dimensioned to a planar shape slightly smaller than the document presser 161 in order to read the document surface of the placed document. The document presser 161 opens and closes by rotating forward and backward about a predetermined axis provided on one side of the upper surface of the housing, which is one component of the image reading unit 16.

  The optical system unit 162 includes a light source (not shown), a plurality of mirrors, a lens unit, a CCD (charge coupled device), and the like. The light from the light source is reflected by the original surface, and the reflected light is input to the CCD as original information through the mirror and the lens unit. Document information as an analog amount input to the CCD is converted into a digital signal and stored in a predetermined storage device.

  The paper transport mechanism 11 includes a paper transport path 111, a pickup roller 112, a transport roller pair 113, and a paper discharge transport path 114.

  The paper transport path 111 and the paper discharge transport path 114 are paths through which the paper P is transported. The conveyance roller pair 113 is a roller pair provided at an appropriate position on the paper conveyance path 111 and the paper discharge conveyance path 114. The paper P is transported through the paper transport path 111 and the paper discharge transport path 114 by driving the transport roller pair 113.

  The pickup roller 112 is a roller for feeding out the paper P one by one from the paper bundle stored in the paper tray 141. The paper P fed out from the paper tray 141 is conveyed to the image forming unit 12 by driving the conveyance roller pair 113.

  The image forming unit 12 forms a toner image on the paper fed from the paper storage unit 14, and in this embodiment, the image forming unit 12 is sequentially arranged from the upstream side (left side of the paper surface in FIG. 2) to the downstream side. The magenta unit 12M, the cyan unit 12C, the yellow unit 12Y, and the black unit 12K are provided.

  Each unit 12M, 12C, 12Y, 12K is provided with a photosensitive drum 121 and a developing device 122, respectively. Each photosensitive drum 121 receives supply of toner from a corresponding developing device 122 while rotating counterclockwise in FIG. Each developing device 122 is supplied with toner from a toner container (not shown).

  A charger 123 is provided at a position immediately above each photosensitive drum 121. An exposure device 124 is provided for each unit above the charger 123 and the developing device 122. Each photosensitive drum 121 is charged uniformly by the charger 123. Then, each photosensitive drum is irradiated with laser light corresponding to each color based on the image data input by the image reading unit 16 from each exposure device 124 to the peripheral surface of each charged photosensitive drum 121. An electrostatic latent image is formed on each of the peripheral surfaces 121.

  By supplying each color toner from the developing device 122 to the electrostatic latent image, a toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121.

  A transfer belt 125 is provided at a position below the photoconductive drum 121 so as to come into contact with the peripheral surface of each photoconductive drum 121. The transfer belt 125 includes a driving roller 125a, a driven roller 125b, a secondary transfer counter roller 125c, and a transfer belt 125 stretched between other necessary rollers. The transfer belt 125 is driven by a drive roller 125 a while being synchronized with each photosensitive drum 121 while being pressed against the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 121 by a primary transfer roller 126 provided corresponding to each photosensitive drum 121. Circulate between the rollers 125b.

  As the transfer belt 125 circulates, the magenta toner image is transferred onto the surface thereof by the photosensitive drum 121 of the magenta unit 12M, and then the photosensitive drum 121 of the cyan unit 12C is placed at the same position on the transfer belt 125. Then, the cyan toner image is transferred in the overcoating state, and then the yellow toner image is transferred in the overcoating state to the same position on the transfer belt 125 by the photosensitive drum 121 of the yellow unit 12Y. The transfer of the black toner image by the photosensitive drum 121 of the unit 12 </ b> K is performed in an overcoated state, whereby a color toner image is formed on the surface of the transfer belt 125. The color toner image formed on the surface of the transfer belt 125 is transferred to the paper P conveyed from the paper storage unit 14.

  A cleaning device 127 that removes and cleans residual toner on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 is provided at a right position in FIG. 2 of each photosensitive drum 121. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 cleaned by the cleaning device 127 is directed to the charger 123 for a new charging process.

  Waste toner removed from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 by the cleaning device 127 is collected in a toner collection bottle (not shown) through a predetermined path.

  A paper transport path 111 is formed from the right position of the paper storage unit 14 to the lower part of the image forming unit 12. The paper P fed out from the paper storage unit 14 is transported toward the lower position of the transfer belt 125 by driving the transport roller pair 113. A secondary transfer roller 125 d that is in contact with the surface of the transfer belt 125 is provided at a position facing the secondary transfer counter roller 125 c in the paper conveyance path 111. The toner image on the transfer belt 125 is transferred to the sheet P by the sheet P being conveyed through the sheet conveyance path 111 being pressed and sandwiched between the transfer belt 125 and the secondary transfer roller 125d.

  The fixing unit 13 performs a fixing process on the toner image on the paper transferred by the image forming unit 12. The fixing unit 13 includes a heating roller 131 that includes an energization heating element such as a halogen lamp that is a heating source, a fixing roller 132 that is disposed to face the heating roller 131, and a tension roller 132 that is stretched between the fixing roller 132 and the heating roller 131. The fixing belt 133 and the pressure roller 134 disposed to face the fixing roller 132 through the fixing belt 133 are provided. The transferred paper P is pressed and nipped while being heated at the nip portion between the fixing belt 133 and the pressure roller 134, whereby the toner image on the paper P is fixed, and the stable color on the paper P is obtained. An image is formed.

  The paper P with the color image for which the fixing process has been completed passes through a paper discharge conveyance path 114 extending from the upper part of the fixing unit 13 and is discharged toward a paper discharge tray 115 provided on the left side wall of the apparatus main body 10. Will be.

  The sheet storage unit 14 includes a sheet tray 141 for storing a bundle of sheets P that are detachably attached to the lower part of the apparatus main body 10. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper tray 141 is provided in two stages. However, the number of stages may be three or more, or may be one.

  The sheet P is fed out from the sheet bundle stored in the sheet tray 141 one by one by driving the pickup roller 112. The fed paper P is sent to the nip portion between the secondary transfer roller 125 d of the image forming unit 12 and the transfer belt 125 through the paper conveyance path 111, and is formed on the surface of the transfer belt 125. A color toner image is transferred. The movement of the paper P after the transfer process is as described above.

  An opening / closing cover 18 is provided on the right side surface of the apparatus body 10. The opening / closing cover 18 is a cover that is opened to expose the inside of the paper transport mechanism 11 and the paper transport mechanism 11. When a jam occurs in the paper transport mechanism 11, the jammed paper P can be exposed to the outside by opening the opening / closing cover 18, and the paper P can be removed.

  The occurrence of a jam in the paper transport mechanism 11 and the jam occurrence position are detected by a jam detection unit 30 (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the operation panel 20 is installed on the upper right front portion of the apparatus main body 10 while being supported by a support arm 21.

  FIG. 3 is a three-side view for explaining details of the operation panel 20 and the support arm 21. The support arm 21 includes a first arm 211 and a second arm 212. The first arm 211 protrudes upward from the right front portion of the upper surface of the apparatus body 10 and is rotatable about an axis. One end of the second arm 212 is coupled to the upper end of the first arm 211 via the first joint 213, and the other end projects forward to form a joint with the operation panel 20. The second arm 212 is movable up and down with the first joint 213 as a fulcrum.

  The operation panel 20 is coupled to the second arm 212 via the second joint 214, and is rotatable up, down, left and right with the second joint as a fulcrum.

  The position of the operation panel 20 is detected by the panel position detector 40 (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2) by detecting the rotation angle of the first arm 211. When the operation panel 20 is positioned above the opening / closing cover 18, the opening / closing cover 18 is locked in a closed state by a lock mechanism 50 (not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2).

  On the operation surface of the operation panel 20, a display panel 201 is provided on the left side, and numeric keys 202 are arranged on the right side of the display panel 201. A start button 203 is provided on the right side of the numeric keypad 202.

  The display panel 201 is, for example, a touch panel type LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays various input information and output information, and inputs a selected one of the displayed processing conditions by a touch-in operation. Is. In this embodiment, when the opening / closing cover 18 is locked in the closed state, a warning to the user that the opening / closing cover 18 is locked in the closed state is displayed, and when a jam occurs, a jam occurs. It also functions as a notification unit that displays a warning to the user that there is.

  Note that, unlike the second embodiment described later, in this embodiment, a warning based on visual information displayed on the display panel 201 may be used instead of a voice warning. This is because there is no problem in printing even when the open / close cover 18 is locked in the closed state, and a voice warning that the open / close cover 18 is locked in the closed state is part of the normal operation of the user. This is because the user's work may be hindered.

  A numeric keypad 202 is mainly for setting quantity information such as the number of copies. The start button 203 is pressed in a state where various processing conditions for the image forming apparatus 1 are set. By pressing the start button 203, an image forming process according to the set processing conditions is executed.

  In addition to the display panel 201, the numeric keypad 202, and the start button 203, the operation panel 20 is provided with various keys and buttons as necessary.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a paper transport mechanism 11, an image forming unit 12, a fixing unit 13, a paper storage unit 14, an image reading unit 16, an open / close cover 18, an operation panel 20, a jam detection unit 30, a panel position detection unit 40, a lock. A mechanism 50 and a control unit 100 are provided. In addition, about the demonstrated structure illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, description is abbreviate | omitted unless it is required.

  The control unit 100 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, and performs overall control of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The jam detection unit 30 includes, for example, an optical sensor and the like, determines the presence or absence of the paper P by reading the intensity of the reflected light, and determines that the jam is caused when the residence time of the paper P exceeds a predetermined value. To detect jams. By installing a plurality of the optical sensors in the paper conveyance path 111, for example, in the vicinity of the pickup roller 112 and the conveyance roller pair 113, it is possible to detect the jam occurrence position.

  The panel position detection unit 40 detects the position of the operation panel 20 by detecting the rotation angle of the first arm 211. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the panel position detection unit 40. 5A is a top view of the image forming apparatus 1, and FIG. 5B is a configuration of the panel position detection unit 40, and the operation panel 20 is located in an area outside the movable area of the opening / closing cover 18. FIG. 5C is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the panel position detection unit 40 in the case, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the panel position detection unit 40. FIG. In FIG. 5, the first joint 213 is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 5B, the panel position detection unit 40 includes a switch 400 and a disc 404 with a claw.

  The switch 400 is, for example, a hinge / lever type switch, and includes a switch body 401, a lever 402 protruding from the switch body, and a hinge 403 that rotatably fixes the lever 402 and serves as a support shaft for the rotation of the lever 403. .

  The disc 404 with claws is fixedly and coaxially attached to the base portion where the first arm 211 is embedded in the apparatus main body 10, coaxially with the first arm 211. That is, the claw-equipped disc 404 rotates integrally with the first arm 211.

  When the operation panel 20 is located outside the interference area (the position a in FIG. 5A indicated by a broken line), the claw-equipped disk 404 and the lever 402 do not contact each other as shown in FIG. 5B. That is, since the lever 402 is not pushed, the switch 400 is in an off state.

  On the other hand, when the operation panel 20 is moved counterclockwise around the first arm 211 and the operation panel 20 is located in the interference area (position b in FIG. 5A shown by a solid line), FIG. As shown in (C), the lever 402 is pushed in by the disc 404 with claws. That is, the switch 400 is turned on.

  When the switch 400 is turned on, the panel position detection unit 40 determines that the operation panel 20 is located in the interference area. In this case, the control unit 100 causes the lock 50 to lock the open / close cover 18 in the closed state.

  From this state, when the operation panel 20 is moved clockwise around the first arm 211 and returned to the outside of the interference area (position a in FIG. 5A), the switch 400 Is turned off.

  When the switch 400 is turned off, the panel position detection unit 40 determines that the operation panel 20 is located outside the interference area. In this case, the control unit 100 causes the lock 50 to unlock the opening / closing cover 18.

  The lock mechanism 50 includes, for example, an electromagnetic lock, and locks the open / close cover 18 in a closed state according to a command from the control unit 100.

  The operation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described below based on the flowchart of FIG. When the image forming apparatus 1 is activated, the panel position detection unit 40 detects the position of the operation panel 20 (step S1).

  If the operation panel 20 is in the interference area (YES in step S1), the control unit 100 causes the lock mechanism 50 to lock the open / close cover 18 in the closed state (step S2). At this time, a warning that the open / close cover 18 is locked is displayed on the display panel 201 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 100 (step S3).

  When the user responds to a warning that the opening / closing cover 18 is locked and the user moves the operation panel 20 out of the interference area (YES in step S4), the control unit 100 displays the opening / closing cover on the lock 50. 18 is released, and the warning display on the display panel 201 is also hidden (step S5). Each time the operation panel 20 is moved to the interference area and returned to the outside of the interference area, the above steps S1 to S5 are repeated.

<Embodiment 2>
As shown in FIG. 7, it is desirable that the image forming apparatus 1 further includes a speaker 60 (notification unit) in the present embodiment. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, when the operation panel 20 is located in the interference area, the open / close cover 18 is locked in the closed state regardless of the presence or absence of a jam. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, a jam occurs, the jam occurrence position is at a position where the opening / closing cover 18 needs to be opened for the jam clearing operation, and the position of the operation panel 20 is relative to the movable region of the opening / closing cover 18. Therefore, only in the interference region, the opening / closing cover 18 is locked in the closed state, which is different from the first embodiment.

  Hereinafter, this embodiment will be described. In addition, about the point which is not different from Embodiment 1, description is abbreviate | omitted unless it is required.

  In the first embodiment, when the switch 400 is turned on and the panel position detection unit 40 determines that the operation panel 20 is located in the interference area, the control unit 100 causes the lock 50 to lock the open / close cover 18 in the closed state, and the switch When the panel position detection unit 40 determines that the operation panel 20 is positioned outside the interference area, the control unit 100 causes the lock 50 to unlock the opening / closing cover 18.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the control unit 100 interlocks the jam detection unit 30, the panel position detection unit 40, and the lock mechanism 50 as follows.

  When the jam detection unit 30 detects the occurrence of a jam and the position where the jam occurs, the control unit 100 determines whether the jam generation position is a position where the opening / closing cover 18 needs to be opened to eliminate the jam. Judge whether or not.

  When the control unit 100 determines that the jam generation position is a position where the opening / closing cover 18 needs to be opened to eliminate the jam, the position of the operation panel 20 detected by the panel position detection unit 40 is opened / closed. When in the interference region with respect to the movable region of the cover 18 (position b in FIG. 5A), the control unit 100 causes the lock mechanism 50 to lock the open / close cover 18 in the closed state.

  The speaker 60 is installed, for example, inside the apparatus main body 10. When the opening / closing cover 18 is locked when a jam occurs as described above, the speaker 60 notifies the user that the jam processing cannot be performed because the opening / closing cover 18 is locked. A warning is output by voice.

  The operation of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described below based on the flowchart of FIG. When printing is started, the jam detection unit 30 monitors whether or not a jam has occurred (step S101).

  If a jam has occurred (YES in step S101), the control unit 100 causes the display panel 201 to display to notify the user of the jam (step S102).

  If the jam does not occur (NO in step S101), the paper P with the color image for which the fixing process has been completed is discharged from the paper discharge tray 115, and the printing ends (step S111).

  When the process proceeds to step S102, the control unit 100 determines whether or not the jam occurrence position specified by the jam detection unit 30 is a position where the opening / closing cover 18 needs to be opened to eliminate the jam (step S102). S103). For the determination, the control unit 100 stores, for each cover such as the opening / closing cover 18, the relationship between the jam occurrence position and the position where the cover needs to be opened for the jam clearing operation.

  When the control unit 100 determines that the jam occurrence position is at a position where the jam clearing operation can be performed by opening the open / close panel 18 (YES in step S103), the panel position detection unit 40 determines that the operation panel 20 Is detected (step S104).

  If the operation panel 20 is in the interference area (YES in step S104), the control unit 100 causes the lock mechanism 50 to lock the open / close cover 18 in the closed state (step S105), and the speaker 60 includes the open / close cover 18 in the closed state. A warning to the user that the jam clearing operation cannot be performed because it is locked is output by voice (step S106). If the operation panel 20 is not in the interference area (NO in step S104), the process proceeds to step S109.

  When the user responds to a voice warning that the jam clearing operation cannot be performed because the opening / closing cover 18 is locked, and the user moves the operation panel 20 out of the interference area (YES in step S107), the control unit 100 causes the lock mechanism 50 to unlock the open / close cover 18 and stops the sound warning of the speaker 60 (step S108).

  When the user opens the opening / closing cover 18 to remove the jammed paper and the jam is resolved (YES in step S109), the control unit 100 displays the display panel informing the user that the jam has occurred. 201 is instructed (step S110). Then, printing is resumed, and the paper P with the color image for which the fixing process has been completed is discharged from the paper discharge tray 115, and the printing ends (step S111). When printing is completed, the process returns to step S101 and the image forming apparatus 1 enters a standby state.

  The image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the following modified embodiment can be taken.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the opening / closing cover 18 is provided on the right side surface. However, the opening / closing cover 18 may be provided on the front surface according to the position of the paper transport mechanism 11. In this case, panel position detection unit 40 determines that operation panel 20 is located outside the interference area when switch 400 is on, and determines that operation panel 20 is located in the interference area when switch 400 is off. That is, the correspondence between on / off of the switch 400 and the position of the operation panel 20 is opposite to that in the above embodiment.

  (2) In the second embodiment, when a jam occurs, a warning that the open / close cover 18 is locked is given by the speaker 60, and a warning that a jam has occurred is displayed on the display panel 201. It was. Both of these warnings may be performed by sound from the speaker 60, or both may be performed by display on the display panel 201. Alternatively, the sound from the speaker 60 and the display on the display panel 201 may be combined.

  (3) In the above embodiment, a tandem type color copying machine has been described as an example of the image forming apparatus 1, but the present invention is not limited to the tandem type, and is a four-cycle type. Alternatively, it may be monochrome.

  (4) In the above embodiment, a copying machine has been described as an example of the image forming apparatus 1, but the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus 1 being a copying machine, and a computer or the like. A printer that performs printing processing based on image information input from an external device, a facsimile apparatus that outputs an image based on image information transmitted via a communication line, or these functions It may be a multi-function machine equipped with the above.

1 is an external perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front sectional view for explaining an internal structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a three-sided view for explaining details of an operation panel and a support arm of the operation panel of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of a panel position detection part. 5A is a top view of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 5B is a configuration of the panel position detection unit, and a panel position detection unit in a case where the operation panel is located in an area outside the movable area of the opening / closing cover. FIG. 6C is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the panel position detection unit when the operation panel is located in a region above the movable region of the opening / closing cover. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the image forming apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Apparatus main body 11 Paper conveyance mechanism 111 Paper conveyance path 112 Pickup roller 113 Conveyance roller pair 114 Paper discharge conveyance path 18 Opening / closing cover 20 Operation panel 201 Display panel (notification part)
21 Support arm 211 First arm 212 Second arm 30 Jam detection unit 40 Panel position detection unit 400 Switch 401 Switch body 402 Lever 403 Hinge 404 Disk 50 with claw 50 Lock mechanism 60 Speaker (notification unit)
100 control unit

Claims (7)

A paper transport mechanism and an open / close cover that is opened and closed to expose the inside of the paper transport mechanism;
An operation panel having at least one function of operation reception and device information display, wherein the operation panel is movable in a region including an interference region that interferes with at least one of the movable region of the opening / closing cover or the region above the movable region; ,
A locking mechanism that regulates and locks the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing cover;
A panel position detector for detecting the position of the operation panel;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that causes the lock mechanism to lock the open / close cover in a closed state when the position of the operation panel detected by the panel position detection unit is in the interference region.   When the opening / closing cover is locked, when the panel position detection unit detects that the position of the operation panel has been moved out of the interference area, the control unit connects the opening / closing cover to the locking mechanism. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is unlocked. A notification section for notifying the user whether or not the opening / closing cover is locked;
The control unit causes the notification unit to warn the user that the opening / closing cover is locked when the control unit has the locking mechanism locked the opening / closing cover. The image forming apparatus described in 1. A jam detecting unit for detecting the occurrence of the jam and the occurrence position of the jam;
If the jam detection unit detects the occurrence of a jam and the occurrence position of the jam, is the control unit required to open the open / close cover to eliminate the jam? The position of the operation panel detected by the panel position detection unit is determined to be the position where the opening / closing cover needs to be opened to eliminate the jam. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the movable area of the opening / closing cover is in the interference area, the locking mechanism locks the opening / closing cover in a closed state.   5. When the opening / closing cover is locked when a jam occurs, the control unit causes the notification unit to warn the user that the jam clearing operation cannot be performed because the opening / closing cover is locked. The image forming apparatus described in 1.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the notification unit warns the user of the warning content by voice.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the notification unit warns a user of the warning content with visual information.

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