JP2014030024A - Opening/closing cover lock mechanism and image forming apparatus including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an opening/closing cover lock mechanism capable of improving assemblability without requiring a plurality of complex assembling works and high component accuracy.SOLUTION: An opening/closing cover lock mechanism according to the present invention includes: an opening/closing cover 100 that is openably/closably provided to an apparatus body; a shaft member that is rotatably provided to the opening/closing cover 100, and has at least one or more corners; and lock members that are provided on both ends of the shaft member, and fix the opening/closing cover to the apparatus body. The lock members each include: a shaft receiving part having a shape corresponding to a cross-sectional shape in a vertical direction of a rotation shaft of the shaft member; a bearing part arranged on a surface facing the shaft receiving part; and a contact part that contacts the opening/closing cover. The opening/closing cover includes a support part that rotatably supports the bearing part.

Description

  The present invention relates to an opening / closing cover locking mechanism that holds or releases a closed state of an opening / closing cover that is rotatably attached.

  Conventional image forming apparatuses such as copiers and printers have an open / close cover that is pivotally attached to open or close the internal body of the image forming apparatus, and an open / close cover that holds or releases the closed state of the open / close cover. An open / close cover lock mechanism including a cover lock member is provided.

  The open / close cover lock member is attached to a cylindrical shaft member rotatably supported on the back side of the open / close cover and both ends of the shaft member, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below. And a locking member that engages with an engaging portion provided on the inner main body side of the image forming apparatus.

JP 2000-275922 A

  Here, the lock member attached to the shaft member is required to be free of rattling and to be smoothly engaged and separated from the engaging portion. Therefore, in the prior art, a complicated assembling operation is required to fix the lock member with respect to the cylindrical shaft member so as not to rotate and to rattle against the request. .

  Therefore, in view of the above problems, the present invention can improve assembly without requiring a plurality of complicated mounting operations and high component accuracy for components such as hook portions, shaft members, and pins at both ends. It is an object to provide an open / close cover lock mechanism.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an open / close cover lock mechanism according to the present invention includes an open / close cover provided in an openable / closable manner in the apparatus body, and is provided rotatably in the open / close cover and includes at least one corner. A shaft member; and a lock member that is provided at both ends of the shaft member and fixes the opening / closing cover to the apparatus main body. The lock member has a shape corresponding to a cross-sectional shape in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the shaft member. A shaft receiving portion, a hook portion engaging with the apparatus main body, a bearing portion disposed on a surface facing the shaft receiving portion, and an abutting portion contacting the opening / closing cover, the opening / closing cover comprising: A support portion that rotatably supports the support portion is provided.

According to the above-described invention, since the shaft member has the corner portion, the shaft member can be easily assembled when inserted into the shaft receiving portion formed on the lock member, and the corner portion of the shaft member is the shaft receiving portion. There is no possibility that the corner portion is locked in the portion and the lock member is rotated with respect to the shaft member. Further, since the lock member has an abutting portion that abuts on the opening / closing cover when the lock member rotates by a predetermined amount or more, the hook portion formed on the lock member can be appropriately engaged with the apparatus main body.
Therefore, it is possible to avoid a complicated operation of press-fitting the pin with a predetermined angular difference between the lock member and the shaft member.
Further, according to the above-described invention, the lock member provided on both ends of the shaft member is provided with the support portion, and the support portion that rotatably supports the support portion is provided. The shaft member provided with the lock member can be attached to the opening / closing cover at a predetermined position simply by fitting the support portion to the support portion.
Therefore, it is possible to avoid a complicated operation of press-fitting a pin in order to attach the shaft member having the lock member to the opening / closing cover at a predetermined position.
Further, the shaft member and the like described above are members that can be molded relatively easily and do not require high component accuracy.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an open / close cover lock mechanism with improved assembling without requiring a plurality of complicated mounting operations and high component accuracy for components such as hook portions and shaft members at both ends. It becomes possible.

1 is an overall perspective view illustrating an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. It is a front side view which shows the front side of the opening-and-closing cover in 1st Embodiment. It is a back side view which shows the back side of the opening / closing cover provided with the opening / closing cover locking member in 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the opening-and-closing cover lock member in 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the opening-and-closing cover lock member in 1st Embodiment. It is a partially expanded view which shows the lock member joined with the right side front-end | tip of the shaft member in 1st Embodiment, and the right-side front end. FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a right end of the shaft member and a lock member joined to the right end when the right end of the shaft member and the lock member in FIG. 6 are cut along line CC. It is a perspective view which shows a pair of support part attached to the back side of the opening / closing cover in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 4 is a plan view sectional view showing a process of attaching a shaft member having a pair of lock members at both ends to the back surface of the opening / closing cover when the opening / closing cover locking mechanism in FIG. 3 is cut along line AA. 4 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a state in which a shaft member having a pair of lock members at both ends is attached to the back surface of the open / close cover when the open / close cover lock mechanism in FIG. 3 is cut along line AA. FIG. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a step of a rotating operation when the open / close cover lock mechanism in FIG. 3 is cut along the line BB. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the contact portion of the lock member after rotation contacts the extension portion when the opening / closing cover lock mechanism in FIG. 3 is cut along line BB. It is sectional drawing which shows the joining state of the protrusion part and bearing part when the opening / closing cover lock mechanism of FIG. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the opening method of the opening / closing cover in 1st Embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the closing method of the opening / closing cover in 1st Embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows the joining state etc. of the protrusion part and lock member in 1st Embodiment. It is a whole perspective view which shows the image forming apparatus in 2nd Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the opening-and-closing cover lock member in 2nd Embodiment. It is a side sectional view showing the use state of the image forming apparatus provided with the opening / closing cover lock member of the second embodiment. It is a side sectional view showing the use state of the image forming apparatus provided with the opening / closing cover lock member of the second embodiment.

(First embodiment)
Next, the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The image forming apparatus 1 is an apparatus that forms an image on a medium such as recording paper. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the opening / closing cover 100 that is rotatably attached to the image forming apparatus 1, and the opening / closing cover 100 is closed. At least an open / close cover lock member 200 (see FIG. 3). The open / close cover lock mechanism according to the present invention includes the open / close cover 100 and the open / close cover lock member 200. Although not shown, the internal main body of the image forming apparatus 1 includes a developing unit that forms an image to be transferred onto a recording sheet, a conveyance unit that conveys the recording sheet, and the like.

  The opening / closing cover 100 shown in FIG. 2 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft (not shown). Here, the closed state of the opening / closing cover 100 refers to a state in which the opening / closing cover 100 is rotated to the main body side of the image forming apparatus 1 to close the inner main body of the image forming apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the back surface side of the open / close cover 100 includes a convex portion 110 that protrudes from the back surface of the open / close cover 100 toward the main body, an open / close cover lock member storage portion 120 that stores the open / close cover lock member 200, A spring accommodating portion 130 that accommodates one end side of a spring 240 described later, and an extending portion 140 that extends from the back surface of the opening / closing cover 100 and contacts abutting portions 232L and 232R described later.

  3 is provided on the inner body side of the image forming apparatus 1 when the opening / closing cover 100 closes the inside of the main body, and detects the closing state of the opening / closing cover 100 when pressed. It is a member for pressing (not shown).

The open / close cover lock member storage 120 shown in FIG. 3 is a space for storing the open / close cover lock member 200.
Here, when the opening / closing cover lock member storage portion 120 and the convex portion 110 are separated and formed on the back surface of the opening / closing cover 100, the opening / closing cover stored in the opening / closing cover lock member storage portion 120 is curved when the opening / closing cover 100 is curved. Although the hook portions 231L and 231R in the lock member 200 are not engaged with the engaging portion 500 (see FIG. 14), an erroneous detection that the convex portion 110 presses the detection sensor (not shown) occurs. There is a fear. Therefore, it is desirable that the opening / closing cover lock member storage portion 120 is provided in the vicinity of the convex portion 110.

As shown in FIG. 3, the spring accommodating portion 130 accommodates one end side of the spring 240 constituting the opening / closing cover lock member 200, and one end of the spring 240 is locked.
3 is a member that extends from the back side of the opening / closing cover 100, but hook portions 231L and 231R of a pair of lock members 230L and 230R described later are engaged with the engaging portion 500. When it is rotated to the extent that it can be stopped, it needs to be extended so that it can come into contact with the contact portions 232L and 232R provided on the pair of lock members 230L and 230R.

As shown in FIG. 3, the open / close cover lock member 200 is attached to the back side of the open / close cover 100, and when the open / close cover 100 closes the internal main body of the image forming apparatus 1, the open / close cover 100 is kept closed. It is a member that performs release.
4 and 5, the opening / closing cover lock member 200 is exposed to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 (see FIG. 1), and is pushed by the operator, and the push button 210 The shaft member 220 that contacts and rotates when the push button 210 is pressed, the pair of lock members 230L and 230R attached to both ends of the shaft member 220, and the shaft member 220 are pressed against the push button 210. And a pair of lock members attached to both ends of the shaft member 220 and attached to the back side of the opening / closing cover. Support portions 250L and 250R (see FIG. 4).

The shaft member 220 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is a U-shaped member that extends in the left-right direction and has a substantially U-shaped cross section (see FIGS. 6 and 7) having two corners. The shaft member 220 is a member formed by forming a plate-shaped metal plate into a U-shape.
Here, when the pair of lock members 230L and 230R joined to both ends of the shaft member 220 are rotated in the circumferential direction, the corner portions of the shaft member 220 are the shafts of the pair of lock members. It is a site | part for latching in receiving part 233L, 233R (refer FIG. 6, FIG. 7). Thus, the pair of lock members 230L and 230R can be fixed without rotating with respect to the shaft member 220.
Further, if at least one or more corners are formed on the shaft member 220, the corners of the shaft member 220 can be prevented from rotating in the circumferential direction between the shaft member 220 and the pair of lock members 230L and 230R. Since the shaft receiving portions 233L and 233R of the pair of lock members are locked, the shape of the shaft member 220 in the present invention may have at least one corner, and the cross-sectional view having two corners is omitted. It is not limited to the U-shaped U-shaped member.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the shaft member 220 has a plate-like member 221 that extends from substantially the center of the U-shaped member and contacts the push button 210.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the shaft member 220 includes a first fitting portion 222 formed at both ends of the U-shaped member, and a center side of the U-shaped member from the first fitting portion 222. It has the formed 2nd fitting part 223, and the stopper 224 formed in the center side of the U-shaped member rather than the 2nd fitting part 223.

Here, the first fitting portion 222 and the second fitting portion 223 shown in FIG. 6 are members that are inserted into and fitted into shaft receiving portions 233L and 233R of lock members 230L and 230R, which will be described later. (a), the width _{l 1} of the first fitting portion 222 width _{l 2} of the second fitting portion 223, the shaft receiving portion 233L, the first bottom 236L of 233R, and the width _{L 1} of the 236R first 2 bottom 237L, are formed in equal length and width _{L 2} of 237R.
Further, the stopper 224 shown in FIG. 6 is a protrusion (see FIG. 7B) for preventing both ends of the shaft member 220 from entering the shaft receiving portion 233R of the lock member 230R more than necessary. as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the width _{l 3} of the stopper 224, the locking member 230L, to lock the end face of the 230R, width than _{l 2} of the second fitting portion 223 is formed longer Yes. The first fitting portion 222 and the second fitting portion 223 referred to here correspond to “first cross-sectional shape” and “second cross-sectional shape” described in the claims.

  The pair of lock members 230L and 230R are fitted to both ends of the shaft member 220 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and rotate along with the rotation of the shaft member 220. A member that engages with 500 and holds the closed state of the opening / closing cover 100. The lock member 230 </ b> R is a member that is fitted to the right side of the shaft member 220 and the lock member 230 </ b> L is fitted to the left side of the shaft member 220 as viewed from the inner main body side of the image forming apparatus 1.

  Lock members 230L and 230R shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are substantially cylindrical members, and extend from the outer peripheral surface of the hook members 231L and 231R, and from around the center of the hook portions 231L and 231R. Contact portions 232L and 232R extending in the circumferential direction, shaft receiving portions 233L and 233R (see FIG. 6) formed on the surface facing the shaft member 220, and the surface facing the support portion 250 described later The bearing portions 234L and 234R are formed.

The hook portions 231L and 231R are members for engaging with the engaging portion 500 and maintaining the closed state of the open / close cover 100. In the present embodiment, the shapes of the hook portions 231L and 231R are particularly limited. It is not a thing. The contact portions 232L and 232R extend from the hook portions 231L and 231R in the locking direction.
The contact portions 232L and 232R are members for stopping the rotation of the lock members 230L and 230R at a constant angle. The contact portions 232L and 232R of the first embodiment are the hook portions 231L and 231R. When the lock members 230 </ b> L and 230 </ b> R are rotated to such an extent that they can be engaged with the engagement portion 500, the end surfaces of the contact portions 232 </ b> L and 232 </ b> R contact the extension portion 140 formed on the back side of the opening / closing cover 100. It is formed as follows. Note that the rotation angles of the lock members 230L and 230R are determined based on, for example, the operability of the opening / closing cover 100 and the amount of engagement of the hook portions 231L and 231R with the engagement portion 500.

As shown in FIG. 6, the shaft receiving portions 233 </ b> L and 233 </ b> R are rectangular holes formed on the facing surface facing the shaft member 220.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the shaft receiving portions 233L, 233R are formed with first bottom portions 236L, 236R and second bottom portions 237L, 237R having different widths, and the width L of the first bottom portions 236L, 236R. _1, the second bottom portion 237L, is formed shorter than the width _{L 2} of 237R.
Also, the width _{L 1} of the first bottom 236 width _{L 2} of the second bottom 237, respectively, the width _{l 1} of the first fitting portion 222 and the second fitting portion 223 formed at both ends of the shaft member 220 And the same width as the width l ₂ .
Then, both ends of the shaft member 220 are inserted into the shaft receiving portions 233L and 233R, and the first fitting portion 222 and the first bottom portion 236R are fitted as shown in FIG. The shaft member 220 and the lock members 230L and 230R are joined by fitting the H.223 and the second bottom portion 237R. It should be noted that the first bottom portions 236L and 236R and the second bottom portions 237L and 237R described here correspond to the “first hole shape” and the “second hole shape” described in the claims. is there.

  A bearing portion 234L (234R) shown in FIG. 5B is formed on a surface facing the support portion 250 (see FIG. 8), and is rotatably supported. The bearing portion 234L (234R) is formed with inner peripheral cylindrical portions 238L and 238R which are circular holes having substantially the same diameter as the protruding portion 251L (251R) formed in the support portion 250.

Further, a cutout portion 235 is formed only on the bearing portion 234L on the surface facing the support portion 250 as shown in FIG. FIG 5 (b) in the notch portion 235 shown is a portion that cutting a lower surface of the left lock member 230L, the width l ₄ of the notch, the width of the upper and lower end faces of the projecting portion of the support portion 250L It is formed to be longer than L _4.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the spring (biasing member) 240 is an urging member that urges the shaft member 220 to always rotate in the locking direction, and one end side of the spring 240 is the opening / closing cover 100. The other end side engages with the inside of the U-shape of the shaft member 220.

As shown in FIG. 8, the support portions 250L and 250R shown in FIG. 4 are provided on the left and right ends of the open / close cover lock member storage portion 120 of the open / close cover 100, and support the lock members 230L and 230R. Protrusions 251L and 251R are provided.
Further, the protruding portion 251R shown in FIG. 8B is a columnar shape having the same diameter as the bearing portion 234 of the lock member 230R. On the other hand, the protruding portion 251L shown in FIG. 8A has a chamfered portion 252 whose upper end surface and lower end surface in cross section are chamfered horizontally in cross section. The left and right end surfaces connecting the upper end surface and the lower end surface of the chamfered portion 252 are arcs in sectional view, and the width L ₄ of the upper and lower end surfaces is the width l _{4 of the} notch portion 235 formed in the lock member 230L. It is formed to be shorter than (see FIG. 5B).

  Next, the assembly work process of the open / close cover lock mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. The assembly work process of the opening / closing cover locking mechanism includes an attaching operation for attaching the shaft member 220 provided with the lock members 230L and 230R at both ends to the opening / closing cover 100, and a turning operation for rotating the shaft member 220 to a predetermined position after attachment. The work will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, and the work described later will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, with reference to FIG. 13, a joining state between the protruding portion 251L of the support portion 250L and the notch portion 235 of the lock member 230L in the assembly work will be described.

  First, the attachment work process is performed by attaching the support portions 250L and 250R to predetermined positions of the opening / closing cover 100 as shown in FIG. Then, the shaft member 220 having the pair of lock members 230L and 230R attached to both ends is tilted, and the protruding portion 251R of the support portion 250R is inserted into the bearing portion 234R of the lock member 230R. Next, the shaft member 220 is moved in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 9 by rotating the notch 235 of the lock member 230L so as to face the support portion 250L. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the opening / closing cover lock member 200 can be accommodated in the opening / closing cover 100.

  Next, the rotation operation of the opening / closing cover locking member 200 will be described. FIG. 11A is a side sectional view of the opening / closing cover locking member 200 accommodated in the opening / closing cover 100. The cover lock member 200 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow E in FIG. Here, the amount of rotation needs to be rotated until the hook portion 231L faces the main body.

Then, after the opening / closing cover lock member 200 is rotated, the other end side of the spring 240 engaged with one end side of the shaft member 220 is accommodated in the spring accommodating portion 130 as shown in FIG. The spring 240 biases the shaft member 220 in the locking direction, and the locking member 230L rotates in the locking direction.
Here, the abutting portions 232L and 232R of the rotating lock members 230L and 230R abut on the extending portion 140 formed in the opening / closing cover 100 and the rotation is restricted as shown in FIG. Further, since the abutting portions 232L and 232R abut on the extending portion 140, the shaft member is placed on the main body side by the gap between the bearing portion of the lock member and the support portions 250L and 250R that support the lock member. 220 moves and is so-called loose.

Next, the protruding portion 251L of the support portion 250L and the cutout portion 235 of the lock member 230L in the assembly work will be described with reference to FIG.
First, as shown in FIG. 13A, the width l ₄ of the notch 235 of the lock member 230L is smaller than the width L ₄ of the protrusion 251L of the support 250L. Therefore, the protrusion 251L of the support portion 250L can be passed through the notch 235 of the lock member 230L, and the protrusion 251L can be accommodated in the support portion 250L as shown in FIG.
Then, by the rotation operation of the opening / closing cover lock member 200 described below, the orientation of the notch 235 provided in the lock member 230L also changes as shown in FIGS. Is downward as shown in FIG.
When the notch 235 is directed downward, as described above, the shaft member 220 is loosely moved toward the main body side (see FIG. 12), so that the lock member 230L also moves toward the main body side.

Next, a closing method of the opening / closing cover 100 of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
When closing the internal main body of the image forming apparatus 1, first, as shown in FIG. 14A, the operator presses the opening / closing cover 100 toward the main body side of the image forming apparatus 1. Here, when the opening / closing cover 100 is pressed, the front ends of the hook portions 231L and 231R of the lock members 230L and 230R are slidably brought into contact with the engaging portion 500 and are rotated upward.
Further, when the operator presses the opening / closing cover 100 toward the main body side of the image forming apparatus 1 and the hook portions 231L and 231R pass over the end portion of the engaging portion 500, the hook portions 231L and 231R are engaged. The contact portion 500 and the hook portions 231L and 231R are rotated by the urging force of a spring (not shown) without being in contact with the portion 500, as shown in FIG. Since the opening / closing cover 100 is engaged in the opening direction, the opening / closing cover 100 can close the inside of the main body of the image forming apparatus.
Further, in the lock members 230L and 230R that are rotated in the lock direction by a spring (not shown), the contact portions 232L and 232R formed on the lock member are formed on the opening / closing cover 100 as shown in FIG. Since the rotation is restricted by contacting the extension portion 140, there is no possibility that the hook portions 231L and 231R rotate more than a predetermined amount.

Next, a method of opening the opening / closing cover 100 of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
When opening the internal main body of the image forming apparatus 1, first, the operator presses the push button 210. Here, when the push button 210 is pressed, as shown in FIG. 15A, the plate member 221 of the shaft member 220 that is in contact with the push button 210 is pressed, and the shaft member 220 rotates in the release direction. Will be.
When the shaft member 220 rotates in the release direction, the hook portions 231L and 231R of the lock members 230L and 230R also rotate in the release direction as shown in FIG. The engagement portion 500 formed on the side is not engaged.
Therefore, if the opening / closing cover 100 is rotated in the opening direction, the internal main body of the image forming apparatus 1 can be opened.

The image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment has been described above. However, according to the open / close cover lock mechanism according to the present embodiment, the bearing member of the lock member is inserted and fitted to both ends of the shaft member. The shaft member and the lock member can be easily assembled. Moreover, since the corner | angular part is formed in the shaft member, there is no possibility that the locking member attached to both ends may rotate. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a complicated operation of press-fitting a pin into the shaft member so that the lock member does not rotate and rattle with respect to the shaft member, and assembling can be improved. it can.
In addition, since the lock member having the cutout portion and the support portion having the protruding portion having a width equal to or smaller than the width of the cutout portion are provided, the open / close cover lock member 200 can be easily attached to the open / close cover 100. . That is, it is possible to improve the assemblability by avoiding a complicated operation of giving a predetermined angle difference between the engaging portion and the lock member and press-fitting the pin vertically into the outer peripheral surface of the shaft member.
In addition, according to the shape of the shaft member 220 of the embodiment, since it is U-shaped in cross-section (see FIG. 6), it can be easily manufactured by bending the plate-like member, and the assemblability is improved. Can do.

Next, as a comparative example of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, an assembling operation in a conventional opening / closing cover lock mechanism is cited, and the point that the opening / closing cover lock mechanism according to the embodiment is excellent is described.
As a conventional open / close cover lock mechanism, a lock member having a hole corresponding to the D-cut shape is attached to a so-called D-cut shaft member, in which a part of the outer peripheral surface of the shaft member is formed flat. There is something. However, according to this configuration, in order to attach the shaft member and the lock member without rattling, the hole corresponding to the D-cut shape formed in the lock member and the D-cut end portion of the shaft member correspond to each other. Machining is required, and high machining technology and machining accuracy are required.

  In addition, a screw hole is formed by tapping from the end surface side of the shaft member, and the lock member is screwed. With such a configuration, although rattling is reduced by screwing, tapping and screwing are performed. Such complicated work is required.

  In addition, there is a method in which another part is attached to the opening / closing cover so that the opening / closing cover supports the shaft member to which the lock member is attached so that the shaft member can be smoothly rotated. In other words, a shaft member with a hole shape formed so as to have a backlash (gap) in the axial direction first fits the hole shape formed on one end side of the shaft member with another member attached to the opening / closing cover. Next, the other end side of the shaft member is attached. However, in this structure, in order to eliminate the shakiness of the shaft member in the axial direction with respect to another member, for example, a complicated operation of positioning with a retaining ring such as an E-type ring is required. .

  In addition, although it is possible to attach the shaft member to which the lock member is attached by giving elasticity to the open / close cover in which the bearing portion is formed and bending the open / close cover, according to the configuration, the open / close cover is attached to the open / close cover. Since the bearing portion may be damaged when bent, an operation of carefully bending the bearing portion is required so as not to damage the bearing portion during assembly. Moreover, there is a problem that the rigidity of the bearing portion cannot be ensured.

  The conventional open / close cover lock mechanism has been described above. However, according to the open / close cover lock mechanism according to the embodiment, there is no problem in the above-described work, and therefore, the assembly work is easy. That is, the open / close cover lock mechanism according to the present invention has a superior effect compared to the prior art.

  As described above, it has been described that the opening / closing cover locking mechanism according to the embodiment can improve the assembling property. Next, the opening / closing cover locking mechanism according to the embodiment is configured such that the locking member rattles the engaging portion. A description will be given of proper engagement without occurrence of the above.

In the opening / closing cover lock mechanism according to the embodiment, the shaft member 220 that rotates in the lock direction and the release direction is a U-shaped member having a corner, and the shaft member 220 is inserted and fitted into the lock member 230L. The shape of the shaft receiving portion of 230R is rectangular. Accordingly, the lock members 230L and 230R are rotated in response to the rotational movement of the shaft member 220, and the lock members 230L and 230R joined to the shaft member 220 are rotated in the lock direction and the release direction with respect to the shaft member 220. There is no fear of moving.
In other words, according to the present embodiment, in the joining of the shaft member 220 and the lock members 230L and 230R, there is no deviation in the rotation direction, so that the closed state of the opening / closing cover 100 can be maintained without rattling.

In addition, the lock members 230L and 230R rotate in the lock direction together with the shaft member 220 that rotates in the lock direction by the biasing force of the spring 240. According to the present embodiment, the hooks of the lock members 230L and 230R are rotated. When the portions 231L and 231R are rotated in the locking direction so as to be engageable with the engaging portion 500, the contact portions 232L and 232R provided on the locking members 230L and 230R are the extended portions 140 of the opening / closing cover 100. Will abut.
Therefore, the lock members 230L and 230R can prevent the hook portions 231L and 231R from being lifted by the biasing force in the locking direction of the spring 240 after the hook portions 231L and 231R are engaged with the engaging portion 500.
Therefore, according to the present embodiment, rattling caused by lifting of the opening / closing cover can be avoided by restricting the rotation of the lock members 230L and 230R.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 13E, as a modification of the first embodiment, a protrusion 251A is formed on the end surface of the lock member 230A, and a bearing 234A having a notch 235A on the support 250A side is formed. As an example, there is less risk of rattling in the joining of the lock member 230L and the support portion 250L of the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, and the support portion 250L may fall off from the lock member 230L. Explain that it can be avoided.

In the modification of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 13E, a protrusion 251A is formed on the end surface of the lock member 230A, and a bearing 234A having a notch 235A is formed on the support portion 250A side. The protrusion 251A formed on 230A is moved toward the notch 235A on the support part 250A side (see FIG. 13 (e)), and the protrusion 251A is housed in the bearing bearing part 234A (see FIG. 13 (f)). ). Then, the protrusion 251A on the shaft member side is rotated (see FIG. 13G), and the shaft member is arranged in a predetermined direction (see FIG. 13H).
Next, a case where a force is applied in the opening direction of the opening / closing cover 100 in the support portion 250A and the lock member 230A in the modification of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 16A, the notch 235A provided in the support portion 250A faces the closing direction, and the protruding portion 251A of the lock member 230A has a horizontal left and right end surface and upper and lower end surfaces are arcuate surfaces. is there. In such a case, when the opening / closing cover 100 is moved in the opening direction, the upper and lower end surfaces of the protruding portion 251A open the inner peripheral surface of the bearing portion 234A of the lock member 230A as shown in FIG. In this way (in the direction of arrow F shown in FIG. 16B), the protrusion 251L of the lock member 230L may drop from the notch 235A provided in the support 250A.

On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16C, in the lock member 230L and the support portion 250L, the inner peripheral surface in the opening direction and the closing direction of the bearing portion 234L of the lock member 230L is supported. The projecting portion 251L of the portion 250L is in contact with the arcuate surface.
When a force that moves in the opening direction is applied to the opening / closing cover 100, the protrusion 251 </ b> L of the support portion 250 </ b> L attached to the back surface of the opening / closing cover 100 also moves in the opening direction as the opening / closing cover 100 moves in the opening direction. Here, according to the configuration of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16D, the lock members 230L and 230R receive the force on the inner peripheral surface of the bearing portion. . That is, according to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an open / close cover lock mechanism that does not cause the protrusion 251L to drop off from the lock member 230L and that is less likely to rattle due to the movement of the open / close cover 100. it can.

In addition, according to the present embodiment, the shaft receiving portion formed on the pair of lock members 230L and 230R is such that the first bottom portion 236 located behind the opening is more than the second bottom portion 237 located before the opening. However, since the cross-sectional area is small, when the pair of lock members 230L and 230R is formed by injection molding of resin, an effect of forming a so-called draft angle for facilitating release from molding can be obtained. .
In addition, even when a draft angle is formed in the pair of lock members 230L and 230R, according to the present embodiment, the first fitting portion 222 that matches the draft angle is provided on both ends of the shaft member 220. Since the second fitting portion 223 is formed, rattling does not occur in the joining of the shaft member 220 and the pair of lock members 230L and 230R.

The image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment has been described above. However, according to the open / close cover lock mechanism of the present embodiment, it is possible to improve assemblability while suppressing backlash.
In addition, according to the embodiment, the case where the opening / closing cover locking member 200 is provided on the back side of the opening / closing cover 100 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is engaged with the back side of the opening / closing cover 100. The opening / closing cover lock member 200 may be provided on the inner main body side of the image forming apparatus 1 that is provided with the portion 500.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, an image forming apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The image forming apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 17 includes an opening / closing cover 610 and an opening / closing cover lock member 400 (see FIG. 18).
In the following, only the differences between the configuration of the open / close cover lock member 200 and the open / close cover 100 of the first embodiment will be described for the configuration of the open / close cover lock member 400 and the open / close cover 610 of the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 18, the opening / closing cover locking member 400 includes locking members 430R, 430L and a spring 440. These locking members 430R, 430L and the spring 440 are the same as the opening / closing cover locking member 200 of the first embodiment. It is different.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 19A, the spring 440 has one end locked to the shaft member 420, and the other end is a protruding portion 441 that protrudes toward the engaging portion 510 side, A contact portion 442 formed on the end side of the protruding portion 441 is provided.
Further, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 20A, the lock members 430R and 430L are provided with operation portions 443L and 443R which are planar members extending upward, as in the first embodiment. This is different from the opening / closing cover lock member 200. The image forming apparatus 600 is provided with operation portion holes 605R (605L) that are holes for operating the operation portions 443L and 443R from the outside.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 19, the opening / closing cover 610 is formed with a locked portion 611 to which the contact portion 442 of the spring 440 is locked when the shaft member 420 is rotated in the release direction. In this respect, it is different from the opening / closing cover 100 of the first embodiment. The locked portion 611 restricts the rotation of the shaft member 420 by the contact portion 442 of the spring 440 being locked when the shaft member 420 rotates in the release direction. Note that the biasing force set on the spring 440 when the contact portion 442 is locked to the locked portion 611 is defined as a first biasing force.

Next, how to use the image forming apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 20A is a diagram illustrating a state in which the opening / closing cover 610 is open. When the operator closes the internal main body of the image forming apparatus 600, first, the operation unit 443 is locked on the main body side. Need to pull in the direction. With this operation, the opening / closing cover 610 moves to the main body side, and the shaft member 420 rotates in the locking direction with the support portion 430 as the rotation axis. Then, as shown in FIG. 20B, the hook portion 431 can be engaged with the engaging portion 510 to close the internal main body of the image forming apparatus 600.

Further, as shown in FIG. 19A, the spring 440 engaged with the shaft member 420 is also rotated in the lock direction in accordance with the rotation operation of the operation unit 443 in the lock direction. The contact portion 442 that has been locked to the locked portion 611 moves in the locking direction.
Then, as shown in FIG. 19B, the hook portion 431 engages with the engaging portion 510 while the protruding portion 441 of the spring 440 contacts the engaging portion 510. In this case, the protruding portion 441 comes into contact with the engaging portion 510 and is pressed toward the opening / closing cover 610, and the spring 440 applies a biasing force (hereinafter referred to as “second”) toward the inner main body side of the image forming apparatus 600. Will be set.).

  On the other hand, when opening the open / close cover 610 in the closed state, the operator rotates the operation unit 443 in the state shown in FIG. As a result, the hook portion 431 is disengaged from the engaging portion 510, and the opening / closing cover 610 can be opened.

  Although the image forming apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment has been described above, according to the image forming apparatus 600 of the second embodiment, the protruding portion 441 of the spring 440 in FIG. ), It is not locked to the locked portion 611 of the opening / closing cover 610. That is, an operator who performs a rotation operation in the locking direction can easily close the opening / closing cover 610 without receiving the biasing force of the spring 440.

  On the other hand, in a state where the hook portion 431 is engaged with the engaging portion 510, as shown in FIG. 19B, the spring 440 is set with a second urging force toward the inner main body side of the image forming apparatus 600. Has been. That is, since the second urging force of the spring 440 acts on the end surface of the hook portion 431, it can be engaged with the engaging portion 510 with a stronger force. Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment, the open / close cover 610 can maintain a more stable closed state.

  In addition, since the image forming apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment includes the operation unit 443 that operates in the same direction as the moving direction of the opening / closing cover 610 that opens or closes, the operator can easily open or close the image. Is possible.

In addition, according to the image forming apparatus 600 of the second embodiment, the push button 210 and a spring for urging the push button to a predetermined position are not required as compared with the image forming apparatus 1 of the first embodiment. Further, since the push button 210 is unnecessary, it is not necessary to form the plate member 221 on the shaft member 220.
Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus having a smaller number of parts than the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment.
It should be noted that the change in the image forming apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment described above is that the image forming apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment has the same function and effect as the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. Needless to say, it does not hinder the effectiveness.

  In addition, some image forming apparatuses radiate electromagnetic waves (noise), and this noise may be incident on a shaft member made of metal. In such a case, the engaging member 510 of the image forming apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment is a grounded metal part, so that the shaft member is grounded via the spring 440 without adding a special member. be able to.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,600 Image forming apparatus 100,610 Opening / closing cover 110 Convex part 120 Opening / closing cover lock member storage part 130 Spring storage part 140 Contact part 200,400 Opening / closing cover lock member 210 Push button 220 Shaft member 221 Plate member 222 First fitting Joint portion 223 Second fitting portion 224 Stopper 230L, 230R, 430L, 430R, Lock member 231L, 231R, 431 Hook portion 232L, 232R Abutting portion 233L, 233R Shaft receiving portion 234L, 234R Bearing portion 235 Notch portion 236L, 236R 1st bottom part 237L, 237R 2nd bottom part 238L, 238R Inner circumference cylindrical part 240, 440 Spring 250L, 250R, 430 Support part 251L, 251R Protrusion part 252 Chamfer part 330L, 330R Lock member 334 Bearing portion 351L protruding portion 441 protruding portion 442 contact portion 443L, 443R operating member 500 510 engaging portion 605R operation unit hole 610 close cover 611 engaged portion

Claims (15)

An opening / closing cover provided in the apparatus main body so as to be freely opened and closed;
A shaft member rotatably provided on the opening and closing cover, and having at least one corner portion;
A lock member provided at both ends of the shaft member, and fixing the opening / closing cover to the apparatus main body,
The lock member is formed on a shaft receiving portion having a shape corresponding to a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the rotation axis of the shaft member, a hook portion engaging with the apparatus main body, and a surface in a direction opposite to the shaft receiving portion. A bearing portion, and a contact portion that contacts the opening / closing cover,
The open / close cover includes a support portion that rotatably supports the bearing portion,
The shaft member is
A first cross-sectional shape in the vicinity of the end of the shaft member;
A second cross-sectional shape larger than the first cross-sectional shape on the side of the central portion than the vicinity of the end of the shaft member;
The shaft receiver is
A first hole shape corresponding to the first cross-sectional shape;
An opening / closing cover lock mechanism, wherein a second hole shape corresponding to the second cross-sectional shape is formed.   The first cross-sectional shape of the shaft member and the first hole shape of the shaft receiving portion of the lock member are fitted, and the second cross-sectional shape of the shaft member and the shaft receiving portion of the lock member The opening / closing cover lock mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the shaft member and the lock member are integrally coupled with each other. An opening / closing cover provided in the apparatus body so as to be freely opened and closed;
A shaft member rotatably provided on the opening and closing cover, and having at least one corner portion;
A lock member provided at both ends of the shaft member, and fixing the open / close cover to the apparatus body;
Biasing means provided on the shaft member,
The lock member is formed on a shaft receiving portion having a shape corresponding to a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the rotation axis of the shaft member, a hook portion engaging with the apparatus main body, and a surface in a direction opposite to the shaft receiving portion. A bearing portion, and a contact portion that contacts the opening / closing cover,
The open / close cover includes a support portion that rotatably supports the bearing portion,
The biasing means is a spring member,
An opening / closing cover lock mechanism, wherein one end of the spring member is engaged with the shaft member, and the other end is detachably attached to the opening / closing cover. The biasing means is
A first biasing force when the opening / closing cover is in an open state;
When the opening / closing cover is in a closed state, the device body and the hook portion are engaged with each other, so that the second biasing force stronger than the first biasing force is compressed by the first biasing force. The open / close cover lock mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the open / close cover lock mechanism is set to have a force.   The other end of the urging means protrudes from the opening / closing cover in the vicinity of the end and protrudes to contact the apparatus main body when the opening / closing cover is closed, and a contact portion to contact the opening / closing cover when the opening / closing cover is opened The open / close cover lock mechanism according to claim 3.   The opening / closing cover lock mechanism according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the lock member further includes an operation unit for operating the lock member.   The opening / closing cover lock mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the operation portion rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction of the shaft member.   The opening / closing cover lock mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the shaft member has a substantially U-shaped cross section.   The opening / closing cover lock mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the shaft member is formed from a plate-like metal.   The opening / closing cover lock mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the shaft member is provided on a back surface of the opening / closing cover.   The opening / closing cover lock mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the shaft member extends to the left and right sides of the opening / closing cover.   The opening / closing according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the contact portion of the lock member contacts the opening / closing cover when the shaft portion rotates by a predetermined angle in the locking direction. Cover lock mechanism. The bearing portion includes a cylindrical inner peripheral cylindrical portion, and a notch portion having a predetermined width,
The support portion includes a cylindrical protrusion corresponding to the inner peripheral cylindrical portion of the bearing portion,
The chamfered part corresponding to the notch part of the bearing part is provided in the protrusion part of the support part corresponding to one end of the shaft member provided with the notch part. The opening / closing cover lock mechanism according to claim 12. The protruding portion of the support portion provided with the chamfered portion has an upper end surface and a lower end surface that are horizontal in a sectional view, and left and right end surfaces that are arcs in a sectional view
The opening / closing cover lock mechanism according to claim 13, wherein the predetermined width of the notch is equal to or greater than a width in a direction of an upper end surface and a lower end surface of the protrusion.   An image forming apparatus comprising the open / close cover lock mechanism according to claim 1.

Images