JP2016099562A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus that can prevent damage to a fitting part or a connection part formed between a support part and an image reading part.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 10 includes: a top face 522 of a back wall part 52 in contact with an image reading part 3; a first positioning part 101 and a second positioning part 102 that have first and second positioning boss parts 151 and 161 and first and second positioning hole parts 152 and 162 that are provided between a bottom face 38 of the image reading part 3 in contact with the top face 522; and a first regulating part 103 and a second regulating part 104 that are provided between a top face 512 of a right wall part 51 in contact with the image reading part 3 and the bottom face 38 of the image reading part 3 in contact with the top face 512, and have first and second regulating boss parts 171 and 181 and first and second regulating hole parts 172 and 182 that are provided at different positions in the transverse direction and fore-and-aft direction with respect to the first positioning part 101 and second positioning part 102.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a so-called in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a so-called in-body discharge type image forming apparatus having a discharge space in an apparatus main body for discharging a sheet member after image formation is known (see Patent Document 1). The image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit below the discharge space. The image forming apparatus has a sheet tray in the discharge space. The sheet member after image formation is discharged from a discharge port provided in the image forming unit and stacked on the sheet tray. An image reading unit is provided above the discharge space. Therefore, the discharge space is partitioned on the lower side by the upper surface of the image forming unit and on the upper side by the lower surface of the image reading unit.

  The in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus includes a support unit that connects the image reading unit and the image forming unit in a vertical direction and supports the image reading unit with respect to the image forming unit. The support portion is provided only on the rear side of the apparatus main body and either the right side or the left side in the paper discharge space. That is, a portion where the support portion is not provided in the discharge space (a portion opposite to the support portion) is open to the side. For this reason, the user can easily take out the sheet member in the discharge space from the open portion in the discharge space. In the in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus having such a configuration, the image reading unit is not supported by the image forming unit in the opened part (hereinafter referred to as “open part”). Therefore, in the in-body discharge type image forming apparatus, the rigidity of the end portion (hereinafter referred to as “open end portion”) corresponding to the open portion in the image reading unit is supported by another portion (particularly, the support portion). (Part) is low.

  The image reading unit may be attached to the support unit by a boss and a screw. For example, a boss is provided in the image reading unit and a boss hole is provided in the support unit, and the image reading unit is positioned with respect to the support unit by fitting the boss and the boss hole. Next, the image reading unit and the support unit are screwed. Thus, the image reading unit and the support unit are connected.

  In the in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus, at least one of the four corners of the image reading unit is not supported by the support unit. On the other hand, in an image forming apparatus of a type that receives a sheet member after image formation by the sheet tray attached to the outer surface of the apparatus main body, the support section supports the four corners of the image reading section. It has become. Therefore, compared to such an image forming apparatus, the in-cylinder discharge type image forming apparatus is less stable in supporting the image reading unit by the image forming unit.

  Therefore, when the image forming apparatus falls during transportation of the image forming apparatus, the image forming unit or the image reading unit is easily damaged. In particular, a large load is applied to a fitting portion between the boss and the boss hole or a connecting portion between the image reading portion and the support portion by the screw.

JP 2007-017646 A

  For reasons such as reducing the number of man-hours for forming the boss part and the boss hole and reducing costs, it is preferable that the number of the fitting parts including the boss part and the boss hole is as small as possible. For this reason, conventionally, the image reading unit is positioned with respect to the support unit by two fitting portions, which is the minimum number necessary for positioning the image reading unit. Here, the two fitting portions are provided at a predetermined interval on the back side.

  However, in the configuration in which the two fitting portions are provided at a predetermined interval on the back side of the image forming apparatus, the damage is sufficient when the image forming apparatus falls while the image forming apparatus is being transported. It could not be said that it had strong strength. In particular, when a load is applied to the image reading unit at a position on the front surface side away from the fitting unit, there is a possibility that the fitting unit and the connecting unit are damaged.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing a fitting portion or a connecting portion formed between the support portion and the image reading portion from being damaged.

  An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes an image reading unit, an image forming unit, a first support unit, a second support unit, a first fitting unit, and a second fitting unit. . The image reading unit reads an image of a document. The image forming unit is provided below the image reading unit. The first support part forms a discharge space in which the sheet member is discharged by vertically separating one side in a predetermined first direction of each of the image reading part and the image forming part, and The image reading unit is supported with respect to the image forming unit on the other side in the first direction from the discharge space. The second support unit forms the discharge space in which the sheet member is discharged by vertically separating one side in the second direction intersecting the first direction of the image reading unit and the image forming unit. The image reading unit is supported with respect to the image forming unit on the other side in the second direction from the discharge space. The first fitting portion is provided between a first contact surface that contacts the image reading portion of the first support portion and a second contact surface that contacts the first contact surface of the image reading portion. The first boss and the first hole. The second fitting portion is provided between a third contact surface that contacts the image reading portion of the second support portion and a fourth contact surface that contacts the third contact surface of the image reading portion. And a second boss part and a second hole part provided at different positions in the first direction and the second direction with respect to the first fitting part.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing a fitting portion or a connecting portion formed between the support portion and the image reading portion from being damaged.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a support structure of the image reading unit in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a support structure of the image reading unit in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a support structure of the image reading unit in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 5A is a cross-sectional view cut along a cross section passing through the first positioning portion and the second positioning portion, and FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view cut along a cross section passing through the first restriction portion and the second restriction portion. FIG. 6A is an explanatory view of the first restricting portion and the second restricting portion, and FIG. 6B is an explanatory view of operational effects by the first restricting portion and the second restricting portion shown in FIG. 6A. It is. FIG. 7A is an explanatory view of a support structure of the image reading unit in the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7B is an operation of the support structure shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of an effect.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In addition, embodiment described below is only an example which actualized this invention, and change of embodiment is possible in the range which does not change the summary of this invention.

[First Embodiment]
The configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 (an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention) according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the vertical direction 501 is defined with reference to the state where the image forming apparatus 10 is installed on a flat surface. Further, a left-right direction 502 is defined when the image forming apparatus 10 is viewed from the front side (front side). In addition, a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 2 and 3 and the like, illustration of a document cover 40 described later is omitted.

  The image forming apparatus 10 is referred to as a so-called in-cylinder discharge type, and is a complex machine having functions such as a printer, a copier, and a facsimile. The image forming apparatus 10 forms an input image on a sheet member using a developer such as toner. Note that the image forming apparatus 10 is not limited to a multifunction machine, and the present invention can be applied to a dedicated machine such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an image forming unit 2 and an image reading unit 3. The image forming unit 2 is provided below the image forming apparatus 10, and the image reading unit 3 is provided above the image forming unit 2. The image forming unit 2 forms an image on the sheet member by electrophotography. The image reading unit 3 reads an image of a document. Between the image forming unit 2 and the image reading unit 3, a support unit 50 that supports the image reading unit 3 with respect to the image forming unit 2 is provided.

  The image forming unit 2 includes a rectangular housing 211, and a paper feeding unit 4, a paper feeding roller 5, a plurality of transport rollers 6, a transfer unit 7, and a fixing unit 8 are provided in the housing 211. Prepare.

  The paper feed unit 4 includes a paper feed tray 411 that stores the sheet member. The paper feed tray 411 can be inserted into and removed from the housing 211.

  The paper feed roller 5 feeds out the sheet member stored in the paper feed tray 411. The transport roller 6 transports the sheet member fed by the paper feed roller 5 to a carry-out port 19 described later.

  The transfer unit 7 includes a photosensitive drum 9, a charging unit 10, an LSU 11, a developing unit 12, a transfer roller 13, and a cleaning unit 14.

  The charging unit 10 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 9 to a uniform potential when an operation for starting an image forming operation is performed. The LSU 11 scans the surface of the photosensitive drum 9 charged to a uniform potential by the charging unit 10 with laser light according to image data. Thereby, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 9.

  The developing unit 12 attaches toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 9. As a result, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 9 is visualized as a toner image. The transfer roller 13 transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 9 to the sheet member fed from the paper feeding unit 4 by applying a predetermined transfer bias.

  The sheet member to which the toner image has been transferred is sent to a conveyance path 17 provided between the transfer unit 7 and the fixing unit 8 and is conveyed to the fixing unit 8 disposed on the downstream side in the conveyance direction.

  The fixing unit 8 includes a heating roller 15 and a pressure roller 16. The heating roller 15 is heated to a high temperature by a heating device such as an IH heater during a fixing operation. The fixing unit 8 is transferred to the sheet member by heating and melting the toner transferred to the sheet member when the sheet member passes through the nip portion between the heating roller 15 and the pressure roller 16. The toner image is fixed to the sheet member by heat.

  The image forming apparatus 10 includes a conveyance path 18 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction from the fixing unit 8. The sheet member on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 8 is conveyed to the conveyance path 18. The conveyance path 18 extends in the vertical direction after being curved upward from the fixing unit 8.

  The sheet member that has entered the conveyance path 18 is conveyed along the conveyance path 18 by the conveyance roller 6. The sheet member is conveyed upward along the conveyance path 18. The end of the conveyance path 18 is a carry-out port 19, and the conveyance roller 6 can discharge the sheet member from the carry-out port 19.

  The image reading unit 3 executes an image reading operation for reading an image of a document. The image reading unit 3 includes a housing 315, and includes a contact glass 30, a reading unit 31, mirrors 32 and 33, an optical lens 34, and an image sensor 35 inside the housing 315. The image reading unit 3 also includes a drive circuit (not shown) that outputs a drive signal to the image sensor 35.

  The upper glass surface of the contact glass 30 is a document placement surface, and the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 is configured to include this document placement surface.

  The reading unit 31 is provided below the contact glass 30. The reading unit 31 includes an LED light source 36 and a mirror 37, and is configured to be movable in the left-right direction 502 by a moving mechanism (not shown) using a drive motor such as a stepping motor. The moving mechanism has a well-known configuration that includes a pair of pulleys and a drive belt that is spanned between the pulleys. By receiving a driving force from a driving motor (not shown), the moving mechanism slides the reading unit 31 in the left-right direction 502.

  The mirror 37 reflects the reflected light reflected by the document placed on the document placement surface toward the mirror 32 when light is emitted from the LED light source 36. The imaging element 35 is a photoelectric conversion element that receives reflected light reflected by the mirror 32 and the mirror 33 and outputs an electrical signal (voltage) corresponding to the amount of received light (intensity of luminance). The electrical signal corresponding to the amount of received light is digitized and transmitted to a control unit (not shown) as light amount data.

  A document cover 40 is provided above the image reading unit 3. The document cover 40 is rotatably supported by the image reading unit 3 between a closed posture and an open posture, with the rear (back side) end in the front-rear direction 503 of the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 as a rotation center. Has been. The closing posture is a posture in which the document cover 40 covers the upper surface of the image reading unit 3. The open posture is a posture in which the document cover 40 is separated from the upper surface of the image reading unit 3.

  Reading of an image of a document by the image reading unit 3 is performed according to the following procedure.

  A document is placed on the contact glass 30 by the user, and the document cover 40 is placed in the closed position. Thereafter, the user performs an image reading start operation on an operation display unit (not shown).

  When the image reading start operation is performed, an image reading operation is executed by the image reading unit 3. In the image reading operation, the image forming apparatus 10 detects the size of the document by a document sensor (not shown) before executing the image reading operation for reading the image of the document placed on the contact glass 30. . Then, the drive motor moves the reading unit 31 located at a predetermined reading start position on the left side in the left-right direction 502 to the right side in the left-right direction 502. The reading start position is a position facing the left end portion of the contact glass 30 or a position in the vicinity thereof. The image forming apparatus 10 moves the reading unit 31 in the left-right direction 502 by a movement amount corresponding to the detected size. Therefore, the reading end position of the reading unit 31 is different depending on the size of the document to be read.

  In parallel with this, the LED light source 36 continuously and sequentially irradiates one line of light. Thereby, the light irradiated from the LED light source 36 toward the contact glass 30 provided on the upper surface of the image reading unit 3 is scanned in the left-right direction 502.

  Then, the reflected light from the document is guided to the image sensor 35 via the mirrors 37, 32, 33 and the optical lens 34, and the light amount data corresponding to the amount of light received by the image sensor 35 is sequentially supplied to an image processing unit (not shown). Is transmitted. The image processing unit generates image information of a document from the light amount data by processing the light amount data. As described above, the image reading unit 3 reads the image of the document placed on the document placement surface.

  Next, the structure of the support part 50 is demonstrated.

  The support unit 50 discharges the sheet member after image formation between the image forming unit 2 and the image reading unit 3 by vertically separating the left sides of the image forming unit 2 and the image reading unit 3 from each other. The image forming unit 2 and the image reading unit 3 are connected to each other while forming the space 21.

  Specifically, the support part 50 includes a right side wall part 51 and a back wall part 52. The right wall 51 has a rectangular housing 511. The back wall 52 has a rectangular housing 521.

  The right side wall 51 is attached to the right side of the upper surface 24 of the image forming unit 2 with respect to the discharge space 21 and is provided on the right side of the image forming apparatus 10. Therefore, the right side wall 51 supports the image reading unit 3 with respect to the image forming unit 2 on the right side of the discharge space 21. The right side wall 51 supports the image reading unit 3 on the upper surface 512 (see FIGS. 2 to 4).

  The back wall 52 is attached to a position behind the discharge space 21 in the upper surface 24 of the image forming unit 2, and is provided on the rear side of the image forming apparatus 10. Therefore, the rear wall portion 52 supports the image reading unit 3 with respect to the image forming unit 2 on the rear side of the discharge space 21. The rear wall portion 52 supports the image reading unit 3 on the upper surface 522 (see FIG. 4).

  As described above, the image reading unit 3 is supported by the right wall 51 and the back wall 52 while being placed on the upper surface 512 of the right wall 51 and the upper surface 522 of the back wall 52, respectively. Here, the back wall portion 52 is an example of the first support portion of the present invention. The right side wall portion 51 is an example of a second support portion of the present invention.

  As described above, the image reading unit 3 is supported by the right side wall part 51 and the rear wall part 52, and the discharge space 21 is open to the outside on the left side and the front side in the image forming apparatus 10. Thereby, the user can easily take out the sheet member from the discharge space 21.

  The lower side of the discharge space 21 is partitioned by the upper surface 24 of the image forming unit 2. Further, the upper side of the discharge space 21 is partitioned by the bottom surface 38 of the image reading unit 3. That is, the discharge space 21 is a space sandwiched between the upper surface 24 and the bottom surface 38. The sheet member discharged to the discharge space 21 is placed on the upper surface 24.

  The right wall 51 is provided with a mechanism for discharging the sheet member after the image is formed by the image forming unit 2 to the discharge space 21.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the right side wall portion 51 includes a carry-in port 54 on the bottom surface 53 adjacent to the image forming unit 2. The carry-in entrance 54 is an entrance that receives the sheet member after image formation conveyed from the image forming unit 2.

  Further, the right side wall portion 51 includes a discharge port 56 formed in the side wall 55 facing the discharge space 21. The discharge port 56 is an outlet for discharging the sheet member to the discharge space 21, and is formed on the upper side of the side wall 55.

  A curved conveyance path 57 is formed from the carry-in port 54 to the discharge port 56. A conveyance roller pair 58 including a driving roller and a driven roller is provided at the end of the conveyance path 57 on the carry-in entrance 54 side. The sheet member that has entered the carry-in port 54 is conveyed by the conveyance roller pair 58 through the conveyance path 57 to the discharge port 56 side.

  A discharge roller pair 59 composed of a discharge roller and a driven roller is provided at the end of the transport path 57 on the discharge port 56 side. The sheet member conveyed through the conveyance path 57 is discharged from the discharge port 56 toward the discharge space 21 by the discharge roller pair 59.

  Next, a structure for attaching the image reading unit 3 to the support unit 50 will be described.

  The image reading unit 3 and the support unit 50 are coupled by a first coupling unit 91 and a second coupling unit 92 (see FIG. 2), and a third coupling unit 93 and a fourth coupling unit 94 (see FIG. 3). Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the first connecting portion 91 and the second connecting portion 92 are provided on the right side surface 111 of the image forming apparatus 10.

  The first connecting part 91 has an extended piece part 911. The extending piece 911 is provided in the image reading unit 3 and extends from the right side 316 of the image reading unit 3 toward the right side 513 of the lower right side wall 51. The extending piece 911 has a screw hole 913. A screw hole portion 311 is formed at a position corresponding to the screw hole portion 913 in the right side wall portion 51. And the screw 912 is screwed together in the state which the position of these screw hole parts 913 and 311 mutually aligned. The second connecting portion 92 also has an extended piece portion 921 and a screw 922 similar to the extended piece portion 911 and the screw 912. The description of the second connecting portion 92 is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the third connecting portion 93 and the fourth connecting portion 94 are provided on the rear surface 112 of the image forming apparatus 10.

  The third connecting portion 93 has an extended piece portion 931. The extending piece 931 is provided in the image reading unit 3 and extends downward from the rear side surface 312 of the image reading unit 3 toward the rear side surface 524 of the lower back wall portion 52. The extending piece 931 has a screw hole (not shown). A screw hole portion (not shown) is formed at a position corresponding to the screw hole portion in the back wall portion 52. Then, the screw 932 is screwed in a state where the positions of these screw hole portions are aligned with each other. The fourth connecting portion 94 also has an extended piece portion 941 and a screw 942 similar to the extended piece portion 931 and the screw 932. The description of the fourth connecting portion 94 is omitted.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5A, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a first positioning unit 101 and a second positioning unit 102. The first positioning unit 101 and the second positioning unit 102 are provided between the upper surface 522 of the back wall 52 that contacts the image reading unit 3 and the bottom surface 38 of the image reading unit 3 that contacts the upper surface 522. . The 1st positioning part 101 and the 2nd positioning part 102 are examples of the 1st fitting part of this invention. The upper surface 522 is an example of the first contact surface of the present invention. The bottom surface 38 is an example of the second contact surface of the present invention.

  The first positioning part 101 has a first positioning boss part 151 and a first positioning hole part 152. The second positioning part 102 has a second positioning boss part 161 and a second positioning hole part 162.

  In the present embodiment, the first positioning boss portion 151 and the second positioning boss portion 161 are provided on the straight line along the left-right direction 502 on the bottom surface 38 of the image reading unit 3 with a predetermined interval. Further, the first positioning hole portion 152 and the second positioning hole portion 162 are provided on the straight line along the left-right direction 502 on the upper surface 522 of the back wall portion 52 with the predetermined interval. The first positioning boss part 151 and the second positioning boss part 161 are examples of the first boss part of the present invention. The first positioning hole 152 and the second positioning hole 162 are an example of the first hole of the present invention.

  The first positioning boss 151 is fitted in the first positioning hole 152, and the second positioning boss 161 is fitted in the second positioning hole 162.

  The first positioning boss portion 151 has a cylindrical shape. The first positioning hole 152 has a circular hole having a diameter L1. Between the first positioning boss part 151 and the first positioning hole part 152, a certain extremely small clearance ΔX (see FIG. 5A) is provided in the circumferential direction.

  The second positioning boss part 161 has a cylindrical shape and has the same diameter as the first positioning boss part 151. The second positioning hole 162 has a long slot in the left-right direction 502. Specifically, the elongated hole of the second positioning hole 162 has substantially the same length as the diameter L1 of the first positioning hole 152 in the front-rear direction 503, and the first positioning hole in the left-right direction 502. It is longer than the diameter L1 of the part 152 (length: L2).

  That is, between the second positioning boss 161 and the second positioning hole 162, a clearance ΔX is provided in the front-rear direction 503, and a clearance longer than the clearance ΔX is provided in the left-right direction 502.

  If the diameter of the hole of the second positioning hole 162 is substantially the same as the diameter of the first positioning hole 152, the first positioning boss 151 or the second positioning boss 161 can be handled depending on manufacturing tolerances. May not fit into the hole. In order to avoid such a situation, the second positioning hole 162 is a long hole as described above.

  As described above, the first positioning boss 151 is fitted into the first positioning hole 152 with almost no clearance between the first positioning boss 151 and the first positioning hole 152. Further, the second positioning boss 161 is fitted into the second positioning hole 162 with almost no clearance in the front-rear direction 503 with the second positioning hole 162. As a result, the image reading unit 3 is positioned with respect to the support unit 50.

  By the way, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, at least one of the four corners of the image reading unit 3 is not supported by the support unit 50. On the other hand, in an image forming apparatus that receives a sheet member after image formation by the sheet tray attached to the outer surface of the apparatus main body, the support section supports the four corners of the image reading section. Yes. Therefore, compared to such an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is less stable in supporting the image reading unit 3 by the image forming unit 2.

  Therefore, when the image forming apparatus 10 falls while the image forming apparatus 10 is being transported, the image forming unit 2 or the image reading unit 3 is easily damaged. In particular, a large burden is applied to the first positioning portion 101 and the second positioning portion 102 or the first to fourth connecting portions 91 to 94.

  The number of the boss portions and the hole portions is as small as possible for reasons such as reduction in the number of forming steps and costs of the boss portions such as the first positioning boss portions 151 and the like and the hole portions such as the first positioning hole portions 152. Is preferred. Therefore, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment reads an image with the two positioning units (the first positioning unit 101 and the second positioning unit 102), which is the minimum number necessary for positioning the image reading unit 3. The part 3 is configured to be positioned with respect to the support part 50. The two positioning portions 101 and 102 are provided at a predetermined interval on the rear side of the image forming apparatus 10.

  However, in a configuration in which the two positioning portions 101 and 102 are provided at a predetermined interval on the rear side of the image forming apparatus 10, damage caused when the image forming apparatus 10 falls while the image forming apparatus 10 is transported. It could not be said that it had sufficient strength. In particular, when a load is applied to the image reading unit 3 at a position on the front side away from the first positioning unit 101 and the second positioning unit 102, the first positioning unit 101, the second positioning unit 102, or the first to first positioning units. There was a possibility that the 4 connecting portions 91 to 94 would be damaged. The image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment has the following configuration in order to prevent such problems from occurring.

  As illustrated in FIG. 5B, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a first restriction unit 103 and a second restriction unit 104. The first restricting unit 103 and the second restricting unit 104 are provided between the upper surface 512 of the right side wall 51 that contacts the image reading unit 3 and the bottom surface 38 of the image reading unit 3 that contacts the upper surface 512. . The 1st control part 103 and the 2nd control part 104 are examples of the 2nd fitting part of this invention. The upper surface 512 is an example of the third contact surface of the present invention. The bottom surface 38 is an example of a fourth contact surface of the present invention.

  The first restricting portion 103 has a first restricting boss portion 171 and a first restricting hole portion 172. The second restricting portion 104 has a second restricting boss portion 181 and a second restricting hole portion 182.

  In the present embodiment, the first restriction boss part 171 and the second restriction boss part 181 are provided on the bottom surface 38 of the image reading part 3. In addition, the first restriction hole 172 and the second restriction hole 182 are provided on the upper surface 512 of the right side wall 51 at a predetermined interval on a straight line along the front-rear direction 503. The first restriction boss part 171 and the second restriction boss part 181 are examples of the second boss part. The first restriction hole 172 and the second restriction hole 182 are examples of the second hole of the present invention.

  The first restriction boss 171 is fitted in the first restriction hole 172, and the second restriction boss 181 is fitted in the second restriction hole 182.

  The first restricting portion 103 and the second restricting portion 104 are provided at positions different from the first positioning portion 101 and the second positioning portion 102 in both the left-right direction 502 and the front-rear direction 503.

  The first restriction boss portion 171 has a cylindrical shape. The first restriction hole 172 has a circular hole having a diameter L3. A constant clearance ΔY (see FIG. 5B) is provided between the first restriction boss 171 and the first restriction hole 172 in the circumferential direction.

  Since the configuration of the second restriction boss portion 181 and the second restriction hole portion 182 is the same as the configuration of the first restriction boss portion 171 and the first restriction hole portion 172, the description thereof is omitted.

  As described above, a minute clearance ΔX (see FIG. 5A) is provided between the peripheral surface of the first positioning boss portion 151 and the first positioning hole portion 152 in the first positioning portion 101. . Further, a clearance ΔX is provided in the front-rear direction 503 between the peripheral surface of the second positioning boss portion 161 and the second positioning hole portion 162 in the second positioning portion 102.

  On the other hand, a clearance ΔY (see FIG. 5) is provided between the peripheral surface of the first restriction boss 171 and the first restriction hole 172 in the first restriction part 103. A clearance ΔY (see FIG. 5) is also provided between the peripheral surface of the second restriction boss 181 and the second restriction hole 182 in the second restriction part 104.

  Here, the clearance ΔY is larger than the clearance ΔX.

  When the image forming apparatus 10 falls, an impact may be applied to the image reading unit 3 in a direction crossing the bottom surface 38 of the image reading unit 3. Due to this impact, the bottom surface 38 of the image reading unit 3 is brought into contact with the top surface 512 of the support unit 50 from a normal posture (see FIG. 6A) where the bottom surface 38 of the image reading unit 3 and the top surfaces 512 and 522 of the support unit 50 are in close contact. 522 may be displaced to a posture inclined in the direction of the arrow W (see FIG. 6B), for example.

  Here, in this embodiment, since the impact is a large impact, when the displacement amount of the first restriction boss 171 with respect to the first restriction hole 172 increases, the peripheral surface of the first restriction boss 171 becomes the first restriction. Abutting on the hole 172, the peripheral surface 400 of the second restricting boss 181 abuts on the edge 401 of the second restricting hole 182 (see arrow P1).

  Accordingly, further displacement of the first restriction boss part 171 and the second restriction boss part 181 is restricted by the first restriction hole part 172 and the second restriction hole part 182. As a result, further displacement of the image reading unit 3 is restricted. Therefore, it is assumed that an impact is applied to the image reading unit 3 such that further displacement of the image reading unit 3 cannot be suppressed only by the fitting in the first positioning unit 101 and the connection in the first to fourth connection units 91 to 94. Moreover, the load burden concerning the 1st positioning part 101 grade | etc., Can be reduced. As a result, it is possible to prevent the first positioning portion 101 or the like or the first to fourth connecting portions 91 to 94 from being damaged.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the separation dimension between the tip of the first positioning boss 151 and the first positioning hole 152 in the first positioning portion 101 is T1. In addition, the distance between the tip of the second positioning boss 161 and the second positioning hole 162 in the second positioning portion 102 is also T1.

  On the other hand, the distance between the tip of the first restriction boss 171 and the first restriction hole 172 in the first restriction 103 is R1. In addition, the distance between the tip of the second restriction boss 181 and the second restriction hole 182 in the second restriction 104 is also R1.

  Here, the separation dimension T1 is longer than the separation dimension R1.

  As a result, when the image reading unit 3 is assembled to the support unit 50 at the time of manufacturing the image forming apparatus 10, first, the first positioning boss 151 of the first positioning unit 101 is fitted into the first positioning hole 152. The second positioning boss part 161 of the second positioning part 102 is fitted into the second positioning hole part 162. Then, after that, the first restriction boss part 171 of the first restriction part 103 is fitted into the first restriction hole part 172, and the second restriction boss part 181 of the second restriction part 104 is fitted into the second restriction hole part 182. Match.

  That is, when the image reading unit 3 is assembled to the support unit 50, first, the first positioning unit 101 and the second positioning unit 102 position the image reading unit 3 with respect to the support unit 50. Thereby, workability | operativity at the time of an operator assembling | attaching the image reading part 3 to the support part 50 can be improved.

  That is, if the separation dimension T1 is shorter than the separation dimension R1, the first positioning part 101 and the second positioning part 102 are fitted after the first restriction part 103 and the second restriction part 104 are in the fitted state. It becomes a state. In this case, in the process of assembling the image reading unit 3 to the support unit 50, the first regulating unit 103 and the second regulating unit 104 are fitted and the first positioning unit 101 and the second positioning unit 102 are fitted. In the previous state, the image reading unit 3 wobbles with respect to the support unit 50 due to the presence of the clearance ΔY. Therefore, the operation of fitting the first positioning boss 151 of the first positioning portion 101 into the first positioning hole 152 and fitting the second positioning boss 161 of the second positioning portion 102 into the second positioning hole 162. The workability of is not good. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the first positioning unit 101 and the second positioning unit 102 are first fitted and positioned in the front-rear direction 503, the wobble does not occur. Therefore, the operator can easily put the first restricting portion 103 and the second restricting portion 104 into a fitted state, and can easily assemble the image reading portion 3 to the support portion 50.

  In the present embodiment, the first positioning boss part 151 and the second positioning boss part 161, and the first restriction boss part 171 and the second restriction boss part 181 are provided on the bottom surface of the image reading part 3 that is on the same plane. Yes. Therefore, in this case, the separation dimension T1 is longer than the separation dimension R1 is that the protruding lengths of the first positioning boss part 151 and the second positioning boss part 161 are the first restriction boss part 171 and the second restriction boss part. It means that the protrusion length is longer than 181.

  On the other hand, if there is a step between the plane on which the first positioning boss portion 151 and the second positioning boss portion 161 are provided and the plane on which the first restriction boss portion 171 and the second restriction boss portion 181 are provided, they are separated from each other. The condition that the dimension T1 is longer than the separation dimension R1 is such that the fitting in the first positioning part 101 and the second positioning part 102 is performed before the fitting in the first restricting part 173 and the second restricting part 174. Become.

[Second Embodiment]
The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the following configuration in addition to the configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the right side wall portion 51 has a facing portion 514. The facing portion 514 faces with a predetermined clearance ΔZ between the first restriction boss portion 171 and the tip of the second restriction boss portion 181. Thereby, the same effect as the 1st control part 103 and the 2nd control part 104 is acquired.

  That is, when the image forming apparatus 10 falls, the image reading unit 3 moves from the normal posture (see FIG. 7A) similar to FIG. 6A to the bottom surface 38 of the image reading unit 3 to the upper surface 512 of the support unit 50. For example, the position may be displaced to the same posture (see FIG. 7B) as that in FIG.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the displacement amount of the first restriction boss portion 171 with respect to the first restriction hole portion 172 increases because the impact is a large impact, the first restriction boss portion 171 and The tip 190 of the second restricting boss portion 181 contacts the facing portion 514 (see arrow Q1).

  Thereby, the further displacement of the 1st control boss part 171 and the 2nd control boss part 181 is controlled by the facing part 514. As a result, further displacement of the image reading unit 3 is restricted. As a result, similarly to the first restricting portion 103 and the second restricting portion 104, the first positioning portion 101, the second positioning portion 102, or the first to fourth connecting portions 91 to 94 can be prevented from being damaged. .

1: image forming apparatus 2: image forming unit 3: image reading unit 21: discharge space 24: upper surface 38: bottom surface 50: support unit 51: right side wall unit 52: rear wall unit 53: bottom unit 91-94: first to first 4 connecting portion 112: rear surface 101: first positioning portion 102: second positioning portion 103: first restricting portion 104: second restricting portion 111: right side surface 151: first positioning boss portion 152: first positioning hole portion 161: Second positioning boss 162: Second positioning hole 171: First restriction boss 172: First restriction hole 181: Second restriction boss 182: Second restriction hole 312: Rear side 316: Right side 512: Upper surface 521: Housing 522: Upper surface 524: Rear side surface 5111: Housing

Claims (7)

An image reading unit for reading an image of a document;
An image forming unit provided below the image reading unit;
A discharge space in which the sheet member is discharged is formed by vertically separating one side of each of the image reading unit and the image forming unit in a predetermined first direction, and the first space is more than the first discharge space. A first support unit that supports the image reading unit with respect to the image forming unit on the other side in the direction;
One of the image reading unit and the image forming unit in the second direction intersecting the first direction is vertically separated to form the discharge space from which the sheet member is discharged, and from the discharge space A second support portion that supports the image reading portion with respect to the image forming portion on the other side in the second direction;
A first boss portion provided between a first contact surface in contact with the image reading portion in the first support portion and a second contact surface in contact with the first contact surface in the image reading portion, and a second one. A first fitting portion having one hole portion;
The first support portion is provided between a third contact surface that contacts the image reading portion of the second support portion and a fourth contact surface that contacts the third contact surface of the image reading portion, and the first fitting. A second fitting part having a second boss part and a second hole part provided at different positions in the first direction and the second direction with respect to the joint part;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The separation dimension between the tip end of the second boss part and the second hole part in the second fitting part is a separation dimension between the tip part of the first boss part and the first hole part in the first fitting part. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is shorter.   The clearance between the surrounding surface of the said 2nd boss | hub part and the said 2nd hole part is larger than the clearance between the surrounding surface of the said 1st boss | hub part, and the said 1st hole part. Image forming apparatus.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second support portion includes a facing portion that faces the front end of the second boss portion with a predetermined clearance. 5.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two first fitting portions are provided at a predetermined interval on a straight line along the first direction. 6. The clearance between the peripheral surface of the first boss portion and the first hole portion in one of the first fitting portions is greater than the clearance between the peripheral surface of the second boss portion and the second hole portion. Is also small,
The clearance in the second direction between the peripheral surface of the first boss part and the first hole in the other first fitting part is the clearance of the first boss part in one of the first fitting parts. It is the same as the clearance in the second direction between the peripheral surface and the first hole,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the first hole portion in the other first fitting portion has a longer diameter in the first direction than the first boss portion fitted in the first hole portion. A first connection part and a second connection part for connecting the image reading part and the first support part on the other side in the first direction;
A third connection part and a fourth connection part for connecting the image reading part and the first support part on the other side in the second direction;
An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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