JP2016114893A - Image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation device that inhibits a step between mutually adjacent external members from being caused, and allows a height of corner parts of an image reading unit to be adjusted.SOLUTION: An image formation device 100 comprises: an image reading unit 10; an image formation unit 20; a support base 22; and a height adjustment member 50. The support base 22 has a support face 22A that supports a corner part CB excluding a predetermined corner part CA of a plurality of corner parts C of the image reading unit 10, and is arranged between the image reading unit 10 and the image formation unit 20. The height adjustment member 50 adjusts a height with respect to the support face 22A of the corner part CA. The image formation unit 20 includes a first support part and a first exterior member 24. The first support part supports the corner part CA. The first exterior member 24 is attached to the first support part so as to cover an outer side face of the first support part. The image reading unit 10 includes a coupling part 13 that couples to the first exterior member 24, penetrating the first support part and the height adjustment member 50.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  The image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes an image reading apparatus having an optical frame. An optical system carriage is accommodated in the optical frame. The optical system carriage includes a light source and a mirror. In the image reading apparatus, the optical system carriage moves in the sub-scanning direction within the optical frame, and the image sensor reads the image of the document.

  When such an image reading apparatus is installed on the main body frame of the image forming apparatus, if the installation surface of the image reading apparatus is distorted or warped, the optical frame may be distorted. On the other hand, when the optical system carriage moves in the sub-scanning direction in the optical frame, it moves along a guide rail laid in the optical frame. Therefore, when the optical frame is distorted, the guide rail that guides the optical system carriage is also distorted, which may reduce the accuracy of the read image signal. When the accuracy of the read image signal decreases, the perpendicularity of the image formed on the sheet based on the read image signal may decrease. In general, the squareness of an image is determined by the angle of the corner of the rectangular image formed on the sheet when the rectangular image is formed on a sheet (for example, paper) based on the rectangular image read by the image reading device. It shows how much it deviates from 90 degrees.

  Patent Document 1 describes an image forming apparatus that suppresses a decrease in perpendicularity of an image by suppressing distortion of an optical frame in addition to the above-described image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes a pair of wedge-shaped adjusting members that are tapered to each other. One of the pair of wedge-shaped adjusting members is fixed to the bottom surface of the optical frame, and the other is slidably provided on the upper portion of the image forming apparatus main body. Then, by sliding the wedge-shaped adjusting member, the height of one of the four corners of the optical frame with respect to the main body frame is adjusted. As a result, distortion of the optical frame is suppressed, and a decrease in the perpendicularity of the image can be suppressed.

JP 2011-35491 A

  However, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, exterior members are attached to the optical frame and the main body frame, respectively. As the height of the corner of the optical frame is changed by the wedge-shaped adjustment member, the height of the exterior member attached to the optical frame with respect to the main body frame also changes. On the other hand, the position of the exterior member attached to the main body frame does not change. Therefore, there is a possibility that a step is generated between the exterior member of the optical frame (image reading unit) and the exterior member of the main body frame (image forming unit).

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an exterior member of an image reading unit and an exterior member of an image forming unit that are adjacent to each other as the height of the corners of the image reading unit is adjusted. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing the occurrence of a step between the two.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image reading unit, an image forming unit, a support base, and a height adjusting member. The image reading unit optically reads an image of a document. The image forming unit forms an image on a sheet. The support base has a support surface that supports corners excluding a predetermined corner among a plurality of corners of the image reading unit, and is disposed between the image reading unit and the image forming unit. The The height adjusting member adjusts the height of the predetermined corner with respect to the support surface. The image forming unit includes a first support unit and a first exterior member. The first support portion supports the predetermined corner portion. The first exterior member is attached to the first support portion so as to cover an outer surface of the first support portion. The image reading unit includes a coupling unit that penetrates the first support unit and the height adjusting member and is coupled to the first exterior member.

  According to the present invention, with the adjustment of the height of the corner of the image reading unit, a step is generated between the exterior member of the image reading unit and the exterior member (first exterior member) of the image forming unit adjacent to each other. This can be suppressed.

1 is a diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a part of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is an exploded perspective view showing an enlarged part of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged view of a part of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the height adjustment member of the image forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is not repeated. In this embodiment, the X axis and the Y axis are parallel to the horizontal axis, and the Z axis is parallel to the vertical axis. The X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are orthogonal to each other.

  An image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus 100. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a part of the image forming apparatus 100. In FIG. 2, the document conveying device 30 and the operation panel 40 are omitted for simplification of the drawing.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 100 is, for example, a multi function peripheral (MFP). The image forming apparatus 100 has functions of a scanner, a copier, a printer, and a facsimile (FAX). The image forming apparatus 100 includes an image reading unit 10, an image forming unit 20, a support base 22 that supports the image reading unit 10, a document conveying device 30 that conveys a document M to be read to the image reading unit 10, and a user And an operation panel 40 for operating the image forming apparatus 100. Further, the image forming apparatus 100 has a discharge space SP from which the sheet S is discharged. The discharge space SP is formed between the image reading unit 10 and the image forming unit 20.

  The image reading unit 10 optically reads an image of the document M. The image reading unit 10 is, for example, a scanner. The image reading unit 10 includes a housing CS, an optical system 110 accommodated in the housing CS, and a contact glass 115 on which the document M is placed. The casing CS has a top surface portion 11 in which an opening is formed. All or part of the housing CS is made of metal, for example. The contact glass 115 is disposed so as to cover the opening formed in the top surface portion 11. The optical system 110 reads an image of the document M. Specifically, the optical system 110 includes a light source 120, a first carriage 130 including a reflection mirror, a second carriage 140 including a reflection mirror, and an imaging unit 150.

  The light source 120 is attached to the first carriage 130 and extends along the main scanning direction (direction along the X axis). The light source 120 irradiates the original M placed on the contact glass 115 with light. Each of the first carriage 130 and the second carriage 140 moves in the sub-scanning direction (direction along the Y axis) along the guide rail, and the image of the document M is scanned. As a result, the image of the original M is picked up by the imaging unit 150 and image data of the original M is generated.

  The image forming unit 20 forms an image on the sheet S. The image forming unit 20 is disposed below the image reading unit 10. The image forming unit 20 includes a feeding unit 210, a transport unit 220, an image forming unit 230, and a discharge unit 250.

  The feeding unit 210 includes a cassette 211 and feeds sheets S stacked on the cassette 211 to the transport unit 220. The conveyance unit 220 conveys the sheet S to the image forming unit 230.

  The image forming unit 230 forms an image on the sheet S based on image data (for example, image data generated by the imaging unit 150). The image forming unit 230 includes a photosensitive drum 231, a charging unit 232, an exposure unit 233, a developing unit 234, a transfer unit 235, and a fixing unit 240. An image is formed on the sheet S by the photosensitive drum 231, the charging unit 232, the exposure unit 233, the developing unit 234, and the transfer unit 235. Then, the sheet S is conveyed toward the fixing unit 240 by the conveyance unit 220. The fixing unit 240 heats and pressurizes the sheet S to fix the image formed on the sheet S to the sheet S. Then, the sheet S is conveyed toward the discharge unit 250. The discharge unit 250 includes a pair of discharge rollers and discharges the sheet S to the discharge space SP.

  Details of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the image forming apparatus 100. In FIG. 3, the document conveying device 30 and the operation panel 40 are not shown for simplification of the drawing.

  A support base 22 is disposed between the image reading unit 10 and the image forming unit 20. The support base 22 is a corner C (hereinafter referred to as “corner CB”) excluding a predetermined corner C (hereinafter referred to as “corner CA”) among the four corners C of the image reading unit 10. It has a support surface 22A for supporting. The image forming unit 20 further includes a frame portion 23 </ b> A (first support portion) that supports the corner CA and a first exterior member 24. The first exterior member 24 is attached to the frame portion 23A so as to cover the outer surface of the frame portion 23A. The image reading unit 10 further includes a second exterior member 15.

  The image forming apparatus 100 further includes a height adjusting member 50. The height adjusting member 50 adjusts the height of the corner CA with respect to the support surface 22A. Hereinafter, the height of the corner CA indicates the height with respect to the support surface 22A. The image reading unit 10 further includes a coupling unit 13. The coupling portion 13 is formed at the corner CA and penetrates the frame portion 23 </ b> A and the height adjusting member 50 to couple with the first exterior member 24. As the height adjustment member 50 slides along the frame portion 23A, the coupling portion 13 moves along a direction D1 (hereinafter referred to as “adjustment direction D1”) intersecting the support surface 22A. In the present embodiment, the support surface 22A is substantially horizontal, and the adjustment direction D1 is a substantially vertical direction.

  According to the present embodiment, since the coupling portion 13 is coupled to the first exterior member 24, the first exterior member 24 is used when the height of the corner CA of the image reading unit 10 is adjusted. Move with. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a step between the first exterior member 24 of the image forming unit 20 and the second exterior member 15 of the image reading unit 10 that are adjacent to each other as the height of the corner CA is adjusted. Further, the user can easily adjust the height of the corner CA by sliding the height adjusting member 50.

  Hereinafter, the height adjustment member 50 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 in association with the image reading unit 10 and the image forming unit 20.

  First, the image reading unit 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The casing CS has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and further includes a first side surface portion 12, a second side surface portion 14, a third side surface portion 18, a fourth side surface portion 19, and a bottom surface portion 16 in addition to the top surface portion 11.

  The end portion E12 of the first side surface portion 12 and the end portion E14 of the second side surface portion 14 are adjacent to each other and are included in the corner portion CA. The first side surface portion 12 faces the third side surface portion 18, and the second side surface portion 14 faces the fourth side surface portion 19. The bottom surface portion 16 faces the top surface portion 11.

  The coupling portion 13 protrudes from the end E12 of the first side surface portion 12 toward the first exterior member 24 so as to be substantially orthogonal to the first side surface portion 12. In the present embodiment, the coupling portion 13 has a cylindrical shape. For example, the coupling part 13 is a caulking pin. However, the shape of the coupling portion 13 is not limited to a columnar shape, and may be, for example, a prismatic shape, a cylindrical shape, or a rectangular tube shape. Moreover, the coupling | bond part 13 is metal, for example.

  The image reading unit 10 further includes a second exterior member 15 and three leg portions 17. The second exterior member 15 is attached to the second side surface portion 14 so as to cover the outer side surface of the second side surface portion 14.

  The leg 17 is provided at each corner CB and supported by the support surface 22A. Specifically, each of the three leg portions 17 is provided in a corner region included in the corner portion CB in the lower surface of the bottom surface portion 16. The three leg portions 17 are arranged so as to form three vertices of a triangle corresponding to the L-shaped support surface 22 </ b> A of the support base 22. The image reading unit 10 is placed on the support base 22 such that the three leg portions 17 are in contact with the support surface 22 </ b> A of the support base 22. Therefore, the image reading unit 10 is supported by the support base 22 via each of the leg portions 17. As a result, the image reading unit 10 is stably supported by the support base 22. The leg portion 17 is formed of, for example, an elastic body (for example, rubber). In this case, the image reading unit 10 can be supported more stably.

  Next, the image forming unit 20 will be described with reference to FIG. The image forming unit 20 further includes a frame 23. The frame 23 is made of metal, for example, and forms a skeleton of the image forming unit 20. The frame 23 includes a long plate-like frame portion 23A. The frame portion 23 </ b> A extends along the first side surface portion 12.

  The frame portion 23A has a support portion 23B (second support portion). The support portion 23B is formed at the lower end portion of the frame portion 23A so as to extend along the longitudinal direction of the frame portion 23A. The support portion 23B is a narrow base that protrudes from the outer surface of the frame portion 23A.

  An end E23 of the frame portion 23A is opposed to the end E12 of the first side surface portion 12. An opening 23 </ b> C extending along the adjustment direction D <b> 1 is formed at the end E <b> 23 of the frame portion 23 </ b> A corresponding to the coupling portion 13. The coupling portion 13 passes through the opening 23C. The width of the opening 23C is slightly larger than the diameter of the coupling portion 13, for example.

  The first exterior member 24 includes a coupled portion 24A to which the coupling portion 13 is coupled. In the present embodiment, the coupled portion 24A is cylindrical. However, the coupled portion 24A is not limited to a cylindrical shape and can take any shape. By coupling the coupling portion 13 to the coupled portion 24 </ b> A, the coupling portion 13 can be more securely coupled to the first exterior member 24.

  Next, the height adjusting member 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 4A is an exploded perspective view showing a part of the image forming apparatus 100 in an enlarged manner. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A, the height adjusting member 50 includes a slide member 51 and two screws 52 (columnar members).

  The slide member 51 has a rectangular flat plate shape, and is made of, for example, metal. The slide member 51 is disposed at the end E23 in the longitudinal direction of the frame portion 23A, corresponding to the end E12 of the first side surface portion 12, between the outer surface of the frame portion 23A and the first exterior member 24. The slide member 51 is slidable along the slide direction D2 along the frame portion 23A. In the present embodiment, the slide direction D2 is substantially orthogonal to the adjustment direction D1, and is substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the frame portion 23A. A lower end edge F51 of the slide member 51 is supported by a support portion 23B extending along the slide direction D2.

  The slide member 51 is formed with a first long hole 51A and two second long holes 51B. The first long hole 51A is inclined with respect to the sliding direction D2. The coupling portion 13 passes through the first long hole 51A. The two second long holes 51B are formed at an interval in the adjustment direction D1. The second long hole 51B extends along the slide direction D2. The first long hole 51A is formed between one of the two second long holes 51B and the other.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the two screws 52 are provided corresponding to the two second long holes 51B. The screws 52 pass through the corresponding second elongated holes 51B and are attached to the frame portion 23A. Therefore, before the slide member 51 is tightened by the screw 52, the slide member 51 can slide along the second long hole 51B. As a result, the slide member 51 can slide with high accuracy along the slide direction D2.

  As the slide member 51 slides along the slide direction D2 along the frame portion 23A, the coupling portion 13 moves along the adjustment direction D1. This is because the coupling portion 13 passes through the first long hole 51A and the opening 23C (FIG. 3) and moves along the first long hole 51A and the opening 23C. As the coupling portion 13 moves along the adjustment direction D1, the height of the corner CA of the image reading portion 10 changes. This is because the coupling portion 13 is formed at the corner CA. Therefore, the height of the corner CA of the image reading unit 10 can be adjusted by sliding the slide member 51 along the slide direction D2.

  In addition, the slide member 51 and the coupling portion 13 are disposed above the discharge space SP. Therefore, the user can easily adjust the height of the corner CA by the slide member 51.

  After adjusting the height of the corner CA of the image reading unit 10, the slide member 51 is fastened to the frame portion 23 </ b> A by tightening the slide member 51 with the screw 52. As a result, the corner CA of the image reading unit 10 is supported by the frame 23A at the adjusted height. Since the slide member 51 is supported by the support portion 23B, it is possible to prevent the screw 52 from being deformed by the load of the image reading unit 10 and the height of the corner CA from being changed.

  After the slide member 51 is fixed to the frame portion 23A, the coupling portion 13 is coupled to the coupled portion 24A of the first exterior member 24, and the second exterior member 15 is secured to the second side surface portion 14 of the casing CS. . In addition, the order of the coupling | bonding of the coupling | bond part 13 and the attachment of the 2nd exterior member 15 is arbitrary. The first exterior member 24 is fixed to the frame portion 23A by a fixing member such as a screw.

  FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing a part of the image forming apparatus 100 in an enlarged manner. As shown in FIG. 4B, in the present embodiment, a step is generated between the second exterior member 15 and the first exterior member 24 after the first exterior member 24 and the second exterior member 15 are fixed. This can be suppressed. In FIG. 4B, the end edge portion of the second exterior member 15 and the end edge portion of the first exterior member 24 are substantially flush with each other.

  With reference to FIG. 5, the change of the position of the coupling part 13 by the height adjusting member 50 will be described. 5A and 5B are partially enlarged views showing the height adjusting member 50. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the upper end portion of the first long hole 51A is disposed at a position farther from the end edge 25 of the frame portion 23A than the lower end portion of the first long hole 51A. The first long hole 51 </ b> A is inclined toward the upper edge of the slide member 51. The end edge 25 is an end edge of the end portion E23 of the frame portion 23A.

  The coupling portion 13 is located at the approximate center in the longitudinal direction of the first long hole 51A. The screw 52 fixes the slide member 51 to the frame portion 23A at the approximate center in the longitudinal direction of the second long hole 51B. In FIG. 5A, the height H1 indicates the height of the coupling portion 13 with respect to the support surface 22A.

  The screw 52 is loosened, and the slide member 51 is slid in the slide direction D2 so that the upper end portion of the first long hole 51A approaches the coupling portion 13. As a result, the coupling portion 13 is pushed up by the lower end edge of the first long hole 51A and rises along the opening 23C.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the coupling portion 13 is positioned at the upper end portion of the first long hole 51A. Furthermore, the slide member 51 is fixed to the frame portion 23 </ b> A with screws 52 at the end portion close to the upper end portion of the first long hole 51 </ b> A among both end portions of the second long hole 51 </ b> B. In FIG. 5B, the height H2 indicates the height of the coupling portion 13 with respect to the support surface 22A.

  As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the height H2 is higher than the height H1. Therefore, when the slide member 51 slides in the sliding direction D2 so that the upper end portion of the first long hole 51A approaches the coupling portion 13, the coupling portion 13 rises along the adjustment direction D1, and the corner of the image reading unit 10 The height of CA increases.

  On the other hand, although illustration is omitted, when the slide member 51 slides in the sliding direction D2 so that the lower end portion of the first long hole 51A approaches the coupling portion 13, the coupling portion 13 descends along the adjustment direction D1, and the image The height of the corner CA of the reading unit 10 is reduced.

  As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, according to the present embodiment, the first exterior member 24 and the first exterior member 24 adjacent to each other are adjusted along with the adjustment of the height of the corner CA of the image reading unit 10. It can suppress that a level | step difference arises between 2 exterior members 15. FIG. Further, by adjusting the height of the corner CA, distortion of the casing CS of the image reading unit 10 can be suppressed, and a decrease in the perpendicularity of the image can be suppressed.

  Further, as described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, according to the present embodiment, by forming the inclined first long hole 51 </ b> A in the slide member 51, the height can be increased with a simple configuration. The adjustment member 50 can be configured.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings (FIGS. 1 to 5). However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various modes without departing from the gist thereof (for example, (1) and (2) shown below). In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined. In order to facilitate understanding, the drawings schematically show each component as a main component, and the thickness, length, number, interval, etc. of each component shown in the drawings are actual for convenience of drawing. Is different. In addition, the material, shape, and the like of each component shown in the above embodiment are merely examples, and are not particularly limited, and various changes can be made without departing from the effects of the present invention.

  (1) The upper end portion of the first long hole 51A may be disposed at a position closer to the edge 25 of the frame portion 23A than the lower end portion of the first long hole 51A. The first long hole 51 </ b> A is inclined toward the upper edge of the slide member 51. In addition, the inclination angle of the first long hole 51A with respect to the sliding direction D2 can be set to an arbitrary value.

  (2) The support portion 23B of the frame portion 23A is a narrow base, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the support portion 23B may be formed in a narrow groove shape. In this case, the support part 23B can support the slide member 51 stably.

  The present invention can be used in the field of image forming apparatuses.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image reading part 100 Image forming apparatus 110 Optical system 12 1st side surface part 13 Coupling part 14 2nd side surface part 15 Second exterior member 17 Leg part 20 Image forming part 22 Support base 22A Support surface 23A Frame part (1st support part) )
23B support part (second support part)
23C opening 24 1st exterior member 24A to-be-joined part 50 height adjustment member 51 slide member 51A 1st long hole 51B 2nd long hole 52 screw (columnar member)
C, CA, CB Corner CS Casing E12, E14 End F51 Bottom edge M Document S Sheet

Claims (7)

An image reading unit that optically reads an image of a document;
An image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet;
A support base for supporting a corner excluding a predetermined corner of the plurality of corners of the image reading unit, and a support base disposed between the image reading unit and the image forming unit;
A height adjusting member that adjusts the height of the predetermined corner with respect to the support surface;
The image forming unit includes:
A first support for supporting the predetermined corner;
A first exterior member attached to the first support portion so as to cover an outer surface of the first support portion;
The image forming apparatus includes: a coupling unit that penetrates the first support unit and the height adjustment member and couples to the first exterior member. The coupling portion is formed at the predetermined corner,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coupling portion moves along a direction intersecting the support surface in response to the height adjustment member sliding along the first support portion. The image reading unit
An optical system for reading the image of the original;
A housing having a first side surface portion and a second side surface portion adjacent to each other, and housing the optical system;
A second exterior member attached to the second side surface portion,
The height adjustment member includes a slide member slidable along the first support portion,
The slide member is disposed on the first support portion between the outer side surface of the first support portion and the first exterior member, corresponding to the end portion of the first side surface portion,
The first exterior member includes a coupled portion coupled to the coupling portion,
The coupling portion protrudes from the end portion of the first side surface portion, penetrates the first support portion and the slide member, and is coupled to the coupled portion.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coupling unit moves along a direction intersecting the support surface in accordance with the slide of the slide member along the first support unit. In the first support portion, an opening extending along a direction intersecting the support surface is formed corresponding to the coupling portion,
The slide member is formed with a first long hole that is inclined with respect to the sliding direction of the slide member,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the coupling portion passes through the opening and the first elongated hole and is coupled to the coupled portion. Two second elongated holes extending along the sliding direction of the slide member are formed in the slide member,
The first long hole is formed between one of the two second long holes and the other,
The height adjusting member further includes two columnar members provided corresponding to the two second long holes,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the columnar member is attached to the first support portion through the corresponding second long hole. A second support portion extending along the slide direction of the slide member is formed at a lower end portion of the first support portion,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second support part protrudes from the outer surface of the first support part and supports a lower end edge of the slide member. The image reading unit further includes a leg portion supported by the support surface,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the leg portion is provided at each of the corner portions excluding the predetermined corner portion among the plurality of corner portions.

Images