JP2018072629A - Connector holding mechanism and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connector holding mechanism that can easily attach a connector to which a cable is connected.SOLUTION: A back plate 2 holds a harness 5 to which a body-side connector 4 is connected. A connector unit 1 is a member for fixing the body-side connector 4 to the back plate 2. A slit 7 is provided in the connector unit 1 and through which the harness 5 can pass when the body-side connector 4 is fixed to the back plate 2 through the connector unit 1. Shafts 8a and 8b are provided on both sides across the slit 7 of the connector unit 1 to fix the connector unit 1 to the back plate 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector holding mechanism for fixing a connector and an image forming apparatus including the connector holding mechanism.

  Along with the attachment of the detachable unit to the apparatus housing, an apparatus housing in which the connection connector on the detachable unit side is connected by self-alignment with the main body connector on the apparatus housing side is widely used. For example, there is an image forming apparatus provided with a connector holding mechanism that fixes a connector on the main body side that can be connected to a connection connector of a mountable fixing device (see FIG. 1).

  Such a body-side connector is fixed to the connector unit so that it does not move in the urging direction when receiving a pressing force from the connection connector of the detachable unit (fixing device) to be mounted. It is desirable to fit with. Therefore, in the apparatus main body of the conventional image forming apparatus, the cable connected to the main body side connector is pushed into the connector fixing opening of the connector unit and first passed, and then the engaging portion of the main body side connector is moved. The connector unit was fixed on the back.

  Therefore, in the conventional apparatus housing, the cable connected to the main body side connector cannot be fixed to the apparatus housing until the main body side connector is attached to the connector unit. When it is desired to fix the wiring to the apparatus casing first, as shown in Patent Document 1, the cable to be wired to the apparatus casing side is fixed to the apparatus casing and the main body side connector. It was separated into cables and a relay connector was provided between them. After the relay connector is arranged on the connector unit and the main body side connector is fixed to the connector unit, the cable previously fixed to the apparatus housing and the cable connected to the main body side connector are connected by the relay connector.

JP 2010-61967 A

  However, when a relay connector is used, the number of parts and the number of assembly work steps are increased.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a connector holding mechanism capable of easily mounting a connector to which a cable is connected.

  The connector holding mechanism of the present invention includes a holding unit that holds a cable to which a connector is connected, a fixing unit that fixes the connector to the holding unit, and the fixing unit, and the fixing unit holds the connector. A passage portion through which the cable can pass when being fixed to the unit; and a fixing portion that is provided on both sides of the passage portion of the fixing unit and fixes the fixing unit to the holding unit.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a connector holding mechanism capable of easily mounting a connector to which a cable is connected.

2 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a printer. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the internal structure of an apparatus main body. It is explanatory drawing of the assembly procedure of a printer. (A) is a connector attachment, (b) is a connector holding member attachment, and (c) is a fixing device attachment. It is explanatory drawing of a backplate. It is explanatory drawing of the slit formed in the connector attachment hole. It is explanatory drawing of the locking mechanism of a connector. It is explanatory drawing of the hole of a backplate and the axis | shaft of a connector holding member. (A) is the assembly state seen from the axial direction, (b) is the cross-sectional shape of the hole.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Image forming device)
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the printer. As shown in FIG. 1, a printer 100, which is an example of an image forming apparatus, is an electrophotographic monochrome copying machine in which an image reading device 110 is provided on an upper part of an apparatus main body 120. The image reading device 110 captures an image of the lower surface of a document placed on a document placing portion of a transparent glass plate, and generates image data of the image. The user performs operations and settings of the printer 100 through the operation panel 125 disposed on the front side of the printer 100.

  The cassette 121 is accommodated below the image forming unit 122 in the apparatus main body 120 in a state where the sheets P are stacked. The image forming unit 122 and the fixing device 130 which are examples of the image forming unit form an image on the sheet P. The image forming unit 122 executes an electrophotographic process to transfer the toner image onto the sheet fed from the cassette 121.

  The fixing device 130 is accommodated in the apparatus main body 120 and heats and pressurizes the sheet on which the toner image is transferred by the image forming unit 122 to melt the toner, thereby fixing the image on the sheet. The fixing device 130 is supported by a support member (not shown) so as to be movable in the arrow A direction. The detachable fixing device 130 can be pulled out from the apparatus main body 120 in the direction of arrow A by opening the right door 126 of the apparatus main body 120.

(connector)
FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the internal structure of the apparatus main body. As shown in FIG. 2, the main body side connector 4 is fixed to an apparatus main body 120 which is an example of a connector holding mechanism. The main body side connector 4 is connected to a connection connector 132 which is an example of a mating connector included in the fixing device 130 which is an example of a detachable detachable unit for forming an image with the image forming unit 122 and the fixing device 130. . The back plate 2 which is an example of a holding unit holds a harness 5 which is an example of a cable to which a main body side connector 4 which is an example of a connector is connected. A connector unit 1, which is an example of a fixing unit, is a member for fixing the main body side connector 4 to the back plate 2. In the apparatus main body 120, the connector unit 1 is assembled to the back plate 2, and the main body side connector 4 is mounted in the connector mounting hole 10 (see FIG. 3) of the connector unit 1. The connector unit 1 is assembled to the back plate 2 while holding the main body side connector 4 to which the harness 5 is connected.

  The fixing device 130 is detachably attached at a position indicated by a broken line in the apparatus main body 120. As the fixing device 130 is attached to the apparatus main body 120, as shown in FIG. 1, the connection connector 132 provided on the fixing apparatus 130 and the main body side connector 4 of the connector unit 1 are coupled. Via the connection between the main body side connector 4 and the connection connector 132, it is possible to supply power from the electric board 3 to the fixing device 130 and to exchange signals.

  The connection connector 132 is attached to the fixing device 130 so as to be movable in a plane perpendicular to the connection direction. The main body side connector 4 is a drawer connector that is self-aligned with the connection connector 132 that is an example of a mating connector connected to the main body side connector 4. The main body side connector 4 and the connection connector 132 facilitate the fitting by the self-alignment of the contacts by moving the connection connector 132 when they are connected.

  The male-side connector 4 on the male side is REC ASSY 1.5 MINI CT SF HYBRID DRAWER 1981536-1 manufactured by Tyco Electronics Japan GK. The female-side connector 132 is REC ASSY 1.5 MINI CT SF HYBRID DRAWER 195437-1 manufactured by Tyco Electronics Japan GK.

(Harness)
As shown in FIG. 2, the harness 5 has one end connected to the main body side connector 4 and the other end connected to the board side connector 21. The board-side connector 21 is connected to the electric board 3. The harness 5 is a bundle of a plurality of signal lines from two power supply cables, one ground potential cable, a temperature sensor, and a sheet detection sensor. The harness 5 is provided by being fixed to the back plate 2 in advance before assembling the other unit assembled to the apparatus main body 120 or the electric board 3. The harness 5 is fixed to the back plate 2 by wiring guides 6a and 6b.

  However, the main body side connector 4 is movable in the vertical and horizontal directions and in the length direction due to the flexibility of the harness 5 protruding from the wiring guide 6a. An end portion to which the board-side connector 21 is connected and an end portion to which the main body-side connector 4 is connected are movable for connection / extraction of the respective connectors. The main body side connector 4 is held substantially at the attachment position of the main body side connector 4 due to the rigidity of the harness 5 protruding from the wiring guide 6a.

(Device assembly procedure)
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the assembly procedure of the printer. In FIG. 3, (a) is a connector attaching step, (b) is a connector unit attaching step, and (c) is a fixing device attaching step.

  As shown to (a) of FIG. 3, the connector unit 1 is integrally shape | molded by the resin material including the connector attachment hole 10, the slit 7, and the shafts 8a and 8b. A slit 7 and shafts 8 a and 8 b are arranged at the end of the connector unit 1.

  In the connector mounting hole 10 which is an example of the mounting portion, the main body side connector 4 is mounted so as to penetrate the member toward the harness 5 side. A slit 7, which is an example of a passing portion, is provided in the connector unit 1, and the harness 5 can pass when the main body side connector 4 is fixed to the back plate 2 via the connector unit 1. The harness 5 in the state of being held by the back plate 2 can pass through the slit 7. When the main body side connector 4 is attached to the connector attachment hole 10, the harness 5 is passed in the direction of arrow B from the outer edge of the member to the connector attachment hole 10 in the slit 7. For this reason, even if the harness 5 is fixed to the back plate 2, the main body side connector 4 can be mounted in the connector mounting hole 10.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, after the main body side connector 4 is attached to the connector unit 1, the connector unit 1 is moved in the direction of the arrow C while inserting the shafts 8a and 8b into the holes 9a and 9b of the back plate 2. It is attached to the back plate 2 by moving it. The shafts 8 a and 8 b, which are examples of fixing parts, are provided on both sides of the connector unit 1 with the slit 7 therebetween, and fix the connector unit 1 to the back plate 2. The shafts 8 a and 8 b provided in the connector unit 1 are convex portions that fit into holes 9 a and 9 b that are examples of concave portions provided in the back plate 2.

  As shown in FIG. 3C, the connection connector 132 of the fixing device 130 is connected to the main body side connector 4 in accordance with the operation of moving the fixing device 130 in the arrow D direction.

(Connector unit)
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the back plate. FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a slit formed in the connector mounting hole of the connector unit. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a locking mechanism of the main body side connector. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of holes in the back plate and shafts of the connector unit. In FIG. 7, (a) is an assembly state seen from the axial direction (the back side of the back plate), and (b) is a sectional shape of the hole.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the harness 5 is positioned on the back plate 2 as a holding unit by the wiring guide 6 a, and the main body side connector 4 is held in the air relative to the back plate 2 by the rigidity of the harness 5. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the main body side connector 4 is passed through the slit 7 in a state where the main body side connector 4 is positioned on the opposite side (fixing device side) to the harness 5 with the connector unit 1 interposed therebetween. 4 is positioned in the connector mounting hole 10. The main body side connector 4 is inserted into the connector mounting hole 10 by moving from the side opposite to the harness 5 across the connector unit 1 to the harness side.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the slit 7 as a passing portion allows the harness 5 to pass from the end of the connector unit 1 to the connector mounting hole 10. In the state where the connector unit 1 is assembled to the back plate 2, the slit 7 is located at a position higher than the center position of the connector mounting hole 10 in the height direction. For this reason, when the harness 5 hangs down by its own weight in the connector mounting hole 10, the harness 5 is engaged with the edge of the connector mounting hole 10 to prevent the harness 5 from returning to the slit 7. Thus, the state in which the main body side connector 4 is positioned in the connector mounting hole 10 is maintained until the main body side connector 4 is mounted in the connector mounting hole 10.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the main body side connector 4 has a rectangular cross section perpendicular to the mounting direction. Connector fixing claws 11, which are an example of locking means, are provided on two opposing upper and lower sides of the cross section of the main body side connector 4 and engage with the connector mounting holes 10 to lock the main body side connector 4 to the connector unit 1. . The slit 7 is formed on the side of the connector mounting hole 10 where the connector fixing claw 11 is not engaged. The connector fixing claws 11 have a spring structure integrally molded with the main body side connector 4 and are arranged on the upper and lower surfaces of the main body side connector 4 two by two.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the apparatus main body 120, the connector unit 1 is assembled to the back plate 2, and the main body side connector 4 is mounted in the connector mounting hole 10 of the connector unit 1. The connector fixing claw 11 passes through the connector mounting hole 10 while being elastically pressed downward, and elastically moves upward at a position where the step 12 of the main body side connector 4 abuts the edge of the connector mounting hole 10. . Thereby, the main body side connector 4 is positioned and fixed in the insertion direction with respect to the connector mounting hole 10.

  As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the shafts 8a and 8b as the convex portions constituting the fixed portion have a cross-shaped cross section perpendicular to the insertion direction. The holes 9a and 9b serving as the concave portions constituting the fixed portion are circular with a diameter that circumscribes the cross shape perpendicular to the insertion direction while reducing the cross shape of the cross section of the shafts 8a and 8b.

  As shown in FIG. 7B, the holes 9a and 9b are drawn from the insertion side of the shafts 8a and 8b with respect to the back plate 2 of the metal plate. For this reason, the shafts 8a and 8b are not scraped by the insertion / extraction of the shafts 8a and 8b with respect to the holes 9a and 9b, and the connector unit 1 can be repeatedly attached to and detached from the back plate 2.

(Reinforcement structure for connector mounting holes)
By the way, as shown in FIG. 6, when the slit 7 as a passage part is provided at the end of the connector unit 1 of the resin molded product, the rigidity of the connector unit 1 is impaired due to the presence of the slit 7. In the connector unit 1, when a force in the direction of expanding the slit 7 from the main body side connector 4 to the connector mounting hole 10 acts, the connector mounting hole 10 may be deformed and the connector fixing claw 11 may be detached from the connector mounting hole 10. is there.

  Therefore, in the first embodiment, the shafts 8a and 8b, which are examples of the fixing portion, are fixed to the back plate 2 as the holding unit on both sides of the slit 7 at the outer edge of the connector unit 1, respectively. For this reason, the connector unit 1 has increased rigidity on both sides of the slit 7 on the outer edge of the member, and the connector mounting hole 10 is not easily deformed. As described above, when the relay connector is used, the number of parts and the number of assembling steps are increased. On the other hand, by providing the slit 7, the main body side connector 4 to which the harness 5 is connected can be easily mounted without using a relay connector. In addition to this, by fixing both sides of the connector unit 1 with the slit 7 to the back plate 2, the mounting strength of the connector unit 1 is enhanced, the rigidity of the connector unit 1 is improved, and the main body side connector 4 through the slit 7. A new effect is added to prevent the dropout.

  As shown in FIG. 5, shafts 8 a and 8 b are formed at the end of the connector unit 1 with the slit 7 interposed therebetween. The shafts 8 a and 8 b are pins fixed to the outer edge of the connector unit 1. The holes 9a and 9b are provided in the back plate 2 and the shafts 8a and 8b are inserted therein.

  The shafts 8a and 8b and the holes 9a and 9b define the dimensions on the components of the shaft 8a and the hole 9a from the origin of the apparatus main body 120 in order to minimize errors in manufacturing the components, and then the shaft 8a and the holes 9a. The position of the shaft 8b and the hole 9b on the part is defined with the position of

  The shafts 8a and 8b of the connector unit 1 are fitted into the holes 9a and 9b of the back plate 2 by an interference fit, respectively. The fitting tolerances between the shafts 8a, 8b and the holes 9a, 9b are set as tolerances with the shafts 8a, 8b as JIS standard g9 and the holes 9a, 9b as JIS standard H10.

  Both sides sandwiching the slit 7 at the end of the connector unit 1 are fixed to the back plate 2 by fitting the shafts 8a and 8b into the holes 9a and 9b. In general, when positioning is performed by inserting two parallel axes into two holes, one of the two holes is a positioning hole and the other is a long hole for preventing rotation of the member. However, in the first embodiment, both of the two holes 9a and 9b are positioning holes with no room for movement.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the shafts 8a and 8b to which the main body side connector 4 is attached are fixed to the holes 9a and 9b, respectively, so that the positional relationship between both sides sandwiching the slit 7 at the end of the connector unit 1 is fixed. Yes. Since the connector unit 1 is provided with the slit 7, an error between the distance between the shafts 8 a and 8 b and the distance between the holes 9 a and 9 b is absorbed by elastic deformation of both side portions sandwiching the slit 7.

  As a result, even if the force in the direction of expanding the slit 7 acts on the connector mounting hole 10 from the main body side connector 4, the connector mounting hole 10 does not deform. Since the distance between the shafts 8a and 8b is firmly restricted, the influence of the slit 7 on the rigidity of the connector mounting hole 10 can be ignored. Even when the main body side connector 4 is twisted to apply an external force to the connector mounting hole 10 when the connection connector 132 of the fixing device 130 is connected, the connector mounting hole 10 is deformed and the connector fixing tab 11 of the main body side connector 4 is deformed. Does not get over the connector mounting hole 10. For this reason, the main body side connector 4 cannot be removed from the connector mounting hole 10.

(Effect of Embodiment 1)
In the first embodiment, the connector holding mechanism includes a back plate 2 as a holding unit for holding a cable, a connector unit 1 as a fixing unit for fixing a connector, a slit 7 as a passage portion, and a shaft as a fixing portion. 8a and 8b and holes 9a and 9b. For this reason, by passing the harness 5 through the slit 7, even if the harness 5 is fixed to the back plate 2, the main body side connector 4 can be easily mounted in the connector mounting hole without using the relay connector.

  In the first embodiment, after the connector unit 1 to which the main body side connector 4 is attached is assembled to the back plate 2, the main body side connector 4 is held with respect to the fixing device 130 as intended. Therefore, the main body side connector 4 and the connection connector 132 are securely connected without the main body side connector 4 being easily removed from the connector mounting hole 10 as the fixing device 130 is attached. Connection failure between the main body side connector 4 and the connection connector 132 can be prevented.

  In the first embodiment, no relay connector is required between the main body side connector 4 and the harness 5. For this reason, the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and a space for fixing the relay connector is unnecessary, so that space saving of the apparatus main body 120 can be expected. Specifically, since the relay connector is not provided, it is not necessary to take a configuration for connection failure of the relay connector. Cost increase due to the provision of the relay connector can be avoided. By removing the space for holding the relay connector, the degree of freedom in designing the apparatus main body can be increased.

  In the first embodiment, even though the harness 5 is directly connected to the electric board 3 by the board-side connector 21, even when the long harness 5 is used far from the electric board 3 to the main body-side connector 4, The assemblability of the apparatus main body 120 is not impaired.

  In the first embodiment, the main body side connector 4 is fixed to the connector unit 1 by engaging the elastic connector fixing claw 11 with the connector mounting hole 10. The insertion direction is limited to one direction. However, by causing the harness 5 to pass through the slit 7, work problems for the insertion direction being limited to one direction are solved.

  For this reason, even if the insertion direction at the time of mounting the main body side connector 4 is limited to one direction, there is no need to enlarge the connector mounting hole 10. Except for the slit 7, the opening size of the connector mounting hole 10 can adopt a value as defined in the main body side connector 4. For this reason, the concern that the main body side connector 4 is dropped is eliminated.

  In the first embodiment, the main body side connector 4 is unlikely to come off from the connector unit 1, so that a connection failure between the concave portion of the connection connector 132 and the convex portion of the main body side connector 4 can be prevented.

<Other embodiments>
The connector unit and apparatus housing of the present invention are not limited to the specific configurations described in the first and second embodiments. Another embodiment in which a part or all of the configuration of the first and second embodiments is replaced with an equivalent member is also possible.

  In the first embodiment, the embodiment in the electrophotographic image forming apparatus has been described. However, the image forming unit may be implemented by other methods such as an inkjet method, a thermal transfer method, a plotter method, and offset printing. The image forming apparatus is not limited to a monochrome copying machine, but may be a multicolor printer or a full color printer. The image forming apparatus is not limited to a copying machine, but may be a printer, a fax machine, a multifunction machine, or the like.

  The present invention can be implemented not only in an image forming apparatus but also in various electric machines, electronic devices, transportation devices, and home appliances as long as the device is connected to a cable-connected connector from the opposite side of the cable to the cable side. It is. After the connector is fixed to the member, the connector does not come out easily and can be widely implemented as a harness connector fixing structure in precision equipment that can be easily assembled.

  In the first embodiment, as an example of the locking means, the number, shape, position and direction of the connector fixing claw 11 have been described as shown in FIG. However, the structure, quantity, position and direction of the locking means are not limited to the embodiment shown in FIG. The axes 8a and 8b and the holes 9a and 9b do not need to be dimensioned from the origin of the apparatus main body 120, and the dimensions of the axes 8a and 8b and the holes 9a and 9b may be defined by other methods. Further, the fitting tolerance between the shafts 8a and 8b and the holes 9a and 9b can be arbitrarily changed as long as it is an interference fit.

1: connector unit, 2: back plate (holding unit), 3: electrical board, 4: body side connector (connector), 5: harness (cable), 6a, 6b: wiring guide, 7: slit (passage), 8a, 8b: shaft (fixed part, convex part), 9a, 9b: hole (fixed part, concave part), 10: connector mounting hole (mounting part), 11: connector fixing claw, 120: device main body (connector holding mechanism) ), 122: Image forming unit, 125: Operation panel, 126: Right door, 130: Fixing device (detachable unit), 132: Connector (mating connector)

Claims (5)

A holding unit for holding the cable to which the connector is connected;
A fixing unit for fixing the connector to the holding unit;
A passing portion provided in the fixing unit, through which the cable can pass when the fixing unit fixes the connector to the holding unit;
A fixing portion that is provided on both sides of the passage portion of the fixing unit and fixes the fixing unit to the holding unit;
A connector holding mechanism. The passing portion can pass the cable held by the holding unit.
The connector holding mechanism according to claim 1. The fixed portion is a convex portion that fits into a concave portion provided in the holding unit.
The connector holding mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The connector is a drawer connector that is self-aligned when connected to the connector connected to the connector.
The connector holding mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The connector holding mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet,
A connector fixed to the connector holding mechanism and a connector included in a detachable detachable unit for forming an image in the image forming unit are connected.
An image forming apparatus.

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