JP2019116034A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image forming device that can secure visibility and operability of an operation part as much as possible regardless of a position of a user with respect to the operation part.SOLUTION: An operation part 5 is configured to be rotatable with a centroid position of the operation part 5 as a center when viewed from a direction perpendicular to an operation surface 52a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided with an operation unit.

   Generally, an image forming apparatus is provided with an operation unit that receives an input operation of a user. The operation surface of the operation unit is provided with operation buttons that can be operated by the user with a finger.

  An image forming apparatus of this type is known in which the tilt angle of the operation surface can be adjusted by supporting the operation unit so as to be rotatable with respect to a tilt axis extending in the horizontal direction (for example, Patent Document 1) reference). In this image forming apparatus, the tilt angle around the tilt axis of the operation surface can be adjusted in accordance with the degree of tilt of the user's face in the vertical direction.

Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2017-081074

  However, in the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, when the user moves in the left-right direction from the front of the operation unit, it is necessary to view the operation button from the right or the left. For this reason, there is a problem that the visibility and operability of the operation unit deteriorate.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to form an image in which the visibility and operability of the operation unit can be secured as much as possible regardless of the position of the user with respect to the operation unit. It is in providing an apparatus.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an operation unit having an operation surface.

  And the said operation part is comprised so that it can rotate centering on the image center position of this operation part seeing from the direction perpendicular | vertical to the said operation surface.

  According to the present invention, the visibility and operability of the operation unit can be secured as much as possible regardless of the position of the user with respect to the operation unit.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an image forming apparatus in the embodiment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing the vicinity of the operation unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the operation panel as viewed from the lower side (opposite to the operation surface side). FIG. 5 is a plan view of the cylindrical accommodation recess in which the operation unit is accommodated, viewed from the upper side. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a state in which the operation unit is rotated 90 degrees clockwise from the reference position. FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3 showing a state in which the operation unit is rotated 90 ° counterclockwise from the reference position. FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 5 showing another embodiment. FIG. 9 is a view on arrow IX in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

<< Embodiment >>
FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus 1 provided with the operation unit 5 of the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 is a printer for printing image data received from an external terminal or the like. In the following description, the front side and the rear side mean the front side and the rear side of the image forming apparatus 1, and the left side and the right side mean the left side and the right side when the image forming apparatus 1 is viewed from the front side. Do.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a housing (image forming apparatus main body) 2 formed of a rectangular box-shaped resin member. A sheet cassette 3 is attached to the lower part of the housing 2 so as to be able to be drawn out. In the sheet feeding cassette 3, sheet-like recording materials (for example, sheets or OHP sheets) are stacked and set in a bundle. An image forming portion and a fixing portion (both not shown) are accommodated in the space above the sheet feeding cassette 3 in the housing 2. The image forming unit forms a toner image on a recording material supplied from a sheet feeding cassette by an electrophotographic method. The fixing unit thermally fixes the toner image formed on the recording material. The inner side of the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the housing 2 is a sheet discharge tray 4 for discharging the recording material for which the fixing process has been completed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an operation unit 5 is provided at the front and right corner of the top surface of the housing 2 for the user to set printing conditions and issue an instruction to start printing. On the rear side of the operation unit 5 on the top surface of the housing 2, a display 6 for displaying various information is provided. The display 6 is inclined upward at a predetermined angle (for example, 35 ° to 45 °) from the front side to the rear side.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the operation unit 5 has a hollow disk-like operation panel 52. The operation panel 52 is housed in a cylindrical housing recess 2 a formed at a corner of the top surface of the housing 2.

  On the upper side wall of the operation panel 52, a plurality of button openings 52b are formed, into which a plurality of operation buttons 53 (for example, a ten key or the like) are fitted. Inside the operation panel 52, an electric substrate 51 on which a plurality of push switches 51a are mounted is accommodated. Each push switch 51 a is located below the operation button 53 and pressed in conjunction with the pressing operation of the operation button 53. A pressing signal of each push switch 51 a (that is, an electric signal corresponding to an input operation of the operation button 53) is transmitted to the controller 10 via the electric board 51. The controller 10 determines the content of the operation input by the user based on the signal from the electric substrate 51 and executes a predetermined process.

  On the top surface of the operation panel 52, a plurality of operation buttons 53 are exposed through the button openings 52b. The upper surface 52 a of the operation panel 52 functions as an operation surface provided with a plurality of operation buttons 53.

  The lower surface of the operation panel 52 is slidably in contact with the bottom wall surface of the cylindrical housing recess 2 a in the circumferential direction. A cylindrical shaft portion 52c having a diameter smaller than that of the operation panel 52 is provided in a protruding manner at a central portion of the lower surface of the operation panel.

  The cylindrical shaft portion 52 c is integrally formed coaxially with the operation panel 52. The cylindrical shaft portion 52c is rotatably fitted in a fitting hole 2b formed in the bottom wall portion (that is, the upper wall portion of the housing 2) of the cylindrical housing recess 2a. Thus, the operation panel 52 is rotatable integrally with the cylindrical shaft portion 52c about its axis (that is, about the centroid position when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the operation surface). The space in the cylindrical shaft portion 52c communicates with the hollow space in the operation panel 52, and constitutes a passage of electric wiring connecting the electric substrate 51 and the controller 10.

  The operation panel 52 can be rotated by 90 ° at the maximum in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction with respect to the predetermined reference position. Here, the reference position refers to the left-right direction of the explanatory character of each operation button attached to the upper surface (that is, the operation surface) of the operation panel 52 when viewed from the user standing on the front side (front side) of the operation unit 5 This position corresponds to the left and right direction of the image forming apparatus 1. FIG. 2 shows the operation panel 52 in the reference position, and FIGS. 6 and 7 show the operation panel 52 rotated 90 ° clockwise and counterclockwise from the reference position. .

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, at the radially outer end of the lower surface of the operation panel 52, a restriction projection 52d for restricting the maximum rotation angle of the operation panel 52 is formed. The restriction projection 52d is inserted into a stopper groove 2c (see FIGS. 3 and 5) formed on the bottom wall surface of the cylindrical housing recess 2a. The stopper groove 2c extends along the peripheral portion of the bottom wall surface of the cylindrical housing recess 2a and has a semicircular arc shape in a plan view. When the operation panel 52 is rotated 90 ° clockwise from the reference position, the restriction projection 52d abuts on one end surface (right and rear end surface) of the stopper groove 2c to restrict the rotation. On the other hand, when the operation panel 52 is rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise from the reference position, the restriction projection 52d abuts on the other end surface (left and rear end surface) of the stopper groove 2c to restrict the rotation.

  A hemispherical engagement projection 52e (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is formed on the lower surface of the operation panel 52 radially inward of the restriction projection 52d. The engagement protrusion 52e positions the operation panel 52 in the circumferential direction by engaging with the engagement recess 2d formed in the bottom wall surface of the cylindrical accommodation recess 2a. As shown in FIG. 5, a total of five engaging recesses 2d are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction. The central engagement recess 2d positions the operation panel 52 at the reference position by engaging with the engagement projection 52e. The other four engagement recesses 2 d are formed at intervals of 45 ° in the circumferential direction with reference to the central engagement recess 2 d. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the rotational position of the operation panel 52 can be positioned in five steps at 45 ° intervals.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the operation unit 5 is configured to be rotatable about the axial position (centre position) of the operation unit 5 as viewed from the direction perpendicular to the operation surface 52a.

  According to this configuration, when the user performs the operation from a position separated in the left and right direction from the front of the operation unit 5, the operation button 5 can be rotated by rotating the operation unit 5 clockwise or counterclockwise. 53 can be positioned in front of the user. Therefore, the visibility and operability of the operation button 53 (operation unit 5) can be secured as much as possible regardless of the position of the user.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the operation unit 5 is configured to be rotatable by 90 ° at the maximum in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction from the predetermined reference position.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the operation unit 5 from being rotated more than necessary, and to prevent an excessive twisting force from acting on the electrical wiring connected to the operation unit 5. . Thereby, the durability of the electrical wiring can be improved.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the operation unit 5 is provided with a hollow disk-like operation panel 52 whose upper surface is an operation surface, and a lower surface of the operation panel 52 projecting in a hollow cylindrical shape coaxially with the operation panel 52 And a cylindrical shaft 52c. The cylindrical shaft portion 52 c is rotatably fitted in a fitting hole 2 b formed on the upper side wall of the housing 2.

  According to this, the rotation mechanism of the operation panel 52 can be realized with a simple configuration.

  Further, an electric board 51 for receiving an operation input of the user via the operation button 53 and outputting an electric signal is accommodated in the operation panel 52, and the electric wiring connected to the electric board 51 has a cylindrical shaft portion It is routed to the inside of the housing 2 through the inside of 52 c.

  According to this configuration, the electric wiring connected to the electric substrate 51 can be concentrated near the rotation center (axis line) of the operation unit 5. Therefore, the twisting force that acts on the electrical wiring when the operation unit 5 rotates can be reduced. Therefore, the durability of the electrical wiring can be further improved.

Other Embodiments
Although the said embodiment demonstrated the example in which the internal peripheral surface of the cylindrical accommodation recessed part 2a which accommodates the operation panel 52 is continuously formed over the whole circumferential direction, it is not what was restricted to this.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 8, a part (a range of 90 ° of the front side and the right side) of the circumferential wall of the cylindrical housing recess 2 a is broken and opened outward in the radial direction. Then, a part of the outer peripheral surface of the operation panel 52 is exposed to the outside of the housing 2 from the missing portion.

According to this configuration, the operation panel 52 can be rotated by pressing the finger against the exposed portion of the outer peripheral surface of the operation panel 52 and moving it in the circumferential direction. Therefore, the rotation operation of the operation panel 52 can be easily performed.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9, on the exposed portion of the outer peripheral surface of the operation panel 52, a number of convex streaks 52f extending in the thickness direction (vertical direction in FIG. 9) of the operation panel 52 are formed. The large number of convex portions 52 f are formed adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction.
Thereby, it is possible to suppress the slip of the finger when pressing the outer peripheral surface of the operation panel 52 in the circumferential direction with the finger. Therefore, the rotation operation of the operation panel 52 can be performed more easily.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the operation panel 52 has a circular shape as viewed from the operation surface side has been described, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The operation panel 52 has, for example, a polygonal shape as viewed from the operation surface It is also good.

  Further, in the above embodiment, an example in which the image forming apparatus 1 is a printer has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image forming apparatus 1 may be a copier or a multifunction peripheral (MFP).

  Further, the image forming apparatus 1 is not limited to the electrophotographic method, and may be an inkjet method.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for an image forming apparatus provided with an operation unit, and is particularly useful when applied to a copier, a multifunction peripheral (MFP), a facsimile, or the like.

1: Image forming apparatus 2: Case (image forming apparatus main body)
2a: cylinder accommodation recess 2b: fitting hole 2c: stopper groove 2d: engagement recess 5: operation portion 51: electric substrate 52: operation panel 52a: operation panel 52c: cylindrical shaft portion 52d: restriction projection 52e: engagement protrusion Part 52f: Convex part 53: Operation button

Claims (6)

An image forming apparatus comprising an operation unit having an operation surface, the image forming apparatus comprising:
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is configured to be rotatable about a centroid of the operation unit when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the operation surface. In the image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation unit is configured to be rotatable by a maximum of 90 ° in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction around the centroid position from a predetermined reference position. In the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The operation unit is formed on a side wall of the image forming apparatus main body, and a hollow disk shaped operation panel whose upper surface is the above operation surface and a hollow cylindrical shape coaxially with the operation panel on the lower surface of the operation panel And a cylindrical shaft rotatably fitted in the fitting hole, and is configured to be rotatable about an axial position of the cylindrical shaft as viewed from a direction perpendicular to the side wall , Image forming apparatus. In the image forming apparatus according to claim 3,
An operation button is provided on the operation surface, and an electric board for receiving an operation input of the user via the operation button and outputting an electric signal corresponding to the operation input is accommodated in the operation panel,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the electrical wiring connected to the electrical substrate is routed through the inside of the cylindrical shaft portion to the inside of the image forming apparatus main body. In the image forming apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
At a corner of the upper surface of the image forming apparatus main body, a cylindrical accommodation recess in which the operation panel is accommodated is formed,
A part of the peripheral wall of the cylindrical housing recess is broken and opened radially outward,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a part of the outer peripheral surface of the operation panel is exposed to the outer side of the image forming apparatus main body from a missing portion of the peripheral wall. In the image forming apparatus according to claim 6,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a large number of ridges extending in the thickness direction of the operation panel are formed adjacent to the circumferential direction on a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the operation panel exposed from the defective portion.

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