JP2023098457A - Image formation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image formation apparatus that can make a load applied on a supporting column supporting an image reading unit be easily dispersed.SOLUTION: An image formation apparatus comprises: a first housing 2 including an image formation unit 23 for forming an image on a sheet, and a discharge tray 6 that is disposed on a top surface 52A and supports the sheet on which the image is formed; a second housing 3 that is positioned above the first housing 2, includes an image reading unit 32B for reading a manuscript and an operation panel 5 provided at a front end, and is rotatable with respect to the first housing 2 around a back end; and a supporting column 28 that is provided at the first housing 2, is positioned outside the discharge tray 6 in a width direction orthogonal to a front-back direction, has an upper end protruding ahead of its lower end, and is in contact with the second housing 3 to support the second housing from below. The supporting column 28 has at the upper end a contact unit 28A in contact with the second housing 3 and tilted with respect to the horizontal plan so that its front end is positioned above its back end.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-100002, an image forming apparatus is known that includes a support member that supports the right end side of an image reading unit from below. The support member has a pillar portion erected on the rear end side of the paper discharge tray and a beam portion extending forward from the upper side of the pillar portion. The upper end of the beam part supports the right end side of the image reading part from below. A sloped portion is formed at the lower edge of the beam so that the dimension in the vertical direction increases from the front end side to the rear end side. In other words, in the supporting member of Patent Document 1, the beam portion is formed in a triangular shape as a whole, and also acts as a reinforcing rib. In addition, in the supporting member of Patent Document 1, since the inclined portion is formed, the space between the paper discharge tray and the image reading unit is wide opened laterally, so that the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray. The presence or absence of the sheet and its state can be easily confirmed from the outside.

JP 2008-185912 A

However, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the portion of the support member that receives the image reading section (the upper end 54 of the beam portion 53 described in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1) is formed parallel to the horizontal plane. Therefore, it is difficult to disperse the load on the upper portion having the scanner, and it becomes necessary to increase the rigidity of the support member.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus capable of facilitating distribution of the load applied to the support columns that support the upper housing having the scanner.

An image forming apparatus that solves the above problems has the following features.

That is, the image forming apparatus comprises: a first housing having an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet; a second housing positioned above and having a scanner for reading a document and an operation panel provided at a front end thereof, and rotatable with respect to the first housing about the rear end thereof; a support column provided at the outer side of the output tray in a width direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction, the upper end projecting forward from the lower end, and abutting on the second housing to support it from below; and the support column has, at its upper end, an abutting portion with which the second housing abuts, the abutting portion being inclined with respect to a horizontal plane so that the front end is positioned higher than the rear end.

According to the above configuration, by inclining the contact portion of the support column with respect to the horizontal plane so that the front end is positioned higher than the rear end, the load applied to the support column can be easily dispersed.

Further, the support column is positioned below the operation panel, and the contact portion of the support column contacts the lower surface of the operation panel.

Thereby, it is possible to easily disperse the load applied to the support column via the operation panel.

Further, the operation panel has a touch panel on its upper surface, and the support column is positioned below the central position of the touch panel.

Thus, even if the operation panel receives a load when it is operated, it can be reliably supported by the support columns.

The operation panel includes a boss that supports the touch panel from below when the touch panel is pressed, and a panel substrate that is arranged below the touch panel and has a through hole into which the boss enters. and the support post is located below the boss.

Accordingly, when the touch panel is pressed by the user, the touch panel is supported from below by the boss, and the boss is supported by the support pillars, so deformation and damage of the touch panel can be suppressed.

Further, the second housing has a document cover which is provided so as to be openable and closable and which presses the document, the document cover has a dent for a hand which is recessed rearward from the front end, The operation panel has a substrate for short-range wireless communication, and a mark located on an upper surface located above the substrate and indicating a position to be held over the external device performing the short-range wireless communication, and the recess is , located behind said mark.

As a result, when an external device such as an IC card or a smartphone is held over the mark, the recessed space for a hand can be used.

Further, the operation panel has a contact portion that contacts the contact portion of the support column, and the contact portion is recessed upward from a front portion of the contact portion of the operation panel. I'm in.

Accordingly, even if liquid flows through the upper surface of the operation panel, it is possible to prevent the liquid from entering the contact portion.

Further, the abutted portion of the operation panel protrudes downward from a surface of the second housing that faces the discharge tray of the first housing.

As a result, when the user puts his or her hand on the back side of the operation panel and holds the operation panel, it is easy to hold the portion other than the abutted portion.

Further, the length of the operation panel in the width direction is shorter than the length of the second housing in the width direction, the operation panel is positioned above the discharge tray of the first housing, The contact portion of the support column is positioned below a position closer to one end of the operation panel than the other end in the width direction, and one end of the discharge tray in the width direction is positioned below the operation panel. and the other end of the operation panel is closer to the one end of the operation panel than the other end of the discharge tray in the width direction, and the other end of the discharge tray is exposed upward. .

As a result, a part of the discharge tray is exposed to the outside, so that the discharged sheets can be easily seen.

Further, the second housing has a transport mechanism for transporting the document and a motor for applying a driving force to the transport mechanism, and the contact portion of the support column and the motor are connected to the second housing. It is located on one end side of the center of the two housings in the width direction.

As a result, a heavy object such as a motor can be held by the contact portion of the support column.

Further, a stopper is provided at the rear of the contact portion of the support column, protruding toward the second housing from the contact portion and restricting movement of the second housing toward the rear.

By providing the stopper in this way, it is possible to prevent the second housing from moving rearward.

Also, the contact portion is the upper end of the rib.

Thereby, the rigidity of the contact portion can be ensured.

Further, the image forming section has a conveying mechanism that conveys a sheet, a photosensitive drum that forms a toner image that is transferred onto the sheet, and a fixing device that fixes the transferred toner image onto the sheet.

According to the present invention, the load applied to the support column can be easily distributed by inclining the contact portion of the support column with respect to the horizontal plane so that the front end is positioned higher than the rear end.

1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an outline of an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment; FIG. 1 is a front view of an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment; FIG. 1 is a plan view of an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment; FIG. 1 is a left side view of an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the image forming apparatus in which the automatic document feeder in FIG. 1 is in an open position; 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 3; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 6 as seen from below; FIG.

In the following description, the state in which the image forming apparatus 1 is installed for use as shown in FIG. The left and right directions are defined as viewed from the top, the second housing 3 side of the image forming apparatus 1 is defined as the upper side, and the first housing 2 side is defined as the lower side. In this embodiment, the left-right direction is the width direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the up-down direction.

[Overall Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus]
1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the outline of the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 1, FIG. 3 is a front view thereof, FIG. 4 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 5 is a left side view thereof. FIG. 6 shows the image forming apparatus 1 in which the automatic document feeder 34 in FIG. 1 is in the open position. The image forming apparatus 1 has a so-called in-body discharge type configuration. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a first housing 2 , a second housing 3 , legs 4 and an operation panel 5 .

The first housing 2 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing. As shown in FIG. 2, the first housing 2 includes a sheet tray 21 for storing sheets before image formation, a conveying mechanism 22 for conveying sheets from the sheet tray 21, and sheets conveyed by the conveying mechanism 22. An image forming unit 23 that forms an image in the inner housing 2 and a discharge mechanism 24 that discharges sheets from the image forming unit 23 to the outside of the first housing 2 are accommodated. The conveying mechanism 22 and the discharging mechanism 24 are configured by arranging a plurality of pairs of rollers. At the most downstream portion of the discharging mechanism 24, there is a discharging roller for discharging the sheet on which the image is formed to the discharging tray 6 arranged on the upper surface. 241 are arranged. The configuration of the image forming unit 23 is not particularly limited, and configurations such as an electrophotographic system, an inkjet system, and a thermal head system can be used. Note that the discharge tray 6 is an example of a paper discharge tray.

The image forming unit 23 also includes a conveying mechanism 23A for conveying a sheet, a process cartridge 23C having a photosensitive drum 23B for forming a toner image to be transferred onto the sheet, and a fixing device for fixing the transferred toner image onto the sheet. 23D.

The sheet tray 21 is slidable between an accommodation position (the position shown in FIG. 1) where it is accommodated in the first housing 2 and a drawer position where it is pulled forward from the first housing 2 . The configuration of the image forming unit is not particularly limited, and configurations such as an electrophotographic system, an inkjet system, and a thermal head system can be used.

A discharge tray 6 for supporting sheets discharged by the discharge mechanism 24 is provided on the upper surface of the first housing 2 . The discharge tray 6 is formed on the upper surface of the first housing 2 so as to be inclined from the rear side to the front side. As a result, the sheet on which the image is formed is ejected from the rear side to the front side by the ejection mechanism 24 onto the ejection tray 6 .

The second housing 3 is rotatable with respect to the first housing 2 around its rear end. More specifically, it can move between a closed position in which the second housing 3 is supported by support columns 28, which will be described later, and an open position in which the front end is moved upward by rotating from the closed position about the rear end. is. The second housing 3 has a document reading device 31 provided above the first housing 2 . The document reading device 31 has a document table 32 that accommodates an image reading section (scanner) 32B that reads an image of a document supported on an upper surface 32A. The document reading device 31 includes a document presser 33 that presses the document placed on the document table 32 and an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF (hereinafter referred to as ADF) that is arranged above the document table 32 . auto document feeder) 34. The document presser 33 is sized to just overlap the document table 32 in plan view. Note that the document presser 33 is an example of a document cover.

The document presser 33 has a front wall portion 38 and a recess 39 . The document presser 33 is rotatably supported on the document table 32 by a hinge having a laterally extending rotation axis at its rear end. The document presser 33 is rotatable between a closed position covering the upper surface 32A of the document table 32 and an open position opening the upper surface 32A.

The leg 4 has a left leg 41 and a right leg 42 . The left leg portion 41 includes a support column 28 of the first housing 2 and a contacted portion 52B1 (see FIG. 8) of the second housing 3 that is supported by the support column 28 . The support column 28 supports the second housing 3 having the document reading device 31 having the image reading section 32B. The right leg 42 includes a lower right leg 42A of the first housing 2 and an upper right leg 42B of the second housing 3 supported by the lower right leg 42A. The support column 28 is arranged at the left end of the upper surface of the first housing 2, and lifts and supports the second housing 3 via the contacted portion 52B1. The lower right leg portion 42A is arranged at the right end of the upper surface of the first housing 2, and lifts and supports the second housing 3 via the upper right leg portion 42B.

As a result, the second housing 3 is installed above the discharge tray 6 with the discharge space 61 through which the sheets are discharged. An opening 44 is formed on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1 by the left leg 41 , the right leg 42 , the upper surface of the first housing 2 , and the lower surface of the second housing 3 . 61 is open forward. Therefore, the user can take out the sheet discharged to the discharge tray 6 through the opening 44 .

The support columns 28 of the first housing 2 that support the second housing 3 are positioned outside the discharge tray 6 in the width direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction, and the support columns 28 that the second housing 3 abuts. It contacts the portion 52B1 to support the second housing 3 from below. The support column 28 is wedge-shaped in side view with its upper end protruding further forward than its lower end (see FIG. 5), and has a contact portion 28A, a front inclined surface 28B, a left surface 28C, and a right surface 28D. As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of plate-like ribs protrude upward from the upper end of the support column 28, and the plate-like ribs extend in the front-rear direction. The upper ends of the plurality of plate-shaped ribs are contact portions 28A. That is, a plurality of plate-shaped ribs are positioned at the upper ends of the support columns 28, and the contact portions 28A, which are the upper ends of the plurality of ribs, contact the contacted portions 52B1 of the second housing 3. As shown in FIG. The contact portion 28A is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane so that the front end is positioned higher than the rear end (see FIG. 7). Accordingly, when the contacted portion 52B1 of the second housing 3 contacts the contact portion 28A, the load of the second housing 3 applied to the support column 28 can be easily distributed. The front inclined surface 28B, the left surface 28C and the right surface 28D constitute side walls of the support column 28. As shown in FIG. In addition, each rib is arranged in the width direction, the upper end of each rib extends in the front-rear direction, and the upper end is continuously inclined with respect to the horizontal plane so that the front end is positioned higher than the rear end. As a result, the virtual plane formed by the plurality of contact portions 28A is also inclined with respect to the horizontal plane so that the front end is located above the rear end.

In this embodiment, the contact portion 28A of the support column 28 is configured by a rib in which a plurality of wall portions are arranged side by side. Thereby, the rigidity of the contact portion 28A can be ensured.

As shown in FIG. 7, behind the contact portion 28A of the support column 28, a stopper 30 is provided to protrude toward the second housing 3 from the contact portion 28A. A locking recess 37 that is locked by the front end of the stopper 30 is provided behind the contacted portion 52B1 in the second housing 3 . The locking recess 37 is formed in a square tubular shape capable of accommodating the stopper 30 . As a result, when the second housing 3 is moved from the open position to the closed position with respect to the first housing 2 , the front end of the locking recess 37 is locked by the front end of the stopper 30 . It is possible to prevent the rearward movement of the second housing 3 with respect to.

The operation panel 5 is provided at the front end of the second housing 3 . The operation panel 5 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped panel, and is provided so as to protrude forward from the front surface 32</b>C of the document table 32 . The operation panel 5 has a touch panel 51 for operating the image forming section 23, the image reading section 32B, etc., and a panel member 52 having an upper surface 52A and a lower surface 52B. The lower surface 52B has a contacted portion 52B1 that contacts the contact portion 28A of the support column 28. As shown in FIG.

The touch panel 51 is positioned on the left side of the upper surface 52A of the operation panel 5 in the horizontal direction. A panel substrate 54 is positioned below the touch panel 51, that is, inside the operation panel 5 (see FIG. 7). The panel substrate 54 is connected to the touch panel 51 and the NFC substrate 70, and is also connected to a control unit (not shown) for controlling the operations of the image forming unit 23 and the like, and receives signals input from the operation panel 5. and outputs the processed signal to the control unit.

Although details will be described later, the operation panel 5 includes an NFC board 70 for near field communication and an upper surface 52A of the operation panel 5 located above the NFC board 70, and an external terminal for near field communication. It has an NFC mark 71 indicating the position where the device is held up.

As shown in FIG. 4, the length of the operation panel 5 in the width direction (horizontal direction) is shorter than the length of the second housing 3 in the width direction. The operation panel 5 is positioned above the discharge tray 6 of the first housing 2, and the contact portion 28A of the support column 28 is positioned closer to one end (left end) than the other end (right end) of the operation panel 5 in the width direction. located below. One end (left end) of the discharge tray 6 in the width direction is positioned below the operation panel 5 . Further, the other end (right end) of the operation panel 5 is closer to the one end (left end) of the operation panel 5 than the other end (right end) of the output tray 6 in the width direction, and the other end (right end) of the output tray 6 is exposed at the top. Since a part of the discharge tray 6 is thereby exposed to the outside, the discharged sheets can be easily seen. Further, the support column 28 has a wedge shape in a side view with the upper end protruding further forward than the lower end. Although the support column 28 overlaps the paper discharge area in the front-rear direction, the front inclined surface is inclined so that the lower end faces more rearward than the upper end. Therefore, the sheets discharged to the discharge tray 6 are easier to see when the apparatus is viewed from the left side.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 , in this embodiment, the support column 28 is positioned below the operation panel 5 , and the contact portion 28A of the support column 28 contacts the lower surface 52B of the operation panel 5 . Thereby, the load applied to the support column 28 via the operation panel 5 can be easily dispersed. In addition, although the contact portion 28A of the present embodiment is configured by the tip of the rib, it is not particularly limited. The surface located above the rear end may be used as the contact portion. In addition, instead of having a rib shape that is continuous in the front-rear direction, a plurality of bosses are formed at the upper ends of the support columns, and the upper end faces of the bosses are arranged such that the front end is positioned higher than the rear end with respect to the horizontal plane. It may be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. Alternatively, the upper ends of the plurality of projections may be used as contact portions to contact the operation panel 5 . In that case, the virtual plane formed by the upper ends of the plurality of protrusions may be a plane in which the front ends are positioned higher than the rear ends with respect to the horizontal plane.

As shown in FIG. 7 , in this embodiment, the support column 28 is positioned below the center position C of the touch panel 51 . Accordingly, even if the touch panel 51 receives a load when the operation panel 5 is operated by the user, it can be reliably supported by the support columns 28 .

As shown in FIG. 7, the operation panel 5 includes a cylindrical boss 53 that supports the touch panel 51 from below when the touch panel 51 is pressed, and a boss 53 that is arranged below the touch panel 51 and enters the boss 53 . and the above-described panel substrate 54 having through holes 54A. A support column 28 is positioned below the boss 53 . Accordingly, when the touch panel 51 is pressed by the user, the touch panel 51 is supported from below by the bosses 53, and the bosses 53 are supported by the support columns 28, so that deformation and damage of the touch panel 51 can be suppressed. Note that the boss 53 may be configured to contact a holder or the like that holds the touch panel instead of directly contacting the touch panel 51 .

As shown in FIG. 7, the abutted portion 52B1 has a planar shape, and when the second housing is in the closed position as shown in FIG. 7, the front end is positioned above the rear end. It has a surface shape. Further, the convex portion 52B2 located in the front portion of the contacted portion 52B1 has a surface shape that is continuous with the front surface of the operation panel 5, and the front end is positioned higher than the rear end, similarly to the contacted portion 52B2. It has an inclined surface shape. Further, the contacted portion 52B1 of the operation panel 5 is recessed upward from the convex portion 52B2. Accordingly, even if liquid flows through the upper surface 52A of the operation panel 5, it is possible to prevent the liquid from entering the contact portion 28A.

As shown in FIG. 8, the abutted portion 52B1 of the operation panel 5 protrudes downward from the surface 52B3 of the second housing 3 that faces the discharge tray 6 of the first housing 2. As shown in FIG. As a result, when the user puts his or her hand on the back side of the operation panel 5 and holds the operation panel 5, the boundary between the facing surface 52B3 and the contacted portion 52B1 becomes a step, and comes into contact with the user's hand. It is easy to hold portions other than the contacted portion 52B1.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the ADF 34 has a transport mechanism 35 that transports the document, and a motor 36 that applies driving force to the transport mechanism 35 . The motor 36 is provided on the rear end side of the ADF 34 . The motor 36 and the contact portion 28A of the support column 28 are positioned on one end side (left end side) of the center of the second housing 3 in the width direction. Accordingly, the contact portion 28A of the support column 28 can hold a heavy object such as a motor.

As shown in FIG. 6, the recess 39 is recessed from the front wall portion 38 of the document presser 33 to such an extent that the user's hand can enter. In other words, the recess 39 is a portion recessed rearward from the front end of the front wall portion 38 of the document presser 33, and is a recess for a hand. The recess 39 is a portion where the user puts his or her hand to move the document presser 33 between the closed position and the open position. The lower end of the recess 39 is formed by the upper surface of the document table 32, and the upper surface of the document table 32 forming the lower end of the recess 39 and the upper surface 52A of the operation panel 5 are continuous.

As shown in FIG. 4, an NFC mark 71 is printed on the upper surface 52A of the operation panel 5 to indicate a position to hold an external device such as an IC card or smart phone having an NFC function. The size and shape of the NFC mark 71 are not particularly limited. Further, the NFC mark 71 may be formed by a method other than printing. For example, the NFC mark 71 may be made of a light-transmitting member, and a light source such as a light-emitting diode may be arranged directly below the light-transmitting member to make the mark shine. A user can wirelessly communicate between the external device and the image forming apparatus 1 by holding or placing the external device over the NFC mark 71 as a guide.

It is preferable that the upper surface 52A of the operation panel 5 and the recess 39 are positioned behind the NFC mark 71 . That is, it is preferable to arrange the NFC mark 71 at a position overlapping the recess 39 in the width direction of the image forming apparatus 1 . In this embodiment, the NFC mark 71 and the recess 39 are arranged substantially at the center in the width direction of the image forming apparatus 1 .

According to this configuration, since the dent 39 is positioned behind the NFC mark 71 , the user can use the space of the dent when holding an external device, such as an IC card or a smart phone, over the NFC mark 71 . can. That is, since the top surface 52A of the operation panel 5 and the top surface of the document table 32 exposed by the recess 39 are continuous in the front-rear direction, an external device can be placed across the top surface 52A of the operation panel 5 and the document table 32. It becomes possible to place

The NFC board 70 is provided inside the operation panel 5 at a position facing the NFC mark 71 in order to achieve good wireless communication with an external device. That is, the NFC mark 71 is arranged on the upper surface 52A of the operation panel 5 located above the NFC board 70 . In this embodiment, the NFC board 70 is arranged along the inside of the upper surface 52A of the operation panel 5 directly below the NFC mark 71 . The NFC board 70 is a substantially rectangular plate-like circuit board, and has a loop antenna 72, a communication circuit, a detection circuit, and the like mounted thereon.

A loop antenna 72 is arranged on the upper surface of the NFC substrate 70 so as to be positioned directly below the NFC mark 71 . The loop antenna 72 has a function of transmitting and receiving radio waves for communicating with external devices. The communication circuit has a function of performing signal processing on transmitted and received radio waves. The detection circuit has a function of detecting the intensity of radio waves transmitted and received by the loop antenna 72 by detecting the current flowing through the loop antenna 72 .

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 image forming apparatus 2 first housing 3 second housing 5 operation panel 6 ejection tray (paper ejection tray)
23 image forming section 28 support column 28A contact section 32 image reading section 52 panel member 52A upper surface

Claims (12)

a first housing having an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, and a paper discharge tray that is arranged on the upper surface and supports the sheet on which the image is formed;
a second housing located above the first housing, having a scanner for reading a document and an operation panel provided at the front end, and rotatable with respect to the first housing about the rear end; ,
Provided in the first housing, positioned outside the discharge tray in a width direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction, an upper end protruding forward from a lower end, and abutting against the second housing to be supported from below and a support column for
The support column has, at its upper end, an abutting portion with which the second housing abuts, the abutting portion being inclined with respect to a horizontal plane so that the front end is positioned higher than the rear end. Image forming device. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support column is positioned below the operation panel, and the contact portion of the support column contacts the lower surface of the operation panel. The operation panel has a touch panel on the upper surface,
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the support column is positioned below a central position of the touch panel. The operation panel includes a boss that supports the touch panel from below when the touch panel is pressed, and a panel substrate that is arranged below the touch panel and has a through hole into which the boss enters. 4. An image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said support column is positioned below said boss. The second housing has a document cover that is provided to be openable and closable and presses the document,
The manuscript cover has a dent for a handle that is dented rearward from the front end,
The operation panel has a substrate for short-range wireless communication, and a mark located on an upper surface located above the substrate and indicating a position to be held over an external device that performs the short-range wireless communication,
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recess is located behind the mark. The operation panel has a contacted portion that contacts the contact portion of the support column,
6. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the contacted portion is recessed upward from a front portion of the contacted portion of the operation panel. 7. The image according to claim 6, wherein the abutted portion of the operation panel protrudes downward from a surface of the second housing that faces the discharge tray of the first housing. forming device. the length of the operation panel in the width direction is shorter than the length of the second housing in the width direction;
The operation panel is positioned above the paper discharge tray of the first housing,
the contact portion of the support column is positioned below a position closer to one end than the other end in the width direction of the operation panel;
One end of the discharge tray in the width direction is located below the operation panel, and the other end of the operation panel is positioned further than the other end of the discharge tray in the width direction. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the other end of the discharge tray is exposed upward. The second housing has a transport mechanism that transports the document and a motor that applies a driving force to the transport mechanism, and the abutting portion of the support column and the motor are connected to the second housing. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is positioned on one end side of the center of the body in the width direction. A stopper is provided at the rear of the contact portion of the support column, the stopper protruding toward the second housing from the contact portion and restricting the rearward movement of the second housing. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the contact portion is an upper end of the rib. The image forming section has a conveying mechanism that conveys a sheet, a photosensitive drum that forms a toner image that is transferred onto the sheet, and a fixing device that fixes the transferred toner image onto the sheet. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

Images