JP2574011Y2 - Electrophotographic equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic apparatus having image forming means utilizing electrophotography.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to mount an electrophotographic apparatus on a mounting table, legs are provided at four corners of a bottom surface, and these legs are fixed to the bottom of an enclosure.

[0003]

Here, in such a conventional electrophotographic apparatus, the legs at the four corners are fixed to the bottom of the enclosure. In this case, the load of the entire electrophotographic apparatus acts on the enclosure. For this reason, it is necessary to increase the rigidity of the enclosure. For this reason, it is necessary to form the enclosure thick, which leads to an increase in cost and an increase in the overall weight, and an improvement has been demanded. .

In an electrophotographic apparatus of a type employing a configuration in which a laser scanning unit is mounted on a lower surface of a main plate, after the laser scanning unit is mounted on a lower surface of the main plate, at least an enclosure having legs attached thereto is provided. Unless the lower part is attached to the main plate, it can only be placed on the assembling jig in the sideways state, and as a result, the assembling workability has deteriorated and improvement has been demanded.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic apparatus capable of reliably mounting on a mounting table while achieving cost reduction and weight reduction. It is to provide equipment. Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic apparatus capable of improving the assembly workability without the necessity of turning the assembled body down.

[0007]

To solve the above problems [means for solving the problems]
Therefore, the electrophotographic apparatus according to the present invention is outside the electrophotographic apparatus.
Enclosure and the enclosure
Supports image forming means and image reading means inside
To the main plate and the lower surface of the main plate.
Lower frame and legs provided on the lower frame
And a unit. And the leg,
Protruding downward through the hole formed in the enclosure
And is mounted on the mounting table.

With this configuration, the electrophotographic apparatus can be used.
The loading load when placed on the mounting table is
Since the load is received by the
Don't take Roger. Therefore, the enclosure
It can be formed relatively thin, resulting in low cost
It is possible to contribute to the weight reduction of the device and the device.

The above image forming means and image reading
Locating means above the main plate, and
Place the image forming hand above the main plate.
An upper enclosure covering the steps and the image reading means;
Lower enclosure located below the main plate
And may be composed of In this case, the hole is
Formed on the lower surface of the enclosure.

[0010] The lower frame is a pair of left and right.
Even if the legs are attached to both ends of each lower frame
good. Furthermore, the sky surrounded by the pair of lower frames
Laser scanning unit between main plate
It is also possible to dispose it attached to the lower surface of
You. With this configuration, the lower frame can be mounted on the mainframe.
At any time after the frame has been assembled (enclosure
Laser scanning unit (even before jar assembly)
Can be mounted on the underside of the main plate
You. Therefore, the degree of freedom in work is increased, and workability is improved.
Can be

[Explanation of Entire Configuration] As shown in FIG. 1, the facsimile apparatus 10 of this embodiment automatically reads and reads the image information of a transmission original in which a plurality of sheets are set at one time. The image information is transmitted to the facsimile machine on the receiving side using a telephone line,
Further, the image information transmitted from the facsimile machine on the other party's transmission side is transferred to a built-in paper (in this embodiment, cut plain paper) via an electrophotographic method using a laser scanning method. ). On the other hand, the facsimile machine 10
Is configured to have a so-called electronic copying function capable of copying (image formation) image information read from a document on a built-in sheet. Further, the facsimile machine 1
No. 0 is also configured to have a so-called printer function that can transfer (image formation) image information transmitted from, for example, an information processing apparatus to a built-in sheet via a connection line other than a telephone line.

The facsimile apparatus 10 has a main plate 1 disposed substantially parallel to a mounting surface thereof.
2, a print mechanism 14 mounted on the upper surface of the main plate 12 and performing the above-described image forming function, and pivotally supported by the rear end of the main plate 12 so as to swing with respect to the main plate 12. A possible swing frame 16,
An image reading mechanism 18 disposed on the upper surface of the swing frame 16 and having the above-described image reading function, and a rear end rotatably supported at an intermediate portion of the swing frame 16,
A control panel 20 swingable with respect to the main swing frame 16, lower frames 22a and 22b fixed to the left and right sides of the lower surface of the main plate 12, and extending in the front-rear direction, respectively; 22
a, 22b, and is attached to the lower surface of the main plate 12, and
And a laser scanning unit 24 having a function of forming a latent image on the outer peripheral surface of a photosensitive drum (to be described later), and fixed to the front and rear ends of the lower surfaces of the lower frames 22a and 22b, respectively, on a mounting surface (not shown). And four legs 26 to be placed.

[Explanation of Enclosure 28] Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the facsimile apparatus 10 has an enclosure 2 for entirely defining the outer surface thereof.
8 is provided. In this embodiment, the enclosure 28 is provided so as to surround the periphery of the space sandwiched by the lower frames 22a and 22b (that is, the portion below the main plate 12).
2 and a lower housing 30 disposed immediately above the lower housing 30 and continuously surrounding the print mechanism 14 and disposed above the main plate 12. A middle housing (printer housing) 32 and an upper fixed to the swing frame 16 so as to be continuously disposed immediately above the printer housing 32 and to openably close an upper opening thereof. The housing 34 is divided into three parts. The control panel 20 described above is used.
Is pivotally supported at the rear edge of the front opening so as to openably close the front opening formed at the front of the upper housing 34.

As described above, the enclosure 28 that defines the outer surface of the facsimile machine 10 is connected to the lower housing 3.
0, printer housing 32, and upper housing 3
Since the internal structure is completely assembled, the enclosure 28 can be assembled in a state irrelevant to the internal structure, thereby improving the workability of assembling the facsimile apparatus 10. Can be done. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the leg 26 described above has a substantially rectangular bottom surface 4 of the facsimile machine 10.
5 and 6, they are fixed to the lower surfaces of the lower frames 22a and 22b, respectively, as shown in FIGS. That is, in the facsimile apparatus 10, during the assembly thereof, the enclosure 28
Even when the lower housing 30 (particularly, the lower housing 30) is not assembled, the main plate 12 is still mounted on an assembly table (not shown) via the legs 26 fixed to the lower surfaces of the lower frames 22a and 22b attached to the lower portion thereof. It is placed in a stable state.

The lower frames 22a, 22a
4 and 6, each leg 26 is inserted through a through hole 30a formed of a stupid hole formed in the lower housing 30 in a state where the lower housing 30 is attached to the lower housing 30 as shown in FIGS. It is configured to be taken out downward. As a result, in a state where the facsimile machine 10 is mounted on an assembly table, its weight is basically received by the main plate 12 via the lower frames 22a and 22b, and is transferred to the enclosure 28 including the lower housing 30. Has no effect. Accordingly, no unnecessary load (self-weight) is applied to the enclosure 28, and there is no risk of deformation due to receiving the load. In addition, the thickness can be reduced, and the overall weight can be reduced. .

In particular, although the details will be described later, the laser scanning unit 24 includes a main plate 1 as shown in FIG.
2 is set so as to be attached to the lower surface of the main plate 12 so as to show the lower surface arrangement state. As shown in FIG. 6, the laser scanning unit 24 has a part thereof (specifically, a port for taking out a laser beam for image exposure to a photosensitive drum described later) protruding toward the upper surface of the main plate 12. It is set as follows. Here, if the leg 26 is attached to the lower surface of the lower housing 30 and the lower housing 30 is configured to receive a load via the leg 26, the leather scanning unit 24 will be mounted unless the lower housing 30 is assembled in advance. It is difficult to assemble, and the work order is greatly restricted,
Workability will be extremely deteriorated. However, in this embodiment, since the legs 26 for receiving a load are fixed to the lower frames 22a and 22b in a state independent of the lower housing 30, the leather scanning unit 24 is attached to the main plate 12. After the lower frames 22a and 22b have been assembled, the lower frames 22a and 22b can be assembled to the lower surface of the main plate 12 at any time, which increases the degree of freedom in workability and improves workability.

On the other hand, in the center of the rear part of the upper housing 34, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a paper feed cassette 36 is inserted, and a paper feed cassette mounting port 34a also serving as a transfer paper take-in port is provided. In addition, a document taking-in port 34b into which a document to be transmitted is taken is formed immediately before the mounting port 34a. Although not described, the sheet cassette 36 is configured so that a large number of sheets of a predetermined size are collectively stored therein. Further, on the front surface of the printer housing 32, a paper discharge port 32a for discharging the paper on which the image information has been transferred is formed on the lower surface in a state of being located below, and a reading operation is performed above the paper discharge port 32a. A document discharge port 32b for discharging the transmission document after the completion is formed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front surface of the lower housing 30 receives a sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port 32a and a discharge sheet for receiving a transmission document discharged from the document discharge port 32b. A paper tray 38 is detachably attached. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of guide portions 40a and 40b are provided in the above-described document inlet 34b so as to be movable in the width direction of the transmitted document according to the size of the document to be transmitted. The tray 40 is detachably attached.

On the upper surface of the control panel 20, various operation buttons 20a are provided, and a display window 20b having a liquid crystal display device for displaying predetermined information to an operator is provided. I have. Here, an upper housing release button 42 is provided on the right side of the front surface of the control panel 20. The upper housing release button 42 is rotatably attached to the swing frame 16, and is rotated so as to push up the main frame 12 of the swing frame 16.
As a result, the swinging frame 16 and the upper housing 34 attached to the swinging frame 16 can be rotated upward as shown in FIG. Thereby, the upper opening of the printer housing 32,
In other words, the upper surface of the printing mechanism 14 is opened over substantially the entire surface, so that the operation of removing the paper jammed during the conveyance and the maintenance of each mechanism constituting the printing mechanism 14 can be easily performed.

On the other hand, a control panel release button 44 is disposed immediately to the left of the upper housing release button 42 and adjacent thereto. The control panel release button 44 is rotatably attached to the control panel 20. By rotating the control panel release button 44 so as to depress it, the locked state of the control panel 20 to the swing frame 16 is released. As shown in FIG. 8, the control panel 20 can rotate upward. Thereby, the upper housing 34
The front opening of the image reading mechanism 18, that is, the upper surface of the image reading mechanism 18 is opened over substantially the entire surface, so that the operation of removing the jammed document in the middle of the conveyance and the maintenance of each mechanism constituting the image reading mechanism 18 can be easily performed. You can do it. As shown in FIG. 9, a front opening 30b communicating with the front internal space in the lower space surrounded by the lower housing 30 is formed on the front surface of the lower housing 30 described above. The front opening 30b is provided with the front blind cover 30.
c (shown in FIG. 7) to be openably closed.
In addition, as will be described in detail later in this front internal space,
An adjustment board 46 for changing and adjusting, for example, a DC resistance value, a capacitance, and the like in accordance with a standard of each country in the world is housed. By removing the front cover 30c, the DC resistance value, the capacitance, and the like of the adjustment board 46 can be adjusted and set in accordance with the standard of the country to be shipped.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a rear opening 30d communicating with the rear internal space in the lower space is formed in the rear surface of the lower housing 30. The rear opening 30d is openably closed by a rear blind cover 30e. As shown in FIG. 6, a pair of left and right board guide rails 48 and 50 are provided in the rear internal space.
Are attached to the lower surfaces of the lower frames 22a and 22b in a state where they extend in the front-rear direction and are attached in parallel with each other. This pair of board guide rails 4
Guide grooves 48a,
50a are formed.

A main control board 52 for controlling the overall operation of the facsimile machine 10 is supported by the guide grooves 48a and 50a slidably guided at both ends. By removing the rear cover 30e, the main control board 52 can be taken out of the enclosure 28 through the rear opening 30d. In this way, the main control board 52 can be replaced very easily as needed. You can do it.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bottom of the lower housing 30 is formed with a bottom opening 30f slightly larger than the laser scanning unit 24. 30f is
It is openably closed by a bottom cover (not shown). And by removing this bottom blind cover,
The laser scanning unit 24 is provided with the bottom opening 30.
Through f, it can be easily put in and out of the lower space described above. In other words, during assembly of the facsimile machine 10, for example, by setting the halfway assembly sideways down, the laser scanning unit 24 can be easily mounted on the main plate 12 even after the lower housing 30 is assembled. The laser scanning unit 24 can be assembled on the lower surface. Further, even when the laser scanning unit 24 is replaced in the event of a failure, simply remove the bottom cover 30g without removing the lower housing 30. This replacement operation can be performed, and the workability for assembling the laser scanning unit 24 and the workability for the replacement can be improved.

[Description of Document Tray] Next, the configuration of the above-described document tray 40 and the receiving structure of the document tray 40 in the printer housing 32 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in a partially enlarged state in FIG. 10, the document tray 40 is a flat platen 54 on which a document is placed.
The pair of left and right guides 40a and 40b described above are movably mounted on the document table 54 in the width direction. Inclined bosses 56 and 58 for supporting the document tray 40 on the upper housing 34 in a state where the document tray 40 is inclined at a predetermined angle are integrally formed on the left and right ends of the front portion of the document placing table 54. Here, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the inclined bosses 56 and 58 are provided on support surfaces 56a and 58a which are inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the extending surface of the document placing table 54 (ie, the document placing surface). Is provided in the rear half of the lower surface, and the supporting surfaces 56a and 58a are brought into close contact with the upper surface of the upper housing 34 so that the document placing table 54 is inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the upper surface of the upper housing 34. Will be supported.

In the front half of the lower surface of each of the inclined bosses 56, 58, projecting bosses 60, 6 projecting downward are provided.
2 are integrally formed. Each projecting boss 60,
On the lower surface of the document 62, the support surface 56 extends substantially parallel to the extension surface (document placement surface) of the document table 54.
a, protruding surface 60a protruding downward from 58a,
62a are respectively formed. And each projecting boss 6
Locking pins 60b, 62b projecting outward in the width direction, that is, outwardly from the left and right side surfaces of the corresponding projecting bosses 60, 62, are integrally attached to the lower ends of the projections 0, 62. ing.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, a tray receiving base 35 for receiving the document tray 40 is integrally mounted on the upper surface of the upper housing 34 to which the document tray 40 is mounted. On the upper surface of the tray receiving base 35, insertion holes 35a, 35b through which a pair of left and right locking pins 60b, 62b are inserted from above are formed. In addition, a portion of the tray receiving base 35 located immediately before each of the insertion holes 35a, 35b has a corresponding insertion hole 35a, 35b.
And the corresponding projecting bosses 60, 62
Are formed in the fitting holes 35c and 35d.
Here, each of the fitting holes 35c and 35d is set to a size large enough to form a predetermined space in front of the front surfaces 60c and 62c of the protruding bosses 60 and 62 fitted therein. In addition, on the lower surface of the portion that defines both side edges of the fitting holes 35c and 35d, the corresponding locking pins 60b and 6
2b for receiving a rotating portion 2b so as to be rotatable.
35f is formed.

Since the original tray 40 and the tray holder 35 to which the original tray 40 is attached are configured as described above, when attaching the original tray 40 to the tray receiver 35, first, as shown in FIG. Is set in a substantially upright state, and from this state, as shown in FIG. 14, each locking pin 60b, 62b is inserted into the corresponding insertion hole 35a, 35b.
Is inserted downward, and each protruding boss 60,
62 is fitted into the corresponding fitting holes 35c and 35d. In this manner, each locking pin 60b, 62b is taken out below the lower surface of the upper housing 34.

Thereafter, the support surfaces 56a, 58a of the inclined bosses 56, 58 and the projecting surfaces 6 of the projecting bosses 60, 62
0a and 62a are inserted into corresponding insertion holes 35.
When the original tray 40 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure as a whole as shown in FIG. The locking pins 60b and 62b enter the corresponding recesses 35e and 35f from below, and can be received in a rotatable state. Touch In this manner, the document tray 40 is mounted on the upper surface of the tray receiving base 35.

Incidentally, the original tray 40 is placed on the tray support 3
When detaching the document tray 5 from the upper housing 34, the document tray 40 can be very easily attached to and detached from the upper housing 34. Can be surely maintained in a stable state. That is, when the document tray 40 is attached to the upper housing 34,
Since a and 58a are in close contact with the upper surface of the tray receiving base 35, they move backward (that is, along the counterclockwise direction in the figure).
Rotation is prohibited, and the mounting posture is maintained. On the other hand, the front faces 60c, 62c of the protruding bosses 60, 62
So that a predetermined space is formed in front of the fitting holes 35.
Since the sizes of c and 35d are set, rotation of the document tray 40 forward (that is, along the clockwise direction in the drawing) is allowed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 16, when the upper housing 34 is lowered and the upper surface of the printer housing 32 is completely closed by the upper housing 34, the document tray 40 attached to the upper housing 34 is set. And a paper feed cassette 3 attached to a print mechanism 14 fixed to the main plate 12.
6 are arranged substantially parallel to each other. As is apparent from the above description, since the document tray 40 is attached to the upper housing 34 and the paper feed cassette 36 is attached to the printing mechanism 14, for example, during maintenance of the printing mechanism 14, the upper housing 34 is When an attempt is made to open upward with the pivoting operation of the swing frame 16, the document tray 40 also pivots integrally with this opening operation, but the paper cassette 36 remains at that position. Will be. As a result, FIG.
7, the rear end of the document tray 40 interferes with and contacts the upper surface of the paper feed cassette 36.

However, in this embodiment,
As described above, since the document tray 40 is allowed to rotate in the clockwise direction in the drawing from the attached state with respect to the upper housing 34, the further opening operation of the upper housing 34 from the state shown in FIG. Accordingly, the trailing end of the document tray 40 is rotated clockwise with respect to the upper housing 34 while sliding along the upper surface of the paper feed cassette 36. In this manner, the document tray 40 is rotated clockwise in a state following the opening operation of the upper housing 34, so that, for example, the rear end of the document tray 40 is moved in the opening operation of the upper housing 34. Even if the original tray 40 comes into contact with the upper surface of the paper feed cassette 36 on the way, there is no possibility that the document tray 40 is damaged, and there is no possibility that the opening operation of the upper housing 34 is hindered.

On the other hand, as described above, the lower housing 3
The adjustment board 46 shown in FIG. 19 is accommodated in the front space in the space below the zero. A large number of jumper terminals 64a, 64b,... Are erected on the front edge of the adjustment board 46 facing the above-described front opening 30b. Each of the jumper terminals 64a, 64b,... Is, as shown in FIG.
a, 65b. And the connecting member 66
Are electrically connected to each other through the jumper terminals 64a, 64b..., That is, by short-circuiting, so that the electrical connection of the jumper terminals 64a, 64b. The state is defined as "0" state. On the other hand, any jumper terminal 6
When the connection terminals 65a, 65b of 4a, 64b,... Are not electrically connected, the electrical state of the jumper terminals 64a, 64b,.
Defined by state.

On the other hand, in this adjustment board 46, FIG.
0, predetermined jumper terminals 64a, 64b...
Is short-circuited in a predetermined combination via the connecting member 66, so that the facsimile machine 10 can be adjusted and changed to a standard such as a DC resistance value or a capacitance in accordance with the specifications of various countries around the world to be shipped. It becomes possible.
That is, in this embodiment, as is apparent from the above description, in order to adjust and change the electrical standards to the specifications of the world, simply remove the front blind cover 30c,
By opening the front opening 30b, the front edge of the adjustment board 46 is made accessible so that the front opening 30b is open.
b, by attaching the connecting members 66 to the corresponding jumper terminals 64a, 64b,... according to the specifications of the respective countries, so that the facsimile apparatus 10 has an electrical standard that matches the specifications of the country. Adjustment can be changed.

As a result, the manufacturer that manufactures the facsimile machine 10 does not need to set up a production line in consideration of the standards in various countries around the world, and can set up a uniform production line, thereby greatly improving the production efficiency. Becomes Therefore, it is not necessary to manage the electrical standards of each country in the world, and it is not necessary to manage the inventory of electrical components in each country according to the number of shipments in each country, thereby improving productivity. Become.

On the other hand, in a country to which the facsimile machine 10 is supplied, predetermined jumper terminals 64a, 64b...
6, the connecting member 66 can be attached by simply removing the front blind cover 30c. For example, the lower housing 30
It is not necessary to remove the adjustment board 46 from the enclosure 28. In this manner, this change adjustment operation is performed by simply removing the front blind cover 30c and setting the predetermined jumper terminals 64a,
A very simple operation of attaching the connecting member 66 to 64b... Is sufficient, and the effect of improving the working life can be obtained.

[Description of Structure of Swing Frame 16] Next, the structure of the swing frame 16 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, the swing frame 16 is provided with the side plates 6 which are arranged in parallel in an upright state.
8a, 68b, and extend along the lateral direction.
a, a front connecting shaft 70 for connecting the front ends of the two plates 68a, 68b to each other, and a rear end of both side plates 68a, 68b connecting each other to function as a swing support shaft. A solid rear connecting shaft 72,
A pair of front and rear flat mounting bases 74a, 74 arranged to connect the front portions of both side plates 68a, 68b to each other.
b. Here, the pivot 72
As will be described later in detail, is rotatably supported by swing support brackets 76a and 76b which are fixed to the rear end of the main plate 12 at the left and right ends thereof.

On the other hand, locking hooks 78a and 78b are rotatably attached to the left and right ends of the front connecting shaft 70 in such a manner that the hooks 78a and 78b are connected so as to rotate integrally with each other about the longitudinal axis thereof. Each locking hook 78a, 78
b indicates that the main plate 1
2 is formed of an inclined surface that is inclined in a direction away from the upper surface of the upper surface 2 and has a rear end having a locking pin 80a,
It is formed to project rearward by a predetermined amount so that it can be locked to each of 80b. In addition, each locking hook 78
a and 78b are elastically urged by a torsion coil spring (not shown) so as to be rotationally displaced in the clockwise direction in the figure, and come into contact with stoppers (not shown) to be brought to their stop positions. It is held elastically.

Each of the locking hooks 78a, 78b is tilted by the swing frame 16 being rotated downward from the open state while being elastically held at the above-mentioned stop position. The surface engages with corresponding locking pins 80a, 80b attached to the main plate 12 from above,
In accordance with the inclination, the torsion coil spring is forcibly rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing against the urging force of the torsion coil spring. On the other hand, when the swing frame 16 is further rotated downward to further deviate the respective locking hooks 78a, 78b counterclockwise, the locking pins 80a, 80b corresponding to the respective inclined surfaces are obtained. Is released at the rear end of each inclined surface, and at the time of this release, the biasing force of the corresponding torsion coil spring is used to rotate and deviate clockwise in FIG. ,As a result,
The upper surface of each locking hook 78a, 78b enters below the corresponding locking pin 80a, 80b, thus locking the swing frame 16 in the closed position.

On the other hand, the locking hooks 78a and 78b are connected to the above-mentioned upper housing opening button 42, and are pushed up to make each locking hook 78a.
a, 78b are forcibly rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing against the urging force of the torsion coil spring, and thus the locked state with the corresponding locking pins 80a, 80b is forcibly released. It is made to be. Each of the locking pins 80a, 80b is attached to a mounting bracket 82a,
82b, they are rigidly attached and supported so as to be aligned with each other in the lateral direction and to be substantially parallel to the upper surface of the main plate 12.

As described above, the oscillating frame 16 has a configuration in which the rigidity is increased in a state of exhibiting a substantially rectangular shape in a plane, and is mounted in a state of penetrating the oscillating frame 16 in the width direction. The rear connection shaft 72 provided is used as a swing support shaft. As a result, the image reading mechanism 16 for reading the image of the transmission original is attached to the pair of front and rear mounting tables 74a and 74b.
Even if the oscillating frame 16 is repeatedly oscillated about the axis of the oscillating support shaft 72, the oscillating frame 16 can maintain a constant posture in the closed state with respect to the main plate 12 without twisting. Become. Especially,
As will be described later in detail, the lower surfaces of the pair of front and rear mounting tables 74a and 74b on which the image reading mechanism 16 is mounted are set so as to define the upper surface of the paper transport path in the printing mechanism 14, and swing as described above. Since the distortion of the frame 16 is reliably suppressed, the paper transport path is also satisfactorily and accurately defined with a predetermined accuracy.

On the other hand, with the opening operation of the swing frame 16, the upper housing 34 is driven to open. As is clear from the above description, when the upper housing 34 is opened, the upper housing 34 itself is opened. No rotational driving force is applied. As a result, the deformation of the upper housing 34 due to the opening operation is effectively suppressed, so that the upper housing 34 can be formed to be thin, and thus the overall weight can be reduced. Will be. As shown in the figure, a space surrounded by the swing frame 16 and located behind the pair of front and rear mounting tables 74a and 74b is provided in the space above the sheet cassette 36.
It is set so that the space where the front end of is taken in is defined.

[Description of Swing Support Structure of Swing Frame 16] Next, referring to FIGS.
Will be described in detail. First, a description will be given of a mode in which both ends of a rear connecting shaft 72 as a swing support shaft are rotatably supported by corresponding swing support brackets 76a and 76b, respectively. As shown in FIG. 22, the right end of the swing support shaft 72 is set so as to penetrate the corresponding right swing support bracket 76b and terminate at the corresponding right plate 68b. On the other hand, the left end of the pivot 72
The corresponding left swing support bracket 76a is penetrated, and further, the corresponding left plate 68a protrudes outward, and terminates in a state of projecting from the outer surface of the left plate 68a by a predetermined amount. As will be described in detail later, a damper 84 is provided between the protruding left end 72a of the pivot shaft 72 and the main plate 12 so that the upper housing 34 can be stopped at an arbitrary open position. It is interposed between them.

On the other hand, the left and right ends of the swing shaft 72 (excluding the protruding end 72a at the left end)
As shown in FIGS. 22 and 23, the connection bushes 86a, 8
6b are fitted respectively. Each connecting bush 86a, 8
6b are hollow cylindrical sleeves 86a1 and 86b1 that are directly fitted on the outer circumference of the swing support shaft 72, and each sleeve 86a
1, 86b1 and outer flanges 86a2, 86b2 integrally formed at the outer ends. The sleeves 86a1 and 86b1 and the pivot 72 are connected so as to rotate integrally with each other by spring pins 88a and 88b, which are mounted to penetrate them in the radial direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 25, the outer peripheral surface of each sleeve 86a1, 86b1 is
The supporting holes 90a and 90b formed in the corresponding upright pieces a and 76b in a state penetrating in the thickness direction are slidably supported by the inner peripheral surfaces.

As shown in FIG. 24, a pair of flat portions 86a3 and 86b3 parallel to each other are formed in portions of the sleeves 86a1 and 86b1 that are located just outside the corresponding support holes 90a and 90b, respectively. Have been. On the other hand, each of the left and right side plates 68a and 68b has
Sleeves 86a1, 86b1 having 6a3, 86b3
Are set so as to be fitted in a complementary manner, and mounting holes 92a and 92b are respectively formed in a state penetrating along the thickness direction. Thus, a pair of flat portions 86a3,
When the portions of the sleeves 86a1 and 86b1 having the 86b3 are complementarily fitted into the mounting holes 92a and 92b, the connecting bushes 86a and 86b rotate integrally with the corresponding left and right side plates 68a and 68b, respectively. Become.

Further, in this embodiment, in order to ensure such integral rotation, the outer flanges 86a2 and 86b2 of the connecting bushes 86a and 86b are, as shown in FIG. Corresponding left and right side plates 68a, 6
8b are fixed by spot welding. In this manner, the left and right side plates 68a, 68b are fixed to the left and right ends of the swing support shaft 72, respectively, with the connection bushes 86a, 86b interposed therebetween, and integrally rotated in accordance with the rotation thereof. That is, it can swing. Since the left and right side plates 68a and 68b are fixed to the swing support shaft in this manner, the swing frame 16 having these side plates 68a and 68b is not distorted and maintains a stable posture while maintaining a stable posture.
2 is driven to swing around the axis. In addition, in order to prevent the deformation of the swing frame 16 in this manner, the occurrence of so-called stiffness in the shaft supporting portion that rotatably supports the swing frame 16 is effectively suppressed. The swing frame 16 can be driven to swing, and therefore, the upper housing 34 attached thereto can be driven to open and close. In this way, the operability of the upper housing 34 can be improved.

[Description of Mounting Structure of Damper 84] Next, referring to FIGS. 26 and 27, a mounting structure of the damper 84 for stopping the swing frame 16 having the above-described configuration at an arbitrary rotation position. explain. This damper 84 protrudes leftward from a leftward protruding end 72a of a swing support shaft (rear connection shaft) 72, that is, a left swing support base 76a, and further leftward from a corresponding left plate 68a. It is set so as to be interposed between the protruding end 72 a and the main plate 12. For this reason, a mounting stem 94 is fixed to the protruding end 72 a of the swing support shaft 72 so as to rotate integrally with the projecting end 72 a so as to extend along the radial direction of the swing support shaft 72. At the tip of the mounting stem 94, one support pin 94a having an extension axis parallel to the extension axis of the swing support shaft 72 is fixed, and the one support pin 94a is attached to the damper 84 described above. Is rotatably mounted at one end. On the other hand, main plate 1
A mounting bracket 96 is fixed to the upper surface of the second 2, and the other support pin 96a having an extension axis parallel to the extension axis of the one support pin 94a is fixed to the attachment bracket 96. This other support pin 9
The other end of the damper 84 is rotatably attached to 6a.

The damper 84 is of a gas-filled cylinder type. The cylinder body 84a is provided at one end and the cylinder body 84a is provided at the other end.
Piston rod 84 projecting / retracting from the piston rod 84
b. That is, the above-described one support pin 9
A distal end portion of a cylinder body 84a is rotatably supported by 4a, and a distal end portion of a piston rod 84a is rotatably supported by the other support pin 96a.
As is well known, the projecting / retracting force of the piston rod 84a from the cylinder body 84a is attenuated by the gas sealed therein, so that the rotation stop position can be elastically held. I have.

Since the damper 84 is attached in this manner, when the rotational power of the swing frame 16 is attenuated,
Directly, it is configured to attenuate the rotational power of the swing support shaft 72 constituting the swing frame 16. Therefore,
The reaction force generated when the rotational power of the swing frame 16 is attenuated does not act on the entire swing frame 16,
This acts directly and partially on the swing support shaft 72. In other words, if one end of the damper 84 is connected to the upper housing 34 attached to the swing frame 16, the reaction force generated when the rotational power of the swing frame 16 is attenuated is Acting on the housing 34, there is a risk that the upper housing 34 may be twisted and deformed.
In order to increase the rigidity of the device, consideration must be given to, for example, increasing the thickness. For this reason, the weight of the entire apparatus increases and the manufacturing cost increases, which is not preferable.

However, in this embodiment,
As is clear from the above description, the reaction force generated in the damper 84 when the rotational power of the swing frame 16 is attenuated acts on the swing support shaft 72, in other words, is received by the swing support shaft 72. It will be. Here, the torsional rigidity of the swing support shaft 72 is set to be extremely high. In this manner, the reaction force generated in the damper 84 is applied to the swing support shaft 72.
Therefore, the torsional deformation of the swing support shaft 72 is not caused. In this way, even if the damper 84 is provided to elastically hold the rotation position of the swing frame 16, the swing frame 16
The situation that causes torsional deformation is surely prevented,
A good rotation stop state is achieved.

[Description of Opening / Closing Structure of Control Panel 20] Next, referring to FIGS. 28 and 29, an opening / closing structure for driving the control panel 20 to open and close with respect to the swing frame 16 will be described in detail. First, as shown in FIG. 28, a swing support shaft 100 for the control panel 20 is attached to a rear end portion of the control panel 20 so as to extend in the width direction. Axis 10
0, the pivoting frame 16 is pivotally supported between a closing position for closing the front opening of the swing frame 16 and an opening position for opening the front opening. On the other hand, a lock shaft 102 is attached to the front end of the control panel 20 so as to be rotatable around its own central axis while extending in the width direction. At both left and right ends of the lock shaft 102,
Locking hooks 104a, 10 for control panel 20
4b (the right locking hook 104b is not shown for convenience of illustration).

Each of the locking hooks 104a and 104b is inclined in a direction away from the upper surface of the main plate 12 as the lower end face goes backward, similarly to the locking hooks 78a and 78b for the swing frame 16 described above. It is formed of an inclined surface, and its rear end is formed so as to protrude rearward by a predetermined amount so that it can be simultaneously locked to the above-described front connection shaft 70. In addition, each locking hook 1
04a and 104b are elastically urged by a torsion coil spring (not shown) so as to be rotationally displaced in a clockwise direction in the figure. It is held elastically.

Each locking hook 104a (104b)
When the control panel 20 is turned downward from the open state while being elastically held in the above-described open position, each inclined surface is turned to the front connecting shaft 70.
, From above, and forcibly rotate in the counterclockwise direction in the figure against the urging force of the torsion coil spring according to the inclination. On the other hand, when the control panel 20 is further rotated downward and the locking hooks 104a (104b) are further rotationally displaced in the counterclockwise direction, the engagement between the inclined surfaces and the front connection shaft 70 is achieved. Are released at the rear end of each inclined surface, and at the time of this release, the biasing force of the corresponding torsion coil spring causes the bias to be rotated clockwise in the drawing in the opposite direction as before, and as a result, Each locking hook 104a (104
The upper surface of b) enters below the front connecting shaft 70,
Thus, the control panel 20 is locked in the closed position.

On the other hand, each locking hook 104a (104b)
Is connected to the above-mentioned control panel release button 44, and by pushing it up, each locking hook 104a (104b) is forcibly turned counterclockwise in the figure against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring. In this manner, the locked state of the front connecting shaft 70 is forcibly released. When the locked state is released in this way, the control panel 20 is pivotally displaced from the closed position to the open position by the urging force of a spring (not shown) wound around the swing support shaft 100, and the open position Will be held elastically.

Thus, in this embodiment,
The locking hooks 104a (104) lock the control panel 20 in the closed position with respect to the swing frame 16.
The swing frame 16 is configured as an object to be locked by b), and the swing frame 16 is attached to the main plate 1.
Locking hook 78 for locking the closed position with respect to 2
a, 78b are attached to the front connecting shaft 70. In this manner, in this embodiment, since it is not necessary to use a member for locking the locking hooks 104a (104b), the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced. Can be done.

[Description of Interlock Mechanism 106] Next, referring to FIGS.
The structure and operation of the interlock mechanism 106 for detecting that the control panel 20 is in the closed position with respect to the swing frame 16 at the same time that the control panel 20 is in the closed position with respect to the main plate 12 will be described in detail.

First, as shown in FIG. 28, a push-on type detection switch 108 for the above-described detection operation is attached to the right lower frame 22b.
Attached through. That is, the detection switch 108 has an operating piece that is turned on by being pressed, and protrudes outward by the biasing force of a built-in spring unless an external force acts on the operating piece. In other words,
It is urged to turn off. On the other hand, a final stage actuator 112 is rotatably supported on the mounting stay 110 so as to be rotatable around a support shaft 114 in a state where the operation piece of the detection switch 108 can be pushed in. The final-stage actuator 112 is biased by a torsion spring 116 wound around the support shaft 114 so as to be displaced in a clockwise direction in the drawing.

In the state shown in the drawing, that is, the control panel 20 is in the closed position, and the upper front opening of the upper housing 34 attached to the swing frame 16 is closed, and the swing frame 16 is also closed. In this state, the detection switch 108 is pivotally displaced in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing against the urging force of the torsion spring 116 in a state where the upper opening of the printer housing 32 is closed. It is pushed by the final-stage actuator 112 to perform the ON operation.

On the main plate 12 located just above the final stage actuator 112, an intermediate stage actuator assembly 118 is provided. The intermediate-stage actuator assembly 118 includes a mounting plate 120 fixed on the main plate 12, a slide member 122 slidably supported by the mounting plate 120 in the vertical direction, and a slide member 12.
2 and a push-in shaft 124 slidably attached in the up-down direction and penetrating the up-down direction, and a spring 126 for urging the push-in shaft 124 to always project downward. And

Here, the lower end of the pushing shaft 124 passes through the main plate 12 through a through hole (not shown) formed in the main plate 12 in the thickness direction.
2 and is disposed at a position where the above-described final-stage actuator 112 can be pushed from above. Further, the above-described spring 124 is configured to have an urging force larger than the sum of the urging force of the torsion spring 116 and the urging force of the spring built in the detection switch 108. As a result, when the pushing shaft 124 is pushed down as the slide member 122 descends, the final stage actuator 112 resists the urging force of its own torsion spring 114 and the urging force of the spring built in the detection switch 108 in the figure. The operation piece of the detection switch 108 is pushed inward and turned on in the counterclockwise direction.

As will be described in detail later, the slide member 122 of the intermediate-stage actuator assembly 118 is disposed at a position where the slide member 122 can be pushed downward and moved by the first-stage actuator assembly 128 attached to the swing frame 16. ing. The first-stage actuator assembly 128 is mounted on the swing frame 16 with the control panel 20 in the closed position.
When the upper housing 34 attached to is rotated from the open position to the closed position, or when the control panel 20 is rotated from the open position to the closed position while the upper housing 34 is in the closed position,
It is set so that it can be engaged with the above-mentioned slide member 122 from above and can be pushed downward.

As a result, if foreign matter enters between the slide member 122 and the first-stage actuator assembly 128, the slide member 122 is normally moved by the amount of the foreign matter with the rotation of the upper housing 34 to the closed position. It will be pushed down with a longer stroke. However, in this embodiment, as described above, the pushing shaft 124 is attached to the slide member 122 so as to be able to move up and down while being urged downward by the spring 126. After the final stage actuator 112 is pushed in by a predetermined amount in response to the downward pushing of the member 122, furthermore, even when the sliding member 122 is pushed downward, the spring 126 is contracted and the pushing shaft 124 is pressed against the sliding member 122. The relative movement upward is allowed, and the abnormal pushing amount of the slide member 122 is absorbed. In this way,
In this embodiment, even if a foreign object enters between the slide member 122 and the first-stage actuator assembly 128, the final-stage actuator 112 is rotated and displaced by an amount larger than a predetermined amount, and the detection switch 108 is moved.
Can be reliably prevented, and reliability can be improved.

On the other hand, the above-described first-stage actuator assembly 128 is the right side plate 68b constituting the swing frame 16, and is located directly above the slide member 122 when the swing frame 16 is in the closed position. And a pushing member 132 slidably attached to the slide support member 130 in the vertical direction. The pushing member 132 projects downward from the lower edge of the side plate 68b, and engages with the upper end of the slide member 122 from above, and projects upward from the upper edge of the panel body. Is formed with an upper end made to be engageable from above.

Since the first-stage actuator assembly 128 is configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 28, the control panel 20 is in the closed position with respect to the upper housing 34, and the upper housing 34 is connected to the printer housing 32. On the other hand, in the closed position (completely closed state), the slide support member 132 of the first-stage actuator assembly 128 is pushed into the control panel 20 from above and is pushed down. When the slide support member 132 is pushed downward, the slide member 12 of the intermediate-stage actuator assembly 118 engages with the slide support member 132 from above.
2 is pushed down, and in response to the pushing down of the slide member 122, the final stage actuator 112, which is engaged from above, causes the urging force of the torsion spring 116 and the resultant force of the urging force of the spring built in the detection switch 108. In this case, the rotation is displaced in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.

As a result, the final stage actuator 11
2, the operation piece of the detection switch 108 is pushed and driven. Thus, the detection switch 1
08 is turned on to notify a control system (not shown) that the control panel 20 is in the closed position with respect to the upper housing 34 and that the upper housing 34 is in the closed position with respect to the printer housing 32. You can do it.

On the other hand, when the control panel release button 44 is pushed up from the completely closed state shown in FIG.
Accordingly, the locking hook 1 for the control panel 20
The locked state of the front connection shaft 70 at 04a (104b) is released, and as a result, as shown in FIG. 29, the control panel 20 is rotated from the closed position to the open position. With the opening operation of the control panel 20, as shown in the figure, the control panel 20 that presses down the pushing member 132 of the first-stage actuator assembly 128 from above is no longer present.
The biasing force of the torsion spring 116 for rotating and displacing the final stage actuator 112 in the clockwise direction in FIG.
By being received via the intermediate-stage actuator assembly 118, the slide is displaced upward.

As a result, the detection switch 108 is allowed to protrude outward due to the biasing force of the built-in spring in the detection switch 108. In this way, the detection switch 108 is turned off, At least the control system (not shown) can be informed that the control panel 20 is at the open position with respect to the upper housing 34.

When the upper housing release button 42 is pushed up from the completely closed state shown in FIG.
Accordingly, the locking hook 7 for the upper housing 34
8a, 78b, corresponding locking pins 80a, 80b
30 is released, and as a result, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (2), the upper housing 34 is rotated from the closed position to the open position. With the opening operation of the upper housing 34, the pushing member 132 of the first-stage actuator assembly 128 as shown in FIG.
Is separated upward from the slide member 122 of the intermediate stage actuator assembly 118. In other words, since the pushing member 132 for holding down the sliding member 122 from above is no longer present,
The slide member 122 is the final stage actuator 112
Is directly slid up by receiving the urging force of the torsion spring 116, which turns and deflects clockwise in the figure.

As a result, in the detection switch 108, the operation piece thereof is allowed to protrude outward by the biasing force of the built-in spring, and thus the detection switch 108 is turned off, At least the control system (not shown) can be informed that the upper housing 34 is at the open position with respect to the printer housing 32.

As described above, since the interlock mechanism 106 according to the present embodiment is constituted, by achieving the completely closed state shown in FIG.
When the facsimile apparatus 10 is in the ON state, the operation state of the facsimile apparatus 10 is defined for the first time.
8 will be in the driving state. On the other hand, when the control panel 20 is opened from such a completely closed state,
When the image reading mechanism 18 is exposed and the upper housing 34 is opened, the print unit 14 is exposed. In this embodiment,
In any of these exposure states, the detection switch 108 of the interlock mechanism 106 is immediately turned off in any case, so that the respective drive systems and the laser scanning unit 24 are immediately turned off to improve the safety of the operator. As a result, the maintenance of the internal mechanism can be surely achieved.

It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the electrophotographic apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a facsimile apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such an application and a so-called so-called communication apparatus having no communication function is provided. It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a printer device.

[0071]

[Effects of the invention] As described above, the power
According to the child photographing device, the mounting load is
The load on the enclosure
Can be kept from
The enclosure can be made relatively thin.
Lower cost and lighter weight
You. According to the electrophotographic apparatus according to the present invention,
After assembling the lower frame to the
At any time (even before enclosure assembly)
Assembling the scanning unit on the main plate
Can improve assembly work.
You.

[0072]

[0073]

[0074]

[0075]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing an internal configuration of a facsimile apparatus to which an embodiment of an electrophotographic apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the configuration of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as viewed obliquely from the front.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the configuration of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as viewed obliquely from the rear.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing the bottom shape of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in a state where a bottom cover is removed.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the main plate constituting the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a rear view showing a rear surface shape in a state where a configuration below the main plate shown in FIG. 5 is taken out.

7 is a perspective view showing the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 2 with an upper housing opened.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a side shape of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a front shape of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which a document tray provided in the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is taken out.

11 is a perspective view showing the document tray shown in FIG. 10 and a tray receiving table attached to an upper housing in a state where the document tray and the tray receiving stand are separated from each other;

FIG. 12 is a side sectional view showing a state where the document tray shown in FIG. 11 is attached to a tray receiving base.

13 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the document tray shown in FIG. 11 is upright immediately before being attached to the tray receiving base.

14 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state in which a document tray that has been raised from the state shown in FIG. 13 is inserted from above into an insertion hole of the tray receiving tray.

15 is a side sectional view showing a state immediately after the operation of inclining the original tray with respect to the tray receiving tray is started from the state shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a side view showing the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 2 in a completely closed state.

FIG. 17 is a side view showing the facsimile apparatus with the upper frame in a semi-open state from the state shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a side view showing the facsimile apparatus with the upper frame fully opened from the state shown in FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a plan view showing an upper surface shape of an adjustment substrate provided in the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

20 is a front view showing a state immediately before attaching a connecting member to a jumper terminal on the adjustment board shown in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a frame structure of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 22 is a plan view showing a state where the swing frame shown in FIG. 21 is pivotally supported on a main plate.

23 is a side view showing a state where the swing frame shown in FIG. 22 is pivotally supported on a main plate.

24 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the swing frame is pivotally supported on the main plate, taken along line AA in FIG. 22;

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the swing frame is pivotally supported on the main plate, taken along a line BB in FIG. 22;

FIG. 26 is a plan view showing a state where a damper is attached to a swing frame.

FIG. 27 is a side view showing a state where the damper is attached to the swing frame shown in FIG. 21;

FIG. 28 is a side sectional view showing the internal structure of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 1, particularly showing a configuration around an interlock mechanism in a completely closed state.

FIG. 29 shows a configuration around an interlock mechanism in the internal structure of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a state where only a control panel is opened.

FIG. 30 shows a configuration around the interlock mechanism in the internal structure of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 28,
It is a sectional side view which shows in the state where the upper housing was opened.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Facsimile apparatus 12 Main plate 14 Printing mechanism 18 Image reading mechanism 22 Lower frame 26 Leg

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03G 15/00 550-556 H05K 5/00-5/06

Claims (5)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] An image forming means using electrophotography, and
An electrophotographic apparatus having image reading means, wherein an enclosure defining an outer surface of the electrophotographic apparatus is provided.
And the image forming device inside the enclosure.
Main plate supporting step and said image reading means
And a lower frame fixed to the lower surface of the main plate
And a leg provided on the lower frame, wherein the leg passes through a hole formed in the enclosure.
Through the mounting table.
, Electrophotographic equipment. 2. The image forming unit and the image reading unit.
Means are located above the main plate, and the enclosure is above the main plate.
Cover the image forming means and the image reading means.
Upper enclosure and below the main plate
And a lower enclosure provided in the lower enclosure, wherein the hole is formed in a lower surface of the lower enclosure.
And that it, electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the. 3. The lower frame is arranged as a left and right pair.
And the legs are attached to both ends of each lower frame.
Rukoto, electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in. 4. An empty space surrounded by the pair of lower frames.
The laser scanning unit is located between the main
It must be installed on the underside of the rate
If, electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in. 5. The hole of the leg inserted through the hole.
Having a diameter larger than the diameter.
The electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1 .