JP3869937B2 - Opening / closing device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an opening / closing device having an opening / closing member that can be opened / closed with respect to an apparatus body, and an image forming apparatus having the opening / closing mechanism.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, in an image forming apparatus or the like, the cover of the apparatus main body can be opened and closed for exchanging consumable parts and for jamming a sheet (paper jam). An example of such an open / close mechanism of the conventional image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the openable / closable access cover is closed, FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a state where the access cover is opened, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory view taken along a line AA in FIG. FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG.
[0003]
As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the image forming apparatus is provided with an access cover 51 as an opening / closing member that can be opened and closed with respect to the apparatus main body 50. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, by closing the access cover 51, the sensor lever 53 is pushed down to the protruding portion 52 formed integrally with the access cover 51 to turn off the sensor 54.
[0004]
When the access cover 51 is opened, the sensor lever 53 is urged by the torsion coil spring 55 in the direction away from the sensor 54, so that it rotates in the direction of the arrow C and the sensor 54 is turned on.
[0005]
The opening / closing of the access cover 51 is detected by turning the sensor 54 on and off. In addition, in these devices, in order to make it easy to confirm the opening and closing of the access cover 51, a slight resistance is generated at the time of opening and closing, so-called click feeling is generated, but this click feeling is as shown in FIG. The protrusion 56 a of the protrusion 56 provided integrally with the access cover 51 is generated by fitting into a recess 57 a provided on the main cover 57 covering the apparatus main body 50.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above configuration, large resin molded parts such as the access cover 51 and the main cover 57 have large dimensional variations, and the engagement between the convex portion 56a of the access cover 51 and the concave portion 57a of the main cover 57 becomes shallow. The click feeling becomes weak, or conversely, the click feeling becomes too strong because the engagement becomes too deep, and it is difficult to manage the click feeling when the access cover 51 is opened and closed.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an opening / closing device with a simple structure and easy management of a click feeling, and an image forming apparatus having the same.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A typical configuration according to the present invention for achieving the above object is an opening / closing apparatus having an opening / closing member that can be opened / closed with respect to an apparatus main body, wherein the opening / closing member is provided with a locking portion having a protrusion , and the apparatus the body, the sensing means including a torsion spring biasing the lever member and the lever member for actuating the sensor unit and the sensor unit in a part of the apparatus body is provided, the protruding portion of the locking portion, the opening and closing When closing the member, the lever member is pushed down to enter between the lever member and a part of the apparatus main body, and is sandwiched between the lever member and a part of the apparatus main body.
[0009]
In the above configuration, the click feeling of the opening / closing member can be easily managed by managing the urging force for clamping the locking portion by the detection means. Further, since the detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the opening / closing member sandwiches the engaging portion of the opening / closing member, the click feeling can be managed with a simple configuration without adding new parts.
[0010]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment used in an ink jet recording type image forming apparatus using an opening / closing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 is a perspective explanatory view of the ink jet recording apparatus with the access cover open, FIG. 2 is a perspective explanatory view of the access cover closed, and FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional explanatory view of the access cover closed. 4 is an explanatory side sectional view of the state in which the access cover is opened, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged explanatory view of the locking structure of the access cover.
[0011]
First, the overall configuration of the recording apparatus will be schematically described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a sheet set on a feeding tray 1 having automatic feeding means is conveyed by a conveying roller 2 and a pinch roller (not shown). A predetermined image is recorded by the image forming means 3 and then discharged to the front of the apparatus by the discharge roller 4 and the spur 5. Note that the image forming unit 3 in the present embodiment uses an ink jet recording method in which recording is performed by reciprocating a carriage on which an ink cartridge is mounted in the sheet width direction and ejecting ink corresponding to an image signal from the recording head during that time. ing.
[0012]
In the recording apparatus, an access cover 8 serving as an opening / closing member can be opened / closed with respect to a main cover 7 which is a part of the apparatus main body 6. The access cover 8 is opened as shown in FIG. 1, and the cover 7 is closed after processing as shown in FIG. The open / close state of the access cover 8 can be detected by the detecting means.
[0013]
Next, the structure for locking the access cover 8 and the means for detecting the open / close state will be described.
[0014]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a locking portion 8 a protrudes from the rotation side end portion of the access cover 8, and the device main body 6 has a detection means 9 for detecting the open / closed state of the access cover 8. Is provided. The detection means 9 has a lever member 10 attached to be rotatable about a shaft 11, and a tact switch 12 as a sensor unit is attached to one end side of the lever member 10 on an electrical board 13. When the lever member 10 is pressed, the switch is turned on, and when the pressing is lost, the switch is turned off. Further, a biasing spring 14 as a biasing means constituted by a torsion coil spring is attached to the shaft 11, and biases the lever member 10 in the clockwise direction of FIG. 3 (direction in which the tact switch 12 is pressed). ing.
[0015]
Further, the detecting means 9 is provided at a position facing the locking portion 8a when the access cover 8 is closed. When the access cover 8 is closed, the protruding portion 8b of the locking portion 8a is the rotating end portion of the lever member 10. Is pushed down to enter between the lever member 10 and the main cover 7. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, when the access cover 8 is closed, the locking portion 8a is held between the lever member 10 and the main cover 7, and the locked state is maintained by the biasing force of the biasing spring 14. Is done. At this time, the other end portion of the lever member 10 comes to float from the tact switch 12, and the switch 12 is switched off because the switch 12 is not pressed. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, when the access cover 8 is opened, the lever member 10 does not push down the lever member 10 by the locking portion 8a, so the lever member 10 presses the tact switch 12 and switches on. As a result, the open / closed state of the access cover 8 can be detected.
[0016]
Further, when the access cover 8 is closed (when the locking portion 8a enters between the lever member 10 and the main cover 7) and when the access cover 8 is opened (the locking portion 8a is between the lever member 10 and the main cover 7). When they are removed from each other), there is a slight resistance due to the urging force of the urging spring 14, thereby generating a so-called click feeling.
[0017]
The magnitude of the minute resistance (click feeling) can be changed by changing the spring force of the urging spring 14, and even if there are variations in the dimensions of the access cover 8 and the main cover 7, the click feeling is not affected. For this reason, it is possible to easily manage the click feeling.
[0018]
Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, with the access cover 8 closed, the protrusion 8b of the locking portion 8a and the contact a of the lever member 10 and the protrusion 8b and the main cover 7 The line connecting the contact b is configured so that the urging direction L of the lever member 10 by the urging spring 14 is substantially in a straight line. For this reason, the deformation | transformation of the resin molded component by creep is suppressed and the stable click feeling can be obtained.
[0019]
In the above-described embodiment, the ink jet recording apparatus is exemplified as the apparatus using the opening / closing device. However, the image forming unit is not limited to the ink jet recording system, and other thermal transfer recording systems, electrophotographic recording systems, and the like are used. Further, the present invention can be used suitably not only in the recording apparatus but also in an apparatus that can open and close the opening / closing member with respect to the apparatus main body, such as a reading apparatus.
[0020]
【The invention's effect】
Since the present invention is configured as described above, it is possible to easily manage the click feeling of the opening / closing member by managing the urging force for clamping the locking portion by the detection means. Further, since the detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the opening / closing member sandwiches the engaging portion of the opening / closing member, the click feeling can be managed with a simple configuration without adding new parts.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus with an access cover opened.
FIG. 2 is a perspective explanatory view showing a state in which an access cover is closed.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory side sectional view showing a state in which an access cover is closed.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory side sectional view of the state in which the access cover is opened.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged explanatory view of a locking structure of the access cover.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an openable / closable access cover is closed.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which an access cover is open.
FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 6;
9 is a cross-sectional explanatory view taken along the line BB in FIG. 6;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Feed tray 2 ... Conveying roller 3 ... Image forming means 4 ... Discharge roller 5 ... Spur 6 ... Apparatus main body 7 ... Main cover 8 ... Access cover 8a ... Locking part 8b ... Projection part 9 ... Detection means
10 ... Lever member
11… axis
12 ... tact switch
13… Electronic board
14… Biasing spring

Claims (4)

In an opening and closing device having an opening and closing member that can be opened and closed with respect to the device body,
The opening / closing member is provided with a locking portion having a protruding portion ,
The apparatus main body is provided with a detection means having a sensor unit, a lever member that operates the sensor unit, and a torsion coil spring that biases the lever member toward a part of the apparatus main body,
The protruding portion of the locking portion pushes down the lever member when closing the opening and closing member and enters between the lever member and a part of the apparatus main body, and the lever member and a part of the apparatus main body An opening and closing device characterized by being sandwiched between the two. When the locking portion is held between the device body and the lever member, or when it is released the clamping state, according to claim 1, characterized in that the torsion minute resistance by the urging of the coil spring is caused Switchgear. In a state where the opening / closing member is closed, a line connecting the contact between the locking portion and the lever member and the contact between the locking portion and the contact of the apparatus main body and the urging direction by the torsion coil spring are positioned substantially in a straight line. switchgear according to claim 1, characterized by being configured so. In switchgear having an openable closing member relative to the apparatus main body having an image forming unit, the image forming apparatus characterized by comprising an opening and closing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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